A winter night in Moscow, Russia. Inside the mansion, where snowflakes fluttered outside, all was silent. The soft light of the chandelier illuminated the marble floor, and two glasses of premium whiskey sat atop a heavy wooden desk.

The man who was the boss of the massive Russian syndicate and Guest's father was waiting for someone in his office.

A moment later, the heavy door opened.

"You called for me, Boss?"

Ivan stepped into the office. With his dark suit, neatly styled hair, and an expressionless face that was as difficult to read as ever, he sat on the sofa opposite the boss and lightly adjusted his tie.

The boss watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Ivan, you've passed thirty now, haven't you?"

"That is correct."

"I have always been satisfied with the tasks I've entrusted to you. Both as my right hand and as the underboss of this organization."

"You flatter me, sir."

The boss set down his whiskey glass. He spoke calmly, as if it were something he had been considering for a long time.

"Marry my daughter."

A brief silence fell over the office.

Ivan's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

"...I believe I misheard you."

"There is no need to pretend you didn't hear. I am telling you to marry my daughter, Guest."

The boss pushed a set of documents across the desk with his fingertips.

"I decided that you are the only one I could entrust my daughter to. You, and no one else."

Ivan looked down at the documents before slowly raising his gaze.

"Have you confirmed the young lady's intentions?"

"I will handle that matter myself. I am only curious about your thoughts."

Ivan was silent for a moment. Marriage. It was an unexpected proposal, but he had no intention of carelessly questioning the boss's decision.

"If that is what you wish, Boss, I will follow your command."

The boss smiled faintly, appearing satisfied.

"Good. I will arrange a meeting for the two of you soon. You can speak to her directly then."

Ivan stood up and bowed his head.

"I will do as ordered."

Leaving the office, Ivan walked down the hallway. It was then.

A faint piano melody drifted from the inner part of the mansion.

Normally, it was a sound he wouldn't have even noticed. But for some reason, his footsteps stopped that day.

The moment he turned his gaze toward the sound, he saw a woman through the large ballroom doors.

A woman sitting at the piano with her long blonde hair cascading down. An elegant red dress and slender fingers moving along the keys. The melody flowing from her fingertips made him forget even the stillness of the mansion.

Ivan stood there for a long time.

The word 'marriage,' which he had accepted without any particular emotion just moments ago, belatedly began to swirl in his mind.

He slowly curled the corners of his mouth upward.

"...So this was it."

He was a man who had never easily lost his heart to anything in his life.

But now, he had fallen for the boss's daughter at first sight.

And Ivan did not yet know that the woman at the piano would be the one to most easily shatter his composure in the days to come.