A blonde woman I had never seen before was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
"Bella!
I mean, Your Highness, what brings you to this humble place?"
She lifted her dress a little and greeted me cheerfully.
I knew Bella didn't have close friends.
But one character came to mind...
“Elizabeth?”
“You came with His Highness the Duke?
May I speak comfortably?”
She didn't deny it, so it was definitely Elizabeth.
Meeting with a former creditor.
"Of course, of course.
We're friends, right?"
I nodded like an idiot and answered.
“From the outside, they look like a perfect couple.”
Elizabeth muttered, looking at me and Leon alternately.
“Who is she, Belle Belle?”
“Bilbil?”
Elizabeth repeated my nickname for Leon and laughed loudly.
"Bill-Bill, then!
Don't you call your husband Lily*?" * Pet Leon
Leon's eyes began to shine fiercely.
"Who are you?"
Leon asked defiantly.
Elizabeth stifled a laugh and looked at him.
“Your Highness the Duke, I am an old friend of Your Highness the Duchess...”
“You're ugly.”
"… What?"
“You.
Your face is full of malice, here and there, all malice.”
I sighed while listening to this childish dialogue.
She subconsciously looked at Leon's hands.
They were trembling and tight.
Did he get that angry?
I felt proud of Leon.
Saying such childish things without shame for my sake?
“Your Highness, this is rude.”
Elizabeth spoke trembling.
An unknown woman was next to her, covering her mouth in shock, observing the situation.
"Elizabeth, the impudence came from you.
You didn't even greet us after seeing us.
Yes, I owed you because I was broke, but that doesn't give you the right to be impudent."
She emphasized the word “broke,” hoping that Leon would notice.
"Elizabeth, you'd better apologize.
There are eyes watching."
whispered the lady next to her.
Fortunately, there was someone who understood the situation.
“Yes, it is fortunate that you have a sensible person on your side.”
I smiled and nodded.
Elizabeth's face flushed with anger.
“Apologize quickly, apologize!”
Leon shouted, repeating my words as a protest slogan.
People who weren't interested in us stopped and looked at us.
Elizabeth shot an angry look at those whispering around her.
She bowed to us slowly.
“Your Highness, please forgive my insolence.”
“I will not forgive!”
Leon shouted.
Elizabeth raised her head slightly, her face wrinkled fiercely.
“Leon, she apologizes, accept her apology.”
“Not to me, she should apologize to Belle Belle!”
Elizabeth bit her lip hard.
She reluctantly apologized to me: “Your Highness, the Duchess, I apologize for my rudeness.”
"Good."
I answered elegantly.
Elizabeth looked at me with eyes full of resentment, then turned and disappeared.
“Why did you borrow from someone like her?”
Leon asked with an innocent face, but his eyes couldn't hide his smug look.
“I told you, I was broke so I borrowed from Elizabeth.
Listen carefully.”
“I hope my wish comes true.”
Leon suddenly started talking about something unrelated.
Don't ignore me, listen!
“Leon!”
She stared at him as he looked up at the sky, eyes that looked very serious.
What is his wish for him to act like this?
Leon turned around, looked at me, and smiled cheerfully.
I stopped scolding him, and stood next to him, looking at the lanterns decorating the sky.
Leon held my hand tightly.
I didn't hate the feeling, so I held his hand tightly as well.
The next day, we woke up late, rubbing our sleepy eyes and eating breakfast.
Leon complained about eating vegetables, and after I scolded him, he remained silent with a frown.
“As I said, I will visit Walter this morning.”
“Okay, come back.”
Leon said with a frown, his anger still not subsided.
She smiled and placed some pieces of meat she had saved for him on top of his vegetables.
Leon looked in amazement between me and the meat.
“Do you know what it means to give you meat?”
“No, but I know.”
“It means we're that close.
Understood?”
"truly?"
Leon said excitedly as he stuck his fork into the meat.
“But you have more meat than you did to begin with and I...”
"Meh!
Don't talk with food in your mouth."
Leon quickly closed his mouth.
I looked at him contentedly, and after breakfast, I declined his suggestion to go out and went up to the bedroom to prepare to go out.
After getting ready, she took traditional wine from Esther and headed to meet Walter.
I didn't want to go to the Marquis's house because of the lady, so Walter and I agreed to meet at a café with private rooms.
Walter was waiting for me outside.
“Bella!”
Walter called out to me in a bright voice as soon as he saw me.
I was happy to see him, so I greeted him warmly and we entered the café.
“I expected you to choose your mother, but I was also surprised.”
Walter smiled weakly.
I felt my heart grow weak and quickly added: “Your current appearance does not suit you at all.”
Walter laughed.
"Give me some consideration.
I'm ashamed of you."
“That's right... you should feel it.
How is your mother?
I heard she's not feeling well.”
"…Yes, this is correct."
Walter sighed and looked into the void.
There was a knock on the door, and Walter said, “Come in.” The waiter put the tea on the table and went out.
“Pre-ordered.
The tea you liked.”
She raised the cup and inhaled its scent.
A sweet fragrance crept into my nose.
I looked at Walter before taking a sip.
I imagined Walter suddenly getting up and shouting: “My sister Bella hated this tea.
Who are you?”
If that happened, I would really regret helping him.
I laughed at myf, but caution doesn't hurt.
Such scenes are common in dramas and novels.
“After I went to Esther, my tastes changed a lot.
I didn’t like him very much anymore.”
Walter raised his eyebrows and nodded.
“You were always moody.”
“You talk about shyness and start with this?”
“Isn't that true?”
Walter's tense face relaxed.
He fiddled with the cup, then raised his head and said, “But Bella, how did you know that information?”
I put down the cup of tea.
“How much do you trust the Emperor?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Just.
Keep your distance from the Emperor.
Even if your father was his arm, he considered his death a mere inconvenience.
He is someone who could cut off his own arm to get the information he needed.
You saw it this time.”
"…This is correct."
"We agreed not to ask about the source of the information.
This puts me in a difficult position."
“Sorry, I won't ask.”
Walter quickly calmed me down and added: “If life in Esther is difficult, why don’t you go back to the capital so we can live together?”
I frowned.
I'm avoiding confronting your mother right now, which is why we're meeting here.
"You know why I don't go to the Marquis's house.
And Leon, even though he's a fool, treats me well.
He gives me a lot of money and doesn't care what I do."
But why am I crying?
I regained my breath and continued: “So, treat him like my husband.”