Chapter 17
It was Giselle Briana’s voice.
That meant Ethan was there too.
Elisa, knowing it might be rude, tried to pretend she hadn’t heard and was about to climb into the carriage.
“Elisa Leslie?”
But when Giselle called her full name loudly, she couldn’t ignore it.
They had only greeted each other once before, at the exhibition, so Elisa wondered why Giselle was acting so familiar now.
She swallowed a deep sigh and blinked before turning around.
As expected, Giselle and Ethan stood there together.
Seeing them linked arm in arm so affectionately made her stomach twist even more.
“It’s been a while, Miss Briana. How have you been?”
Elisa forced herself not to look at Ethan and greeted Giselle instead.
Giselle smiled gently, like a calm lake reflecting soft sunlight, and nodded.
“Thanks to you. Oh, and thank you for coming to the exhibition last time.”
“No, I’m the one who should thank you. I got to see such wonderful works. Please invite me again if there’s another exhibition.”
“I will.”
After their brief exchange, Elisa glanced back at Ethan.
She wanted desperately to ignore him, but she knew Giselle would find it strange.
Better not give anyone reason to misunderstand.
“It’s been a long time, Miss Leslie.”
Just as she hesitated, unsure what to say, Ethan spoke first.
His voice was flat and emotionless, scraping at her heart like a jagged blade.
Her fragile, tattered emotions flared painfully at the slightest provocation.
“…Yes. It has.”
Her voice grew faint as she swallowed the groan threatening to escape from deep inside.
Her heart pounded so wildly it felt like it would burst.
Unable to face him any longer, Elisa turned away.
“Well then, I…”
“Since fate has brought us together like this, how about a cup of tea?”
Giselle interrupted just as she was about to leave.
Elisa’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden offer.
“I want to thank you for coming to the exhibition, and honestly, I’ve wanted to get closer to you for a while now.”
Although Giselle made the invitation, Elisa found herself stealing glances at Ethan.
His expression was blank, as if he didn’t care either way.
The fact that they were still linked arm in arm made her uneasy.
“So, if you’re not busy, come with me. I’ve reserved a nice tea room.”
“I’d love to sit and chat with you, Miss Briana, but unfortunately, I have a prior engagement today. I don’t think I can.”
Calming her fluttering heart, Elisa politely declined.
Giselle’s face fell in disappointment.
“A prior engagement? Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s have tea together next time.”
“Of course.”
“Miss Leslie—”
Just as Giselle was about to say goodbye, Ethan stopped her.
Battling the urge to ignore him, Elisa turned her head—but couldn’t meet his gaze.
Instead, her eyes dropped to the neatly buttoned collar of his shirt.
“This.”
Ethan held out a navy-blue envelope sealed with red wax, stamped with a family crest Elisa hadn’t seen before.
No doubt it was the crest of Baron Estevan’s house.
Only now did it fully hit her—he really had become a noble.
“I was planning to stop by the Leslie estate to deliver this invitation. Since we’ve met here, I’ll give it to you now.”
Wait. What did he just say? That he was coming to Leslie’s estate?
Despite hiding his past so thoroughly that even the most capable information guild threw up their hands in defeat, he was boldly announcing he’d come to the estate swarming with people who knew all about his history.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Startled beyond control, a curse slipped out in informal speech.
Realising her mistake too late, Elisa quickly glanced at Giselle’s reaction.
Though Giselle looked a little surprised herself, she soon smiled—a knowing, almost understanding expression that somehow grated on Elisa’s nerves.
“I’m not crazy,” Ethan said, his voice tinged with amusement, which only made Elisa’s irritation flare further. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him.
“Not crazy, but you say something that insane?”
“Well… I’m not sure what part you think is wrong. Care to point it out?”
A heavy sigh escaped Elisa as she lost her words to his cocky attitude.
She blew out a breath and stared up at the sky.
Despite the storm raging in her heart, the sky above was clear and cloudless.
“I’ve recently been granted the title of baron along with an estate in Richmond.”
His calm voice cut through the tension; the smile was wiped clean from his face.
Elisa’s gaze drifted downward, passing over his face and settling on the navy-blue invitation envelope in his hand.
“To celebrate, we’re holding a small party. It would be an honour if you would attend.”
“I’ll decline.”
Elisa’s refusal was firm as she met his eyes without hesitation.
“Just so you know, Baron, invitations to such parties are extended to those who are either close or whom one wishes to become close with. I belong to neither category, so I must respectfully refuse.”
If only Giselle Briana hadn’t been there, Elisa thought bitterly, she might have responded far more sharply—but she held back, unable to do so.
“If that is Miss Leslie’s opinion, then there’s no helping it,” Ethan said, as if it were her fault they couldn’t grow closer. Elisa frowned at his tone.
“Then I will send the invitation to Lady Leslie, the Countess.”
Just as Elisa began to feel a flicker of relief that he was giving up, Ethan dropped a bombshell.
Her mouth fell open in shock.
“What did you say…!”
She was about to shout that such nonsense was impossible but caught herself, remembering the distance between them—and that Giselle was watching with interest.
Get a grip, Elisa. Don’t let him control you.
She repeated this mantra inwardly, trying to smother the boiling anger inside.
It was no easy task.
“Are you serious?”
Her barely restrained fury seeped into her trembling voice.
“I am.”
Ethan’s voice remained calm, his expression unchanged as he looked at her.
“I want to build a relationship with the Leslie family. Since you, Miss Leslie, have no intention of befriending me, I have no choice but to befriend the Countess.”
Elisa desperately wished he was joking, trying to toy with her, but he wasn’t.
For a moment, she imagined Ethan handing the invitation to her mother, and a silent scream rose from deep inside her.
“Elisa Leslie.”
His voice softened, gently pulling Elisa back from the edge of her spiralling thoughts.
“Will you accept the invitation?”
Though his tone and expression sounded like a polite request, it was nothing less than a clear threat—a threat she could never refuse.
That was why he could stand there, smiling so shamelessly.
Unable to bear his shameless face any longer, Elisa snatched the invitation roughly from his hand, her fury barely contained.
Ethan smiled with satisfaction and leaned his upper body closer to her.
Before Elisa could even step back in surprise at the sudden closeness, a low whisper brushed past her ear.
“You really should come, Elisa.”
As if echoing Elisa’s desperate urge to run away, the carriage from Leslie’s estate quickly disappeared.
“She must be hated,” Giselle remarked with a shrug as she watched the retreating carriage.
“Well, it’s only natural. They promised to be together forever, then he left without a word. If it were me, I’d never forgive him.”
At that last comment, Giselle caught the faint trembling of his usually steadfast shoulders and quietly chuckled.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened the moment he heard her laugh.
“If you intend to keep making useless remarks, perhaps you should return to the estate now.”
“That’s not an option. The goal hasn’t been achieved yet.”
With a deep sigh, Ethan resigned himself to the ongoing pursuit.
Then he glanced toward the shop Elisa had just exited—a toy store.
Probably there to buy a gift for her younger sibling.
Was the name Noah Leslie?
Rumour had it he was Leslie Baron’s son from a one-night mistake.
Because he was a boy, they had no choice but to take him in.
“That can’t be right.”
The Count of Leslie, as Ethan knew him, was a man who prized appearances above all else.
Bloodlines and titles were everything to him.
And yet this man, so obsessed with pedigree and propriety, had gone so far as to register an illegitimate child from a fleeting mistake?
It didn’t make sense.
Sure, passing on the family name to a biological son made more sense than doing so through a son-in-law—but there was no way the Countess would have allowed that.
And neither would Elisa.
Yet Ethan couldn’t understand why she would personally come to buy a gift for her half-brother.
So he stood for a long moment, staring at the toy store.
what a jerk