Chapter 34 of the side story. Esteban fell in love at first sight
2022.12.10.
Inside the rattling wagon. Cyana pulled back the curtains covering the carriage window to relieve her frustration. The scenery of the capital passed by slowly.
‘It’s been a few years….’
Actually, the period I spent in the capital wasn’t that long, but why does it feel like I’m back in a nostalgic place? Even though he has lived most of his life in the manor.
Siana couldn’t take her eyes off the capital city view outside the window.
The scenery of the capital, which has been up for a long time, seems to have not changed, but it has changed a lot.
In line with the upcoming birthday of the emperor, the streets were decorated with splendor.
Fashionable clothes of passers-by had already changed as much as the fashion-conscious capital city, and there were shops that did not exist, and the shops I used to frequent often disappeared.
Even the streets change easily, but how quickly can people change?
‘Lady Donovan became Her Majesty the Empress.’
I was surprised to see an article about that fact. I thought it was only a distance away, but before I knew it, Pacifica had become a distant existence.
Somehow, he lost contact with Pacifica, but it wasn’t Cyana’s intention.
At first, they exchanged letters once, and after that, a landslide occurred on the way from the Gardenia estate to the capital, and the letter she sent was lost.
By the time the road was restored, he suddenly felt ill and was convalesced.
‘It’s fortunate that I’m in good health, but Lady Donovan is the Empress…’
Even if she tried to think of something else, all of her thoughts eventually ended up in Pasifika.
When Cyana let out a deep sigh with a distraught face, the Marquis of Gardenia, who was sitting across from her, sighed as well.
“It’s no use protesting so openly, baby.”
Sianna looked at her father with a sullen face. It seems that he misunderstood my attitude, but he had no intention of clearing up his father’s misunderstanding.
Anyway, it’s true that he’s sulking at his father right now.
“I am well, father. My doctor said so too.”
“Didn’t you say no?”
“father.”
“How did you meet Her Majesty the Empress? Everything intimate is a thing of the past. Don’t think about getting involved in useless things and keep quiet. I am saying this for you, Shiana.”
The Marquis of Gardenia was against Cyana meeting Pacifica. Since she had already become an empress, it meant that she should keep her distance.
“The streets are noisy because of the festival. So stay calm in the mansion.”
The Marquis of Gardenia Gireco ordered her daughter to stay away.
Just as Siana was stubborn, her biological father, the Marquis of Gardenia, also did not break her will.
the father to the daughter.
Seeing the stubborn mouth, Shiana nodded with a sullen face.
“Yes, got it.”
It was only then that the Marquis of Gardenia’s expression relaxed when her daughter replied that she would stay at the mansion.
However, Siana’s intentions were different.
I could understand how worried she was about her only daughter, but I still thought it was too much.
‘This is self-righteousness in the name of protection.’
As her rebellion against her father grew, Shiana, who grew bigger, couldn’t stand still.
However, the Marquis of Gardenia had no idea.
What kind of plan is Siana with an angelic face plotting?
***
In order to successfully execute the objective, it is most important to first catch the opponent off guard.
Ciana kept that truth in mind and started the operation.
After spending a few days quietly in the mansion, the Marquis of Gardenia, who had been looking at her suspiciously, softened.
‘I thought I would send a letter to the empress, but there’s no sign of that.’
The Marquis of Gardenia, relieved, finished getting ready to go out.
“Siana. Dad, don’t go to Hwangseong for a while.”
“yes. Please be careful.”
“okay. Would you like to buy me some dessert on the way?”
“Um…then can you buy me a set of fruit tarts from Roland Bakery on Loford Street?”
“Lofords Street?”
A troubled look appeared on the face of the Marquis of Gardenia. It was also because Loford Street was the exact opposite of the Gardenia Capital Mansion.
It was obvious that it would take up quite a bit of time to stop by and come back.
It was a very unfortunate thing.
“I really want to eat today. it can not…?”
As Siana’s face turned extremely sullen, the Marquis of Gardenia hurriedly shook her head.
“I can’t. Of course not. Dad will buy it soon, so wait for it. huh?”
“yes!”
When a bright smile bloomed on Sianna’s face, the Marquis of Gardenia naturally smiled.
‘Because I really love whoever’s daughter she is.’
The Marquis of Gardenia hugged her daughter tightly once. Siana also smiled broadly and hugged her father.
‘good. It will take quite a while to stop and come back to Loford Street, right?’
The Marquis, not knowing what her daughter was up to, left the mansion like that.
As soon as the Marquis left, Ciana returned to her bedroom. She recalled the conversation the maids had with each other a few days ago.
“Did you hear that? That Her Majesty the Empress is staying in the Town House?”
“Why are you not in the imperial castle?”
“Right now, rumors of a feud with His Majesty are causing a stir.”
“Oh my, what’s going on? You got married so loudly!”
“The rumor that His Majesty the Emperor treats Her Majesty the Empress must have been true.”
“Anyway, it’s been a while since His Highness gave birth, and it’s too much.”
After overhearing their conversation, Sianna’s expression darkened.
‘Lady Donovan isn’t in the imperial castle.’
If so, the expectation of meeting at the emperor’s birthday banquet has been blown away. If Pacifica didn’t attend then, everything would be useless.
Besides, she seemed to be in a difficult situation now. When I heard about it through an article in the newspaper, I thought she was doing well because she had become an empress and even gave birth to a prince.
It was because she abandoned even her goal of ascending to the dukedom as the heir to the family and became the empress.
‘We have to meet to see what happened.’
Pacifica was a self-isolating person. So it was obvious that no one was around. Cyanna couldn’t leave Pacifica like that.
So, Ciana decided to go on a risky trip to meet Pacifica.
From the day I heard the chatter of the maids, the preparations were made step by step.
The first thing Shiana did was to change into the maid outfit she had secretly packed. Then, after taking a little travel expenses and a dagger for self-defense, I went outside to avoid people’s eyes.
I deliberately chose a time during lunchtime, so there were not many servants walking around the mansion.
Arriving safely at the wall of the mansion, Siana searched the bushes as she had been told by the family knights on the way from the manor to the capital.
“found…!”
In the middle of the mission, one by one they sneaked out and came back to get some fresh air.
‘First of all, I’ll go out and grab a wagon and then go to the townhouse complex…’
Siana whimpered and came out of the dog hole and slowly raised her head.
And beyond that…
“…!”
A man was standing
Immediately after that, the two’s eyes met.
***
Esteban was still suffering from unsavory rumors about the empress.
Although the divorce process has already been completed, it has not been officially announced yet as there are still paperwork to be dealt with.
In that situation, when Pacifica was released from the palace, all sorts of rumors swept the social world.
Rumors that started with rumors of discord between the emperor and the empress gradually grew to the point of being unreasonable.
Rumor has it that the empress left first because of the emperor’s personality.
It was fortunate that there were no rumors about the empress’ infidelity, since Oscar bore an undeniable resemblance to Esteban.
Since the contractual relationship was confidential, it was impossible to divulge it, so Esteban just laughed it off.
He’d rather be the bad guy than be disgraced by Pacifica.
However, it was a different matter to be shut up in the imperial castle, constantly whispering.
Because of that, Esteban dressed lightly and walked out of the imperial castle.
‘I’m tired.’
Around Esteban, his secret escorts followed swiftly, killing their presence. It was a skill that ordinary people couldn’t even feel.
It was the emperor’s position that he could not even leave the escort just because he wanted to have time alone.
When Esteban made a small gesture, the escorts only took a step back.
They were tired and obstinate subordinates.
In the end, Esteban gave up his desire to spend time alone and started walking again.
‘Shall we buy a toy for Oscar while he’s out?’
Esteban’s expression softened slightly when he remembered his newborn son.
How lovely she is when she cries while looking for her mother, but when she puts her fingers on her palm, she squeezes them tightly and smiles.
Her cheeks were white and plump, and she wanted to touch them all the time, and her short silver hair was very fluffy like down.
How cute it is to mumble while sleeping.
Is that all?
‘He will resemble me and become a great handsome man in the future.’
Esteban, who smiled happily at the thought of Oscar, recalled a worry.
The person designated as the nanny fell down the stairs and was unable to take care of the child.
‘Since she said she was looking for a nanny, it should be fine.’
It was believed that since Pacifica had eyes for people, it would find a good nanny.
Because Esteban had seen him kill his overflowing heart without even being able to bear to touch the child.
After seeing that scene, there was no way that Oscar could refuse Pacifica’s request to take full responsibility for his education until he became an adult.
Esteban, who was wandering aimlessly in the midst of various thoughts flowing by, suddenly realized that he was in an unfamiliar place.
Esteban looked around.
“This is…”
He frowned. It was a place I wasn’t familiar with, but I knew.
‘It’s the mansion of the Marquis of Gardenia.’
Marquis of Gardenia. Called the leader of the aristocratic faction, he was a formidable opponent politically. However, he was an important talent that should not be lost because his political sense was outstanding.
But putting everything aside, I didn’t like the recent behavior of the Marquis.
It was because recently, I had been staring at him with an unpleasant gaze, which was quite annoying.
It wasn’t hard to guess why.
‘Is it because of the empress?’
It was the Marquis of Gardenia who once made the empire lively with his pathetic wife. How terribly he loved the Marquis of Gardenia during his lifetime.
It is said that after his wife passed away, he showered his only daughter with unsparing love.
I had heard that he had been living in the estate all along and had become a hot topic in the social world by playing a debutante ball a few years ago.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen one before.”
The daughter of the Marquis of Gardenia, who was said to be incredibly beautiful.
“I want to meet you sometime.”
It was the time when Esteban passed the wall of the Gardenia mansion.
rustle-.
With the sound of the bushes shaking, someone broke through and jumped out.
The moment you encounter bright amber eyes.
‘ah.’
Esteban’s world stopped.
It was an unfamiliar sensation that I had never felt in my not-so-short years since I was born.
Esteban was overcome by the strange feeling of forgetting to breathe, to blink, and to everything else that was normal.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who was looking up at him with her long, pale pink hair covered in green leaves.
‘Is it a forest fairy?’
Like an idiot, that thought just passed through my head.
The thick eyelash shadows in the shadows were like the wings of a butterfly, and the urge to caress her shrunken shoulders was so thin.
Esteban involuntarily knelt down in front of her.
“The leaves are buried.”
“ah.”
With her cheeks flushed, she brushed the top of my head, but not a single leaf fell.
“excuse me.”
Soon, a large hand reached out and tore off the leaves that had landed on her head.
Although it was an untouched touch, Esteban felt his heart tighten.
‘Is this what love at first sight is like…’
It was a sense of love that could never be mistaken.
If this silently seething emotion is not love, what the hell is love?
