After feeding the snow lion until his belly looked ready to burst, I slipped out toward the garden to catch some fresh air.
I’d been running around since dawn, shouting orders, fixing mistakes, and double-checking every detail for the birthday banquet. Even I deserved a moment of rest—or at least to breathe without someone tugging at my sleeve.
But the moment I stepped into the garden, I froze.
A figure strolled leisurely along the gravel path, parasol in hand. Pale pink silk, matching the soft shade of her hair, framed her with elegance.
Amelia.
Of course.
"It’s still early," I said as I walked over, eyebrows raised. "The official invitation time hasn’t even arrived. Why are you here so soon?"
Her lips curved. "Is it strange to come early to see one’s fiancé?"
"...What?"
The word slipped out before I could stop it. I gave her a lukewarm look, the kind that said don’t mess with me, but she only pressed her lips together, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners.
Then, with the smallest flick of her lips—silent words I caught thanks to my habit of reading them—
– Alice.
My gaze followed her signal.
And there she was.
Alice.
Beyond the hedges, standing where the roses bloomed brightest. Silver hair glimmering in the sun as she leaned down, gloved hands brushing delicately over the petals.
"...She’s doing it herself?" I murmured without meaning to. Alice tending flowers like some common gardener—that wasn’t something you saw every day. Normally, such tasks were handled by specialists.
It was... unexpected.
"You see?" Amelia teased lightly, voice sweet but her eyes sharp. "Worth coming early, isn’t it?"
I kept my face neutral. "Countess Frost, arriving so early just for me... I hardly know what to do with myself."
She laughed softly. "Then you don’t mind. Good. I was worried I’d be unwelcome."
I shook my head faintly, hiding a sigh. Amelia and I were both skilled liars, slipping into conversation like slipping into a mask. No awkwardness, no fumbling—yet neither of us looked at each other.
Both of us were watching the same girl.
Alice.
She bent slightly toward a blooming rose, closing her eyes as she inhaled its fragrance. The sunlight caught her pale lashes, softened the steel of her usual expression, and for just a moment, she looked nothing like the calculating duchess everyone knew.
She looked... beautiful.
"...Ah, how beautiful," Amelia murmured beside me. Her voice carried enough sincerity that I couldn’t tell if she was playing a game or speaking from the heart. "Indeed, Alice."
I forced a chuckle. "Haha. The roses of the west are as red as rubies."
My words were meant to nudge her back into subtlety, to warn her not to say Alice’s name so recklessly. But truthfully... I couldn’t deny it either.
Alice Draken, standing there with her eyes closed, framed by roses—it was a sight sharp enough to pierce straight through all my practiced indifference.
—Thud.
A sharp pressure nudged my side. I glanced down to see Amelia’s elbow digging into me. Subtle, but enough to pull me back to the present.
By then, Alice had already turned her head our way, her pale eyes gleaming faintly.
"Oh, Amelia," she said, her tone as light as if she were discussing the weather. "It seems your fiancé is a little... distracted."
"...Haha."
Amelia’s laugh was awkward, stilted, the kind you give when you’re cornered and can’t quite find the right words. I couldn’t blame her—when Alice decided to focus on you, there wasn’t much you could do but endure.
And me? I failed to deflect, failed to cut the conversation off at the root. My silence only gave Alice more room to press.
With a faint smile tugging at her lips, she left the flowers behind and began walking toward us, the air shifting subtly with her approach.
"I would also warmly welcome Julius," she said, her voice dripping with casual amusement, though her eyes watched me far too closely.
"Alice, really—stop with the bad jokes," Amelia blurted, her words tumbling out before she could stop herself. "What about your engagement to the crown prince?"
Alice tilted her head, lips curving in mock thought. "Hmm. As I thought, you’re no fun to tease. If it were Julius, he would’ve retorted by now—in a fuss, no less."
...She wasn’t wrong.
The usual me would’ve bristled, voice rising as I barked something along the lines of: Would you only be satisfied if you sent me straight to the gallows, my lady?
It would’ve been reckless, sharp, but at least it would’ve steered her away from that faint, dangerous amusement that always lingered in her eyes when she prodded me.
Instead, this time, I stayed quiet. Which, judging by her expression, seemed to amuse her even more.
Alice gaze—cool, assessing, faintly amused—slid from Amelia to me and lingered.
"You’re awfully quiet today, Julius."
My jaw tightened despite myself. "I’ve been working since dawn, my lady. Forgive me if I’m not at my sharpest for your games."
Her lips curved, soft and dangerous. "Ah, but your sharpness is the only reason I keep you around. Don’t tell me you’re getting dull?"
"...If I am, it’s because you grind me down faster than any whetstone," I muttered under my breath.
The words slipped before I could stop them. Amelia stifled a cough—half laughter, half alarm—but Alice only smiled wider, her eyes glittering like ice catching the sun.
"There it is," she said softly. "The fuss I was waiting for."
I cursed inwardly. Walked straight into that one.
Amelia tried to smooth it over, stepping forward with a sweet laugh. "Alice, really. If you tease him too much, he’ll collapse before the banquet even begins. And then who will keep your servants in line?"
"Hmm." Alice tilted her head as though in consideration, but her eyes never left me. "True. A half-dead Julius would be useless. I suppose I’ll spare him—for today."
Spare me. Like I was some criminal dangling on a rope.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself into the mask again. "You have my gratitude, my lady. I’ll make sure to repay your... mercy."
"See that you do."
The way she said it made the air prickle with double meaning, and I wasn’t entirely sure if she was jesting or warning me. Probably both. With Alice, it was always both.
Alice smiled slyly and turned her back. "Then, I shall step back and not be a disturbance. Have a good time, both of you."
It was a storm-like entrance and exit.