‘His name is Kai Brozel. The second son of the Viscount Brozel family.’
He’s twenty-six. His most notable traits are that he has a lot of debt and is in poor health.
He has light brown hair and light brown eyes, too.
Let’s remember that.
I can’t afford to make a mistake.
But even after the appointed time had passed, the door remained closed.
I fiddled with my teacup and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Fifteen minutes had passed.
‘He’s late.’
Had he collapsed on the way here?
Since he was supposed to be in poor health, perhaps he had fainted from motion sickness in the carriage.
Or maybe his creditors had caught him.
Or perhaps…
‘Did I get rejected before we even started?’
A bad feeling crossed my mind.
Had he heard the rumors about the “Black Grim Reaper” and run away in fear?
If so, that would be a serious problem.
My wounded pride was the least of my worries.
If my father and older brother found out I had been stood up, they would track down that man named “Kai Brozel” and make sure he paid for it.
Just as I was seriously worrying about whether the limbs of my blind date, a man I hadn’t even met yet, would remain intact, I heard something.
Rustle.
It was a faint sound.
Outside the cafe, someone had stepped on a branch in the flower bed. A tiny cracking sound.
An ordinary person wouldn’t have heard it, but to my ears, which had once picked up the sound of enemies breathing even while I slept, it rang like thunder.
I instinctively turned my head.
The sound had come from the window, not the entrance.
‘An intruder.’
This cafe was on the first floor.
That meant anyone who wanted to climb in through a window could easily do so.
My body reacted before I could even think.
‘Ordinary Regina’ disappeared, and the instincts of the ‘Black Grim Reaper’ awakened in an instant.
Rattle.
The window slowly opened, and just as a shadow began to step inside—
Whoosh!
I sprang from my seat and charged.
Before my opponent could react, I grabbed him by the collar, threw off his balance, and slammed him against the wall.
Thud!
“Ugh?!”
The man let out a startled groan.
I pinned both his arms against the wall, leaned close to the back of his neck, and growled in a low voice.
“Who are you?”
An assassin?
Or a petty thief?
Either way, he’d picked the wrong target.
He would pay dearly for interrupting my blind date.
“Well… I didn’t know someone had arrived before me.”
The man I had pinned down let out an awkward laugh.
But something about his voice was strange.
There was no fear or surprise at all, even though I had him completely restrained.
Instead, he sounded far too calm, languid, and gentle.
Puzzled, I raised my head to look at his face.
And for a moment, I froze.
‘…He’s handsome?’
I had spent my entire life surrounded by my father and older brother—in other words, handsome men.
So I was confident that I was immune to most good-looking men, and I really was.
But the man in front of me was different.
His features were so delicate and noble that it looked as if God had put the utmost care into creating him.
Even his messy hair looked like a carefully crafted work of art.
And above all, what caught my eye was his overwhelming coloring.
His golden hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight streaming through the window, as if it had been dusted with gold powder.
And his clear, arrogant golden eyes, like precious jewels, looked down at me with interest.
‘Gold?’
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
‘Who is he? His appearance seems familiar somehow…’
I was sure I’d heard about someone like him, but I couldn’t quite remember.
‘Could it be that the brown…’
Just as a possibility crossed my mind, the man gave a small chuckle.
He didn’t seem to care at all that my hand was gripping his throat.
He simply looked down at me with languid eyes and spoke.
“Let go. Surely you know who I am?”
His tone was strangely arrogant.
As if his face itself were a pass that allowed him to go anywhere.
His voice was full of confidence, as though it were impossible for me not to recognize him.
At that moment, the puzzle pieces in my head were forcibly put together.
Fifteen minutes had passed, but it was still the appointed time.
He had climbed in through the window, seemingly to avoid someone—probably a creditor.
And then there was his question: “Don’t you know who I am?”
I slowly released my grip on his neck and asked, still uncertain.
“Ah, could you be ‘Kai’?”
At my question, the relaxed expression on the man’s face twisted strangely.
“…What?”
He stared down at me with a look of complete disbelief, as if he’d just heard a strange language for the first time in his life.
****
“Kai, right? I think that’s you.”
“I am, but…”
The man looked utterly confused.
“It’s been a very long time since anyone called me by that name.”
He briefly covered his mouth with one hand, then lowered it.
“So that means I was right.”
At my words, the man said nothing and simply nodded.
“Then sit down. My neck hurts from looking up at you.”
Still holding his collar, I pointed my chin toward the sofa across from me.
Kai’s expression turned strange, and I immediately realized my mistake.
Habits really were hard to break.
The way I used to give orders to my subordinates on the battlefield had slipped out during a blind date, and to someone I was meeting for the first time, no less.
Thinking back to the noblemen from the capital I’d met so far, Kai would surely get upset and say, “You’re giving me orders?” before storming out.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘It’s ruined from the start. This man will probably hate me and leave, too.’
But then—
“…Puhahaha!”
Contrary to my expectations, the man—or rather, ‘Kai’—burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
His golden eyes widened, and his shoulders shook with delight.
“Sit down, you say? Very well, I should sit. You say your neck hurts, after all.”
Without a word of protest, he plopped down on the sofa.
Then he rested his chin on his hand and looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
“What next? What else will you order me to do? Perhaps pour the tea?”
He didn’t sound sarcastic.
His eyes were like those of a child who was genuinely looking forward to hearing his next order.
“No. I’ll take care of my own tea.”
I answered curtly and picked up the teapot.
Gurgle, gurgle.
I still wasn’t used to handling delicate tableware, so the stream of tea was a little too strong.
Interest flickered in Kai’s eyes.
He watched my clumsy movements as if he were witnessing some rare trick, then pulled his teacup closer.
“Then I’ll pour my own.”
He picked up the teapot.
Without thinking, I followed his movements with my eyes.
A thin, steady stream of tea flowed into his cup.
His movements were strangely different from the manners I’d seen noblemen in high society—those who liked to show off how refined they were—displaying.
There was nothing forced about the angle of his hand or the shape of his fingers.
His movements were as natural as flowing water, yet somehow…
‘He looks much more elegant.’
I tilted my head.
He was supposed to be the second son of a rural viscount family, so was it my imagination that he seemed more graceful than the table manners of an established ducal family?
Or perhaps I was simply mistaken because I didn’t know much about etiquette.
Hmm, the idea that I was mistaken seemed more likely.
“Did you come in through the window to avoid someone chasing you for your debts?”
At my question, Kai’s eyes widened again.
He stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly slapped the table and burst into loud laughter.
“Ahahaha! Debt! Yes, that’s right. I was avoiding my creditors. It’s a truly terrible debt.”
He even wiped tears from his eyes as he laughed.
He was far too cheerful for someone being chased over debt.
Had the mental shock been so great that he’d lost his mind?
“You were late, but if it was because of your creditors, I’ll let it slide.”
I decided to be generous.
Being chased by creditors must feel much like being chased by a monster-hunting squad.
But Kai looked intrigued as he asked,
“But what exactly was this… appointment we had?”
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