Kyla felt her anger rising steadily.

“Yes, of course. You have already made your decision, so what power do I have to change it? I didn’t beg to work here. The Lester family invited me to come here as a piano teacher, and now you’re dismissing me on a whim. This is how the most prestigious ducal house in Brighton treats its employees.”

As her emotions surged, her words came faster and faster. By the end, they poured out in a rapid stream, barely giving her time to breathe.

When she finished speaking, her breathing was uneven. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to steady herself and catch her breath.

“If my words have offended you, I regret that. It was not my intention.”

The duke said the word ‘regret’, but only with his lips. His gaze remained indifferent and unmoving. It was painfully clear that she meant nothing to him.

Kyla felt the strength drain from her body.

She remembered the day she had first met him at the polo field.

She remembered how he had covered her eyes to shield her from something dreadful.

She remembered how he had helped her at the graduation ball when she had nearly been assaulted and how he had held her hand when fireworks startled her.

She remembered how he had held her hand when the fireworks startled her.

It was moments like these that had led her to believe that, despite his stiff and cold manner, he must be kind at heart — that somewhere beneath it all, he was a warm person.

How foolish she had been.

A tight lump rose in Kyla’s throat. She clenched her teeth, struggling to keep the tears from falling.

‘I will never cry in front of this man.’

“If Your Grace wishes me to leave, then I will resign. However, I cannot do so immediately. I will depart once I have secured another position as a piano teacher.”

Kyla placed the teacup she had been holding back on the table and began to stand.

“You’re not returning to the Feiling family?”

“No. I’m not.”

“Why?”

He frowned as though he could not understand.

‘Why?’

She smiled.

“That has nothing to do with you, Your Grace.”

Kyla rose from her chair and left the study without even offering a farewell.

‘See? He knows nothing.’

He probably wasn’t interested in finding out, either.

There was no reason for him to do so.

Lady Feiling had all but driven her away.

Although Kyla hadn’t taken the Feiling name, it was clear that she could no longer live as part of that family.

Hadn’t Silas himself said so?

That being a piano teacher was unsuitable for a young lady of high society.

As she hurried up the stairs, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

‘How foolish.’

Kyla stopped and wiped her damp cheeks with her hand.

‘What’s the point of crying?’

‘Don’t cry.’

‘This is nothing.’

‘Don’t pity yourself.’

Gripping the stair railing tightly, she took a slow, steady breath before continuing upward.

***

“Kyla… where is she?”

After returning home from Portsmouth—having finished clearing out all his belongings after graduation—Jayden called for the maid Mary when he realized Kyla was nowhere to be seen.

But when he asked why Kyla was absent, he could not make sense of Mary’s answer.

“Master… well… she has gone to the Duke of Lester’s estate…”

Mary’s voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke.

“What do you mean? Why would Kyla be there?”

“She… she went to teach piano…”

Jayden could hardly believe it.

“Where is Mother?”

“She’s… probably in the rose garden…”

Jayden left Mary behind. She looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. He headed straight for the rose garden.

The garden was in full bloom.

Roses were in bloom everywhere.

Their fragrance filled the air so heavily that it was almost suffocating. Jayden loosened his tie slightly.

Lady Feiling stood among the rose bushes, carefully snipping rosebuds from the branches and placing them one by one into a large basket held by a maid.

As always, her movements were restrained, graceful and elegant.

Jayden took the basket from the maid and dismissed her with a brief gesture, sending her back into the house.

Throughout it all, his mother continued cutting roses without saying a word.

It was as if she already knew exactly what he had come to say.

“Mother!”

Jayden called out to her, but she did not even turn her head.

He dropped the basket of roses onto the ground with a dull thud.

Several roses spilled out, their red petals scattering across the grass.

“Kyla is working as a piano teacher? How could you do such a thing? Making Kyla earn money—this is unthinkable for a young lady of the Feiling family!”

His voice rang loudly throughout the garden.

Only then did his mother turn to look at him.

Her face was expressionless.

Slowly, she removed her gardening gloves and held them in her hand.

“So you’ve forgotten even your manners over the matter of Kyla. You don’t even see your own mother anymore.”

She looked at him steadily.

“Well then, Jayden. You say Kyla is a young lady of the Feiling family?”

“Of course she is. Kyla has lived in this house as my sister for five years. So how could you—”

“Sister.”

Lady Feiling let out a short, mocking laugh.

Her expression gradually twisted.

“If you had truly considered Kyla your sister, I would never have sent that poor child out of this house.”

“What do you—”

Jayden stopped mid-protest.

‘Did Mother… know?’

“You wouldn’t understand. You don’t know what kind of heart I had when I accepted that child as my adopted daughter. I could never truly love her, but I still did everything I could.”

In her eyes burned a fierce anger Jayden had never seen before. Even he could imagine how difficult it must have been for her to take in a girl who had once been a complete stranger and raise her as her own daughter.

But was that truly enough to make his mother so furious?

“If you—if you had simply regarded that child as your younger sister, I would have taken responsibility for her as my daughter to the very end!”

At the words his mother cried out as though vomiting them from her chest, Jayden’s face slowly turned pale.

Her anger had been directed at him all along.

Because he had not seen Kyla as a sister—but as a woman.

“So in the end… it was my fault.”

All the color had drained from his face, leaving it stiff and rigid.

“Then I’ll fix it. I’ll go and bring her back.”

“No. I cannot break the promise made with the ducal house so lightly. And your father approved of this matter as well. What do you think you could accomplish by going there?”

‘Father approved?’

How could even his father…!

Jayden’s tightly clenched fists began to tremble.

“How could both of you do something like this? I could never accept it. Silas will understand. And I’ll apologize to Lady Lester myself—even if I have to kneel before her.”

“Kneel? Very well. Do as you wish. Let’s see whether things truly go your way.”

She ground her teeth as she watched Jayden turn around sharply and walk away.

What she had said earlier had only been half the truth. When she said that her husband had approved, that had been a lie.

Knowing he would never easily agree, she took advantage of his business trip to send Kyla to the ducal estate without asking his permission.

It was only after he returned that she told him Kyla had already left for the ducal house.

At first, Andrew exploded in anger. However, when she explained that Jayden had developed feelings for Kyla and that she felt she had no other choice, his anger gradually subsided.

“Even so… making her a piano teacher…”

“They are legally siblings, even if they aren’t related by blood. Do you intend to marry them off?”

“Was there truly no other way?”

“Separating them is for the best. Kyla didn’t seem too bothered. She loved the piano more than anything. Besides, where could be a more trustworthy place than the Duke of Lester’s house?”

Andrew said nothing.

But he never said, “I agree”, either.

“I kept silent when you said you wanted to adopt the child of your deceased friend. Raising someone else’s child is never easy, but I did my best. I gave her everything I could. You would agree with that.”

Andrew did not deny her words.

“But marriage to Jayden—never.” Becoming the mistress of the Feiling household and the daughter of a count who took his own life? That is impossible. Legally, they are siblings. The Feiling family’s reputation would collapse in Ashton society. And what about their children? Do you think your grandchildren would ever be able to arrange respectable marriages?”

“…Very well.”

His face twisted with grief as he pressed his lips together tightly.

Without saying another word, he went straight to the study.

After that day, he never mentioned Kyla again.

Although he had never fully approved of the situation, he had eventually accepted it.

So the words she had spoken to her son were not entirely false.

Jayden had declared that he would resolve the matter himself. Most likely, he would leave for Chatworth the following day.

But he would never be able to bring Kyla back.

She would refuse to return.

Melissa clearly remembered the moment she had driven the girl away — the child who had once called her ‘Mother’.

Melissa would probably never forget the lonely expression on Kyla’s face as she left the house.

How could she?

Her eyes looked exactly like those of an abandoned puppy.

***

Kyla was at a complete loss as to how she could find another job as a piano teacher.

It was night-time, yet even after getting into bed, she could not sleep. Perhaps it was because the uncertainty of the future was weighing heavily on her mind.

Then, suddenly, she had an idea.

‘Perhaps Miss Hamilton might know something… maybe she could suggest a way.’

Only after this thought did her mind finally settle, and drowsiness swept over her all at once.

How long had she been asleep?

She couldn’t remember dreaming, which meant that she must have fallen into a deep sleep.

When she came to, the sky outside was already bright.

As midsummer approached, the sun was rising earlier each day.

She hurriedly washed and changed.

Initially, getting dressed without a maid’s help had been difficult, but she had now become accustomed to doing most things on her own.

Of course, the results were not exactly impressive.

She suddenly remembered the way Riona had once looked her over from head to toe, then frowned and shook her head.

Kyla stared at her reflection in the dressing table mirror and let out a faint, self-mocking smile.

Just then—

The door burst open without so much as a knock.

“Teacher! Teacher! Hurry and come out!”

Riona stood in the doorway, her face flushed with excitement.

“Miss, what is it?”

“A guest has come to see you, Teacher!”

“A guest…? Who on earth…?”

As Kyla wondered who would come all the way to Chatworth early in the morning just to see her, one person immediately came to mind.

“He looked just like a prince from a fairy tale. His golden hair was shining so brightly!”

Riona’s cheeks were flushed pink, her round eyes sparkling with excitement.