“Hmm.”

The continuous sunlight made my eyes dazzle. I struggled to open my eyelids and stood up.

“My lady! Are you awake? Th-thank goodness.”

Mary supported me while sniffling.

I removed the cold compress that was on my forehead.

“Mary, how long was I unconscious?”

“A-about an hour. I didn’t call anyone just in case.”

“You did well, Mary.”

I felt relieved that she hadn’t called anyone, easing my anxiety.

As I calmed down psychologically, my stomach no longer hurt.

“What on earth happened to you?”

I told Mary, who was sniffling, about what had happened with Duke Belaste.

“Th-the Duke is too much! It’s alright, my lady. We’ll be leaving here soon, so tell him not to regret it.”

“Will he even regret it?”

Duke Belaste was someone who would never regret his actions, even if I were to die.

He might curse me while dealing with the aftermath of my sudden absence, but…

‘He said how could I survive in the imperial palace with such a weak mind.’

The most important thing to him now was making the ‘Belaste young lady’ the next empress.

“Mary. We need to go out right now and get train tickets to Trianon. And sell some of the jewelry I’ve saved up.”

There wasn’t much time left until the deadline I’d promised the doctor. I didn’t have the luxury of lying here idly.

“But you just woke up…”

I stroked Mary’s worried cheek as I got out of bed.

“It’s just simple anemia. This is common for pregnant women, you know.”

“Oh, my lady. Then just do what you said and come back quickly to rest properly.”

Mary reluctantly helped me prepare to go out, and we left together.

[This is the timeline separator]

We arrived directly at a boutique specializing in imported jewelry.

“Welcome. This is Rendezvous.”

“I’d like to sell some jewelry.”

“You’ve come to the right place. Would you please place what you’ve brought on the table?”

I gently placed the jewelry box I had carefully brought with me on the glass table.

“…Th-this is.”

The clerk’s eyes changed when he saw the contents of the jewelry box.

It was understandable. From what Larien had received from her maternal family to everything I had bought to maintain appearances until now, it was my entire fortune.

“M-madam. This is a diamond only found in Seraz, and this… isn’t this called the Tears of Requil?”

“That’s right.”

“These are all top-grade pieces. Are you really going to sell them?”

The clerk asked politely with his hands clasped.

‘I can’t let my guard down. He might try to pull something.’

I closed the jewelry box with a firm expression.

“If you don’t set a proper price, let’s pretend this never happened.”

“Don’t worry. The owner of our Rendezvous is overflowing with money.”

The clerk laughed heartily at my warning.

“He must be an incredibly wealthy person? Who exactly is the owner of Rendezvous?”

It must be a noble who collects jewelry as a hobby.

I was curious about who owned Rendezvous.

‘I can’t remember whose property Rendezvous was.’

It had already been over a decade since I was possessed, so my memories were hazy.

To formally set up a boutique and buy jewelry, one would need tremendous financial backing.

Who could it be?

“Th-that cannot be revealed! If the owner’s identity were to leak, I might die! He would tear me apart immediately!”

It didn’t seem like an exaggeration. The clerk closed his eyes tightly, genuinely frightened.

‘If information leaks, he dies… It’s better not to know who it is.’

As long as they paid properly, I didn’t particularly care to know.

“Ahem, excuse me. Well then, how about this amount? You can collect it immediately at the bank.”

The clerk awkwardly took out a blank check and unhesitatingly wrote zeros with his fountain pen.

300 million arks.

He wasn’t lying when he said they were overflowing with money.

“That’s fine.”

“Please sign the ledger.”

I couldn’t use my real name, so I wrote my nickname instead.

“Ma-madam. Your name is… Lari?”

Seeing there was no surname, his tone suggested he thought I might be a commoner who had stolen the jewelry.

‘He probably finds it suspicious that someone selling such valuable jewelry is a commoner.’

I worried he might try to cancel the transaction.

“Come to think of it…”

The clerk stared at my face suspiciously.

‘I should just leave brazenly. What does it matter? It’s not like I stole anything.’

I quickly changed the subject.

“Oh yes. I heard you also do small errands here.”

Rendezvous would run errands to keep attracting customers.

Whether it was delivering gifts to mistresses, procuring items, or even bloodier tasks, they didn’t hesitate.

‘But why was Rendezvous mentioned in the original story?’

If I had known I would be possessed, I should have read it more carefully instead of skimming through.

‘No, it’s good that I know even this much.’

I smiled sweetly and whispered softly.

“Please get me two train tickets to Trianon. As quickly as possible.”

“Ah, understood. Please visit again tomorrow.”

It seemed this was a service provided only to a select few, as the clerk became even more polite just because I knew about it.

[This is the timeline separator]

“This seems endless.”

Jade pressed hard on his stiff neck as he looked at the high stack of documents.

‘…I’m tired.’

He was in a very sensitive state from not sleeping for several days.

Larien’s words about not visiting unannounced kept running through his mind.

‘Why did she suddenly want to distance herself?’

He tried to recall if he had done anything to make Larien dislike him.

Upset that she didn’t want to see him, he lied in the heat of the moment about getting engaged.

He had hoped to see her jealous, but she pushed him away, saying they should have maintained an appropriate distance.

‘Is it because I said I didn’t like it when she asked how I’d feel if she had a child?’

Damn it. What else could he do?

Who would want to see the fruit of the woman they love being with another man?

He wished he knew what Larien was thinking in that small head of hers.

‘Larien. The more you push me away, the more I won’t let go.’

…Always, from a very long time ago.

‘You’re all I have.’

He wanted to trust others, and Larien was the only person he had gotten close to for that reason.

She was someone who had a profound influence on him.

That’s the kind of person Larien was.

Clear, warm, and like sunshine that improved his mood just by looking at her.

She had squeezed through the narrow gap of his difficulty in trusting others and pulled him out of the darkness.

He thought only stained days remained after losing his parents.

The little girl who delivered his father’s pocket watch, which he thought he had lost, made his time flow again.

Jade took out the brooch he was wearing.

The sapphire set in the brooch was the color of a clear sea that melted violet, just like Larien’s eyes.

This sapphire was a part of his heart that he had spit out when he first manifested as a wolf.

Wolves spit out a gem the same color as their mate’s eyes, the one they would encounter only once in their lifetime.

Larien had been his companion from the moment he spit out this sapphire.

Jade yearned for those sea-colored eyes to hold only him.

“Lord Marquis. May I come in?”

“…What is it?”

As he was lost in thought with his head tilted back, the butler knocked and entered.

“Lady Winst has sent a letter requesting to have dinner together.”

“Tell her I’m too busy to spare the time.”

Jade gave a dry response without hesitation to the butler’s words.

‘It’s annoying that she keeps asking to meet.’

He wasn’t even engaged to Lady Winst, let alone married.

“From now on, even if Lady Winst contacts us, don’t report it to me each time. Make up appropriate excuses to refuse.”

“Understood, Lord Marquis.”

It was just a play he had made up to see Larien’s reaction as she avoided him.

There was no reason to continue meeting when Larien showed no interest in his engagement.

“Oh, and a clerk from Rendezvous has come. He says he has something urgent to report.”

“Something urgent to report?”

“Yes, what should we do?”

“…Send him in.”

As soon as Jade gave permission, the butler opened the door.

The clerk entered, bowing and looking around cautiously.

“I-I’m honored to meet you, Marquis Rowe.”

“I’m sure I told you not to come unless absolutely necessary. What’s so urgent that you need to report?”

Rendezvous.

A boutique created for Larien, who was crazy about sparkling jewels.

It was something he started because he liked the smile Larien showed when he gifted her rare gems obtained through Rendezvous.

But because it also dealt with dirty business, Rendezvous didn’t have a very good reputation in society.

‘What if Larien finds out I’m the owner of Rendezvous?’

Larien must never know that he was the owner of Rendezvous. He wanted to appear ordinary in front of her.

“P-please take a look at this.”

“The ledger?”

As he examined the ledger, a particularly familiar handwriting and name caught his eye.

[ 300 million arks paid by check.

Special note: Requested to procure 2 train tickets to Trianon.

Signature: Lari ]

“She had eyes the color of a sea tinged with violet.”

The clerk added details about ‘Rien’s’ appearance while watching Jade’s reaction as he looked at the ledger.

“What you just said.”

The clerk flinched as Jade frowned and closed the ledger.

“It had better be true. If you’re trying to fool me, I’ll cut out that tongue of yours.”