A fire was already blazing in the hearth, filling the room with warmth.

Kyla held her hands out towards the flames for a moment before sitting down at the piano and lifting its lid.

She now realised that both the grand Steinberg & Sons piano and the prepared fireplace were gestures of Silas’s consideration.

Despite his arrogance and apparent indifference to other people’s feelings, he had actually been paying close attention to many things for her sake.

It was only a fireplace.

He hadn’t personally filled it with firewood. He had probably done nothing more than give Mrs. Gerald or Mr. Winkler a brief instruction.

Even knowing that, she was happy.

As she opened the sheet music, a smile tugged at her lips.

Warmth spread throughout her chest.

After practicing scales and arpeggios thoroughly, Kyla moved on to Schopenhauer’s Étude No. 8.

The piece was densely packed with difficult right-hand scales and arpeggios, making it challenging to connect the melodic line smoothly.

About an hour after Kyla began practicing, there was a knock at the door, and Mr. Winkler entered.

“Miss Feilding, His Grace has instructed you to dress warmly, prepare to go out, and meet him in front of the main entrance.”

“Dress warmly and prepare to… go out?”

“Yes, Miss Feilding. I believe you should get ready immediately.”

“Understood. Thank you, Mr. Winkler.”

Go out?

All she wanted was to have tea with him in the drawing room or the library.

But where on earth was he planning to have it?

Kyla put away the sheet music and closed the piano, then headed upstairs to her room.

She changed into a thick outdoor dress and put on a navy wool coat. Then she added a bonnet and gloves.

She had no idea how cold the place where they were going to have tea might be, but she doubted she would have any trouble being dressed so warmly.

When she went downstairs and opened the front door, she saw a two-seater, four-wheeled carriage waiting outside the manor.

As the coachman opened the carriage door for her, Kyla began to climb inside, but then she saw that Silas was already waiting for her inside.

The moment she saw his face, her heart began to pound.

There it goes again.

Her heart was causing another commotion.

Biting her lower lip, Kyla climbed into the carriage.

As soon as she sat down beside him, the door closed and the carriage set off.

“Where are we going?”

“To Ashton Station.”

“What? Are we having tea at the station?”

“Tea at the station. That does sound interesting, but not today.”

Silas smiled.

“Have you ever been to the seaside?”

“No.”

“Then this will be your first time.”

“You mean we’re taking the train to the seaside?”

“Does that surprise you?”

He looked thoroughly amused as he watched Kyla stare at him with wide eyes.

“How could I not be? I distinctly remember saying that I simply wanted to have tea with you… Or am I remembering it wrong?”

“You surprised me, so I thought it was only fair that I return the favor.”

“I surprised you…?”

“You didn’t realize?”

Silas leaned closer.

The scent of musk drifted toward her.

Leaning close to her ear, he whispered softly,

“How could I not be surprised when the woman who used to run away every time I approached her came to find me first and asked to have tea with me?”

The gentle brush of his voice against her ear made Kyla feel as though her heart were melting like ice cream in the summer sun.

She had thought he was just taciturn and stubborn.

But perhaps he was dangerously charming instead.

When they arrived at Ashton Station, Martin Walgrave was already waiting for them.

He handed the train tickets he had bought in advance to Silas.

“Good work. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Kyla gave Martin a polite nod before following Silas onto the first-class carriage.

The floor was covered in blue, oriental-style carpet and there were rows of two-person velvet seats facing each other along the windows on either side.

Yet there wasn’t a single other passenger in sight.

“I suppose not many people go to the seaside during winter.”

“Not exactly… Does having no one else here make you happy?”

Silas asked as he watched Kyla glance around the carriage.

“Hm? No. There’s no particular reason I’d be happy just because there aren’t any other passengers.”

“Is that so? Then perhaps I’m the only one who’s pleased.”

Silas chuckled softly before taking a seat in the middle of the carriage.

Then, looking at Kyla, he lightly patted the seat beside him, silently inviting her to sit there.

With the carriage so completely empty, she found it strange that he seemed utterly unconcerned.

“Have a seat, Miss Feilding.”

“Could it be…”

Kyla narrowed her eyes at him.

“You didn’t buy all the other seats too… did you?”

“I did.”

“How could you…? That’s going too far.”

She had suspected it, but hearing him admit it left Kyla speechless.

“Is there a problem?”

Silas folded his arms as though he genuinely failed to understand.

“Because of you, there might have been people who wanted to take this train but couldn’t!”

“I see no reason why I should concern myself with other people’s circumstances.”

Watching Silas calmly cross one leg over the other with complete indifference, Kyla found herself at a loss for words.

She simply could not understand whether everyone born a duke ended up thinking that way.

“How long are you planning to stand there? Your legs are going to start hurting.”

Looking up at her, Silas asked the question in an unhurried tone.

She guessed that he had hired the entire carriage to spare her from the discomfort of other people’s stares.

Even so, she felt no gratitude.

They could have simply had tea in the drawing room at the Lester estate from the outset.

Kyla walked to the seat farthest away from him and sat down.

She had absolutely no intention of sitting beside him just because he wanted her to.

She expected him to be displeased by her behavior.

Whether he was or not, she had no intention of looking in his direction.

Instead, he let out a quiet chuckle, strode over to her, and sat down beside her.

“In the end, you made me come to you.”

Kyla sprang to her feet, but he caught her by the wrist, and she dropped right back into her seat.

“Running away just because you’re upset isn’t a good habit. Neither is getting angry whenever you dislike someone else’s actions.”

“Doing whatever you want whenever you feel like it isn’t exactly admirable either.”

She shot Silas a sharp glare.

He held her gaze for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

“Very well.”

At his unexpected response, Kyla searched his face, wondering what he meant.

“From now on, whenever there’s something I want to do, I’ll ask you first. In return, I’d rather you not run away just because you’re angry.”

Without releasing her hand, he looked directly into her eyes.

The calm sincerity in his gaze gradually soothed the irritation she had been feeling.

“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll do that.”

With just one sentence from him…

With a single look…

Her anger melted away like snow in the sun.

Why had she even got angry in the first place?

Feeling foolish, she bit her lower lip.

Silas reached out and slowly brushed his thumb across her lip.

“That must hurt, so stop biting your lip. If you really feel the need to bite something, bite mine instead.”

Smiling, Silas lightly tapped his own lips with a finger.

Her face flushed bright red.

Flustered, she hurriedly stood up, but he tugged on the hand he was still holding, pulling her right back down into her seat.

“I thought we’d agreed you weren’t going to run away anymore. And don’t worry. Unless you accept my proposal, I won’t kiss you again like I did before.”

His eyes curved into a smile.

“Of course, if you’re the one who starts it, that’s a different story.”

As she looked at his teasing smile, Kyla began to wonder if she had ever truly known the man she had believed she understood so well.

Simply sitting beside him and holding his hand made her heart race.

Whenever he looked at her with his deep eyes, her pulse surged through her entire body.

It felt as though the two of them were the only people in the world.

Back at Lake Chatworth, she hadn’t realized just how precious those feelings were.

She thought they were just a passing impulse.

She even believed that they were like a flame that blazed brightly for a moment before dying out in an instant.

And perhaps that was the truth.

But if those feelings were directed only toward him…

If they would disappear only after burning with all their strength…

Then there was only one path she could choose.

“Where exactly are we going?”

Kyla asked as she gazed out the window.

“The way you said we… I rather like the sound of that.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“You did hear everything I said, didn’t you? Because I’m pretty sure I asked you a question.”

Silas burst into laughter as he watched her shoot him a sidelong glare.

“We’re going to Kingsgate.”

“Kingsgate… I’ve heard of it.”

“It has a beautiful sandy beach. After His Late Majesty built a villa there, many nobles followed suit and built their own nearby.”

“Then do you have a villa there too, Your Grace?”

“My father built a small one. To be honest, I’d been thinking of selling it because I never had any reason to go there. I’m glad I didn’t.”

As she watched the satisfied expression on Silas’s face, Kyla pictured the sea.

A sandy beach by the ocean…

And the little Lester family villa.

Although she had never seen the sea or a beach in person, she had seen countless paintings of them.

In those paintings, the sea was always blue, peaceful and beautiful.

What would the Lesters’ little villa be like?

She hoped it would be modest yet cozy and warm.

Eventually, the train arrived at its final destination: Kingsgate Station.

As Kyla stepped off with Silas, she almost thought she was seeing a ghost: Martin Walgrave was walking towards them.

Martin Walgrave — the man who had left them at Ashton Station — was walking towards them.

“Martin.”

“Your Grace, if you’ll wait a moment, I’ll find us a carriage.”

“Very well.”

As she watched Martin stride quickly out of the station, Kyla wondered where he had been all this time.

Then it dawned on her.

He had taken the same train as them.

He simply hadn’t travelled in first class.

He had been in the second-class carriage.

It was so obvious, yet it had never occurred to her before.

There was no way a duke would travel this far without his secretary.

This made her wonder whether she could truly fulfil the role of duchess when she knew so little about a duke’s daily routine.

“You don’t look well. Are you all right?”

Silas asked as he studied her face.

It amazed her how easily he seemed to read what she was feeling.

And somehow, it touched her as well.

“Oh… yes. I think I’m just hungry.”

Not knowing what else to say, Kyla came up with the first excuse that came to mind.

“Now that you mention it, we’ve already passed lunchtime. Let’s head to the villa first. I sent a telegram ahead telling them to prepare a meal, so it should be ready as soon as we arrive.”

“Thank you.”

Suppressing the unease in her heart, Kyla greeted him with a smile.