A little away from the pier where Katya and Nikolai stood, someone was observing this affectionate situation.

“Damn it!”

Ivan, hiding behind a tree trunk, angrily struck the wooden pillar with his fist.

In a situation where his life was hanging by a thread, their minds seemed to be filled with nothing but a field of flowers.

This morning, debt collectors came to Petrozky’s villa demanding repayment of gambling debts.

To be precise, they were hired thugs from loan sharks, relentless individuals who had chased Ivan from the north to the south.

As soon as Ivan saw them, he had all the servants retreat for fear that they would inform his family.

While the thugs wreaked havoc, demolishing everything in their path, the apparent leader grabbed Ivan by his hair and brought him to his knees.

“How dare you lowlifes challenge the nobility!”

Even with Ivan’s outburst, they simply turned a deaf ear.

If they were to go to court and expose the illegal debt collection, Ivan would be the one to suffer the most.

The Count Petrozky had once made it clear that if Ivan ever gambled again, he would be disowned by the family.

It didn’t end with being driven out of the house.

Being disowned meant that his identity would no longer be recognized by the family, a permanent deprivation of his noble status.

“If you’re a noble, you should take the lead in repaying your debts. If you feel so unjust, go and complain to the authorities!”

Ivan fell silent at their words.

The thugs were veterans when it came to debt collection, and they had dealt with many nobles like this before.

As their status rose, they considered honor to be the most important value.

Especially the Petrozky family, who not only belonged to the boyanin high nobility but were also a prominent noble family of the founding era.

They knew that Ivan wouldn’t dare go to court, so they freely caused mayhem like this.

“Bring it out.”

As the leader snapped his fingers, one of his subordinates brought out the axe they had been carrying on their shoulder.

While one person pressed against Ivan’s back, another placed his right hand on the table.

“You’ve fallen behind for quite some time, haven’t you? If we chop off one finger each month, it should be enough. Even if we count it as a week, cutting off all ten fingers wouldn’t be sufficient.”

“Stop it, you crazy bastards!”

“But you still have to get married someday, so I’ll leave your ring finger. You need to wear a wedding ring, don’t you? I have a romantic side, you know. Haha!”

As the thug raised the axe high towards the ceiling, the sharp, purplish blade glinted in the reflected light of the chandelier.

“Just a moment! Listen to me! I have a solution!”

Upon hearing those words, the leader raised his hand to silence them, and the axe, which had been descending, stopped halfway.

“Is there a way to get some money?”

“Do you know Duke Smirnov? I made a promise to marry his eldest daughter. If I receive the dowry, I’ll be generous enough to cover the interest as well! Isn’t it more profitable for you guys to wait a bit and collect both the principal and the interest?”

“Don’t mess with us. There’s a rumor spreading in the south that you were dumped. Where are you trying to deceive us?”

“The marriage will proceed as planned! It was just a lover’s quarrel that got a bit out of hand because the girl has a temper. We had a little fight before marriage, you could say.”

The leader, who had been smirking, seemed intrigued and tilted his head.

“Is that so?”

“Really? We even cohabitated? Who would dare take away the woman I’ve lived with? Women, you know. If you treat them gently and cater to their whims, they’ll eventually lower their heads and come in willingly!”

“Well then, I’ll give you a week. Try to win your bride’s heart within that time.”

The man ultimately gave Ivan another chance.

Since the fact that the Grand Duke had come here and proposed to Katya was not known to the public, so there was no way he could know that Ivan’s marriage card was useless.

The thugs disappeared, saying they would come back in a week.

With great effort, Ivan came to the Duke’s residence to talk to Katya again, but when he saw Katya riding in a carriage with Nikolai, he followed them here.

Katya, who was with Nikolai, often smiled.

“Why does she smile so beautifully, but never… with me!”

The woman he always looked down on with contempt was smiling beautifully in front of another man.

Ivan was unaware that it was his own fault.

The possessiveness that had taken root in his heart since the day he first saw her began to boil once again.

From that day until now, he had been suffering from a painful one-sided love.

***

Ivan’s first meeting with Katya dates back a year before the day he was hit by a rubber arrowhead in the Duke Smirnov’s residence.

It was thirteen years ago, at a certain resort.

“Our children have met the young ladies before. What are you doing? Come and greet His Highness!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I remember seeing them when we went on vacation up north.”

“They were young, so they might not remember.”

That day became unforgettable not only for Ivan but also for Bianca.

It was the day they met their first love.

“Oh my, look, Duke Smirnov is here!”

Upon the lady’s words, the nobles on the beach turned their heads in unison to where she was pointing.

When they saw Duke Pavtiski Smirnov walking on the sandy shore with his wife and two daughters, everyone rushed there without anyone asking who would go first.

It was to build a friendship with the influential figure of the south, Pavtiski Smirnov.

As it was a visit for the care of his weak wife, bringing up investment talk immediately would have had the opposite effect.

The nobles, who had obtained the Duke’s vacation schedule through their connections in the south, had been waiting for his family here to show their faces in advance.

Count Petrozky and his wife were among them.

Although no one knew outside that the count’s family was spending money recklessly, in reality, it was a critical time for their family’s financial situation due to a business failure, so they were in urgent need of investment.

“Just do as father has informed you.”

Count Petrozky planned to draw attention by bringing forward Ivan, who was the same age as the Smirnov sisters.

Having heard that the Duke was a doting father, there was a high chance of a positive response to the investment if the children became friends first.

Ivan, who was forcibly dragged out despite wanting to sleep more in his accommodation, walked on the sandy ground with a disgruntled expression and wind-blown cheeks.

His friends who were standing next to him were also there due to their parents’ insistence, and their mouths were wide open for the same reason.

“Do you see them? The two girls with strawberry blonde and platinum blonde hair. They want you to go and play with them first. You must be kind to them and become friends. Do you understand?”

Ivan turned his gaze in the direction his father pointed.

In that moment, he felt a peculiar emotion, as if a lightning bolt struck his head for the first time in his eight-year-old life.

While other boys were looking at the platinum blonde girl, Ivan couldn’t take his eyes off the girl with strawberry blonde hair.

It was as if a doll was walking towards him.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

At that time, he didn’t know, but looking back, it was his first love.

“Greetings, Your Highness!”

While the adults surrounded Duke Smirnov and exchanged greetings, eight-year-old Katya took her one-year-younger sister’s hand and slipped away from the crowd.

The sisters found a spot on the sandy beach and sat down.

The noblewomen, including Count Petrozky’s wife, pushed Ivan and his friends in that direction.

The boys slowly walked towards the spot where the sisters were sitting, attempting to approach them.

Katya and Bianca were busy sprinkling water and building a sandcastle.

Well, it was not exactly a sandcastle, but rather a shapeless pile of sand.

However, the sisters seemed to enjoy playing with the grains of sand more than forming the shape of a castle.

With a gleeful giggle and a beautiful smile, Ivan approached the sisters first.

“I can build something better than this.”

He murmured to himself, indirectly appealing to the girl he found intriguing.

Whether or not he said it out loud, Katya seemed uninterested.

Her full attention was on her sister.

“Bianca, isn’t it fun?”

Bianca smiled broadly and nodded without saying a word.

Feeling ignored and irritated, Ivan opened his mouth again.

“I can do a better job than this, you know?”

Upon hearing his words, Katya turned her head with an annoyed expression.

“Do I know you?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep talking when I don’t even know who you are?”

Only then did Ivan realize that he hadn’t introduced himself properly and his face turned red.

“My name is Ivan. Ivan Petrozky.”

“Okay.”

“You won’t tell me your name?”

“I’m Katarina.”

“Shall we play together?”

Ivan mustered up the courage to speak.

“I’m sorry, but that’s difficult. It’s uncomfortable for my sister when she’s around strangers.”

Katya asked for understanding from Ivan and his friends.

When Ivan looked beside him, Bianca was holding her sister’s sleeve tightly, hiding behind her with an anxious expression.

He was taken aback by the first rejection he had ever experienced.

By throwing a tantrum or getting angry, he could easily get whatever he wanted, but this time was different.

Winning the girl’s heart was not easy.

“But–”

“I’m sorry. Let’s play together next time.”

Unable to change Katya’s stubborn attitude, the boys eventually left.

As Ivan glanced back, he saw the sisters laughing again, as if it had never happened.

That sight filled him with mischief.

It was embarrassing to be rejected by a mere girl.

‘Why is that younger sister acting so cheaply?’

Their relationship was completely different from him and his brother.

Ivan’s older brother, who had grown up early, didn’t want to be associated with his younger brother, who was a bully and a cunning man who picked on the weak at every opportunity.

Blaming others rather than admitting his own mistakes was an easy habit.

Ivan believed that it was not him or his brother, but the Smirnov sisters who were abnormal.

“If only it weren’t for that girl…”

Seeing Bianca, who couldn’t utter a word in front of them and was passive, Ivan burst into a displeased laughter.

He had an idea.