“Was the talk about the countess frequently doing charity work because of the orphanage she owned?”

But it had not been mere rumor. The words had come directly from her children, Vincent and Amelia.

Logan turned to the final page of the file. The orphanage’s name appeared among the Countess’s listed assets, but there was no explanation or detail to clarify its purpose.

He reopened Bella’s file, which he had set aside earlier.

The orphanage had closed years ago, and its records had been erased, leaving no trace. Even the lists of staff and children who had once been there were incomplete.

Paper records were fragile. They could easily disappear.

Had he not already been feeling uneasy, he might have overlooked this fact. But what if the orphanage had never truly been a refuge for children?

What if it had merely been a way for the Countess to make money?

Logan knew that nobles sometimes used charitable institutions for money laundering. This possibility pulled him into deeper thought.

Tap. Tap.

His fingers tapped the desk lightly as he called for the butler.

“Have the car prepared.”

“Yes, sir.”

Logan picked up his coat and left the estate.

“I need to look into this further.”

He walked with measured, restrained steps. His face remained calm, but inside, a quiet storm raged.

***

Screeeech—

The train pulled into the station, releasing a cloud of white steam. Once the screeching of the brakes had finally subsided, passengers began pouring out of the long carriages.

Amid the surge of bodies, Bella stepped onto the platform, which descended into instant chaos. Holding her hat firmly, she scanned her unfamiliar surroundings as a gust of wind from the arriving train threatened to blow it away.

The capital was nothing like Rosedale or Netherwell, the only places she had ever known.

There was no scent of damp soil or faint trace of wood in the air. Instead, the platform was thick with the sharp tang of iron and the choking smell of coal smoke, with an oily stench clinging to everything.

People flowed endlessly through the station. Beyond the station, the streets echoed with a constant, overwhelming noise.

When she stepped outside, Bella stood motionless for a moment, stunned by the unfamiliar world before her.

Carriages and motorcars raced side by side down the road. So absorbed was she in staring up at the towering buildings swallowing the sky that she failed to notice someone approaching her from behind —

— until she was suddenly shoved in the shoulder.

“Don’t just stand there like an idiot and block the way—move!”

A harsh voice lashed out above Bella’s head as she staggered, nearly falling forward.

“I—I’m sorry.”

Bella lowered her head and stepped aside quickly. However, she was collided with by the people rushing past before she had fully moved out of the way. Tongues clicked in irritation. Angry voices rose from all around.

“Watch where you’re going!”

“Where are your eyes, huh?”

Bella shrank in on herself and retreated toward the edge of the road, where fewer people passed.

‘Are all people in the capital this harsh? Or am I simply too used to the countryside to keep up?’

‘The capital is far scarier than I imagined.’

Clutching the handle of her bag tightly, Bella steeled herself. The saying that one could be robbed blind in the capital without even noticing must not have arisen without reason.

“It’s alright. I can do this.”

After checking the address written on the paper she had received in Netherwell, Bella quietly reassured herself.

She changed trams twice, navigated alleyways that branched out like a spider’s web, and got lost more than once. Each time, she stopped to ask strangers for directions.

By the time she finally emerged from a narrow alleyway onto the street where the house was located, it was dark.

She paused in front of a three-story, red-brick terraced house. It was the place Joshua’s grandfather had recommended, saying he knew someone in the capital who could help her.

The lamp above the door flickered faintly, its ageing bulb threatening to burn out at any moment. A few dim gaslights along the street barely cast enough light to see by.

She knocked on the peeling wooden door.

From inside came the slow creak of worn floorboards —

— and then the door opened.

“So you’re Bella.”

An elderly man appeared. Holding a steaming cup in one hand, he regarded her with a gaze that was neither cold nor particularly warm.

“Hello…”

Under his indifferent stare, Bella bowed politely, her voice tense.

“Heinz informed me in advance. Come in.”

The old man stepped aside to let her in. His expression was as blunt as his tone.

The interior of the house was narrow and musty, with damp wooden floors, cobweb-covered picture frames, and steep, creaking stairs. This terraced house, shared by several families, felt nothing like the estate where she had grown up.

“Your room is up the stairs, then another half-flight up to the third floor. The kitchen’s on the ground floor. Use the shared bathroom on the third floor. The walls are thin, so don’t come in late or make noise.”

After handing her the key and offering this brief explanation, the old man turned and retreated to his room.

Left alone in the narrow entryway, Bella drew in a slow breath.

A quiet sigh escaped her as she looked up at the steep staircase. However, she could not remain standing there. Lifting the heavy suitcase, she began to climb.

By the time she reached the attic room at the very top of the house, she was exhausted. She fell onto the bed—

Within seconds, she was asleep.

***

Bella woke to sunlight streaming through the small window.

Her suitcase was open and its contents were scattered across the floor. She was still wearing the clothes she had worn the previous day. Having fallen asleep as though she had fainted, without unpacking, she rubbed her sore eyes and slowly sat up.

Her body ached from the long journey, and she still felt exhausted, but, strangely, she felt more cheerful.

After washing up, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Bread and jam had been laid out on the table, probably for the house’s simple breakfast.

Taking a bite of the jam-covered bread, Bella gathered her thoughts.

One month.

That was how long the Countess had given her to travel there, encouraging her to take her time and get to know him gradually. On top of that, the countess had given her spending money for her stay in the capital, as well as her full wages for the entire period.

Out of gratitude for what she had been given, Bella felt she had to return with good news. Yet she still could not bring herself to open her heart to a man she had never met.

There was nothing wrong with him.

It was simply that she did not know what she wanted.

The fear of disappointing either the Duchess or the man she had yet to meet weighed heavily on her shoulders.

‘It would be fine to return early.’

She had no intention of ignoring the Duchess’s request for her to meet with him at least three times. After that, however, she saw no reason to remain in the capital.

For Bella, who had spent her whole life in the countryside, the capital was just another place.

She had no desire to linger in a crowded city with stale, suffocating air.

“If I don’t want to be late, I should get going.”

Finishing her breakfast, Bella quickly prepared to go out.

***

The lively commercial district was crowded from early morning onwards.

Bella checked several times that the coins in her pocket were still there before cautiously stepping into the busy street. Having left earlier than necessary in case she got lost again, as she had the day before, she now had time to spare.

Gift shops adorned with bright wrapping paper, perfume shops filled with exotic scents, and ready-to-wear clothing stores stretched endlessly before her.

There was no chance of feeling bored. Bella’s head turned from side to side as her eyes tried to take in the constant changes in color, sound, and movement.

She had once believed that the center of Rosedale was lively enough.

But the scale of the capital was something else entirely.

When she finally left the shopping district, where hawkers’ cries echoed without pause, the atmosphere changed completely.

Instead of goods spilling onto the pavements, there were elegant shop windows and stores boasting sophisticated, luxurious interiors. The streets were lined not with carriages, but with sleek cars.

This was undoubtedly an upper-class district.

Even Bella, who did not consider herself particularly worldly, could see that it was a completely different world to the one she had just left behind.

Realizing she had taken a wrong turn, she was about to retrace her steps when a single building caught her attention.

The marble seemed to glow softly, even in daylight. Vast glass windows reflected the blue sky and drifting clouds. At the entrance, carriages and cars arrived and departed without pause.

Bella watched a doorman deftly carry guests’ luggage, and then slowly lifted her gaze to read the name engraved above the grand entrance: Hotel Fraser.

The world she had just regarded as distant and unattainable was, in fact, a hotel owned by the Duke of Fraser.