She was certain of what had caused the change of residence. Rowena, who had set her fork down again at the sudden remark, spoke with a low voice.

“Um… by the way, Duke.”

“…….”

“What happened to Mrs. Gertrude and your godmother?”

The peaceful atmosphere disappeared, and the air froze making a tense atmosphere. Rowena clutched the hem of her skirt under the table.

Killian, who had been watching her with curious eyes, answered quietly.

“I’ve disciplined Mrs. Gertrude. While my godmother said she’s going to take a six-month vacation. I don’t think you’ll be seeing her again anytime soon.”

“Oh. Oh, I see. ….”

Rowena let out a small sigh of relief at the punishment, which was more finite than she had expected.

Killian watched her with a blank expression. Rowena Philone, as he saw her, was a woman with two faces.

A pure, good-hearted country girl, and at the same time, a woman who seduced men.

The sigh of relief could have been made up. How much of it was false and how much was genuine?

There were times when he was curious, but not any more. It didn’t matter if it was all an act.

“Rowena.”

Rowena looked up after taking a sip of her wine with her hand on her heart.

“Yes?”

Killian sat with his long legs crossed.

“Do you know a man named William?”

Killian asked, but he didn’t think Rowena really had an affair with him. Felix was not a man who lies when it comes to information.

So the fact that Rowena was in an affair with a man named William was supposed to be a mixture of truth and malicious intent made up by Gertrude, who usually watched Rowena’s every move.

However, contrary to Gertrude’s intentions, this time it had turned out just the opposite. He remembered the moment last night when she had hurried to embrace him and the moment when she ran upstairs. The chilling, wrenching sensation made his heart sink.

A feeling more intense came over him when he imagined this woman being with another man.

―She’s a fraud! If this is true, then she is the lowest being! Come to think of it, why don’t you just ask her directly about her affair?

Rowena Philone was not the kind of woman to be abandoned, he ignored Gertrude’s words from last night. He was anticipating to hear her say, ‘What do you mean?’ But there was no response.

‘I can’t believe William’s name came up all of a sudden. I wondered if he had noticed something.’

Her heart was beating fast as she turned her gaze to the floor. 

“Why don’t you answer?”

Squinting his eyes, Killian asked once more. His voice was calm as always, but intimidating enough to make her feel suffocated.

A cold sweat ran behind Rowena’s back.

If she were to receive royalties after publication, she would reveal it to him herself, but this was not the current case. If he discovered that she was going to publish the book, Killian might misinterpret it as an attempt to pay off his debt and get away from him. The effect would extend to William, the publishers and Melissa.

He was the man who would quickly dismiss Melissa and close down the publishing company. He was the kind of man who pretended to be disinterested on the surface, and then one day would quietly start doing things on his own accord, he had a record of doing things this way in the past.

***

Rowena recalled a café on an island that was located beside the sea, it was known as a relaxation spot. 

A perfect place for reading, looking at the sea and forgetting about the passing of time.

During his work, Killian had barely paid attention to anything she did, but a problem had arisen during the sudden heavy rain that occurred in the evening.