Chapter 8
Vanessa hesitated a moment, then asked him.
“Duke, have you had a bad night’s sleep?”She noticed his eyebrows twitch at her question.
“That’s the part you shouldn’t touch.”Now she had crossed a line Jeremiah had drawn. Vanessa could meddle in matters concerning Estella, but not in matters concerning Jeremiah himself.
“That seems a bit presumptuous.”There was a moment of silence, and then Jeremiah muttered sharply. Vanessa flinched as she realized that his eyes had gone very cold.
“Miss Vanessa is Estella’s doctor, not mine, and you are only responsible for her.” “…I’m sorry.”She stepped back obediently, her eyes narrowing and opening.
When she apologized without much of an explanation, he softened a little and jerked toward the door, as if to say,
“Get out.”
Vanessa bowed her head to him and hurried out of his office.
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Is this why she doesn’t have any heart left after every meeting with Jeremiah?
“Wow, that was dangerous.”But she thinks there’s something about Jeremiah, too, the way he reacts so sharply.
“The original story Estella knows didn’t really say much about Jeremiah, did it?”He’s the heroine’s brother, but he’s technically a supporting character.
Every story is centered on the narrative of the main characters, so Estella doesn’t know much about Jeremiah.
“But it’s hard to interject unless he tells me.”Jeremiah would be just as offended if she asked first.
Vanessa has no choice but to wait for him to confide in her first.
“It’s kind of an extreme job.”Ugh, occupational disease. She can’t help but notice these things.
She let out a small sigh and left the room.
* * *
After Vanessa left the office, Jeremiah, who had been sitting on the couch for some time, slowly got up and made his way to his desk.
On it lay a piece of paper. It was about the woman who had just left the room.
In a single night, Jeremiah had gotten to know Vanessa’s entire life. And his conclusion was that she had led a very ordinary life.
Except that she was not originally a commoner, but a fallen noble.
“This is a little disturbing.”[She was a viscountess of the Isles, but her family was removed from the nobility rolls due to bankruptcy].
Jeremiah tapped his fingertips against it.
She hadn’t even mentioned that she was of noble birth until she’d signed the contract.
It wasn’t as if her family had fallen through sin, and she didn’t think it mattered, so she wouldn’t mention it, but…
Jeremiah was now her employer. It was only natural for an employee to be unhappy that their master was hiding something from them.
‘You come from Viscount Asel, so your real name must be Vanessa Asel.’
Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed as he thought back to yesterday’s dinner with her.
He hadn’t intended to let Estella misbehave in her presence, but as it turned out, Vanessa’s table manners were impeccable. From the way she held her cutlery to the way she ate her food.
He turned his head away from her, still a little puzzled as to how she knew how to do it.
“It’s because she’s a noble.”Finally understanding, Jeremiah let go of the papers.
Just then, there was a knock on his office door.
“Come in.”Jeremiah replied nonchalantly, putting his papers away. Then his eyes widened as he recognized the unexpected figure in the room.
“Esti?” “I need to speak to my brother. May I?” “Of course. Would you like to sit down?”Jeremiah urged, moving toward the couch, but Estella shook her head and insisted on standing by the door.
Jeremiah stared at his sister in the doorway, a little bitter at the sight, but still feeling a little fresh. It had been a long time since Estella had found him first.
Jeremiah looked at his sister’s face and asked softly.
“What is it you want to tell me?” “Vanessa, she told me that you asked her to work at the castle, exclusively for me.” “…Yes. Because you seem to like her a lot.”A little taken aback by his answer, Estella said in a small voice.
“Thank you, big brother. For going to such lengths for me.” “What?”Jeremiah blinked in surprise.
It was definitely the first time since the carriage accident that his sister had looked him in the face and made her feelings clear.
Jeremiah looked intently into eyes the same color as his, and he could tell immediately that something had changed in his sister.
He wondered what had made Estella decide to do this.
“Is it because of Vanessa Asel?Vanessa was the only new person in Estella’s life right now..
She’d only known her for a short time, and she’d already noticed that Estella was strangely close to her, but had she really changed her this much?
‘What the hell did she do?’
It wasn’t hard for Jeremiah to remember. Her sky-blue eyes looking straight at him.
“I think the Duke would like you to change the way he speaks.”
The way her eyes looked straight at him, cautiously pointing out his behavior, yet straight and confident.
Her eyes had bothered him from the beginning. Maybe it was because of those eyes that he didn’t get angry at her for daring to make such a point.
“I know. But you are now…”Jeremiah started to say something, but stopped himself.
One more look into Vanessa’s blue eyes and he changed his tune.
“No. I’m glad you said that, and if you ever want anything else, you can always ask.” “…really?” “Huh?” “You’ll listen to anything, anytime?”Jeremiah nodded, a little taken aback by Estella’s uncharacteristically assertive tone.
Estella’s eyes were sparkling, and it softened his heart.
Jeremiah spoke again, his voice softer.
“I would do anything for you, Esti.” “Brother.”Estella looked Jeremiah up and down and smiled wryly.
“You know, I think you’re very handsome.”Jeremiah blinked nervously at the unexpected compliment.
“I see.” “You got the skills, you got the money, you got the personality… though you might need to work on it a little…” “…what?” “No, that’s okay, at least you won’t give your girl a hard time. We can work out the Siscom thing later.”Estella crossed her arms, as if appraising him.
Jeremiah couldn’t figure out what Estella was talking about, so he just looked at his sister questioningly.
“You’ve never been in a relationship, have you?” “Huh?” “Sympathize with Mother. I know you’ve never even held the hand of a woman other than your sister.”Jeremiah pursed his lips in shock for a moment.
“Esti, what… are you doing?” “I’m a little short of you, but I’ll make up for it!”Estella said cheerfully, ignoring her brother’s shocked face, and clapped her hands together.
And finally said to him.
“Brother, I want to be a family with Vanessa, and I want to make it so that I can stay with her for a very long time.” “Esti. What the hell are you talking about…” “That’s why you’re going to make her my step-sister!”‘…What the hell did Vanessa Asel ever do to Estella?’
Jeremiah, a rugged northern duke, is swept off his feet by the sight of his adorable sister.