Chapter 3

***

Since the relationship was made in Hiddenca, Vivian had no doubt that he was a Hiddenca citizen. So, Vivian thought of using people to look for him but after a while she quit searching for him. Meeting him in person was somehow a little scary.

In my dream, I was naked and passionately mingled, but in reality I couldn’t imagine it. I was able to continue my relationship with a strange man for three years because it was only a ‘dream’.

If it were real, it was, well.

“What are you thinking, lady?”

“Huh? Oh, just…..”

As Vivian’s answer became blurred, Hamel tilted her head. Vivian said like a player, fearing that she would dig further.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been back home.”

Vivian’s view now captured the scenery beyond the window.

There were probably many things waiting for her in her home country, where she was returning after 4 years. It was because there were many things that were pushed back to study abroad.

‘If I go back to Mosbana….. Wouldn’t that man appear in my dreams?’

The sudden question quickly disappeared along with the fast-moving landscape. The sound of the carriage’s wheels passed quickly over the thought.

***

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

Vivian got off a huge ship and stretched all over. It was hard sitting on a stuffy bed in a small room for three days. When I got off the ship, the wind rushing into my nostrils was refreshing. Vivian was enjoying the weather.

“Lady, are you here?”

Someone approached her and Hamel. Vivian grinned at the man she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was the butler that belonged to the Lecktor family who had good wrinkles, as if to show his age.

“Did you come to pick me up, butler?”

“Yes, the Master originally wanted to come, but I had to come because of an urgent schedule.”

His words reminded Vivian of her parents who must have been impatient to get here. They cared and loved Vivian completely because she was the only precious daughter.

Returning from the port to the mansion was easy enough to eat cold porridge compared to the journey from Hiddenca to Mosbana. Vivian couldn’t help admiring the Count’s house for the first time in a while. A sense of reality, which had not been felt only at the port, seemed to flock like a sudden wind.

“Vivian.”

As soon as she entered the gate, someone approached her. The soft voice, along with the sound of the shoes belonged to her mother, the Countess.

“Mother!”

Vivian hugged her approaching mother tightly. The countess immediately grabbed Vivian’s shoulder in her arms and looked closely at her only daughter’s face.

“Oh, my god. Your face is so damaged. You must have had a hard time coming this far. Did you sleep well? Have you eaten?”

“I managed to sleep, but I haven’t had a meal yet.”

Vivian grabbed her stomach and smiled. The countess immediately led her daughter to the dining room in the mansion. Dozens of dishes that would have been for banquets were occupying the table for Vivian from the beginning.

“Your father will be back soon.”

“Did you say that he had a meeting?”

“He said he would finish it soon.”

It was just as the countess had said. While the mother and daughter chatted for a while, the handmaiden approached and announced the return of the count. Not long after, Count Lecter appeared in the dining room.

After greeting her father as affectionately as she did with her mother, Vivian started eating just then. The couple was busy asking questions they were curious about to Vivian, that they didn’t eat properly. Vivian smiled and continued the conversation with the couple without showing any dislike.

“I was going to meet you myself, but something urgent happened. If it wasn’t for His Majesty’s call, I would have gone to pick you up right away.”

Count Lector, who was holding the knife, said softly. There was a meeting, and it must have been a visit to the Imperial Palace.

“Your Majesty?”

Vivian opened her eyes, perhaps unexpectedly. The count put down his knife as if it had happened to be a good thing, and took the chance to speak. 

“Vivian, they said there will be a banquet in the Imperial Palace soon.”

“If it’s a banquet…..”

“And His Majesty said he would give you a medal that day.”

Vivian flinched at the word of a medal. Originally, it was a condition for her to go to Hiddenca, but she had completely forgotten about it due to her busy life.

Vivian rolled her eyes with an anxious face.

“Can I do it? I haven’t even made my social debut yet….”

Originally, it was a social debut that should have taken place at the official age of majority of 18, but Vivian’s debut was delayed due to studying abroad. In other words, for Vivian, this banquet was her first official socialite debut and a place to receive an honorable medal.

“You will do well.”

Vivian could not shake her anxiety despite the affection of her parents who constantly comforted her.

**********

“Hamel…”

Vivian clasped her hands as if trying to calm her trembling heart and called for hamel.

“Yes, my lady.”

Hamel didn’t have time to look at Vivian’s complexion as she was tidying up her hair.

“What if I mess up today?”

Vivian asked with a trembling voice.

“Well…. Perhaps the master and the mistress will be in trouble, right?!”

“It has never been the first time that your honesty has not been so helpful.”

Vivian sighed at Hamel, who was pouring cold water on her still frozen mind. Hamel, who had neatly combed Vivian’s silver hair, smiled at her teasing.

“You will be fine. You are a really strong person, Miss.”

Hamel finished speaking and reached out to her. Vivvian took her hand and slowly got up. The red dress that wrapped her body was seriously alluring. Vivian couldn’t control her body because the dress that exposed her neck and shoulders was awkward. It was the result of wearing training uniforms more often than dresses when she was studying abroad.

“Above all, Miss.”

Suddenly, Hamel called Vivian in a low voice.

“Huh?”

Vivian rolled her eyes.

“You have to watch out for men.”

Hamel whispered quietly with a very serious voice.

Vivian was originally pretty, but it was now at a level where she could shine brightly. It was obvious that she had not seen any social scenes since she had just appeared. So, many people would have pure, and also impure intentions.

“…..Huh?!”

Vivian didn’t understand at once, so she asked, but she had an urge to leave.

************************

“Welcome, Vivian Lector.”

The servant, who was checking the invitation, greeted her kindly. Vivian’s eyes widened as soon as she stepped into the banquet hall with an anxious heart.

She had only heard of the banquet so, today was the first time I actually walked in. It used to be a splendid imperial palace where everything was made of gold, but today it has increased to that extent. There were so many things to see even if she turned around and looked around, it was not enough to say that it was truly magnificent.

A large chandelier adorned the center of the banquet hall with radial-shaped lanterns running in four different directions. A table set up at a certain distance away from the window and refreshments served on it for smooth exchange of guests. Gold embroidery was carefully embroidered on the arched window frame and the red curtain that covered it. Even looking back for a moment, it was a perfect space where nothing was done in vain.

The banquet hall was already full of crowds, so there was no room to step in. Holding onto the uncomfortable hem of the dress, Vivian managed to move forward.

“Oh, Vivian!”

Vivian’s father, Count Lecktor, ran from a distance, recognizing his approaching daughter. Vivian felt a little breathless when she saw her father.

“I was so distracted.”

I meant it, not empty words. If I kept moving, I would be swept away by the crowds. Count Lecktor chuckled as Vivian scratched her cheek and whispered.

“Because it’s your first time, you’ll get used to it over time.”

Vivian turned her eyes to wonder if it would be the case. At that moment, Vivian made eye contact with a man who was looking at her. As she turned her head with embarrassment, she made eye contact with another man this time.

Now looking carefully, there were countless glances around her.

“You look very beautiful today.”

Count Lecktor tilted his upper body and praised her. Vivian smiled and thanked him. Vivian’s eyes, fiddling with her hair, saw a red carpet across the top seat.

“Will it be okay if I go out in front of there after a while and kneel down?”

Vivian grabbed the hem of her father’s tailcoat and asked. When the banquet begins in earnest and members of the imperial family appear, it will probably become even more insane than it is now. So the precautions had to be checked now.

Count Lecktor said yes with a nice smile.

‘I hope I don’t make a mistake.’

It was her first social debut and at the same time she was being awarded a knight’s medal. In addition, Vivian was able to live quite well in Hiddenca, followed by the support of the Mosbana Imperial 

family.

‘I will personally award her a knighthood when she comes back from studying abroad.’

The emperor said so and strongly encouraged Vivian to study abroad. Count Lecter or Vivian, it was easy to see that there was something the Emperor wanted from one of them.

A knighthood could only be awarded if he or she had a merit or achievement that the imperial people could look up to. In other words, Vivian, who was just a young bird, was too good to receive it without any reputation. I couldn’t show a loophole by making a clumsy mistake in such a place.

During Vivian’s stay in Hiddenca, Count Lector tried to find out what the emperor wanted, but he failed.

I wondered if it was to recognize the rarity of the empire’s only spiritist’s existence, but that is why the emperor’s plan is too calculating. In other words, he was not a person who would spend money without any purpose.

Or was it to raise the level of Vivian’s spirit and marry the imperial family to continue the bloodline, but the emperor’s descendants were only women. There was no prince to marry Vivian.

While Vivian was lost in thought to guess his intentions, the lights in the banquet hall went out one by one.

Soon, the door on the stairs opened with the sound of magnificent music, revealing the imperial family. The three ladies, led by the emperor who wielded the power of independence, showed their faces one by one.

All nobles bowed their heads with their hands on their chests. The emperor, who stepped down the stairs, gladly accepted their approach and headed for the top seat. The emperor, who stepped on the red carpet, crossed the golden staircase and reached the throne, then he swung his hand for people to sit down.

The band, which had stopped for a while, resumed the music, and the nobles gathered and began to chat.

Vivian opened her eyes as she watched the process flow like water.

“Oh, Father.”

Vivian’s hand came up aimlessly and grabbed Count Lecktor’s clothes. Count Lecktor turned his head, but his eyes did not meet Vivian.

“Who is the one behind His Majesty…?”

Vivian’s eyes stopped at the back of the emperor, and on the dark side, it was a man who stood reliable as if he were defending the emperor.

I couldn’t help but wonder who he was.

Vivian blinked again and again, wondering if her eyes were wrong. However, the man did not disappear as it was not a fantasy or a dream.

It’s him.

The one in her dreams.