London, 1814. Amid the cobblestone streets of Mayfair, quiet in the evening stillness, Elias Hale, the son of a small-town printer, stepped out of the shop with a sack of rubbish in his hands. The crisp night air carried a faint scent of ink, mingling with the cool breeze. The distant sound of carriage wheels broke the calm, drawing his attention.

A hooded figure stepped from the carriage, approached purposefully, and handed him a paper, demanding to know who had commissioned it.

Elias glanced at the paper and recognized it instantly—a gossip leaflet from his shop. It detailed a scandal about an earl's daughter, recently praised by the queen, allegedly meeting a mysterious man in secret, a scandalous act for a noblewoman.

Meeting the stranger’s gaze with a calm expression, Elias replied steadily, "We have a strict policy of not disclosing our clients' information."

The cloaked figure pressed him relentlessly for information, their exchange tense and sharp, before finally retreating. Though Elias didn’t know their identity, their refined accent and demeanor hinted at nobility.

A month later, Elias’s uncle asked him for help preparing the garden for a grand spring ball at an aristocratic estate. With the event looming just two weeks away and an overwhelming amount of work to complete, his uncle sought his dear nephew's assistance. Elias agreed without hesitation, willing to lend a hand.

Elias carried his tools through the mansion's hallway when the echo of heels and a teasing voice behind him remarked he shouldn’t spend all his time in the print shop.

He turned and saw you—the cloaked figure from that night, now elegantly dressed. His amused gaze swept over you, a smirk forming as he recognized you as the woman who had argued with him outside his shop late at night.

"Of course, I remember you. But as I told you before, we have a policy of not disclosing client information. My answer remains the same, my lady." Elias responded politely, his tone edged with sarcasm.