Chapter 5
Duke Drexton’s residence was exactly as Julia remembered it. The marble fountain in the garden, the low shrubs planted around the mansion. Even the wide path leading from the main gate to the main house.
The nostalgic scenery only heightened Julia’s anxiety instead. She looked around with a somewhat restless expression.
Coachman Matthew, without even glancing back at Julia, strode ahead and knocked on the front door. The head maid, who had likely been waiting ever since the carriage arrived at the gate, opened it.
“This is Missus Devel, who will be carrying out the duties of the Duke’s tutor.”
At Matthew’s introduction, Julia looked at the head maid. She was a familiar face after all. She even remembered her name clearly. Mary. Back then, she hadn’t been the head maid.
「 Miss Julia, would you like some cookies? 」
She had been like an older sister of a maid, smiling as she said she had never seen such a kind young lady as Julia. But now, none of that familiarity could be felt.
“I am Devel.”
Julia forced her lips apart, which didn’t want to move.
“I am Hoover, the head maid.”
Ah, her surname had changed.
Fortunately, Mary also seemed not to recognize Julia. Judging by her cold demeanor, there wasn’t even a hint of warmth.
With a slightly suspicious look, she swept her eyes up and down over Julia in her mourning clothes.
“Missus Devel, is there anyone else who knows you are here?”
Julia slowly shook her head.
“Only my friend Cecile, who wrote the letter of recommendation.”
“Wonderful. Please come in.”
Julia stepped forward cautiously. Even the hall of the mansion was exactly as she remembered, yet unlike the lively past, a still silence flowed through it, creating a lonely atmosphere.
“His Grace will be coming down shortly. It is rare for him to personally receive staff.”
“Right now… we are meeting him?”
“Yes.”
At Mary’s blunt reply, her heart began to pound rapidly. Julia’s toes kept twitching without her meaning to.
She stood there blankly, waiting for Duke Drexton to come down. Vaguely, she had thought the man she would soon meet would be as bright and innocent as he had been in childhood.
But the moment the sound of shoes began to be heard, that image shattered.
Julia reflexively looked up at the landing and drew in a deep breath.
Everything about the House of Drexton was unchanged, yet Duke Drexton himself, looking down at her from beyond the stair railing, was completely different from Julia’s memory.
The black hair that had always fallen loose and swayed in the breeze was neatly swept back, fully revealing a straight forehead. The once delicate bridge of his nose now stood firm, almost strikingly so.
But what differed most from Julia’s memory was undoubtedly his eyes, his mouth, and his build.
His large eyes had become deep and sharp. His lips were still full, but the boyish vitality was gone, replaced by the indefinable scent of an adult.
His once supple frame had gained thickness and strength.
If not for the clear blue eyes, pure like the sky of his childhood, if not for the dense eyelashes that cast shadows around those eyes… Julia would not have thought him to be ‘Edgar’.
Faced with a man who had grown up so differently from her imagination, Julia unconsciously parted her lips and looked up at him.
Duke Drexton also stared at Julia for a long while. The entire time he descended the stairs, his gaze never left her. The eye contact lingered. His eyes, fixed on her haggard green ones, were almost relentless.
‘Could it be… did he recognize me?’
Julia’s heart raced violently. She shrank inward, fearing that Mary standing right beside her might hear the sound of her pounding heart.
Duke Drexton continued down the stairs without a word. In that moment, like a bolt of lightning, Julia realized it.
‘He recognized me.’
His eyes had definitely wavered.
Duke Drexton had clearly recognized who Julia was. That she was the girl who had once played tag with him in the flower garden long ago.
Julia’s mind went completely blank. An uncontrollable whirlwind of emotions engulfed her. Of all those emotions, it was closest to sheer terror.
Duke Drexton stopped right in front of Julia. He was at least a head taller than her. Thanks to that, it became easier for Julia to avert her gaze.
She bit her lip gently.
What should I do. What should I do?
It was then, as she stood flustered.
“I am Edgar Drexton.”
A low voice came from directly above her.
When she came to her senses, she saw that Duke Drexton was extending his hand toward Julia. It was a bare hand, without a glove.
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