Chapter 25: 25

Chapter 25. Kristoff K. Schnaider

“Do we have to move to another seat?”

 

Though she regretted having to give up this seat with the beautiful view of the sea, she liked the atmosphere of this place so much.

 

No, perhaps she didn’t want to get up because of the man sitting across from her. She didn’t even realize that she secretly liked the time talking to him face to face.

 

Her reply made the manager look even more confused. After hesitating for a moment, he explained in a quiet yet firm voice.

 

“We want this cafe to be a luxurious retreat for ladies and gentlemen. I sincerely apologize, but I’d appreciate it if you could get up now.”

 

“Oh.”

 

An embarrassing murmur slipped through Marianne’s lips.

 

A luxurious retreat.

 

She couldn’t help but try to understand what he meant. Marianne dropped her burning eyes slowly. The crude purple dress caught her eye.

 

It was the  best dress in her closet. However, it was the most crude outfit around here.

 

Marianne’s face turned red in an instant. It’s been a long time since she felt ashamed. When she threw a sideways glance around the place, she saw all the ladies and gentlemen dressed snappily.

 

Only then did she see a middle-aged woman glancing over the manager’s shoulder. She wore a dress which seemed to be incomparably expensive and covered her mouth with a fancy hand fan.

 

Her hair, which had been pulled up all the way, seemed to almost reach up to the ceiling with some exaggeration in it. The hairstyle was popular in the capital city a long time ago.

 

“All right, let’s go back.”

 

It was when Marianne hurriedly got up as though she was about to run away from there.

 

“Come here.”

 

Kristoff’s sluggish voice shook the air.

 

Marianne glanced at him, her shoulders stiffened. His sluggish voice sounded very angry.

 

“Who is the owner of this cafe?”

 

His tone was accustomed back to the commanding one. The manager looked at the woman behind him with an embarrassed look on his face, and she walked up to them with raised chin.

 

“The owner of this cafe is Viscountess Grosz.”

 

The manager introduced her. Madam Grosz looked down at them and uttered in an arrogant voice.

 

“My store is a place for social gatherings of the upper class. It means that no one can come in without permission. The staff must have made a mistake to permit your entry.”

 

The glance she threw at Marianne was filled with disgust. Contempt and disregard that she didn’t even try to hide.

 

It was quite a familiar sight for Marianne.  When it was not long before she had become Mrs. Schneider, that kind of gaze lingered around her like air.

 

Ha, a small laugh slipped out through Kristoff’s teeth.

 

“Kristoff.”

 

Marianne called him in an embarrassed voice. However, Kristoff slowly got up from his seat instead of answering her.

 

Viscountess Grosz’s gaze, which had been trained at her, moved up. And she finally spared Kristoff a completely closer look.

 

Under the pressure he exuded, the Viscountess involuntarily hesitated. The eyes that quickly scanned through Kristoff’s clothing were very calculative.

 

Kristoff, who pulled up the corners of his lips faintly, looked back at Marianne and spoke in a sophisticated manner.

 

“As you said, Marianne, no matter how busy I am, I’ll have to show my face at the banquet from now on. The rudeness exuded by Viscountess Grosz must have originated from her ignorance.”

 

“Ignorance?”

 

The Viscountess’ voice suddenly sounded sharp. The curious gazes of people turned to them one by one upon the sudden uproar. She heard whispering voices.

 

As she became conscious of the gazes thrown at them, the Viscountess raised her eyes in an even more arrogant manner. She quickly scanned Kristoff up and down.

 

The suit he was wearing was clearly made of the finest fabric. However, it was her first time seeing him. That meant at least he was a rich businessman.

 

A commoner who was lucky enough to get rich.

 

They said times are changing, but it wasn’t yet. She was a confident member of nobility, and the man that stood before her must be at least a skillful businessman.

 

“Who are you saying rude? You’d better get up before you get embarrassed. If you want to do business in Blauberg, you have to follow the laws. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

 

Lady Grosz shouted coldly. She showed off her power, and Marianne quietly released a sigh at the situation that seemed to be out of control.

 

Blink.

 

When she glanced sideways with an anxious face, she saw Kristoff’s faint smile. She had a bad feeling about it. And most of all, an ominous hunch.

 

“Marianne.”

 

“……Say it.”

 

“Have you ever heard of the name of the Viscount of Grosz?”

 

Marianne ransacked her head quietly. When no answer came out of her, Kristoff pulled up the corners of his mouth as though he knew the answer.

 

“If she said she doesn’t know, it means that you are from a family that is not rich enough to be invited to my grandfather’s birthday. It’s understandable to see the self-proclaimed viscount throwing their pride aside and selling drinks as a business. Since you don’t even have your own estate, you won’t have any income, and you’ll be busy fulfilling the meals on your table everyday. That must be why you invested all your wealth and set up a cafe like this, am I not right?”

 

Kristoff, who paused after that, looked down at her, displaying even more arrogance.

 

Lady Grosz trembled, speechless at the first insult she had ever heard in her life. Her face turned red out of anger.

 

Kristoff slowly rolled his eyes and looked around the cafe. His eyes glanced at the guests.

 

“You’re not the subject in a distinguished social gathering, but you have to fill up your self-conceited character. Therefore, it seems to be the stigma of life to pretend to be a high-class nobleman and go to the cafe which is only frequented by  rich people.”

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“Uh, uh……”

 

“Lady Grosz, let me give you a piece of advice. Give up on your pride if you want to make money, or give up on making money if you want to be treated like a noble. I think it’s better to do either one of the two.”

 

“W-what are you saying……”

 

Viscountess Grosz blinked and spoke up again. She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t think of saying anything for a moment.

 

It seemed as if Kristoff had a knife in his mouth. Although she never watched his trials, she was sure it was worse than this. Marianne belatedly offered her heartfelt condolences to his opponents.

 

However, Kristoff seemed to have no intention of pulling the reins.

 

“Then, at least you don’t have to be told that you’re vulgar and greedy.”

 

“UH!”

 

Lady Grosz gnawed on her lips. She, who had just looked down on Kristoff and thought he was a mere businessman, turned red out of contempt. Lady Grosz retorted in a cold voice.

 

“But how remarkable are you?”

 

A captain who owns a trading ship at most. It was when the mocking smile was still drawn quite faintly on Viscountess Grosz’s face.

 

“Me?”

 

Kristoff smirked. People were so quiet that she could hear the sound of a needle falling. Everyone was listening to their conversation.

 

At that moment, she heard someone breathing heavily. Someone who probably recognized Kristoff.

 

“Times have changed, Marianne. I never thought I’d be asked about this on my own land.”

 

Marianne has never seen Kristoff brag about his geniture or title.

 

He was a natural. He wasn’t the one who needed to show off in the first place. He was a great man with his own name, without needing any help from his origin.

 

He looked down at Lady Grosz with a glint of arrogance that he had since the moment of his birth.

 

“The owner of Blauberg, Kristoff K. Schneider.”

 

“!”

 

At that moment, Lady Grosz took a big breath with a shocked face. The manager had his eyes open widely, and the atmosphere in the room shook loudly.

 

“And this woman here. The woman you’ve been insulting just now is my wife, Marianne Schneider.”

 

Kristoff turned his gaze slowly to her. His eyes met Marianne. Marianne, who was about to speak, shut up quietly. This was because his dark eyes burned fiercely.

 

She couldn’t say in front of the lady that she was the wife whom he was about to divorce. She couldn’t even guess what would happen if she did. Therefore, Marianne chose to be quiet.

 

Lady Grosz held her breath in disbelief. Her pale face seemed about to faint at any moment.

 

“How can I believe that you are Lord Schneider? If you’re impersonating Lord Schneider, you’d better be prepared.”

 

“I guess you haven’t heard that my wife and I have recently come back to Blauberg yet. Well, you don’t attend any social gatherings to receive the news.”

 

Kristoff’s calm and composed voice sounded even colder compared to her.

 

Lady Grosz stared at Kristoff with eyes open wide, as if trying to determine whether what he said was true or not.

 

“Whether you want to believe it or not, it’s up to you, Lady Grosz. I’ll send Oscar by the end of the day, so please anticipate the message he will bring later.”

 

Oscar.

 

No one in Blauberg didn’t know that name. In fact, he was the butler of Marquis of Schneider, and he was more well-known as Oscar. At the same time, he was also the aide of Marquis Schneider.

 

At that time when the marquis made his name known as the Marquis of Sharks, he was also a notorious person who managed all kinds of dirty work on the marquis’ behalf.

 

Legend has it that when the child was crying, they were told, “If you keep crying, Bolen will come to catch you.” After that, no matter how stubborn the child was, they would stop crying in an instant. That much power at the mere mention of his name only proved how great his name is.

 

[note: his name is Oscar Bolen, and people are too afraid to call him by his first name, so there he goes by Bolen, lol.]

 

However, Kristoff lightly uttered the name that one could say recklessly. Even by his first name, not his surname.

 

Really? Is this man the real Kristoff Schnaider?

 

Lady Grosz looked at him with a suspicious glint. Her confused gaze turned to Marianne this time. Her eyes seemed resentful, as though questioning why Lady Schneider dressed in such a way.

 

“Humph!”

 

“I don’t know if you had already heard the rumor, but Marquis Schneider cares deeply for Marianne. I can’t wait to see what kind order the Marquis will deliver through Oscar.”

 

“Wait a minute……!”

 

“Let’s go, Marianne.”

 

Kristoff walked ahead without sparing any more glances. Marianne, who had been staring at Lady Grosz for a moment, followed him after releasing a brief sigh. The manager hurriedly ran after them to hand back their hat and gloves belatedly.

 

Viscountess Grosz looked dazedly into the air, expressionless. The guests, who had watched the scene unfold, began to leave their seats one by one.

 

Of course they did so. No one in Blauberg would want to fall out of the Marquis Scneider’s favor.

 

Perhaps, they would never visit this place again. Lady Schneider would never step into the cafe where she has been insulted terribly again. It sounded like a death sentence for the businesswoman.

 

Marianne looked at Kristoff’s stiff back and bit her lips slightly. He was angry as if he had been the one who got insulted.

 

And she somehow felt consoled by Kristoff’s anger. It was ridiculous, but she did feel that way.

 

“Are you all right, Kristoff?”

 

She was always afraid of this kind of situation. She felt as though this was a devastating moment when she brought shame to Kristoff’s name.

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