Chapter 13
“Visitor? Are you sure someone came to see me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Aileen frowned slightly, surprised. She couldn’t think of anyone who would come looking for her.
Still, she couldn’t keep the guest waiting, so she followed the maid. Then she noticed soft footsteps behind her and turned her head.
Adrian was following her, looking unsure and worried.
Since this guest had asked to meet the Duchess herself, she couldn’t bring Adrian along. As Aileen hesitated awkwardly, Claude spoke up.
“If it’s alright with you, I’ll stay with the young count, my lady.”
“You, Claude? But don’t you have work—?”
“This much is fine, truly. Of course, if the young master doesn’t want that, I’ll step back.”
Both Aileen and Claude turned to Adrian. Realizing he shouldn’t insist on following, Adrian glanced between them, then nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll stay with Sir Aymon.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Yes. But please come back soon, Sister.”
Aileen smiled at her brave little brother and kissed his forehead.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Then she turned and followed the maid. As they walked down the corridor, Aileen asked casually,
“By the way, who came to see me?”
“Well… we don’t really know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Aileen frowned, confused. The maid hesitated before replying,
“At first, the knights tried to stop him, but the guest showed them one of your belongings. So they let him through.”
“One of my belongings?”
Aileen tilted her head.
Who could possibly have something of hers…?
And then, her face stiffened. No way—
She froze mid-step, and the maid stopped too. They had arrived at the guest room.
“I’ll open the door for you, my lady.”
As the maid opened the door, Aileen stepped inside—and immediately stopped cold.
The man sitting there smiled and waved cheerfully.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
“…Damon.”
Aileen spoke his name stiffly, as if it tasted bitter on her tongue.
The visitor was none other than her creditor — Damon.
When she glared at him sharply, Damon smirked.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh? You’ll scare your maid. She looked quite nervous watching you glare like that.”
Startled, Aileen glanced at the maid who had led her in. Her eyes had been so sharp with tension that the poor girl flinched.
Aileen sighed softly and forced herself to calm down.
“Thank you for bringing me here. You can go now — and don’t let anyone else in.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The maid glanced uneasily between Aileen and Damon, then quickly left the room.
Once the door closed, Aileen exhaled deeply.
Hopefully no strange rumors would spread.
“‘My lady,’ huh? You’ve come a long way up in the world,” Damon said mockingly once they were alone.
Aileen glared at him as he lounged on the couch, crossing one leg over the other like some arrogant noble.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“How else would I get in? I used the pendant you gave me.” He grinned, twirling it in his fingers. “When I told the knights it was yours, their faces were priceless.”
“That’s not what I meant! Why are you here, Damon?”
Aileen raised her voice in frustration. Anyone overhearing might have frowned at her tone — but Damon only smiled wider, amused by her anger.
“Oh, nothing much. I just came to check how you’ve been. To see if you’re paying off your debt properly.”
Aileen bit her lip hard.
Damon sipped his tea with exaggerated elegance — as if he were some high noble. Then he grimaced slightly at the bitterness.
“I’ll never understand why nobles drink this stuff. Beer tastes way better. Nobles are strange creatures, don’t you think, my lady?”
He looked at her expectantly, but Aileen said nothing.
Clapping his hands together as if remembering something, Damon chuckled.
“Ah, my mistake. You’re not a lady anymore — you’re a duchess now, aren’t you? Forgive me. It’s just hard to forget the image of you begging me for money.”
“…”
“But tell me, Duchess,” he said, standing up and walking toward her.
Aileen met his gaze, eyes sharp as a blade.
He looked down at her as if she were beneath him.
“Surely you don’t think marrying a duke erased your debt?”
“…”
“Well, I don’t care what you do with your new husband — as long as you pay me back, that’s all that matters.”
Shrugging, Damon walked toward the door. But before leaving, he turned and added mockingly,
“Anyway, congratulations. You married well — I guess that debt will finally be gone.”
“No,” Aileen said firmly, turning to face him. Her eyes burned with determination.
“I won’t use his money. I’ll repay everything myself. And I’ll get back that pendant you stole from me.”
“Oh?” Damon raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
They stared at each other in tense silence until Damon broke it with a mocking laugh.
“Very well. I’ll look forward to that, Duchess.”
With a dramatic bow, he left the room.
As he walked down the hallway, he spun the pendant around his finger, clearly taunting her.
Aileen clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, but she forced herself to breathe.
Just wait. I’ll gather the money somehow — and I’ll settle everything with my own hands.
She took a deep breath, calming her fury.
Starting today, she would begin a special task.
❧ ❧ ❧
That evening, Richard joined them for dinner.
Even after spending the whole day in his study, he looked as composed and elegant as ever, showing no sign of fatigue.
Adrian kept sneaking glances at him and subtly mimicking his refined gestures. He didn’t particularly like Richard, but he admired the duke’s noble grace.
Watching Adrian try to cut his food neatly, Aileen smiled softly. But her heart soon grew heavy.
She was an adult now, but Adrian was only ten — and he hadn’t even had the chance to learn proper noble etiquette. When their family fell into ruin, his tutors had all left.
All because of those cursed debts.
Thinking of Damon again, Aileen gripped her fork tightly — imagining the food on her plate as his face and stabbing it with small jabs.
“Aileen? Is the food not to your liking?”
Richard’s calm voice startled her. She blinked and quickly shook her head.
“No, it’s delicious.”
“I’m glad,” he said with a faint smile and returned to eating.
Aileen hesitated. She wanted to ask him something, but didn’t know when to bring it up.
Before she could decide, Richard spoke again, having noticed her nervousness.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Um… Richard, could we talk for a bit after dinner? There’s something I need to discuss — and something I need to do.”
He tilted his head, his tied hair swaying slightly. After a moment of thought, he nodded.
“Alright. We can have tea together afterward.”
“Thank you.”
“What about me?” Adrian asked anxiously.
Aileen smiled reassuringly and stroked his head.
“After dinner, go to your room and wait for me. I’ll come soon.”
“…Okay.”
He nodded reluctantly, clearly unhappy about leaving her alone with Richard.
To cheer him up, Aileen cut a piece of food into small bites and put it on his plate. Adrian’s frown melted instantly into a bright smile.
After dinner, Adrian obediently returned to his room.
Left alone with Richard, Aileen followed him to a sitting room that opened onto the terrace.
As if prepared in advance, a tea table had already been set up.
They sat facing each other as the maids brought in tea and cookies, quickly setting the mood for a quiet tea time.
“So,” Richard said, lifting his cup. “What did you want to talk about?”
Aileen was about to speak when she noticed the maids still standing nearby, watching them from a distance.
Richard followed her gaze, then gestured subtly. The maids bowed and quietly left the room.
Aileen couldn’t help but be impressed.
“You’re always so thoughtful, Richard.”
“Thank you for the compliment. But is that all you wanted to say?”
“Of course not.”
Aileen smiled faintly and finally brought up the real issue.
“Richard, would it be alright if I switched rooms occasionally?”
“Switched rooms?”
“Yes. Adrian still wants to sleep beside me sometimes — he’s just a child. I was thinking, maybe I could spend one night here with you and the next in his room. Would that be okay?”
To Richard, ten didn’t seem all that young — he himself had been studying complex subjects by that age.
In his eyes, Aileen was overly protective, and Adrian overly dependent. Or perhaps, he thought, Adrian had become more clingy because of him.
Remembering the boy’s glare whenever he got too close to Aileen, Richard let out a small laugh.
Aileen blinked, puzzled, but Richard’s smile remained.
“That’s fine. I’ll let the servants know.”
“Thank you.”
“And in return, I have a small request,” Richard added.
“What is it?”
“Unless there’s something special, like tonight, let’s always eat meals together. We’re newlyweds, after all — eating separately might look strange.”
Aileen made a small sound of realization. “You’re right. That does make sense. Alright.”
Even without that, anyone watching them might find their relationship unusual. But neither Aileen nor Richard realized how much attention they already drew.
After a moment, Richard asked, “Was that all you wanted to discuss?”
“Yes. Now I just have one more thing to do.”
“And that is…?”
Without answering, Aileen dragged her chair closer to him and held out her hands. Richard looked at them, puzzled.
“Since I’ll be sleeping in Adrian’s room tonight,” she said softly, “let’s make some magic stones now.”
