Chapter 128

Experience taught me that you shouldn’t give them time to answer. I immediately bore down on him.

“I guess your love has already faded. You must not even want to talk to me anymore.”

“N-No, it’s not like that, Belita……!”

Looking pale with shock, Noah grabbed my shoulders.

Slap!

Without a shred of mercy, I brushed his hand away and kept going.

“You used to call me by a nickname, but now you’re using my full name? Are you staging a protest because you want to break up? I was completely clueless. It must have been so suffocating for you all this time.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Shall I grant your wish and break up with you? It’s a fake relationship anyway, so I suppose it doesn’t matter. But if it was going to be like this, I have no idea why you even started things with me in the first place. How can a person change this much?”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Lita.”

“If it’s a misunderstanding, explain it right now. I’ll listen.”

“Well, you see, um…”

Had I pushed him far enough?

I needed to give him a bit of breathing room so he’d feel like opening up.

However, contrary to my expectations, Noah stubbornly kept his inner thoughts to himself.

“Look here… Lita. I don’t want to lie to you. Can’t I tell you after everything is resolved? Just wait a little bit longer.”

Even after all that, he still wouldn’t talk? Either he had a massive avoidance streak, or there really was something going on…

Whatever the case, it had become extremely suspicious. I had meant to probe casually, but this wasn’t going to cut it.

“Even though we started out as a fake couple, I thought our relationship was more special than anyone else’s. But it was only ever this much. I’m truly disappointed. Fine, for both our sakes, fake relationship or not, let’s just end it right here…”

“Actually!”

When I played my trump card, Noah squeezed his eyes shut and interrupted me for the first time.

“It has to do with the Duke, so I can’t talk about it easily. Trust me, Belita.”

Seeing Noah anxiously glance toward the door, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“What does it have to do with him, and how?”

“……”

“You can’t even tell me this? You don’t trust me? Is your trust in me really only worth this much?”

I knew full well how suffocatingly unreasonable I was being. But this kind of tactic had never failed to work before. Not that I wanted to use it.

‘Even after all this, the affection points didn’t drop.’

To think not a single drop of affection had worn off yet—what an astounding level of patience. I wonder if he’ll grow a sari¹ inside his body later.

“I’m sorry, Lita. It’s true that my mind has been elsewhere lately. I won’t do it again, so please forgive me.”

“Do you think I’m doing this just to hear an answer like that? What I hate is that you don’t trust me. Me.”

“Lita, you’re the one who doesn’t trust me, aren’t you?”

Oh? He was launching a counterattack?

Fat chance, though.

“You have to give me reason to trust you before I can. Right now, you’re trying to hide something from me. So how am I supposed to trust you?”

“H-Hiding something?! That’s not it…!”

He was denying it vehemently.

From here on, I needed to switch tactics slightly—stop grilling him and dangle a carrot instead.

“Noah. Even though the time we’ve spent meeting hasn’t been long, I believe we’ve shared our hearts more deeply than anyone else.”

Yeah, right. We hadn’t even been dating for a month yet, so how on earth could we have shared our hearts deeply? Or so I thought privately.

“If it has to do with the Duke, don’t I have the right to know too? I’m the Duke’s exclusive maid, after all. Whatever problem is racking your brain, why don’t you share it with me? As a lover… no, even just as a colleague.”

Whenever emotions ran high, trying to act logical usually destroyed one’s judgment.

You know how you feel dizzy when your anger flares up and then suddenly cools down? I figured it operated on a similar principle.

“D-Do you think I wanted this either? Do you think I’m doing this because I want to?!”

…? A wave of melancholy was mixed into Noah’s voice.

“Sob… You have no idea how much pain I’m in right now… Hup.”

I didn’t think I had been tormenting him to the point of tears.

There wasn’t even time to comfort him. A big, fat teardrop rolled down Noah’s eye, and perhaps unwilling to let me see it, Noah hurriedly scurried away to make an escape.

‘Wait, hang on, if he leaves, who’s going to finish unpacking?’

Did I have to do it all by myself?

I looked at the dozen or so unopened suitcases in the room and fell into deep despair…

‘There’s no way I could ever tell her.’

Meanwhile, having bolted out of the dressing room and leaning against the wall of the empty hallway, Noah sobbed with bated breath.

‘How am I supposed to talk about something like this?’

It was a problem he couldn’t possibly confess to a single soul.

‘That I have to kill Lady Rachel!’

Noah recalled the day he had received the Duke’s order.

“Rachel has crossed the line one too many times. There’s a limit to how much I can overlook.”

Up until that point, Noah had thought Robert was just talking about a divorce. But the words that came out of his mouth were utterly unimaginable.

“Noah, let’s send Rachel to a nice place. Rachel always loved the sea. It’s a bit chilly out, but if it’s there, Rachel will be able to close her eyes in peace, too.”

“And Noah, I have absolute faith that you’re the person who can pull this off the best. This is my favor to you. You can grant it for me, right?”

Noah had served Robert for over ten years. That was why he knew. Just how cruel of a nature he possessed.

The only reason Robert had rescued him in the past, and the reason he kept him closest to his side, wasn’t because he genuinely pitied him, but entirely out of concern for his public reputation.

Yet, the reason he hadn’t left his side even until now was…

‘Because he’s still the person who saved me.’

No matter the reason, it was Robert who had made him who he was today.

Whether that was pure hypocrisy or not.

‘That’s why I can’t drag Belita, who has nothing to do with any of this, into it.’

He had to finish this on his own terms.

“The night the family meeting begins. I will personally lure Rachel out.”

“There’s a walking trail Rachel always takes whenever she comes to Edin. And at the end of that walking trail is the scenery she loves most, right on the edge of a cliff. We used to go on dates there often when we were newlyweds… Well, never mind that. She probably won’t turn me down.”

“I’ll tell her we should talk in private, just the two of us, without letting anyone else know. You don’t have to worry, because no one will interrupt.”

“You just have to wait for the right moment and push Rachel over the cliff. Simple, right?”

This was the murder method Robert had devised.

Noah had never once imagined that he would end up killing a human being.

Let alone the Duchess…

Shaking his head from side to side, Noah chased away the overwhelming fear.

‘Even so, I have to pull it through.’

Noah instinctively knew what his fate would be if he refused.

There was no way Robert would ever let him live.

It meant there was no turning back now.

Time passed swiftly.

The day of the family meeting finally arrived. He still hadn’t reconciled with Belita since their quarrel.

Which was just as well.

If anything went wrong, the sorrow Belita would feel might at least be lessened just a bit.

Thinking that way helped steady his trembling heart.

“My Lord! Thank you for the invitation. I never knew there was such a beautiful villa in Edin!”

“This is the first family meeting since I became Duke, and I didn’t want to hold it in a stuffy place.”

“Indeed! How thoughtful of you!”

The vassal family nobles attending the family meeting. Along with the servants and guards they brought with them.

Tonight, a large crowd would fill the villa.

“You must be afraid of leaving witnesses behind. But it’ll be fine. There’s going to be a servant party on the evening of the meeting. That means you won’t be the only one wandering aimlessly around the villa.”

“Even if you step away, no one will find it suspicious.”

“Still, be as careful as you can so you don’t get caught. I want to make Rachel’s death look like an accidental one, if possible.”

Except for the servants and guards who needed to stay close and attend to them during the meeting, everyone else was told to hold a party in the villa’s basement kitchen.

Overwhelmed by their master’s generosity, the servants poured out unreserved praise.

Confirming that Robert and Villero had entered the meeting hall, Noah made his way toward the basement stairs. Belita followed closely behind him without a word.

In the party hall, servants sat in neat rows along a long wooden table. Simple yet appetizing snacks and beer filled the tables to the brim.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, a woman’s voice caught his ear.

“Ah, Noah and Belita are here! Sit here, right here!”

Belita’s roommate. Io, was it? She shouted so loudly that it would have looked strange if they didn’t sit there.

Moreover, for some reason, they seemed to be steering the mood of this space, making it even harder to refuse.

As he stood there awkwardly hesitating, doubtful glances turned toward Noah.

‘Getting attention is the last thing I need.’

In the end, Noah forced a smile and approached them as if nothing was wrong.
As the time Robert mentioned drew closer and closer, cold sweat soaked his back, though fortunately, it quickly dried off thanks to the chilly weather.

Anyone who saw Noah’s deathly pale face and damp back would have found him suspicious.

“We really struck gold with our master. Truly, Sir Robert is different. He even thinks of low-born folks like us! Right, Bridget?”

“Don’t act like we’re close.”

“Sit down already, Belita! Noah too! We were just talking with Bridget. Who knew Bridget could be such a fun person?”

“Why use the family meeting of all things, you ask?”

“Naturally, because I don’t want to end up on the suspect list. Negative changes to my social reputation are something I’d rather avoid.”

“I’ll even invite people who didn’t get along with Rachel to the villa. So even if you get caught, just say those people orchestrated it.”

“Ah, and besides, I really don’t relish the thought of people dying off in this mansion where I’m the master.”

Robert was trying to safeguard his social image while disposing of his troublesome wife.

Recalling Robert’s words, Noah offered an awkward smile and sat on the chair connected to the table.

Belita took a seat right beside him. Even without saying anything, the fact that she stayed by his side made it seem like, angry as she might be, the relationship wasn’t beyond salvage yet.

Feeling slightly reassured, his racing heartbeat slowly began to calm down.

‘I should really apologize properly later. Tell her I’m sorry for making her wait.’

Naturally, for that to happen, this task had to go off without a hitch.

“Um~ Did you two fight?”

“Huh?”

Out of nowhere, Belita’s friend Io dropped a straight-line question.

“Why so gloomy? How long have you even been dating and you’re already in a cold war?”

“It’s not like that.”

As Noah hurriedly waved his hands in denial, Isabella, sitting right next to Io, narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean, it’s not like that? You look super awkward.”

“Haha, ahem! Here, Lita. This biscuit is reeeally good! The cream and this tomato are an absolute kick!”

Io whispered to Belita, handing over a biscuit nicely spread with sun-dried tomatoes and cranberry cream.

Since the table was narrow, Noah could hear it too, making the gesture kind of redundant, but still.

“Give this to Noah. As a peace offering! Don’t ruin the party vibe!”

At the reproving tone, Belita’s gaze briefly landed on Noah.

This wasn’t the time for that kind of mood. Noah tried to decline.

“I’m fine–”

“Open wide.”

“Wait, I can eat it my– Urp!”

With a rather ferocious momentum, Belita shoved the biscuit straight into Noah’s mouth.
Judging by the raw emotion behind it, she must have been a lot angrier with him than he thought.

“Tissue.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Then again, seeing her hand him one to wipe the cream off his mouth made him wonder if she wasn’t that mad after all.

Was this why they said a woman’s heart is like a reed in the wind?

Noah grew utterly baffled.

“Are you his mom or something? Feeding him like that?”

“What’s the matter, Bridget? Jealous? Want me to feed you too?”

“No way!”

Io and Isabella burst into laughter at Bridget’s startled reaction. Belita silently chugged her beer with a deadpan expression. And the sweet-and-salty biscuit filled his mouth.

He was supposed to go kill a person very soon.

Feeling the sheer cognitive dissonance amidst the warm, cheerful atmosphere made his stomach churn in a strange way.

Driven by anxiety, Noah compulsively checked the grandfather clock at the end of the kitchen hallway.

“Let’s just say you two made up! So spill the beans, how far has your progress gone~?”

“S-Such a…”

As he tried to cool down his flushed face, someone suddenly spoke up from behind.

“Must be delicious?”

“Oh my, Sera!”

And it was none other than the Duchess’s personal maid, Sera!

‘If this woman is here…’

“What about the Duchess, why are you here?”

Belita, having barely managed to chew and swallow the biscuit in her mouth, asked.

“She said she needed some alone time, didn’t she? She went out for a walk.”

That’s right. The Duchess was completely by herself right now!