Chapter 111
“What did you say?”
“Director!”
Annie cried out almost like a scream. It seemed she had indeed been glancing nervously at her.
Ailen, whose heart had gone cold, placed a hand on her forehead and tried to steady herself. But the more she tried, the more anxious she became.
“Um… President, it’s probably nothing….”
“Where is it?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking where you saw Richard.”
Annie, meeting those deeply sunken purple eyes, flinched and answered,
“I-I saw him… about three blocks to the left after going out, at a teahouse….”
Without listening further, Ailen left the shop. Kane hurried after her.
“My lady, please calm yourself for a moment….”
“You know too, don’t you, Kane.”
Ailen suddenly stopped walking, turned around, and looked at him.
Kane asked back, bewildered.
“What are you referring to?”
“Everyone is hiding something from me.”
Kane’s fingertips trembled slightly. Seeing that, Ailen’s face darkened.
“Don’t tell me it was because of something like this?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then what is it?”
Kane parted his lips as if to speak, but soon closed them again. Ailen glared at him for a long moment before starting to walk once more.
Kane, belatedly coming to his senses, followed her helplessly. He had to calm her somehow.
“My lady, it is absolutely not for the reason you are thinking. We only….”
At that moment, Ailen stopped abruptly. Puzzled, Kane looked ahead—and sucked in a sharp breath.
Richard was there. Together with a woman.
The two of them radiated an extremely warm and friendly atmosphere. As if they were on a date.
“M-My lady….”
Kane carefully watched Ailen’s expression. Expecting her to storm forward at once, he was startled when, contrary to expectation, Ailen abruptly turned around and retraced her steps the way they had come.
He hadn’t been able to clearly see her face, but one thing he had seen for certain—the glistening moisture at the corners of her eyes.
‘This is bad.’
After glancing back and forth between Ailen and Richard in the distance, Kane eventually followed Ailen in silence.
He felt like crying as well.
❧ ❧ ❧
‘It ended up later than I thought.’
Richard thought this as he looked at the sunset visible beyond the moving carriage window.
‘I wonder if Ailen is having dinner by now.’
A faint smile crept onto his face.
Adrian had been picky about vegetables lately, so she was surely worrying over how to get him to eat them. She had sighed about it just recently.
If he could, he would have liked to join them at the dinner table—but he couldn’t right now. He had something more important to prepare.
The reason Richard had begun planning that matter was during Ludwig’s investiture ceremony as Crown Prince.
“Come to think of it, Baron Rikel, aren’t you holding your wedding soon?”
Richard, who had been watching Ailen, turned his head at those words. Baron Rikel was nodding shyly.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Heh heh. I’m envious. I hear you made quite a grand proposal.”
“Grand? Not at all. I merely held a small event when we were alone and confessed my feelings.”
A shadow fell across Richard’s face as he listened to the conversation.
After all, the only thing he had done to marry Ailen was send a single proposal letter.
Unaware of his inner thoughts, Baron Rikel asked,
“Come to think of it, Your Excellency, how did you propose to the Duchess?”
“Well….”
“Ah, you fool! Why ask something like that? Of course he must have done it magnificently. Isn’t that right, Your Excellency? Hahaha!”
Unable to answer those words, Richard could only offer a bitter smile.
And he made up his mind. He would properly propose to Ailen again.
If it were up to him, he would have held something grand—but the Ailen he knew wasn’t the type to like such things.
So after much thought, he sought out couples known as devoted lovebirds. It was to gain advice from them.
Today was no different. He was on his way back from meeting a noble lady to seek her help.
The entire time he was with her, he had to suppress the smile that kept threatening to appear as he thought about proposing to Ailen. The noble lady had even smiled warmly and called him a devoted husband.
The notebook in which he had written down her advice was proof of that.
‘Surely no one has told Ailen, right?’
He was aiming for a surprise event. So he had repeatedly warned the servants and knights of the estate who knew of his preparations.
Under no circumstances was Ailen to find out.
He recalled their solemn faces as they nodded. Feeling reassured once more, he closed his eyes for a moment in the carriage.
By the time he opened them, the carriage had arrived at the estate. Completely unaware of what had transpired there, Richard stepped down calmly.
Then he saw them—the maids staring at him, not knowing what to do.
His expression hardened instantly.
“What is going—”
“Hey!”
At that moment, an angry shout rang out from inside the estate.
Turning his head, he saw Adrian running toward him from afar. Then the boy began wildly pounding his small fists against Richard, who looked bewildered.
“Who do you think you are! Who do you think you are!”
“Viscount? What on earth….”
Richard expressed confusion, utterly at a loss. But that attitude only provoked Adrian further.
Though his eyes were brimming with tears, Adrian glared at Richard in fury.
“I thought you would make my sister happy. That’s why I accepted you as my brother-in-law!”
“…I’m grateful for that. But why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“You made my sister cry!”
Richard’s face turned rigid. But Adrian, sniffling, did not notice that expression.
“Who do you think you are…! Who do you think you are to make my sister…!”
Adrian’s words did not continue. Richard had already rushed past him.
Like the maids, Adrian stared blankly at his retreating figure.
“What…?”
Meanwhile, Richard ran straight up to the bedroom he shared with Ailen and paused before the door to catch his breath. Then he knocked urgently.
“Ailen, are you inside?”
There was no reply from within. Growing anxious, Richard immediately grasped the doorknob.
“There is something I need to say. I will come in for a moment.”
But he could not meet Ailen. The door was locked from the inside.
As Richard hesitated in fluster, Ailen’s voice came from within.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Ailen, I believe there is some misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I heard that you cried. And judging from the Viscount’s reaction, the cause seems to be me. But I swear I have never done anything that would make you cry.”
A brief silence fell between them through the door.
Then footsteps were heard, and with a click, the door opened. At the same time, Ailen revealed herself.
Richard, who had been about to speak at once, fell silent in shock.
The corners of Ailen’s eyes were red. She must have been crying for quite some time.
“Ailen, why….”
“I saw it. And you call that a misunderstanding?”
“Pardon?”
Richard asked back with a face that truly did not understand.
The feelings Ailen had been suppressing threatened to surge up, but she spoke calmly.
“I saw everything. You being with another woman today.”
“…You saw that?”
Richard’s face stiffened. Ailen let out a hollow laugh, thinking he had been caught red-handed.
“I thought we would become a very good married couple. I thought we loved each other. At least until I saw that today. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have harbored such feelings in the first place….”
“Ailen.”
With a hardened expression, Richard pulled her into an embrace. Ailen struggled within his arms, trying to break free.
“Let go of me!”
“Ailen, it’s a misunderstanding. The only person I love is still you.”
Ailen froze for a moment.
“…Liar.”
“It’s the truth. Even now, because I am touching you, isn’t my heart beating fiercely?”
Ailen paused and listened to the sound of his heart. It truly was pounding as though it might burst.
Her eyes wavered, slightly confused. Seizing that moment, Richard gently took her hand.
“Ailen, there is something I want to show you. If you see it, I’m certain this misunderstanding will be cleared.”
❧ ❧ ❧
Richard led Ailen somewhere. Ailen followed him with a sullen expression.
Whenever he glanced at her, she averted her gaze. The sight made his chest ache, but all the more he hoped they would quickly reach their destination.
Soon, when he stopped in front of one of the buildings on the estate, Ailen lifted her head with a puzzled look.
“This is…?”
“Do you remember?”
“Of course. It’s where we held our wedding.”
A faint smile flickered across Ailen’s face before disappearing. Without a word, Richard pushed the door open.
As Ailen peered through the slowly opening gap, she heard Richard speak softly.
“This is what I have been hiding from you.”
“Pardon?”
Ailen, who had been about to turn her head absentmindedly, froze at the sight beyond the wide-open door.
The hall, which should have been empty, was decorated with white fabric and flowers. With just the door opened, the rich scent of flowers could be felt.
And atop the staircase where the two had once stood side by side, it looked as though wedding vows might be exchanged at any moment.
Ailen stared blankly around before suddenly turning back to Richard.
“What is all this? Who is getting married here?”
“Yes. There is a wedding. Between me and you, Ailen.”
“Pardon?”
When Ailen looked at him as if asking what he meant, Richard cleared his throat awkwardly. His ears were slightly red.
“The wedding we had a year ago can hardly be called a proper wedding, can it? Back then, the contract came first.”
“Ah….”
“So I wanted to hold the ceremony once more. Our real wedding—yours and mine, Ailen.”
