"I heard she not only inherited the old baron's title, but also married an elderly count from the plains. The count seems to have been bedridden with a serious illness lately, so she's often away from Rose Town, handling the affairs of his domain."
"She's in charge of two domains? How does she manage?" Belt smacked his lips. The conversation quickly turned to the subject he was more interested in. "But I heard from my friend—uh... Hai En—that this lady was as beautiful as a flower from the time she was a child, and later became famous for her beauty. How could she marry an old man?"
He craned his neck, his face full of regret and longing.
"What a shame. The carriage windows were covered so tightly that I couldn't even catch a glimpse of her shadow. I really wonder what a woman who's stayed on Hai En's mind all this time looks like..."
Belt's lovestruck, faraway expression was finally brought to an end by a precise and forceful hand.
"Ow! Easy! Laila, you've got it wrong. I was only trying to take a look for Hai En! That's right! I wanted to help him find out whether the rumors were true!"
Laila gave a cold snort, her grip not easing. "Belt, do you think I'm stupid?"
The playful commotion continued nearby, but He Xi looked grave.
"Are you sure, Bruce?"
Bruce's wet black nose twitched. "Yeah! It's a familiar smell. It's very distinctive—I smelled it in Plint's cottage!"
"It's the smell that suddenly appeared in the cottage during the days you were unconscious. It was so distinctive. After it appeared, you suddenly stayed unconscious for a long time. That's why I remember it so clearly."
He Xi's heart sank, and he rapidly searched through the fragments of memory