Yvon and Toini headed back to the Sunglen estate, Egor returned to their squadron's base dreading the pile of work waiting for him, and the inspector invited Eugen to the intrèpolian station for follow-up questions regarding the victim since he gave her first-aid treatment. This meant that I was alone with Lev, riding together in the carriage of the House of Niege.

The ride itself wasn't particularly awkward but it was quiet.

Lev was engrossed in the paperwork Egor had dumbed on him, files with sticky notes plastered with messages like "URGENT" or "PRIORITIZE THIS TASK FIRST".

I found myself stealing glances at him, watching his focused expression and occasionally fixing his glasses as he diligently read through the documents. Beams of sunlight occasionally entered the carriage illuminating his face. It was a charming scene, it was hard not to be captivated.

Many of his fangirls would probably pay to be in my place. I could probably profit out of setting up meet and greets between him and his fans,

Then, he noticed I was watching him and our eyes met.

Those purple eyes take my breath away...

...

What am I thinking about right now?!

I directed my gaze outside the window, trying not to show my embarrassment. It's understandable that I'd be enthralled, he was a handsome guy and I am a sucker for handsome men.

"Pfft!"

I raised my eyebrow and looked at him. That noise definitely came from him!

Though he tried to hide his face from me using the files I could see the corners of his mouth go up and hear him hold back his laughter.

He was clearly amused at me being flustered.

I cleared my throat and asked, "I suppose I should've asked this before the carriage left, but where are we going?"

Lev composed himself and turned to me, putting the files on the seat he replied, "Our captain gave me tickets to the premiere of a new musical."

"... and so did my parents," he added.

Piecing together the puzzle he placed in front of me, I responded, "I'm going to take a guess and say that your captain, who is also your elder brother, and your parents want you to attend the premiere with me."

"You're a clever one, aren't you, young miss?" he said, "My family sprung their suggestion on me during breakfast."

"Yvette."

Confused, he asked, "I'm sorry?"

"Yvette," I corrected him, "Just call me Yvette. Calling me 'young miss' sounds way too formal. It doesn't sit right with me that my soon-to-be-husband is treating me like I'm a stranger. Or were you planning on continuing to address me formally even after the wedding?"

He chuckled at my teasing.

"Very well then, Yvette."

"While we're on the subject, what should I call you then, young master of Niege?" I teased.

He smiled playfully and he replied, "Lev is fine."

"Alright then, Lev, would you kindly answer my question?"

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Is the premiere of the musical today?"

"..."

"..."

"I'll take the dazed expression on your face as a yes then," I said, "And before you ask, it wasn't hard to piece together. You mentioned the tickets when I asked where we were headed off to."

"However," I added, "I don't think this is the way to the theater."

Being fond of musicals, I knew the way to the theater well and the road we were currently on was nowhere near it. To be exact, we were in the opposite direction from it.

Lev smirked and said, "Well we can't attend the premiere in bloody clothes now, can we?"

♡

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Out of one boutique and into another.

Lev brought me to one of the most famous clothing chains in the empire, Tissu, whose name always reminds me of tissues.

The business was owned by Lev's maternal family and was manned by his eldest maternal aunt. Because of its success I've heard that they are planning on branching out internationally soon.

As we got down from the carriage I noticed passersby staring at us. I wasn't sure why they were staring at us, could it be because of our bloodstained clothes or could it be because Lev and I were hand-in-hand coming out of a carriage together?

Either way, I felt incredibly uncomfortable under their gawking stares. I feel like a *vortan in a circus.

(Vortan - fantasy creature that is inspired by a monkey and combines the agility and intelligence of a monkey with the ability to fly)

Lev escorted me inside the shop and we he was immediately greeted by the staff. I stood behind him, hiding, since it seemed like we were going the swarmed by the staff. It reminded me of the time I was bombarded by reporters when word got out about Haneul and Yvonne's relationship.

"Welcome to Tissu! Greetings to the second cub of Neige!" they all said.

Then the manager quickly ran to us, "Greetings to the second cub of Neige! What a suprise to see you here today, young master Lev. You rarely drop by unannounced. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit? And I see you came in with someone! Welcome to Tissu– Y-Your radiance?!"

I realized that the manager had mistaken me for my sister and while I was used to this sort of thing it became a habit of mine to correct them by stating my full name so that people wouldn't forget that I existed.

"Her younger sister actually," I corrected him. Extending my hand, I said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Yvette Aidana Yaretzi Oryx of Sunglen."

"G-Greetings to the fourth cygnet of Oryx!" said the manager while stuttering, "My apologies for not recognizing you sooner, young miss! It's just that you look so much like her radiance."

Forcing a smile I replied, "I'm used to it."

The manager's eyes widened in shock as he saw our bloodstained clothes, "YOUNG MASTER! YOUNG MISS! WHAT IN VREQISEON HAPPENED?! WHY ARE YOUR CLOTHES COVERED IN BLOOD! CALL A DOCTOR!"

Lev quickly clarified the situation before things could escalate further, "There is no need to call for a doctor. Both Yvette and I are fine. This isn't our blood and we aren't hurt at all. I can't divulge anything in detail in order to not hinder the intrèpolians' investigation but what I can say is this, Yvette and I were caught up in an attempted murder in Alder Street. The incident will probably be covered in tonight's news so you can hear the details there."

"Oh, I see... Then, surely you brought your fiancée here for a change of clothes– Wait a second... Young master... Did you just say fiancée?"

"Yes I did," Lev replied.

Most of the staff in the lobby froze in shock, some even dropped the things they were holding or carrying.

The manager, still shocked, stammered, " Y-You, young master, are engaged to the young miss?"

"Yes."

Lev's calm answer shocked the manager and the staff even more.

"Since when?!" the manager exclaimed.

"Since yesterday," I answered.

The manager's jaw dropped, "Yesterday? You got engaged yesterday?! But only a month has passed since the royal wedding!"

Raising an eyebrow, Lev asked, "And what of it? What does their radiance's wedding have to do with my engagement to Yvette? Is there a problem with our engagement?"

Flustered, the manager replied, "T-There's no problem at all, young master! I-It's just unexpected , t-that's all! I apologize if I have offended you, young miss, young master!"

Seeing the tension grow, I tried to lighten things up.

"It's alright," I said smiling encouragingly, "Your reaction is quite understandable as this engagement came as a suprise for us too."

The manager obviously felt awkward but tried his best to compose himself, "T-Thank you for your understanding, y-young miss. Once more I apologize to you and the young master. I shall bring you a clean pair of clothes promptly. Please wait comfortably in the lounge."

"Bring us something that would suit a formal event."

Lev's request confused the manager.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, "Young master, can you repeat that for me?"

"I said, bring us something that would suit a formal event."

"May I ask why? As far as I am aware you aren't scheduled to attend an event, if that were the case there would be an order placed for a tailored suit," said the manager.

"My fiancée and I will be attending the premiere of a new musical tonight. Since this will be our first public event together I am asking you to choose our attires with extra care," Lev explained.

"A musical premiere? Tonight?" the confused manager said, "Y-Young master, when was this decided?"

Lev answered straightforwardly, "This morning."

"Ah this morning... Y-You two got engaged yesterday and your attendance at the musical was decided just this morning... Hahaha..."

The manager looked like he was about to lose his mind.

"So, just to be clear, young master, you want us to put together two formal outfits that would suit the premiere tonight on short notice?" the manager asked.

"That's exactly what he's asking you to do," I answered.

Dumbfounded, he replied, "Right... Of course the young master is asking us to put together two formal outfits that would suit the premiere tonight on top of his aunt's instruxtions regarding the second princess' dress orders.. Hahaha... Ahem! What is the musical about?"

"I don't know," said Lev, "Though would what the musical is about even matter or affect the clothes we're going to wear?"

"Yes it does," I answered, "Just like you wouldn't want to wear bright and happy colors at a funeral, you wouldn't want to wear bright colors in a play or musical adaptation of 'The Journal of Fritz Finch' as it contains the story of how the Finch family was fleeing from the tyrannical government of the Namor empire."

"Oh, is that so? I see." said Lev, "Perhaps you should handle matters regarding socializing. While I'm not ignorant of the subject, it seems that you are more knowledgeable about it than I."

"Yes," I answered, "I think that would be for the best if I do take charge of socializing. That would also give me the excuse of dressing you up to my heart's content."

Lev chuckled and then smirked. His playful smile almost made me swoon and I would've had I not burried my long nails into my pakm.

"I look forward to being your little dress up doll."

After Lev said that I noticed the manager's face, as well as some of the other staff members' faces, looked flushed.

I mean, their reactions are very relatable.

Trying his hardest to remain composed, the manager said, "I-I shall have your clothes ready as soon as possible! You two shall be the talk of the town after tonight's premiere!"

Oh we were going to be the talk of the town alright, in more ways than one.