“As expected, our Queen has exceptional taste.”
A young nobleman in a precisely tailored suit murmured the words, and those nearby, sipping champagne, echoed in agreement.
“Truly remarkable taste.”
The exhibition, which had meticulously recreated the royal family’s mystical lily garden, was approaching its height as time passed. Natural light filtered through the glass ceiling, blurring the boundary between day and evening within the indoor hall. As dusk fell, simple finger foods and champagne were served—enough to transform what might have been a static exhibition into a social gathering.
Ladies attending the event conversed on sofas arranged throughout the venue, purchasing selected works one by one. Younger nobles gathered in small clusters, passing time with acquaintances. Sabine, as host, moved constantly through the hall, engaging in conversation.
No one present would fail to recognize Sabine. And even if they had not known her beforehand, it was obvious who the centerpiece of the exhibition was.
As she moved through the venue, Sabine was radiant and assured, drawing every gaze. And so did the woman she kept at her side.
“How does she always manage to find such perfect foils that suit the exhibition so well?”
At an outdoor exhibition raising famine relief funds, she had once brought a gaunt child and walked the hall holding the child’s hand. At a secret exhibition themed around the unity of the Norfolk Royal Federation, she had escorted a dispossessed collateral royal family member and walked hand-in-hand with them.
This time, just as much effort had been invested in the venue itself, she had brought a foil suited precisely to the atmosphere of the hall.
“She’s so pale. How pitiful.”
The nobles nearby laughed quietly at the remark.
The woman, resembling a spirit from the lily garden, had neither sat nor eaten for several hours.
“It’s surprising she hasn’t asked to leave.”
“You think she isn’t? She can’t.”
“That’s true. There was a man with her earlier, but he’s disappeared.”
“He looked ready to cause trouble. Now he’s gone?”
“Perhaps he suddenly gained some sense.”
Their rascal laughter swelled together.
They sipped their champagne and chuckled, then looked again toward the woman Sabine kept close, as if by silent agreement.
How she had ended up rolling all the way here to stand in such a place like this was both pitiable and amusing.
One among them, watching her more carefully, tilted his head.
“About her… doesn’t she seem to watch people strangely?”
“Watch? She’s just being cautious.”
“Is that so? Ah. The Great Lady is arriving.”
The group turned, expressions shifting into polite attentiveness at the appearance of the elderly woman who carried unmistakable authority.
The Great Lady—recognized as an elder of the Luxen royal family—walked toward Sabine.
“Count Jerome’s daughter.”
“…Oh my!”
Seo-ahh, who had been walking beside Sabine, was abruptly pulled back and forced to change direction.
“Great Lady!”
Sabine’s voice brightened instantly. She stepped forward eagerly. The pressure on Seo-ahh’s arm was one-sided; there had been no warning of the change in direction, no request for consent.
“Great Lady, thank you for coming.”
“Your sense remains impeccable, my dear. The moment I climbed the stairs, I thought I had stepped into the palace.”
The old woman, her hair styled in a voluminous arrangement, continued speaking warmly with Sabine.
She did not spare Seo-ahh a glance.
Those who appeared to be part of the Great Lady’s entourage, however, allowed their eyes to drift toward Seo-ahh from time to time.
They scanned her quickly, exchanged glances, and occasionally leaned close to whisper.
It had continued for hours.
Her feet were numb. Her hands, clenched tightly around her bag, had long since lost sensation. Even her face, which had once tingled under their scrutiny, felt nothing now.
But the time had not been wasted.
The woman who had brought her here without explanation claimed to be the fiancée of the King of Luxen. Soon she would become Queen. The people gathered here were among Luxen’s highest-ranking nobles.
This was an opportunity she would not have again under Oscar’s watch.
She could endure the hardship.
If only she could reach someone who knew the name Han Seo-ah.
Seo-ah quietly observed those before her.
As her gaze moved swiftly across faces, the one known as the Great Lady suddenly turned toward her.
Caught off guard, Seo-ah met her eyes.
Cold. Indifferent.
The Great Lady’s gaze traveled slowly—from Seo-ah’s eyes to her nose, mouth, neck, down her body to her feet, and then back up again.
“She’s never attended an exhibition before. I was simply explaining things to her one by one.”
The moment Sabine finished speaking, the Great Lady turned her head sharply and stepped away.
Sabine released Seo-ah’s arm and followed.
After a few steps, the Great Lady murmured to her.
“You are soon to be Queen. Do not associate with just anyone.”
“She seemed curious about the exhibition. She couldn’t enter, and I felt sorry for her…”
“His Majesty is fortunate indeed.”
The Great Lady’s expression softened slightly as she addressed Sabine.
As the Great Lady's benevolent profile turned towards Sabine, someone spoke.
“Hello?”
The familiar presence, which had been absent for hours, swarmed behind her. Those who had gathered behind her naturally dispersed when Sabine was present, and now, as she moved away.
They must have been waiting. They were likely people Sabine had called, perhaps worried she might leave the exhibition.
“Your name is Seo-ah, correct?”
A man she did not recognize stepped directly in front of her.
“You haven’t sat down once since you arrived. Shall we go over there? There’s a sofa.”
He gestured toward a corner that appeared secluded at first glance.
“No. I’m fine.”
“Don’t be like that. Let’s go.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m truly fine.”
Her repeated refusals were met with sharp mockery.
“You don’t seem like much, yet you act so proud.”
However, while they could mock her in secret, they couldn't force her arbitrarily.
So, she endured. She just had to.
“I’m sorry.”
She could repeat the word endlessly. She could tolerate insult. She had prepared herself for that.
What troubled her now was Abel. He had been dragged away by the wolves. Was he waiting outside?
The thought flickered through her mind.
“What’s this?”
Her head tilted back slightly.
Someone had tugged at her ribbon.
“It’s soft.”
The man behind Seo-ah, holding her ribbon, marveled at the softness that fit perfectly in his hand. The brown hair braided as beautifully as the expensive-looking ribbon appeared just as soft. His fingers extended toward her hair.
“Please let go.”
“What did you say?”
“She said let go.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Their conversation hovered above her head.
Despite Seo-ah's plea to let go, the one holding the ribbon did not release it.
Instead, he wound the ribbon around his fingers.
“Did you buy this? Or make it yourself?”
“Please let go.”
“Are you angry?”
Suddenly, curiosity arose about what the woman would look like with her hair down. He glanced around, confirming that no one would care if he removed the woman’s ribbon here.
He subtly shifted his body, perfectly blocking any potential gazes. Then, he tightened his grip on the ribbon.
He expected the long red ribbon to flutter in the air and the brown hair to spill down like water weeds before his eyes.
But his expectation was not fulfilled.
The woman, who had been dragged around by Sabine like a doll without will, suddenly turned around without warning.
Her braided hair sliced through the air like a whip, and her brown eyes, cold and steady, struck his pupils. That gaze, sharp as the tip of a spear, was enough to make the arrogant noble hesitate.
“……!”
All of them—the one who pretended not to see his friend’s crude prank, the one who lecherously anticipated the result, and the one who was about to carry out the crude act without hesitation—stopped.
Her skirt, which had spread out like blooming petals, slowly settled.
Eric, who had paused for a moment, quickly replaced his embarrassment with anger.
“You’re pretty, so you dare look at me like that?”
With a sudden surge of ferocity, those around him grabbed him.
“Eric, stop. Too many people are watching.”
“If you cause a scene, Count Jerome’s daughter won’t ignore it.”
He shook off their hands roughly.
“Let go!”
The rascals, who had seen his temper before, turned to Seo-ah instead.
“Hurry up and apologize.”
Although she had instinctively turned around when he tried to tear off her ribbon, Seo-ah also did not want to escalate the situation further. She began to lower her head to apologize—
The atmosphere inside the exhibition hall suddenly changed.
The gazes of those urging her to apologize, and even Eric’s furious stare, shifted toward the source of that sudden change.
The nobles’ eyes turned toward the entrance of the exhibition hall.
People carrying flower baskets began to enter in a line through the lily arch.
“Oh, it seems His Majesty has sent a gift.”
Murmurs rose at the sight of the flower baskets bearing the royal crest. After them, royal guards in uniform entered and lined up. Gasps sounded here and there at the solemn entrance of the King’s direct guard. Before those reactions faded, a figure in black stepped into the exhibition hall.
Swish, swish.
The sound of heavy fabric swept against the floor. The sound pierced the air. All of Seo-ah’s senses focused on that sound.
A shiver , as if every fine hair on her body stood on end, shot rapidly from her ears to the crown of her head like lightning.
Beyond the crowd, an unseen presence passed forward. The stride was wide and unhurried, yet apart from the faint rustle of fabric, there was no sound.
However, what seized Seo-ah was something else.
A scent lingered in the air. The scent of slaughter. It struck her nostrils with suffocating intensity.
The soft, rustling footsteps suddenly stopped. Seo-ah, who had been concentrating, slowly raised her head.
“He conveys his deep apologies for not being able to attend in person.”
“That is understandable. We are grateful for the gifts.”
“We sincerely congratulate you on the opening of the exhibition.”
The conversation came from a place hidden from view.
—