Frederick, who was previously angry and agitated, was now worried and at a loss for words.
“Why don’t you subtly look into it?” As Aiden remained silent, Frederick paced back and forth, visibly unsettled.
“Just try explaining it again.”
Aiden seemed to only half-listen to Frederick, his mind elsewhere. “The Duke of Lienster!” Frederick called out with sudden authority, but Aiden’s response remained polite with an indifferent expression.
Frustrated, Frederick spoke earnestly to Aiden. “You be careful too.” Confused, Aiden replied, “…?”
“Even if I think I know everything, I realize I’m someone who doesn’t know and have thoughts that I can’t even guess,” Frederick warned solemnly, looking at Aiden.
“Don’t get overconfident thinking that you know everything, or you’ll be taken aback later.”
“…”
Aiden couldn’t help but take in every word now. No matter how long he had been watching by his side, no matter how confident he was in his understanding… there were things he didn’t know.
People were always changing in every moment, and there were aspects of them that he didn’t know. Erin was likely the same.
***
When Erin returned before sunset as promised, Aiden was sitting at the garden table, perusing some documents while waiting for her.
Deliberately creeping up behind Aiden, Erin playfully wrapped her arms around him. “Aiden, I’m back.” She embraced him tightly.
“Welcome back.” As if Aiden had known that Erin was approaching from the start, he naturally turned his head and greeted her by kissing her on the face.
Erin glanced at the document Aiden had been looking at. “The Earl of Charte?”
“Yeah. We met today to discuss something. Erin mentioned she also invested in the Earl of Charte.”
“Ah.”
Erin was momentarily tense but quickly responded nonchalantly. In reality, the reason for investing in the Earl of Charte’s business was the original manuscript.
The Earl of Charte’s main business was in trading. The spices they would be importing on their new route would ultimately yield substantial profits.
However, before that, they face financial peril after being plundered by pirates on their maiden voyage.
In the original manuscript, Aiden actively stepped in to assist the Earl of Charte, which was why Erin had invested in his business.
Just in case the Earl faced a crisis, she had invested beforehand to ensure Aiden wouldn’t need to help. As a result, she had also invested in the Earl of Charte’s business.
“Erin, have you invested elsewhere, or was it only an additional investment in the Earl of Charte?”
“Hmm? I did invest in another one, but…”
She couldn’t admit that she did so to preemptively block any possibility of Aiden getting involved with the Earl of Charte, as it played out in the original manuscript.
“So Erin, why are you so anxious?”
Erin responded directly. “Could it be because of me?”
She had a hunch. Whenever Aiden showed this kind of behavior, there was usually only one reason – herself.
Furthermore, she distinctly saw Aiden flinch at her question. However, she couldn’t quite grasp the exact reason for Aiden’s anxiety concerning her. Yet, she always responded sensitively to Aiden’s emotions. This time was no different.
Aiden also knew that Erin had noticed. Pretending otherwise would be futile.
“Don’t think so little of yourself.”
“Do you really think so?”
Aiden’s lips slowly curved at Erin’s affectionate words.
“I went to the Royal Palace today and ran into Claire Hertis there.”
“Really? I also met her at the boutique.”
“How was she?” Aiden asked.
“Claire Hertis? Well… she didn’t seem to have changed much since the last time I saw her. But there was a subtly different atmosphere about her.”
Erin recalled her impression of Claire Hertis.
“When I last saw her, we were all quite young. She seems to have matured and her eyes seem to shine brighter than before. It was a change that I can’t quite describe in words.
It’s as if she has a peculiar aura around her, maybe from experiencing various aspects of the world. It seems like a natural change, as nothing remains unchanged while exploring different worlds.”
Aiden, pondering Erin’s words, finally spoke up, “Before I went there today, it seems they had a disagreement about marriage.”
“Did Claire Hertis leave on another trip?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aiden said as if he couldn’t know.
At that moment, a certain possibility crossed Erin’s mind.
“Could it be… a divorce?” Erin cautiously asked.
“Well, I don’t think so, but it’s the worst-case scenario,” Aiden said, even though he mentioned it as the worst possibility, the fact that he had entertained such a thought was quite surprising.
“Then it’s a really serious issue. Frederick and Claire’s relationship goes way back.
Even before Erin and Aiden got married, the two were engaged, and everyone naturally assumed they would get married. If there is a change in this relationship, it will undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.”
“We don’t know why Claire Hertis is hesitating about marriage.”
“Yeah.”
Three years ago, when Claire first expressed her desire to go on a trip, despite everyone’s opposition, Frederick was the only one who supported her decision.
During this time, there were numerous pressures for Claire to come back, but Frederick patiently waited for her without wavering.So, Erin also did not doubt that they would get married once Claire Hertis returned.
“But today Frederick said something strange,” Aiden muttered.
Erin tried to ignore it, but she couldn’t help but feel that Frederick’s words kept lingering in her mind.
“The more you think you know someone, the less you actually do, and assuming you know everything,” Erin suddenly recalled the moment when she had mentioned divorce. There was nothing she could do to hold on to Erin, as she could leave at any time.
Before Aiden could say anything, Erin’s expression became serious.
“So, Frederick is feeling insecure,” Erin opened her mouth, with a meaningful look in her eyes as she glanced at Aiden.
“Well, if she’s been traveling for 3 years, she’s probably changed even more than before,” Aiden said.
During her travels, Claire would have seen and experienced many things, and she would likely be different from the person Frederick knew.”
“However, as long as Frederick and Claire’s feelings for each other remain unchanged, there shouldn’t be any major problems,” Erin said, not overly worried about the two of them.
“I guess so,” Aiden nodded in agreement. Even though there might be conflicts at the moment, the likelihood of it leading to a divorce was extremely slim. Therefore, it wasn’t a problem that needed immediate concern.
“The important thing right now is…” Erin began, looking at Aiden as if guessing.
“By the way, is it because of something Frederick said?” Aiden’s eyelids flickered at Erin’s question.
Aiden’s anxiety had grown as he overlapped Erin’s situation with Frederick and Claire’s. The seed of that anxiety was likely from Erin bringing up divorce.
Erin silently looked at Aiden, as if gaining certainty from Aiden’s earnest expression. Erin wanted to give Aiden assurance.
Erin’s lips slowly parted. “But what should we do?”
“…?”
“I’m not all that Aiden knows.”
Erin’s meaningful words made Aiden’s eyes flicker.
“You still have a lot more to learn about me, don’t you think?”
Erin said provocatively.
“Even if I leave, there’s only one thing I’ll take with me anyway.”
Aiden’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
It was when he tried to figure out Erin’s intention and stared deeply into her eyes.
“If I take my husband, nothing else matters.
Wherever I go, I’ll definitely take him by force.”
Erin spoke harshly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“…It has to be like that.”
It was when Erin, with a twinkle in her eye, was about to pull Aiden close in a possessive manner.
At that moment, Erin’s body floated up.
Aiden swiftly lifted Erin up.
“Let’s go.”
Erin, without hesitation, wrapped her arms around Aiden’s shoulders.
“This will be quite an extraordinary day.”
Erin smiled as she hugged Aiden tighter and said, “I’ll make it like that.”
Aiden grinned and replied, “I’ll make it happen.”
The two of them then headed to the bedroom.
