10. Consideration That Is Not So Kind
He leisurely cast his gaze out the left window while biting down on a cigarette he took from its case. Between the tall and short hotels, the Leopold Hotel, still in its final stages of construction, came into view.
Is it opening soon?
Towering proudly toward the sky, it looked exactly like Johan Leopold—utterly arrogant.
Edgar let out a short laugh. Just as he was about to flip open his lighter, the door, which had slammed shut without courtesy before, now cracked open hesitantly. Edgar turned around.
The woman, as if trying to make up for her earlier slip, wore a neatly buttoned blouse and a flared skirt, making her look like a prim lady.
“Please forget my rudeness earlier. I was expecting a guest.”
Her desperate tone, as if trying to eliminate any potential misunderstanding, was rather amusing. By now, weren’t they already at the point of having seen almost everything about each other?
“A special guest, I assume?”
Edgar asked calmly, a faint smile on his face.
“She’s a lady I met here.”
Emphasizing the word “lady,” the woman’s earlobes flushed red as she glared at him.
“What brings you here?”
She didn’t seem to intend to let Edgar inside. She stood firmly in the small crack of the door, as if she had been tasked with guarding it.
“Let’s talk inside.”
With a gentle smile, Edgar slid the polished tip of his black shoe into the crack of the door. The tip of his shoe touched the woman’s slipper. She flinched and stepped back in shock.
Just from this much.
Where had the bold woman from earlier disappeared to? Edgar suppressed a laugh as he lifted his gaze from her small feet, meeting the sharp, wary blue eyes.
“Please. Speak here.”
Olivia forced herself to meet his eyes again, speaking firmly. Even so, she was nervous, worried that someone might pass by and witness this ridiculous situation. Especially that group of high-society ladies.
Edgar put on a troubled expression.
“It’s regarding internal hotel matters.”
Lowering his voice as if it were an important issue made the woman hesitate.
Her bright blue eyes, like clear marbles, became serious as if trying to discern the truth of his obvious words. Her eyelashes slowly fell and rose a few times before she finally opened her mouth.
“If that’s the case, could you come back later? Right now, my maid is—”
Olivia, who was politely trying to explain, was startled when the ding! of the arriving elevator echoed down the hall.
Familiar voices carried down the long corridor. It was Elaine’s friends.
“…P-Please, come in.”
Panicking, Olivia grabbed Edgar’s arm and pulled him inside without thinking.
She wasn’t even aware of what she was doing. The only thought in her mind was the terrible rumors those women would spread if they witnessed this scene.
Edgar, whose wrist was grabbed, stifled a laugh. She had just been building an unbreachable wall moments ago.
“Are you really sure about this?”
Now that it had come to this, he felt unwilling to be dragged in so easily. He braced his legs to resist.
A scandal with the woman who had been Johan’s wife. As Edgar’s lips curled mischievously, the chatter of the women drew closer.
“Yes. It’s fine.”
The blue eyes, tense and confused, were quite a sight.
“Hurry.”
Frowning lightly, she pulled harder on his wrist, but her strength was far from enough to move Edgar. At this point, he let himself be dragged in as if he had no choice.
Bang! The door closed.
Just in time, his heart even raced a little. The noise passed by the room and faded.
Still holding the doorknob, Olivia leaned her forehead against the firmly closed door, letting out a sigh of relief.
Once she had calmed herself, Olivia slowly turned around. The man who had briefly disappeared from her awareness was standing before her.
In a room with no maid. Just the two of them.
Suddenly, it felt as if there wasn’t enough air.
It wasn’t as if she was planning to do anything shameful, yet the man’s presence made it feel as if they had met secretly for something illicit.
She forced herself to stay alert, as the tension and discomfort that accompanied being alone with a strange man enveloped her.
Olivia carefully walked behind the sofa and placed her hand on the backrest.
As if the sofa would protect her. Or as if she would pick it up and throw it if things turned dangerous.
Edgar found this amusing yet absurd. How was this woman a seductress? It made him question the photo of her entwined with Johan on the lounge sofa at the banquet hall.
“Please, go ahead.”
There was no offer for him to sit. Well, considering how she was acting, it made sense.
“I heard you sent our staff back. Did Lady Blanchet perhaps find something offensive—”
“No. If anything, I should apologize for that. I’m grateful for the kindness of the Lancelot Hotel, but I’m fine as I am. It’s enough.”
It was the expected, standard thank-you response.
“It seems the staff member was quite shocked. She reportedly shed tears in front of the general manager.”
That was a lie.
“What?”
But the woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
She bit her lip, then released it before speaking again.
“She cried?”
Her face was far more serious than when she had been wary of him. Edgar found it amusing but couldn’t laugh out loud.
“She’s a veteran who has worked here for thirty years. A woman who takes great pride in her job of providing service. She’s having trouble collecting herself after experiencing something like this for the first time.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“There’s no clearer feedback than a customer’s rejection.”
“I wasn’t rejecting her.”
The woman’s face was filled with awkward guilt.
“She says she wants to resign. She feels she can’t face her juniors anymore. For our hotel, losing such a capable employee would be a significant loss.”
“Resign?”
The woman asked again, as if it was something she had never considered. If pressed further, she would surely change her mind.
Looking down at her, Edgar recalled Gerald’s words:
“There was nothing unusual. However, the bottom of her suitcase had a double lining, and we couldn’t check inside it. We didn’t have the time.”
What could be inside?
Could it be confidential documents from Leopold that he hadn’t expected?
Edgar was not the type to suppress his curiosity. Moreover, to get what he wanted, he intended to disguise his less-than-kind intentions as “consideration” by placing a maid to watch her. Who knew planting a spy would be harder here than with competing companies?
“She was perfect.”
“Is that so? Then why—”
Edgar tilted his head slightly, feigning a serious look.
“I’m just uncomfortable with strangers coming in and out. So if someone has to leave this hotel over this matter, I’ll be the one to go.”
Hiding behind the back of the sofa, the woman delivered her clear conclusion. Edgar felt like a fool in the face of her insight.
By keeping quiet and accepting the service, she was gentlemanly threatening him that an innocent maid might lose her job, stirring her own guilt.
Yet here he was, the one being threatened instead.
“That doesn’t seem like a wise solution. A maid who drives out guests? That would be the worst outcome.”
Despite her calm demeanor, the blue eyes were stormy with inner conflict.
“What do you think would happen if that became known?”
Edgar looked down at her with interest.
Beneath her fair, round forehead and neatly shaped brows, her long dark brown lashes blinked slowly.
Each flutter of her lashes seemed to thicken the scent of roses in the air.
“Would there be anywhere willing to take her in?”
Edgar relied on the woman’s kindness. Olivia Blanchet was warm and gentle, the type to sleep in the same bed with a maid.
“…Please let me meet with her. I want to clear up the misunderstanding.”
After a long silence, the woman spoke calmly. The corners of Edgar’s lips lifted slightly.
“You’re truly kind, Lady Blanchet. We are also honored to have you staying at our hotel.”
With a polite smile, Edgar bowed, stood up, and extended his hand.
The woman, visibly hesitant, slowly placed her hand in his. Seizing the moment, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand. The movement was swift and clean.
The touch against the back of her hand was soft and cool.
Suddenly, Olivia’s memories were stirred.
The moment she first met her husband.
At some point, Olivia’s memories would unexpectedly invade Jian’s mind, even at unintentional moments.
Some memories were vivid, while others were hazy.
The moment she fell in love with Johan Leopold at first sight was particularly clear, as if it happened yesterday.
Olivia Blanchet made her social debut at the age of eighteen.
Once a powerful family in Rondos politics, the Blanchet family fell into ruin due to Countess Elena Blanchet’s affair scandal.
After a series of business failures, the family was left with nothing but its shell, with the only remaining heir being Elena’s illegitimate granddaughter, born in disgrace.
Olivia Blanchet. Thus, she was thrown into the marriage market.
When she was about to be caught in a scandal with the crown prince due to the Count’s schemes, her savior appeared—Johan Leopold.
Johan proposed, and when his lips touched the back of her hand, her heart pounded.
Olivia firmly believed it was love. It had to be, for without it, she would have had no reason to live.
So, 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.’
That clear and simple conclusion made her uncomfortable.
Was it because his gray eyes reminded her of Johan? Though the two looked different overall, with only small similarities, why did it feel like this?
“Oh, by the way, I happened to see you playing tennis.”
As he turned to leave, the man suddenly turned back, as if remembering something, pulling Olivia out of her thoughts.
“You seemed to play for quite a while.”
“Not that long. Just occasionally.”
Olivia glanced toward the door, hoping he would leave now. She wished Anne would return soon.
“Shall we play a game sometime?”
“I’m not that skilled.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Olivia firmly declined.
“You seemed pretty good.”
“I’m not skilled enough to play against you.”
“I see. That’s a shame.”
If the conversation dragged on any further, she was prepared to politely ask him to leave. Just then, fortunately, the door opened. It was Anne.
