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Chapter 13
“Not bad.”
Aster murmured as he read the newspaper article.
Skimming through the same article printed in a different newspaper,
Lauren nodded in agreement.
When he had kicked the table while ranting about money, she had thought everything was ruined, but it seemed his intimidation tactic had worked splendidly.
Clearly, a certain degree of reign by terror was necessary.
“The photo turned out quite well, too.”
Reti, who had been peering into the newspaper with a fascinated expression, looked up and smiled.
Hearing Reti’s words, Lauren forced her gaze toward the photograph she had been trying to avoid.
Leaning against Aster, she was looking down with a relaxed, gentle smile on her face.
She hadn’t realized she was making such an expression. For some reason, her cheeks flushed warm.
“I’d really appreciate it if you could dress like this at least whenever you have external schedules.
It’s such a waste of a face like yours.” “What?” “Nothing, sir. Nothing at all.”
Looking at Aster, who was still dressed in his usual comfortable shirt and trousers, Reti lamented.
When Aster narrowed his eyes at him, Reti nonchalantly played it off as if it were no big deal.
Aster let out a breath and chuckled dryly, but he didn’t reprimand Reti or show any real irritation.
To think that a man like this was called a murderous demon—it was completely unbelievable. Watching Reti avert his eyes, Lauren let out a soft laugh.
“Don’t worry, Reti. From now on, he’ll have to wear them whether he likes it or not.” “What on earth is that supposed to mean?” “Is that really true?”
The moment Lauren finished her sentence, their voices overlapped. Aster looked annoyed, while Reti seemed thrilled.
“Now that we’ve shown the public this side of him, he’ll have to dress up whenever he attends official events with me in the future, even if he hates it. It’s even written right here in this article: ‘What is clear is the fact that Aster Lilywood has changed since his marriage.’”
Tsk. Aster clicked his tongue fiercely. Lauren found even that entertaining. On the surface, Aster seemed to have a sharp temper and the demeanor of an untameable rogue, but in truth, he was not like that at all. Though it had only been about two months since she entered the ducal castle, working, studying, and spending almost every waking moment together had allowed Lauren to come to know him well. Perhaps because of that, she was no longer as frightened of him as she used to be.
“The first time is always the hardest; the second time will be easy.”
Speaking in a sing-song voice to Aster, who was leaning back against the long sofa while roughly sweeping his hair back, Lauren turned her attention back to the newspaper. Aster, who had softly leaned his head toward Lauren in the photo, had a faint smile carved onto his lips, and his gaze directed at her was soft. Indeed, a man capable of making such an expression couldn’t possibly be a bad person. Those rumors were undoubtedly mistaken. Lauren raised her hand and carefully stroked Aster’s black-and-white image in the paper. Knowing that she was one of the very few people who knew this side of him somehow made her heart flutter just a little.
“I should call Jasmine, Aster. Why don’t you take this opportunity to have a few suits made for yourself as well?” “I will contact her right away!”
Somehow, Reti seemed even more excited than anyone else. His light footsteps as he exited the office almost looked as though he were dancing. Aster rested his hand against his forehead and sighed.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that guy so excited.”
Aster grumbled, asking if she really had to go that far. Though his tone was discontented, he wasn’t genuinely angry. By now, she could tell that much at a single glance. The laughter she had been trying hard to swallow leaked out. Aster’s dark, settled green eyes turned toward her.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” “I’m sorry. But even if you dislike it, there’s no helping it. The photo has already been printed in the newspaper.” “I know.”
Aster answered curtly, the corners of his lips twisting. Now that such a grand article had been published, the Emperor would surely summon him soon. At the very least, he needed to be properly dressed by then. As Lauren had said, he had to show that he had changed. The ‘Murderous Demon’ who used to show up to official events in a mere shirt and chill the atmosphere now had to at least look like a proper human being.
The gesture of his hand sweeping through his golden hair was rough. Inside his wardrobe hung only a few old informal suits and, at best, the knighthood ceremonial uniform he had worn after the war. Taking this chance to prepare proper formal attire wouldn’t be a bad idea. But even knowing that, he still didn’t feel inclined toward it. Doing things he wasn’t used to just wasn’t his style.
Even so. Lowering his head, Aster gripped the hair he had been sweeping back. He bit his lip hard, draining the color until it turned pale white. It wasn’t that he disliked the changes Lauren brought. Even though he shouldn’t feel this way.
“Aster?” “No, it’s nothing.”
Calling his name as if to check on his state, Aster offered a smile to assure Lauren he was fine. Because it was forced, it ended up turning into a bitter smile, but Lauren merely tilted her head slightly, offering no further comment.
Even though they were married, it was purely out of mutual necessity. What Lauren and Aster ultimately wanted was freedom. She had escaped her uncle’s clutches, and Aster had been able to free himself from the Emperor’s pressure to marry. That was enough. He understood it well in his head. He didn’t know how others lived, but at least there was no need for them to cling to each other and whisper sweet nothings like his parents used to do. In the first place, he didn’t even really understand what love was.
The reason his eyes kept straying to her was simply because she was excessively competent. He liked competent people. That was why he kept Jasmine, Calvin, Reti, and Garnet close by his side. Once they were no longer needed, he intended to cast them aside. After all, he was an unruly ‘Murderous Demon,’ so no one would dare voice a complaint against him anyway.
The people Aster kept close for important matters were only those who had been with him for a long time or those to whom he had entrusted his back on the battlefield. Perhaps because of that, there was an absolute lack of people skilled in administrative affairs. Aster’s gaze shifted toward Lauren, who was focused on the documents. Her light violet eyes sparkled as if she was so delighted to review the paperwork that she couldn’t help herself. A fountain pen that looked far too rugged for her delicate hand danced across the paper.
She truly was competent. She grasped problems just by briefly skimming through documents, and her methods of resolving them were rational. She was precisely the person he needed right now. She was certainly someone too valuable to lose.
Therefore, he was merely playing along.
Aster thought to himself as he looked down at the newspaper.
“A visitor has arrived, My Lady. A guest who came without an appointment.”
Guests visiting the ducal residence were extremely rare. Even when there were visitors, they were usually merchants supplying food ingredients or daily necessities, or vassals coming to report on the state of the territory. However, since they usually returned after meeting with Calvin or Reti, they couldn’t truly be called guests visiting the duke and duchess. In the first place, it was no exaggeration to say there were no guests who would seek out Aster, surrounded by rumors of being a ‘Murderous Demon,’ or Lauren, who did not step out into social circles.
Yet Calvin had deliberately come to the office. Lauren raised her head and looked at Calvin. Irritation was heavily evident on his usually gentle face. It was rare for Calvin to express his emotions so openly like this.
“Did they not reveal who they are?” “They only insist that they must meet you, My Lady. They said you would regret it if I failed to guide them in.”
Nodding at Calvin, who said he had temporarily guided the visitor to the drawing room, Lauren rose from her seat. Who on earth could have come? No one came to mind.
Guiding Lauren, Calvin knocked on the drawing room door. Hearing the voice of the guest inside, who sounded quite rushed, Lauren flinched slightly and took a step back. The person waiting for her beyond the door was someone she knew all too well.
“Lauren!” “……Delania.”
The person who abruptly stood up from her seat the moment she saw Lauren was her cousin. Come to think of it, even at the Baron Sears residence, which was located quite far from the capital, they used to receive newspapers from the capital, even if it took a little time.
When Lauren lived at the baron’s residence, it was to stay informed of news from the capital. Her uncle had continued to receive the newspapers just to show off to others, even though no one actually read them.
One fact was clear: Delania Sears had seen the newspaper containing Lauren and Aster’s interview. Thinking that no one at the Sears Baronial House would read that newspaper had been naive. Life at the ducal residence had been so pleasant that she had forgotten the most important matter. Lauren clenched her fists tightly.
Realizing that the unannounced guest was an acquaintance of Lauren’s, Calvin offered a polite greeting, stating he would bring tea, and stepped back. Lauren’s frozen gaze turned toward her cousin. Delania, whose deep chestnut hair—so dark it almost looked black—was braided down, smiled at Lauren. Her brown eyes glinted with a strange ferocity.
“Looks like you’ve been doing well.”
Lauren merely stared at Delania silently, biting her trembling lip. Why on earth did that girl come here? Her light violet gaze swept over her cousin. She had dressed quite extravagantly for a visit to a ducal residence. The reason her dress looked strangely familiar was likely because it originally belonged to Lauren. Of course, Delania had altered it as she pleased, leaving almost none of its original form behind.
“You’re still the same as ever. A girl who’s become a duchess, yet still wearing clothes like a governess. Isn’t being a duchess a lie, anyway?” “What are you trying to say?” “Aren’t you even going to invite me to sit down?”
Contrary to her words asking to be invited to sit, Delania plunked herself down onto the long sofa with a thud. Lauren slowly inhaled a breath. She didn’t want that girl to notice that she was shaken. Delania was sharp in all the wrong ways. That girl might already know. Lauren closed her eyes tightly before opening them, then took a seat opposite Delania.
“Do you have any idea how angry Father was because you vanished?”
Pouting her plump lips, Delania complained. Lauren knew that much without having to be told. Yet Lauren couldn’t bring herself to say anything. It was because ever since they grew up, the instances of her having a proper conversation with Delania could be counted on one hand. Delania had wanted to humiliate Lauren, who had established herself as the successor to the Baron Sears household, but Lauren, having no interest in such things, had ignored whatever Delania said.
After her parents passed away and her uncle usurped the Baron Sears title, the meaning of that dynamics shifted slightly. Everything Lauren had done up until then became completely meaningless, and Delania rejoiced in it. Taking Lauren’s dresses and jewelry and assigning her a room fit for a maidservant had all been Delania’s doing.
What was she trying to say after coming all this way now? The fact that her uncle, Trace Sears, would be furious was something Lauren, who had fled the baronial house, knew better than anyone. And precisely because she knew that, she had chosen to stand beside Aster Lilywood, the man hailed as a ‘Murderous Demon.’
“Why did you come here?” “My goodness, I’m your elder sister. Isn’t it only natural to come see my younger sister?” “Delania, get to the point.”
At Lauren’s cold, firm voice, Delania smirked.
“You really haven’t changed a bit, refusing to even accept a greeting. Shall we talk about that ‘point’ you love so much, then?”
Delania’s prettily painted lips twisted into a sneer. Leaning her upper body far across the table, Delania reached out toward Lauren. Her neatly manicured, cold fingertips tapped lightly against Lauren’s cheek.
“Thanks to you running away, things have gotten very troublesome for me, Lauren.”
Her narrowed brown eyes stared intently at Lauren.
