~Chapter 2~
“Th-that is…”
Her trembling purple eyes wavered in confusion, then she seemed to make up her mind and looked straight at him.
“I just wanted you to notice me… even once. I’ve grown into a woman, but you still treat me like a younger sister…”
She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears.
“So… I heard that if you drink it, you immediately fall for the person… they said it was a proven love potion… so I was tempted…”
Dominic had already suspected it, but hearing it directly made his head throb.
It was clearly not a love potion—but a fake drug with terrible side effects.
“This is all your fault! Do you know how desperate I was to do something like that?!”
She cried out loudly.
Compared to the Crown Prince, she seemed even harder to deal with.
Dominic felt confused about how he had ended up in such a terrible situation.
All he had done was attend a party after being invited by the count and his wife.
“First, calm down and return home, Sylvia.”
He spoke while walking slowly toward the window to clear his head.
Sylvia stood up and pleaded.
“Even the Duchess Dowager held my hand and said she would like a daughter-in-law like me!”
“….”
“I even refused becoming the Crown Princess because I want only you! How long will you ignore my feelings?!”
Dominic finally spoke firmly.
“Sylvia. I’ve told you many times already. I don’t feel that way about you.”
Sylvia stepped closer and gently held his arm.
“Just once… please see me as a woman. I’ll do my best to win your heart.”
“If you’re done, it would be best for you to leave.”
At his cold dismissal, she turned away with a sorrowful expression.
Even as she got into her carriage, she looked up at the window where he stood, her determination still unbroken.
After Sylvia left, Dominic walked around his office with a serious expression.
As if reaching a decision, he quickly pulled the bell cord.
Jeffrey appeared immediately, as if waiting outside.
“Call Higgins right now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After he left, Dominic opened the windows wide and placed his hands on his waist.
Unlike his troubled mind, the fountain in the garden was spraying water refreshingly into the air.
The grand Linderto mansion was peaceful, but the young duke was anything but.
“Pardon? You want me to find who?”
Higgins looked confused.
He thought the duke had called him urgently for business matters.
But now, he was being asked to find a woman.
“A woman who attended the party yesterday. Small enough to fit perfectly in my arms…”
The duke stared into the air, touching his chin as he tried to remember.
“Her hair was reddish-brown… no, pomegranate red… anyway, something red. Her skin was pale… her eyes were light green. She wore a silver-gray dress… or maybe it looked blue under the moonlight.”
Fragments of memories flowed from his lips like pieces of a puzzle.
“Her eyes were red from crying… and she smelled faintly like flowers. Her lips were sweet and moist like fruit…”
Higgins’ eyes widened at the unexpectedly detailed description.
“Her voice was clear like a crystal bead… and her breathing when she was excited…”
Ahem.
Higgins coughed awkwardly.
Dominic lifted his head, his mind finally returning from that heated night in the greenhouse to the cold office.
He glanced at Higgins coldly and continued.
“Judging by her outdated dress, she must be from a poor family. Where do people even buy something like that?”
Even a minor noble wouldn’t wear such a dress to a count’s party.
“Her eyes were red… she must have been crying.”
Higgins, who had been silently listening, now looked puzzled.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
“Could she be a maid?”
Dominic froze for a moment.
‘A maid…?’
He thought back, then slowly shook his head.
“No. Even though she was simple, she had elegance. She didn’t feel like a maid.”
Higgins rolled his eyes, then carefully asked,
“Then… where did you meet this young lady?”
“The greenhouse.”
“Pardon?”
“If I saw her there, then we should look for women who weren’t in the main hall at that time.”
Higgins nodded.
“So, I should find a young lady who was with you under the moonlight in the greenhouse that night. Simple yet elegant… with tearful eyes.”
Dominic nodded—then suddenly glanced at him sharply.
Higgins was smiling strangely, as if imagining something.
“Understood. I will find this mysterious lady immediately.”
He quickly bowed and left the room.
Left alone, Dominic fell into deep thought.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
‘Why was she alone in the greenhouse, crying at that hour?’
What if she had been arguing with a lover?
Or maybe she ran there herself?
If that were the case… she was a ridiculous woman.
She had kissed him first—and never resisted as things deepened.
That thought suddenly irritated him.
Many women had approached him like that before.
If she was the same, it was laughable.
“And I thought she had elegance…”
Now everything about last night seemed suspicious.
Maybe she had been hiding in the greenhouse, waiting for him.
Seeing him drunk, she might have taken the opportunity.
Perhaps she even planned it carefully to create a scandal.
“I must find her before any rumors spread.”
His expression turned cold.
A slightly faded sky-blue mansion stood surrounded by rose vines.
In the yard, a large tree stood tall, while bed sheets fluttered over the green grass.
“Miss, why are you doing this? I’ll do it.”
A maid tried to take the sheet from Elin, but she held it tighter.
“Marie, please… staying inside is more painful.”
As Elin stared into the distance, Marie looked at her with pity.
“If you really wish…”
“Yes. Let’s shake it together.”
Elin finally smiled.
That day, after she ran away from the baron at the party, her father and stepmother had been furious.
“Because of you, our family has been disgraced!”
“A baron was already too good for you! And you dared to run away?!”
Elin sighed, remembering it.
“Still… starving you for two days is too much…”
Marie covered her mouth.
“I’m sorry, miss.”
Elin gave a bitter smile.
“It’s true. Sometimes I wonder if I was even born into this family.”
They walked into the garden together.
Just as they were about to shake the sheet—
“Oh my, when did we get another maid? You look exactly like one.”
Elin turned.
It was her stepsister, Janice.
Dressed elegantly, she looked like a noble lady.
Beside her stood her husband, Royce.
“Elin, it’s been a while. When did you return?”
Before he could say more—
“Dear.”
Janice glared, and he fell silent.
“I came back a few days ago. Aunt is doing well.”
But Janice barely listened.
“It’s still so hot here. We just came back from my in-laws’ villa.”
She clung to Royce’s arm proudly.
He looked uncomfortable.
Before marriage, he used to follow Elin around.
He once said she was the only woman he would marry.
So when he married her stepsister, Elin felt bitter.
“I heard there was a party? The Duke and Crown Prince attended, right?”
At the mention of the duke, Elin flinched.
“You didn’t go dressed like that, did you? How embarrassing.”
Laughing, Janice went inside.
Marie glanced at Elin.
But Elin seemed lost in thought.
“Miss…?”
Her mind was filled with that night.
‘He was very drunk… he probably doesn’t remember me.’
“I hope he completely forgot that night…”
What happened in the greenhouse…
“Ah… what do I do…”
She shut her eyes tightly as the memories returned.
She had been the one to kiss him first.
“I actually took advantage of someone who was that drunk… I must be crazy…”
Even though he didn’t resist…
That night was…
Too intense to even think about.
She remembered his strong arms, his warm chest—
The cool touch of his lips on her neck—
Her back straightened.
The thrilling sensation returned, and her face turned red.
She buried her face in her hands.
