Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: A Consideration That's Not Very Kind

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He leisurely cast his gaze out the left window while slipping a cigarette from its case between his lips. Amid the cluster of tall and short hotels stood the Leopold Hotel, bustling with final-stage construction.

It's about to open soon.

Its stately rise toward the sky was the spitting image of Johann Leopold. Incredibly arrogant.

Edgar let out a soft chuckle. Just as he was about to flick open the lighter lid, the door—which had been slammed shut so rudely moments before—now creaked open cautiously, just a crack. Edgar turned around.

As if trying to make up for her earlier blunder, the woman had buttoned her blouse all the way to the collar and paired it with a flare skirt, looking every bit the prim and proper lady.

"Please forget my rudeness from before. I was expecting a guest."

Her desperate tone, aimed at nipping any unnecessary misunderstandings in the bud, only made her seem more amusing. At that point, they'd already seen more than half of each other, hadn't they?

"Must be a special guest."

Edgar asked with a relaxed smile.

"A lady I met here."

She emphasized the word "lady," her earlobes turning bright red as her eyes widened in alarm.

"What brings you here?"

The woman showed no intention of letting Edgar inside. She guarded the narrow door gap timidly, as if charged with a sacred mission to hold the line.

"Let's talk inside."

Edgar smiled gently and slid his gleaming black shoe—polished to a mirror shine—through the gap. The tip of his shoe brushed against the end of her slipper. She flinched and stumbled back.

Over something so trivial.

Where had the woman gone who had put on such a bold display just moments ago? Suppressing a laugh, Edgar lifted his gaze from her small foot. It met her wary blue eyes.

"Right here. Please say what you came to say."

Olivia hurriedly met his gaze again and spoke firmly. Even so, she grew anxious at the thought of someone passing by and witnessing this absurd scene—especially that gaggle of noblewomen.

Edgar made a troubled expression.

"It's about hotel business."

He lowered his voice, as if it were some grave matter, and she hesitated.

Her sky-blue eyes, like glass beads, grew solemn as if weighing the truth of his words. Her eyelashes fluttered slowly up and down a few times. At last, she parted her lips.

"In that case, please come back later. My maid is out right n—"

Olivia, who had been politely asking him to leave, jumped in surprise at the exact moment the elevator dinged its arrival down the hall.

Familiar voices echoed along the long corridor. It was Elaine's friends.

"......C-come in."

In a panic, Olivia grabbed Edgar's arm and yanked him inside.

She wasn't even aware of what she was doing. All she could think was how horrifying it would be if those women spread rumors after witnessing this.

Edgar swallowed a chuckle as his wrist was seized. She'd built a wall so tight not even a needle could slip through, and now this.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

Now he didn't feel like going along so easily. He planted his feet firmly.

A scandal with Johann's wife, no less. As Edgar's lips curled mischievously, the chatter drew closer.

"Yes. It's fine."

Her blue eyes, tense and flickering with confusion, were a sight to behold.

"Hurry."

She furrowed her brow faintly and tugged his wrist harder. Of course, her strength was nowhere near enough to budge him. But Edgar obliged, pretending to relent at last.

Bang! The door slammed shut.

Her heart pounded from the close call. The voices passed by the room door and faded into the distance.

Still clutching the handle, Olivia pressed her forehead against the firmly shut door and let out a sigh of relief.

Once her racing heart had calmed, Olivia turned slowly. The man, who had vanished from her sight for a moment, now stood before her.

In the room, without Anne. Just the two of them.

It suddenly felt like the air had grown thin.

She wasn't doing anything shameful, yet she became acutely aware of him, as if they'd snuck away for some illicit rendezvous.

The tension and discomfort of being alone with a strange man sharpened her senses.

Olivia took careful steps behind the sofa and placed her hand on its back.

As if the sofa could protect her. Or as if she could hurl it at him in an emergency.

Edgar found her both ridiculous and baffling. Where was the seductress in this? He wondered about that photo of her entangled with Johann on a banquet hall lounge sofa.

"What did you want to say?"

There was no offer to sit. Not that he expected one, with her acting like that.

"I heard you sent our staff away. Did she offend you in some way, Lady Blanchett?"

"No. If anything, I should apologize for that. Thank you for Lancelot Hotel's kindness. But I prefer things this way. Truly."

It was the utterly predictable, clichéd expression of gratitude he'd anticipated.

"She seemed quite shaken. Apparently, she even cried in front of the general manager."

It was a lie.

"Pardon?"

But the woman's eyes widened in shock.

She bit her lip, then released it.

"She cried?"

Her face grew markedly more serious than when she'd been wary of him. It was amusing again, but he couldn't laugh.

"She's a veteran who's worked here for thirty years. A proud woman who takes great pride in her service. They say she couldn't compose herself over this unprecedented incident."

"That wasn't my intention."

"No evaluation cuts deeper than a customer's rejection."

"I wasn't judging her."

The woman looked mortified with guilt.

"She said she's resigning. She can't face her juniors. Losing such a capable employee would be a tremendous loss for our hotel."

"Resigning?"

She echoed in disbelief, as if the thought had never crossed her mind. Push any harder here, and she'd backpedal on whatever decision she might make.

Gazing down at her, Edgar recalled Gerald's report.

'Nothing unusual. Though her travel bag had a double bottom, so we couldn't check inside. No time for it either.'

What could be in there?

The odds of it being confidential Leopold Company documents he hadn't dared hope for.

Edgar wasn't the type to let curiosity simmer. On top of that, he'd wanted to plant a maid as a spy—packaging his not-so-kind intentions as consideration to get what he desired. He hadn't expected it to be trickier than infiltrating a rival firm.

"She was perfect."

"Is she? Then why—"

Edgar tilted his head with feigned gravity.

"It's just uncomfortable having strangers come and go. So if someone has to leave this hotel over it, let it be me."

The conclusion from the woman hiding behind the sofa back was crystal clear. Edgar felt like a fool in the face of her insight.

He'd been gentlemanly threatening that an innocent maid might lose her job if she didn't quietly accept the service. All while pricking at her sense of guilt.

Yet now, he was the one being threatened.

"Not a wise choice. A maid chasing out a guest? That'd be the worst."

Her calm demeanor belied the turmoil in her blue eyes.

"What do you think would happen if word got out?"

Edgar looked down at her with keen interest.

Beneath her round, pale forehead and straight brows, thick brown lashes blinked slowly.

Each flutter deepened the rose scent in the air, or so it felt.

"Would anyone take her in?"

Edgar leaned on her compassion. Olivia Blanchett was kindhearted and gentle. Enough to share a bed with her maid.

"......Please let me see her. I want to clear up the misunderstanding."

After a long silence, she spoke calmly. The corner of Edgar's mouth twitched upward faintly.

"How very kind of you, Lady Blanchett. It's an honor to have you stay at our hotel."

With a courteous smile, Edgar bowed and extended his hand as he straightened.

She hesitated noticeably before slowly placing her hand in his. He seized the moment, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. The gesture was swift and precise.

The touch against her skin was soft and cool.

Suddenly, Olivia's memories churned.

To the time she first met her husband.

From some day on, even in unintended moments, Olivia's memories had begun encroaching unbidden into Jian's mind.

Some vivid, others hazy.

The moment she'd fallen for Johann Leopold at first sight stood out especially sharp. As if it were yesterday.

Olivia Blanchett had debuted in society the year she turned eighteen.

The Blanchett Earldom, once a powerhouse in Londos politics, had fallen into decline after Elena Blanchett's affair scandal.

One business failure after another had left the earldom a hollow shell with nothing left to sell—save for Elena's illegitimate granddaughter, the shame of the family, left behind after her death.

Olivia Blanchett. And so, she was thrown into the marriage market.

When the earl's scheme nearly entangled her in a scandal with the crown prince, her savior appeared: Johann Leopold.

Johann proposed, and his lips touched the back of her hand. Her heart fluttered in that instant.

Olivia firmly believed it was love. She had to, for there was no other hope to cling to for survival.

It had to be love.

As the man who reminded her of her husband straightened from his bow, their eyes met up close.

'He really does...... look like him.'

Something about that clear, succinct conclusion unsettled her.

Was it his gray eyes that evoked Johann? Their features were starkly different, overlapping only in that one small detail. Why did it feel this way?

"Oh, by the way, I happened to see you playing tennis."

The man, turning to leave, suddenly pivoted back as if struck by a thought. Lost in reverie, Olivia startled and looked at him.

"You seem to have been playing for quite a while."

"Not that long. Just occasionally."

Olivia glanced toward the door, wishing this man would leave already. If only Anne would come back soon.

"Want to play a match?"

"I'm not that good."

Olivia rejected the offer without a second thought.

"You looked pretty skilled."

"Not enough to play against you."

"I see. That's a shame."

Any more conversation, and she'd politely ask him to leave. Fortunately, the door opened at that moment. It was Anne.