Honey Trap (2)
On the date listed in the invitation, Eleonora Horner made her way to the capital’s central station with three maids in tow. The scenery rushing past the carriage window was familiar, yet her heart felt entirely different from usual. The Far East Maritime Province. Just hearing the name made it seem impossibly distant.
It wasn’t as if she had never ridden a train before. Whenever she accompanied her father to their villa on the capital’s outskirts, the train was the usual choice. But those trips lasted merely an hour or two at most. This journey to the eastern edge of the Empire was on an entirely different scale.
The moment they reached the station, Eleonora instinctively shrank back from the overwhelming noise and heat that filled the enormous space. Whistles blared from every direction, metal wheels screeched against rails, and the constant murmur of countless people blended into a dizzying roar inside her head. The air carried the acrid bite of burning coal, the warmth of steam, and the faint metallic tang of iron.
“Miss, we’ll handle the luggage and wait for you in the passenger car.”
The eldest maid, Anna, bowed her head as she spoke. Eleonora gave a small nod. With practiced ease, the maids hauled the large trunks away toward the second-class carriage where their seats waited. Soon afterward, Eleonora stood alone on the platform. She gripped the strap of the small bag in her hands a little tighter than necessary.
The meeting place was in front of the central fountain. She carefully wove through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone. Even that small effort left her feeling drained.
When she finally drew near the fountain, she spotted two figures standing nearby. She didn’t even need to search—they stood out sharply amid the sea of people.
One had voluminous golden hair pinned up in elegant curls that seemed to capture the sunlight itself, paired with a bright, active-looking dress. Victoria Mckenzie. Beside her stood a girl with a strikingly contrasting appearance. A neat black bob that didn’t quite reach her shoulders. The fitted shirt, blazer, and trousers were uncommon among noble daughters, yet they suited her perfectly. Erika Cage.
Despite her commoner background, everyone at the Academy knew her name. The rumors that swirled around her were both dark and reverent: how she had crushed every upperclassman noble at cards and become the true master of Eagle House, how even the strictest professors had lost bets against her. Eleonora didn’t know how much of it was true. She simply thought, in a vague sort of way, that Erika must be an extraordinary person.
Eleonora swallowed hard. Her heart hammered wildly. After hesitating several times, she finally gathered her courage and approached them.
“...I hope you’re doing well.”
She greeted them the same way she would any classmate at the Academy. Her voice, forced out with great effort, was nearly swallowed by the station’s clamor—barely audible even to her own ears.
Erika, who had been speaking with Victoria, turned first. Her emotionless eyes flicked toward Eleonora for a brief moment, then gave a slight, almost lazy nod. That was all. Her black bob swayed gently with the motion before settling back into place.
Eleonora unconsciously hunched her shoulders. As expected, she probably thought someone like her wasn’t even worth acknowledging. The moment that thought crossed her mind, her face burned with embarrassment.
“Oh my, Miss Horner. You’ve arrived.”
Victoria whispered something quietly into Erika’s ear, then turned to Eleonora with a radiant smile.
“I hope you’ve been well?”
She took a step closer, returning the greeting, then studied Eleonora’s face with gentle concern. “But Miss Horner, your collar is a little crooked.”
“Ah…”
Eleonora let out a tiny sound and instinctively reached up to fuss with her collar. She had checked it multiple times, yet it had somehow become disheveled. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.
At that exact moment, Victoria stepped even closer. A soft, warm hand brushed against Eleonora’s collar and, with delicate precision, straightened it. The faint floral scent that wafted from her at such close range tickled Eleonora’s nose.
“We are Academy students, after all. We must always carry ourselves properly. It’s written in the school rules, and the saints are always watching over us.”
Victoria’s voice held no trace of reproach—only warmth and kindness, like an older sister looking after her sibling. Eleonora couldn’t manage a single word. She simply hung her head, her heart pounding even harder than before.
“There. Now it’s perfect.”
Having finished adjusting the collar, Victoria smiled in satisfaction and stepped back. “Shall we board the train, then? I’ve prepared a private car just for us!”
She took Eleonora’s hand lightly and led the way. Erika followed a step behind, her expression as unchanging as ever.
Eleonora stood frozen for a second, then hurriedly followed, pulled along by the gentle grip on her hand.
It was an endlessly long journey. The train’s rhythmic rattling, the unfamiliar landscapes that flowed past the window without end. For the first few days, Eleonora buried herself in her book, wrapped in awkwardness and anxiety. But time has a way of dulling the heart and slipping through the cracks of even the most tightly closed mind.
“Miss Horner, you should join us too!”
Victoria Mckenzie was as cheerful as ever. She had already spread a deck of cards across the cabin table. Erika Cage gave a silent nod from across the table. Eleonora reluctantly nodded as well and took her seat.
Texas Hold’em. The rules were completely foreign to her, but Victoria explained them one by one with great patience. Even so, explanation alone wasn’t enough. Eleonora kept glancing back and forth between her own hand and the community cards, utterly lost. Victoria clapped and cheered at her clumsy attempts, while Erika occasionally offered short, indifferent advice: “Don’t raise there.”
It was a strange experience. Inside the narrow cabin, she sat knee-to-knee with two people she would never have dared speak to at the Academy, shuffling cards together. Victoria’s bright laughter and Erika’s quiet sighs filled the space. Before she realized it, Eleonora found herself smiling—only a little, but smiling nonetheless.
When the train finally began to slow, Eleonora looked out the window. The view was nothing like the capital. Instead of gray buildings, she caught glimpses of blue sea. The air no longer smelled of coal smoke but carried a salty tang.
With a sharp metallic screech, the train came to a complete stop. They had arrived at Vladivostok station.
The moment she stepped onto the platform, Eleonora unconsciously held her breath. Unlike the heavy, imposing stone structure of the capital’s central station, this one was bright and open, built in shades of white and blue. Sea breeze flowed in through the massive arched windows, cool against her sweat-dampened cheeks.
“It’s been quite a while.”
The voice was low and languid. Eleonora turned. A young man with a boyish face stood at the edge of the platform. His clothes were simple, without a single flashy decoration, yet she recognized him instantly. The Empire’s seventh prince and Grand Duke of the Far East Maritime Province—Mikhail.
The notorious wastrel from the rumors looked far more… ordinary than she had imagined. Or rather, it was less that he looked ordinary and more that he completely lacked any sense of formality.
He grinned at Victoria and Erika and gave a lazy wave.
“For troublemakers like you two, there’s honestly not much difference between vacation and the regular term, is there?”
“Oh my, Your Highness. How mischievous of you.”
Victoria shot him a playful glare, but there was no sting in her tone—only the easy familiarity of old friends trading jokes.
“Anyway, wasn’t I supposed to become Your Highness’s concubine after graduating from the Academy?”
Erika’s indifferent remark made the air freeze. Eleonora gasped sharply. To speak to royalty that way…!
“Miss Cage!”
Victoria grabbed Erika’s arm in a panic, her face flushed bright red. But Mikhail only laughed, clearly amused.
“I don’t keep those.”
He shrugged lightly.
Listening to their exchange, Eleonora recalled the rumors that had spread like wildfire through the capital’s social circles—the claim that Victoria Mckenzie and Erika Cage were Mikhail’s mistresses. Yet the scene before her was nothing like those rumors. Something crucial was missing for it to feel like lovers’ conversation.
She suddenly remembered how her father had looked at her mother while she was still alive. His eyes had always been dripping with honey, his voice endlessly tender. Even the secret glances shared by couples at the Academy carried that same sweet, sticky quality.
But between these three, there was none of that. Only the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere of friends teasing one another.
Mikhail’s gaze suddenly shifted to Eleonora.
“So who’s this young lady who got off the same car? A friend of yours?”
Eleonora’s heart plummeted. A member of the imperial family—His Highness the Grand Duke—was speaking directly to her. Her mind went completely blank. How should she respond? With proper etiquette? Or casually, like Victoria and Erika? No, how could she possibly dare—!
Her body went rigid as a wooden plank.
“……”
She tried to speak, but no sound emerged. Her lips merely twitched.
Apparently finding her state amusing, a faint smile tugged at Mikhail’s mouth. Eleonora desperately forced her body to move and bowed with the creaky stiffness of a rusted automaton.
“I-it is an honor to meet you, Your Highness! I am Eleonora Horner of the Horner Trading Company!”
“Ah, from the Horner Trading Company… Miss Horner.”
Mikhail seemed to ponder something for a moment, then nodded.
“Well then. Since you’re here, make sure you enjoy yourself to the fullest.”
His voice remained light. That casual tone caused all the tension in Eleonora’s body to snap like a taut string. The rebound made her answer burst out far louder than intended.
“Yes, yessir!”
Silence fell. Realizing how loudly she had shouted, Eleonora’s face burned as though it might explode. Mikhail’s eyes widened for a second, then he threw his head back and roared with laughter.
Eleonora’s face grew even hotter.