“Don’t be alone with me for a while.”
“Uh...”
“Otherwise.”
Aileen looked straight at me, her eyes still trembling fiercely.
She looked into my eyes,
lowered her gaze to my lips,
then raised it back to my eyes.
“I’ll take it as permission.”
&
I stared at her with a blank expression.
My mind had gone empty.
Not a single thought came to me.
My body, too, remained frozen in the exact posture I’d been in while wiping her off.
Ironically.
By the time I came to my senses,
I was somehow already inside my room at the inn.
I had no memory of how I’d gotten here.
Because I was still back at that café.
A kiss.
That single word.
The way her eyes had looked as she said it to me,
her slightly trembling voice,
her lips, which had seemed unusually red.
All of it was as vivid as if it were right before my eyes.
My heart was still pounding so violently that I could feel it without even placing a hand over it.
I sat there in a daze for a long while,
then suddenly took out the royal token.
The cold touch of metal was distinct against my palm.
“The Old Dynasty.”
I slowly clenched the royal token in my fist.
“Looks like I’ve got a clear reason to get rid of them now.”
That way.
Aileen would be safe.
***
I was currently in my room at the inn, spreading out several documents.
The names of those suspected to be part of the Old Dynasty.
The things they had done.
Baron had instructed me to choose one of them and investigate.
There were about five of them.
As I flipped through them one by one, skimming their contents, my eyes stopped.
“...Trevio Grack.”
The lord of the Bedberiu territory.
He was someone connected to me.
So I didn’t hesitate.
I picked out only that document and took it with me,
then held the rest to the lamp flame.
The fire ate into the edges of the paper, burning it up quickly.
Seeing how cleanly it burned, it didn’t seem to be ordinary paper after all.
“I’ll set out right—”
I was about to.
But.
When what had happened with Aileen yesterday came to mind,
I somehow couldn’t leave just like that.
In the end, I sent word to her,
and once again sat in the café, waiting for her.
A short while later.
I saw Aileen walking over from afar.
But her steps were a little different from usual.
She, who always walked with confidence and elegance without the slightest hesitation, seemed strangely awkward today.
Once, her steps slowed,
and once, she turned her gaze elsewhere.
When she finally arrived in front of me, she cleared her throat first.
“Ahem.”
For a moment, I almost laughed.
Seeing that Aileen Belmardian acting like that, it was impossible not to find it funny.
“Good morning.”
She tried hard to act calm,
but the end of her voice trembled faintly.
The sight was so unfamiliar,
and so strangely lovely, that I felt my heart beat once again.
Lovely?
The emotion had surfaced so naturally in that instant that even I was startled.
But I didn’t show it and raised a hand in greeting.
“Good morning.”
“Why... did you call me?”
Aileen carefully took a seat.
As soon as she sat down, she glanced at me once, then immediately turned her gaze to the view of the capital below.
But the tips of her feet wouldn’t stay still.
Lightly, very lightly, they were tapping the floor.
It felt as though she were expecting something.
“My destination has been decided.”
“...”
At that, her expression changed immediately.
The expectation from just moments ago vanished,
and a clearly disappointed look appeared on her face.
“You called me here to talk about that?”
“Pardon? Ah. Yes...”
“...Haa.”
Aileen glared at me, then let out a deep sigh.
“Tch. Where are you going?”
“To the Bedberiu territory.”
“Ah, there.”
I looked at her and spoke calmly.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“...What!?”
Aileen’s eyes widened.
They were genuinely startled eyes.
And soon,
those eyes trembled slightly again.
Before long, a very small smile appeared on her lips.
“All right.”
But that smile didn’t last long,
and regret immediately spread across her face.
“Is what I really, really want to say.”
“...”
“I truly don’t have time.”
“That’s a shame.”
Aileen hurriedly continued, even gesturing with her hands.
“It absolutely, absolutely doesn’t mean I’m refusing. I really don’t have time. Truly.”
I chuckled at the way she seemed to be explaining herself.
“I know. And even if it really were a refusal, it would be fine.”
“I said it’s not.”
At those words, I deliberately put on a playful expression.
“Well, I’ll just have to go all alone and lonely. Don’t worry.”
Aileen looked at me as if asking what on earth was wrong with me, then eventually burst into laughter.
“Pfft. Honestly.”
Like that, we looked at each other and laughed for a moment,
then rose from our seats.
I had to leave soon,
and Aileen had to get moving as well, so I naturally ended up seeing her off to her carriage.
As we walked together, neither of us said a word.
But strangely,
the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
If anything, it was the opposite.
I knew what this feeling was.
When I’d heard in my previous life that I was to marry her,
the fluttering I had felt right before entering the wedding hall.
Anticipation.
I hadn’t thought I would ever feel it again.
And toward Aileen, of all people.
When we arrived in front of the carriage, Aileen turned and looked at me.
“I’ll be going.”
“Take care.”
Aileen smiled and nodded, then climbed into the carriage.
As soon as she did, she opened the carriage window.
She rested her chin on the window frame and looked at me.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply.
Looked at me and smiled.
I didn’t avert my gaze either,
and smiled with her.
The carriage slowly began to move.
The wheels turned,
and even as the sound of hooves grew distant, we still couldn’t take our eyes off each other.
When the distance between us had grown a little more,
Aileen raised her hand.
I immediately raised mine and waved.
And until her figure completely disappeared from sight,
I stood there in that spot.
Only then did I slowly turn around.
Now I truly didn’t know anymore.
Somehow, things would work out.
***
The Brennan territory came into view.
My home, finally returned to.
But my heart wasn’t at ease in the slightest.
“I’m busy. So busy.”
Even though I’d barely managed to return, there was no time to rest.
Because before long, I would have to move to the Bedberiu territory again.
After passing through the outer gate and heading toward the mansion,
the territory had become even more complete.
The buildings were far more orderly than before,
the roads had been straightened,
and there was a natural vitality in people’s steps.
Now, even nobles who had come to enjoy themselves could be seen without difficulty.
I had liked how peaceful it was before,
but now I liked it even more.
To the point that I even felt my fatigue easing little by little.
That was when I arrived in front of the mansion.
But I was startled by an unexpected person.
“Ah, no...”
Angelina Pimale.
She was standing in front of the mansion with the butler, having come out to welcome me.
Adjusting her glasses, she sent me a shy glance and smiled.
“Welcome back.”
So flustered that I couldn’t even get down from the carriage,
I looked back and forth between her and the butler.
“When did you... arrive?”
“It hasn’t been long. About... a week?”
“A-a week?”
Angelina smiled bashfully.
“I didn’t know when you would come back.”
While I was standing there bewildered, Alberto stepped forward.
“Haha. Young Master. Lady Angelina has resolved many of the various issues that arose in the meantime. She was truly a great help.”
Certainly.
If it was her, she would have neatly sorted out the complicated problems that had occurred in the process of the new expansion and development.
“Ah... First, I’ll meet Father, and then we can talk again.”
Angelina smiled lightly and nodded.
When I entered the office, Father greeted me.
I reported on the taxes and also told him about the things that had happened at the party.
“You worked hard. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“Yes. It was terribly exhausting.”
“Still, be happy about it. It’s an invitation others can’t receive even if they want one.”
“I’m overflowing with happiness.”
I laughed as if sighing.
“And Father. I’ll be going to the Bedberiu territory for a short while soon.”
“Mm? Why there?”
I didn’t tell Father about the Old Dynasty.
So I spoke as naturally around it as I could.
“I don’t think we need to keep buying iron from that side anymore. I thought it might be better to give them a little more money and settle things cleanly.”
“Mm... That’s true.”
Father rubbed his chin and nodded.
“We’re short on storage space, and since many merchants are coming and going now, we have enough routes to import iron. Even if we have to pay a little more, that would be better.”
Fortunately, he agreed.
“Come to think of it, I heard Lady Angelina has been here since a week ago?”
“She has.”
Father grinned.
“I was surprised at first, but she’s such a kind child. Especially resolving those complicated legal issues so neatly—that was a great help.”
“I should thank her properly.”
At that moment, Father smiled mischievously.
“This father of yours has such a difficult task. But no matter who comes, I’ll welcome them. Of course, Marsha as well.”
I understood what Father meant,
so I chuckled.
“What do you think about me bringing them all?”
“Excellent!”
Father laughed even louder.
“A man should have that much ambition!”
“You know I was joking!”
“Hahaha!”
With that conversation as the last, I left the office with a laugh.
For some reason, I thought Angelina would be there when I came out, but she wasn’t.
I walked down the hallway and came out toward the lobby, where she was standing.
“Thank you. For resolving those complicated problems.”
“I’m happy I could be of help.”
Seeing her smile brightly, I felt something strange for some reason.
What was it?
But I couldn’t figure it out.
“What should I give you in return...”
“I didn’t do it because I wanted something in return!”
I shook my head.
“I should still give you something. And I actually have something you’ll really like.”
Angelina’s eyes widened.
“What is it?”
I smiled with a confident expression and said,
“A mystery.”
“Hup.”
Her reaction grew intense in an instant.
“What is it? What is it?”
“Hold on a little. I only just arrived, so I’d like to rest for a bit.”
“Uuugh.”
Only now did Angelina react like her usual self.
“For now... I’ll try my best to endure.”
“We’re going tomorrow, so just hold on a little.”
Angelina adjusted her glasses and widened her eyes as if full of confidence.
“You didn’t get to see Risel, did you?”
“No. It’s such a shame. I heard she entered the academy?”
I smiled and nodded.
“Have you eaten?”
“I have. Together with Mother!”
Now Angelina was naturally saying the word Mother as well.
“Oh, right, pfft... I’ll tell you something funny.”
“Mm?”
I looked at her with an expression asking what she meant.
“You know Sir Miles.”
“Miles?”
As it happened, Miles had been extremely busy with training recently.
He had said it was a bother, but for some reason he hadn’t even come to the capital as an escort.
In any case, during the tax reporting period, countless nobles were traveling in procession, so there was no danger of running into one another,
and when I was with Aileen, six of her escort knights moved with us, so that had been fine too.
“He was... in that sort of relationship with one of our academy professors, wasn’t he? When I said I was coming here, she even sent a letter. So when I delivered it, Sir Miles looked terribly troubled, you know?”
“Ha! Did he really?”
“It was so entertaining. It was my first time seeing our professor so lovestruck. She’s usually such a cold person.”
As Angelina and I chatted about all sorts of trivial things like that, the day passed.