Chapter 14
What happened last night continued to linger in Bella’s mind even the next day.
The way he had looked at her. His low, husky voice. The heat of his steady breathing at such a close distance. Her heart still pounded at random moments, as if she had never truly left that moment behind.
‘…Does he not remember what happened last night?’
While she had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep whenever she closed her eyes and remembered that moment, the duke acted as if nothing had happened. So much so that she felt foolish for worrying about what expression she should wear when facing him in the morning.
“Oh, my head… I’m dying.”
“Here, honey water.”
“Thanks.”
Lost in thought, Bella set a teacup down in front of Vincent, who was stretched out on the sofa. It seemed the duke was not the only one who had drunk heavily the night before. Vincent was clearly suffering from a terrible hangover.
“Ha… I can finally breathe.”
“Are you feeling a little better?”
“No. Not at all. I feel awful. My stomach’s turning, my head’s spinning. I feel like I’m dying.”
“If it’s that bad, should I get medicine from the physician?”
“If Bella stays and plays with me, I think my headache might disappear.”
Vincent held the steaming cup with both hands and groaned dramatically. Though he was joking lightly, he truly looked unwell. After taking one small sip, he lay back down immediately, feeling nauseous from even the slightest movement.
“You brought it on yourself by accepting every drink people handed you.”
Logan, who had been watching Vincent act childish in front of Bella, made a dry comment. Unlike Vincent, who was still suffering past noon, Logan had already risen early and resumed work as if nothing had happened.
“You heartless man. He’s not human. Even a demon would run away if it saw how stubborn he is.”
Vincent leaned toward Bella as if complaining to her, pouting at Logan’s remark. Bella responded with a small laugh.
“Bella, if that picky duke over there ever bullies you, run straight to me and tell me. Got it?”
“His Grace… treats me well.”
“What? He does?”
Vincent whipped his head around, clearly not believing her. Logan’s brow twitched slightly at the sight of how close the two were standing.
“Stop bothering us and leave.”
Logan said coldly after ending a call with his secretary in the capital.
“No thanks. My mother will definitely drag me off if I leave. Why would I give up this comfortable spot? It’s been a while since I got to spend time with Bella. It brings back memories.”
“You’re the only one being idle here.”
Ignoring Vincent completely, Logan gestured for Bella to come sit beside him.
She hesitated, glancing between the two men, then quietly moved to Logan’s side. For now, her duty was to attend to the duke.
“I told you to be careful.”
His voice was low enough that only she could hear it. It did not waver at all, even with Vincent in the same room.
“There’s still a lot I need to teach you.”
Bella’s heart dropped at his words.
He remembered everything.
And yet he acted as if it meant nothing.
She clenched her hands tightly in her lap, resenting herself for being shaken so easily by a single word or gesture from him.
***
She did not even know how she spent the afternoon.
The duke gave her simple tasks as usual, and she continued sorting documents as instructed, but she could not concentrate.
‘I can’t let myself be shaken.’
Bella strengthened her resolve.
No matter how much interest he showed, the duke belonged to a completely different world. And he was a man with a fiancée.
‘If he behaves like this toward me… it’s probably just boredom.’
Once he left Rosedale, he would forget her. She was nothing more than a brief distraction.
Perhaps life in the countryside felt dull to someone who lived in the capital.
Even knowing this, his face kept appearing in her thoughts. The possessiveness that seemed unwilling to let anyone approach her. The warning tone that had whispered near her ear.
‘Have I gone crazy?’
It felt pathetic that such small gestures could shake her this much.
She touched her flushed ear. She needed to calm down before returning to his bedroom.
Just then, she heard unexpected news.
***
“Joshua!”
The moment she saw a familiar face, Bella ran toward him and hugged him.
Curly brown hair. Freckles across his nose. A faint scent of grass. Joshua — her only friend from the dowager lady’s estate.
“It’s been a while.”
Joshua lifted her slightly when she ran into his arms, smiling brightly.
“I can’t believe you just appeared like this! After I heard you went to university, I never saw you again.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry we only talked through letters back then.”
“You couldn’t help it. I wasn’t in Netherwell.”
When her feet touched the ground again, Bella looked up at him. The last time they met, they had been about the same height. Now she had to tilt her head to look at him.
The boy who always wore round glasses and checkered suspenders had grown into a man. Compared to him, she felt unchanged and a little embarrassed, nudging the ground with her foot.
“Did you greet the count?”
“Yeah. I greeted the count and his wife, then came straight to see you. Have you been well? No one bullied you until you cried, right?”
“I’m all grown up now. I don’t cry over things like that anymore.”
The two walked side by side, chatting about everything they had missed. Joshua gently ruffled her hair as she talked freely without worrying about others for once.
“When did the little crybaby grow up like this?”
“Hey, stop it. You’ll make my hair static.”
It felt like just yesterday that he used to search for the girl who pretended to be fine in front of others but cried quietly where no one could see. A soft smile lingered on his lips.
“For now, I’m serving the duke who’s visiting Rosedale. Thanks to that, things have been easier for me.”
“The duke… you mean Duke Fraser?”
Joshua’s expression shifted slightly. He had heard of the duke’s harsh reputation.
“It’s okay. I was a little scared at first too, but he’s not like the rumors say. He even gave me a name himself.”
“…A name?”
“Yes. Bella. He told me to use it as my name.”
Bella smiled brightly.
Seeing her genuinely happy, a complicated expression appeared on Joshua’s face.
