TAHR 03

Chapter 03

The mischievous smile that did not match his polite attitude was irritating, but what bothered Elisa the most was his gray eyes.

The part Elisa had loved most about him was his gray eyes. They were exactly the same, even having a slight bluish tint when seen under bright light.

This man really is Ethan.

As Elisa finally realized it for certain, her jaw tensed tightly. She clenched both fists so hard that her knuckles turned white.

She was dumbfounded by his shamelessness. He had abandoned her and left, yet now he had the nerve to ask her for a dance.

She felt pathetic for having loved such a man, and even more pathetic for still loving him.

She was angry in proportion to how much she loved him. She desperately wanted to punch that smooth face right now, but there were too many people watching, so she held herself back.

She could not become the shameless young lady who punched the face of the hero who had led the Allied Nations to victory.

“I refuse. I think giving such an honor to a man like you would be far too much.”

This was the best she could do right now.

It was not absolutely necessary to accept a dance invitation, but depending on the circumstances, refusing could be considered rude.

For example, when the other person was of such high status or power that one could hardly dare to meet their eyes.

It was also polite not to refuse when the person was the main guest or the host of the party.

And the rumored ‘K’ was the main guest of tonight’s banquet. Of course, the Imperial Family had held the banquet to honor Prince Howard for his achievements, but in reality, it was only right to consider ‘K’ the true star of the evening.

So it was only natural for the nobles to be shocked when Elisa rejected his dance invitation.

What confused them even more was that the rumored ‘K’, who should obviously have been offended, was smiling as if he were genuinely enjoying himself.

Elisa was bewildered as well and asked,

“Why are you smiling…?”

Elisa almost spoke informally out of habit, but she barely managed to correct herself by raising the ending of her sentence.

Then the smile on Ethan’s lips deepened.

It was obvious that he was laughing at her, and Elisa’s cheeks grew hot.

“Lady Elisa Leslie.”

As if he had never smiled at all, Ethan erased the smile from his lips and called her name in a flat voice.

It was a title she had heard many times before, but hearing it from him made it feel strangely unfamiliar, so Elisa narrowed one eye.

“I…”

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

Just as Ethan was about to say something, a polite yet firm voice interrupted them.

It was Derek Grenville, who had been glaring at him with obvious displeasure ever since the rumored ‘K’ had asked Elisa to dance.

Of course, there was no trace of that displeasure now. He was smiling pleasantly.

“I will apologize on her behalf, so please forgive my fiancée’s rudeness with your generous heart.”

Derek emphasized the word fiancée as he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him.

Elisa looked at him with slightly surprised eyes at the sudden physical contact, but she did not push his hand away.

“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Derek Grenville, Lady Elisa Leslie’s fiancé.”

When Derek introduced himself and offered his hand, the eyes of the onlookers turned toward the rumored ‘K’.

Quite some time had passed since he appeared at the banquet hall, but they still had not heard his introduction.

A few people seemed to have been introduced to him by Howard, but most did not even know his name.

Since they could tell whether someone was a commoner or a noble simply by hearing their surname, the nobles looked at him with great anticipation.

Elisa also stared directly at Ethan.

She no longer had any doubt that this man was Ethan, but she still wanted to confirm it directly from his own mouth.

Despite all the eyes pouring toward him, Ethan did not seem nervous in the slightest.

The innocent young man who used to scratch his slightly reddened neck because he felt uncomfortable when people stared at him no longer existed.

“…My name is Ethan Isteban.”

The name that came out after a brief silence caused the nobles to stir.

The fact that he had a surname meant that he was a noble.

Most people had assumed that the rumored ‘K’ was a commoner, so the impact was even greater.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Derek Grenville.”

Ethan smiled gently as he took Derek’s hand.

Even then, his gray eyes were not looking at Derek.

They were fixed on Elisa’s face, which was filled with confusion.

After returning to the Leslie Count’s residence, Elisa became seriously ill and was confined to bed.

Her fever was so high that red heat rashes appeared all over her body, and cold sweat continuously ran down her skin.

Yet, ironically, a smile never left her lips.

〈I love you, Elisa.〉

She was spending sweet moments with the person she loved in her dreams.

Just like that night, they burned passionately together.

The heat rashes covering her body felt like proof that he loved her.

Pathetically enough, this was not the first time Elisa had such a dream.

As if trying to soothe her longing for Ethan even if only in her dreams, she dreamed of him again and again.

Moreover, the Ethan in her dreams was different from reality.

He did not abandon her. Instead, he took responsibility for her until the very end.

It was the future Elisa had truly wished for.

In her dreams, she built a peaceful and happy family with Ethan, but her empty heart was not filled even a little.

Even as she promised herself that she would never have such dreams again, she inevitably dreamed of him once more.

She felt so pathetic that a bitter laugh escaped her lips.

Still, back then, she had held onto a tiny bit of hope.

She had believed there must have been a reason Ethan left without saying anything.

She had believed that someday he would return and explain everything.

That belief had remained like a thin mist beneath her resentment toward him.

…But not anymore.

Her consciousness, which had been sunk beneath the dirty surface like muddy water, slowly rose.

Blinking as she tried to bring her blurry vision into focus, Elisa slowly raised her upper body.

The wet towel that had been placed on her forehead fell with a soft thud.

Perhaps it had only been placed there recently, because the towel was still cold.

Ethan’s hands were cold too.

It was absurd that she was thinking of him even at this moment.

Elisa let out a dry laugh and lowered her head.

Her long hair fell down like a curtain, hiding her face filled with self-loathing.

The only thing that comforted her, at least a little, was that this dream had ended exactly like reality.

Ethan had abandoned her and left.

Had she finally let go of her pointless hope after meeting Ethan again at the victory banquet?

It was a relief to think so.

But the fact that she had to consider this a relief made reality feel miserable.

As she looked down at the wet towel, which had already become warm, her eyes grew slightly red.

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Elisa rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and raised her head.

She had not even told them to come in, but the door opened.

“Oh! You’re awake, my lady!”

It was Marie, Elisa’s personal maid.

“I thought you were still sleeping… I’m sorry, my lady.”

“No. It’s okay.”

When Elisa stretched her legs out of the bed, Marie placed the tray she had brought on the sofa table and hurried over to support her.

“If you suddenly get up after lying down for two days, you might feel dizzy, so please be careful.”

“I was lying down for two days?”

“Yes. You were unconscious for two whole days, so we were very worried.”

Elisa had thought it would be half a day at most.

The realization that she had been lying there for two whole days left her stunned, and she let out a short sigh as she rubbed her face.

“…They were very worried, weren’t they?”

Marie knew which name Elisa could not bring herself to say.

She gave an awkward smile and nodded.

“Still, perhaps because the young mistress stayed by your side, she didn’t fuss or cry and stayed very quietly. She is still with the young mistress now. Ah, the young mistress took her away because she said that if you had caught a cold, the child might catch it too.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

Is it really a relief?

Elisa swallowed the question that suddenly came to mind and sat on the sofa to eat the soup Marie had brought.

She had not eaten anything for two days, so she should have been hungry.

Strangely, however, she did not feel hungry at all.

Her stomach felt nauseous instead, making even the clear soup without any solid ingredients difficult to swallow.

But if she did not eat, everyone would worry about her.

So Elisa forced herself to eat.

As she concentrated on eating, Ethan’s name gradually disappeared from her mind.

After being examined by her family doctor, taking her medicine, and washing the sweat from her body, the evening had already fallen outside the window.

“Oh, come to think of it, Young Master Grenville came by this morning.”

Marie suddenly remembered as she dried Elisa’s wet hair.

“Sir Grenville? Why?”

“Why else? Of course he was worried because you were sick.”

Marie hurried into the dressing room, telling Elisa to wait for a moment, and returned carrying a small box.

“Young Master brought this as a get-well gift for you!”

Inside the box was a pair of sparkling blue earrings.

Derek Grenville often gave Elisa accessories with blue gemstones, saying that they reminded him of her eyes.

“They’re really beautiful earrings! I think they’ll look wonderful on you, my lady!”

Unlike Marie, who kept admiring them and praising Derek’s excellent taste, Elisa looked at the earrings without the slightest interest.

Besides Derek Grenville, other people had also sent gifts wishing her a speedy recovery.

It was a little surprising to see Celine Montes among them.

As Elisa looked through the gifts sent by her acquaintances, her gaze stopped on a bouquet of bright yellow roses.

Yellow roses were Elisa’s favorite flowers.

But there was only one person who knew that.

Ethan.

The name she had finally managed to forget came to mind again.

Elisa clenched her hand so tightly that it felt as though she might crush the dressing table.

Her heart pounded rapidly, the sound making her head spin.

Surely it isn’t him.

“Who… sent that bouquet?”

Please, let it not be him.

“A gentleman named Isteban sent it, saying he wished you a speedy recovery.”

But as always, the things she desperately wished for never came true.