Dirty Heart - Chapter 15

“Where’s the water?”

Lionel, who had been lying beneath the shade of a tree, asked Alex.

“Y-Young Duke, that’s not what matters right now!”

Alex stammered, breathing hard. The lingering sensation of Courtney’s hand tracing his chest remained vivid, making his heart pound like it was losing its mind.

“Did you get heatstroke or something? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

“I-it’s just… Courtney, Miss Courtney… ha, seriously. I still can’t believe it.”

Muttering Courtney’s name urgently, he couldn’t finish his sentence. Her threatening voice still echoed in his ears.

“That Sir Alex Lanchester violated the Young Duke’s one and only mistress. And that he fabricated lies to cover it up.”

What if Courtney really said something like that? And what if Lionel believed her?

If he were accused of violating Lionel’s woman, his head would roll before he even had the chance to defend himself. The mere thought sent a chill down his spine.

‘Turns out she was an incredibly dangerous woman.’

But what shocked him even more was how attractive Courtney seemed despite that. Even knowing she was dangerous, the urge to get closer to her pounded relentlessly in his chest.

“What about Courtney?”

Lionel’s voice sharpened more than necessary. Alex’s strange reaction seemed to irritate him in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

“…She just seemed a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

“Well, how should I put it… she felt like a different person somehow… anyway, what I mean is….”

Lionel stood up abruptly before Alex could finish. His head spun from rising too suddenly, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself to speak.

“Where is she right now?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Courtney. Where is she?”

“Oh! She was in the rear garden just a moment ago. Near the rose bushes.”

The moment he confirmed Courtney’s location, Lionel strode toward the garden with long, decisive steps.

***

Sitting beside the rose bushes, Courtney snapped off small branches with her fingertips. Red petals, severed helplessly, piled up like spilled blood.

She carefully considered whether Alex would tell Lionel the truth, or remain silent as she had threatened.

“…The threat needs to work.”

It was still too early to openly begin the “Dirty Heart” project. Her plan had only just begun, and if Lionel found out now, he would obviously try to interfere.

But ultimately, she believed Alex wouldn’t act recklessly either. A single false accusation from a lowly maid could strip him of his knighthood, and if things went badly, it could even cost him his life.

At that moment.

“…Sister?”

A trembling voice came from directly behind her.

When she turned around, a small boy stood there, his age difficult to determine.

His limbs were thin to the point of fragility, his clothes shabby, and his bluish hair faintly familiar. Though his face seemed strangely recognizable, she couldn’t place him exactly.

“…Who…?”

At Courtney’s unconscious whisper, the boy’s eyes wavered violently.

“Sister, it’s me. Liam! Don’t tell me… you forgot because it’s been so long?”

He tried to sound cheerful, but disappointment and hurt filled his eyes.

“…Liam?”

Courtney whispered the boy’s name through parted lips. Only then did a faint memory buried somewhere in her mind begin to surface.

Liam Howard. In the original story, he was a figure who appeared only briefly in a few lines. His name was one Courtney had occasionally murmured into empty air, saying she missed the children from the orphanage.

“Ah…! Liam!”

Technically, he was a child she had never actually met, yet she couldn’t bring herself to turn away. Especially not when the boy looking up at her wore such unbearably sorrowful eyes. Something deep in her chest ached sharply.

“Sister, I really, really missed you!”

Liam suddenly threw his arms around Courtney and kissed her cheek.

“But how did you get in here?”

“I came through a hole in the fence! Hehe.”

“No, that’s not what I meant… it takes at least a week to get here from the orphanage.”

“I came with Director Charlotte!”

“The Director…?”

Only then did she remember the telegram that was practically a threat. It warned that if the donations remained unpaid, the director would come in person. It seemed she had truly come all the way to the capital.

“…Did the Director ask you to do anything?”

“Hm? Ask me?”

“For example, to demand the donation.”

Liam shook his head, confused. At the same time, Courtney’s gaze fell upon the dark red mark on his cheek. It was a scar that looked like it had been burned by a cigarette.

“…Liam, what happened to your cheek?”

The boy hesitated briefly, then forced an awkward smile. “I just… got hurt while playing by myself.”

His faintly trembling voice sounded suspicious, but Courtney pretended not to notice and asked calmly, “Where is the Director now?”

“I don’t know. She dropped me off here after saying you were here. She said she’d come back to pick me up tomorrow….”

“…Ha.”

Charlotte’s intentions were painfully obvious. She planned to use Liam as bait to shake Courtney emotionally, then collect the donations while she was vulnerable. Using a child this way was beyond vile.

“Who is this bastard who dares kiss your cheek?”

“…Young Duke?”

Lionel suddenly appeared and grabbed Courtney’s wrist, his voice cold. His face burned with anger, as if someone had trespassed upon something that belonged to him.

“I asked who he is.”

“Ah, he’s….”

Instinctively stepping in front of Liam, Courtney explained calmly.

“He’s a younger brother I knew from the orphanage.”

“And who might this big brother be?”

Meanwhile, Liam, now hiding behind Courtney, glared defiantly at Lionel. Though momentarily intimidated by his perfect, almost unreal appearance, he soon lifted his small chin even higher.

“You’re not her boyfriend, are you?”

Courtney let out an awkward laugh. “Liam, this person is….”

“You’re not someone who bullies my sister, right? Your eyes are too cold!”

Pointing his small finger at Lionel, Liam showed open hostility. For a nine-year-old child, his instincts were astonishingly sharp.

“You look weak and sickly too. The only thing you’ve got going for you is your face!”

Lionel’s handsome face twisted horribly. He had never once been insulted like this in his entire life, and rage surged violently inside him.

“…What did you just say?”

His voice carried a dangerous killing intent. His blue eyes grew colder by the second, like freezing ice, yet Liam didn’t retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward protectively, placing himself in front of Courtney.

He had finally reunited with his precious sister after years apart. He couldn’t believe a man like this had been keeping her all to himself.

“Sister Courtney is too good for you! She deserves to meet someone far better! Do you even know how kind and beautiful she is?!”

***

As the sun tilted westward, long shadows stretched between the rose bushes.

The garden remained endlessly quiet, but the tension flowing between the three of them was anything but peaceful.

Still holding Liam protectively in her arms, Courtney carefully opened her mouth. “He’s just a child. Please be understanding.”

Outwardly, she acted as though she were gently mediating, but inwardly she was cheering. Watching Lionel crumble at the words of a nine-year-old child was far more entertaining than she expected.

“Bailey happens to be on leave. Would it be alright if Liam stayed in the servants’ quarters just for tonight?”

“No.”

Lionel’s answer was sharp and immediate. Courtney stared at him in disbelief.

“Then where is he supposed to sleep alone?”

“The ducal residence is enormous. Are you saying there isn’t room for one child? Put him somewhere like the stables.”

“As you can see, Liam is still just a child. How can he sleep alone?”

“That’s right. How could a young child like me sleep alone?”

Liam pressed his face into Courtney’s apron and acted cute.

Courtney let out a small laugh at the sight of him clinging to her like a kitten, but Lionel, who watched the scene, ground his teeth so hard his jaw stiffened.

“Fine. If that’s the case, then let’s do this.”

“…Do what?”

Soon after, an utterly unexpected statement left Lionel’s mouth.

“The three of us can sleep together.”