“Your Grace, we must hurry before the shops close! I made so many salon reservations for today.”

Amelia clung to Logan’s arm, her voice bright with excitement. Ever since Vincent had mentioned the previous day that Logan would soon be returning to the capital, her anticipation had been growing and growing. She was determined to make the most of her time with her fiancé before he left.

During their long-awaited outing, Amelia was livelier than ever. She tried on hats rumored to be fashionable in the capital, slipped into new shoes, and spun around to show them off — her delight was plain to see.

Logan followed a step behind, his expression unreadable. But Amelia did not seem to mind. Simply walking through the shopping district with her fiancé, who had been buried in work during his time in Rosedale, made her happy.

“What do you think of this dress? They say it’s popular in the capital these days, but I’m unsure about the color.”

“If you like it, buy it. If there’s something you want, I’ll purchase it all for you.”

“Really? Then I’ll try this one—and a few others too!”

Amelia had been quietly disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm for the clothes she tried on. However, when he offered to buy her a dress, her mood instantly lifted. She gathered several gowns that she had previously thought were too expensive, slipped behind the curtain, and changed.

While Logan waited, becoming increasingly aware of Amelia’s mounting excitement, he wandered among the rows of displayed dresses until something made him stop in his tracks.

A deep burgundy velvet gown.

The one draped over the mannequin drew his gaze.

The neckline curved softly along the shoulders. The waist was tailored to follow the natural lines of a woman’s body.

In that moment, he found himself imagining someone wearing it.

A woman who wore the same modest maid’s uniform every day, always with her head lowered.

He pictured the velvet fabric gliding along a long, pale neck and resting against slender, exposed shoulders.

With the image came a slow, unwelcome tightness deep in his chest.

“Add this dress as well.”

It was an impulsive decision.

It wasn’t for Amelia.

Nor was it something he needed.

It was a choice made while thinking of a maid he might never see again.

“Shall we send this along to the Everett Count’s household as well?”

“No. To the Fraser estate in the capital. Charge the transport to the ducal house.”

Logan instructed that the velvet dress be sent separately to the Fraser estate. Curious glances followed, but he offered no explanation.

“I had such a wonderful time today. I’ll make sure to wear the dresses you bought me at the upcoming parties.”

After settling the payment, Amelia slipped her arm through Logan’s and spoke in a sweet, affectionate tone.

“I must be the happiest fiancée in the world, to be loved so dearly by you.”

A satisfied smile lingered on Amelia’s face after their successful shopping trip.

Meanwhile, Logan offered only a brief nod, as though he had simply completed another obligation.

Amelia was transparent with her emotions, which made her easy to manage. She would complain that he did not pay her enough attention; yet, the moment he sent gifts to the Count’s residence or took her out shopping, as he had just done, she would soften and talk about love, clinging to him affectionately.

Logan did not look down on that kind of love. Some people measured devotion in material terms. For someone like Logan, who possessed little beyond wealth and reputation, such a relationship was efficient.

The only problem was that he felt nothing for his fiancée.

Though she stood well within his reach, his heart refused to move towards her.

“Let’s return.”

Without lingering any longer, Logan boarded the carriage. On the road back to the estate, his gaze once again settled outside the window.

***

Joshua left Netherwell earlier than Bella had anticipated. He said that something urgent had come up and that he would be staying for less than two days.

Before boarding the carriage that would take him to the train station, he turned to her.

“I’m glad I was able to see you, even if only like this.”

“Mm. I’m glad too. It’s been a while.”

“Take care of yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard and end up sick.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to.”

They parted with quiet composure. The awkwardness that had followed his confession lingered only briefly, and then they slipped back into the easy familiarity of old friends.

Joshua studied Bella in silence for a moment, then lowered his hat over his eyes. If he wanted to reach the station on time, he could not afford to delay any longer.

After saying their final farewells, he climbed into the carriage. Bella stood still, watching it disappear beyond the forest path. Only when it was out of sight did she turn and make her solitary way back to the estate.

She lay down on her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

As the Netherwell estate already had its own staff, she was not required to work. Without a salary, she had no income, but she did not mind. Food and lodging were more than enough.

Above all, she was grateful for the peace and quiet.

Here in Netherwell, with no duties demanding her attention and no watchful eyes to guard against, she was granted a brief moment of rest — just enough time to start unravelling the complicated thoughts tangled in her heart.

***

In comparison to the main residence of the Count’s family, the Netherwell estate, where the Dowager Countess now lived, was a modest, two-story building.

Following the death of the former Count, she left Rosedale and moved to Netherwell, which had previously been used as a summer residence. She said that the larger estate had been unnecessarily grand, with too many people and too much noise.

That was her explanation.

But perhaps it was also her way of clinging on to her place in a world that was changing far too quickly.

The Dowager Countess often said that new inventions and other modern contraptions made people foolish. To someone who cherished tradition above all else, such innovations were not conveniences, but threats — forces that eroded the long-standing order she had spent decades preserving.

She did not hesitate to voice her disdain for the spread of electricity: the streetlamps lining every road, the overhead wires and the cement roads built not for carriages but for motor cars.

Although she had replaced the estate’s candles with gas lamps to prevent accidental fires, she firmly refused to allow electrical wiring to be installed. The fact that Netherwell showed little sign of developing to the point where streetlights would be required only served to reinforce her determination.

Bella brushed her hand along the intricate, repeating patterns of the wallpaper as she descended the staircase.

When the sky began to darken, she took a portable gas lamp and stepped outside the estate. Guided by its faint glow, she made her way towards a small cabin at the edge of the forest.

It had once been used by hunters who trapped wild animals that strayed into the village in winter.

Now, it stood abandoned.

“Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be leaking.”

After glancing around the cabin, Bella murmured softly to herself and set the lamp down. She pulled away the cloth that had long covered the dusty furniture. Wooden planks had been nailed to the ceiling to seal old holes, and the door bore the marks of numerous repairs. The desk and chair were smudged with faded handprints and streaks of dried paint.

Bella and Joshua had first discovered the abandoned cabin and claimed it as their secret hideout. The hours they had spent there lingered in every corner.

Bella stood still for a long moment, quietly taking in those remnants of the past. Then she sat at the desk and opened a book.

Whenever she didn’t know what to do with her free time, she read — just as she was doing now.

Having never attended school, her teachers had always been the people around her.

In Rosedale, it was young Master Vincent who taught her whenever he could spare a moment. In Netherwell, it was Joshua who carefully organized what he had learnt at school and explained it to her in his own way.

Thanks to them, she might not have possessed the depth of knowledge that her clever friend did, but she had no trouble with basic arithmetic, reading or writing. Above all, the act of learning itself had become her quiet, personal joy, even though she had no clear way to apply it.

As she dusted off her books and organized her notes late into the night, the thoughts that had once clouded her mind gradually quietened down.

One day passed, then another. As she settled into life in Netherwell, the face that had occasionally troubled her thoughts began to fade from her memory.

Like a lingering dream, the memory faded of its own accord.

And so, little by little, Bella returned to where she belonged —

to the life she had before the duke.