IDHGA 15

Chapter 15

In her past life, Asiarde had been someone who detested mingling with people.

He would avoid encountering them and evade conversation by any means necessary.

Because people always loved to gossip and chatter about the deaths of his parents and grandfather, he had always chosen silence over offering detailed explanations.

There was no way that such a man would have interrogated Zena to meticulously investigate me.

Nor could there have been any secret, heartfelt memories shared between us, especially since I had been stuck up in the North.

*‘Then, isn’t there only one possibility?’*

It was an incredibly unlikely event, with odds and probabilities close to zero. But still, even so, just in case…

“Th-That, um, ah, n-no! It was absolutely not espionage against the young lady! It’s just, well, you see.”

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, Asiarde stammered, his face flustered beyond belief.

A face that truly showed he was flustered and genuinely didn’t understand.

“Y-You were, you were wearing a sword at your waist, and the knight who had collapsed inside the building was tied up with something like a piece of dress fabric, so I simply thought, ‘Ah, she uses a sword.’”

Stammering, he laid out his own reasoning. On his face, there was not a trace of the anger he had shown just moments ago.

*‘Is it really such a big deal that I misunderstood him…?’*

He looked as if he was staking his very life on clearing up this misunderstanding. Seeing him try so desperately to dispel my misunderstanding, he almost seemed pitiable.

Seeing him even politely apologize for having made me uncomfortable, I finally relaxed the tension in my shoulders.

*‘Of course…’*

If he had experienced the same bizarre phenomenon as I had, he would have long since grabbed me and asked with a serious face.

How common could a person who had regressed through time possibly be?

Erasing my foolish thoughts, I let out a small sigh.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit sensitive about this issue, so I took it out on you, Duke.”

“No, it’s fine. I was the one who spoke without knowing anything.”

“Thank you. And I’d appreciate it if you kept this story to yourself, Duke. If others found out that a lady handles a sword, it would cause complications.”

“I will keep that in mind, Young Lady.”

He bowed his head deeply.

His shoulders seemed to slump slightly, and he looked somehow deflated, just like how Asiarde from my past life used to act after getting scolded by me and testing my mood.

Seeing that, truly, I should be glad he was still the same.

“Still, I’m truly grateful for your help today. I owe you another favor.”

Why was I, looking at his unchanging appearance, remembering the him from before?

As I quietly expressed my gratitude, he raised his head and smiled softly.

“I am simply glad that you are safe, Young Lady. You were brave enough to astonish everyone in the Empire.”

How could I possibly hate him when he smiled at me like that?

I followed his lead and smiled back.

“Not at all.”

It was after the surroundings had begun to grow dark when we arrived at the Wellington residence.

Thinking I had intended to walk such a long distance even with a carriage available—my head must have definitely been in a strange state earlier.

I struggled to keep my drooping eyelids open and quietly waited for the carriage entering through the back gate to come to a stop.

“Young Lady. Just in case we run into Earl Mason, I’ll tell him that we’re on our way back from a date today.”

“……Pardon?”

“Otherwise, there’d be no reason for you and I to be entering so quietly through the back gate like this.”

I had suggested we go around the back just in case my father noticed, but this wasn’t what I had expected.

Seeing my flustered face, he chuckled.

“I’ll make an official date request next time. So please don’t make that face.”

“I’m not flustered because of that, though.”

“Would it be possible for you to say it’s for my sake?”

When I answered without a moment’s hesitation, a playful smile appeared on his handsome face.

Along with it, a slight eye-smile.

I knew all too well how much those eyes, creased as if letting out a laugh, could make a person’s heart flutter.

I also knew how difficult it was to keep all those things—the unnecessary palpitations, the unnecessary twitching, the unnecessary lingering—from turning towards him. So…

“……I don’t want to give you false hope.”

That was the only thing I could manage to say.

I couldn’t casually parry his words with the same ease he did, nor could I smile with a faintly teasing expression. I simply had to clench my fist and push him away.

“Young Lady, I…”

“We have arrived.”

Just as he was about to say something with a serious face, the coachman announced our arrival.

As soon as the carriage stopped, I quickly stepped out, and he followed suit.

“Thank you for today, Duke. Please get home safely.”

“Young Lady, could I have a moment to talk…”

Whatever he was about to say, I felt I needed to get away quickly.

What kind of conversation could we possibly have?

In our relationship, which had already gone awry…

Just as I was about to refuse him once more, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me.

“Take your hands off her, Duke Fontaine.”

A voice tightly suppressed, as if holding back anger.

At the deliberately loud footsteps, both he and I turned our heads towards the sound, and I, upon seeing who stood there, let out a hollow laugh, *‘Ha.’*

“It’s been a while, Earl Mason.”

Standing there, watching us from afar, was my father—who I didn’t know when he had returned.

*‘Let’s have a word, Duke.’*

Ignoring his daughter, who glared at him with a hardened face, he said those words.

Eloise tried to dismiss him, telling him to just ignore her father and leave, but how could he?

There was no way he could simply stand by and watch that vile man, who would sell his own daughter for advancement, do whatever he pleased.

He owed much to Eloise, and he wanted to keep her by his side by any means necessary.

It was a pity he couldn’t keep watching Eloise’s dependable figure, stepping in front of her father and shielding him, saying he was her guest and to stay out of it…

*Clink.*

Setting down his teacup, Asiarde looked at the Earl and thought: he disliked seeing her together with this sinister man even more.

Several minutes had passed since they sat in the reception room, and Earl Mason, who had been staring at him sharply without a word, was in some ways more formidable than the Crown Prince.

“If you have nothing to say, I’ll be going now. As you saw earlier, the young lady and I are returning from a late date.”

“That’s quite a bold thing to say in front of a father.”

Earl Mason gritted his teeth and glared at Asiarde.

Regardless, Asiarde sank back into his chair and countered with a relaxed expression.

“Well, it’s not like I’m dating the father; I’m saying I want to date the daughter. What’s the problem? If a young man and woman are mutually interested and meet, it would be the parent who chases after them and interferes who’s in the wrong, wouldn’t it?”

*And who does arranged marriages these days? How old-fashioned.*

As he lightly added, Earl Mason’s face hardened severely.

A despicable man who incites others to do all sorts of dirty and petty things, yet tries to keep his own hands completely clean.

Asiarde inwardly condemned him to the fullest and curled the corners of his lips upward.

“Not that I’m forcing Eloise to come with me, of course. I plan to wait until the young lady says she’s willing.”

“That child already has a betrothed.”

“Is that so? Eloise didn’t seem to know.”

“……It’s an engagement decided upon since she was in the North. Don’t go stirring up the child for no reason.”

“That’s strange, Earl. If it’s an engagement decided long ago, shouldn’t the young lady naturally know about it? And besides, there are already dozens of young lords in the capital desperately trying to date her. If her betrothed had any proper sense, he would have already shown himself by her side, proudly declaring he’s her fiancé to those who covet her, don’t you think?”

“That is not for the Duke to judge.”

“If I don’t judge, who will? The one meeting her right now is me, not some betrothed the young lady herself doesn’t even know about.”

After being needled a few times, Earl Mason’s face looked like he wanted to tear me apart.

But the desire to bite and tear my opponent apart was mutual on this side. No, if we were to compare grudges, I had no doubt mine was far more deeply rooted and intensely felt.

How much had we been manipulated by this brazen man, who didn’t give a shred of affection to his own child yet now sought to profit from his daughter?

Asiarde didn’t erase the smile on his lips but put strength into his eyes.

“And furthermore, Earl. If Eloise truly has a long-standing betrothed, no matter how much I try to shake her, she won’t waver.”

*Isn’t that right?*

Eloise is a person who values principles and rules.

She has a strong sense of responsibility to see through whatever duty is given to her. So if she had known she had a betrothed, she wouldn’t have been conversing with him so cheerfully from the start.

She wouldn’t have fallen so helplessly for him, and she wouldn’t have been so devoted or attentive to him during their time together.

“You speak as if you know Eloise very well.”

The Earl met his gaze squarely and put force into his voice.

His eyes were so piercing that Asiarde thought he might end up getting hurt by his schemes again.

For an instant, memories of the past flashed through his mind, sending a chill down his spine. But it was only for a moment.

He drew his smile even more deeply and stared directly back at Earl Mason.

“I’d say I know her at least better than you do, Earl.”

“Ha.”

“So stop this nonsense and don’t force your delusions on Eloise any longer. What will you do if Eloise ends up running into my arms on her own volition to escape you?”

“……This is a family matter. It’s none of the Duke’s concern.”

“If Eloise comes to me, then it becomes my concern.”

When I shrugged, Earl Mason glared at me again.

“If the Duke truly cares for Eloise, you should—“

“Did Eloise say that’s what’s best for her?”

“What?”

The more I heard, the more absurd it became.

Asiarde looked at Earl Mason with a face of disbelief.

“Thinking you know better just because you’re an adult, because you’re a parent, because you’re blood—that’s arrogance, Earl. A person finds their own happiness. Why would a father who doesn’t even know his daughter well try to find it for her? Earl, have you ever had a serious conversation like this with Eloise even once?”

“……That’s enough!”

“Since you might become my future father-in-law, I’ll say just one more thing. The one shaking Eloise right now isn’t me, it’s you, Earl. So stop bothering your daughter, who’s living well, and focus on your own affairs.”