MLHBMH 18

Chapter 18

 An Unimpressive Body

When Lily hurried away without even glancing at him, Harold’s eyes narrowed. His gaze, filled with tangled dissatisfaction, followed the direction where she’d disappeared.

He hadn’t expected to see Lily at the Stacey estate and was a little surprised by the sudden encounter. Still, he had no intention of acknowledging her. If people knew they were acquainted, it would only make things awkward for Lily—and for him as well.

He assumed she’d ignored him for the same reason, yet it still left a sour taste in his mouth. A simple nod of recognition wouldn’t have hurt, but instead, she’d bolted as if she’d seen a ghost. Irritated, Harold twisted his lips.

If Kennedy hadn’t been holding his arm, Harold might have gone after Lily. He might have grabbed her small shoulders and demanded, “Why are you ignoring me?”

The thought was laughable. After all, he’d ignored her first. Asking that question now would have been ridiculous. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how she would’ve reacted. He regretted not finding out.

“I’m sorry, Young Lord.”

As he lingered on his frustration, following Lily’s trail with persistent eyes, a delicate, trembling voice pulled him back. He turned his head.

Tears welled in Kennedy’s large eyes. The glistening drops reminded him, just for a moment, of Lily drunkenly sobbing that night.

“You must have been startled by the sudden situation. I truly apologize.”

“It’s fine.”

Yes, it had been sudden, and yes, he’d been startled—but it wasn’t Kennedy’s fault. His surprise had been entirely because of Lily.

No… perhaps partly because he’d met her here, at the Stacey estate. That alone was enough to shock him. In that case, there was at least a faint connection to Kennedy Stacey.

More than anything, Harold was curious about who had summoned Lilliana Benjamin to this place and why. Based on what he knew, her presence here made no sense.

He was equally puzzled by Lily and Kennedy’s relationship. From Kennedy’s reaction, they seemed like friends—but the way Lily had drawn a firm line between them suggested otherwise.

“Do you know that lady you just met? You called her by name rather familiarly.”

If he was curious, he might as well ask. As they ascended the stairs again, Harold posed the question casually, but Kennedy gave a strained laugh, her gaze flicking toward where Lily had disappeared.

“Ah, um… yes. We used to be friends.”

“Used to be? So, not anymore? Why? Did you have a falling out?”

“No, we didn’t fight, but…”

Kennedy trailed off, clearly unsure how to answer.

If she and Lily had quarreled, Kennedy would have immediately blamed Lily and painted herself as innocent. The hesitation told Harold that wasn’t the case.

Or perhaps things had fallen apart because of Kennedy herself, leaving her too guilty to fault Lily.

Given that Lily had been the one to keep her distance, Harold suspected it was the latter.

So, my guess was right after all.

His golden eyes gleamed sharply as he studied Kennedy’s troubled face. Whether by luck or misfortune, Kennedy didn’t notice the scrutiny. Finding a convenient excuse at last, she parted her rose-tinted lips.

“We didn’t fight. We just got busy and drifted apart. You must have friends like that too, Young Lord.”

Her eagerness to gloss things over only made Harold’s suspicions more certain.

“For two people who just ‘drifted apart,’ Lady Benjamin seemed rather cold to you.”

He pressed further, wanting not just plausibility but certainty. Yet Kennedy was a trickier opponent than he’d expected.

“Was she? I didn’t notice.”

Feigning ignorance, Kennedy widened her eyes and gave him a sidelong look.

“You seem awfully interested in Lady Benjamin, Young Lord. Do you perhaps… fancy her?”

More than you, certainly, Harold thought but swallowed the words behind a polite smile.

“That’s not it. But if my curiosity offended you, I apologize.”

“Then invite me to House Maximilian next time. I’ve always wanted to see the Duchess’s rose greenhouse.”

The greenhouse that the Duchess cherished like a child was strictly off-limits to outsiders—only the gardeners and household members were allowed in. Even Crown Prince Austin had only admired it from afar.

So saying she wanted to enter the rose greenhouse could only mean one thing: she wished to marry Harold and become part of the Maximilian household.

“Yes. I’ll invite you if the opportunity arises.”

A dream that would never come true—but Harold didn’t shatter it. He preferred to let her keep dreaming; after all, that dream would help him achieve his own.

His kindness toward Kennedy was nothing more than strategy. Nothing else.

All the way from the Stacey estate to the Benjamin manor, Lily’s mind was full of him—the man whose name and title she didn’t even know, the man she’d spent a reckless night with.

As she retraced her memories, flashes of firm muscles beneath a white robe came to mind. Her cheeks warmed. Though married, she’d never shared a bed with her husband. That night had been the first time she’d ever seen a man’s bare skin.

…The first time she’d ever slept with a man.

She couldn’t remember how things had unfolded between them. The last clear memory was of their lips meeting—everything afterward was as black as ink spilled over a blank canvas.

Should she consider that a blessing, or a curse?

She didn’t know. What she did know was that she wanted nothing more to do with that man. Even recalling that night made her uneasy, and she’d spent so long trying to forget—only for all her effort to vanish the moment they met again.

“I’ll just forget again.”

Lily squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase him from her mind, but it was useless. The harder she tried, the clearer the memories became, driving her crazy. Her thoughts drifted from that night to the more recent moment at the Stacey estate.

And there she was—Kennedy Stacey, linking arms with him, smiling like they were lovers.

It had been infuriating enough that Kennedy had ignored her before, only to act friendly now—but what bothered her more was the man’s connection to Kennedy.

From what she saw, they looked like lovers—or even fiancés. But the fiancé Lily remembered for Kennedy had been someone entirely different: shorter, plainer, far less striking than him.

“What am I even doing…”

She shook her head, appalled at herself for mentally comparing Kennedy’s old fiancé to that man.

Whatever their relationship was, it definitely wasn’t ordinary. No wonder Kennedy had been clinging to his arm in her own house.

“Did her fiancé change?”

It had been almost two years since Lily stopped keeping up with the Staceys. It was entirely possible Kennedy had a new betrothed now.

If that was true, it meant Lily had spent a night with her former friend’s fiancé.

“What a mess.”

Even the most melodramatic novels weren’t this tangled. Lily gave a dry laugh and rubbed her face. Another reason to forget him, she thought bitterly.

So forget. Forget everything, Lily. You can do it.

She hugged her knees and murmured the words like a self-hypnosis mantra. It actually helped—until something else made her think of him again.

When Lily arrived at the Benjamin estate and began to undress for a bath—

“Ah.”

A sting flared in her knee as her clothes brushed against it. Frowning, she looked down at the scabbed wound. It was from when she’d run away after Frederick’s verbal assault a few days ago and tripped.

The scrapes on her palms and elbows had healed quickly, but the knee still hadn’t. If that man hadn’t applied ointment, it might’ve festered and scarred.

“…I suppose I should thank him for that.”

She wanted to express her gratitude, but that meant speaking to him—and if they spoke, the topic of that night might come up. Even saying thank you wasn’t simple.

“I’ll thank him… if the chance ever comes.”

Whenever that would be.

Lily pushed away thoughts of the man again and stepped into the bath. After washing herself thoroughly in warm water, she returned to her room—only to stop dead.

Frederick was sitting on the sofa, waiting. Lily’s hand clutched the loose front of her robe tight.

“…What are you doing here?”

“Is there any place in my own house I’m not allowed to go?”

She’d been about to ask what he was doing in her bedroom while she was gone, but his smug answer stopped her. Instead, she forced her voice steady.

“If you have something to say, could you wait outside for a minute? I’ll change and come out.”

But Frederick didn’t move. He sank deeper into the sofa, folded his arms, and looked her up and down.

The vile scrutiny made Lily’s face stiffen. Her fingers clenched hard around her robe.

“What… do you think you’re doing?”

Her voice trembled. Frederick, completely unfazed, gave his usual shameless smile.

“I used to think your body was unimpressive,” he said smoothly. “But seeing it up close, it’s better than I expected. I’m… pleasantly surprised.”