Chapter 61
“Hugo.”
The bodyguard reading the newspaper turned toward me. Marien quietly gestured for him to come closer. Hugo folded the page he was reading so that the outer side faced outward.
Because his legs were so long, he had already reached Marien after just a few steps.
“They say this year’s imperial beauties are men.”
He tapped the newspaper article lightly.
“Have you seen it?”
Marien was momentarily at a loss for words.
Not just “seen it”—this was a competition I originally came up with. I had watched it from the judges’ seats even closer than the front row.
“The prize money is quite substantial… If I had known they were picking men this time, I would have entered too.”
“Still haven’t finished the article?”
“Huh? Oh, no, I haven’t.”
“Then read until they mention the special judge’s name.”
“Huh?”
Hugo looked puzzled, then continued reading the article. Whatever newspaper this was, surely they wouldn’t leave out the name of the great Marien Didi. Just as suspicion began to arise, Hugo let out a short exclamation.
“So the aide was a judge, huh.”
“That’s right.”
“I thought it was an unusual idea. Not only the judging, but the competition itself was planned by you, right? That’s impressive.”
“Does the article really mention that?”
“No. But you can tell at a glance.”
Hugo rolled up the newspaper. He implied that I should pay more attention to current events.
What’s with this delayed reaction? Marien tilted her head.
“The entire capital was in a frenzy over this selection competition. I heard that as soon as the posters went up, the application desk was overwhelmed. I was busy during the festival, so I didn’t see Hugo for a few days. By the way, where have you been all this time?”
“Ahahaha.”
The blond man gave an awkward smile.
“The truth is, I’ve been handling other matters besides guarding you, my aide.”
“What kind of matters?”
“Ah…”
Hugo trailed off awkwardly, then laughed heartily, dimples showing.
“It’s a secret.”
If Hugo had actually participated in the imperial beauty competition, he could easily have taken third place.
A secret. Right. A handsome man’s secrets must be kept.
Marien decided to let it slide with a generous heart.
“Alright. Hugo, can you spread your arms wide?”
“My arms? Like… this?”
Hugo stretched his arms out long. Even without fully straightening his elbows, it was impressive.
“Wow, so long.”
Marien’s eyes widened. Suddenly, Hugo’s smile vanished. His entire body tensed.
“Why are you nervous?”
“I’m not sure. It’s kind of instinctive for me.”
Hugo repeated.
“Is this supposed to be a tense situation?”
“No, no.”
Marien replied with a soft smile, which only seemed to have the opposite effect. Hugo lowered his voice.
“Is someone eavesdropping?”
“No.”
“Or peeking?”
“Impossible.”
Marien laughed, eyes like crescents. But after answering, she suddenly felt unsure. Surely no one is watching from afar?
It could be either Baileon or Cain.
Hugo seemed to notice her brief hesitation.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… I’ll show you in my office first.”
Fifteen minutes later.
Hugo stood in front of a massive velvet ribbon box. Marien pointed to it and asked if he could lift it alone.
“You shouldn’t use a cart inside the Chancellor’s building. The wheels make noise…”
Before she even finished speaking, Hugo prepared to lift the box. Without showing any strain, he lifted the enormous box vertically.
Marien clapped her hands in delight—but silently, so no one could hear.
“Good. Good. Set it down for now.”
Hugo put the box down.
Come when called, lift when asked. No complaints. Completely different from that other guy who drains your energy with training.
Marien felt immensely pleased.
“Do you know a storage place where they’ll keep items if I pay a fee?”
“Yes. The nearest to the palace is over twice as expensive as other places, and the conditions are a bit strict.”
Hugo glanced down at the box.
“But as far as I know, this box is from the Lumière de Chacha salon.”
“How did you—?”
“I was the exclusive designer for the Empress’s palace until recently. No one in the palace would be unfamiliar with this pale yellow box. At least everyone in the inner court would know.”
And who is in the inner court? The all-powerful Fourth Princess Odette Rose herself.
Marien imagined a flock of swans circling above her head like crows.
She got goosebumps.
“My cousin’s dream is to surpass this salon. I know it well.”
“Ah… It’s not about getting a wedding dress from this salon?”
“Yes, every time she passes the shop window, she reminds herself to be the industry’s number one.”
I see.
Marien nodded absently at the information—but no, that’s not important right now.
“Aide, are the items in the box dresses from that salon?”
“Yes.”
Marien glanced up at Hugo.
“You didn’t steal them, right?”
“I never thought that.”
Hugo added quietly.
“Even combining our salaries, we couldn’t afford both sleeves of the dresses…”
Marien wanted to argue. It reminded her of the Swan Prince story—one arm left as a swan’s wing due to time constraints.
Again with swans. This is ominous.
“It’s just the sleeves, not the whole dress. That should be manageable, right?”
“No.”
A polite but firm refusal.
“Hugo, do you know how much my salary is?”
“Yes.”
“You do?”
If she backed down now, she wouldn’t be Marien Didi. She clung to the tiniest possibility.
“But if your salary is higher than mine…”
“I wish, but it’s about the same.”
Oh…
Marien wiped her damp eyes and opened the box. The grandeur of the dresses and jeweled accessories left Hugo speechless.
“I want to keep these hidden for about half a year.”
Even as she said it, she worried whether she could afford the storage.
“Is there a place where I can pay monthly instead of all at once?”
“…Correction. Just one sleeve from each side.”
“Stop analyzing; I’ll cry.”
“Yes.”
Hugo suggested a storage facility on the outskirts of the capital. Registered, secure, and extendable monthly.
“However, the dresses are trickier than the jewels. Even with desiccants, avoiding mold will be difficult.”
Marien’s mouth fell to the floor.
Now even mold stands in the way of Marien Didi.
Hugo honestly said that for items of this value, they should be stored in a bank.
“A bank, huh…”
“May I ask who gave you these items, if it’s not too rude?”
Marien extended her pinky finger.
“I’ll tell you if you keep it secret.”
Hugo looked at her tiny finger. Their fingers intertwined slowly.
“You won’t tell anyone?”
“Not even to Lord Beers.”
“I understand.”
“Nor anyone else.”
“Okay.”
Marien withdrew her hand.
“The Duke of Blackwood.”
“…Ah.”
Hugo sighed quietly.
“Do you understand why I couldn’t say it easily from the start? The duke sent it just to mess with me.”
The problem: Cain Blackwood’s “messing” was far beyond ordinary comprehension.
Hugo didn’t yet know about Marien and Baileon’s relationship, which allowed him to make the following suggestion.
“So the aide is in quite a predicament. A respectable fiancée receives such a gift… Why not ask Lord Beers for help?”
“Well…”
Marien sighed, tired.
“I was worried he’d be upset if he found out.”
Hugo stared at the expensive diamond set. He tilted his head.
“The person who hired me to guard you, the aide, is Lord Beers. He said that even if His Majesty tried to take you away, my duty was to protect you. He promised to take responsibility for any insubordination, ensuring my life and yours, so I could focus entirely on guarding.”
Marien had never heard this before.
At that time, she had been planning to mix depilatory into Cain’s shampoo bottle, thinking Baileon was simply being considerate.
“…He really said that?”
“Yes, so I understood that you are very important to Lord Beers.”
Hugo watched Marien’s expression.
“I believe Lord Beers would help you….”
Marien wanted to bang her head against the wall.
Right, follow the first rule of romance fantasy: hiding only makes things explode later.
But she couldn’t act easily.
Damn Cain Blackwood!
He knows Baileon’s tendencies perfectly.
And now, seeing the expensive gift delivered after she was already unnerved by the northern threat…
“Sh-should I burn it?”
Marien looked up at Hugo with a tearful face.
“Just put the diamonds in a bank and burn the dresses to eliminate the evidence?”
“I can help.”
Hugo said.
“Although my hands will shake a bit.”
“Actually, mine too…”
The two tiny-salaried people looked at the dresses simultaneously.
“If you follow your aide’s advice and close your eyes while burning…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“The items will disappear, but the sender is Duke Blackwood. What if he demands them back later?”
Marien finally broke down.
“Ugh! That’s why I can’t do anything!”
She grabbed Hugo’s arms and shook him wildly. He didn’t budge, and it was her own body moving—but it didn’t matter.
As in self-defense class, she found physical contact with Hugo unusually easy, like Chloe casually poking her brother’s side.
Perhaps Hugo felt similarly.
“We’re doomed…”
“Aide, don’t despair too much.”
“Why am I so unnecessarily conscientious that I can’t just think, ‘Free, yay!’ and take it?”
Marien disliked her own half-hearted corruption.
“You’re a bad man, bad man, bad…!”
Knock knock.
Both Marien and Hugo froze.
Knock knock.
Another knock sounded. Hugo whispered quietly.
“Who could it be?”
Marien moved only her lips like someone under a paralysis curse.
“I don’t know.”
She tried pretending she wasn’t there, but Hugo quickly rejected the idea.
“You just completely lost your composure.”
“It’s all because of that Blackwood guy…”
This time, a voice called instead of knocking.
“Marien, are you in there?”
The aide and bodyguard looked at each other.
“It’s me. I’ll come in.”
It was Baileon’s voice. Before they could respond, the office door clicked open.
Nooo!
