Chapter 48: Chapter 48

“…excuse me?”

what? whose lover? the servant frowned and asked again, so antes, leaning on the window, introduced himself again.

“i said, the mansion owner’s lover. when i say that, you’ll know. go and inform her.”

“oh… she’s not here right now.”

“did she go out?”

“yes, she left about an hour ago.”

“oh?”

she’s out at this hour? although it wasn’t deep into the night, it was past six in the evening.

“where did she go?”

“she went to a party.”

“party? which party?”

“she said it’s a party at the imperial palace. someone came to pick her up, and they left together.”

a party at the imperial palace? and she’s accompanied?

at this time, the only party happening at the imperial palace would be the coming-of-age ceremony. why would luna go there?

feeling puzzled, antes furrowed his brows.

“is royer inside? call him, anyone will do.”

“are you talking about attorney royer?”

why was he asking so many questions? impatient, antes just nodded.

the servant hesitated for a moment and then went inside to fetch royer. after a short while.

“sir antes!?”

royer, looking as if he had seen a ghost, rushed out. the name ‘antes’ also shocked the servant who returned with him.

regardless of all that, an uninterested antes immediately asked about luna’s whereabouts.

“where did the young lady go? i heard she went to the imperial palace.”

“ah… well, she went to the coming-of-age ceremony with rosemary.”

“…”

there was a moment of silence. he had anticipated some issues when he heard luna had bought rosemary’s mansion, but he never expected them to go to a party together.

“…why the hell?”

that’s all he could say. why would she, who became an adult two years ago, go to a coming-of-age party? and with rosemary of all people?

royer also looked troubled. he had been stunned by this unexpected pairing for weeks now. but one thing was clear.

“rosemary seems to really like young lady luna.”

“what?”

“i think she fell for her at first sight.”

ever since luna caught the falling rosemary, her gaze had been quite unusual.

“what nonsense are you talking about?”

antes was irritated. royer understood. to anyone, it sounded absurd.

“it might sound like nonsense, but it’s true. rosemary likes luna so much that they’ve become close, and luna went to the coming-of-age ceremony together as an escort.”

to lend credibility to his statement, royer nudged the still shocked servant nearby, who nodded in agreement.

despite the explanation, antes remained silent with a displeased expression, then checked his attire. fortunately, thinking of meeting luna, he had changed into clean clothes before arriving in the capital. his hair was also decently groomed.

“how long since they left?”

“it’s been a while.”

“turn the carriage around.”

antes, opening the small door connecting to the driver’s seat, said so.

“where to?”

“to the imperial palace.”

suddenly announcing he’s going to the palace, royer, pale-faced, grabbed the open window of the carriage.

“you’re not saying you’re going to the coming-of-age ceremony, are you!?”

“hm, why not?”

of course! how could you not know what would happen if you went? royer wanted to retort, but he didn’t have the courage. instead, he pointed out the realistic problem.

“how do you intend to go without an invitation?”

“just jump over the fence.”

“how would you get over such a high wall?”

“well, i can break it down.”

you’re mad! if you do such a thing, who do you think will have to deal with the consequences? royer’s eyes became sharp.

to prevent royer from objecting any further, antes slapped his hand away from the window.

“change the gatekeeper. he blabs about the master’s personal life to a stranger whose identity he doesn’t even know.”

with a ‘tap tap,’ the sound of knocking on the carriage wall made the coachman turn the carriage in haste, while the servant was paralyzed in shock.

it wasn’t as if they were being chased, yet the rapidly disappearing carriage left royer touching his forehead, muttering, “this isn’t my concern.”

* * *

upon nearing the imperial palace, antes faced a line of carriages all attempting to enter the imperial castle. all were there to attend the coming-of-age party. due to thorough identity and invitation checks, a long line had formed.

realizing that marquis vincent’s carriage wasn’t in the lineup, he shifted his gaze to the palace walls.

‘looks like it could be broken down.’

however, if there were guards on the other side, the situation could get trickier. he could possibly deal with the guards as well, but he had no intention of causing such a scene.

antes then fetched a few documents and a box and instructed the coachman:

“don’t wait, charge straight to the entrance and tell them you’re from the antares merchant guild.”

“yes.”

had royer been in the carriage, he would have certainly protested. but those from the antares merchant guild never questioned his orders.

the coachman did as told and cut directly to the front of the entrance line.

an aristocratic young lady, who was just getting her invitation checked, looked annoyed at antes’s= carriage.

the guard, puzzled by this audacity, approached, and the coachman quickly spoke up:

“we’re from the antares merchant guild.”

“antares merchant guild?”

simultaneously, antes opened the carriage window and handed over the documents to the guard.

“i’ve come to present the crown prince, now of age, with a gift.”

at the mention of the ‘crown prince’, the guard couldn’t not check. the document was only about inspecting the high-purity gold from antares. there was no mention of a gift for the prince.

antes, irritated, retorted, “are you implying there’s an issue with the document?”

“no, but… there’s no mention of the crown prince…”

“the gift was verbally discussed. can you just let us in without making a fuss?”

why did he come on the day of the coming-of-age party when visitors were to be restricted?

seeing the guard’s hesitation, antes opened a box revealing its contents.

“i brought a golden wine glass for his highness to drink his first wine as an adult. step aside.”

it was a wine glass made of gold.

with the upper part made of glass and the middle crafted with gold, the beautiful glass was actually a gift for luna. the crown prince was of no significance to him.

it was a lie, but with the official document and a valuable gift, the guard couldn’t deny them entry.

“what on earth is going on!?”

an aristocratic young lady, who had waited for a long time for her turn, was enraged at the cut-in.

“understood. i’ll verify your identity.”

“antes vincent, the head of antares merchant guild.”

with that, antes showed his family’s brooch. the guards instantly turned cold.

“if it’s verified, let us in.”

no one tried to stop them. no, no one wanted to. it wasn’t the guards’ fault; if anyone was to blame, it was antes who chose to visit that day.

having successfully entered the palace, antes stepped out of the carriage and entered the interior.

“where’s the ballroom?”

“it’s on the third floor, the main hall.”

his appearance was neat and looked like a well-grown aristocrat, so the servant of the palace didn’t hesitate to tell him the location of the banquet hall.

as he checked the stairs and was about to ascend, someone called out to antes.

“hey! wait there for a moment!”

when he turned around, it was the young noblewoman who was earlier annoyed by being cut in line. she approached antes with a very angry expression.

“where do you get off cutting in line without waiting your turn!?”

behind the angrily fuming lady, a guarding knight was watching the situation with a tense expression, ready to act at any sign of trouble.

“i apologize. although i had urgent business, it was wrong of me.”

it was indeed a mistake. if there was a normal way to enter, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.

the lady, who didn’t expect him to apologize after cutting in line, hesitated for a moment and then said”

“why are you speaking to me informally?”

recalling his first meeting with luna at the mention of informal speech, antes let out a small laugh.

until then, he thought he’d never be able to use honorifics. but later, when he met a baron and needed to make a good impression, it came out naturally. since then, he’d used it without hesitation when necessary.

however, now wasn’t the time.

“it’s a habit. i apologize for that too.”

wishing to wrap things up quickly as they were wasting time, antes smiled brightly.

using his handsome looks usually resolved situations swiftly. it was simpler and better than getting angry and physical.

if he had always used his looks well since childhood, it would have been beneficial. of course, it didn’t always work on everyone.

“…!”

sure enough, the young lady’s face turned red in a flash, her surprise evident.

taking advantage of her distraction, antes quickly ascended the stairs. the lady, having momentarily forgotten her dignity, shouted after him.

“hey, wait! you should at least tell me your name! i am, i am called flory flora!”

whether he heard her or not, she remembered his face so it would be alright.

flora, with her cheeks flushed, slowly followed antes up the stairs, tracing the path of the now-vanished figure.