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chapter 29
Perhaps it was the fatigue.
Even though Sophie was shouting that something terrible had happened, it didn’t really register.
“Why? What happened?”
Rubiana asked with a lethargic expression. In response, Sophie suddenly thrust a gossip magazine toward her.
Her tired brain took a while to process the visual input.
Only after repeatedly reading the headline did a scream escape Rubiana’s mouth.
“What on earth is all this?!!”
“Archduke Klitzmann dashes while holding a beautiful young lady. Destination: Scorpi Hotel. Who is the lucky lady?”
Ahhh!
Rubiana’s mouth hung open helplessly.
“Ah… this… really… huh…”
Sighs kept escaping from her parted lips.
Her head spun.
She collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
‘What am I supposed to do about this?’
Though her name wasn’t mentioned in the headline, the article clearly stated in bold that the lucky lady was Rubiana Payson.
She had been careful, she really had.
She even paid for Elion’s clothes at the boutique herself.
She had lied to the Ribbon Trio, calling him her cousin, Alex.
‘How on earth did Elion’s identity get exposed?’
Sitting upright, Rubiana carefully read through the article.
“…Archduke Klitzmann hurriedly ran in, shouting his own name, requesting a room. Hotel staff recalled that the usually composed and cold Archduke seemed extremely flustered…”
Ah… so that’s how it happened.
Rubiana’s strength drained, and she set down the paper.
‘Well, His Highness must have been startled by my fainting appearance. He wouldn’t have had time to think about what others might see.’
She couldn’t even blame Elion for loudly calling out her name.
He did it to save her, after all.
‘Even so…!’
A hotel scandal involving the heroine and the mysterious Archduke!
‘This is bad. Really bad! Chad must have seen it too. What am I going to do!’
She wanted to cry, but she was so exhausted that even tears wouldn’t come.
Just then, there was a loud commotion in the hallway as her parents burst into the room.
“Rubiana, is this true?”
“Is it true that you went into the hotel with Archduke Klitzmann in broad daylight?”
Both asked simultaneously, their expressions near tears.
It was understandable.
A young unmarried lady who had just come of age had gone into a hotel alone with a man who was neither her fiancé nor her lover.
And now, the gossip magazine had published it for the whole country to see.
Any parent in the world would have reacted like the Counts.
Rubiana let out a shallow sigh and spoke.
“Yesterday, after parting from mother, I was going to go to the bookstore, but suddenly I felt unwell. By chance, His Highness found me and we entered the hotel.”
“Why didn’t you come home first?”
“I needed a place to lie down immediately. After resting a bit at the hotel, I felt better. I didn’t return to the mansion right away… I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”
“Rubiana…!”
“It’s natural for parents to worry about their children. That’s normal. Why would you be upset about it…?”
Linden and Virginia finally shed tears.
“And today? You’re okay now?”
“Shall we call the family doctor?”
“I’m fine today. Really. So please don’t cry.”
Rubiana wiped her parents’ tears, though they continued to flow for some time.
Meanwhile, the gossip magazine had also reached Emperor Christopher’s hands.
Sipping tea, he read the article about Elion and Rubiana, his eyes sparkling.
“Imagine this! An article about our Elion’s scandal!”
Ha ha ha—Christopher laughed heartily.
He had always regarded women like stone.
He had no interest in romance or marriage.
“And now a scandal! A hotel! A romance!”
His laughter kept going, unstoppable.
The head steward serving him cautiously spoke.
“Your Majesty, gossip magazine articles can’t be fully trusted. Half is likely true, half false.”
“Half is enough. That’s fine. Better than nothing, right?”
“….”
“That half-truth is growing. I should step in and send a letter to Elion.”
“Yes, I will prepare it immediately.”
While waiting for the steward to fetch a small table, Christopher reread the article multiple times.
“Damn it.”
Slamming the gossip magazine down, Elion scowled.
He was incredulous that he had shouted Rubiana’s name the moment he entered the hotel.
“What an idiot…”
He didn’t even remember it clearly.
He had been too worried about the collapsed Rubiana.
He had no memory of finding the hotel, entering it, or going up to the room.
Ah, he did remember Rubiana marveling at the hotel’s moving stairs.
Sighing in frustration and pain, he realized all their efforts to keep his identity secret had been ruined.
It was his fault for losing focus in the moment of panic.
“Is this gossip magazine well-known?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Scott, the butler, nodded in response.
“It’s always the top-selling gossip magazine in the capital. The palace keeps close tabs on it as well.”
“So His Majesty has probably read it too.”
“Yes, probably.”
His headache returned with a vengeance.
As he pressed his forehead, groaning in pain, there was a knock at the door.
A young page entered, carrying a silver tray with a golden envelope.
“A letter has arrived from the palace.”
Elion glared at the envelope.
A bad feeling stirred in his chest.
He couldn’t bring himself to open it.
“Shall I read it for you, Your Highness?”
Loyal Scott offered to help.
“Just burn it.”
“….”
Scott slowly shook his head.
He couldn’t just destroy a letter from the palace unread.
“Shall I read it for you, Your Highness?”
Scott repeated the same question in the same tone.
Elion gave in and nodded.
Scott opened the envelope with gloved hands and began reading.
“His Majesty congratulates you on the hotel scandal published in the gossip magazine.”
“Congratulations? Ha!”
The emperor’s jokes were always unfunny.
“However, as a member of the royal family, he expresses concern over your behavior being unbecoming and appearing in the gossip.”
“What? Unbecoming behavior?”
Elion chuckled.
This joke was actually a bit funny.
“He wishes to discuss this matter in person urgently. If you do not visit the palace today, His Majesty will come here personally.”
“….”
“He also expressed concern that your name will appear in tomorrow’s gossip as well.”
“Damn.”
This joke was the worst.
Saint Florencia did not read gossip magazines.
Nothing in the social scene ever interested her.
That was the life of a saint.
But gossip involving Elion was a different story.
When she received a large envelope delivered by the informant Marco, a bad feeling washed over her.
‘An article about Elion, I see.’
As she opened the gossip magazine, her serene face twisted in anger.
“What? Elion went to a hotel? With Rubiana Payson?”
Her heart pounded, her breathing grew shallow.
Anger bubbled furiously in her mind.
“So the reason he left early yesterday was just to attend dinner at the Payson estate? Why? Who is Rubiana Payson?!”
Her delicate hand trembled as she held the magazine.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
“Saint, Duke Miren has come to see you.”
Her father had arrived.
Her expression, twisted in anger, instantly returned to its calm, gentle self.
‘I can’t let Father see this.’
Florencia checked her face in the mirror before walking to the door.
