* * *

I once again made a wish.

May that star high up in the sky come to me.

So that I, standing on the ground, will also be able to reach that beautiful star someday.

I made a wish without even knowing what it means.

Ignorantly, I just aimlessly made a wish.

* * *

Harrieta, lying on a pile of hay, looked dreamily at Edwin. He did not look back at her until the end, or maybe he did not notice her gaze. She pouted her lips.

‘Anyway, you’re quite stubborn.’

His attitude was really hateful. Harrieta opened her mouth to say a word to him.

But she soon closed her mouth as she couldn’t say anything.

His fine golden hair fluttered in the wind, and his stretched neckline led to broad shoulders that seemed to be holding the world together. In addition, every time he moved, the well-knit muscles hidden under the thin clothes danced lively.

Even though she was only looking at his back, it didn’t matter to her. She knew his features so well that if she wanted, she could draw his face on a paper with her eyes closed. His face, with two eyes as blue as sapphires, was not enough to be summed up with the word ‘perfect’.

‘Beautiful man.’

To Harrieta, Edwin was like a shining star, a mirage that she could never reach. How much I have longed and hoped to see myself in those eyes! How desperate I was when I thought that no matter how hard I struggled, my life would never intertwine with his.

Harrieta reached out to Edwin. She knew that the gap between him and her was so big that it could never be bridged. But she didn’t care about it.

Once again, her faintly trembling fingers, only hovered in the air, unable to reach him.

Today was like yesterday.

And tomorrow will be like today.

Harrieta slowly retracted her hand. It felt as if she had swallowed a handful of dry sand. Her neck reflexively moved. Feeling somewhat teary, she buried her face in her hands.

“Miss Harrieta?”

A soft, calm voice like a spring breeze called her.

“Miss Harrieta, are you all right?”

Is it strange that the atmosphere has suddenly calmed down? Edwin hurried to Harrieta’s side. She smiled with her face still hidden in her hands.

Since when did it start? Whenever it came to Harrieta, no matter how small a change it was, he always noticed it but reacted like a ghost. Thinking about it now, it must have been annoying to him, but he never pretended not to know her.

To everyone, he was only a cold-hearted man, but to her, he was a warm and tender-hearted person.

“If you’re trying to tease me, please stop. Otherwise, I might get really angry.”

‘You would say so but you would never be angry at me.’

“Please raise your head and look up at me. I was too blunt earlier. Is that why you’re like this?”

‘Look at that. The end of your voice is already wavering.’

“I must have been too harsh. I was just worried……… it’s my fault. It’s all my fault, so please don’t cry.”

A cool business-like voice came out. Just like always, it didn’t take much long for his voice to waver. At first, it didn’t matter what the reason was. He always treated her very carefully, as if he was holding his breath, but his behavior towards her was earnest.

This earlier made her delirious with joy, but now she just felt terribly sad.

Can I leave him alone knowing that he’s unaware of my feelings? Indeed, is that even possible? The more he valued her, the more her heart, that she thought was already broken, broke more little by little.

“Miss Harrieta. Please…”

Edwin, unaware of Harrieta’s thoughts, once again earnestly asked.

“Please show me your face.”

They were both standing so close that they could feel each other’s breath. It wasn’t that difficult to reach out and touch the other person if you wanted to. Nevertheless, he did not dare to bring a finger near her face.

No matter how close they came, the gap could not be narrowed.

No matter how much she wanted, the gap would never be narrowed.

Harrieta lowered her hands. Then she saw Edwin looking at her with a worried expression on his face. Her star was as beautiful as she first saw it. No, now it was even more.

‘Edwin, you know. I…you, I keep you…….’

Harrieta managed to swallow the words that almost came out of her mouth. Her head felt like it was stuck in the water, but she somehow endured it. She took slow breaths and pressed down the overwhelming emotions. Then, she smiled, forcibly pulling up the corners of her mouth, which kept trying to go down.

“It’s a joke. You fell for it again, right? So don’t keep ignoring me.”

No human could ever reach the stars, and no moon could ever reach the sun. So it was okay. Even if she couldn’t accept it with her heart, she could understand it with her head. That day, Harrieta decided to bury a piece of her heart that lingered in her mouth, somewhere deep inside her.

‘I’m bored to death.’

Harrieta, who was idly standing on the railing, sighed deeply. A white whirl of breath rose into the cold night air and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

‘I wish I could disappear from here like my breath.’ Thinking such gibberish thoughts, she stretched her body and cleared her mind. Her back, neck and shoulders were a little stiff.

There were so many ornaments on her hair that it was hard to find an empty spot on her head. It was all because Lillian had told her to meticulously prepare herself, in case she encounters the chance of a lifetime. The weight of all the ornaments was so heavy, that even a simple task of standing upright seemed to bring her a big headache.

‘It’s all useless.’

Harrieta frowned at the white laced sleeves that stretched out under her wrist. Lillian was very thrilled to see her all dressed up, but Harrieta was dissatisfied with her look. It was because her reflection in the mirror was too unfamiliar and unpleasant. She was forced to wear clothes that didn’t fit her, and she looked rather tacky because of the overdressing.

She just wanted to tear off all the accessories on her hair, as well as the lace on her sleeves, but she thought of her parents back in her hometown and somehow managed to endure it for them.

It had already been four months since Harrieta came to Lavant. The Mackenzie couple were done with her self-indulgent and free-spirited nature, ignoring manners and dignity as a lady. So they sent her to Lillian in Lavant.

Although Lavant was not the capital of the kingdom, it was still a large city that could not be compared to her hometown Philioche.

‘Would she change her way of thinking and behavior if she interacted with more people and attended social gatherings regularly?’

The Mackenzies were desperate enough to hold on to the slightest hope.

Lillian was an aunt who Harrieta had never met before. So Harrieta was worried that the sudden meeting might become strange and awkward.

However, Lillian, who had seen her niece for the first time, welcomed her so warmly, that Harrieta found all her worries had been unnecessary. Lillian really seemed very pleased to meet her. And Harrieta soon realized why.

She didn’t even get time to unpack and adjust to the new environment. On the night of her arrival in Lavant, Harrieta was led by Lillian to attend a social gathering. It was possible because she was still under 16 and hadn’t gotten a formal debut.

She attended a number of social gatherings, ranging from small tea parties with fewer than ten people in attendance to dazzling balls with hundreds of people. The number of social gatherings that the two had attended in the past four months was so high that it could not be counted even if they folded all ten fingers.

As time went by, Harrieta became tired of the monotonous busy life.

But on the contrary, Lillian became more and more lively and motivated. She was looking forward to seeing her niece, who had grown up in the countryside. She hoped that her niece would meet the criteria of some noble family and help her make relationships.

However, contrary to her wishes, the young Harrieta was not very popular among the men. Moreover, her free-spirited nature and naive words and deeds were not easily accepted by the aristocrats, who had grown up in a strict and formal environment.

Harrieta was naturally alienated from the crowd, and whenever she attended the social gatherings, she would likely spend her time alone in the corner of the room or on the balcony rather than chatting with others.

Although she was naturally cheerful, it was hard to bear the loneliness. She endured each day, looking forward to the day she could return to her beloved hometown, Philioche.

‘There are only 15 days left. All you have to do is hold on for 15 days.’

Harrieta repeated this firmly in her mind. She leaned forward slightly against the railing. The touch of the cold marble permeated through the palm of her hand, and a cool but pleasant breeze caressed her hair.

She raised her head and looked up at the night sky. The night sky, densely packed with countless stars, looked like a dark navy scarf embedded with small bright diamonds.

‘Pretty.’

She admired the beautiful view of the cloudless night sky with all her heart.

‘The night sky in Philioche must also be very beautiful.’

Looking up at the night sky, Harrieta reached out her hand to one of the sparkling stars. Suddenly, she had a strange desire to hold that beautiful star, hanging high in the sky, in her hand for a moment.

But her desperate fingers couldn’t reach the stars and instead, just wandered in the air. An unknown longing spread in her heart.

* * *

‘How much time has passed? ‘

Feeling that it was time to return home, Harrieta left the balcony and entered the ballroom. Even though it was quite late, there were still many nobles inside. Most of them looked intoxicated with alcohol and entertainment.

Harrieta exchanged some greetings with a few people she knew and then carefully wandered around looking for Lillian.

Unfortunately, the ball she attended today was of a larger scale and had the largest number of guests compared to all the social gatherings she had attended so far. It wasn’t really easy to find a petite Lillian among so many people.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to stand at the entrance and quietly wait for Lillian?’ As Harrieta was carefully contemplating, someone grabbed her elbow. Startled, she looked back.

“Harrieta! Where the hell have you been hiding? I’ve been looking for you all night.”

Lillian said while frowning at her. She had drank a little too much champagne, making her cheeks look like they were dyed red.

“Aunt. Actually, I was also looking for you…”

“Let’s talk about this later. Come here first. There’s someone I’d like to introduce to you.”

Lillian ruthlessly cut off Harrieta’s sentence. It was clear from the start that the other person didn’t put her words in her eyes.

Lillian grabbed her niece’s unsure hand and headed to a place where a generous looking middle-aged woman was standing with a short young man.

Lillian pushed a confused Harrieta forward. Before she could grasp the situation, Harrieta found herself standing before the two strangers.

“Harrieta, say hello. This is Baroness Welch. And this is Sir Derek Welch, the eldest son of Baron Welch.”

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Derek Welch.”

The man named Derek said hello and took a step closer to Harrieta. He looked about 25 years old. He had dark brown hair and slightly fierce-looking eyes. His only shortcoming was that he was short, except for that, he had a quite ordinary appearance.

“Hello, I’m Harrieta Mackenzie.”

Harrieta greeted politely, bending her knees slightly in a daze. Derek quickly, but secretly, stared at her appearance up and down.

“I heard you’re from Philioche. Don’t you feel uncomfortable living in Lavant?”

“My aunt takes care of me very well, so there has never been any room for any inconvenience.”

“That’s a relief. Lady Jenner said you’re a good singer.”

“I…. I just sing whatever I want. It’s just a little hobby. My singing is not at the level to be bragged about.”

“Oh, then, are you saying that you didn’t learn it formally?”

Derek continued the conversation politely. However, his face showed signs of disappointment that could not be hidden.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m younger than he thought. Or is it because I didn’t meet his expectations?’

The fifteen year old Harrieta diligently answered all his questions, while suppressing the desire to immediately run away from the place.

Some questions and answers were exchanged in the name of formality. It was a kind of conversation where no-one would be disappointed if the conversation was cut off immediately. Had it not been for Baroness Welch and Lillian looking at them with eager looks, they would have long left this place.

Derek kept turning his eyes away while talking to her. It was clear that he also had long lost his interest in her.

Harrieta sighed. Even if it was rude, she couldn’t stand this situation anymore. She opened her mouth and decided to leave the place with a reasonable excuse.

“Well, Sir Welch. I’m sorry, but I’m very tired right now.”

“Huh?”

Looking over Harrieta’s shoulder, Derek let out a short exclamation. His eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s definitely the Redford family…….”

‘Redford?‘

Seeing Derek’s response, Harrieta naturally turned to see where his gaze was directed. And soon she noticed that the atmosphere inside the ballroom had changed.

Among the hushed chatters, there was a strange, heavy stillness looming around the noisy ballroom. The men rose from their seats in a hurry to straighten out their disheveled clothes, while the women, with their faces flushed, whispered in secret, covering their mouths with half-open fans.

‘Who the hell is this person to make them react like this?’

The atmosphere became solemn as if the king himself had appeared. Harrieta tilted her head. As if attracted by an invisible magnet, she unwittingly took a step slowly towards the place, where the people’s eyes were focused.

Many people were gathered together, all impatient to talk to the newcomer.

“Sir Edwin, thank you very much for coming. I only sent you an invitation just in case you decided to stop by, but I didn’t expect you to actually accept it.”

The young Count, the host of the ball tonight, said very humbly. He was a man famous for being arrogant and full of vanity. Seeing the young Count like this, for a moment she doubted whether it was actually the king who had really come.

The crowd that had been gathered around, parted to the sides. And in the midst of all this, she saw the protagonist who had caught everyone’s attention.

He was a tall, well-built man. The first thing that caught her eye was his brilliant blond hair, which seemed to be made of pure melted gold. It was so exquisite and unique that it could easily attract people’s attention even from a distance.

The next thing that caught her eye was the robes he was wearing. The clothes embroidered with gold thread on blue fabric looked very luxurious despite their relatively simple design. At a glance, she could tell it had gone through the hands of the most famous seamstress in the kingdom.

Listening attentively to someone’s words, he lowered his face slightly, and nodded his head. He then straightened his body and looked straight ahead. As a result, the face, which she could not see from afar, came into Harrieta’s sight, making her unknowingly stop breathing.

‘Is it okay to describe a man as beautiful?‘

Harrieta questioned herself seriously.

But other than that, she couldn’t think of a suitable word to express his appearance. A broad forehead and two serious looking eyes, with a straight nose bridge between them. Below it lay perfectly symmetrical red lips.

‘If there was something that the Creator had worked hard day and night, it must be this man.’ His heavenly looks could enchant people with just one look, making them talk only about him.

Harrieta stood still and stared at the man, who looked absolutely perfect.

‘I wonder if he has just turned 20.’ His calm eyes and solemn face made him look mature, but upon closer inspection he looked a little younger than she thought.

She could see his thin lips moving, saying something. But no matter how much she tried to listen to him, she couldn’t hear his voice well.

Suddenly, Harrieta wondered if his voice would also be as beautiful as his perfect appearance.

While the young Count was pleased with the unexpected appearance of a dignitary, he seemed eager to monopolize him right away. The Count whispered something into Edwin’s ear and stared fiercely at those around him with his sharp eyes.