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I didn’t know either Lishi or Nathaniel well in my previous life, so I don’t know what they were like.
I also know that the feeling of who likes whom is like a natural disaster, that’s why I shouldn’t be hasty in predicting it.
But this was a real surprise!
“Are you coming?”
Nathaniel urged Lishi with that tender eye smile.
“Uh… Yes.”
Lishi stared blankly at Nathaniel, almost as if she was possessed, then nodded her head.
“Great. Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Nathaniel was really pleased and smiled broadly.
“I’ll be sending out invitations soon, so everyone, please wait for it.”
After he finished speaking, he disappeared with the attendant.
“Then I’ll be going too.”
Lishi said shyly, took the maid’s hand, and climbed into the carriage bearing the crest of the Baron of Lemper.
“When it’s all over, let’s go.”
Kellerhan, who hadn’t said a word until now, opened his mouth.
He lifted me up and put me in the carriage, and he held out his hand to Yuta as well.
However, he didn’t readily hold Kellerhan’s hand.
“Hand.”
Kellerhan raised an eyebrow and commanded, then Yuta hesitantly took Kellerhan’s hand and climbed into the carriage.
There was an awkward silence all the way back to the Duke’s residence.
Kellerhan was quite subdued.
I could easily see what was bothering him.
Although the incident at the tea party is said to have ended well without major conflict, the fact that Yuta broke someone’s ribs twice doesn’t disappear.
Although I don’t know what Kellerhan feels inside out, I know he’s pretty disappointed with Yuta right now.
He must have known that as well as he kept looking down at his toes the whole way.
When the carriage arrived at the Duke’s residence, Magda and Harold, who had come out to meet us, noticed our calm atmosphere and looked puzzled.
However, the two of them silently waited on us, as they were servants with years of experience.
“Yuta.”
After changing his clothes, Kellerhan called his son into the study.
“Isabella, come with us too.”
Surprisingly, I was also there.
I thought he and Yuta would talk alone.
Upon entering his study, Kellerhan sat the two of us across from him.
There was another suffocating silence.
Yuta and I waited anxiously to see when Kellerhan would speak up.
“Today.”
When the tension between us reached its peak, Kellerhan spoke briefly.
“I understand the situation. You did it to protect Isabella.”
“…Yes.”
Yuta answered in a low voice.
“But it was severe.”
Kellerhan stared straight at him.
Yuta couldn’t bear to face him and lowered his head.
“Young Lodgemund…”
“It’s Heiner.”
I carefully reminded Kellerhan of Heiner’s name.
“Yeah, you must have known that Heiner was no match for you. Right?”
“…Yes, I knew.”
“If you were worried about Isabella, it would be enough to stop Heiner from assaulting her. However, you went further than that. You assaulted Heiner.”
Kellerhan tapped the table with fingers.
“A lot of assault among children can lead to a prison sentence, you know?”
“…I know.”
Yuta’s voice grew slightly.
As much as he grew up as Kellerhan’s son, Yuta was well aware of the seriousness of the act of ‘assault’.
“There was no official punishment, but we can’t just let it go.”
Kellerhan motioned for Yuta to raise his head.
The two rich men met each other’s eyes.
“It’s a week of probation. Don’t even think about leaving the room and calm down a bit.”
“…Yes.”
Once again, he accepted Kellerhan’s orders without a hint of defiance.
“And Isabella.”
Kellerhan looked at me with complicated eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
What? What on earth is that about?
I wanted to say it was okay, yet Kellerhan didn’t give me a chance to say anything more.
He called Magda and let me go.
Then he took Yuta to the boy’s room on his own.
That’s how Yuta couldn’t come out of his room for a week.
For three days, I watched impatiently as Magda brought meals to Yuta’s room.
I tried to look out the window of Yuta’s room from outside the mansion, yet it was blocked by the branches of the garden tree.
Living in the mansion without Yuta was incredibly empty and lonely.
I realized all over again how much he was paying attention to me, and how much consideration he was giving me.
Will Yuta be okay, I wonder.
He’ll be fine, it’ll be all fine.
So I had no choice but to strengthen my hands like that.
However, despite my efforts, an accident occurred on the fourth day.
“Duke! The Young Master…”
Magda, who had entered the room to bring lunch to Yuta, hurriedly ran out to find Kellerhan.
“What’s going on?”
“Perhaps he had a nightmare, he couldn’t eat and kept looking for someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know because I can’t hear his voice clearly, but it’s probably the Duke.”
Magda answered very carefully.
“Yuta is looking for me?”
“Yes, so if you go to his room once…”
Magda caught Kellerhan’s gaze and hurriedly lowered her head.
I was puzzled.
Why is Magda so nervous when she’s telling a father to go see his sick son?
I didn’t know it at the time, but Kellerhan never reversed what he had said, and he didn’t like people who challenged his decisions.
It was because there were so many rude people asking for the punishment of the criminals he had caught for extraordinary reasons, to be pardoned, and to get rid of their sins.
However, to my eyes that didn’t know that fact, Kellerhan looked too heartless.
So it was.
The one who impulsively stepped forward and opened her mouth.
“May I go and take a look?”
At my words, Magda and Kellerhan looked at me at the same time.
“You?”
“Yes, she said the Young Lord is sick. I will go and see his condition.”
In fact, Magda alone was enough to see Yuta’s condition, but that was the only excuse.
Kellerhan looked down at me in silence for a moment.
I could see many emotions swirling in his eyes.
It was the first time Kellerhan’s inner thoughts were seen so transparently, so I was very surprised.
As I tried to catch the emotion in his eyes, all of Kellerhan’s signals were suddenly blocked as if the curtain had fallen.
“Alright. Go and see him.”
He returned to his usual form.
“But don’t stay too long. In any case, he’s on probation.”
Nodding at Kellerhan’s request, I headed to Yuta’s room with Magda.
“Here, warm milk and chocolate chip cookies. Maybe it will help.”
Magda handed over a small silver tray of milk and cookies.
As I accepted the silver tray, she opened the door.
“I’ll be out here, so call me anytime if you need help.”
When I entered, she closed the door slowly and silently.
I put the silver tray on the table.
And I walked to the bed where Yuta seemed to be lying, on which the blanket was bulging.
“Young Lord?”
At my call, the blanket moved a little.
The front of the blanket opened, revealing Yuta’s blue eyes and his little face.
His complexion wasn’t good and cold sweat was running down his forehead, which made it sad to see.
“It’s Isabella…”
The boy asked with both eyes wide open.
In his eyes, feelings of unbelief and uncontrollable joy coexisted half and half.
“Are you… really Isabella?”
Yuta crawled out of the blanket and sat down on the bed.
“How did you get in? Father wouldn’t have allowed it.”
“The Duke? It can’t be. He told me to go to the Young Lord’s room.”
Yuta gave me a really puzzled look at my answer.
“Father… did that?”
“Yes. Rather than that, are you okay? Magda said that the Young Lord had nightmares and kept kicking someone.”
“Ah, that… ”
Yuta lowered his gaze.
“…Isabella doesn’t need to mind that.”
Though I wasn’t happy with the boy’s words that seemed to push me away, I pretended not to know.
Yuta and Kellerhan liked me, but they hadn’t yet given me permission to access their privates.
He looked relieved that I didn’t ask too much.
“Can I stay here?”
“O-Of course!”
At my question, Yuta nodded his head in a gasp.
I pulled a chair and sat in front of him.
A moment of silence passed between the two of us.
I was thinking about what to say, but I saw Yuta keep looking at me.
Why is he like that? Did I do something wrong?
While thinking about it, Yuta lowered his head.
“…right?”
And muttered something in a low voice.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
I curled up and approached him.
Yuta’s face flushed red, and the boy faltered back.
Then he said in a slightly clearer voice than before.
“You’re scared of me now, right?”
The unexpected question left me speechless for a moment.
The red color drained from Yuta’s face, and he became pale again.
“Father said so. People who can’t control their urges are worse than beasts.”
I still couldn’t think of a suitable answer, so I couldn’t open my mouth.
The boy named Yuta was much more sensitive and delicate than I thought.
Previously, I thought that Yuta and Kellerhan were similar to each other, but I was mistaken.
Yuta and Kellerhan weren’t similar at all.
Yuta was too emotional compared to Kellerhan. He was also impulsive.
And, I’m guessing, Yuta doesn’t value principle as much as Kellerhan.
I didn’t mean that Yuta was an outlaw, I just meant that he was the kind of person who, depending on his feelings, could mindlessly break the least important laws to him.
I had always thought that Kellerhan was too overbearing for Yuta, yet he had already grasped his son’s temper and was tightening the reins in his own way.
“You can be honest.”
Yuta raised his head.
The boy’s eyes were full of sadness.
“If Isabella can’t stand me, you can even leave me.”
By the time he pronounced ‘leave’, His voice trembled mercilessly.
He obviously wanted me to stay by his side.
However, at the same time, he thought that even if I left, he couldn’t help it, that everything was his fault.
Why is this boy so cruel to himself?
“If Father and I agree, the breakup will be simple. Convincing His Imperial Majesty will be a problem, but we’ll take care of that. And to a much better family, unlike Lodgemund…”
“You’re lying.”
I cut off Yuta’s words.
Then I stretched out my arm and squeezed the boy’s hand.
“You don’t want me to leave.”