The Unexpected Guest at the Garden Party
Without a clue that her grudge against the villain had been overlaid by another’s envy, Angela sat before her perfume bottles once more.
Today’s creation was the limited-edition Angel Rush-3.
A fresh, sweetly intoxicating scent that left the air behind it crisp and clean, as if an angel had just passed through.
She layered one note after another, arranged the lingering echoes so they would not clash, then checked the final drop before letting out a soft sigh.
Normally, this was where it ended.
She would bottle the perfume, tidy the workspace, and call it a day.
…That was the plan.
Now it was not.
“Very well. It is time for your etiquette lesson.”
“Already?”
“Yes. The other young masters and young ladies have all finished their lessons and returned to their chambers. I was instructed to bring only you, Lady Angela.”
White’s voice was gentle and professional the moment her work was done.
Angela felt an intense urge to flee, though she had no excuse for it.
Even if she had, it would not have mattered.
The instructor awaiting her was none other than the etiquette master who had once taught Ruang.
To keep the emperor’s son waiting?
That was not mere rudeness; it was an outright insult.
In the end, Angela walked forward under White’s guidance.
It would have been better if she had learned all this in childhood.
Then her body would have simply remembered the motions.
Now, however, she had to relearn noble steps, glances, and gestures on top of a personality that had already hardened into its own shape.
Even before she reached the door, Angela already felt her nerves fraying.
*****
“Welcome. I have been waiting for you, Lady Angela.”
“Y-yes! Hello, Teacher!”
“Please call me Lumia.”
“Yes… Lumia.”
Angela relaxed the instant she met the woman’s eyes.
The first impression was not bad.
She was soft-spoken, neat, and lacked the coldness that made people uneasy.
She had feared she might run into someone as mad as Ruang, yet the woman seemed perfectly normal.
“There is no need to worry. What you see of Ruang is not his true self.”
“H-huh…?”
“I noticed the same troubled expression on all his siblings, so I simply asked what you were thinking.”
“Ah…”
Angela felt mortified.
That her brothers and sisters felt the same fear was mildly comforting, yet she realized how rude her own thoughts must have sounded.
She studied Lumia’s face carefully.
“If you are truly curious, would you like me to tell you a story about Prince Ruang’s childhood after the lesson ends?”
“Really? You would tell me?”
“His Highness said that if Lady Angela was interested, I should tell you.”
“Oh… how did you know that? Haha…”
Angela’s ears burned.
It seemed her emotions were far too transparent in this world.
In her previous life she had hidden her heart behind a business smile.
Maybe it was because she had spent more time with test subjects than with people.
Her skill at concealing feelings had grown embarrassingly weak.
“Shall we begin, then? Let us start with walking.”
“Y-yes…”
At that moment Angela realized she had been overestimating the difficulty of perfume blending.
*****
The lessons dragged on far longer than she expected, and they were far more tedious and pedantic.
Angela had to relearn everything from the ground up.
Walking.
Sitting.
Where to look.
Voice tone.
Head tilt.
Breathing.
Every single motion was corrected until she felt as if her own body no longer belonged to her.
“Haa…”
“Lady Angela, that is not the sort of breathing I would expect to see.”
“Ah, n-net!”
“Even if you cover your mouth, I am sure others would think something entirely different.”
“Y-yes… I am sorry.”
Every time her posture shifted, the tip of the fan poked her side.
Every time her fingers went limp, Lumia corrected them again.
Her waist.
Her collarbone.
Her wrists.
Her knees.
She felt as though every inch of her was under surveillance.
“We are attending the upcoming ball, so I gave you the essentials quickly. You should be able to handle the rest without issue.”
“But there will be so many people talking to me, won’t there?”
Angela had already heard the rumors.
How hot a topic she had become in society.
How the imperial guards had apparently grown suspicious after Ruang’s single comment.
Since the rumor had started with her, interest would not die easily.
“I will stay close, so do not worry.”
“Bianca!”
The moment the door opened, Angela rushed toward her sister almost on instinct.
She had been corrected by Bianca before, but never in such a formal etiquette lesson.
Now she understood the difference.
Lumia’s lessons were textbook.
Bianca’s corrections were practical.
And the latter was far kinder.
“I never imagined Prince Ruang’s lover and the daughter of House Lascache would become so close. How mysterious the world is.”
“Lady Angela is not a bad person.”
“Is that so…”
Angela leaned into Bianca’s embrace, relieved, but the air felt strangely tense in places she could not see.
Lumia and Bianca’s eyes met for a brief moment in mid-air.
Teacher and student were not family, yet their bond was deep.
If a student who had once been kind had grown up, gotten hurt, and twisted herself, the teacher would naturally feel lingering emotions.
If Ruang had not broken in such a way, Lumia might even have faced Manuel in person.
And House Lascache was one of Manuel’s most trusted factions.
It was only natural that Lumia could not look at Bianca easily.
Yet the sight of Angela and Bianca standing so naturally together was strangely unfamiliar to her.
“Ah, Teacher. Then may I hear the story of Prince Ruang’s childhood?”
“Of course. I promised, so I will tell you.”
When the three of them sat, the servants placed tea and desserts on the table with perfect timing.
They had clearly calculated the exact moment the lesson would end.
Angela watched and felt a quiet sigh of admiration.
Do the servants and maids know etiquette better than I do…?
Lumia took a slow sip of tea before speaking.
“Prince Ruang has always been kind of heart. He could not even kill an ant without remorse. A gentle, soft man.”
“Mmm…”
“It is hard to believe he looks like that now, isn’t it?”
“Yes…”
“Hehe. I love how honest you are. I can guess why Prince Ruang took a liking to you.”
Angela startled.
The man she had seen was the sort who would cut down anyone who annoyed him.
A reckless swordsman who carried his blade like a madman, who alone glowed dangerously in the ballroom, who did not even pretend to be normal.
Of course he was handsome.
His abs had been impressively defined when she had seen him at the ball.
But being handsome and being mad were two different things.
He was clearly insane.
Lumia smiled quietly at the reaction.
“In the past you were very skilled with your hands. You could even make flowers into new shapes. Unfortunately, your brother told you it was beneath a young master, so you had to plant them back in the ground.”
“Flowers… shapes?”
Bianca recalled the delicate way Ruang had once arranged flowers in the garden.
She had always assumed he was the type who charged in headfirst, but he had had such hobbies too.
Then one innocent memory surfaced and Bianca unconsciously shook her head slightly.
The garden.
The moment her wrist had been gently held.
The feeling so vivid it might as well have been on her own skin even now.
She pushed the thought away quickly.
“If I explain that using swords pleased Her Majesty, he even tried to carve pieces of wood with one. After my etiquette lessons ended, swordsmanship practice began, but I never saw the results myself.”
“I have never seen it either, but the imperial guards speak so highly of him. It must be impressive.”
The news that Ruang sparred with the imperial guards had already spread far and wide.
Stories within the imperial palace usually did not leak, but Ruang was an exception.
The emperor had deliberately released the less dangerous details to the outside world to soften his son’s dangerous image.
Moreover, the people around him were more loyal to the emperor than to Ruang himself.
So the rumors had spread rapidly.
Lumia knew all of this.
She knew, of course, that the prince had asked the guards to confess their love to him.
“The only thing I worry about lately is that he has told His Highness to ignore his family’s wishes and confess his love.”
“Do you think the families will complain because the knights confessed their love?”
“No. That is not something to worry about. His Highness has done far more reckless things, so I doubt they would complain over this single matter.”
Angela nearly laughed.
Even his own teacher had gently admitted that Ruang was outside the normal bounds.
She had not called him mad outright, but that was essentially what she meant.
Bianca cleared her throat and smiled.
“Then what should I be concerned about?”
“Whether someone will challenge Prince Ruang.”
“Eh…? You mean the family will complain? You said they would not act directly.”
“They will not approach him directly, but they will try to draw a reaction by throwing him to the wolves.”
Bianca nodded slowly.
Attacking him head-on was dangerous.
But if one wished to maintain dignity, using a substitute to test the waters was common practice.
They would speak from afar to restrain him, watch for any mistake, and see how far they could push.
The problem was that Ruang was not the sort of man who would stop at words.
“You do not have to be sure. Just keep it in mind as a possibility.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Yes!”
Bianca accepted Lumia’s advice seriously, while Angela did not quite grasp the full weight of it.
She simply filed it away in the back of her mind.
Without realizing how quickly the price would come due.
*****
“Lady Angela! I wish you would accept my love!”
“…Eh?”
Angela blinked, stunned into a vacant expression.
Under the chandelier lights of the ballroom, a young nobleman in formal attire stood before her, face flushed with embarrassment.
All eyes in the room turned toward them.
Curiosity, harmless and eager.
Expectation of entertainment.
And a faint hint of hostility.
At that moment Angela understood.
She should have taken Lumia’s advice more seriously.
Before Bianca could step forward, the young man spoke again.
“From the very first moment I saw you, I could not stop thinking about you!”
Liar.
Angela thought the words automatically.
She had seen him, but not enough time had passed for the memory to fade.
Yet that was not the real problem.
The ballroom.
The stares of everyone around them.
A love confession thrown out in the open.
Angela’s mind went blank.
What do I say at times like this?
Back straight.
Head slightly lowered.
Soft voice.
Untroubled expression.
And—
She could not remember any of it.
Angela only managed to part her lips.
Bianca’s gaze grew icy cold.
Some young ladies watching from afar wore obvious smiles of amusement.
Someone was testing her.
Was she truly Prince Ruang’s woman?
Could she withstand even this much pressure?
The method was cruelly clever.
“Um… I…”
Angela was about to speak when a cold, low voice sliced through the ballroom air from behind her.
“While I was away, I see a rather entertaining scene has unfolded.”
The entire room fell silent.
Angela turned slowly, face still expressionless.
And she saw him.
Black hair.
Lazily curved lips.
A man who looked dangerously mad, yet could not be taken his eyes off.
It was Ruang.
The heat that had filled the air moments ago vanished in an instant, replaced by chill.
The young man’s face had turned deathly pale.
Angela thought instinctively.
Ah.
It’s over.
And at the same time—
She felt oddly relieved.