Chapter 14
Isabella, sitting on her bed, took out the smartphone she had placed inside her drawer.
If it was the man who had given her the phone, perhaps he could tell her something about the first mission. At the very least, he might answer her questions about it.
Clinging to that faint hope, Isabella skipped breakfast and quickly prepared to go out.
She wore a fresh yellow dress with a lightly puffed skirt and a wide-brimmed hat that suited it well. Seeing her, Selly spoke up.
“Miss. Where are you going this early in the morning?”
“I’m just going for a walk in the park.”
“Oh my. Are you going alone?”
“Yes. I’ll just take a short walk and come back.”
“Alright, miss. Please be careful.”
Once she stepped outside, the dazzling late-spring morning sun poured down over her head. Taking a deep breath and savoring the calm holiday atmosphere, Isabella noticed someone standing at the front gate of her estate.
“Who is that?”
It was too early for anyone to come visiting. Tilting her head slightly, she walked closer to the gate—and then stopped in her tracks.
The gentle smile that had been on her face moments ago turned instantly cold. Her lips curved into a frosty expression as if the very sight was unworthy of attention. She let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“You say you’re busy as always, so what brings you here this early, Your Grace the Grand Duke’s son?”
“Good morning, Lady Lydia.”
As if nothing was out of the ordinary, Ikanuel greeted her calmly. Isabella didn’t even blink as she responded coldly.
“Thanks to you, it looks like my good morning is ruined.”
At her icy reply, Ikanuel’s brows faintly furrowed.
‘Why has he come again?’
She didn’t want to let him into the estate. She didn’t even want to speak with him, let alone spend time in his presence.
Stepping outside the gate, Isabella stood before him and met his eyes directly.
“So coming this early means you’ve finally signed my request for dissolution of our engagement, right?”
The words about ending the engagement came from her lips, yet a fresh smile like dew on a leaf rested on them. That smile once again reminded him that what she truly wanted was the breakup.
Was it always this difficult to talk to someone? Ikanuel hesitated, thinking about how to steer the conversation away from the topic of breaking off the engagement.
“That is not the case,” he answered a moment later.
“If that’s not why you’re here, then I have no reason to speak with you. Goodbye.”
As Isabella turned to leave, Ikanuel spoke up urgently without realizing it.
“Isabella.”
If he called her by name like before, she would surely be pleased.
It was a makeshift idea born from the memory of her once smiling brightly whenever he used her name instead of a formal title.
“…Ha.”
But a hollow laugh escaped Isabella’s red lips. Ikanuel immediately realized he had made the wrong choice.
Her gaze toward him had turned colder than ice. Her delicate brows tightened in displeasure.
“We’re not on a first-name basis, are we?”
“What do you mean?”
“Since when were we close enough to call each other by name?”
“…That is…”
Realizing even calling her by name now displeased her, Ikanuel clenched his fist tightly. It felt as if their relationship was deteriorating faster than he had expected.
The more he tried to hold onto her, the further she slipped away. He tried to ignore the fact that their already broken relationship felt like sand escaping between his fingers.
“Could you spare me a moment of your time?”
“I have no intention of spending even a moment with you. Unless it’s about breaking off the engagement.”
Her determination to force the issue of dissolution made him fall silent.
Seeing that, Isabella let out a mocking laugh.
She didn’t want to waste any more of her time on someone who came early in the morning just to disrupt her peace. Without another word, she gave a light curtsey in farewell.
“Then please return safely.”
Turning away, she headed toward the park. She could feel Ikanuel’s gaze burning into the back of her head, but she ignored it completely and walked on.
‘He wouldn’t have come because of what happened at the palace yesterday… would he?’
With lingering unease, Isabella arrived at the park. As soon as she did, she hurried toward the place where she had met the suspicious man before.
Please, let him appear again like last time.
But contrary to her desperate hope, there was no sign of the man anywhere.
“I guess he wouldn’t be here.”
She wandered around the empty bench for a while in disappointment—until she suddenly realized people’s gazes were directed at her.
Standing alone by an empty bench must have looked quite suspicious. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat lightly and turned around.
And then she froze.
Not a few steps away, Ikanuel was standing there, motionless.
‘Why is he here again?!’
Thinking he had left, she realized he had been following her the entire time.
‘Right. If he has something to say, he’s the kind of person who will go through with it no matter what.’
Remembering that fact she had momentarily forgotten, Isabella let out a small scoff. He must have assumed she would speak to him if he just kept following silently.
She had no desire to engage with his shameless behavior. Without even looking at him, she walked past him.
She continued toward her estate, but the sound of footsteps behind her forced her to stop.
Whatever his purpose was, Ikanuel was still following her calmly.
‘What is this, a lost puppy?’
The Grand Duke’s son of all people, trailing behind a noble lady like this. The rare sight caused murmurs among onlookers.
“What’s going on? Did they have a fight?”
“Wasn’t the Grand Duke’s son never interested in her to begin with?”
“Still, how do you even argue with a fiancé like that? I’d just go along with anything.”
Then take him yourselves.
A crease formed between Isabella’s brows. The blame, as always, was directed at her.
Ikanuel was selfish, completely unconcerned with others. Even when she tried to ignore him, he wouldn’t leave her alone.
Finally unable to bear it, she turned toward him.
“How long are you planning to follow me?”
He didn’t even blink at her irritated voice. After a brief pause, he spoke.
“Until you agree to speak with me. Would that change your mind?”
“You plan to wait day and night if I go back to the estate?”
“If doing so would make you listen, do you object?”
The idea of him waiting day and night left Isabella momentarily speechless.
Unfortunately, his answer did nothing to shake her resolve. If anything, it only irritated her more.
After staring at him for a moment, she spoke with a mocking tone.
“No. It makes me want to listen even less.”
“Isabella—no, Lady Lydia.”
“You may wait outside the estate if you wish. But I doubt a busy man like you has that kind of time.”
As she tried to leave again, Ikanuel instinctively reached out to grab her. But Isabella reflexively slapped his hand away.
There were too many eyes watching. She bit down hard, swallowing the words that threatened to spill out.
His sudden attempts to act familiar—calling her name, reaching for her hand—only made her feel worse.
Even the attention she had once desperately wanted from him now disgusted her. If he would simply ignore her as he once had, perhaps this frustrating attention would finally end.
Barely containing her rising anger, she stepped back and drew a clear line between them.
“Don’t touch me so carelessly, Your Grace.”
“Isabella.”
He had acted without thinking, driven by panic at the thought of losing her completely.
For the first time, he looked genuinely flustered. His hand hovered awkwardly in the air, uncertain.
What could he possibly say to make her willing to listen?
