🌸 Chapter 9 🌸

Herina’s prediction came true.

Prince Benjamin had never liked or trusted Herina.

As soon as he left the Duke’s mansion, he smiled coldly.

“If my friend has been trapped by a seductress… then isn’t it a friend’s duty to help him escape?”

He did not know what had happened to his old friend.

Or perhaps something had not happened to him yet.

Either way, Benjamin felt that he could not simply leave things as they were.

“Your Highness, these are the mansions currently for sale in the capital. But why did you suddenly ask for them…?”

While looking through the list of mansions near the Duke of Habinent’s territory, Benjamin pointed at one.

It was close to the Duke’s land and less than an hour away by carriage.

“Buy this one.”

“Pardon? Why this place all of a sudden…? It is also quite far from the Imperial Palace. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient?”

Benjamin glanced back at the place where the woman who had trapped his friend was staying.

Then he nodded.

“So what if it is inconvenient?”

“Some sacrifices are necessary when it comes to protecting someone precious.”

He had to stay close to the woman who had tricked his innocent friend, a man who had lived an even stricter life than Benjamin himself.

He needed to find out what she was really planning.

“And I also need to investigate those unpleasant rumors.”

“Could you give me some more salad dressing?”

“Yes, Madam.”

Herina had already been living in the mansion since before the wedding, so she was used to being served.

Still, she secretly smiled because she liked the new way the servants addressed her after just one night.

“Madam, you should eat some too. The lamb is cooked very well.”

Perhaps Ares remembered that they had to act like a loving couple.

He cut a piece of steak he was eating and offered it to Herina.

“Huh? Oh, I…”

The servants looked at the two of them strangely.

They had not served Herina for very long, but everyone knew one thing about her.

She could not even stand the smell of lamb, let alone eat it.

“You really are naughty! Are you doing this because I teased you yesterday?”

“You know very well that I don’t even touch lamb!”

Herina quickly turned it into a joke to cover up the situation.

The servants’ suspicious looks soon disappeared.

Ares understood what she was doing and gave an awkward laugh.

“Haha… I was only expressing my disappointment toward my wife.”

“Of course I know what my wife likes.”

“My Herina.”

The servants shivered with happiness, thinking that love was overflowing between their masters as usual.

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess were secretly trembling because they had almost been discovered.

After finishing their meal, Herina was heading toward the study when she met the butler.

After returning his greeting, she suddenly had an idea.

“Do you have any extra glasses like those?”

There probably were not many servants who would stare directly at their master’s face.

Still, Herina thought it would be better to have at least one more safety measure.

Fortunately, the butler said that there were several more pairs of glasses in the mansion.

“Then make another pair and charge it to the household expenses.”

“And give me those glasses.”

The butler handed them over without even asking why she needed them.

Satisfied, Herina returned to the room.

When she opened the study door, she saw Ares sitting perfectly straight on the sofa while looking through the guest list from the wedding.

“What are you doing?”

How can someone sit that straight on such a soft sofa?

The habits Ares had developed from a very young age were one of the things that made it clear that the seventeen-year-old Ares and the twenty-four-year-old Ares were the same person.

“I am learning the names and titles of the nobles.”

“Most of the people invited to the wedding must have close relationships with our family.”

“I thought things might have changed from what I remember.”

“And they have.”

“There has been enough time for many things to change. It seems that most of the people I knew have already inherited their titles.”

He was comparing the current list with old documents he had taken from the bookshelf.

Herina put the glasses she was holding onto his face.

“What is this?”

Ares touched the glasses awkwardly.

The thin gold-rimmed glasses sat on his high nose.

Surprisingly, they looked quite good on him.

“They suit you.”

“You can’t walk around the mansion wearing a veil all the time.”

“The servants probably won’t stare at your face, but we should still have some kind of protection.”

“Think of it as simple makeup.”

Ares nodded as if he understood.

“I think we need to talk more.”

Ares nodded again.

If they wanted to fool even the servants who were closest to them, they had to be perfect.

And to do that, they needed to know more about each other.

“But do we really need to fool all the servants?”

“At least the butler should know.”

“He has served our family for several generations. You don’t need to worry about the secret getting out.”

Herina quickly shook her head.

He must not realize that his appearance hasn’t changed as much as he thinks.

If the butler learned the truth, her plan to control the Duke’s mansion would become much more difficult.

And Ares might also realize that she did not know anything about what was happening.

“No.”

“He is trustworthy, but I told you before.”

“If you casually tell one or two people, eventually everyone will know.”

“It’s best to keep a secret to yourself.”

“The fewer people who know, the less likely it is to get out.”

She felt sorry for him, but if Ares became cautious even around the servants, he would become more isolated.

And the more isolated he became, the more he would depend on Herina.

She could not give up on that.

Because of Herina’s firm answer, Ares stopped arguing and nodded.

“I’ve experienced many unexpected things since this happened.”

“The veil, these glasses, and even having to deceive the people closest to me.”

Herina laughed softly at his strangely mature way of speaking.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Don’t you think saying ‘since this happened’ sounds strange?”

“You’re only seventeen.”

“Isn’t it a little early for you to talk like that?”

But Ares looked at her as if he did not understand what was strange about it.

“If you think about it that way, there is no age when someone is allowed to say such things.”

“Being young or old is relative. It isn’t absolute.”

“I have lived for seventeen years, and I am experiencing the strangest thing in my entire life.”

“Even if someone had lived for seventy-one years, would it really be common for them to have experienced something like this?”

Herina was speechless at the seventeen-year-old boy’s clear and mature answer.

Feeling awkward, she quickly changed the subject.

“Fine. I understand.”

“Anyway, is there anything you want to know about me?”

“We need to know each other well if we’re going to act naturally in front of other people.”

Perhaps the change of subject worked because Ares began speaking.

“But didn’t you love me?”

“I mean the twenty-four-year-old me.”

“Didn’t you say you married me because it was a fateful love?”

His tone was calm.

But Herina was the only one who felt nervous.

“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“I was wondering if all adults are like that.”

“As someone who has only lived for seventeen years, I don’t understand that kind of feeling.”

“If the person I loved suddenly became young, I don’t think I could act so calmly.”

Ares’s dark eyes stared directly at her.

His young eyes held an emotion that had never been there before.

Seeing it, Herina felt a strange jolt in her heart and had to take a breath.

“Adults really are difficult to understand.”

“There is a lot I can learn from you.”

Herina was flustered for a moment.

Then she laughed awkwardly.

“I’m just good at understanding situations quickly.”

“Do you really think this is easy for me?”

“Just think of me as someone who is good at solving problems.”

Herina quickly made an excuse.

Fortunately, Ares seemed to accept her explanation.