The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 7 Part 2
“Her hair is platinum blonde, and her eyes are blue. Should the flowers match her outfit too?” Rahil asked.
The competent clerk confirmed that it would be a good idea. In their line of work, simply nodding in agreement with a wealthy merchant’s whims could lead to serious consequences, but this man appeared to be a high-ranking noble.
‘Come to think of it, platinum blonde hair and blue eyes… That matches our Empress exactly.’
As he scrutinized the man ordering the flowers, he realized that the man also bore a striking resemblance to the Emperor. Although the Imperial family commissioned many portraits and paintings, these were strictly forbidden from being widely distributed.
This meant that most ordinary people didn’t know what the Emperor or the Imperial family looked like. While the people of the capital were more familiar with them, those from the provinces often considered it a lifetime achievement to have seen the Emperor in person.
‘No, it can’t be…’
The thought made the clerk break out in a cold sweat, but he continued making the bouquet, pretending not to notice.
* * *
“If you run, the flowers will get disorganized.” The knight’s warning came out as more of a scream as he saw Rahil about to sprint with the freshly prepared bouquet. As the words came out, the knight felt embarrassed under the stares of the Emperor and his fellow knight.
“I think I’ve kept her waiting too long…”
Rahil murmured as he hurried back to the café. He regretted not arranging for a separate carriage.
“…What’s that?”
His voice dropped as he noticed a crowd gathered near the café. If it had been a mix of men and women of all ages, he might have worried that something serious had happened. However, the crowd was mostly men.
Even when a couple of knights came out of the café to shoo them away like birds, they would scatter briefly, only to sneak back and gaze up at the second-floor window.
Rahil felt a surge of anger, knowing that Anais was sitting right by that window.
‘How dare they!’
One of the two knights beside Rahil cautiously suggested, “Perhaps they’ve recognized, Her Majesty?”
“If that were the case, the ratio of men and women in the crowd would have been similar.”
While the aristocracy might limit women’s social participation, this wasn’t the case for commoners. A quick glance around the streets revealed a fairly even ratio of men to women.
‘Did this happen with Lady Angelica as well?’
Although she was also beautiful, Lady Angelica’s looks were often overshadowed by Duke Calix and Rahil. On the other hand, Anais was undeniably more beautiful and had never been outshined in terms of appearance.
The sight of people standing by the window, trying to peek inside on tiptoes, and their dazed expressions were enough to understand the situation.
‘I should have stayed with her. I could have sent someone else to buy the flowers.’ But Rahil knew that buying them himself was the only way to add value to the gesture.
Anais could have also sent someone to buy them, after all. To increase the value of the flowers themselves, it was necessary to buy them personally.
‘What if Anais isn’t happy with the flowers?’
He realized he didn’t even know if she liked flowers. When he had sent gifts, including flowers, to deceive Marquis Ruol after their marriage was announced, Anais’s reaction then probably hadn’t been genuine.
At that time, Marquis Ruol had been worried about Anais and was suspicious of their marriage.
‘Anyway, this is just the beginning! I need to start earning points from now on…’
Suppressing his urge to kill the gathered onlookers, Rahil strode forward. He couldn’t act rashly, especially since Anais might be watching from the window.
As he approached the café, he looked up and saw Anais sitting with her back partially to the window, likely chatting with her maids or knights.
She couldn’t have missed the crowd gathering below, so she must have turned away out of discomfort.
‘She probably didn’t want the curtains closed, because it would feel stuffy. She’s finally out of the palace, after all.’
As someone who lived in the palace, Rahil understood. Not being able to go into the city without being escorted by someone was a great inconvenience.
As Rahil approached the café, those who had initially glared at him, thinking he might be a new rival, lowered their gaze when their eyes met his. The energy radiating from his entire being and the intense look in his eyes were anything but ordinary.
‘Who… who is this guy?’
Meanwhile, Rahil felt relieved that none of the men who had seen Anais’s face were high-ranking nobles. Because if they had been a noble, they would have recognized her immediately.
‘Just her sitting by the window draws a crowd like this. She said this was her favorite café, but is it really?’
If this kind of situation happened frequently, the people gathered here would likely know who she was. Any commotion would arouse the curiosity of nobles, who would send their servants or maids to find out Anais’s name or family.
Her family was also a high-ranking noble house, so if she had become famous in that way, Rahil might have heard Anais’s name before he was even mature.
‘If that were the case… No, if my brother had seen her face, he would have tried to take her as his fiancée.’
There were rumors that the Marquis of Ruol had a daughter, but it was said she was so plain that the Marquis didn’t present her in public. Some even said she was unattractive.
On the other hand, there were rumors about an extraordinary beauty working as a maid in the Marquis’s household, whom the junior marquis protected closely. People dismissed these rumors because of Francis’s straightforward nature.
‘If that maid was Anais, it does makes sense. They probably spread false rumors to hide her true identity.’
