Chapter 20

Alberto didn’t like the implication, but Rabiana hadn’t meant to cause trouble.

It was true she was always in his line of sight—just as he had ordered.

But this mishap hadn’t been intentional, and yet he spoke as if it were her fault.

It left her feeling wrongly accused… and a little hurt.

Still, she couldn’t argue with him.

After all, Alberto had given her too much already—

The braille teacher, the books, all of it had come from him.

“Duke… I’m sorry…”

Just as she resolved to quietly sit and read, Rabiana turned to apologize—

Only for her forehead to narrowly graze his chin.

He had just finished retrieving a book. Now he paused, eyes falling on her.

She looked up at him, one hand on her forehead.

Their gazes didn’t meet—her vision too dim, and his focus sharp.

But he knew she was looking at him.

“S-Sorry…”

He hadn’t said a word, hadn’t done anything yet.

But she already stammered, cheeks blooming red.

Something about her flustered look stirred an odd temptation in him.

The way she bit her lip—it looked soft. Red.

Alberto usually had no interest in a woman’s body,

but his nights with Rabiana had left a stronger impression than expected.

He remembered them more often than he’d admit.

He leaned down slightly.

A book caught on the edge of the shelf.

Then his hand tilted her chin upward.

Rabiana’s lips stilled.

He pressed his thumb gently at the center, and they parted—

revealing a glimpse of her pink tongue, white teeth, and a tiny shine of saliva.

Alberto’s face lowered closer.

Knock knock.

Rabiana jumped.

She staggered back from his hand, instinctively turning around.

“Duke! The rest of the books have arrived!”

Her heart pounded in her chest.

Alberto, unbothered, handed her the book and turned toward the door.

Four servants stood with their arms full—

All for her. All braille volumes.

But Alberto’s eyes narrowed.

He didn’t like the sight of them.

Didn’t like them looking at her.

With a controlled sigh, he said only:

“Bring them in.”

***

“Is your health better now, Lady Roen?”

The visitor who came to see Rabiana early that morning was not someone she welcomed warmly.

Though the woman’s words showed concern and her visit was meant as a get-well call, Rabiana didn’t feel glad to see her.

Awkward air settled over the drawing room where they sat.

Removing her hat, the woman twisted a lock of her thick, curled hair around her finger.

“I was so shocked when you disappeared into the forest.”

While Alberto had stepped out of his office for a moment, Scarlett had shown up unannounced.

Led to the room by the butler, she now sat before Rabiana—

but Rabiana didn’t know how to face her.

Scarlett may have been Alberto’s acquaintance, but to Rabiana, she was someone who had once placed her in danger.

“You don’t seem very happy to see me. That’s disappointing.”

Just because Rabiana hadn’t brought up that day didn’t mean she’d forgotten it.

Getting lost in the forest after following Scarlett’s suggestion—could that really have been an accident?

‘Why did you go into that forest in the first place?’

Alberto wouldn’t have said that if he had been the one who sent her.

The memory still left her heart heavy, but it was over now.

Rabiana had no intention of confronting Scarlett about it.

Alberto hadn’t questioned her further, and Rabiana had kept silent.

Had Scarlett not appeared again, maybe things would’ve stayed buried.

Still… if Scarlett had come to clear up a misunderstanding,

maybe that lingering unease could finally disappear.

“It’s about that day,” Rabiana said quietly.

“Did… my husband really ask you to bring me?”

She needed to ask it plainly.

If Scarlett denied it, then Rabiana would choose to believe her—no matter what explanation she gave.

After all, Scarlett was a friend of Alberto’s, and Rabiana had no right to come between them.

She wasn’t truly his wife.

Still, a part of her desperately hoped Scarlett would say it was true.

That when she reached out her hand back then, no matter her intentions—Rabiana had felt sincerely grateful.

She now clasped her trembling hands tightly to hide them.

The silence stretched.

Anxiety she had tried to bury began to swell inside her.

‘Please just say yes. That Alberto really did send you.

That you’re only quiet because you’re upset I don’t trust you.’

Even anger would be a relief.

Scarlett clicked her fingernails, the sharp sound breaking the silence.

Then, with a sigh, a soft voice followed.

“I’m sorry. I’d been drinking that day—I wasn’t in my right mind.”

So he hadn’t sent her, after all.

Rabiana had known. She had prepared herself for it.

Still, the confirmation stung.

She took a sip of tea.

Even green tea, smooth and warm, left a bitter taste in her mouth.

It was natural, wasn’t it?

Alberto had always treated her like a burden. Of course he wouldn’t have asked for her.

“I didn’t mean to put you in a difficult position.”

Right. Still—if it had been a drunken misunderstanding, a mistaken memory that led to the forest incident—

Rabiana had planned to let it go.

Scarlett had been the first to reach out to her.

The first person she thought might become a friend.

She didn’t want to remember her badly.

Rabiana carefully searched for the right words.

Even now, the fear from that day still clung to her.

It was hard to say “it’s fine.”

As if bored of waiting, Scarlett broke the silence again.

“You didn’t tell Lord Roen, did you?”

“……”

“You’re not going to, right?”

It was at that moment Rabiana realized—

Scarlett wasn’t worried about her.

She wasn’t asking out of concern or guilt, but fear of what others might think.

And with that realization, Rabiana couldn’t bear it any longer.

The wall she had built inside—carefully, desperately—crumbled.

Of course. No one’s going to care about you.

The cruel whisper inside her surged up.

Rabiana stood abruptly, heading for the door.

She didn’t want to hear any more.

Didn’t want to be hurt by Scarlett again.

She regretted asking.

It might’ve been better to let herself believe it had been a misunderstanding.

Why was Scarlett watching Alberto’s reaction more than hers?

If it really had been a mistake, if it really hadn’t been intentional,

shouldn’t her first concern have been apologizing to Rabiana?

Scarlett’s nervousness about whether Alberto might have found out—

it only intensified Rabiana’s fear.

Maybe it wasn’t a mistake after all.

Her throat dry, she swallowed hard.

She wanted to sound composed, but her voice shook anyway.

“P-please leave now.”

“If you promise not to tell Lord Roen.”

Still, even to the end, all Scarlett cared about was Alberto.

Rabiana hated her for it.

Maybe it had been too much to hope someone might truly care for her.

But was it really too much to ask for—

for the person who had wronged her to at least look at her?

The injustice burned in her throat.

She bit her lip hard, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill.

She thought that if she just said the words, Scarlett would leave.

“I won’t—”

But just then—

“What is it I’m not supposed to know?”

Rabiana hadn’t realized.

She hadn’t known Alberto was just beyond the door she had opened.

Scarlett, her back turned to the hallway, hadn’t noticed either.

“L-Lord Roen!”

Scrrrape!

Scarlett pushed her chair back and shot to her feet, face draining of color.

Startled by the loud scraping, Rabiana stumbled—and accidentally stepped on Alberto’s foot.

“Ah—I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine.”

She tried to step back, flustered, but lost her balance.

Alberto steadied her.

“L-Lord Roen, this isn’t—”

“It isn’t what?”

Alberto seized on her unfinished excuse, demanding clarification.

But Scarlett only clamped her mouth shut.

All she could think was: I’ve been caught.

Rabiana felt deeply uncomfortable.

This was something between the two of them—something they needed to sort out.

Whatever Scarlett’s intentions had been, Rabiana didn’t want to lean on Alberto’s authority for this.

“It’s nothing,” she said.

Alberto suddenly turned his gaze to her face.

He leaned in.

Startled by the sudden closeness, Rabiana instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm.

“It’s not nothing.”

“What…?”

Rabiana brought her hand to her face, uncertain what expression she was making.

In truth, Alberto had heard everything.

Scarlett’s weak apology,

Rabiana asking if he had sent her,

and that absurd request—“ If you promise not to tell Lord Roen.”

He had a pretty good idea of what had happened that day.

Scarlett had taken Rabiana to the woods.

And lied—saying he had sent her.

He remembered how he’d snapped at Rabiana—Why didn’t you just stay put?—without ever confirming the facts.

The real reason he’d lashed out was because he’d been worried.

That same anger was rising in him again now.

Scarlett, quick to read the room, instantly realized:

Alberto knew everything.

The very situation she’d feared most had come to pass.

Now all she could think about was how to stay in his good graces.

“I-I was wrong…” she stammered.