Jayden left for Orlando the very next morning, leaving as soon as he had finished breakfast.

Kyla felt the emptiness left behind by his departure, yet she also felt a strange sense of relief. She did not want him to notice how hard she was finding it to keep herself together.

So she forced herself to smile more. To eat more. Pretending that everything was fine and that she was happy took more effort than she cared to admit.

Later that morning, she went downstairs for a walk, feeling slightly lighter.

As she reached the landing, she bumped into Vanessa Hamilton.

“Miss Feilding.”

“Mrs. Hamilton. Good morning.”

“Going out for a walk again today, I see.”

“Yes.”

Kyla answered with a gentle smile.

“Oh, by the way, I heard the guest who came yesterday is your brother. Is that true?”

“Ah… yes. Not my biological brother, though. He’s my adoptive brother.”

“I had no idea you were part of that Feilding family. I thought it was just the same surname.”

“Yes…”

Kyla replied again, letting out only an awkward smile through slightly parted lips.

“But even if you’re adopted, making you earn money as a piano teacher… Who would think you belong to the Feilding family? Don’t you agree?”

Vanessa clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Did you do something terribly wrong? This is practically the same as being cast out.”

“I… don’t really know.”

Kyla simply smiled.

She truly didn’t know the answer.

What mistake had she made?

Why had her adoptive parents abandoned her? And why was she now being forced to leave this house too?

Since Jayden was spending the summer at Chatsworth, the duke wouldn’t evict her before the end of the season.

For the moment, at least, she had bought herself some time. But she still needed to find another position. There were only three months left until autumn.

“Mrs Hamilton, do you happen to know if there might be a piano teaching position available anywhere?”

“Why? For whom?”

Vanessa Hamilton raised her brows in surprise.

“Well… I was hoping to look for… a position for myself.”

“Hm. It won’t be easy to find a place as good as the Lester ducal household. Why are you looking for a new position? I thought Miss Riona had stopped troubling you.”

“It seems I’ll be turned out from here as well.”

Kyla said it lightly, almost as if it were a joke.

“Oh dear… I can’t quite understand why Miss Feilding would be sent away. From what I’ve seen, Miss Riona seems rather fond of you. And the duchess appears to like you as well.”

There was clear sympathy in Mrs. Hamilton’s gaze as she looked at her.

“Most families who hire piano teachers usually look for someone who isn’t a live-in tutor… If you leave here, do you have somewhere to stay?”

When Kyla shook her head, Mrs. Hamilton clicked her tongue again.

“Good heavens. Well, in any case, I’ll ask around.”

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Hamilton.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal. I haven’t found anything yet.”

“Still… thank you.”

Kyla smiled awkwardly.

Mrs Hamilton hurried up the stairs to the third floor, saying she was going to be late for her lesson. Meanwhile, Kyla made her way to the rear garden for a walk.

When she had lived with the Feildings, she used to spend most of her mornings playing the piano. But at Chatsworth, she could not play freely.

The guest parlor with the grand piano and Riona’s study with the upright piano were not places she could use whenever she wanted.

The hardest thing about leaving the Feildings’ household was not the absence of a personal maid or the loss of the treatment she had once received as a noble young lady.

It was the fact that she could no longer play the piano whenever she wanted. She now had far too much empty time on her hands.

Of course, such a peaceful and leisurely life — so quiet that it bordered on dullness — was not necessarily a bad thing.

Compared to working tirelessly for a miserable wage, it was a luxury.

Thanks to all that spare time, she could wander through the rear garden as she was doing now.

However, she did feel a lingering regret about not being able to play the piano freely. Once she left the ducal household, though, this comfortable life would come to an end.

So she decided to enjoy the peace and leisure for as long as it lasted.

Although it was June, midsummer had not yet begun. Even though the sun was high in the sky, it was pleasantly cool in the shade beneath the trees.

The rear garden, which led towards the woods, reminded Kyla of Snowdon, the estate where she had grown up.

The scent of grass. The smell of trees.

This was not a carefully arranged, geometrically elegant garden. Instead, it felt like a humble place where flowers had simply been planted wherever and left to grow as they wished.

Kyla walked towards the fountain with the fish sculpture — her favorite.

In the distance, amongst the blue and violet hydrangeas, she spotted the silhouette of a tall man.

‘Silas?’

Kyla’s heart dropped.

She had done nothing wrong, yet instinctively she turned away from him. Just as she took a step to retrace her path—

“Miss Feilding.”

He called out to her.

***

Silas did not particularly like Chatsworth.

The place that had held his only happy memories, those tied to Black, had become the most painful after the horse’s death.

The rear garden was the only place where he could relax.

Whenever he stayed at Chatsworth, he would walk through the quiet garden every morning, briefly forgetting his troubles.

After seeing Jayden off as he departed for Orlando, it was long past the time he usually took his walk.

Skipping a walk for one day would not cause any real harm, but he felt restless and found himself heading towards the garden anyway.

He stood beside the sculpted fountain for a long time. He watched the stream of water falling. He listened to its cool, steady sound.

After standing there absentmindedly for a while, he finally decided to return.

And then he saw her.

The moment she appeared before him, his heartbeat quickened suddenly.

Still wondering how to greet her, he saw her turn away, clearly trying to avoid him.

“Miss Fielding.”

He called out to her on impulse. Then he slowly walked toward her as she turned back to face him.

“Good morning, Your Grace.”

She dipped her head slightly, lowering her gaze.

“Well, I can’t say it’s a very good morning. Not when someone sees me and pretends not to.”

Even to himself, the remark sounded childish.

Usually, he wouldn’t have cared whether someone greeted him or simply passed him by. Yet here he was, picking a petty quarrel with this woman.

He didn’t even understand why. Perhaps he was simply irritated. He had intended to send her away, but because of Jayden, she had stayed — and now he kept running into her.

From now on, she would probably appear before him without warning, time and again. And every time, it would irritate him just the same.

“I’m sorry. I stepped aside because I didn’t want to disturb your time, Your Grace. If it displeased you, I apologize.”

She still didn’t meet his eyes.

That alone continued to grate on his nerves.

“Apology accepted.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be—”

“Miss Kyla, shall we talk for a moment?”

Just as she was about to leave, Silas called her back.

Only then did she look up to meet his gaze.

Her clear, sapphire-like eyes revealed both surprise and unease.

Nevertheless, the fact that she was looking at him improved his mood.

“Yes, Your Grace. Please go ahead.”

“You may stay.”

“…Pardon?”

“You may continue staying at Chatsworth as Riona’s piano teacher. If you wish, Miss Kyla.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment.

A faint smile touched Silas’s lips.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

She lowered her head slightly.

Silas found himself wondering what expression she wore at that moment.

“You needn’t thank me. I’m only doing it because Jayden asked.”

“Even so, I’m grateful. Your Grace isn’t obligated to grant my brother’s request.”

Now her gaze rested fully on him.

They were serious, steady eyes—beautiful ones.

“Is that so. Very well, then.”

“Ah, Your Grace… in that case, may I ask one favor as well?”

Suddenly, her face seemed to come alive.

It was obvious she was delighted by his permission to remain at Chatsworth.

“I’ll decide after hearing it. What is it?”

“The piano in Miss Riona’s study… may I use it in the evenings?”

She was asking something of him.

There was hope and expectation in her eyes now—and the realization pleased him.

“Very well. I’ll inform Mrs. Gerald in advance.”

Silas smiled gently.

“Ah… thank you. Truly, thank you.”

Kyla’s pupils widened, and her expression brightened at once. A radiant smile spread across her face.

It was only a piano.

Why would something so trivial make her that happy?

And yet—why did seeing that expression make his heart ache?

“I’ll accept that thanks as well. But are your apologies and gratitude only words?”

“Pardon? Ah… then how should I—”

Her eyes wavered in confusion, and she seemed unable to close her parted lips.

They were strikingly red.

How could she ever repay him? That was the question she was asking herself.

But even Silas himself didn’t know exactly what he wanted from her.

All he could picture was her throwing her arms around him suddenly and showering him with grateful kisses.

‘What nonsense.’

Had he become so starved for desire?

And yet, despite that, he didn’t want to take back what he had said. If she gave him something—anything—he wanted to accept it.

“Who knows. Anything will do. Whatever Miss Kyla can give me. Consider it a token of gratitude.”

Silas smiled.

After giving Kyla a small nod — she was now frowning at him — he turned and headed straight towards the mansion.

Kyla stood there, staring at him in stunned silence.

As he strode away, she felt an overwhelming urge to hurl a curse at his back.

What on earth did he mean by asking for a token of gratitude?

He said that anything would do, but did he truly mean it?

She was genuinely grateful that he had allowed her to stay there. She was also thankful that he had readily allowed her to use the piano in the evenings.

Perhaps a simple thank you didn’t seem enough to him. But what could she offer the Duke of Lester instead of words of gratitude?

He was a man who had everything.

There was nothing she could give him or do for him.

He certainly wasn’t asking for money.

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed as though he had simply said it to upset her.

Kyla let out a long sigh as she trudged towards the sculpted fountain.

Finally, the words she had been holding back slipped from her lips.

“Jerk. Lunatic. I hope you trip over a stone and smash your nose.”

Haah.

Swearing didn’t make her feel any better.

He was the kind of man who didn’t give anyone else any space. He had an extraordinary talent for turning even a moment of gratitude into irritation.

In an attempt to calm her restless mind, Kyla fixed her gaze on the stream of water falling indifferently from the fountain.