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~Chapter 58~
I had twisted and ignored the undeniable truth, but now I had to accept it—he was sincere.
He had done nothing wrong. The problem was me. I couldn’t say either yes or no to someone who liked me, just kept acting vague.
‘It’s not just with Armin.’
It was the same with the maids.
[Are you alright, honored guest?]
[She’s awful. You forgave Viola so many times, and she still stabbed you in the back!]
[We like you. Ever since you arrived, the master has become gentler. The atmosphere has changed.]
[Of course, there’s an even bigger reason! You’re kind. Gentle. Even though you keep some distance from all of us, it’s not coldness—we can feel it’s fairness. You treat everyone carefully and individually.]
[We know that’s responsibility. We think someone like you should become the lady of the house… Ah, don’t tell Catherine I said that. She told us not to pressure you with that kind of talk.]
[Hey, why say something like that? You’ll make her more uncomfortable!]
[Anyway! We’ll go now, please rest.]
It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel comforted by those warm, thoughtful voices.
“…”
Again, the problem was me. Even knowing this position wasn’t mine, I still shared in the warmth they gave me.
‘When I don’t even have the courage to accept Armin’s feelings properly.’
I had no right to be the Grand Duchess. No right to be doted on so much by the maids.
‘You know, Bella. You have to leave.’
I slowly closed off my restless heart.
Yes, nothing had changed. I had decided long ago to leave, so I only had to wait as planned.
I closed my eyes slowly.
A visitor was coming in the night.
Late at night. At a time when the office lights should have been off after work, it was still lit.
Because the usual work had piled up, plus the events from the morning.
“It’s Morgan.”
The butler opened the door and entered. Armin just nodded without looking at him.
“Report.”
“Viola Miolen is locked in an empty room. She is a noble, but since she tried to harm another noble lady, we can make that clear and she could be sentenced to anything from exile from the capital to imprisonment.”
“I see.”
“We’re tracking Baron Maolen’s whereabouts. Since he’s involved in illegal slave trading, we might be able to put father and daughter in prison together.”
“Since the Miolen family is likely to cause trouble for Bella, cutting them out entirely isn’t a bad idea. Saves us the trouble of finding an excuse. Good. What’s next?”
“I’ve just been told Lady Bella has gone to bed. She asked to be alone, so the maids withdrew.”
“….”
This time, Armin gave no reply.
Instead, he silently turned the pages of his documents. Now that he had heard the answer to the thing he was most concerned about, the words on the papers came into focus.
“Lady Bella is a good person.”
“….”
“Not just the maids—the knights and retainers are all wondering when we can start calling her the lady of the house.”
“Everyone’s too nosy.”
“That just means they care about you, doesn’t it?”
“Nonsense.”
Armin dropped his gaze back to the papers. But Morgan knew—he wasn’t really displeased. So Morgan took a step further.
“When should we start preparing for the wedding?”
“….”
Armin’s lips twitched.
A moment later, Morgan caught his answer—barely audible—and was shocked.
“What? You haven’t even proposed yet?”
“Be quiet.”
“Lady Bella is a good person. And I’m sure it’s not just us who think so. What if another young lord proposes to her…?”
“Then his funeral will be held.”
Morgan fell silent.
“I’m not that careless.”
He muttered darkly, as if the thought of losing her to someone else was intolerable.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? Then why haven’t you even gotten engaged? You know how much power a single piece of paper can have.”
“…I don’t know.”
Armin muttered irritably.
In truth, he did know. It was because of that unpleasant piece of paper that his mother had never been able to leave the imperial palace.
When he first met Bella, and learned she couldn’t remember him—he had thought of any reason to keep her by his side.
But the more time passed, the harder it became. Because he wanted to win even a small piece of her heart.
‘If you regain your memory, will you still stay by my side?’
‘If I force you to be my fiancée, will you forgive me for it?’
‘If you regain all your memories and want to leave… what will I do?’
Morgan sighed deeply.
“My lord, retreat only has meaning when it’s for the sake of advancing later.”
“I know.”
“…There’s a book with advice on deepening relationships between lovers. It helped me a lot in my youth. It could help you too.”
Armin pressed his lips together.
Reading his dissatisfaction, Morgan bowed and turned to leave.
Then Armin spoke.
“Leave the book.”
“Yes.”
Morgan smiled.
Thirty minutes later, Morgan knocked again.
“My lord! Something’s wrong!”
“What, the book’s missing?”
“No, it’s not that!”
Morgan burst in without waiting.
“Lady Bella is gone!”
“What?”
The pen slipped from Armin’s hand.
“Ahahaha!”
The sharp laugh split the crisp night air.
Normally, she’d hold it back for fear of being told it was “unbefitting a noble lady” by her tutor, but Viola couldn’t restrain herself.
In the Grand Duke’s household—said to be second only to the imperial family in strictness—she had not only escaped, but successfully kidnapped the woman she hated most!
And there wasn’t even a single pursuer on her tail.
That meant her timing had been perfect. Today could be called her day.
“You must be curious how this happened, right?”
Viola, sitting against the carriage backrest, touched Bella’s cheek. Bella’s hands were tied behind her back, but she only nodded silently.
“Since you’ve been so obedient without resisting, I’ll tell you. You’ve been kidnapped—by me!”
Viola pulled close a man sitting beside her, wrapping her arm around his neck. He was wearing a servant’s uniform.
“You never thought one of the servants would help me, did you?”
“….”
Bella looked silently at the servant. Just that made him hunch his shoulders in guilt.
“C-could I… leave now? I’m not needed anymore, right?”
“Coward.”
Viola laughed harshly and let him go.
“Get lost.”
As soon as the carriage stopped, the servant jumped out and disappeared. Viola slid closer into the space he left.
“Now I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Unlike you, I don’t hide my true nature.”
Even without a gag, Bella didn’t scream—just kept looking at her.
Her big eyes rolled slightly, looking exactly like someone who had swallowed a lump of fear. It made Viola laugh again and again.
The woman who used to look down on her! The woman who had cornered her, saying she was guilty! Now, sitting beneath her, barely daring to breathe or move!
‘But that’s not enough.’
She wanted Bella to be even more scared, to shudder—just as she herself had when caught in Bella’s trap.
“You’re going to be sold now. Sent to a slave auction! Oh, and don’t worry about the Grand Duke finding you. The buyers are all foreigners. That means your life will end in some country where they don’t even speak your language. How does that sound? Like it?”
For the first time, Bella quietly lifted her head.
“The servant left, so it’s just you in here now. I think there’s someone in the driver’s seat. Is that your only other accomplice?”
“Curious? Fine, I’ll tell you. A big, strong man is up there. You’ll never escape! The carriage is moving, and there’s no one to help you!”
“….”
“So how do you feel?”
Viola grabbed Bella’s chin to lift her face, to see the fear in her eyes—
“Mm, thank you?”
“What?”
What she heard was something completely unexpected.
In the moment Viola froze in shock—
Smack!
A stone flew out of nowhere and struck the back of her head.
