Chapter 31
Aiden approached Alice, who looked frustrated, and asked.
“Are you okay? You said you’re a distant relative.”
“I’m fine. It’s been a long time since I cut ties. Besides, I’m not even staying in the north right now…”
Alice suddenly felt something strange. The Jeron Manor was in the north, but the current Jeron family was staying at their villa in the south.
She had heard the latest news from the Jeron family about a month ago: they had ruined all their business in the north and decided to start a new venture in the south.
To travel from the Jeron family’s villa at the southern edge to Aerdin Manor at the northernmost tip of the north would take a full month by carriage, or require several expensive long-distance teleportation scrolls.
So it didn’t make sense for someone from the Jeron family, who had just arrived in the south a month ago, to be in the north.
“They probably don’t even have ten long-distance teleportation scrolls to spare,” Alice thought, frowning as she tried to figure out why the Jeron heir and heiress were in the north.
At the very least, she hoped they wouldn’t cause trouble in her domain. Whenever she felt uneasy like this, something inevitably went wrong.
Please, Luke the rake and Anna the arrogant, don’t cause any trouble in the north, Alice silently prayed.
After the commotion at the tailor’s had settled, Alice left the shop with a paper bag in hand, walking down a quiet street without anyone around.
Aiden, unusually cautious, followed her, keeping an eye on her.
They hadn’t been able to buy anything at the shop that Luke and Anna had ransacked. Christine, apologizing repeatedly, said she was sorry Alice had such a bad experience even though it wasn’t her fault.
Alice had kept a stiff expression ever since Luke and Anna left the shop, which felt quite awkward to Aiden, who was used to seeing her full range of emotions.
Alice stopped walking, and Aiden stopped behind her, confused.
She turned to meet Aiden’s gaze.
“Why are you tiptoeing around me?”
“Oh, was I obvious?”
Aiden scratched the back of his neck, looking embarrassed.
“I thought you were angry.”
“Angry? Me?”
Aiden nodded. Since she had kept a rigid expression since returning to the shop, he had every reason to think she was upset.
Alice opened her mouth to deny it, but stopped herself. Could she really say this isn’t anger? Even just standing here, irritation was rising in her chest.
After thinking carefully about her feelings, Alice came to a conclusion.
“Yeah. I’m angry.”
“…Because of what that melon—or Jeron—guy said earlier?”
“Of course. He said things like you sell your body, and you just stood there, so I got annoyed…”
“Well, that guy treated you and your mother like that…”
They both stopped talking at the same time, staring at each other in the air. Aiden was the first to speak.
“Aren’t you angry because he insulted you and your mother?”
“That’s part of it, but Jeron is trash by nature. I don’t waste my emotions on trash saying trash things normally.”
Luke Jeron had been a terrible human being from the first time he met Alice. He loved women, gambling, and drinking—irreformable trash.
After he had nearly burned a critical part of his body with Alice’s magic for trying to approach her on their first meeting, he had never touched her or her acquaintances in front of her again.
That didn’t change the fact that he was trash, so hearing him say terrible things behind her back didn’t affect her mentally.
Alice didn’t want to dedicate even a fraction of her emotions to him.
“But he’s saying bad things about you.”
So her anger toward Luke’s nonsense was entirely because of Aiden.
If he hadn’t touched Aiden, she would have just thought, “Ah, trash is speaking again,” and left it at that. She would have retaliated for the insults directed at her, but that would have been it.
Aiden seemed surprised by her answer, his pupils widening as he said:
“Is that really something to get angry about?”
“Then don’t get angry?”
“I can’t force your feelings. I just don’t understand why you’re angry on my behalf. And that’s because I’m a demon.”
“You said you’d trust me until you found your sword.”
“Trusting isn’t the same as getting angry for someone. Anger consumes your emotions.”
Alice frowned slightly, displeased. Although emotions don’t need a reason to arise, she decided to answer since he asked.
“You’re my person.”
“What?”
Aiden’s pupils widened even more. Speaking deliberately, Alice took the lead in walking and continued:
“You’re my guard. That makes you my person.”
“You’re just a contracted employee.”
“So what? The important thing is that I hired you, and during the contract period, your duty is to protect me.”
“……”
“Of course, it’s not like you have to guard a genius mage like me in reality… But nominally, you’re my guard.”
As Alice chattered while walking ahead, she realized Aiden’s footsteps behind her had stopped. She paused. Aiden stood frozen in shock.
Was what I said really that shocking? Alice was about to speak to him when…
“Haha…”
Aiden let out a bright, refreshing laugh, then broke into a wide smile.
She had seen him smile often, but she had never seen him laugh so cheerfully, his eyes crinkling in mirth.
Alice couldn’t take her eyes off his face for a moment.
“So that’s it. I’m your person.”
When his laughter subsided, Aiden smiled faintly and muttered softly. There was a sense of happiness in his expression, which made Alice tilt her head in curiosity.
“Why?”
“Huh? Nothing. I just thought… I can belong somewhere now.”
Alice didn’t ask what he meant. She noticed the brief melancholy behind his flushed cheeks.
He quickly wiped away the sadness from his face, returning to his usual cheeky smile, but the small smile lingered in Alice’s mind.
Was he not getting along with other demons in the Underworld? Or did he have some trauma from his time in the human world he couldn’t forget?
Alice was curious about Aiden’s past, but he didn’t reveal any of it to her.
Once he found his sword, he would leave for the Underworld immediately, so there was no need to tell her about his past.
‘Then why do I feel so disappointed?’
Hadn’t they become close? Or was it because, unlike her, he had many secrets?
Alice didn’t even know when Aiden had crossed the boundaries around her and grown this close.
Trying not to show her confusing feelings, Alice deliberately complained to him.
“So if someone insults you like earlier, just blast them. I’ll take responsibility.”
“Haha, that’s really reassuring.”
Aiden’s bright laughter rang out. He stepped closer to Alice, matching her pace, and said:
“Honestly, I didn’t care what that guy said. It didn’t hurt me much.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Criticizing others comes from one’s own inferiority, so he was just jealous of how handsome I am.”
“…You actually say that out loud?”
“Why not? It’s true.”
Aiden grinned arrogantly, and Alice couldn’t argue, so she pressed her lips together.
He laughed again and continued.
“But I was happy you got angry on my behalf. It felt good to have someone care about me. Thank you.”
Aiden met Alice’s eyes. A warm, tender feeling blossomed in her chest.
Lately, whenever she was with him, she felt a strange tingling around her heart.
For some reason, it was hard to look him directly in the eyes. Alice quickly turned her gaze forward, her ears turning red.
