Chapter 9

However, Aiden merely crossed his arms as though it were the most natural thing in the world and nodded.

“It does happen occasionally. But we cannot set out in the evening anyway…… It should be fine if we stay one more day. Please do not concern yourself.”

The person who should have been angry instead readily accepted the lord’s words and even confirmed the change to their schedule. I had nothing more to say.

Aiden leisurely leaned back against the sofa and began reading. A gentle breeze coming through the open window softly caressed his hair.

Before long, my gaze was drawn to his long, pale fingers as they turned the pages. His hand lingered briefly near his well-shaped lips before turning another page.

I was absentmindedly captivated by his intellectual appearance when Aiden spoke, without taking his eyes off the book.

“Since we can rest today, perhaps you should spend the day doing something you enjoy as well, Lady…… Ah!”

As if he had suddenly remembered something, Aiden snapped the book shut and stood up.

“That wildflower field. Couldn’t we go there now?”

“What?”

“You said it’s nearby. Let’s go.”

A short while later, the lord provided me with a dress suitable for going out and apologized profusely.

“Lady Hedesson. I’m not sure whether my married daughter’s dress will fit you properly.”

What the maid brought over was a beautiful turquoise dress.

I changed into it somewhat bewilderedly. At first glance, the design seemed simple, but once I put it on, the fit was elegant, and the skirt ended about ten centimeters below my knees, making it comfortable to move around in.

Moreover, it fit me so perfectly that the lord’s earlier apologies seemed almost unnecessary.

Is this really his daughter’s dress? It looks brand-new no matter how I look at it.

The jeweled shoes and lace-trimmed stockings were the same. Everything fit me as though it had been made specifically for me.

Once I finished getting ready, with my half-up hairstyle decorated with a ribbon, the lord brought out a sky-blue parasol as though he had been waiting for the moment.

The parasol looked brand-new, and the color was exceptionally pretty. Perhaps his daughter had bought it but never had a chance to use it.

“I apologize, Lady Hedesson. I’m not sure whether my married daughter’s parasol will be to your liking.”

The way the lord kept repeating the same words like a parrot was rather awkward. Judging by his few words and reddening face, he seemed to be an introverted and shy man.

“I apologize, Lady Hedesson. The carriage is ready outside. I hope the carriage will be to your—”

He seemed to be struggling with his shyness, so I quickly cut him off with a word of thanks.

“I like everything. I’m sure I’ll like the carriage you’ve lent us, too. Thank you.”

When I stepped outside with the lord, Aiden was waiting beside the open carriage, looking incredibly handsome in a black formal suit.

He was wearing a top hat over his black hair, a decorative monocle over his left eye, and even held an antique walking stick adorned with a carved lion in one hand.

Perhaps because he had swept his bangs slightly back and fixed them in place, Aiden exuded the charm of a perfect gentleman.

“The dress suits you well.”

With a gentlemanly smile, he held out one hand. As I accepted his escort and climbed into the carriage, my heart began to pound.

“Lady Hedesson?”

Only after Aiden called my name did I realize that I had been staring blankly at him as he climbed into the carriage.

“Yes?”

“Is something the matter?”

“Did the Grand Duke of Wolverlake borrow his clothes, too?”

“Of course.”

I took my seat and looked over his outfit again.

“Why do you ask? Do you dislike my attire?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just fascinating.”

“What is?”

I looked at Aiden again. He said he was also wearing borrowed clothes, yet they fit him perfectly, almost as though they had been tailored for him.

“Because the clothes fit you so well. And also……”

I realized what I was about to say and covered my mouth with my hand.

I had almost said, You look incredibly handsome. Like someone going on a date.

As I remained like that for a moment, the lord standing outside the carriage looked awkward.

“Coincidentally, my son-in-law has a similar build to the Grand Duke……”

Then he awkwardly rubbed his hands together once more.

“Seeing the two of you side by side, you really do make a wonderful couple. It feels as though I’m looking at my daughter and her husband.”

We weren’t a married couple, but I didn’t dislike hearing that the two of us looked good together.

After all, Aiden looked exceptionally handsome right now.

Even the lord thinks we look like we’re on a date?

I didn’t think I would mind even if someone mistook us for lovers.

A small laugh escaped me at the strange feeling. It was so different from how I had seen him at the academy.

Come to think of it, I had seen Aiden dressed elegantly at academy parties before.

Back then, I had only seen him as a rival. Yet simply because we had graduated, he suddenly looked completely different!

If I’d known this would happen, I should have asked him when we spent that night together.

I should have asked whether he wanted to become engaged to me after graduating and breaking off his engagement.

He seems to be single now, too. Should I subtly test the waters?

Just imagining handsome Aiden smiling at me and chatting with me in a friendly manner made me happy in advance.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it easily.

His violet eyes, visible beneath his half-lowered lashes, had a firm and cold quality to them.

The slight furrow between his brows suggested that he was rather displeased about the lord arbitrarily treating us like a couple.

No, he didn’t have to look that serious about it, did he? He said he enjoyed the night he spent with me, too.

Seeing him like that, it seemed obvious that if I tried to act friendly and subtly gauge his intentions, I would only get rejected outright.

Of course, I had been the one who insisted on keeping it secret, bringing up premarital chastity and all.

But at the time, Aiden had been the irritating number-one student, and I was afraid my father would be furious if he found out.

Now we’ve graduated and I’ve successfully broken off my engagement, so I wouldn’t care even if it weren’t a secret anymore. Or did he understand me as saying it had to remain a secret forever? Or perhaps……

Another possibility occurred to me.

From Aiden’s perspective, perhaps it had only been a one-night stand, so my proposal might even have been unwelcome.

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but considering it from that perspective now made me feel a little bitter.

Still, I had been the one who started it, so I had no right to complain.

I’d better stop looking for trouble, keep my pride intact, and try to treat Aiden like a stone.

The wildflower field should have been at its most beautiful right now.

It was something Lady Hedesson wanted to see.

Now that he knew that, he had to take her there.

Even though Theodora had reinterpreted the imperial command, she still wasn’t willing to act entirely according to her own wishes.

Even though they had agreed to wait until the envoys arrived, meaning that taking their time would actually be better.

The reason was her concern for the people of the Empire.

Aiden liked Theodora even more because she didn’t put her own safety first.

But I can’t exactly force her to go there. What should I do?

After thinking for a moment, Aiden deliberately snapped a few threads on the left trouser leg of his Imperial Knight uniform before sending it out with the laundry.

It looked perfectly fine for the moment, but he had made it so that the threads would unravel one after another when the maid washed it.

Since he had handed it over without saying anything, the lord came looking for him a short while later, his face pale with panic.

The lord’s appearance was different from when he had first welcomed Aiden and Theodora.

He now looked like a very thin young man.

At Aiden’s request, he had cleverly disguised himself and pretended to be an old man.

“I apologize, Your Grace. I’m not quite sure what happened myself, but the laundry……”

Apparently, the maid had been a little too vigorous while washing it, causing the threads to come undone from the bottom of the left trouser leg all the way up to the knee.

“Do not concern yourself. It can be repaired…… I must have ridden the horse rather roughly. And there is something I need you to do.”

Aiden instructed the lord on several things he was to say in front of Theodora.

Things such as the clothes belonging to his married daughter and his son-in-law having a similar build to Aiden.

The lord did not question Aiden’s strange behavior.

The reason was that he had already received formal date clothes and a dress suited to Theodora and Aiden from the Emperor.

He had also been given the setting that he was an introverted old man so that he wouldn’t make mistakes by talking too much.

Thus, the lord was cooperating with Aiden as much as possible.

That included diligently acting out the newly added script so that he could smoothly handle the unexpected situation Aiden had deliberately created.

“Seeing the two of you side by side, you really…… make a wonderful couple. It feels…… like I’m looking at my daughter…… and her husband.”

The lord barely managed to recite his lines despite his awkwardness, and Aiden responded in an extremely natural yet firm tone.

“I understand that you miss your married daughter, but if you say things like that, I’m afraid it may cause a misunderstanding, which would put me in an awkward position. We are currently carrying out official duties, so it would be best if you refrained from unnecessary words or actions.”

His performance was so natural that the lord’s face turned red.

Even after practicing several times, the lord’s acting remained terribly awkward.

“Can’t you make it a little more natural?”

At the dissatisfaction in Aiden’s expression, the lord began sweating profusely.

“I-I haven’t married yet, so I don’t have any children, and I’m not really sure what it feels like…… Still, I’ll do my best, Your Grace.”

“Understood. Then respond appropriately.”

Afterward, Aiden had several mirrors brought in and worked with the lord to determine which angles made him look the most handsome and arrogant.

“Your Grace, that pose is very impressive. It has a wonderfully arrogant feeling to it, too.”

“Then what if I stay like this and turn my gaze toward where Lady Hedesson is?”

At Aiden’s deliberately slow movement and intense gaze, the lord gave him a standing ovation.

“Whoa! You have so much charisma!”

And so, the first and second poses were perfected under the concept of Aiden as a cold, handsome man—arrogant, yet so beautiful that he looked like a sculpture carved by the gods, making it impossible to look away.

The next day, the lord’s acting, which looked as though he were doing it by kicking his feet around, was still awkward.

But with the setting that he was an introverted man, it passed without much trouble.

And finally, the date began.

Just as he had practiced, Aiden rested the tip of his index finger beneath his lips and lightly supported his chin with his thumb and middle finger, gazing out the window.

As soon as he struck the first pose he had carefully prepared, he felt Theodora’s gaze on him.

The feeling of her gaze was quite satisfactory.

She must have been captivated by how arrogant and handsome he looked.

After pretending not to notice for a while, Aiden moved on to the second pose.

He intended to slowly turn toward Theodora and give her a captivating gaze that would leave a powerful impression on her mind.

The moment their eyes met, Theodora would surely be unable to control her trembling heart.

“……”

But his second pose was a complete failure.

Theodora, who had definitely been looking at him, was suddenly pressed tightly against the window on the opposite side.

Her expression as she looked outside the window had relaxed pleasantly.

For the moment, he forgot everything he had planned and simply gazed endlessly at Theodora.

Then Theodora slowly turned toward Aiden.

Her eyes were bright and clear, the color of a blue ocean.

The moment their eyes met, Aiden’s heart didn’t merely flutter.

It thudded! and dropped.

How could she be so beautiful?