Episode 4
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
There was no doubt — the smile he just showed was clearly a mocking one.
His apology didn’t feel sincere to Autumn at all.
“Just saying sorry—is that supposed to be enough?”
Autumn grumbled to herself.
“…I also, uh, looked forward to this moment… because it seemed fun.”
Randel rested his chin on his hand and continued speaking politely.
“As expected, you are just as I imagined.”
But his reactions were completely unpredictable, and Autumn was constantly caught off guard.
For a moment, she stared blankly at his sudden, strange smile, then quickly came to her senses.
“Phew. So… in a roundabout way, he’s saying I was like Rosalynne Kiss?”
Even though she had shown an embarrassing side of herself a moment ago…
She was no longer the naive country girl who had arrived in the capital just a week ago. She now stood confidently as Rosalynne Kiss.
“Get it together, Autumn.”
“I’m trying things lately that aren’t like me.”
Autumn nervously played with her sweaty fingers and slowly spoke from deep within her.
“And since I don’t even have a real husband, could you stop calling me ‘Mrs.’?”
“I see.”
With a small twitch of his lips, her slightly sulky voice echoed in the room.
“And you? What do you think? Is this a good idea?”
She gently held out her hand toward him.
He calmly leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand.
‘…!
The soft touch through her thin mesh glove felt unfamiliar.
Autumn pulled her waist straight like a tight gerbera stem behind his shoulder.
Randel looked up at her hand, then met her gaze.
“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be.”
“This is our first time speaking, right? I’m Diane Rosalynne. People just call me Rosalynne Kiss.”
For a moment, Randel gently tightened his grip on her hand.
“This is also my first time introducing myself. I’m Randel Wintour Austin.”
His sensitive touch brushed between her fingers as she tried to pull her hand away, and she froze again.
“But… it’s strange.”
“What is?”
Their eyes met in the air — her bright golden eyes and his calm hazel ones.
He slowly stood up.
He looked at her for a moment, then turned back to the mirror as if something didn’t sit well with him.
He answered in a relaxed, deep voice:
“…Hmm. I think I’ve seen you before.”
Afraid he might hear her pounding heart, Autumn slightly curled her body.
He adjusted the button on his sleeve that he had forgotten to fasten earlier and straightened his outfit.
“W-What the…?”
Autumn was completely confused.
Rosalynne had clearly said she had never even brushed past this man before.
“It’s okay. No one here knows I’m not the real Rosalynne Kiss.”
Randel’s silence continued as he turned his back to her.
His intense hazel gaze seemed to pin Autumn in place.
“…No, I’m sure of it.”
“Huh?”
Finally, he turned back to face her slowly.
It was a soft whisper, but it felt oddly heavy.
“I’m certain we’ve met before. Don’t you agree?”
“Ah, that’s—!”
“Think about it carefully.”
He stared deeply at her, almost obsessively.
Under that gaze, Autumn broke into a cold sweat.
“Well… there’s plenty of time.”
‘This is bad. Sister, what have you gotten me into…?’
Her head dropped, helpless.
She looked like a wilted flower that had lost its strength.
Autumn’s heart beat faster than ever, just as she was struggling to think of an excuse—
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
As soon as he gave permission, the door opened, and Hudson returned, right on time.
“Sir, here is the rose tea that Miss Kiss—oh, I mean Mrs. Betches—likes.”
“Perfect timing! Good job.”
Autumn’s head shot up like she’d seen a savior, and the sweet scent of tea filled the room.
“I’ll pass.”
“Ah… thank you.”
The warm steam from the tea made Autumn’s vision blur for a moment.
She quickly took a sip.
“Looks like things got pretty cold while I was away, huh?”
Hudson felt it was his mission to lighten the mood.
“Haha… Well, the director is known for being a man of few words…”
“Hudson, leave us.”
As always, his efforts were immediately shut down by his master.
Randel didn’t even glance at Hudson as he grumbled and left.
Autumn fanned herself quickly while watching Hudson walk out with a sheepish face.
“…Now that the interrupter is gone, shall we get back to the point?”
‘Ugh. Fine, go ahead.’
He made sure Hudson was completely gone and walked back to his desk.
He searched through the drawer and finally took out a stack of papers filled with writing — and a cigar.
Hoo—
Smoke rose like gray fog and briefly covered his face.
‘That’s… quite a strong smell.’
Another awkward silence followed.
He kept staring at her.
This time, his gaze just felt irritating for no reason.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The pace of Autumn’s fan got faster in the quiet room.
“…Hey.”
Still silent, he smoked and stared at her.
The bitter, twisted smell of the cigar made her feel like it reflected his displeasure.
That uncomfortable feeling spread through her.
She suddenly stood up from her seat.
She walked over to him and stood right next to where he sat.
“I’ll just ask directly. This is getting frustrating.”
Maybe she was being too forward again — but it was too late to take it back.
Autumn leaned in close, face-to-face with his flawless one.
“Do you… not like me?”
His eyes, which had been calm, gently lifted at her sudden question.
“…That’s not it.”
After a moment of silence, he gave a blunt but honest answer and looked away.
Autumn clutched her chest in frustration.
“If there’s something you don’t like about me, just say it!”
But his gaze, like he could see straight through her, made her cheeks burn again.
Her breathing became heavier.
“You keep staring like that… it’s not like you’re teasing me, right?”
“…Ah.”
Finally, Randel seemed to realize something.
He took the cigar out of his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“…Huh?”
Autumn looked dazed, and he carefully checked her reaction before continuing.
Then came an unexpected confession.
“I… speak a little slowly. Maybe you already noticed.”
“What?”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
There was no doubt — the smile he just showed was clearly a mocking one.
His apology didn’t feel sincere to Autumn at all.
“Just saying sorry—is that supposed to be enough?”
Autumn grumbled to herself.
“…I also, uh, looked forward to this moment… because it seemed fun.”
Randel rested his chin on his hand and continued speaking politely.
“As expected, you are just as I imagined.”
But his reactions were completely unpredictable, and Autumn was constantly caught off guard.
For a moment, she stared blankly at his sudden, strange smile, then quickly came to her senses.
“Phew. So… in a roundabout way, he’s saying I was like Rosalynne Kiss?”
Even though she had shown an embarrassing side of herself a moment ago…
She was no longer the naive country girl who had arrived in the capital just a week ago. She now stood confidently as Rosalynne Kiss.
“Get it together, Autumn.”
“I’m trying things lately that aren’t like me.”
Autumn nervously played with her sweaty fingers and slowly spoke from deep within her.
“And since I don’t even have a real husband, could you stop calling me ‘Mrs.’?”
“I see.”
With a small twitch of his lips, her slightly sulky voice echoed in the room.
“And you? What do you think? Is this a good idea?”
She gently held out her hand toward him.
He calmly leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand.
‘…!
The soft touch through her thin mesh glove felt unfamiliar.
Autumn pulled her waist straight like a tight gerbera stem behind his shoulder.
Randel looked up at her hand, then met her gaze.
“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be.”
“This is our first time speaking, right? I’m Diane Rosalynne. People just call me Rosalynne Kiss.”
For a moment, Randel gently tightened his grip on her hand.
“This is also my first time introducing myself. I’m Randel Wintour Austin.”
His sensitive touch brushed between her fingers as she tried to pull her hand away, and she froze again.
“But… it’s strange.”
“What is?”
Their eyes met in the air — her bright golden eyes and his calm hazel ones.
He slowly stood up.
He looked at her for a moment, then turned back to the mirror as if something didn’t sit well with him.
He answered in a relaxed, deep voice:
“…Hmm. I think I’ve seen you before.”
Afraid he might hear her pounding heart, Autumn slightly curled her body.
He adjusted the button on his sleeve that he had forgotten to fasten earlier and straightened his outfit.
“W-What the…?”
Autumn was completely confused.
Rosalynne had clearly said she had never even brushed past this man before.
“It’s okay. No one here knows I’m not the real Rosalynne Kiss.”
Randel’s silence continued as he turned his back to her.
His intense hazel gaze seemed to pin Autumn in place.
“…No, I’m sure of it.”
“Huh?”
Finally, he turned back to face her slowly.
It was a soft whisper, but it felt oddly heavy.
“I’m certain we’ve met before. Don’t you agree?”
“Ah, that’s—!”
“Think about it carefully.”
He stared deeply at her, almost obsessively.
Under that gaze, Autumn broke into a cold sweat.
“Well… there’s plenty of time.”
‘This is bad. Sister, what have you gotten me into…?’
Her head dropped, helpless.
She looked like a wilted flower that had lost its strength.
Autumn’s heart beat faster than ever, just as she was struggling to think of an excuse—
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
As soon as he gave permission, the door opened, and Hudson returned, right on time.
“Sir, here is the rose tea that Miss Kiss—oh, I mean Mrs. Betches—likes.”
“Perfect timing! Good job.”
Autumn’s head shot up like she’d seen a savior, and the sweet scent of tea filled the room.
“I’ll pass.”
“Ah… thank you.”
The warm steam from the tea made Autumn’s vision blur for a moment.
She quickly took a sip.
“Looks like things got pretty cold while I was away, huh?”
Hudson felt it was his mission to lighten the mood.
“Haha… Well, the director is known for being a man of few words…”
“Hudson, leave us.”
As always, his efforts were immediately shut down by his master.
Randel didn’t even glance at Hudson as he grumbled and left.
Autumn fanned herself quickly while watching Hudson walk out with a sheepish face.
“…Now that the interrupter is gone, shall we get back to the point?”
‘Ugh. Fine, go ahead.’
He made sure Hudson was completely gone and walked back to his desk.
He searched through the drawer and finally took out a stack of papers filled with writing — and a cigar.
Hoo—
Smoke rose like gray fog and briefly covered his face.
‘That’s… quite a strong smell.’
Another awkward silence followed.
He kept staring at her.
This time, his gaze just felt irritating for no reason.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The pace of Autumn’s fan got faster in the quiet room.
“…Hey.”
Still silent, he smoked and stared at her.
The bitter, twisted smell of the cigar made her feel like it reflected his displeasure.
That uncomfortable feeling spread through her.
She suddenly stood up from her seat.
She walked over to him and stood right next to where he sat.
“I’ll just ask directly. This is getting frustrating.”
Maybe she was being too forward again — but it was too late to take it back.
Autumn leaned in close, face-to-face with his flawless one.
“Do you… not like me?”
His eyes, which had been calm, gently lifted at her sudden question.
“…That’s not it.”
After a moment of silence, he gave a blunt but honest answer and looked away.
Autumn clutched her chest in frustration.
“If there’s something you don’t like about me, just say it!”
But his gaze, like he could see straight through her, made her cheeks burn again.
Her breathing became heavier.
“You keep staring like that… it’s not like you’re teasing me, right?”
“…Ah.”
Finally, Randel seemed to realize something.
He took the cigar out of his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“…Huh?”
Autumn looked dazed, and he carefully checked her reaction before continuing.
Then came an unexpected confession.
“I… speak a little slowly. Maybe you already noticed.”
“What?”
