"What's important about the owners.h.i.+p of the building if this Austern Empire will be yours?"

"That's that, and this is this." She didn't mean to let this opportunity pa.s.s, as they said that the owner of a building was above the creator.

"He changed the owners.h.i.+p of the building to your name after he bought it," Valerian politely reported.

"Let's call it an engagement gift." Killian smiled and said to Julietta, who looked at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you, Your Highness. But why are you coming here, blocking the way to the annex, let alone moving the coach house?"

Killian agonized over her question for a moment. There was no place better than this to meet Marquis Anais or troupe leader Maribel. He had to tell Julietta about her father one day, so he stopped worrying and opened his mouth. "Because there's no better place to meet out of people's sight."

"Now that we will be engaged, we don't have to hide anymore, do we?" Julietta tilted her head as if she didn't understand.

"Of course, we don't have to hide our meeting. The man I meet here is Marquis Anais."

Julietta was leaning comfortably against Killian's arm, and sat upright.

"Why did that name come out here?"

At her stiff voice, Killian said soothingly, "Julie, the Marquis also knows about this. He kept writing to Mrs. Raban to see you as a niece. I thought I couldn't fool him anymore, so I told him the truth."

"That's ridiculous. How can you trust him? Did you forget what almost happened to me on the last day of the season? Did you forget what his daughter was trying to do?" Julietta was angry, pus.h.i.+ng Killian with a rush of betrayal.

Killian waited for her to calm down, facing her eyes full of regret. "Julietta, the Marquis is very worried about you. He thought you were dead. He was so happy to hear that you were alive. He has a lot to do from now on, instead of the Duke of Kiellini, who can't come forward. It's not something to think about only emotionally."

"Didn't you think about his position? How painful it would be to have two daughters against one another."

Julietta's words gave Killian a moment's thought. "He doesn't know what Lady Anais did yet. But I'm going to tell him soon. He needs to know that he has to choose between his two daughters."

"What if he chooses Lady Anais?"

When asked about something he didn't want to think about, Killian patted Julietta on the head. "Even then, he won't be able to talk about you. Even though he was your father, I couldn't handle it poorly since it was about your safety. I also made the Marquis of Anais swear the vow of silence."

Julietta buried her face in her hands. Maribel had explained that her father did not abandon her. The man thought that her mother, Stella, and she had died together, because of the plot by Marquise Anais.

The fact that she was not abandoned by her father was somewhat comforting. It didn't make much difference, because she couldn't recall much about the Marquis, but anyway, he was the man she called father. She felt sorry for what he would learn about Christine and herself.

She wouldn't resent him if he chose Christine, but it wasn't just a matter of choice. She didn't know what else Anais would do when she thought about what she had done. She was not good enough to say she would sacrifice herself and step down for the happiness of her father and half-sister. She couldn't understand why she had to. They had done something bad to her. So, she didn't have to feel guilty.

'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Not that she wanted to make Christine feel the terrible experience she had had that night, but she didn't actually intend to. However, she had no choice but to worry about her father, Marquis Anais, because she didn't intend to be attacked foolishly.

Killian was watching Julietta as she sat silently for a long time, and spoke carefully. "The Marquis of Anais will act as your protector on behalf of the Duke of Kiellini at this engagement ceremony."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"He is supposed to come here tomorrow. I'm going to talk then."

"Wouldn't it be better for him not to know?" She didn't mean to pretend to be nice, but she didn't think that he had to know what had happened to her.

"No, I have to tell him. That way, he should prepare himself. Whether he chooses you or Anais, whether he stands back and does nothing, I have to give him time to decide."

'Life is a series of choices.' She was also grappling with a difficult choice. She used to change her mind a dozen times a day. She thought that she might get attacked by something after Regina's warning while hesitating as an excuse to make a choice, but it was still a decision that she couldn't make easily.

The Marquis might also need time. It would be right to give him time to think it through and choose. She nodded, giving her consent.

When Ian missed the time to prepare tea again, Julietta got up from her seat. "I'll leave now. I have a lot to do to prepare for the engagement ceremony."