Chapter 25
There were two things Aileen hated most in the world.
Being pitied and breaking others’ expectations.
Aileen glanced swiftly around and confirmed there were no servants nearby.
Then, suddenly, she took off her shoes and began tearing apart the ruffles of her dress.
Floran stared at his wife with a stiff, puzzled expression, clearly taken aback by her bizarre behavior.
“…What on earth are you doing…?”
His usually calm and confident smile was for the first time replaced by a pale face, clearly surprised.
“I thought it’d be impossible to walk through the forest like this. You’re wearing pants, and with your long legs, it’s easy for you. But wearing heels and a dress to walk—there’s a limit, isn’t there? Well, the only person who’ll see this is you, my husband.”
“Still—”
“What choice do I have? I hate giving up more than anything in this world. Back in the day, hiking was a hobby of mine, so if I’m serious about it, this is nothing.”
She tossed her heels aside and ripped her skirt up to her knees, gaining mobility.
Now she could move much faster than before.
Like stretching, she placed her leg on a broken tree stump.
Then, swinging her arms briskly like elderly folks on a power walk, she quickened her pace and walked ahead of Floran.
He watched her from behind with a blank expression.
“Floran! There’s a stream here, it’s clean, so it should be safe to drink, right?”
Aileen went ahead, found the stream, and quenched her thirst. Floran was speechless and quietly covered his mouth with his hand.
Seeing his surprised smile, it was clear he was caught completely off guard by her unexpected behavior.
At that moment, the coachman driving the empty carriage asked Dalton, the assistant to the Southern Duke sitting beside him.
“By the way, why does His Grace the Duke make things difficult for himself? He’s not deliberately chasing after the Duchess… He’s not that type of person. So why walk farther around instead of taking the carriage the shorter route?”
Indeed, it was a lie that taking the carriage would require days to go around.
Dalton sighed deeply and replied to the coachman’s question.
“How should I know what’s on His Grace’s mind? I don’t know either—we can’t read his mind. Sometimes I still don’t understand his intentions. Honestly, I just follow orders. He suddenly appeared one day and said he would become the Southern Duke.”
“Does Her Grace the Duchess know about this?”
“Probably not. If she knew his true identity… well, it would be like the story of ‘Bluebeard.’”
Floran followed behind with his hands clasped behind his back, holding the shoes Aileen had discarded. He watched her confident stride with a mysterious smile, his thoughts unreadable.
After walking far ahead, Aileen glanced back occasionally to ask for directions or wait for Floran.
They walked for hours.
Without showing any signs of fatigue, Floran asked her,
“Aileen, aren’t you tired?”
“Tired? The roots are uneven and the forest is thick, but since there are no hills and I’m walking barefoot, it’s actually really nice.”
“I’ve never seen a lady walk barefoot on dirt before.”
Aileen was definitely different from the typical noble ladies Floran knew.
An ordinary woman would have sat down in a huff or started crying, or refused to get off the carriage, not wanting her dress and shoes ruined.
This woman was definitely different.
But exactly how?
Floran furrowed his brow, unsettled that he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“Your Grace, take a look in the mirror sometime. Sometimes your expression gets really fierce.”
Dalton’s words suddenly came to mind, so Floran quickly composed himself and looked at Aileen cautiously, worried she might have noticed.
Fortunately, she seemed oblivious and shrugged.
“That’s what everyone says. I’m the first woman like me they’ve ever met.”
“Besides me, who else?”
“Who else? The Northern Duke.”
“Did Perstain really say that?”
“Yes. He looked me straight in the eye and said something like, ‘You’re the first woman like this I’ve ever met,’ and I almost cringed.”
“Cringed? What do you mean?”
“Don’t you have an expression like that here? It means it’s so cheesy and overwhelming that your hands and feet sort of curl up like this. Like—oh, come here.”
Aileen grabbed Floran’s hand and pulled him down to squat on the ground.
She lightly touched a mimosa plant.
As the leaves began to curl up from her touch, Floran smiled softly, finally understanding the meaning of her expression.
“Comparing it to a mimosa curling up—that’s an interesting way to put it.”
With a languid tone, he also reached out and tapped the nearby mimosa.
Aileen felt shy, as if Floran’s touch was directed at her, not the plant.
‘Did I just project myself onto the mimosa?’ she wondered, shaking her head to clear her thoughts and suddenly jumping to her feet.
This wasn’t like her.
She’d had her fill of handsome men. Handsome guys live up to their looks.
Whether they’re cold or warm, you have to be cautious either way.
“Aileen?”
“……”
“Aileen? Why are you acting like that all of a sudden? Are you sick—”
“……”
Floran had no idea that inside Aileen’s head, her rational and irrational selves were fighting over handsome men.
Worried she might be feeling unwell, Floran reached out and placed his hand on her forehead.
“You don’t have a fever. But if it’s dizziness—”
“Hic.”
Maybe she really had projected herself onto the mimosa.
Startled, Aileen pulled back quickly and covered Floran’s hand with hers.
“……”
“……”
At that exact moment, a crow’s caw echoed sharply through the dense forest.
The situation was awkward.
“I made a mistake. Sorry for touching you suddenly, ma’am.”
“No, it’s not that—I’m not sick. I’m so healthy that my reflexes act on their own. Oh hoho. Walking barefoot has made my senses sharper—or so it feels—oh hohoho.”
It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d ever met a man after living in a women-only world all her life. So why make such a fuss just because someone touched her forehead?
Maybe because they were alone together in the vast forest.
Why was she behaving like a wooden puppet all of a sudden?
“You should try walking barefoot too. The feel of dirt under bare feet is nicer than you think.”
Aileen began explaining her philosophy of barefoot walking in a long-winded way.
Floran quietly watched her chatter.
“…Why?”
Why was this man always so serious as his default? When she asked with a slight edge, Floran smiled gently, then took off his shoes and began walking barefoot as well.
“As you said, walking barefoot isn’t so bad.”
“…See?”
“Shall we continue?”
“Yes, good. But how long are we going to keep walking? Will we get to eat dinner?”
At that, Floran burst out laughing—something she wasn’t used to seeing.
Aileen looked up at him, puzzled.
“No matter what happens, I won’t let you go hungry, so don’t worry.”
…Why was the promise of not going hungry so exciting?
But by evening, they still hadn’t reached the village.
“Ah, I think we took the wrong path, Aileen.”
“Eh?!”
“I guess we’ll have to spend the night here.”
Wait, what’s this guy—?
