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Chapter 10
Avelio rubbed his chin as if he was genuinely curious.
Richard responded without any change in his expression.
“Who knows? I was curious about that myself. There wasn’t any particular problem with our transactions.”
“Perhaps you don’t know because there was a problem that happened without your knowledge.”
Avelio continued with a faint smile.
“Wouldn’t it also be your responsibility to make sure that an even better business partner doesn’t appear?”
For a brief moment, a sharp glint appeared in Richard’s eyes. But it was so fleeting that Aileen wondered if she had imagined it.
By the time she looked again, Richard had already erased that expression and spoke with a gentle smile.
“Thank you for the advice, Brother.”
“It’s nothing worth thanking me for. Anyway, I should be leaving now. It’s getting late. Ah, that’s right.”
As Avelio turned to leave, he looked at Aileen. Her body stiffened slightly at the sudden attention.
Avelio took out the return gift prepared for the guests from inside his coat and lightly waved it toward her.
“I’ll be taking the return gift with me, Duchess.”
“……I hope you liked it. Then please return safely.”
At Aileen’s formal farewell, Avelio smiled faintly. Then he turned around and left the reception hall.
The Third Prince Ludwig also gave Richard and Aileen a slight nod before following after him and disappearing.
For some reason, Aileen couldn’t take her eyes off his retreating figure.
“Aileen?”
“……It’s nothing.”
When Richard called her name, Aileen shook her head.
After that, the two of them moved to bring the unusually long reception to an end.
❧ ❧ ❧
After all the guests had left, the servants began cleaning up the reception hall.
After seeing off every guest, Aileen left the remaining work to the servants and went to look for someone.
“Sister!”
At that moment, Adrian spotted her and ran over.
Aileen gently stroked Adrian’s head as he hugged her.
“I’m sorry, Adrian. It must have been hard being alone, right?”
“Mm…… It was a little hard.”
Adrian rubbed his face against Aileen’s arms and complained softly. Feeling sorry for him, Aileen hugged him even tighter.
Even after Aileen appeared, there were people who continued whispering loudly as if they wanted her to hear.
Although Adrian had hidden so that he wouldn’t stand out, he must have heard them clearly.
Thinking about Adrian, who must have been hurt by their words at such a young age, made Aileen’s heart ache. Even more than when she herself heard people insulting her.
Perhaps understanding Aileen’s feelings, Adrian lifted his head and smiled brightly.
“But it was okay. I scolded the people who insulted you, Sister!”
“You scolded them?”
“Yes! ……In my heart. If Sister hadn’t told me to stay still, I would have really scolded them!”
Adrian spoke in a dissatisfied voice. His cute expression made Aileen laugh without realizing it.
“Aileen.”
At that moment, Richard returned after briefly going outside with the butler.
He glanced at Adrian, then turned his gaze back to Aileen.
“It is late at night. Leave the cleanup to the servants and let us return to the main building.”
“You’re right. Let’s do that.”
Aileen headed toward the main building with Adrian so he could go to sleep. Of course, Richard accompanied them.
Throughout the walk to the main building, Adrian kept glaring suspiciously at Richard standing beside Aileen. Whenever their clothes accidentally brushed against each other, Adrian squeezed himself between them.
Eventually, they arrived at the main building together, and the Walker siblings parted ways with Richard to go to their respective bedrooms.
First, Aileen took Adrian to his bedroom. While the maids helped Adrian change out of his clothes, Aileen also changed into a more comfortable dress behind the partition.
When she came out, Adrian was sitting on the bed and yawning widely.
“Are you tired?”
“Yeees……”
Adrian rubbed his eyes and answered. Sleepiness filled his voice.
Aileen laid Adrian down on the bed and covered him with the blanket. Adrian blinked as if he would fall asleep at any moment, then spoke.
“Sister, please give me a goodnight kiss……”
Even though he was already ten years old, he still acted like a child. Aileen let out a small laugh and kissed his forehead as he wished.
“Sleep well, my little brother.”
As if those words were some kind of magic spell, Adrian quickly fell asleep.
A happy smile remained on his face.
Watching him made Aileen feel sleepy as well.
She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a silent yawn when the maid who had been standing quietly behind her approached.
“My lady, you should also retire to your room.”
“Yes, I should.”
Aileen stood up and walked toward her bedroom. The maid walked ahead while holding a lantern so Aileen could see clearly in the darkness.
However, the place the maid led Aileen to was not her bedroom.
It was a completely different room.
“This isn’t my bedroom.”
“Because my lady had her wedding ceremony today.”
Aileen tilted her head.
Had her room been changed because of that?
While she was still wondering, the maid spoke mysteriously before disappearing.
“Then, I hope you have a pleasant time.”
Aileen watched the light of the lantern disappear into the distance, then turned her gaze toward the door.
The double doors looked far too grand to be a bedroom meant for her alone. Something felt strange, but because she was so sleepy, she decided to enter first.
The interior of the bedroom was neatly arranged.
However, there was a strange atmosphere about it.
Especially because the room was decorated here and there with red fabric, making it seem almost like……
“Have you arrived?”
A sudden voice made Aileen jump and turn around.
Standing there was Richard, dressed in comfortable clothes.
It seemed he had just finished washing, as he shook his hair dry with a towel. Then he looked at Aileen, who was frozen in place, with a puzzled expression.
“Aileen?”
“W-why are you here……”
She was so flustered that she couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Although it was an unfinished question, Richard seemed to understand what she meant and answered.
“Because this is our room.”
“Our…… room?”
“Yes. Did you think a married couple would sleep in separate rooms?”
Of course, she had thought so.
Although Aileen and Richard were husband and wife, their relationship was nothing more than a contractual one.
When Aileen silently admitted that was what she had thought, Richard laughed slightly in disbelief.
“No one besides us knows about the contract. If we want to avoid suspicion, shouldn’t we at least act like a married couple in front of others?”
“Even so…… but……”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of demanding marital duties from you.”
The thing Aileen had been worried about was denied directly by Richard.
But somehow, she couldn’t completely relax because she felt embarrassed.
As Aileen only lowered her head with a flushed face, Richard let out a small laugh.
Where had the confident woman from earlier gone?
At times like this, it was obvious that she truly had no experience with love.
“Let’s go to sleep. Or perhaps, are you planning to make more mana stones tonight as well?”
“No. We’re both tired today, so let’s skip it. I’ll just…… go remove my jewelry for a moment.”
Aileen sat down in front of the dressing table inside the bedroom and looked into the mirror.
In one corner of the mirror, Richard’s reflection could be seen watching her.
Trying not to be conscious of him, she removed her necklace and earrings one by one.
When she reached for the butterfly-shaped ornament holding her tied-up hair in place, she felt someone approach from behind.
“I’ll remove it for you.”
Before Aileen could react, Richard carefully removed the hair ornament from her head.
His touch was as gentle as if he were handling a child.
But his actions didn’t end there.
Richard suddenly picked up a comb and began gently brushing Aileen’s long hair.
Aileen stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror.
“You don’t have to do this much……”
“As your contract partner, consider this a service meaning that I hope we can work well together from now on.”
Richard spoke playfully, and Aileen let out a small laugh.
They were both contract partners and husband and wife.
Aileen was a little confused about how she should treat Richard.
But Richard had told her first.
That they were contract partners to each other.
Although it was a statement that clearly drew a line between them, strangely enough, it made her feel more comfortable.
She felt that she would be able to treat him more casually from now on.
When Richard stopped brushing her hair, Aileen stood up.
Richard pointed toward the bed and spoke.
“I specially ordered the largest bed so neither of us would be uncomfortable. If you wish, I can even stack pillows in the middle.”
Aileen looked at the bed.
It was wide enough for four or five adults to lie down on.
As long as neither of them rolled around too much, they should be able to sleep comfortably.
“I think that much won’t be necessary.”
“Then sleep wherever you prefer.”
Aileen hesitated before slowly walking toward the side near the window.
The distance between the bed and the window was quite far, so moonlight did not reach there.
Almost at the same time she moved, Richard walked to the opposite side and lay down on the bed.
Aileen glanced at him, then carefully climbed onto the bed without pulling the blanket covering him.
“Then, sleep well.”
“You too, Richard.”
After Aileen’s reply, silence filled the room.
However, Aileen couldn’t fall asleep easily.
She had definitely been sleepy before entering this room, but now her eyes were wide awake.
It wasn’t because she felt particularly nervous about the situation.
It was simply unfamiliar.
She had always slept alone or held Adrian in her arms while sleeping.
She had never imagined lying in the same bed with a grown man.
She closed her eyes and stayed still, but sleep never came.
Eventually, Aileen turned onto her side and looked outside the window.
Perhaps because the weather was good, the stars in the night sky were shining brighter than usual.
Looking at the beautiful sky, Aileen felt a strange emotion.
How long had it been since she had been able to look up at the sky without worry?
Because she had lived so busily until now, she never had the time to admire the sky.
Even when she occasionally looked up, tears had always made it difficult to truly appreciate it.
She still hadn’t paid off all her debts, but there was a difference between hope being far away and hope being right in front of her.
She felt much more at ease.
‘I want to show Adrian this too.’
But she couldn’t wake a sleeping child, so she decided to wait until another time.
Should she take him on a picnic someday?
“Can’t you sleep?”
At that moment, a voice she thought belonged to someone asleep reached her ears.
Aileen unknowingly turned around.
Her eyes met Richard’s golden eyes.
