Messy.

If there’s one word to describe Yena’s situation right now, messy could be the right term.

She’s running away from or should we say hiding from Count Yohan, her ex-fiancé who adores her very much, his eyes literally always forming heart shapes whenever he sees her.

And she doesn’t like him. More so, being ‘liked by a boy’, she doesn’t like such an idea. That’s because, well, she’s gay as hell. She was actually so close to getting disowned by her father, the Duke of Cambridge, when she just recklessly declared that she’s calling the marriage off on the night of its official public announcement.

Her father was so furious at her, because imagine the humiliation their family got after that not-so-little fiasco that she did. Good thing his head was more sober now and when Yena had confessed about her uality, he wasn’t really surprised.

“I figured you really bend the opposite way.” Her father chuckled, holding a cup of coffee in his right hand and a newspaper on the left.

“You knew? And yet you decided about the marriage thingy?” Yena looked appalled, she didn’t know whether she’ll be happy or not hearing her father’s news.

“Well you don’t bring anyone, so I thought you really don’t have the guts to date fine ladies so why waste our good genes if you intend to forever be single, right?”

“Seriously, father?”

“Well, just be thankful I didn’t really disown you after embarrassing us that night.” Her father placed both the cup and the newspaper down as he proceeded to look at Yena with serious eyes.

And even if Yena knew she could joke with him sometimes, whenever he’s giving her the ‘eye’, she should stop or else…

Things might get bad.

Just like right now.

Scanning the room for a place where she could hide, she couldn’t really spot any. Her father had sent her in this party to socialize, and she was about to, even if she doesn’t like it, when her eyes met with Count Yohan’s and they’ve been playing tag since earlier.

Not until she found an empty table.

Well, it wasn’t really empty, because on that table sat the youngest Duchess, specifically Duchess Chaewon of Rutland.

The reason why she doesn’t have an acquaintance with her? It was a known fact that she dislikes socializing. And nobody wants to talk to her too, for she emits this very serious and intimidating aura, and it feels like she wouldn't hesitate to throw you a glare if ever you would dare approach her.

But Yena doesn’t know that for she’s always absent in basically every party because she doesn’t like them. She’s a bubbly one and she has many friends, but she prefers to interact with ordinary people, not those of nobility. Socializing with them irks her; she always had to maintain her poise, she always had to think about her image so as not to taint their family’s reputation and she doesn’t want any of that. For some reason, even if she’s living in the nobility all her life, she never got accustomed to all these royal sh*ts. She always feels suffocated.

It feels like she was robbed of true freedom, like she was both being given everything and yet she doesn’t really have anything she could call her own at the same time.

Going back, yes, Yena was oblivious of such fact so she bravely and confidently (not to mention, dumbly) approached the Duchess’ table, as she planned on trying to start a conversation, because she might escape the Yohan’s grasp if he sees that she’s already busy talking with a colleague.

She saw Yohan scanning the room, probably looking for her, so she immediately went her way towards Duchess Chaewon’s table. 

“Hello, can I sit here?” She was looking at the approaching Yohan that time so she didn’t really see how Chaewon had brought her head up, threw her a glare but then immediately changed it into a blank expression.

Receiving no answer from the Duchess, Yena looked at her, offering her hand. “I don’t think we have already met before but that’s the purpose of social gatherings, right? Yena here, nice to meet you.”

Chaewon just blankly looked at her face as she shifted her gaze to Yena’s hands.

Yena was giving her a smile with a bit of confusion, puzzled at why the lady was wearing a stoic face. Being given the chance to stare at her at a closer distance, Yena found the lady really beautiful. Her face doesn’t resemble a princess or more so, a royalty for that matter, but her visuals had reminded her so much of a goddess. It was so ethereal, so enticing to look at; like she will never get tired of doing so, for the rest of her life.

“Yena, you’re here!” Panting from trying to catch her, Yohan said after making a bow as a courtesy to the Duchess Chaewon. “Oh, good evening, your grace, Duchess Chaewon.”

Yena was brought out to reality after basically idling over the fine young lady in front of her. She started sweating upon hearing Yohan’s voice as this was practically a dead end for her after messing up her chance on escaping.

“Y-yohan, I