Chapter 60
I stood frozen in shock, staring blankly at him. Then Mikael calmly opened his mouth.
“It’s not about responsibility or obligation.”
As Mikael confessed, Mathieu’s face began to twist.
At first, he looked shocked and confused, but slowly his expression changed with emotions he couldn’t explain.
“Now I understand what you and Lilianne meant.”
While I was still staring at him, Mikael finally turned his head.
Seeing Mathieu standing there with a deadly expression, Mikael seemed a little surprised but continued speaking calmly.
“Oh, dear. We have an interrupter.”
Mathieu gritted his teeth and said sharply,
“I don’t know who the interrupter is.”
“Well, I don’t think someone who’s a former fiancé should be saying that.”
As the two men stared at each other like they were ready to fight, I just stood there, dumbfounded.
Not only was I stunned by Mikael’s confession, but I was also shocked by Mathieu’s reaction.
Anyone watching might think he just caught his fiancée cheating.
Frowning at Mathieu’s strange behavior, I sighed and asked,
“What about Miss Edith? Why are you here?”
Trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere, I asked the question.
Mathieu frowned slightly and replied,
“I made sure she got home safely. Don’t worry.”
“Then why did you come here?”
At my question, Mathieu stiffened slightly and hesitated.
“Well…”
I looked at him, waiting to hear what he would say. His eyes trembled slightly under my gaze.
He clenched his fists and turned his head away.
“I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. That’s all.”
Really? He just came to check if I got home safely?
Since when has he been such a gentleman?
As I continued to watch his retreating back, still confused, Mikael spoke again.
“I should be going too.”
Then, after a short pause, he added,
“Claire, I meant what I said. Please think about it carefully. I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
With those final words, Mikael gave a polite smile and got into his carriage.
I stood there blankly until the door closed and the carriage moved away.
It felt like a storm had just passed through.
The crown prince confessed to me, and then Mathieu, who I thought was with Edith, showed up looking like a wet puppy…
Running the salon is already stressful enough, so why do these novel male leads keep bothering me?
Shaking my head to get rid of all the thoughts, I turned back toward the mansion.
Meanwhile,
Mathieu watched Claire walk into the mansion from a distance and clenched his fists.
Then, sighing in frustration, he ran a hand through his hair.
He never imagined that Mikael would confess to Claire.
Even if Mikael liked her, Mathieu thought his status would stop him from speaking up.
After all, the Devonshire family wasn’t noble enough for someone like the crown prince.
Mathieu had drawn that line and convinced himself it wouldn’t happen.
But now, seeing it with his own eyes, he had to admit it —
He had feelings for Claire.
No, it was more than just feelings. He was feeling strong jealousy and possessiveness.
He laughed bitterly at how ridiculous his own emotions were.
They were already broken off — what was the point of these feelings now?
Especially when Claire now had a prince — no, a crown prince — by her side.
Compared to that, what was he?
Just a former fiancé with a bad reputation.
Feeling pathetic, Mathieu kept wiping his face in frustration.
“Damn it…”
It’s not too late, Mathieu. Just forget about her.
Claire doesn’t even care about you.
“I know.”
This is just a sudden emotion. If you stay away, it’ll fade.
Trying to shake off his thoughts, Mathieu let himself get soaked in the rain and walked for a long time.
That night, I was organizing the salon’s sales records at my desk when I suddenly stopped writing.
Mathieu’s soaked and pitiful appearance flashed through my mind.
Why was someone like him standing there looking like a wet puppy?
Honestly, if you think about it, wasn’t I the one who got abandoned by him?
Feeling sympathy for him is a luxury.
More importantly, the crown prince was the real problem.
He ignored the real female lead right in front of him and confessed to me instead?
He’s completely barking up the wrong tree!
Just when I was about to pull my hair out from stress, Sabrina walked into my room after coming back from her shift.
“At this rate, you’re going to lose all your hair.”
She casually shook the water off her coat as she spoke.
With a tired face, I looked at her.
“Did you make it back safely from the Valerian mansion?”
Today, Sabrina had to work her two-hour shift at the villain’s mansion, as part of a deal.
“Was everything okay?”
Sabrina flopped down on the couch and scoffed.
“Okay? I just stood there for two hours while he stared at papers.”
So it’s not just Mikael and Mathieu acting weird — even the villain is strange.
“Why would the villain hire you for two hours like that? Especially under such strange conditions…”
She groaned and answered,
“Probably just to torture me.”
Really…?
“To torture me with boredom!”
Would a powerful man like the Duke of Valerian really hire her just for that reason?
Sabrina isn’t someone who gives in easily, but still… I just hope she doesn’t end up dying from too much ‘attention’…
The salon was buzzing with preparations for Lilianne’s boutique opening and the upcoming fashion show.
The VIP room had even been transformed into a proper runway stage.
Before, the stage was in the middle of the audience seating; now, we have arranged the walkway run.
It had been turned into a runway for models.
They had just adjusted the seating a bit to let the models walk down the middle.
The lighting was also changed to fit a fashion show, and everything was prepared.
The problem was, the models they hired weren’t professional runway models.
“No, no! You need to walk all the way here! You, in the back! Don’t push the person in front of you!”
I held my forehead as I watched the runway practice turn into a complete mess.
It wasn’t surprising, since the people who applied as models were a mix of barmaids and low-ranking courtesans who needed money.
The audition flyer did say they were looking for women confident in their bodies, so this result was expected.
After all, elegant nobles or proud opera singers and actresses wouldn’t want to become nothing more than walking hangers.
I let out a deep sigh as I watched a courtesan and a barmaid argue because one was blocking the other’s path.
Lillianne walked up next to me and gave a cheerful smile.
“Don’t worry, Claire. This is more than enough.”
I looked at her, confused, wondering if she was seeing something I wasn’t.
“Models don’t need to be graceful and full of elegance.”
Then she added with a soft smile,
“And we already have the most important main models.”
Oh, did she already have someone in mind? As expected of Lillianne!
“Who is it?”
At my hopeful question, Lillianne grinned and proudly said,
“Who else? The three of us, of course!”
I froze in shock and then shouted,
“Us?!”
Lillianne smiled as if she had just remembered something.
“Oh, and of course, Miss Edith too.”
Then, as if she had been listening the whole time, Edith raised her hand and happily said,
“Did someone call me?”
At that point, I gave up and let my shoulders drop.
Can’t I just live quietly as a salon madam…?
