Chapter 20. After the Delivery

Only then did Serenia realize that the current situation was causing a huge misunderstanding, and she quickly scrambled to explain herself.

“It’s not what you think…”

“How can it not be? The royal seal is right there.”

“That’s not what I meant…! No, more importantly, why are you even up? I told you to lie down!”

“Does that really matter?”

“Of course it does! And what’s with your clothes? If you’re going to wear them, why not put them on properly instead of half open like that…!”

“I didn’t have the time to button them all up.”

Ain lazily responded and winked playfully.

His flirtatious behavior, which not even the sunglasses could mask, made Serenia’s cheeks turn bright red without her realizing it.

Ain, having half enchanted her, expertly snatched the proposal letter she was holding in her hands.

“Hey? Why are you taking that? Give it back!”

Serenia reached out in a panic, but he smoothly avoided her grasp and continued reading the letter.

He read it from beginning to end, checking each letter carefully, before finally handing it back to her and saying,

“As expected. The sender is none other than Duke Raskal Admancanon.”

His eyes, sharp and piercing, were clearly no longer masked by his sunglasses.

His expression, as though he were about to demand a contract cancellation and compensation, made Serenia panic and quickly respond,

“I can explain!”

Ain, tilting his head in a dismissive manner, replied,

“Is that so? Then go ahead.”

The moment he gave her permission, she immediately shouted,

“That crazy bastard!”

“…Eh?”

“He’s doing everything on his own without asking for my opinion, just going ahead and making decisions!”

“Hmm?”

Seeing his skeptical expression, Serenia pounded her chest in frustration.

“No, I’m serious! I’m really the innocent victim here, I swear!”

But Ain shook his head and responded,

“However, milady, a royal-approved proposal… ”

“Ah, I know! I know that the informal engagement still holds some weight!”

“Exactly. As long as that document exists, milady, you can’t marry anyone except Duke Admancanon, right?”

He asked, his eyes flashing with intent. Serenia, sweating nervously, quickly retorted,

“If I clearly state my refusal, I can marry anyone after that!”

“Well, that’s true.”

He nodded while adding with a smirk,

“But the problem is that the person who needs to state that refusal, the Count of Barishart, is currently unconscious.”

Serenia, unable to hold it in anymore, shouted,

“I know! I know! That’s why I’m going crazy!”

Seeing her tug at her hair in frustration, Ain pretended to be surprised.

“Oh, you knew that? I thought you might not have known.”

He then muttered to himself,

“Ah, this is bad. I already have too much money; what if this estate adds another six million krovat? I’ll never spend it all before I die.”

At his words, Serenia’s eyes widened, and she rushed at him.

“What do you mean six million krovat?! I haven’t broken the contract, so why—”

“You’ve practically broken it. There’s no way to refuse that proposal, and Duke Admancanon isn’t going to change his mind about it overnight either.”

That was a valid point.

But Serenia could not accept it.

If she agreed, she’d be forced to pay the six million krovat.

Desperately, she racked her brain for an excuse.

“Well, there was no deadline!”

“…Eh?”

Seeing his slightly confused expression, Serenia seized the moment and continued quickly,

“I clearly remember that our contract didn’t set a deadline. It never said when the marriage registration needed to be submitted, I’m sure!”

“Eh? Well, that’s because there was no need to specify a deadline.”

He continued with a look of disbelief.

“Milady, you’re supposed to pay the bank debts before the estate is repossessed, so naturally, the contract would have been executed before that…”

Serenia interrupted him, shouting,

“Exactly!”

“Eh?”

“There’s still ten whole days left before the bank seizes it!”

“…Huh?”

“I can solve this in that time!”

Ain, looking at her skeptically, asked,

“Milady? How exactly?”

“That’s…”

Serenia trailed off, rolling her eyes for a long while before finally shouting,

“I’ll handle it, you don’t have to worry! Whether I wake up my father or threaten Raskal with a knife to cancel the proposal, I’ll figure it out!”

“Eh?”

Ain was left stunned by her wildly unrealistic suggestions.

In the meantime, Serenia rushed to her room, grabbed his coat and hat, and hastily threw them on him.

She then opened the front door and pushed him outside.

“Eh? Milady?”

“Just go now. It’s already too late.”

“Eh? It’s only around 4 PM.”

“Exactly. It’s late.”

“Not…?”

He trailed off, dumbfounded, as Serenia pushed him out the door and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

Standing in front of the closed door, Ain stood there for a long while, then sighed deeply, adjusting his hat.

As he slipped his arms into the coat, he muttered to himself,

“An official proposal… I’ve been had.”

Getting married is so complicated. How am I supposed to overcome this challenge?

He muttered in frustration, adjusting his coat collar to cover his face, and slowly started walking.

Then, suddenly, he recalled the events of the early morning and stiffened.

“Wait. The photographer… The photographer!”

Realizing he had forgotten, he hurriedly jumped into the carriage.

“To the Neriad Hotel, please. As quickly as possible!”

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Neriad Hotel

Bianca Admancanon had always been lucky.

As a child, she had survived after accidentally ingesting poison.

And as a result of the lingering aftereffects, she could no longer bear children, which spared her from unwanted marriages to dull-witted aristocrats who had nothing to offer.

Additionally, this condition allowed her to study poisons in secret, something forbidden to most outside of noble families.

Others pitied her, but for Bianca, studying toxicology was the most exciting thing in the world, so it was all for the best.

And once again, today, she was lucky.

On December 4th.

As the deadline for a commission approached, Nelson Galut, growing anxious, had mobilized all his men to search for Serenia, leaving Bianca less closely monitored.

Locked in the top-floor suite of Salon Galut, she had been able to escape unnoticed at dawn, thanks to their lack of attention.

“How dare they imprison me. Just wait. I’ll make sure to sprinkle poison in your shop one day!”

Grinding her teeth, she was on her way back to the Barishart Estate when she spotted something shiny in the grass by the Pfenn River.

Curious, she went closer and found a camera.

“What’s a camera doing here?”

Bianca quickly picked it up.

Her mind began to race, planning how she could use this to fabricate and manipulate Serenia Barishart’s scandalous, wild, and chaotic private life to present to Dalia.

Her mood lightened at the thought.

“Heh, if I handle this well, the lady will surely give me plenty of research funding.”

Humming a cheerful tune, she made her way back to the Barishart Estate.

In her private room in the estate’s annex, Bianca decided to test the camera’s performance and snapped a few shots.

Before long, the film ran out.

Without thinking, she opened the camera, removed the film, and developed it.

The process took an entire day.

After a full 24 hours of developing in the darkroom, Bianca finally got to check the results the next morning, December 5th.

“…Serenia Barishart?”

Her eyes widened in surprise and delight.

What incredible luck!

The film she had randomly found in the camera contained pictures of Serenia!

Of course, Serenia had disguised herself with a wig, but Bianca wasn’t fooled.

That cold, yet pretty face was hardly common.

With a victorious smile, Bianca checked the other photos.

In one of the photos, Serenia, late at night, was seen flirting with a mysterious man by the Pfenn River.

And the identity of the man was…

“Ain Reveron?!”