Chapter 4
Richard had been waiting for the Bellua family for a long time.
For someone with the Bellua name.
That was why, the moment he heard “Bellua,” he immediately came down to the drawing room.
Only to frown the instant he saw the familiar face waiting for him.
Because the person casually waving at him as though greeting an old friend was Noah Bellua.
“I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
“I didn’t expect this either, so don’t blame yourself.”
Noah shrugged and rose from his seat.
“To be honest, buying the mansion across the street was a little too obvious. Ah, our Young Lady—no, Her Grace now. Didn’t you see Her Grace come out to take a look?”
“……”
“Don’t worry. Bella has absolutely no idea that you buying the house directly across from the Bellua ducal residence is the desperate plea of a coward begging her to come see him.”
Was he seriously calling that consolation?
If Richard hadn’t known Noah, he might have been confused.
But he’d dealt with Noah enough to be thoroughly sick of him.
That bastard was teasing him.
And enjoying every second of it.
“Relax your face. Still, this isn’t such a bad reunion, is it?”
“What part of it is?”
“The fact that our positions have been reversed? Now I’m the one who has to address you formally, Count. Doesn’t that feel satisfying?”
“Hardly.”
“Oh my. Can’t you feel how jealous I am of you, Count?”
“Can you at least put some saliva in your mouth before you lie?”
“This is why I don’t like people who know me too well.”
Richard twisted his lips as he looked at Noah’s shameless grin.
As Noah said, their positions were completely different from ten years ago.
According to the late Duke of Bellua’s plans, Noah was supposed to become the next Duke of Bellua.
That was why he’d been adopted in the first place.
And Richard would have been a mere knight without even a title, bowing his head to him.
“Anyway, the mansion isn’t bad considering how quickly you acquired it, but you’ll need to hire new staff. Even if you bought the place in a hurry, shouldn’t your butler at least know the people he needs to keep an eye on?”
“If you have enough time to worry about someone else’s household, why don’t you worry about your own life?”
“What’s wrong with my life? The count’s household is the problem. No matter how suddenly he received his title, he’s the Hero of the North. How can the Hero’s butler fail to recognize a vassal of the Bellua ducal family?”
Richard quietly stared at Noah, who had settled himself in the middle of the drawing room and was sarcastically needling him.
Noah had been impossible to read since childhood, but he wasn’t someone who occupied himself with pointless things.
If Noah had gone out of his way to come all the way here, there had to be a reason.
Richard slowly looked him up and down.
His clothes were light, as though he was preparing to travel somewhere far away.
With the head of the family having changed so recently, there was only one reason the acting head would leave.
“You’re on your way to the Bellua estate, aren’t you?”
“…I came all this way, and that’s all you have to say?”
“What else is there for us to talk about?”
“Hah.”
Noah shook his head.
He looked at Richard with an exhausted expression, thinking that he couldn’t even figure out where to begin.
Even if the Grand Duke hadn’t opposed them, they would have broken up eventually.
And now, just as they were, the two of them would probably circle each other like dogs that needed to relieve themselves, unable to say what they wanted.
I really don’t like this.
Noah clicked his tongue.
It wasn’t just empty words. He genuinely wasn’t sure whether Isabella getting back together with Richard was a good thing.
Repairing a relationship that had once been broken was difficult.
Especially when the way it had ended had been such a complete mess.
“But fine. Then let’s talk about something the Count might actually find interesting.”
But—
“Why did you come back? I thought you’d given up five years ago. Was I wrong?”
People often said that when faced with a choice, you simply chose the lesser evil rather than the best option.
“If that’s not it, are you planning to marry Her Imperial Highness the Princess and become a member of the Imperial Family?”
At that moment, Richard’s look of contempt was so blatant that Noah instinctively spoke as though defending himself.
“Everyone’s been whispering that you’re obviously aiming for the position beside Her Imperial Highness.”
“I should be the one asking questions. Looking at how you’ve scurried off to the estate like a rat at a time like this, are you going there to clean up the mess your predecessor left behind?”
Noah, who had been trying to provoke Richard somehow, froze.
“How did you know abou—! No. Hah. Never mind. Just answer me first. Do you still have feelings for Bella?”
Richard tilted his head to the side.
He looked as though he genuinely couldn’t understand why he was supposed to answer that.
That alone was answer enough.
I thought so, but that’s a relief.
I can make use of it in a pinch.
It had been worth carving out time to come here.
“If you still have feelings for her, help Her Grace.”
Richard’s eyebrow twitched.
He chewed over Noah’s words as though he’d just heard something completely absurd.
“Help? Me? The Duchess of Bellua?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, there’s something only you can do.”
No matter how many times Noah told her to break up with Damon, Damon would never let Isabella go.
Not because he loved her, but because he had come to need her.
But the more Isabella became entangled with Damon, the more dangerous things became for her.
If she were unlucky, she could even end up falsely accused of seducing Damon because she was after the Imperial treasury.
If you want to hide a tree, you have to hide it in a forest.
That was why Noah had come to the Winston estate.
He intended to use Richard to hide Isabella amid a spectacular scandal.
Fortunately, that bastard still has feelings for Bella.
Whether it was love, Noah couldn’t say.
Lingering attachment?
Perhaps even love and hatred mixed together?
It doesn’t matter. As long as I can use it.
Noah’s lips curled upward as he watched the man approaching him.
It was only natural that Isabella didn’t know.
She hadn’t seen Richard’s expression when he caught her as she was about to fall into the grave.
Until the moment he entered the cemetery, Richard had been the very embodiment of a cold northern knight.
His presence had been so intimidating that even the nobles who had been whispering fell silent the moment his gaze landed on them.
And yet—
Thinking about it now, he almost seemed like he wanted to look impressive in front of Bella.
Ah, that raw, unguarded panic on his face when Isabella’s body began to tilt.
He hadn’t even had time to hide it.
That was why Noah hadn’t resisted even when Richard had grabbed him by the collar.
It was obvious which way this relationship was leaning.
As though he had read Noah’s thoughts, Richard muttered quietly,
“Noah Bellua. If you think I’m going to dance on your palm again, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“…Even if that means Bella might become Empress?”
Ah.
Just as he thought.
Hidden beneath the deep suspicion was an expectation Richard couldn’t completely conceal.
Hah.
Seriously, how can the two of them be so alike?
“Explain.”
“Does the reason matter?”
“Then what does?”
“That Her Grace—Bella—doesn’t like Damon. She actually hates him.”
Richard flinched.
“And that she seems to still have someone in her heart.”
Noah narrowed his eyes as he watched the veins rise on Richard’s hand from how tightly he was clenching it.
Almost there?
But then—
“Hah.”
Richard let out a hollow laugh and released Noah’s collar.
Noah was half thrown aside and rubbed his neck.
There was no longer any hesitation or bewilderment on Richard’s face.
He was as cold as ever, as though he’d never been tempted by Noah’s words in the first place.
“The Duchess of Bellua has feelings for me?”
“…Uh.”
Noah couldn’t understand why those words had angered him so much, so instead of answering, he trailed off.
Unfortunately, that was enough for Richard.
“She doesn’t like me.”
No, why are you so certain about someone else’s feelings?
“What Isabella loves is wealth and power.”
…Our Young Lady does like money and power, but she’s not that much of a materialist.
More importantly—
Noah looked up at Richard with an awkward expression.
The man was furious at the fact that Isabella didn’t like him.
Furious in a way that was icy and chilling.
In other words—
“…Don’t tell me that’s why you wiped out all those monsters in the North and received a count’s title? Ah. I heard you made a fortune too. Wealth and power, right?”
You still like her, don’t you?
At Noah’s pointed question, Richard flinched.
But he quickly replied with an expression so cold that not even a needle could have slipped through it.
“Me? There’s no way.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. Then I suppose it wouldn’t bother you at all if our Young Lady danced the first dance at the banquet as Crown Prince Damon’s partner?”
There was no answer.
Noah swallowed a sigh as he looked at the man who had frozen solid like the ice of the North.
“It’s almost time for Her Grace to enter the Imperial Palace. If you want to stop it, you might as well go.”
At those words, Richard glared at Noah, then abruptly turned around and left.
He didn’t say another word.
Under normal circumstances, anyone would have considered such behavior rude.
But Noah merely leaned back against the sofa and let out a deep sigh.
“No, seriously.”
What on earth happened five years ago to make things this ridiculous?
Noah could only think that relationships between men and women were impossible to understand.
