“For a moment. To the point that I wished I were Serapinrie.”
Why do I feel like I did something wrong?
I really did step in between them and stop it, didn’t I?
But what was that at the end?
&
Just then, Aileen closed her eyes and opened them again.
Fortunately, that cold look from earlier had disappeared.
“By the way.”
She spoke as if nothing had happened.
“What is this about a gold mine? Is it true?”
The moment the topic changed, I answered in a hurry.
“I really found out by chance.”
I shrugged.
“It wasn’t something I could have had anyway.”
Aileen’s eyes sparkled.
“Do you have more? Information like that. If you do, I’ll buy it.”
I did, but...
I pretended to think for a moment, then smiled.
“Ahaha. I don’t.”
“Ah~”
Aileen smiled meaningfully.
“You’re saving it up so you can show Serapinrie another impressive side of yourself?”
She said it playfully.
“Well, you are someone who would even risk his life for her, after all.”
“Pardon? Ah, no, really.”
I scratched my head.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Perhaps she found the sight funny, because Aileen let out a small laugh.
“You mean it, don’t you?”
Aileen looked straight at me.
“That really... you only did it because you felt sorry for her.”
“Of course.”
I shrugged as if it was nothing.
Aileen said nothing for a while.
She simply studied my face intently.
As if trying to see whether I was lying or not.
A brief silence passed.
A slow smile rose to Aileen’s lips.
“Hmm.”
She laughed softly.
“Still, next time, don’t ever say something like that.”
I tilted my head.
“And don’t create that kind of situation either.”
“Why not?”
“Most women...”
Aileen stopped speaking for a moment and looked at me.
“When they hear words like that, their hearts can’t help but tremble.”
I gave a small laugh.
“Oh, come on~ As if someone like me saying that would do anything. Besides, there must be plenty of people willing to risk their lives for Lady Aileen.”
I spoke with a shrug.
“Even right here, at this very moment...”
“No.”
Aileen cut me off.
Her voice was so firm
that I had no choice but to stop.
At that moment, Aileen’s expression had changed again.
A face without playfulness.
Serious eyes.
“Like just now...”
Aileen said quietly.
“Someone who can do that in front of a prince.”
Her gaze fixed on me.
“There isn’t a single one.”
“Ah...”
I scratched my head, unsure how to react.
To be honest, I couldn’t understand her behavior right now.
There it was again, that look.
She had been smiling just a moment ago,
but before I knew it, she was looking at me with eyes that made a person tense up.
Good grief.
Has that gaze really been engraved into my soul or something?
Why does my body keep shrinking back first?
“Pfft. You were so confident in front of the prince, so why are you watching my mood now?”
“It just feels like I’m being scolded.”
“Oh my. Is that so?”
The corners of Aileen’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Do I seem like a wife scolding her husband?”
“It definitely does feel a bit like that.”
Only after the answer left my mouth did I realize what I had said.
At that moment, Aileen’s expression turned mischievous.
“Ah~ So you were thinking of me as your wife?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it. I was just saying what you said just now...”
“Pfft.”
Good grief, this is driving me insane.
I have no idea what she’s thinking.
“Fine. I’ll call it even. What Serapinrie received was bigger, but in the end, I’m the wife.”
“A-wife? What do you mean by that now...”
“Ah.”
Aileen tilted her head slightly.
“I suppose I’m lacking as a marriage partner?”
“Th-that can’t be.”
My words grew hurried before I knew it.
“There’s no way Lady Aileen could be lacking.”
“Then that settles it, doesn’t it?”
“That’s... uh... th-that’s...”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
This wasn’t a matter of whether it worked or didn’t.
To begin with, I couldn’t even keep up with how the conversation had gotten this far.
“Pfft. Ahaha.”
She was teasing me.
Having so much fun teasing me, are you?
“Usually, you respond so leisurely and well.”
Aileen laughed as if she was enjoying herself.
“But when I speak just a little more directly, you become weak all at once.”
I was still sweating, my expression awkward.
“In any case, I enjoyed today.”
Aileen said, turning away.
“I would like to stay with you longer.”
She stopped speaking for a moment and looked at me.
“But I should leave it here for today.”
Please.
I’m begging you.
I want to be alone now.
Aileen turned and took a few steps before suddenly stopping again.
Then she slowly looked back.
“See you again. The two of us.”
I smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Seeing that, Aileen smiled once more, then turned around.
Hoo.
She really left.
Only then did I feel like I was coming back to my senses a little.
Too many things had suddenly rushed in all at once.
There had been the matter with the prince,
and there was a lot to think about.
And yet.
The brief conversation I had with Aileen had thrown my mind into even greater disarray.
As expected, it was an ill-fated connection.
I had been trying to keep things easygoing so that I wouldn’t get entangled with her somehow,
but in an instant, she had flustered me completely.
Even though I had clearly lived longer,
I was no match even for that young Aileen.
As expected, I should have avoided meeting her no matter what.
Before I knew it, the moon had risen.
I looked up at the night sky and quietly let out a sigh.
“What is it about that smile...”
The real smile she showed me.
The fact that I kept wanting to see it was the root of the problem.
Well, even so.
A small laugh escaped me.
It is nice.
But I know.
The closer I get to her,
the harder that smile will become to see.
***
Leaving only a day after being invited to a party would not be proper etiquette.
So I stayed one more day,
and since I had to show my face in the banquet hall at least once more, I came in early in the morning.
The banquet hall was still open despite the early hour,
and in truth, it was fair to say it ran all day long.
The busiest time was, of course, the evening.
Thanks to that, there weren’t many people now.
Since the Deharmont side would be keeping all records of attendance anyway,
I intended to spend a reasonable amount of time and then leave.
I hadn’t been able to eat properly yesterday,
so I should eat a bit today.
I loaded my plate with everything I wanted to eat.
Ordinarily, nobles watched the eyes of others,
and even the way they ate was made to look as elegant as possible.
But who would care that much about someone like me?
Besides, at this hour, there weren’t many high-ranking nobles in sight either.
There was even less need to mind anyone.
Wow.
This is seriously good.
I neatly emptied one plate.
Then I immediately headed toward the group of knights to call Miles.
Just then, someone entering from the direction of the entrance caught my eye.
Angelina?
She was looking around inside as if searching for someone.
Come to think of it, I didn’t even greet her properly yesterday.
With Baron showing up, things had been so hectic that it made sense.
I approached her to at least say goodbye before leaving.
“Lady Angelina.”
“Oh my!”
The moment she saw me, she jumped in surprise.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. It looks like you were looking for someone.”
At that, Angelina’s face flushed slightly.
“Wh-what happened yesterday?”
It was obvious at a glance that she had hurriedly brought up another topic.
“It was nothing.”
“I see.”
Angelina pointlessly looked away once, then looked back at me.
It seemed like she had something more to say,
but she didn’t seem able to open her mouth readily.
Looks like she has some business here.
It would be awkward to hold her up for no reason.
“I was planning to greet you before I left anyway.”
“Huh? You-you’re leaving?”
I nodded.
“I don’t think there’s any meaning in me staying here any longer.”
At that moment, Angelina hurriedly opened her mouth,
as if about to say something,
but in the end, she said nothing.
“I’ll see you again next time.”
“Next time...”
Angelina smiled faintly and nodded.
For some reason, she seemed to have more to say,
but I pretended not to notice and turned away.
And behind my back,
a very small sigh brushed past.
The place I turned toward was where Miles was mingling with the knights.
“Let’s go.”
“It was just getting fun. We’re leaving already?”
I left the banquet hall with Miles.
“Did you manage to charm a female knight in that short time?”
“It was intense.”
Miles had always been this kind of person.
Free-spirited, hating responsibility,
and in many ways, a guy who didn’t quite suit being a knight.
“Well, with that face of yours, I guess.”
He wasn’t an incredibly dazzling handsome man,
but he was clean-cut and manly.
“I think your abilities are more impressive than mine, Young Master.”
“What are you talking about?”
Miles gestured ahead with his chin.
We had left the banquet hall and were walking through the garden to leave the mansion,
and Serapinrie was walking toward us.
When she came closer, she glanced briefly at Miles,
and Miles tactfully stepped back.
“You’re leaving already?”
She’s speaking casually again.
“That’s right. Even if I stayed longer, I would only be a nuisance.”
“You wouldn’t be a nuisance.”
“Pardon?”
“No. Ahem.”
What’s with her?
Serapinrie, unusually, hesitated as if choosing her words.
Since she was normally someone who blurted out whatever she should or shouldn’t say,
it was even more unexpected.
“Um... thank you for yesterday.”
After pausing for a moment, she spoke again.
“But are you really all right? With something like that... even if you only sold the information, you could have received an enormous amount of money.”
Ah, that.
Then there would definitely be people approaching me to find out where I got that information.
“It’s all right.”
I answered as if it truly didn’t matter,
but Serapinrie seemed rather surprised by that reaction.
After blinking for a moment, a smile spread across her lips.
It was far from her usual arrogant smile,
and was actually quite pretty.
“I want to repay you.”
“I didn’t do it expecting a reward, so it’s fine.”
“You keep going against my expectations. Most people want a reward.”
“I’m usually like that too. It’s just that, for yesterday’s matter, it’s really fine.”
Serapinrie’s smile did not disappear easily.
“Even so, I want to.”
She took a brief breath.
“Normally, I would have liked to take you around with me and introduce you to people... but after looking into it, it seems that wouldn’t have much meaning right now.”
It was a cold assessment.
Nor was it wrong.
Still, hearing that head-on
made the circumstances of my family feel bitter for no reason.
“Ah, I absolutely didn’t mean it in any other way.”
Serapinrie immediately added.
“I’ve never been very good at speaking nicely.”
“I understand.”
“So I thought about what I could do for you right away, and giving you money didn’t seem right. I didn’t think my feelings would be conveyed properly that way.”
When she gestured, the escort knight standing behind her stepped forward and held out a box.
“Mm?”
When I opened the box, there was a plaque inside that symbolized the Deharmont family.
“This is...”
“If a day comes when your family truly needs power, use this then.”
Serapinrie looked straight at me as she spoke.
“I’ll grant you anything. Truly anything. Even if it’s something illegal.”
Wow.
This is seriously huge.
Well, from Serapinrie’s perspective, I had used up something no different from a gold mine,
so considering its value, it wasn’t strange for her to go this far.
“Anything?”
“Anything at all.”
“Then may I ask you to marry me?”
“...”
For a moment, Serapinrie’s expression stiffened.
Then she whipped her head away.
It was a joke, but is she really angry?
“I-I’m sorry.”
I hurriedly waved my hands.
“I really am fine, but since you kept thanking me so much, I just made a joke to lighten the mood.”
“...”
Serapinrie opened and closed her mouth.
She definitely seemed to mutter something,
but I couldn’t hear it properly.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Serapinrie spoke without looking at me.
“In any case... I really will help you with anything.”
She was about to turn away just like that,
but suddenly stopped again.
Then, just a little,
she turned her head enough that only her profile was visible.
“Truly... thank you.”
Is it because her hair color is so red?
For some reason, even her face looks red today.
With those words, Serapinrie hurried away as if quickening her steps.