"Is there news?"
Sian and Count Lyndon were strolling and conversing in the gardens of the Imperial Palace. Only the royal family and those authorized by the royal family could enter and leave, and this was the only safe zone in the Imperial Palace where they could avoid the surveillance of the nobles.
"What the hell kind of accident did you cause?"
"An accident? I don't know what you're talking about."
Sian played dumb. The way he answered with his characteristic blank expression looked deceptively casual. But Count Lyndon was not an easy man.
"Then how did the head, Emilio of the Castol Chamber of Commerce know that His Highness and I are related?"
"I just gave him a word."
Count Lyndon frowned heavily.
"Your Highness, haven't I told you so many times that you should be careful?"
"I'll listen to that, too."
Count Lyndon let out a small sigh. The Sian that Count Lyndon saw was the timber of an emperor. Not just because he was a Crown Prince, but because he had the qualities and virtues that an emperor should have. During his time at the academy, he had developed his inner self and his vision of the world, and he even showed the ability to shake the power structure of the aristocrats who had vested interests.
'The one who is always clear and decisive about things loses his cool when it comes to that woman.'
With her presence, Sian had grown incomparably from just a year ago. However, the effect made him lose his center and show his agitation when it came to her.
"What did the letter say?"
"It said you were invited to the Secret Salon."
"Secret Salon. It's a place that's been making the capital city flutter lately."
"Yes, this salon is built by a young woman named L in the capital. It's called the Secret Salon because you have to wear a mask and hide your identity."
Sian nodded silently. He was trying to calm down and appreciate the flowers, but they were not in his eyes. His mind was filled with thoughts of how he could meet Elena if he went there.
'I hope she's not sick.'
He questioned Emilio, but he didn't hear any answers about Elena. Like the leader of the top ten business groups in the mainland, he was a man of integrity. He should have been relieved just to hear that she wasn't sick, but he didn't respond to him until the end.
"Good for you. While you're gone, please take a look at L, the mistress of Salon."
"L?"
"It is said that she argued about humanism with her outstanding intelligence and eloquence at the public debate, as well as her lack of distinction between men and women and status in and out of the salon's presence. She may be helpful for the reform from the bottom that Your Highness is pursuing."
The neutral aristocrat, Count Lyndon, was in favor of the reform of Sian, despite his aristocracy. This is because he had experienced the side effects of the centralization of the empire and the negative effects of the aristocracy forgetting their duties and seeing the people suffer. According to the information he gathered, the claims and ideas pursued by the mistress of the Secret Salon, L, seemed to be in line with the reforms pursued by Sian.
"I see what you mean."
Count Lyndon also told the date of the salon's visit, which Emilio wrote in the letter.
'Can we finally meet?'
Sian tried to hide his face and gave strength to his face. He missed her more because he couldn't meet her even after searching through the empire. He couldn't wait to see her.
"Your Highness."
"What is it?"
"Please promise me. Don't ever do anything that makes you stand out. It's the Secret Salon, so even if you wear a mask, you can't hide yourself completely."
"I will."
Sian nodded. The answer was reliable, but Count Lyndon swallowed his worries because he had no choice but to believe it.
***
"L isn't aware."
Christina was impressed the whole time she saw Elena standing in front of the mirror in her hard-earned mermaid dress.
"I feel like I have the whole world."
Elena was breathtakingly beautiful in her mermaid dress. The curvy lines of the dress were closer to sensual rather than vulgar, and they harmonized with Elena's unique atmosphere of quietness and intelligence to create a mystical harmony. Even the trinkets, shoes, and mask that went with the mermaid dress was perfect. Christina's efforts had paid off, and Elena was satisfied with the result.
'As expected of Christina. There's nothing to find fault with.'
Elena in her past life experienced an era in which mermaid dresses were much more developed and sophisticated accessories and hairstyles were popular than now. She was already up to her eyes in it, so even if a flying designer brought her a dress, it would look like an outdated, outmoded design. But, perhaps there was such a thing as innate sensibility, Christina's mermaid dress was sophisticated despite being an early piece
Soon, as the presentation time was approaching, Khalif came to the parlor and accompanied Christina. It was to introduce her to the visitors who visited the salon, and to have time to introduce the secret story of the birth of the mermaid dress and the cutting process. Elena, after taking a deep breath, also left the parlor. At the corner of the stairs leading down to the salon hall, Elena waited for the introduction of the mermaid dress to finish.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please celebrate. My muse has decided to stand here as a model wearing a mermaid dress. Who is my muse, you ask? It's L, the owner of the Secret Salon, the woman of the Empire's attention. Please come out, L."
The melody of the orchestra, which seemed to incorporate the blue sea, filled the salon as Christina gave her aged introduction. The visitors to the salon applauded enthusiastically as they waited for Christina's muse, "L", to appear. When such anticipation and the performance of the piece reached its peak, Elena, who hid herself in a corner of the hallway, appeared.
"Ah!"
Exclaims burst out here and there. Thanks to the unique lines of the mermaid dress, there was no sense of vulgarity or eroticism at all, despite the fact that her body was shown as it was. It was sensual but graceful, elegant but deadly seductive.
Mask? At this moment, no one was disturbed by her mask or regretted that they could not see her face. L herself, coming down the stairs now, was an enchanting flower.
Those who watched Elena seemed to have forgotten their applause. Someone murmured. They thought they saw the most beautiful thing in the world. They wanted to see her with their eyes, remember her with their head, and cherish her with their heart and keep it forever.
***
"Lucia?"
Sian couldn't take his eyes off L as she came down along the half-moon shaped staircase in the center of the hall. She had a deadly beauty that could be pious, but the way she walked, the way she looked, and the mood she had strangely resembled the Lucia he remembered. However, Sian could only guess that L was Lucia, but could not be sure. Even though his eyesight was better than most people's, there was still a lot of distance. Also, since she was wearing a mask, there was no way to check her eyes and nose, except for her lips. Nevertheless, Sian received a familiar feeling from L.
"Your Highness."
"…!"
The small but clear-cut title 'Your Highness' was called, and the nerves of Sian's whole body were on edge. This is because no one should know that he was here, as he went out secretly to avoid surveillance inside the palace.
"Follow me."
The woman who spoke through Sian's identity took the lead and walked. While chasing away from the eyes of those who were fascinated by L's appearance, there was no doubt on who she was. The woman who came to pick up Sian was May. May, who supported and cared for the masters, often went out to the academic academy, had seen Sian and remembered his face. In addition, it was possible to distinguish him by just a few features because she had good eyes.
Sian climbed two floors through the stairway in the back of the salon. Despite the fact that not a few people were concentrated in the salon, the upper floors were gloomy because all of them were paying attention to L.
"You can wait in this room."
It was when Sian caught the doorknob and entered the room half way.
"Once His Highness is in, I will close the door from the outside. This is for security reasons and I apologize for any inconvenience it may cause."
May bowed politely. There was something questionable about it, but Sian also nodded and accepted it because he was capable of protecting his own life.
Clatter.
As soon as the door closed, he heard it lock. Sian looked around the room and sat down on the couch, unconcerned. She told him to wait, so he was going to wait. Since he was trying to find Lucia, waiting for a while felt like a bit of fun.
Time had passed. Time, which was supposed to be a waiting game, slowed down from one moment to the next. Sian got up from the couch and went to the window to look out. Even though it was on this floor, the ceiling was high, as high as the building itself.
"Does this salon belong to the woman named L?"
He thought it was really great. Apparently, she was so intelligent that she was called the modern woman, but she seemed to have an eye for money and architecture as well. Based on the main gate of the salon, a large building called a basilica was in the midst of construction, and it was also owned by L.
Sian also became humanly curious. She also expressed a lot of human-centered thoughts and love for the lives of the people through an open forum, so he thought that having a good relationship would help reform the empire as Count Lyndon said.
Whooong.
Sian's expression hardened when he heard a sound from the study on the wall.
'Trap?'
Sian scanned the room and picked up a decorative rapier from the wall. He thought he would leave the room like this, but he thought that if it was a trap, he couldn't open it from inside the moment the door was locked. Sian looked at the rapier. Although there were none these days, he was confident that he could take on quite a few enemies with it, so he didn't shrink.
Kkiiik.
The vibration in the study became severe and the bookshelf was pushed aside. It was time for Sian to brace himself for unexpected events.
The sound of shoe heels rang out from the corridor of the study, and a masked woman walked in. Even though he couldn't make out her face, the name jumped out reflexively the moment he saw the mermaid dress she was wearing.
"L?"