At the Exhibition Hall (4)
At the Exhibition Hall (4)
In the middle of the secret room where the air had settled stickily, Iden was momentarily lost for words.
He had just received a confession from his biological older sister.
Of course, his soul had walked a different path long ago, and the name Edom Rivan was nothing more than a discarded shell, so it wasn't strictly necessary to call her 'biological sister.'
However, because the blood of the Rivan County certainly flowed through this body, Edom Rivan's flesh, Iden forced down the bewilderment that almost surfaced on his face.
...How, how am I supposed to take this?
How should I break through this flow that's trying to drift from a Ropan story into a kinship story?
Erica was avoiding his gaze with flushed cheeks.
With her head slightly bowed and her fingertips clutching the hem of her dress as she caught her breath, she looked like a woman who had just given a shy confession to anyone who saw her.
Ruminating on Edom's memories, Erica was not an impulsive character.
Though she was wicked enough to treat her younger brother poorly and mock him in front of the servants, even when she was at the height of her influence as the Flower of the Social Circles, she had carefully selected and filtered her partners.
Her standards for a 'man' were so high that she had eventually rejected everyone on the grounds that they weren't good enough.
The escape of the original Edom.
Had that not only twisted the flow of the original work but also changed the direction of the related characters?
It was impossible to tell yet, and it was also impossible to understand why she was launching a confession attack saying she 'fell in love at first sight' less than an hour after meeting him.
Of course, it wasn't completely incomprehensible.
In creative works, there are many scenes where the main heroine or sub-heroine falls in love with the opponent at first sight and confesses, or even feels favor toward a man they used to dislike.
Fell in love at first sight.
He could understand the sentence as it was, or he could pass it off as her standards being met by the position of the head of a rising noble family and the man known as 'the Archduke of the North's man,' but Iden's intuition was denying that.
Purpose and intention.
An approach and confession for the sake of those things.
If he weren't Edom Rivan, and if she weren't Edom's flesh and blood, but a woman he was seeing for the very first time, perhaps Iden might have been shaken by the confession.
Erica Riban.
Her appearance, figure, and voice, which lacked nothing, had a demonic charm that bewitched people.
Even a small gesture or movement had a magnetic pull that drew the eyes, and there was a strange sensuality that stimulated the depths of a man's heart.
Of course, no matter how beautiful she was, if it were the original Edom.
'Ugh, you crazy fucking bitch!'
High-speed profanities would have burst out, and Iden likewise had absolutely no intention of accepting it.
Instead, his mind began a different calculation.
Should he reveal it here and now?
"I am Edom Rivan," with that one sentence, this absurd and ridiculous situation would end.
The nonsense would stop immediately, and he could block any further approach.
The fact that the eldest daughter of the Rivan family confessed to her biological brother would be a sufficient shackle to make her withdraw on her own, considering her prestige.
However, there was also a high possibility that those shackles would be placed on him instead.
In that case, should he hide it until the end?
It might be better to keep his distance while hiding his identity and let her tire herself out and drop off.
Getting involved with the Rivan family was a nuisance in itself.
The moment his identity was revealed, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the family would approach him in some way.
Unaware of his thoughts, Erica caught her breath and spoke.
"...It was sudden, wasn't it? I didn't know my emotions would get ahead of me like this either. It's my first time, so I'm a bit clumsy."
Iden looked at her with interested eyes for a moment.
Just how indifferent was she that she couldn't recognize her own biological brother?
Of course, he had to admit what needed to be admitted.
The Edom Rivan of three years ago and his current self were completely different people.
Back then, his face was gaunt as if only bones remained, his cheeks were hollow, and the shadows left by insomnia and obsession always hung dark around his eyes.
His body was pathetically thin, his posture was hunched, and his voice was always gloomy as if crawling into a hole.
But now it was different.
A disciplined body, a face with healthy flesh, a bold gaze, a breath that knew leisure, and an aura that led the board.
He had changed so much that he could say he had rejuvenated himself, and except for innate traits, it was difficult to find traces of Edom Rivan.
Iden swallowed a sigh inwardly.
Still, he thought it was a relief.
If she had noticed early on and clung to him like a leech saying things like, "Edom, was it you?" or brought up nonsense about returning to the family, it would have been more troublesome.
Right now, it just looked like a calculated approach toward a rising Count.
He could handle that much.
After a moment of silence, Iden spoke calmly.
"Those are more words than I deserve."
It was a voice that thoroughly excluded emotion.
"But I do not have the luxury to consider personal feelings right now. I have a mission assigned to me, and it is difficult to make time until I have completely finished it."
Erica's head slowly rose.
A look of surprise flashed through her eyes.
Iden stood up from the sofa and straightened his clothes.
"I will accept your words with gratitude today. However... I do not think I can respond to those feelings."
It was a polite but firm line-drawing, like cutting through bamboo with a blade.
Erica hurriedly stood up from her seat.
"Wa-Wait, Baekjak-nim—!"
But Iden did not say anything more.
Without making eye contact, he headed for the door of the secret room.
There was no hesitation in his movement as he grabbed the handle.
The door opened, and the noise from outside flowed in.
And the door closed.
Left alone in the secret room, Erica stood frozen for a while.
Her face, which had been dyed red, slowly cooled down.
A rejection...?
Me...?
And so bluntly...?
Erica's hand slowly clenched into a fist.
As the bewilderment subsided, another emotion reared its head.
It was competitive spirit and stubbornness.
"Haha."
As if it were absurd, she swept her hair back and burst into laughter, the corners of her mouth curling up subtly.
She, who was called the Flower of the Social Circles, had never been rejected so cleanly.
Rejections were something she gave out, and even if her petals had withered slightly now, this body and beauty she had cultivated were not things that could be rejected with a single stroke.
Therefore, that cold attitude became an even greater stimulus.
"Fine. Let's see how long you can hold out."
She heard he was from lowly commoner stock and was a vulgar mercenary.
A mere livestock who shouldn't have even been able to have an audience with her was rejecting the Flower of the Social Circles just because he rose in the world thanks to the halo of the Archduke of the North?
"Ha."
It was an impossible thing, a thing so ridiculous it only brought out a hollow laugh.
Erica looked at herself reflected in the mirror.
There were no flaws, nor any shortcomings.
The approach was somewhat impulsive and bold, but not to the point of creating unpleasantness, and she had freely used the temptations of submission and coquetry to look good to him.
She had also shown off her sensuality and seductive beauty without regret.
She didn't think he would fall for her instantly, but she hadn't thought for a single moment that she would be rejected so heartlessly.
Or.
'Is he some kind of eunuch?'
If not that.
'Does he already have someone?'
If that were the case, she hadn't heard any information about him harboring romantic feelings for someone or having an unofficial lover.
Kkeudeuk.
Erica gritted her teeth.
It was a confession she threw while even enduring shame, putting on a pathetic act, throwing away her pride, and even feminizing herself.
It was hard to accept that the first thing she had ever done in her life had failed, and no matter how much she thought about it, Iden Summonfield, that arrogant man, was the most suitable new prey to bring to her family.
The position of 'Noble Lady' of the Summonfield County, which was officially vacant.
If she were aiming for anything less than that, she would have long ago decided on a fiancé and gotten married.
'...Just you wait. Let's see how great you really are.'
Regaining her composure, Erica caught her breath and tidied her appearance.
Suddenly, an unknown sense of familiarity she felt from Iden.
A voice she felt like she had heard somewhere.
The blue-gray hair and blue eyes that resembled her own, and the fact that he handled the special skill of summoning, stimulated a faint suspicion immediately after the meeting, but Erica did not let it grow.
It was a useless thought.
That insect she didn't even want to remember and Iden Summonfield were far too different.
The possibility that a guy who lived his whole life like a festering, rotten living corpse had become the Archduke of the North's man would be lower than the possibility that this world was a fiction within some literature.
The goal is to be the Noble Lady of the Summonfield County.
She would strive looking only at that.
The lighting of the secret room reflected in her eyes, taking on a sharp light.
The exhibition was not over yet.
**
Exiting the secret room, Erica immediately composed her expression.
The shy light from a moment ago was erased without a trace, and the gaze of a cold observer, called the Flower of the Social Circles, returned.
The exhibition hall was still brilliant and bustling.
The hems of skirts brushed against each other, the sound of clinking glasses rang out clearly, and admiration and whispers were mixed everywhere.
However, Erica's vision moved centered only on one person.
Iden Summonfield.
Where he was standing, who he was making eye contact with, and who was looking at him.
Erica naturally unfolded her fan to cover her mouth and scanned the exhibition hall as if performing reconnaissance.
It was to check if there were any competitors she didn't know about, or if there was already a rival who was one step ahead.
And that search did not take long.
Three people caught her eye.
The first was Erwin Vermir, the woman with short golden hair standing by Iden's side.
She heard she was an attendant and a member of the special task force.
On the surface, she had a calm face, but her gaze followed Iden every time he moved, and she showed wariness whenever another young lady approached.
A position where she maintained her distance but never completely pulled away.
It was a gaze that hinted at emotions beyond those of a colleague.
In the first place, the fact that she, who was said to be the youngest daughter of a Count's family, volunteered to be Iden's attendant must have been possible because she aimed for more than just being a colleague.
The second was the Archduke's daughter, Emiline, who was brightly smiling and greeting guests near the platform.
Given that the theme of this exhibition was 'Iden's Records,' the explanation was already complete.
It wasn't hard to guess how long she must have ruminated on his image while preparing those many canvases.
The gaze contained in the tip of the brush was hard to explain with simple respect alone.
And.
The place where Erica's gaze finally stopped.
A young lady with red hair, a color that shone exceptionally clearly under the lights.
"...."
She definitely stood out.
Even while mixed in the crowd, her presence was strangely prominent.
A simple but neat dress, her accessories were restrained, but rather, that restrained aesthetic sense contrasted with her red hair and drew the eye.
'Was it... Vivienne?'
It took time to recall the name, but the afterimage of the memory was clear.
Once, she had heard a rumor that her disgusting younger brother had doggedly followed a young lady at the academy and received a warning.
There was talk of it being a disgrace to the family, and eventually, she, the eldest daughter, had visited the academy on behalf of her parents and older brother who were on official duty.
It was the young lady she had faced then.
Hair as bright red as a ripe apple, a simple yet charming face that evoked a strange protective instinct.
The existence of [The Lady Obsessed Over by Edom Rivan] still lingered in her mind to the point that the outdated sentiment of 'She is pretty' flashed back to her.
She had been curious, and she had also felt pity.
Just what kind of big mistake did she make to be obsessed over by such a loathsome bastard?
Just what kind of sin did she commit to be chased by a bastard who made her want to vomit?
So Erica had met her personally out of curiosity and offered an apology instead, and she thought the commotion had ended there.
But that young lady was here now.
Erica's eyes narrowed sharply.
Vivienne's eyes turned toward Iden whenever there was a gap, even if only for a moment, and then stopped.
It seemed like simple curiosity, but seeing as the cycle of her gaze was short, it didn't seem simple enough to be dismissed as 'simple.'
It is said that one must know the enemy to be victorious.
Identify the characteristics of what one wants to achieve through the enemy and prepare the necessary things.
Test the enemy to see if there is anything one has failed to grasp.
The social circles were originally such a place.
A place where people pretend to be elegant and refined, but if you look inside, it's no different from the wild where the caresses and copulation of beasts overflow.
Erica folded her fan and slowly moved her steps.
To her, who had experienced numerous competitions in the social circles, reading a woman's gaze was close to an instinct.
Stopping in front of the red-haired woman, Erica smiled softly.
"Excuse me, Vivienne Yeong-ae? Do you... perhaps remember me?"
Vivienne turned her head.
At that moment, Erica's eyes shone subtly.
The exhibition hall was still bright, and the music was flowing softly.
But between the two women, an invisible line of tension began to pull tautly.
"Oh? Aren't you... Erica Riban Yeong-ae-nim?"