PESS CH 4

Chapter 4

Richard had been waiting for Bellua for a long time.

For someone—anyone—who bore the name Bellua.

That was why, the moment he heard the name “Bellua,” he had hurried straight down to the drawing room. But as soon as he saw the familiar face waiting there, his brows furrowed.

It was Noah Bellua, who was waving at him casually, as though they were old friends meeting after a long time apart.

“I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”

“Neither did I, so there’s no need to blame yourself.”

Noah shrugged and rose from his seat.

“To be honest, buying the mansion across the street was a little too obvious. Oh, and our young lady—no, that’s right. She’s Your Grace now. Didn’t you see Her Grace when she came out to have a look around?”

“……”

“Don’t worry. Bella has absolutely no idea that your buying the house right across from the Bellua ducal residence was a coward’s plea for her to come and see you.”

Was that supposed to be comforting?

If Richard hadn’t known Noah, he might have been confused. But he had dealt with Noah enough to be thoroughly sick of him.

The bastard was making fun of him. And enjoying himself quite a bit, at that.

“Lighten up. Still, this isn’t such a bad reunion, is it?”

“What part of it is?”

“The fact that our positions have been reversed? I’m the one who has to address you respectfully now, Count. Doesn’t that feel satisfying?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“My, my. Can’t you feel how jealous I am of you?”

“Can’t you at least wet your lips before you lie?”

“This is why I hate people who know me too well.”

Richard twisted his lips as he watched Noah grin shamelessly.

As Noah had said, their positions were completely different from what they had been ten years ago.

According to the late Duke Bellua’s plans, Noah should have become the next Duke of Bellua. That had been the whole reason he was adopted in the first place. And Richard would have been nothing more than a knight without a title, bowing his head to him.

“Anyway, considering how hastily you acquired it, the mansion isn’t bad. However, you’ll need to hire new staff. Even if you had to find them in a hurry, shouldn’t you at least employ a butler who knows the faces of people worth keeping an eye on?”

“If you have enough time to meddle in another family’s affairs, why don’t you pay attention to your own life?”

“What’s wrong with my life? The real problem is your countship. Even if you did become a count overnight, you’re still the Hero of the North. It won’t do for the butler of a hero to fail to recognize a retainer of the Bellua ducal house.”

Richard quietly watched Noah, who had settled himself in the middle of the drawing room and was speaking with such irritating sarcasm.

Noah had been impossible to read since childhood, but he wasn’t the sort of man to waste his time on pointless schemes. If he had gone out of his way to come here, he must have had a good reason.

Richard slowly looked him up and down.

Noah was dressed lightly, as though he were about to leave for a distant destination. Given that the head of his house had only recently changed, there was only one obvious reason for his deputy to be away.

“You were on your way to the Bellua estate, weren’t you?”

“……I went to all this trouble to visit you, and that’s all you have to say?”

“Is there anything else we have to talk about?”

“Ha.”

Noah shook his head and stared at Richard with an exasperated expression, wondering where on earth he should even begin.

Even if the Grand Duke hadn’t opposed them, they would certainly have broken up eventually.

And then, just as they were now, neither of them would have been able to say what they really wanted. They would have kept circling each other, fussing and fretting like dogs that needed to relieve themselves but couldn’t find a place to go.

I really don’t like this one bit.

Noah clicked his tongue. He wasn’t just saying it for the sake of appearances; he genuinely wasn’t sure that Isabella getting back together with Richard would be a good thing.

Repairing a relationship that had already fallen apart was difficult. And when it had ended in such a spectacular mess, that was all the more true.

“Fine. Then let’s talk about something you might actually find interesting, Count.”

However—

“Why did you come back? I thought you’d given up five years ago. Or was that not the case?”

Weren’t people always saying that, when faced with a choice, one should settle for the lesser evil rather than chase the unattainable best?

“Or are you planning to marry Her Imperial Highness the Princess and become a member of the imperial family?”

Richard’s contemptuous gaze was so unmistakable that Noah instinctively tried to defend himself.

“Everyone’s whispering that you’re obviously after a place at Her Imperial Highness’s side.”

“Then let me ask you something. Seeing as you’re scurrying off to the estate like a rat at a time like this, are you going to clean up the mess your predecessor left behind?”

Noah, who had been trying to provoke Richard by any means necessary, froze on the spot.

“How on earth did you know abou—? No, wait. Sigh. That’s not the point. Just answer me first. Do you still have feelings for Bella?”

Richard tilted his head to one side, as though he couldn’t understand why he should have to answer such a question.

That alone was answer enough.

I thought as much. Good. I can use him in a pinch.

It had been worth squeezing this visit into his already packed schedule.

“If you still have feelings for her, then help our young lady.”

Richard’s eyebrow twitched. He chewed over Noah’s words as though he had just heard something utterly absurd.

“Help her? Me? Help the Duchess of Bellua?”

“Yes. As it happens, you’re the only one who can.”

Even if Isabella told Damon that she wanted to break up, he wouldn’t let her go. Not because he loved her, but because she had become useful to him.

But the more Isabella became entangled with Damon, the more danger she would be in. If things went badly, she might even be saddled with the absurd accusation that she had seduced Damon in order to get her hands on the imperial treasury.

If you want to hide a tree, you have to put it in a forest.

That was why Noah had come to the Winston estate. He intended to use Richard to conceal Isabella amid a noisy scandal.

Fortunately, that bastard still has feelings for Bella.

Whether it was love, Noah couldn’t say.

Lingering attachment?

Perhaps even love and hatred intertwined?

Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. As long as I can make use of it.

Noah curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk as he watched the man approaching him.

Of course Isabella didn’t know. She hadn’t seen the expression on Richard’s face when he caught her just as she was about to collapse into the grave.

Until they entered the cemetery, Richard had been the very picture of a cold, northern knight. His presence had been so intimidating that even the nobles who had been whispering among themselves fell silent the moment his gaze landed on them.

And yet—

Now that I think about it, maybe he was trying to look impressive in front of Bella.

Ah, the raw, unguarded shock on his face when Isabella’s body suddenly tilted! He hadn’t even managed to hide it.

That was why Noah hadn’t resisted when Richard grabbed him by the collar. It had been obvious which way the balance of their relationship was tilted.

As though he had read Noah’s thoughts, Richard muttered in a low voice.

“Noah Bellua. If you think I’m going to dance in the palm of your hand again, you’re gravely mistaken.”

“……Even if that means Bella might become the empress?”

Ah. Just as he’d thought.

Beneath all that deep suspicion, Richard couldn’t quite conceal the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Ha. Honestly, how can those two be so alike?

“Explain.”

“Does the reason really matter?”

“Then what does?”

“That our young lady—Bella—doesn’t like Damon. In fact, she can’t stand him.”

Richard flinched.

“And that she still seems to have someone else in her heart.”

Noah narrowed his eyes as he watched the tendons stand out on Richard’s hand, which was gripping him so tightly that the bones were beginning to show.

Have I almost got him?

But at that very moment—

“Ha.”

Richard let out a derisive laugh and released Noah’s collar.

Noah stumbled backward, nearly thrown aside, and rubbed the area around his neck.

There was no longer any hesitation or bewilderment on Richard’s face. His expression was cold, as though Noah’s words had never tempted him in the slightest.

“The Duchess of Bellua has feelings for me?”

“……Uh.”

Noah couldn’t understand what was so infuriating about that statement, so instead of answering, he let his voice trail off.

Unfortunately, that was more than enough for Richard.

“She doesn’t like me.”

Why are you so certain about someone else’s feelings?

“Isabella loves wealth and power.”

……Our young lady does like money and power, but she isn’t that materialistic.

More importantly—

Noah looked up at Richard with a distinctly uncomfortable expression.

Richard was furious at the mere thought that Isabella didn’t like him.

His anger was icy and sharp, as cold as a sheet of ice.

In other words—

“……Wait. Did you wipe out all the monsters in the North and earn your countship for that very reason? Oh, right. I heard you’d made a fortune, too. Wealth and power, huh?”

So you still love her, after all?

At Noah’s pointed question, Richard flinched. But he quickly schooled his features into an expression so cold that not even a needle could penetrate it.

“Me? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Ah, I see. Then you wouldn’t mind at all if our young lady danced the first dance at the banquet as His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince’s partner, right?”

No answer came.

Noah swallowed a sigh as he watched the man standing rigidly before him, frozen like ice in the North.

“It’s almost time for Her Grace to enter the palace. If you want to stop her, you might want to hurry.”

At those words, Richard glared at Noah, abruptly turned around, and stormed out.

He didn’t bother to say another word.

Under the circumstances, no one could blame others for calling him rude. Noah leaned back against the sofa and let out an exhausted sigh.

Seriously, though—

“What on earth happened five years ago to make such a mess of everything?”

He could only conclude that the relationship between a man and a woman was truly impossible to understand.