“It’s a relief….”
“…….”
She found herself in the odd position of inhaling his scent.
‘…What is this?’
She quickly tried to stand up, grasping his shoulders, but touched his firm build.
Her cheeks turned a deep red as she tried to pull away hastily.
“It’s dangerous. Please, stay still for a moment.”
Aachen softly wrapped his fingers around the back of her head.
The cool scent of his body naturally wafted to her nose.
Startled, Hilane couldn’t push him away and hesitated.
[Mom? What are you doing…?]
Chevelyn mumbled as she woke up, rubbing her eyes that hadn’t fully opened yet, and yawned as she stretched.
“Ah, Lyn, you’re awake. Are you still sleepy? Do you want to sleep more?”
Hilane quickly sat back down and turned her attention to Chevelyn, pulling her into her arms.
She felt like she might die from embarrassment.
This time, Aachen spoke first.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…No. Thanks to you.”
She couldn’t ignore his help, so Hilane replied with a slight movement of her lips.
“I’m glad you’re not hurt, my lady.”
Aachen smiled at Hilane.
“By the way, may I remove your veil?”
“…….”
“I thought it might be uncomfortable for you.”
Aachen’s voice, with its intermittent pauses, subtly carried a sensual tone.
As her husband, there was no issue with him removing her veil.
In fact, she should have removed it in the temple, but it was delayed due to Revan’s interruption.
‘But… was asking to remove a veil always such an embarrassing thing?’
Even after marrying Revan, he had removed her veil without asking for permission.
It felt like he was merely doing what he was supposed to do at that time.
But why did it sound different now?
“…Yes. Please, remove it.”
With Hilane’s permission, Aachen carefully pulled the veil back.
As her view cleared, her eyes met Aachen’s directly.
‘Strangely, it reminds me of that night.’
The night she spent with Lechinoa….
‘Is it because they’re twins? They don’t look that much alike… No, I don’t even remember what he looked like.’
Hilane averted her gaze from Aachen.
However, his gaze was blatant and persistent.
She could feel him watching her.
When she looked back, Aachen quickly averted his eyes as if he hadn’t been looking.
‘I’m sure he was looking at me….’
The air felt hot.
Feeling unnecessarily warm, Hilane opened the window and noticed they had arrived at the train station.
“Grand Duke. This is Robert train station.”
“We’ve already… arrived.”
As the horses gradually slowed down, Aachen responded, seeming somewhat reluctant.
* * *
Hilane looked around the train station, holding the sleeping Chevelyn.
“My lady. You can get off now.”
Elisha, who had told the coachman to move the luggage, opened the door.
Hilane gently patted Chevelyn’s shoulder.
“Look, Lyn? That’s the train we’ll be taking.”
Chevelyn stared at the train with wide eyes and an equally wide-open mouth.
[It’s bigger than Cherry! We’re taking that?]
Chevelyn slipped out of Hilane’s arms and jumped out of the carriage.
“Hold my hand… Chevelyn!”
Hilane quickly tried to grab her hand, afraid she might lose her, but Chevelyn headed toward the train.
Aachen swiftly picked up the fleeing Chevelyn.
“Princess. It’s dangerous to walk alone.”
“…….”
“Your cheeks will burst.”
Chevelyn puffed out her cheeks in defiance, looking sullen.
Aachen playfully poked her plump cheeks, a smile playing on his lips.
Despite his teasing, Chevelyn settled comfortably in his arms.
It wasn’t Hilane’s imagination; Chevelyn genuinely seemed comfortable with Aachen.
‘They really do look like father and daughter.’
As she had these thoughts, she felt both pleased and lonely.
“We should hurry. My lady, it looks like we will depart soon.”
“Oh, yes. I understand.”
Following Aachen’s words, Hillane boarded the train heading north.
“…She does resemble Lady Rachel. Report this to her.”
“Yes.”
On their way to their seats, two nobles who seemed to be pretending to read a newspaper glanced at Chevelyn.
“Let’s go quickly, Your Grace.”
“…Understood, my lady.”
Feeling a strange sense of suspicion, Hillane quickened her pace.
She felt somewhat relieved when they reached their private compartment, separated from the other passengers.
However, the conversation she overheard earlier lingered in her mind.
‘That conversation earlier wasn’t about Chevelyn, was it? It must have been a coincidence. Don’t think about it.’
Trying to shake off her unease, Hillane looked out at the scenery. Soon, the train started moving, puffing out smoke.
‘We’ve already left Peztaine.’
The speed of the train, incomparable to that of a carriage, fascinated her.
“My lady, do you feel the cold easily?”
“Hmm, yes, I do.”
With Hillane’s answer, Aachen slightly turned and stood up.
“Your Grace?”
“It will be cold in Belzette, so it would be best to change into warmer clothes now. I’ll call for your maid.”
“Oh….”
“I will step out for a moment.”
Understanding Aachen’s intention, Hillane nodded slightly.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
Aachen left the compartment and instructed Elicia, who was nearby, to bring Hillane’s dress.
* * *
Leaving the private compartment, Aachen muttered under his breath as he reached the cargo area.
“…They never tire, do they? How could they send their men even today?”
No sooner had he spoken than two men wielding daggers appeared from behind.
“So, you were the ones disguised earlier.”
They were men under Count Tiara’s command. They had followed him since they arrived at the train station.
Not only that, but they had also kept watching Chevelyn on the train.
Initially, Aachen intended to ignore them or put them to sleep with magic, considering Count Tiara’s frequent actions.
However, the thought of them potentially harming Hillane and Chevelyn infuriated him.
‘If I could, I would deal with them here and now, but the smell of blood would give it away to my lady.’
Reluctantly, Aachen conjured a fireball in his right hand and threw it at the assassins.
Dodging the fireball, the assassins crashed into the cargo, groaning in pain.
‘Handling their corpses would be a hassle too.’
He didn’t want to waste time on trivial matters.
Despite usually ignoring or putting such nuisances to sleep with magic, today was different. The mere thought of Hillane and Chevelyn being in danger due to these assassins enraged him.
Aachen stepped on one of the more conscious assassins and growled, looking down at him.
“Speak up. Maybe I’ll let you live to report back to your master.”
“…Ugh.”
“Why were you looking at the princess?”
The assassin turned his head sharply, indicating he wouldn’t answer.
“I gave you a chance, so refusing to speak means you wish to die.”
Aachen pushed his hair back and smiled brightly.
“Fine. I didn’t really need your answer. I can always ask the Count later. So don’t expect to live.”
“……!”
“If it were any other day, I might let it slide, but I’m not in a good mood because of unwanted guests today.”
At this, the other assassin, lying on the floor, urgently cried out.
“I-I’ll talk! Please spare me, Your Grace!”
“Hah, you didn’t speak when given the chance.”
Aachen let out a mocking laugh.
“P-Please… spare my life….”
“If you wanted to live, you shouldn’t have done this in the first place.”
Aachen locked eyes with the assassin.
The terrified assassin hastily bowed his head to the ground.
“The child you were watching is my lady’s daughter. Were you planning to kidnap the princess and use her to threaten me?”
“Absolutely not, we had no such intention!”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
“Please believe me, the Count knew nothing of this….”
The assassin, pressing his head to the ground, pleaded his case.
♡♡♡
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