Chapter 26
The invitation from Princess Camilla arrived on the fourth day of Elisa’s confinement in her bedroom.
Even Count Leslie—who hadn’t allowed her to see Noah—couldn’t bring himself to ignore a summons from the princess and reluctantly granted her permission to go out.
It was her first time leaving the house in days, yet Elisa felt no joy.
She would rather have stayed shut away, untangling the storm of thoughts in her head, than sit across from a princess she barely knew, trading hollow smiles and shallow pleasantries.
Why would the princess invite me?
She could think of no plausible reason—only a vague, unsettling suspicion.
No, perhaps it wasn’t entirely without cause.
Ethan Istevan.
The thought that the princess might have discovered something about their relationship drifted unbidden into her mind.
Elisa bit her lip hard.
No. Don’t go imagining the worst.
Worrying about something that hadn’t even happened yet was nothing but foolishness.
Especially when Ethan’s past was so thoroughly shrouded in secrecy that uncovering the truth was nearly impossible.
Her head already ached from her father’s latest “proposal”, and now she had one more thing to fret over.
Elisa let out a long, weary sigh twice.
Lost in speculation over the reason for the summons, she didn’t notice how quickly the carriage had reached the Water Palace, where Princess Camilla resided.
True to its name, the palace’s outer walls shimmered with a faint, watery blue.
Sunlight spilt across the pale bricks, rippling softly like waves.
Beside the palace lay a great, still lake.
A lady-in-waiting led Elisa to a marble pergola with a perfect view of the water’s glassy surface.
A delicate afternoon tea was already laid out—two cups, two sets of cutlery.
No other guests, then.
Was that a blessing or an ill omen?
Elisa sat down, mulling over the question with a peculiar mix of relief and unease.
She had taken in the entire expanse of the lake from end to end, but there was still no sign of Princess Camilla.
“Where is Her Highness?” Elisa finally asked.
“Her Highness had an urgent matter to attend to and will be slightly delayed,” the lady-in-waiting replied, bowing deeply in apology.
“She’ll come as soon as she’s able, so I beg your patience.”
It was suspicious, this sudden urgent matter, but refusing to wait wasn’t an option.
Elisa simply nodded in silence.
***
He must have been in quite a hurry, for Count Leslie came to Derek’s home the very day he received the letter of refusal.
Derek had expected as much and kept to the shadows, watching the count’s movements without revealing himself.
When the butler informed him Derek was away, the count’s displeasure was plain.
He went straight to Derek’s trading company but, finding him absent there as well, left a note instructing him to come to the count’s estate upon his return.
Derek received the message but did not go.
Nor did he send a reply.
He let the count stew.
In the days that followed, the man came again and again, asking if Derek was back, demanding to know where he had gone.
It was only when the visits stopped entirely that Derek, unexpectedly, decided to go to the Leslie estate himself.
“Welcome, my dear,” came the greeting, warm as ever, from Countess Leslie—the first to greet him each time he came. Her eyes held no reproach, no sharp glint of accusation; it seemed she truly knew nothing.
So… was there no connection between Ethan Istevan and the Leslie family as a whole?
Was it only the count’s daughter… Or perhaps only Elisa herself?
And the count, as ever, was simply the one cleaning up the mess—just as he had done for Derek four years ago.
“But why have you come without sending a word first?” the countess asked.
Derek gave her his most courteous smile.
“I’ve come to see Elisa. Is she in her room?”
“Ah… well…”
The countess’s face clouded.
She let out a slow sigh before continuing.
“This morning, she was still locked in her bedroom—but she’s gone out now.”
“Locked in her bedroom? Why?”
The unexpected revelation caught Derek off guard.
“I don’t know the exact reason myself,” the countess admitted.
The Countess absently touched one cheek, her gaze drifting toward the second-floor corridor where her daughter’s room lay.
“The day he returned, for some reason, he and Elisa got into a terrible argument. He was so furious, he locked her in her bedchamber.”
When Derek asked what they’d fought about, the Countess said he wouldn’t tell her—and since then, the atmosphere in the house had been tense.
The day the Count returned… that had been the very same day Elisa met Ethan Estevan at the Pride Hotel.
Could it be… they fought because of him?
Was locking Elisa away also because of that man?
Suspicion coiled and swelled inside Derek, twisting his lips into a faint smirk.
“If you came to see Elisa, I’m afraid it’s a wasted trip. I’m sorry.”
“Not at all. The fault is mine for arriving unannounced,” Derek replied smoothly, his polite smile back in place as if it had never left.
“In that case… I’d like to greet the Count as well, and there’s something important I wish to discuss with him. Is he home?”
Though he already knew the Count was absent, he feigned ignorance.
“He just went out a little while ago—something about a visit to the warehouse. Shall I contact him to see when he’ll return?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“Then would you wait in the drawing room for a moment?”
“Rather than the drawing room… would it be all right if I visited Noah?”
Elisa often confided in Noah, hugging him close as she spoke.
There was a chance the boy might have overheard something about Ethan.
“Of course. Noah’s been glum from not seeing Elisa. I’m sure he’ll be glad for the company.”
Would he, though?
Derek chuckled inwardly.
Noah was a trickier case than Elisa—at least Elisa’s moods showed on her face.
Noah, on the other hand, gave nothing away.
Perhaps it was because the boy could not speak, but he rarely showed emotion, never whined or fussed like other children.
When he liked something, his eyes would brighten, but that only happened if Elisa was there.
Without her, he sat still as a doll, unmoving, unresponsive.
Mother or son—it seemed neither of them inspired warmth in him.
Ah, and perhaps the grandfather should be added to that list.
“You know where Noah’s room is, don’t you? I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from the Count.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
If there was anyone in the Lesley household Derek could genuinely say he liked, it was the Countess.
She was an easy person to deal with in every way.
If only Elisa had inherited half her mother’s temperament, winning her over would’ve been far simpler.
Suppressing the thought with a sigh of regret, Derek climbed the stairs at an unhurried pace, mentally rehearsing what he would ask Noah.
First, I’ll ask if he’s heard the name Ethan Estevan.
If the boy had heard Elisa say it, or if he had ever met the man, Derek needed to know when, where, and why.
By the time his plan was set, he was already standing before Noah’s door.
He glanced at his reflection in the window beside it, smoothing his expression, then knocked.
“Who is it?”
The familiar voice belonged to Noah’s nanny.
“This is Derek Grenville.”
“Oh!”
A small exclamation, then the door opened.
Behind the nanny, Noah sat clutching his wolf plushie.
“Hello, Noah.”
After a brief exchange of greetings with the nanny, Derek addressed the boy.
Noah glanced toward the nanny, then dipped his head in a polite bow.
“If it’s all right, may I speak with Noah alone? It’ll only take a moment.”
“Oh, of course,” the nanny replied without hesitation—trust earned over time paving the way.
Once she stepped out, Derek lowered himself to one knee so his eyes met the boy’s.
“Noah. You miss your mother, don’t you?”
At that, the boy’s eyes—so usually indifferent—sparkled faintly.
“If you want to see her, you’ll need to answer my questions honestly.”
Noah hugged the wolf tighter, searching Derek’s face.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Have you ever heard the name Ethan Estevan?”
No hesitation this time—Noah shook his head.
“You’re sure? Then you’ve never met him either?”
Nod.
Nod.
Is that so?
Derek’s eyes narrowed.
He wouldn’t doubt another child, but Noah was far too skilled at masking his feelings.
“Last time, when you visited Aunt Tania’s house and came to where I work, you met a man named Ethan Estevan. He has black hair, and his eyes are a shade of grey…”
As Derek described Ethan’s appearance to help Noah recall, he stopped.
Abruptly, staring into the boy’s large eyes.
They were the same shade of ashen grey.
Ethan Estevan’s eyes.
