Chapter 26

“…”

“I prefer the braille book you gave me over this necklace.”

She hoped not to worsen things between them, but that didn’t mean she had the will to flatter someone who’d hurt her.

She was simply telling the truth.

Which meant that, to her, this gift didn’t even qualify as payment.

Alberto’s hand, which had been resting on her stomach, withdrew.

Rabiana let out a quiet breath of relief.

Though he’d said he wouldn’t touch her tonight, his excuse of keeping her warm had still made her wary. Only now did the tight tension in her body begin to release.

“You’re toying with people, My Lady.”

She didn’t understand what he meant.

He pulled the fallen blanket up to her neck, then turned off the lamp beside them.

As the dusky light vanished, the darkness settled over her blurred vision.

She could hear the sound of him lying down beside her, as if to sleep.

Meanwhile, Rabiana turned his words over and over in her mind.

She had no idea what he meant. It gave her a headache.

***

“My lady, the ground slopes ahead. Please be careful.”

At Julia’s kind guidance, Rabiana responded with a small smile. Her steps were headed toward the glass greenhouse.

That morning, Julia had made a request.

‘My lady, I was wondering if you could help restore the greenhouse. Ever since the previous duchess passed away, it’s been all but abandoned.

It used to be the most beautiful place in the entire Roen estate… it’s such a shame to leave it in ruins. So I—I wanted to ask, if you’d be willing.’

Rabiana was only a duchess in name. She had no real authority.

But Julia didn’t know that.

And Rabiana didn’t want her to.

She had planned to brush it off by saying she’d need the duke’s permission—but surprisingly, Alberto had agreed.

The same man who once barked at her to stay quietly locked in her room?

It was unexpected, but Rabiana—already feeling stifled—gladly agreed to Julia’s request.

The glass greenhouse, left without an owner, was a mess.

Though the gardener occasionally checked in, most of the staff were too busy with their own tasks to visit often.

And Alberto, the only one remaining in the estate, had no interest in the greenhouse.

As a result of this neglect, the flowers had wilted, and bugs had infested the space.

“Let’s start by cleaning it up.”

Hearing this from Julia, Rabiana let out a small sigh.

Yet even in the chaos, the tenacious scent of living flowers filled her nose.

It had been so long.

She hadn’t smelled this since she left Lawrence’s estate. Just how long had it been?

Unexpectedly, working in the greenhouse turned out to be incredibly fun.

Though she couldn’t see, she could identify flowers by their scent and confirm with Julia.

By touch, she could gauge their condition.

She carefully examined each flower and even suggested discarding those beyond saving and replacing them with new ones.

Rabiana felt a little giddy.

Having something to do—being needed—brought a spark of life to someone who had always felt like a useless burden.

Kneeling down, she dug into the flowerbed with her hands.

As the soil tickled her nose and she scratched it with the back of her hand, the quiet sound of the greenhouse door opening echoed behind her.

Alberto, who had opened the door, raised a hand to signal Julia and the servants watching him.

He brought a finger to his lips, silently telling them not to make a sound—because Rabiana was fully focused.

He didn’t want to interrupt her.

He had already heard from the steward that Rabiana was tending the greenhouse.

No matter how small the matter, everything that happened in the estate was eventually reported to Alberto.

Another pointless endeavor, he thought.

A blind woman tending a greenhouse?

It struck him as foolish. But he let it be—because he didn’t care what happened to the greenhouse.

He detested touching anything with someone else’s imprint.

Though the estate now belonged to Alberto, he felt no attachment to anything within it. Especially things he didn’t know the origin of.

It wasn’t so much a matter of obsessive cleanliness as it was the bitter emotions he still held toward the people of this family.

He hadn’t planned to come here at all.

Whether Rabiana redecorated the greenhouse or not was none of his concern.

He had merely been out for a walk when he noticed the greenhouse door slightly ajar—

And from within, he heard a lively voice.

Lively? That Rabiana?

The Rabiana he knew was indifferent to everything. She kept to an attitude that nothing really mattered either way. The first time she’d ever shed tears was when she was stranded in the forest.

Since returning to the estate, she’d started to show more human emotions, but the first impression of her still lingered in his mind—empty eyes. Not just dim from blindness, but hollow from a lack of will to live.

And yet, that woman’s voice now carried a trace of laughter, and it tugged at Alberto’s steps.

And now—

“Do you think His Grace won’t be upset if we bring in new flowers?”

Still busy digging through the soil, Rabiana turned her head toward Julia.

Her face was as pale as ever, nearly translucent, but a gentle blush had risen on her cheeks.

Maybe it was just from the cold, but to Alberto, it looked like he was witnessing something entirely unfamiliar.

Rabiana was smiling.

The corners of her lips curved up naturally, her cheeks lifted, and her eyes bent softly in a graceful arc.

It was a lovely smile—one he never imagined he’d ever see from her.

Lovely.

It was the first time Alberto truly understood the meaning of that word. And almost immediately, his brows knit together in discomfort.

‘Lovely? That woman?’

Alberto was startled by his own thoughts.

But even when he stripped away all feelings and looked at Rabiana objectively, her smile was bright.

Just like how he could acknowledge that the ever-annoying Scarlett was objectively pretty, he could admit Rabiana’s smiling face was beautiful from a purely objective standpoint.

Thinking of it that way, Alberto could accept it.

It was just an objective thought. That’s all.

Anyone would say she looked beautiful when she smiled like that.

What was strange was his heart.

A sudden, dull ache bloomed in his chest. He clenched his teeth and grabbed at it instinctively.

It wasn’t the first time.

On the day Rabiana had been trapped in the forest, when she burst into tears the moment she saw him, he’d felt the same thing.

Like his heart was being wrung out. Like rage surged up to his head, while his blood turned ice cold.

“Julia?”

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Alberto finally moved.

He stepped away from where he’d been leaning at the door and strode forward.

Only then did Rabiana, sensing someone’s presence, lift her head.

Alberto leaned down and cupped her cheek.

Rabiana froze in surprise, and he brushed the tip of her nose with his fingertip.

“I’m not angry.”

He tried to wipe her nose, which had been streaked like soot, but Alberto’s finger only smudged it further.

Visibly flustered—something rare for him—he glanced at Rabiana to gauge her reaction.

Her unseeing eyes widened slightly, unaware of what had happened.

It was curious.

Rabiana expressed emotion with her entire body.

And in moments like this, he found himself oddly convinced she could see.

Her startled eyes slowly returned to their usual calm.

“…Your Grace?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

Alberto withdrew his hand.

Only then did Rabiana realize something was on her nose, and she began rubbing it roughly with the back of her hand.

The dirt smeared from her nose down to her cheek.

Ah, great.

“It’s spreading.”

“Ah… Why did you touch my nose just now, Your Grace…”

Her timid protest implied: Weren’t you the one who smudged it in the first place?

Since he was, indeed, the culprit, Alberto pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to a servant.

The servant quickly understood and went to dampen it.

When Alberto received the slightly wet cloth, he knelt down in front of her.

“Come here. I’ll clean it for you.”

“Oh… There’s no need, really.”

“I made the mess. Shouldn’t I take responsibility for it?”

It wasn’t exactly the kind of issue that required a speech about responsibility…

Still, Rabiana stayed quiet and let him touch her face.

She didn’t even bother to close her eyes, not feeling the need to—she couldn’t see anyway.

All she could do was feel the gentle motion of his fingers wiping across the bridge of her nose.

It tickled.

Each time the edge of the cloth fluttered, it brushed against her skin, making her want to sneeze.

Rabiana gripped the shovel tighter.

“What’s on your cheek—that part was your doing.”

Alberto’s voice pierced her ear, and the damp handkerchief glided smoothly across her cheek.

Rabiana pressed her lips together, forgetting even to breathe.

Since that day in the forest—

Since Alberto had begun tending to her meals—she’d started to feel inexplicably closer to him.

Perhaps because she had no immunity to kindness, even this much warmth felt overwhelming.

Her mind worked quickly, trying to make sense of what Alberto’s gentleness really meant.

“Almost done… My Lady?”

At Alberto’s puzzled voice, Rabiana jolted, her shoulders flinching in surprise.

“Y-yes?”

“Your face is red. Were you perhaps…”

“…”

“…holding your breath?”