Chapter 14
Elisa had been worrying so much that her head was pounding, but Derek solved the problem so easily.
It didn’t make her jealous—just empty and a little upset.
She was upset not with Derek, but with her mother.
Her mother hated Noah for being an illegitimate child with no proper bloodline, but she adored Derek, who was also born out of wedlock.
Of course, their situations weren’t the same.
Noah Leslie was born despite the family’s opposition, while Derek Grenville was welcomed when he was born.
Derek’s mother, Lady Grenville, had been married for five years without children.
One of a wife’s most important roles was to produce an heir.
After much worry, Lady Grenville brought in a woman to bear a child for her.
That child was Derek.
Later, Lady Grenville gave birth to a son herself, which made Derek’s position uncertain.
Usually, in such cases, the child would be sent to live with distant relatives or sent abroad to study, but Lady Grenville didn’t do that.
She still treated Derek like her own son.
In return, Derek willingly gave up the heir position to his younger brother.
That’s why he managed a branch office instead of the main company.
The more Elisa thought about it, the more she realised that aside from being illegitimate, Noah and Derek had nothing in common.
Derek’s flaws were covered by his great abilities.
He was friendly and easy to get along with, which was another big plus.
Her parents, who cared a lot about bloodlines, probably liked Derek for these reasons.
“…Elisa?”
Elisa was lost in thought until a large hand grabbed her shoulder, making her jump back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Derek smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.
Elisa, who had been staring blankly at him like she forgot to blink, shook her head.
“No, it’s my fault for thinking about other things while you were here.”
“Then let’s both be sorry.”
Derek joked, trying to ease the awkward mood.
Elisa understood his intention, but she felt more uncomfortable with his behaviour.
Still, she smiled without showing it.
A little later, they reached Noah’s room.
Derek knocked first.
Although the nanny said it was okay to enter, he asked Noah once more before going in.
“Noah, are you hungry? Let’s go have dinner.”
When talking to Noah, Derek kneeled on one knee to be at eye level.
His tone and expression were soft like cotton candy.
Thanks to that, Noah quickly let down his guard and held Derek’s hand.
When Noah noticed Elisa standing behind Derek, he reached out his other hand.
Elisa knew he wanted her to hold it.
But holding his hand and walking alongside Derek would look like a couple, and Elisa didn’t want that.
Normally, she would have immediately taken his hand, but she hesitated this time.
Noah’s eyes showed confusion and hurt.
As his chubby fingers curled inward, Elisa quickly grabbed his hand.
Then Noah smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
Seeing his sparkling grey eyes made Elisa’s worries and sadness vanish like a lie, and she truly smiled.
**
The cheerful mood from the sitting room carried over to the dinner table.
Once again, it was mostly Countess Leslie and Derek Grenville who did the talking, while Elisa stayed quiet.
It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to join the conversation—she was also busy looking after Noah.
When Elisa cut his meat into bite-sized pieces, Noah eagerly chewed with his small mouth.
“By the way, since you also attended the victory banquet, you must have seen the famous K in person.”
Elisa, who was watching this scene happily, suddenly paused at the mention of that name.
Since Noah looked so much like his father, Ethan’s image vividly came to her mind.
“Yes, I saw him.”
Since Derek visited the estate, Elisa listened closely to their conversation for the first time.
“A few days ago, we even had tea together.”
“Oh my, have you become friends with the famous K so quickly?”
“Not exactly. I proposed a business partnership. It’s still under review, but it seems Baron Estevan is willing.”
“My, to think you’re already considering that.”
The Countess smiled warmly.
“No wonder the Count can’t stop talking about how much he wants to entrust the family business to you.”
“No, it’s just that the Countess thinks well of me.”
“How humble of you.”
Despite the friendly atmosphere, Elisa’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst through her ribs.
She drank water repeatedly, but the thirst didn’t go away at all.
At least her mother hadn’t noticed that the “famous K” was Ethan, so Elisa could keep her expression under control.
After all, who would imagine that Ethan—once a nanny’s son and servant who saved a prince’s life, later a war hero who rescued the allied kingdom—was the same person?
Even Elisa herself doubted for a long time whether what she had seen and heard was real.
“I wanted to see the war hero who saved the Allied Kingdom, but I never got the chance. It’s such a pity.”
The Countess murmured this like a complaint.
Elisa recalled that her mother had always been very interested in the famous K, and she felt truly relieved that her mother hadn’t attended the victory banquet.
“If you regret that so much, why don’t you invite Baron Esteban to the Count’s estate?”
It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Elisa’s face instantly turned pale.
She gripped her fork so tightly that her knuckles showed, fighting the urge to shout that it was impossible.
“I’d like to, but there’s no reason to. Besides, I’m not close to him.”
“Even without reason or closeness, it seems like you’re interested.”
Elisa felt a moment of relief at her mother’s answer, but when Derek said something meaningful, she sharply turned her head toward him, almost making a sound.
“Don’t say it. I don’t know what you want to say, but please say nothing.”
She looked at him with a desperate hope.
Noticing, Derek turned to her and smiled gently, his eyes forming a crescent like the moon, as if to reassure her.
“At the banquet, Baron Estevan asked Elisa to dance. But Elisa coldly refused, and everyone was surprised. Including me.”
Elisa had thought her feelings were understood—but it was just a misunderstanding.
When the feared story came up, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Oh my. Is that true?”
Elisa heard her mother’s excited voice.
Even with her eyes closed, she could imagine the expression her mother had while looking at her.
That was why she didn’t want to open her eyes.
“Elisa, did you refuse Baron Estevan’s dance invitation?”
Unable to avoid it, Elisa opened her eyes slightly and nodded.
“I heard a rumour at the banquet that Baron Estevan was interested in a certain young lady, but I never thought it was you!”
The Countess’s eyes sparkled like stars as she kept exclaiming in surprise.
But Elisa’s eyes slowly lost their light.
She wished it would stop already, but her mother, who didn’t understand her feelings at all, kept talking about the famous K of high society—Ethan Estevan—the hottest topic in town.
The uneasy atmosphere worsened further.
Elisa could have used Noah as an excuse to leave after the meal, but she worried about what they might talk about, so she stayed.
She couldn’t help but feel upset at Derek, who had brought up such unnecessary things.
Was he deliberately doing this because he knew everything about Ethan and her past?
The thought suddenly came to her, and she bit her lower lip hard.
The words of the guild informant who said Derek had hired someone to investigate Ethan echoed in her ears.
She also remembered the moment she had unexpectedly met Ethan in front of Derek’s company.
If it wasn’t a coincidence, if he had set a trap on purpose to see how she and Ethan would react knowing all the secrets…
Just thinking about it made her head spin.
Still, she stared hard at Derek, who was having a cosy conversation with her mother, hoping it wasn’t true.
Of course, she knew no secret lasts forever.
Especially since Ethan had returned, it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.
Still, Elisa wanted to keep her relationship with him hidden.
For as long as possible.
For a very long time.
