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Chapter 37

Then Lexion asked as if passing by.

“How about Aiden? Was there anything that made you feel uncomfortable?”

I shook my head at his question and said cheerfully.

“Not at all. I think he’s a good person. He’s gentle and speaks well. I look forward to being with him.”

“..Is that so?”

He seemed to be wondering if I and Aiden were getting along well. I added some words on purpose so that Lexion would not worry about anything.

“Yes. I think Sir Aiden makes people very comfortable. I’m doing very well with Sir Aiden, so don’t worry about him.”

When I emphasized my intimacy with Aiden, Lexion answered slowly.

“Right..”

‘What? Why does he sound like that?’ I raised my head, hearing Lexion’s voice a bit lower than usual. Just then he muttered a little.

“I guess you got close.”

However, his voice was too low to be heard.

“What? What did you say?”

“No. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

Lexion replied gently and smiled as usual.

‘Hmm? Was it just my feeling?’ I smiled along without noticing his subtle changes.

The next morning. When I left my room, a knight other than Aiden was standing there. She smiled and greeted me first.

“Good morning, Miss Tiarozetti.”

“..Oh?”

I tilted my head and let out a shallow exclamation. Daisy, who was standing beside me, was also surprised by the unfamiliar knight. The woman was wearing the same knight uniform as Aiden. Her impression was quite cold, perhaps because her hair was tied uptight. She introduced herself to me as I stared at her.

“I’m Violet Vivozza. Aiden joined the subjugation squad, so starting today, I will take care of the young miss.”

Violet’s low-pitched tone echoed quietly. It was very impressive that she spoke with moderation. However, I had some doubts about her explanation.

‘Now? He joined the subjugation squad now? Lexion clearly said yesterday that it was almost finished..’

When the escort changed without notice, I panicked. Aiden was a comfortable partner, besides, I had never met Violet in my previous life. Then I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.

‘Did Sir Aiden get mad at me for what happened yesterday?’

When I healed John’s mother on my own terms, I felt sad when I remembered that Aiden’s expression was very painful.

‘Still changing the escort without a word.. Is he that angry?’

I asked, a little sullen.

“Then, will Sir Aiden escort me again after the subjugation?”

Violet gave me a bewildered look and gave a gloomy answer.

“Oh, that’s if the lady wants.. maybe, do you not like me?”

Tension was evident on her face. I waved my hand as if I had said something wrong.

“Oh, no! I’m just saying because I felt a bit sad that he went without saying goodbye.”

“Um, it was decided very suddenly this morning.. he probably didn’t have time to come. Either way, won’t Sir Aiden come back later?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

Violet answered in a confident tone with a soft smile on her face. Reassured by this, I smiled back, and she turned the topic around.

“I heard that you are going on tour. Where are you going today?”

“Ah, today..”

I explained to Violet where I was going today. She tried very hard to be of help, even though it was a hard task for her.

That evening, Aiden did not come to see me.

And same was for the next morning.

“Do you think that makes sense?”

An angry young man swept away the tableware on the table. With a sharp roar, broken utensils spread helplessly on the floor. The woman trembled as she held John in her arms. The young man had a strong smell of alcohol. Looking at his bloodshot eyes, it looks like he spent gambling all night again. The man looked down at the woman with an overbearing attitude and asked.

“Did you hide any money from me?”

“It- it’s not like that.”

“There’s no way a priest from the temple would treat you without a reason and for no money on top of that! Do you see me as an idiot?!”

As the man shouted, John trembled and snug deeper in her mother’s arms. The young man reacted more aggressively because he had already lost all the money he had. The woman clenched her teeth and responded.

“How could I suddenly have such a huge amount of money? A priest on a pilgrimage helped me. Really.”

“Even if it was a priest, how could he heal a crippled leg in one day?”

The man sarcastically grabbed the woman’s healthy legs and laughed. He was already out of his mind because he had been drinking. The woman looked at her eldest son, speechless, her eyes were full of tears. Unable to manage his anger, the man shouted fiercely as he watched mother and son keeping their mouths shut.

“Why aren’t you answering me?!”

At that moment, someone knocked on the front door.

“Who is it!”

As soon as the man opened the door shouting wildly, he gasped and stepped back. The murderous atmosphere from before had completely disappeared.

The visitor was a man with a round belly. He raised his glasses and looked at the young man. Unlike the three shabby people, the clothes the man was wearing were very splendid. At a glance, the difference in appearance was huge. The man’s greasy face showed off abundance. John’s family, on the other hand, was shabby and very contrasting. The chubby man looked at the young man with very sinister eyes.

“Li- little Lord, wh- what brings you here..”

The eldest son who had been threatening his mother until recently became a gentle sheep in front of that chubby man. As the young man bowed his head deeply against the floor, the man shoved his head down even more with his cane and said,

“The promised payment hasn’t arrived yet.”

“I, I lost all the money this time..”

“That’s not my business.”

The man called the “Little Lord” responded with a deep yawn. At first glance, he seemed bored. The young man rolled his eyes, and he shouted pointing at his mother.

“I’ll- I’ll give you a collateral!”

“Jack!”

At Jack’s words, the woman shouted in a hoarse voice. The man looked at her up and down, tilting his head.

“Oh? You’re standing. Didn’t you used to limp?”

“It seems that they had been hiding money from me. I’ll get the money by interrogating my mother somehow..”

“I’ll allow this woman and your brother as collateral.”

“No! Not this kid-!”

The woman stood up in front of John and shouted. But Jack roughly shoved her away and dragged John in front of the man. When he motioned, the escort behind him grabbed John. John groaned as he tried to free himself.

“Mom!”

“John!”

The woman cried out to John. The cold-hearted man narrowed his eyes at the sight of her tears and spoke coldly.

“Take that woman too.”

As the knight grabbed the woman, the Little Lord looked back at Jack.

“Don’t even show up until you have the money.”

It was a voice that was far from nice.

After a while, the subjugation was all over. The door that had been closed was opened immediately, but the atmosphere of the estate was still rigid. Perhaps it would take some time for it to stabilize. Lord Hakun decided to hold a banquet to thank Lexion for helping with this subjugation. As it was a special banquet held for the Sparrow family, it was difficult to miss, so everyone ended up attending the banquet.

Around that time, Aiden was nowhere to be seen. I was puzzled that I still couldn’t see him even after the subjugation was over. Even if I asked Lexion, he only said that he had entrusted a secret mission to him, so it was difficult to ask any further questions otherwise.

‘Are you going to avoid me?’

While I was gloomy with such thoughts, I ran into Aiden by accident. Lexion had said he was on a secret mission but he was there, in the hotel lobby.

“Sir Aiden?”

I called Aiden, who was walking helplessly. He glanced behind him sneakily and widened his eyes as soon as he saw me. As I approached, he greeted me.

“It’s been a while, Miss.”

For some reason, he became callous. Even his voice seemed tired.

‘You didn’t avoid me, you must have been really busy.’

I felt sorry for him so I talked kindly.

“The secret mission must have been quite arduous. You have a very bad complexion.”

“A secret mission?*

Aiden asked, frowning. I nodded with a puzzled look.

“Milady hold on, come this way.”

Having said that, he got out of the crowd and dragged me somewhere. As we reached a quiet hallway, he said in a low voice.

“There was no such thing as a mission.”

“Yes? Then why didn’t you come? You suddenly stopped being my escort..”

“That, that..”

Aiden glanced around the area, he seemed very wary. As I looked up at him, he let out a low sigh.

“I’m sorry, Lady Tiarozetti.”

“Sir Aiden? What’s going on?”

“That.. In fact, after His Excellency suddenly asked me to join the subjugation squad, I was so busy with work that I didn’t have time to visit. I couldn’t even sleep properly.”

“Oh god..”

Come to think of it, his appearance was very poor. Perhaps he ran into me on his way home from being out all this time.

“Isn’t the subjugation already over?”

“Only a few knights stayed in the forest in case of unknown beasts.”

“Then you’ve been in the forest since you joined the subjugation team?”

“Yeah, well..”

He sniffed at his clothes.

‘The reason I couldn’t see you wasn’t because you were angry with me, but because you were on duty.’

I felt somewhat relieved. At that moment, Aiden took a step back. It was as if he had belatedly realized he smelled.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“it’s okay. More than that, I thought you were angry with me because I couldn’t see you at all.”

Aiden’s eyes widened as I fiddled with my fingers.

“Pardon? That’s not it. Rather, I thought Lady Tiarozetti was angry with me.”

“What? Why would I?”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Aiden hesitated before continuing.

“That’s because that day, I was a bit harsh on you, and the Lady changed her escort right away.”

“I changed escort?”

“It wasn’t like that?”

“No..”

After exchanging their stories about the past days, there was a brief silence between us. A moment later, Aiden, who made a serious expression on his face, mumbled low

“It seems His Excellency hates me.”

“The duke? Why?”

“..It’s nothing. Well, I’m glad to know that you’re not mad at me, my Lady.”

When I asked, Aiden replied while shaking his head. It was a bit odd, but I didn’t ask any more. There was something I wanted to check more so I asked hesitantly.

“Then.. are you coming back to be my escort?”

“I don’t know.. His Excellency has to approve it..”

Aiden shut his mouth before finishing speaking.

Suddenly, his gaze was fixed behind me.

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