Since returning from the theater, Isabella had followed Logan around relentlessly, pleading at every opportunity.

“Just once. Please? Before winter ends—I really want to try it.”

Logan turned and looked down at her earnest face, his answer firm.

“No.”

“Why?”

“They said that you can manage daily life now, but that intense activity is still too much for you. It’s not solid ground — it’s ice. If you slip, you could seriously hurt yourself. It’s too dangerous.”

He spoke with the anxious caution of someone who had watched her fight her way back from the brink. But Isabella showed no sign of retreating this time.

“Then winter will be over.”

“Winter comes back next year.”

“Next year’s winter is next year. This year’s winter is now.”

They had been going back and forth like this for days.

Logan regarded her with troubled eyes. She usually yielded to him easily, but stubbornness would sometimes surface at unexpected moments.

This time, however, Isabella did not shrink beneath his gaze as she once might have.

“I’ll be careful. I’ll wear all the protective gear.”

She held out her little finger, as if making a solemn promise.

Logan knew that she didn’t make requests lightly. She rarely voiced her desires. The fact that she had asked at all told him how much she wanted this.

Part of him wanted to give in. But her safety — her fragile, still-recovering body — stopped him.

“Your Grace. Please?”

“…Fine.”

In the end, he exhaled in defeat.

“But on one condition. You will not remove your protective gear until you’re completely off the ice. And the moment I see you overexert yourself—even slightly—we return to the hotel immediately.”

He laid down his terms.

“Yes!”

Her face lit up as though he had handed her the world. She nodded vigorously, joy spilling across her expression.

***

A few days later, Isabella went to the lake with a pair of skates that fit her perfectly.

Bundled in a thick coat to ward off the cold, she was fully armed with a helmet, gloves, and knee pads.

“Do I really have to wear all this?”

She grumbled, her movements stiff beneath the layers.

“Of course.”

Logan tightened the laces of her skates once more. The careful firmness of his hands made it clear—he had no intention of letting her fall and get hurt.

“I won’t fall. I’m actually pretty good.”

“Confident, aren’t you?”

After checking her protective gear one last time to make sure it was all secure, Logan stepped back.

With her preparations complete, Isabella glided onto the ice.

She had skated with Joshua every winter in Netherwell. She was more than capable. Gliding freely across the frozen lake, she moved with smooth control, never once losing her balance.

Logan watched her from the edge of the rink.

She really was good. That confidence hadn’t come from nowhere.

“Your Gr—, Young Master, hurry up!”

Isabella waved at him with both hands, quickly correcting herself when she saw the crowd gathered around the lake. Although she was wearing a hat and scarf that concealed most of her face, she was clearly wary of being recognized.

Standing at the edge of the lake, Logan reluctantly put on the skates he had brought with him.

The moment he stepped onto the ice, his awkward posture gave him away. After only two steps, he flailed his arms and wobbled dangerously.

Seeing him teeter on the verge of falling, Isabella hurried over and took his hand.

“Don’t tell me… you don’t know how to skate?”

“It’s not that I can’t. The ice quality is just poor.”

“Well, it is a lake.”

In response to her sharp retort, Logan tried to steady himself, but he slipped again.

Isabella helped him back up, holding onto him and guiding him forward slowly.

“You can tell me honestly. I promise I won’t be disappointed. Is this your first time skating?”

His movements were far too stiff to suggest otherwise.

After a brief pause, Logan reluctantly admitted.

“…Yes.”

“Really?”

“I haven’t. You know that.”

On further reflection, she realized that she didn’t remember him ever skating when he was younger. It was the kind of sport that most people learnt when they were young. If he hadn’t learned then, it was unlikely that he would take it up later in life.

“Come to think of it, you never did.”

“When did you learn?”

“In Netherwell. Joshua taught me.”

“Joshua Powell?”

At the mention of his name, Logan’s expression hardened.

“Yes. I fell so many times the first day. I couldn’t even stand properly, so I kept clinging to Joshua’s arm…”

As Isabella continued speaking, an image suddenly formed in Logan’s mind.

He saw a beautiful girl wobbling on the ice. Joshua caught her by the waist each time she faltered. He whispered, “Are you alright?” close to her ear. Their faces slowly drew nearer.

“So that’s why you’re so good.”

Crunch.

Logan ground his teeth, forcefully erasing the rest of the imagined scene. His voice, low and flat, carried a trace of irritation.

“Are you jealous?”

“No.”

The answer came quickly, but the stiffness in his face told another story.

“You don’t need to be. He teased me endlessly for being so bad at it. In the end, he got tired of holding me up and just skated off by himself.”

Isabella laughed at the memory of Joshua—so full of scolding, yet not much help.

In that instant, Logan slipped an arm around her waist.

Isabella found herself enclosed within his firm embrace.

“Don’t smile like that while talking about another man in front of me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like it.”

He gently bumped his forehead against hers. Isabella stared at him blankly for a moment, then let out a soft, incredulous laugh at his blatant jealousy.

“You’re such a jealous man.”

“Mm. You’re only just realizing how possessive I am?”

He didn’t deny it.

Then, when she looked up at him, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed her.

Meanwhile, a short distance away, other visitors to the lake skated across its frozen surface, their laughter and chatter drifting faintly through the winter air.

Isabella pulled her face away and scolded him softly.

“What if people see?”

“That would be even better.”

Logan grinned. The jealousy that had caused his features to stiffen moments earlier had disappeared, replaced by a mischievous glint in his eyes.

She punched his chest lightly, slipped from his grasp and skated away as best she could. Logan chased after her, but, in his haste, he forgot that he was standing on ice.

He lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

“Are you alright?”

As Isabella hurried toward him, concerned by how hard he had gone down, Logan suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Ah!”

She fell straight into his arms with a startled cry.

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst into simultaneous laughter.

They laughed like carefree children, without a care in the world and completely unguarded.

A few people nearby seemed to recognize them, but nobody approached. Seeing how happy the two of them were, they quietly turned their eyes away.

***

When the mansion renovations were finally completed, Isabella moved out of the hotel.

The relocation was nothing short of war.

“Which of these two woods do you prefer?”

“They look exactly the same to me.”

“There’s no such thing as identical wood, Isabella.”

Unlike Isabella, who took little interest in houses, Logan scrutinized every detail: the interior design, the atmosphere, and each piece of furniture. Having overseen the hotel’s décor personally, he cared even more about the space in which Isabella would live.

“We’ll need more clothes to fill the dressing room.”

“I’m fine. I haven’t even worn everything you bought me before.”

“No. It’s still not enough. The dressing room is this large—leaving it half-empty won’t do.”

The larger the space, the more determined Logan became to fill it.

Isabella, who had never owned many possessions, sighed at his insistence that empty spaces had to be filled.

She already considered her current lifestyle to be extremely luxurious. Yet Logan’s spending habits constantly exceeded her expectations.

“In that case, I’ll do my best from today onward to help Milady wear every single dress in her dressing room.”

A bright voice chimed in from beside them.

Seri, Isabella’s newly assigned personal maid, was quick-witted and cheerful. Whenever Logan and Isabella drifted into small arguments, she had a talent for stepping in at just the right moment.

“If Seri is willing to make the effort, I suppose I have no choice. One shouldn’t take a maid’s resolve lightly.”

Logan said this completely seriously.

Isabella shook her head and looked out of the window.

Outside, there was a two-storey mansion surrounded by a charmingly decorated garden.

Just six months ago, she had been living as a maid.

Now she had a beautiful home. People she could trust.

And above all, she had a man who loved her unconditionally.

“Do as you please, both of you.”

Her tone was gruff, but a soft smile curved at the corner of her lips.