Chapter : 8. You Are Truly Mischievous
Before Stella could calm her shallowly fluttering emotions, Adrian called out to her as she was lost in thought.
“Lady Bronte.”
“Yes.”
“Would you prefer I call you something else?”
Snapping back to reality a moment late, Stella shook her head.
Not only was there no name in particular she wanted to be called, but being addressed by a new name while having lost her memories also felt bothering to her.
“No. As Sir Castillo said, the fact that I am Stella Bronte doesn’t change.”
“Is that so? That is a bit disappointing.”
“Pardon?”
‘What is he disappointed about?’
Stella looked blankly at Adrian.
“I thought it would be enjoyable to call Lady Bronte by a different name. For instance, a nickname. A special nickname……”
Seeing Adrian tilt his head with a look of serious deliberation, Stella couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
“Never mind.”
Adrian turned his gaze away.
Blushing slightly, he looked down at her from an angle.
Even though he said it was nothing, it seemed he still held a desire to call her by a nickname.
“Then please give me a nickname yourself.”
“You mean for me to make one for you?”
“Yes. You, Sir.”
Stella gazed at Adrian clearly.
His red eyes sparkled as they caught the sunlight, and a radiant smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth.
“I shall start thinking about it from now on.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“By the way, how is the wound on your foot?”
Thanks to utmost care, the wound was healing smoothly.
While she couldn’t know for sure, it felt as though she might be able to walk in a few days.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth after Adrian’s immediate guess.
“It did not look like a wound that would heal easily. Would it be alright if you stayed at this mansion for a while longer so we can monitor your condition?”
“Yes, I will impose on your hospitality for just a bit longer.”
She was afraid that saying she was fine might break this happiness.
It felt as though she was deceiving him, but she tried hard to rationalize it, thinking that since the wound wasn’t completely healed, it wouldn’t be a lie.
Stella needlessly turned her head elsewhere.
Strangely enough, the Castillo Mansion, where she had only stayed for a few days, felt comfortable.
‘I’ve barely stayed here, so why do I hate the thought of leaving so much? Get a grip, you thought about leaving this country. Don’t grow soft-hearted.’
Inhaling deeply, she composed her heart.
Her thought that this place was by no means safe remained unchanged.
The Castillo Residence was close not only to the Imperial Palace but also to the Bronte family.
‘I cannot stay for long.’
No matter how tender Adrian’s kindness was, staying here meant she would be exposed to danger.
Perhaps because her situation was so miserable, the corners of Stella’s eyes drooped sadly.
That misery not only ate away at her self-esteem, but it also heavily pressed down on the surrounding air, making it hard to breathe properly.
Yet, if she let time slip away like this, even this moment might end up ruined.
‘I am fine.’
She let out short, soft breaths.
‘Let’s not be frightened of a future that hasn’t arrived yet. I don’t want to miss the present time out of vague fear.’
Wishing to change the heavily settled atmosphere, Stella brought up a curiosity she hadn’t been able to satisfy.
“Um, where did we first meet?”
Though she couldn’t remember, wouldn’t he know?
Stella looked at Adrian with eyes full of anticipation.
“We met at the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
“Yes, Lady Bronte helped me when I was lost.”
The words ‘lost’ struck Stella’s heart powerfully.
The situation he described felt identical to the situation she was currently in.
It almost felt like fate.
‘To help me like this just because I showed him the way back then. As expected, Sir Castillo is a kind person.’
At the throbbing sensation spreading across her entire chest, Stella smoothed down her breast.
Because of that, the pin securing her shawl snapped undone with a soft click, and the shawl gently slipped down.
The thin shawl fluttered in the wind and landed lightly on the ground.
“Ah……”
Her stark white neck was clearly revealed.
The burn marks she had tried so hard to hide were also laid bare.
Reflexively, she clutched her neck.
Sunlight filtering through the leaves cast shadows over Stella’s body.
The burn marks, loosely interwoven, must look hideous, like a spider’s web.
It felt as if ants were crawling all around them.
‘It must look hideous, right? I hope he didn’t see it……’
The sound of Adrian’s footsteps receded.
‘It’s okay. It’s okay.’
Her eyes grew red as she tried to soothe herself.
Why did she have to walk on eggshells like this for a wound she hadn’t wanted in the first place?
‘You’re going to leave anyway, aren’t you? Maybe this is for the better. Rather than giving away more of your heart for no reason.’
Stella closed her eyes tightly.
Contrary to her thoughts, she couldn’t summon the courage to face this situation.
Soon after, she heard the sound of him approaching again.
At the shadow cast over her head, Stella raised her head cautiously.
In the hands of Adrian, who had walked over, was her shawl.
‘He went to pick up the shawl.’
Covering her neck, she smiled bitterly.
However, as he drew close, he knelt on one knee to match Stella’s eye level and said something unexpected.
“You do not need to force yourself to cover it like that. There is no need to walk on eggshells here.”
Receiving the shawl, Stella blurted out the words in her heart without filtering them.
“It looks hideous.”
“It does not.”
Adrian’s hand reached toward her neck.
“A mere burn mark cannot obscure beauty. Oh dear, I have committed an impoliteness.”
His touch, which had grazed her dizzyingly, fell away.
Instead, his gaze slowly swept over Stella’s neck.
Sunlight entered Adrian’s slowly rising eyes, making them gleam vividly.
At the sight of his irises changing into a variety of colors, she swallowed her saliva unconsciously.
“Ah, I am……”
She covered her heated neck with both hands.
In her heart, Stella thought, ‘Does he have ten tongues?’
Otherwise, it seemed impossible for him to say such embarrassing things so naturally.
A cool wind blew over, cooling down the heat on her flushed face.
Fanning herself with her hand, she avoided his gaze.
“Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
Adrian drew closer, examining Stella’s face.
If it came down to feeling uncomfortable, the hardest part was that her heart was beating far too wildly.
Leaning her head back, she replied quickly.
“No. It’s just too, too hot.”
“Oh dear, it must be because it is summer.”
As if feeling regretful, Adrian raised his head and looked at the sky.
Perhaps because spring had passed, the sky was clear and bright.
“Regrettably, we should stop here for today.”
Stella let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh of relief and searched for Jenna, who should be nearby, with her eyes.
Her eyes met Jenna’s, who was waiting not far away.
As if she had been waiting, Jenna approached them.
He slowly rose to his feet and said:
“Escort the lady comfortably.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
And so, their short afternoon meeting came to an end.
As the two women vanished, Adrian quietly closed his eyes in the blowing wind.
Then Owen, who had been standing beside him, stepped forward and scolded him gently.
“You are truly mischievous.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Who would believe you if you suddenly call them pretty?”
The hideous burn marks covering her white nape—even Owen had frowned upon seeing them.
Though he quickly returned to normal and pretended nothing was wrong, wasn’t saying she was beautiful so she didn’t need to cover it up a paradox?
Shaking his head, Owen added to his words.
“I was being sincere, though?”
“Don’t tell me your tastes lie in that direction?”
The butler was horrified by the sight of his master liking the wound.
However, Adrian didn’t care about Owen’s scolding in the slightest and lightly tapped his foot.
He even looked somewhat joyful.
Owen, entirely unable to understand Adrian’s seemingly delighted mood, could only shake his head repeatedly.
“The days have indeed grown warmer.”
Before the heat could fade, a bird alighted on a tree in the rear garden where the Empress resided.
At the Empress’s words, a maid set down a drink filled with cold ice.
She lightly tapped the glass, which was beaded with water droplets.
At that gesture, the droplets that had formed on the glass gathered together and trickled down in a curve.
“Summer is too hot a season for sharing love. When two people are together, it gets so hot that one of them cannot endure it and melts away.”
“……”
“Just like this ice.”
Thump. The ice melted and settled down.
“Unless one is prepared, they are bound to disappear without a trace. Especially if it is their first time in love. Because first love is awkward in every aspect.”
When the maid wrapped the glass in a handkerchief and handed it to the Empress, she smiled softly and asked:
“What do you think the Young Duke of Castillo will be like?”
“I do not understand.”
“What don’t you understand?”
“Your Majesty’s words carry the assumption that ‘if the Young Duke of Castillo falls in love,’ but for me, it is quite difficult to imagine the Young Duke falling in love with anyone.”
The corners of the Empress’s eyes curved smoothly.
“So that is how it looks to you.”
The Empress stroked the maid’s face with her fingertips.
When a somewhat chilly aura was felt from that hand, the maid’s face froze rigid.
“I ought to see Theo.”
The Empress’s touch slowly dropped downward.
“Miss, are you alright?”
It was on their way back from finishing the short tea time.
Stella could not hear Jenna’s voice well over the reverberation of her heart, which was still beating as it pleased.
When Jenna paused the wheelchair seeing her absent-minded state, Stella turned her head to look at Jenna.
“Your face is bright red. Could you have a fever? Shall I go prepare a cold towel?”
Though Jenna reached out toward Stella, she hesitated without touching her recklessly.
“I-It’s just because it’s hot.”
“Even so……”
“I’m really fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
Sitting in a wheelchair with a flushed face must have made her look like a patient.
Stella lightly wiggled her toes to reassure Jenna, but the eyes of the girl who stepped beside her were still filled with worry.
“The Young Master instructed me, didn’t he? To take good care of you, Miss.”
“You are already doing more than enough.”
“If so, then what a relief.”
Jenna wore a genuinely joyful expression.
Stella felt like she understood why Adrian had placed Jenna by her side.
‘He is truly a delicate person. Seeing how he attached a friendly child to help me adjust easily.’
On the outside, Adrian was a cynical man who seemed cold and stoic.
Perhaps because of that, her heart fluttered even more at his thoughtful actions.
“By the way, did you and the Young Master have any special conversation?”
At the trivial question, Stella’s face flushed red.
“……”
Noticing her slight change, Jenna made a fuss.
“Oh my, did something special happen between the two of you? What kind of talk did you share?”
Recalling Adrian’s words, Stella muttered softly under her breath.
“He told me not to cover the wound.”
Saying it out loud made her embarrassed, so she scratched near her neck and turned her gaze away.
The wound, about the size of a palm, was flushed red as it hadn’t been long since it healed.
“He also said that beauty doesn’t disappear.”
Anyone who saw a wound like this would consider it hideous, yet he had told her it was beautiful.
“Really? Did the Young Master truly say that? What could he be thinking?”
“It’s strange, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a hideous wound, after all……”
It was natural to react like Jenna did.
“I didn’t mean it was strange in that sense. Absolutely, positively not.”
“Then in what way is it strange?”
“I just find it amazing that the Young Master said the word ‘beautiful.’ Honestly, he isn’t the type of person to use emotional words for anything. Though I haven’t served him for long, he is a person who is hard to approach because he is intimidating.”
Jenna, who had been chatting non-stop, clapped her hands as if something had occurred to her.
“Ah, did you see his eyes?”
“I saw them.”
“Didn’t they clearly change, just like I said?”
Seeing Stella so flustered that she couldn’t meet her eyes, Jenna went behind and pushed the wheelchair.
Pushing the wheelchair into the mansion, Jenna muttered softly under her breath:
“I knew it. I just knew it. It would be so nice if he were as gentle to us as he is to you, Miss.”
“Is he not gentle?”
“Not at all! Being around the Young Master makes my skin shiver. To be honest, he’s terrifying.”
Jenna’s voice was filled with sincerity.
“Though the Young Master’s atmosphere has changed a lot since you arrived, Miss, one’s true nature doesn’t change easily. Still, it would be great if an atmosphere like this could just continue.”
Stella held the exact same thought as Jenna.
She wished that a situation like the present would continue on and on.
Perhaps that was why she hoped that the time she could stay here would be given just a little, just a tiny bit more.
Even if this happiness built on sand were to collapse one day without a trace.
