Chapter 68
“Richard.”
At Aileen’s call, which reached his ears just in time, Richard came back to his senses.
Before he knew it, Aileen’s face was right in front of his nose—close enough that they would have touched if he’d moved just a little closer.
Startled, he quickly pulled his body back.
‘What was I just doing…?’
If Aileen hadn’t called him, he might have lost his reason and touched her—Aileen, who was completely defenseless.
He felt ashamed and disgusted with himself. Those were exactly the kind of people he despised most in the world.
Yet right now, he seemed no different from them.
“Richard?”
When he didn’t answer, Aileen slightly opened her eyes. She saw Richard covering his face with the hand that wasn’t holding hers.
With a worried expression, Aileen asked,
“Richard, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“…It’s nothing. I’m just ashamed of myself.”
“Huh?”
She asked as if she didn’t understand, but Richard shook his head.
Releasing her hand, Richard looked at Aileen. His face was still flushed.
“By the way, why did you call me?”
“Ah.”
Aileen hesitated to answer. Seeing that, Richard looked at her with a questioning gaze.
After a moment, Aileen’s cheeks slightly reddened as she spoke in a small voice.
“Are you busy tomorrow, by any chance?”
“I do have work, but…”
Richard began to answer, then noticed a shadow fall over Aileen’s face and quickly changed his words.
“I’m not busy.”
“Then… would you like to go out with me tomorrow?”
“Sure. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”
“Yes. There are lots of places.”
At Aileen’s brightened expression, a small smile escaped Richard as well.
As she continued making mana stones, Aileen sorted through places she could go with Richard tomorrow in her mind. There were so many things she wanted to do with him that she felt incredibly excited.
“By the way, Aileen, aren’t you overdoing it a bit?”
“Huh?”
While she was organizing what she needed to do tomorrow, Richard asked with concern.
Aileen looked around herself with a puzzled expression. Before she knew it, mana stones were piled up high.
Normally she would have been exhausted by now, but today she felt full of energy.
With an awkward expression, Aileen let go of Richard’s hand.
“…I think I got a bit too excited.”
“Are you really that excited about going out tomorrow?”
“It’s not so much that I’m excited about the outing… I just like being with you, Richard.”
Aileen said it honestly. Since she’d already decided to show it, there was no reason to hold back.
Meanwhile, Richard was momentarily flustered by her blunt words. What she’d said sounded far too sweet to be meant merely as something a friend would say.
‘…That can’t be it.’
Soon, Richard regained his composure.
Aileen was the one who used to get flustered and run away at even light physical contact with him. There was no way she could suddenly like him overnight.
Letting out a small sigh inwardly, he smiled gently and replied,
“I’m looking forward to it as well.”
Seeing his smile, Aileen had to suppress the urge to sigh. Anyone could tell it was a smile tinged with disappointment.
‘He still hasn’t noticed my feelings.’
She realized what he was thinking and felt a bit disappointed herself, but she didn’t show it. After all, it was her own fault for not confessing outright.
So for now, she simply smiled as if she were just excited.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll really show him how I feel.’
While gathering the mana stones, she secretly clenched her fist.
She was already looking forward to tomorrow.
❧ ❧ ❧
“…Is it too much?”
Aileen examined her reflection in the mirror with a troubled expression.
The dress she was wearing today was a pink, off-the-shoulder dress. It was adorned with many decorations, giving off a lovely rather than a provocative feeling.
Still, she wondered if it was a bit too much for her.
Whether she looked at herself straight on or turned slightly to the side, it felt like an outfit that put a lot of pressure on her.
Murmuring softly, she said,
“Maybe I should change into something else…”
“What are you saying, madam!”
“That’s right! It suits you extremely well!”
The maids who had given her this rather burdensome outfit cried out excitedly, their eyes practically blazing.
Aileen smiled awkwardly and said,
“But won’t people find it embarrassing to look at?”
“Absolutely not. Not at all. And even if there were someone like that—no, someone like that—don’t you think the Duke wouldn’t let it slide?”
“Still…”
“And right now, madam, you look so lovely that the Duke will surely like it very much.”
At the mention that Richard would like it, Aileen froze.
After staring at the mirror for a moment, she said with a flushed face,
“Then… should I try going like this?”
‘So cute!’
It wasn’t something one would normally say about a grown woman, but to the maids, Aileen looked incredibly lovely right now.
She already had a kind and cute appearance, but today her beauty seemed doubled.
Smiling broadly, the maids braided and pinned up Aileen’s long hair. After fixing it securely so it wouldn’t come undone, Aileen stood up while picking up a white hat with a wide brim.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes. Please have a wonderful time with the Duke!”
The maids saw her off with warm smiles. It sounded almost like they were telling her to enjoy her date, so Aileen pulled her hat down low to hide her reddened face.
When she went outside, Richard was already there, waiting for her. As always, he was dressed in monochrome clothing.
Seeing him, Aileen stopped short as she approached. Compared to him, she felt like she’d tried far too hard.
She was debating whether to go back and change, when Richard called out to her.
“Aileen?”
Startled, Aileen lifted her head. Richard was staring at her with wide eyes.
‘Ah… it really is too much.’
Thinking that, Aileen turned her body.
“Just a moment! I’ll go change and come right back!”
“Huh? You look very nice as you are…”
“What?”
Aileen froze and turned back.
Smiling gently, Richard said,
“You were beautiful before as well, but today you’re even more beautiful, Aileen.”
Aileen’s face turned so red it looked like it might burst.
After fiddling with the brim of her hat for a moment, she spoke with her head still lowered.
“That’s a relief. I was worried it might look too much.”
“Too much? Not at all.”
“Even if it’s just flattery, it’s nice to hear.”
Aileen let out a small laugh and stepped closer to him. At that, Richard’s expression turned serious.
“Everything I say to you is always sincere, Aileen.”
“…I’ll believe you.”
Aileen smiled softly. In response, Richard relaxed his stiff expression and smiled back.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Yes.”
When Richard held out his hand, Aileen took it and climbed into the carriage. Soon after Richard boarded as well, the carriage set off.
Looking into Aileen’s eyes, which were filled with anticipation, Richard asked,
“Where are we headed?”
“To a craft exhibition.”
“Crafts?”
“Yes. It’s an exhibition held by famous artisans from the Empire. I heard there are lots of items that are both practical and beautiful.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in things like that.”
“Actually… it’s partly for sightseeing, but I thought it might help both of us.”
Richard tilted his head. Aileen unfolded the exhibition pamphlet and showed it to him.
“Look at this. They’re decorated with jewels and things like that, so they’re closer to artworks than simple crafts. Don’t you think it could help with our businesses? Both yours and mine?”
Only then did Richard understand what she meant.
Both he and Aileen ran businesses selling magical tools. In particular, since he mainly sold decorative magical tools, viewing these kinds of artworks would be very helpful for his future work.
And since the crafts combined practicality with beauty, Aileen might gain some ideas as well.
With a satisfied smile, Richard nodded.
“That’s true. It should be a very worthwhile visit.”
Work and a date—killing two birds with one stone.
Seeing that he liked the idea made Aileen feel happy too. She was glad she’d kept the pamphlet after stumbling upon the exhibition earlier.
Filled with anticipation, she waited eagerly to arrive, when the carriage finally came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
As the door opened, Cain—who had followed to provide protection—appeared.
Richard got down first, and Aileen followed. There were quite a lot of people in front of the exhibition hall.
“I’ll go buy the tickets.”
“Please.”
Aileen watched Cain run off. Then she heard whispers from around her.
“That person, could it be…?”
“That’s right. It’s His Highness the Second Prince.”
“Did His Highness come to see the exhibition as well?”
From the murmurs, she could feel both the amazement at the prince’s appearance and the pride of attending the same exhibition as him.
Since she hadn’t brought him here for that reason, Aileen cautiously glanced at Richard. She was worried about what kind of expression he might have, since he disliked drawing attention to his status as a prince.
But fortunately, Richard looked calm. When their eyes met, he even gave her a small smile as if to say it was fine.
That put Aileen at ease.
“I’ve got the tickets.”
Right then, Cain returned holding the tickets. Richard took them and turned to Aileen.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes. Let’s.”
Standing beside Richard, Aileen entered with him. The staff member guarding the entrance politely accepted the ticket Richard handed over.
Once inside the building, they no longer felt the gazes directed at them. Instead, the quiet, distinctive atmosphere of the exhibition enveloped them.
Looking around, Aileen gently tugged at Richard’s lapel.
“Richard, let’s start over there.”
As she took his arm and led him along, Richard followed without resistance.
When they reached the display, a viewer who had been standing there looked at them—and then flinched upon seeing Richard.
Watching the person bow and move away, Aileen said awkwardly,
“They don’t really need to do that.”
“Still, thanks to that, we can view things comfortably.”
“I suppose so.”
Just as Richard said, the two of them were able to browse at ease. Whenever they moved, nearby visitors would step away.
At first it felt awkward and uncomfortable, but later they got used to it. In fact, it was nice to be able to chat quietly with Richard while viewing the exhibits.
“Richard, look at that. It looks like a vase. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Seeing that, it made me think—what if we put a spell on a vase that keeps moisture for a long time?”
“That sounds like a good idea. It would slow down the rate at which the water decreases.”
“Right?”
From time to time, they also talked about work. As two people running similar businesses, their conversation flowed easily.
Not wanting to forget, Aileen took out her notebook and jotted down the idea she’d just had. Then she felt a gaze on her and quickly turned her head.
Richard was staring intently at her.
