Chapter 44

'There's nothing worth kicking out for."

Aria stopped her tears and stared at the closed door.

Her feelings of disappointment did not last long. She's easily provoked by sensibilities, but that doesn't mean she's swayed.

As long as she wasn't brimming with ill feelings to the point of revenge, she didn't have any regrets about the past.

'More than that….'

Sabina and her were left alone. She had a lot of questions.

Although unfortunately all the questions were something Aria couldn't ask.

Then Sabina said, stroking Aria's hair gently.

"From now on, please pour out a lot of cursing. If you hit because you were born needlessly strong, it will only hurt your fist."

Cursing?

Aria instantly recalled the swear words she had learned from Lloyd.

'You're a bastard that's killing me... '

No, that's a bit.

'Should I really do it?'

She was in agony.

"It's okay, it's okay. No matter how badly I acted like a jerk, it's only for my husband and my sons."

At Sabina's words, Aria couldn't hold back for a moment and almost burst out laughing.

Biting her lip, she desperately held back.

Then, as if she shouldn't, Sabina pulled the bitten lip between her teeth with a stern expression on her face.

"Laugh if you want to laugh."

"….."

"You can do whatever you feel like."

Aria rolled her eyes.

'Do whatever I feel like?'

It was a difficult request for Aria. Sabina was telling her to express her feelings.

The corners of Aria's lips raised, like a habit.

But Sabina said 'Oho', sternly, and pinched her cheek.

"Don't smile like that."

She was caught. Aria was genuinely surprised.

She sometimes forced herself to laugh, but no one noticed it.

"You don't have to look good to me, so just mess around like a kid. Just like my sons."

Aria remembered Lloyd and Vincent, who were messing around like a child.

'Neither of them are affectionate, but they're really a mess.'

A smile like the wind blew out.

Then Sabina smiled happily at her and hugged her tightly.

"Yes, like that."

As Sabina said, it was very difficult for Aria to act like a child.

It just became a habit. Hiding emotions, swallowing, smiling.

'The Grand Duke must have said something similar to me.'

He said she can cry if her heart permits. It's okay to laugh and it's okay to get angry.

'How can I say what I feel?'

No one cared about how she felt.

Even her followers, who fell at Aria's feet, didn't want to know if she was happy or in pain.

'As expected, do couples resemble each other?

Saying that, she had no choice but to hug Sabina. Aria crouched, blushing, and hugged Sabina's back tightly.

"It's okay to tell me your secrets, if you can afford it."

And at Sabina's next words, her shoulders trembled. It was the answer to a question she kept wondering, but couldn't ask directly.

"If you have a little secret, no one will blame you, no one."

Aria raised her head in Sabina's arms.

"Isn't that right, Spring Fairy?"

Then Sabina kissed her on the forehead and smiled softly.

'As expected.'

Sabina knew it from the beginning.

Aria's identity.

***

"You got kicked out."

Tristan pulled out a cigarette and muttered.

Lloyd, who was treated like the Grand Duke and was forcibly kicked out, frowned.

"I'll just go."

"Why?"

"….."

Was he asking because he doesn't know?

"Because I don't want to talk to you anymore."

The boy turned his back without regret. As if he didn't deem it worthy of dealing with Tristan.

Tristan then lit a cigarette and burst into laughter.

"Venting your anger is meaningless."

Meaningless?

This wouldn't have happened if the Grand Duke didn't say useless things in the first place.

But Lloyd admitted it. The root cause is in himself.

'Regret' was it?

Lloyd obviously regretted it. For the first time since birth.

If it was possible to turn back time, he would gladly do so.

'Why…..'

Why so far?

The boy questioned himself.

'What is with me.'

From the first time they met, he didn't know.

It would be more accurate to say that he couldn't take his eyes off. As if something is still stuck, as if something is missing.

'Because of the unpleasant sensation of knowing and knowing nothing in the end.'

The sensation was similar to that felt when seeing a traitor or detecting a dangerous person.

So when Lloyd saw Aria for the first time, he misunderstood his senses and almost killed her. Though he knew it wasn't like that now.

'Being too blind.'

Is it sane to say that it is okay to crush her hand because it's Lloyd?

'What do I say?'

He had no memory of doing anything to the child that would have meant that much.

Rather, it was Tristan, not Lloyd, who should be thanked by Aria.

'Oh, come to think of it.'

She obviously said so.

She said she wanted to bring back the happiness that the person who saved her could have enjoyed. At the time, he couldn't understand what she was talking about.

'Isn't that person the one who saved you?

Lloyd stared intently at his own father. It was a gloomy gaze that gently oozed a threatening aura.

Tristan exhaled his smoke slowly and smiled strangely.

"You seem to have something to say."

"To that child…"

The boy licked his lips as if hesitating for a moment, then wrinkled his eyebrows and spoke.

"...what did you do?"

"What did I do?"

"Rescue, as you might hear."

Hoo.

Tristan raised his eyebrows as if in surprise, and he answered gently. Because it looked interesting.

"I gave her advice."

"Are you talking about counseling…?"

You?

Lloyd couldn't believe that at all, so he glanced at Dwayne. Then Dwayne replied sullenly.

"Well, you can call it counseling."

Even though he said that he would rip the mouth, pluck out the eyes, or cut out the wrist during the consultation.

"Yes. He said he'd absolutely be on her side."

Was that what it meant? Dwayne was full of doubts, but the listener was moved anyway, so he convinced himself that it was.

"Then they ate."

"A meal?"

It sounds like she hadn't eaten properly before then.

Lloyd asked urgently.

"You mean she couldn't even eat properly?"

He knew her body was weaker than the average, but he didn't expect it to be that much. Then Tristan clicked his tongue as if Lloyd didn't know that before.

"The only things she can eat are soups, drinks, and candy, and even that, she vomited after eating the normal amount."

"….."

He didn't know that. He had no choice but to be so.

Until he went to the academy, Lloyd had no other thought but to kick out Aria.

'A child who will soon disappear anyway.'

He didn't even care.

He gave her a fountain pen to replace the broken quill and ordered her to eat dessert before he left.

She said marshmallows were delicious, so he thought she would like them.

Not knowing that Aria could hardly even eat dessert in those days.

'I have given my authority….'

Although it was definitely impulsive. There was absolutely no need for it, but Lloyd himself didn't know why.

"Other than that, I took care of the other things that seemed necessary and the things that seemed annoying."

Tristan mumbled, 'Hmm, that kid deserves like me,' he nodded, convincing himself.

If it was left as it is, he looked like he would brag by taking out all of the cards that he robbed from Aria.

'Therefore….'

Lloyd was deep in thought.

The Grand Duke spoke only of things that would normally be called rescue.

It was Tristan who had saved her in the first place from her biological father, Count Cortez.

'That's why she decided to marry me in order to repay the favor to the Grand Duke.'

So helping Vincent not get kicked out, and so does following Lloyd so blindly.

'Now I understand.'

At the same time, he felt very dirty. It was as if he had been drowning in mud. More so because he didn't know why he had to feel that way.

'We're going to get divorced when we're an adult anyway.'

What is the purpose of a contract marriage?

Aria wants to repay the favor.

Lloyd couldn't leave Aria alone, who would always come back from where she was, hurt.

That was enough for him. Their interests would be mutually satisfied.

"That's what I want to ask you."

It was then that Tristan spoke.

"Ariadne Cortez."

"….."

"Everything has flowed positively since the child came, as if trying to show hope in this rotten reality."

Two men with the surname Valentine never believed in miracles. When there is a cause, there is also an effect.

Cherry blossoms bloom twice in spring.

Sabina's illness is also getting better.

Suddenly, a holy thing that they didn't even know existed helped Vincent.

It was also an accidental opportunity to sweep the gutter that used to be a thorn in the eye.

Obviously, it wasn't a blessing from God, it was the result of someone else's creation.

"I'm sure you must have guessed, too."

The cause is Aria.

The Grand Duke said so.

Ahhh is this the start of a long-standing misunderstanding?? Like Lloyd didn't think Aria cared for him and only does it for Tristan?? Not the other way around?? Aaaaaa.