Chapter 8 : No Roses

He seemed to already know why I had requested this meeting.
“She called me a cancer of society, a two-faced hypocrite, and a narcissist.”
“Hahahaha!”
At Theron’s words, Orlando burst into hearty laughter, as if finding it hilarious, and repeatedly tapped the armrest.
In contrast, Theron’s expression crumpled like a piece of paper.
After his laughter subsided, Orlando wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, “Didn’t I tell you it wouldn’t be easy?”
“She already knew about me.”
“Oh, what did she know?”
“…The rumors about women. Things like that.”
And in a very exaggerated and distorted way.
Orlando chuckled and tapped the ash from his cigar into the ashtray.
“That’s not good. Selene despises men with loose morals far more than ordinary women do.”
‘Then you should have told me beforehand.’
If he had known he would get a sharp verbal slap across the face, he would have prepared an excuse just in case.
“Still, it’s a bit surprising. I thought you were careful to choose women who wouldn’t cause any gossip, but for your story to reach Selene’s ears, who doesn’t even have many close friends.”
Theron had also pondered that part.
Who on earth spread the rumor that there was a truckload of women crying because of him.
However, the reason he couldn’t make a lengthy excuse was that he had enjoyed countless nights, making it impossible to even guess the source.
Even if it was mutually agreed upon beforehand, it wasn’t as if there were absolutely no women who held a grudge against him for cleanly cutting ties afterward.
“So, did you come to see me today to tell me you’re giving up?”
Theron, who had been clasping his hands between his legs, lifted his gaze.
“Of course not. This is just the beginning.”
The corner of Theron’s mouth tilted up crookedly.
“The reason I came to see you today, Colonel, is because I have a few things I want to ask about Miss Selene.”
Although he had already formulated a plan on how to conquer that icy woman, the more information, the better.
That was true for important business deals as well as for seducing women.
He usually approached close associates to gather information, but that woman had an astonishing lack of people around her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have close friends, but they were all long-standing relationships, so he couldn’t recklessly try to approach them.
Orlando looked at Theron’s unwavering attitude with an interested expression.
“If there’s anything I can tell you, I will.”
“Did Miss Selene dislike mingling with people since she was young?”
Theron remembered the poor information his secretary had brought him.
That she visited the art museum once a month and liked moles.
But suddenly, he thought those two pieces of information might be the very core.
She was a recluse who only went out regularly once a month, and her favorite animal was an ugly mammal that lived in burrows.
Theron was curious about the reason Selene became that way.
“She wasn’t always like that. She was normal when she was young. But after her parents, who participated in the war, died 12 years ago, she became drastically quiet and clung only to the piano.”
“…”
“A pitiful child.”
When Orlando made a pitying face, Theron raised an eyebrow.
‘If he feels so sorry for her, he should just give up the title to his poor niece.’
All this fuss to get it back.
While thinking that, he also knew that the Colonel wasn’t entirely devoid of affection for his niece.

“But in the end, the winner of this competition will be Selene Ashcombe, who is from the Empire.”

It’s just that his affection was very petty.
Theron, while cynical on the inside, didn’t show it on the outside and continued his questions.
“Do you think Miss Selene is serious about the piano?”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘serious,’ but it is a very important existence in her life.”
Hooo, Orlando took a deep drag from his cigar and exhaled.
“I’m not very interested in things like art or music, so I don’t really know what charm has captivated Selene so much.”
“Most people probably wouldn’t know.”
In this day and age, the only ones who chattered about things like art and love were penniless poets and actors.
Everyone else was busy putting their heads together whenever they had a chance, worrying about where the scent of money would come from, and hell-bent on earning even a little more.
‘Not that I’m any different.’
“This is just my thought, but Selene might open up more easily if there’s a common interest like the piano.”
“…”
“Have you ever played the piano?”
Theron remained silent for a moment.
The piano.
An old memory bloomed through the hazy smoke of Orlando’s cigar.
Around the age of 12, he had mopped floors at a pub to earn money.
In that pub, a musician would come in the evening and play the piano in the corner.
One day, the owner, saying his handsome face was too good for just mopping, had him learn the piano.
Theron learned the piano faster than expected and, within six months, was playing easy piano pieces and receiving tips.
The laughter of the customers amidst the cheerful jazz tunes, the people dancing on the slick, waxed floor, tapping their heels, and the sharp scent of wine wafting through the crowd.
If asked about the most sparkling moment of his life, he would recall that time, but it was just an old story now.
Theron, having erased the afterimage, replied drily.
“Well… for a little while.”
Orlando nodded.
“Still, if you’ve played for a little while, you wouldn’t be completely ignorant. It wouldn’t be bad to use that as an excuse to approach her again.”
“I don’t want to.”
Theron was firm.
“You don’t want to…?”
“No.”
Orlando narrowed his brows at Theron’s unnecessarily blunt response but didn’t ask for the reason and let it go.
“Then what’s your plan?”
“First, I need to clear up the rumors about me.”
The rumor that was a clever mix of truth and exaggeration, that there was a truckload of women crying because of his casual one-night stands.
“It won’t be easy since it’s already been engraved.”
“What’s easy in this world, in a world where everything but breathing costs money?”
Theron stood up and buttoned his open jacket.
He had come to gather information, but from what he heard, it seemed the Colonel didn’t know much about his own niece either.
In other words, it seemed he could stop wasting his time now.
“Oh, and.”
Theron paused for a moment and looked down at Orlando.
“I’ll be the one to report on the progress from now on, so stop having people follow me.”
“…”
“I won’t say it twice.”
Orlando’s expression hardened into a rather unpleasant one, but Theron didn’t care and left the drawing-room.

As he left the private residence, a sleek, high-end car was waiting for Theron.
His secretary, Gary, who was in the driver’s seat, quickly leaned over to the passenger side and opened the door.
“Did you have a good time?”
Theron, who got into the car irritably, slammed the door shut instead of answering.
Glancing back, he saw the car that had been following him for the past few days parked nearby.
“From now on, if any suspicious guys are loitering around the company even a little bit, hand them all over to the police.”
“Yes, I will be sure to check carefully.”
‘Damn old man.’
Theron, who had been spewing curses, spoke again.
“And get me the biggest flower bouquet in the world.”
At the absurd order that seemed completely unrelated to business, Gary made a puzzled face.
“The biggest flower bouquet in the world? You wouldn’t even be able to hold that.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Get the most splendid and expensive flowers and make a bouquet out of them.”
For a moment, Gary recalled Selene, the woman his boss had been hitting on for a while.
He had assumed things didn’t go well since his boss had been walking around in a daze, but this strange order that suddenly fell seemed to be related to that matter.
“Isn’t it over with Lady Ashcombe?”
“Says who.”
‘So the bouquet is really for Lady Ashcombe!’
He was so confident, relying only on his handsome face, got rejected, and now he’s trying to cling on again.
To think his boss, who considered women to be on the same level as cigars and brandy, would act so clingy.
Gary, now intrigued, quickly asked with an enthusiastic attitude.
“By when should I have it ready?”
“When is the launching ceremony for the Saint Sa cruise ship?”
“Next Sunday.”
“Then, by then.”
The cruise ship that Saint Sa was introducing at this event was the largest of its kind, and it was an event that everyone in the capital would flock to see.
“Is there anything else you need? For example, what color flowers you’d like to be the main component, or how you’d like the ribbon to be tied, those kinds of details.”
Gary asked, much more enthusiastically than usual.
Theron, who was unbuttoning his jacket and loosening his tie, said irritably, “Absolutely no roses.”