Chapter 76
Calm music began to play as the ball started in earnest. I heard laughter and distant conversation.
I could see Brother in the farthest place where there were a lot of people.
Whose brother was that? He was really good.
Perhaps he felt my gaze from a distance, as Brother turned his head and looked this way. He smiled warmly.
He had such a welcoming look, as if he hadn’t seen me in a long time, even though he had been with me just a moment ago.
Indeed, my family always treated me that way.
Always nice and welcoming.
When I responded with a small wave to Brother’s smile, he smiled even more excitedly.
How could he smile so widely while talking to another noble? It was really like him and unlike him at the same time.
Brother said something to the person he was talking to, and then he looked this way again. This time, he waved his hand and tried to say something… What?
I had no talent for understanding someone’s hand signals. When I couldn’t seem to figure it out, Brother eventually gave up signaling and grabbed a nearby waiter.
The waiter nodded at Brother’s words and walked straight ahead.
The waiter with a business-like smile came up to me and bowed politely.
“The Lord is looking for Mister Aiden.”
Hearing the waiter’s words, Lucas and I looked at him at the same time.
It seemed that Brother was going to introduce Aiden to the other person he was talking to.
When Aiden heard that he was being called, his shoulders shook a bit.
Of course, he wasn’t shaking out of excitement. His shoulders moved along with his chest as he took a deep breath out of tension.
“Go on, Aiden.”
“Yes, Miss,”
Aiden replied, still stiff.
‘Good luck, Aiden.’
He walked out beside me in a stiff motion.
His right hand and right foot were moving at the same time. He was probably losing his mind more than I thought he was.
“Aiden.”
Reluctantly, I had to call Aiden over once more. I was terrified at the thought of him crossing this hall just like that.
I was the kind of person who didn’t care if my right foot went out with my right arm or if I tumbled sideways, but not everyone in the world was like me.
Aiden turned to face me. The sudden call made him wonder.
‘I don’t know what to say, Aiden. I just did it to save you. Or to get some blankets for you to kick through the night.’
“Yes? Miss?”
I was wondering what to say, but I decided to just tell him straight, supposing that Aiden would make the same mistake if I sent him after telling him nothing.
“You use your left arm with the right foot when walking. Right arm with left foot. You know that, right?”
Only then did Aiden realize what he had done wrong and blinked dizzily.
Alright, it’s better than realizing it too late.
“Thank you, Miss. Oh, and call me if anything happens.”
Aiden spoke to me with a much better expression than before. He seemed to have relaxed from the giddiness of the mistake he almost made.
I nodded my head in reply to him. But he just nodded back speechlessly.
“Don’t worry, you can go, Aiden.”
…Surprisingly, those words weren’t mine.
“Thank you, Miss. Oh, and call me if anything happens.”
“Don’t worry, you can go, Aiden.”
Before Selena could even open her mouth, Lucas intercepted her. Aiden, who had been talking to Selena while looking at her anxiously, turned his head to the person that intercepted.
Their gazes met in the air.
What Aiden had just heard was an obvious provocation. Or maybe it was confirmation.
Confirmation of whether Aiden really liked Selena and whether he really noticed Lucas’s feelings.
“I am also in charge of escorting the Miss.”
Responding to the provocation, Aiden answered with a voice filled with strength in each letter.
From the moment he had feelings for Selena, who was a Duchy’s Lady, and from the moment he decided to become a wizard in order to stand proudly by her side, he had no intention of backing down easily to anyone.
Even if the opponent was Sir Lucas, who was like the adopted son of the family he had served for a very long time.
The only person he would step down for was someone whom the Miss really liked and who would make her feel happy.
In his view, Sir Lucas was not yet that kind of person.
He had no reason to back down.
What bothered Aiden more than this provocation was the fact that Lucas had noticed Aiden’s feelings.
To be honest, Aiden didn’t want to know his own feelings.
He wanted to not know, hoping that after a very long time he would realize, ‘Oh, I liked Selena.’
Even if Lucas wasn’t the leading candidate yet, he was a strong candidate.
He didn’t have the thought to be shameful, but people had shameful corners in their heart from the beginning.
Lucas looked at Aiden and smiled quietly.
As expected, he seemed to have noticed that Aiden liked Selena.
Was it that obvious?
Lucas shook his head, keeping a smile on his face. Aiden felt the dignity that made him want to gulp just by looking at him, who was like a relaxed predator that was ready to strike.
But Aiden didn’t gulp or avert his eyes.
Just like Lucas, he smiled a little more.
“Yes, that is so. But Aiden, you’ll be busy today, and I’m Selena’s partner. You can take a break from being escort today.”
Lucas was a bit taller than Aiden, so it felt like he was looking down at Aiden just by straightening his head.
Prestige and dignity.
Selena’s partner and a wizard who had to make eye contact with each and every person today.
Lucas lightly placed Selena’s hand on his arm. So natural was the act that even Selena, the party involved, didn’t notice her hand being raised.
However, Aiden, who was standing in front of them, watched them clearly.
Well, that was also what Lucas wanted.
Lucas turned his eyes away from Aiden. Beyond Aiden, right in the middle of a bright hall full of people Selena would just hate, Aaron tilted his head, looking at the back of Aiden’s head, who was not coming.
“You have to go see the Lord, Aiden. He’s waiting, right?”
As Lucas said, Aiden couldn’t make the Lord wait forever.
In the end, he let out a short breath and nodded his head while glancing at Selena with lingering eyes.
“Miss, see you later.”
“Yes.”
“Goodbye, Aiden.”
Selena’s voice was followed by Lucas’s voice. Aiden turned his back without answering because he didn’t want to see the face of the man smiling like a victor.
“What’s wrong?”
“What?”
Of the two of us watching Aiden walk away, I spoke first.
“Aiden and Sir Lucas.”
No matter how ignorant I was, I would notice that sparks had just lit in the conversation between the two of them.
It was a pure question that emerged from that sense.
As far as I knew, the two didn’t really have anything to fight about, so it felt strange to have a conversation like this while flying sparks at each other.
Lucas looked down at me without an answer. He was in a shaded place with me, so he was not receiving light either, but his eyes looking towards me were shining as clearly as they could be.
“Jealousy.”
While my eyes were distracted, Lucas quickly replied and turned his head away.
“Sir Lucas… of Aiden?”
What would make Lucas jealous of Aiden?
I didn’t even think about it. As a character, Lucas was the lead role, and Aiden was the supporting role.
Well, this world had nothing to do with the original story now, so even this could be disregarded… Lucas had established his position by continuously establishing foundations in the past, so he was recognized by the people in that regard. His looks, economic power, and… From the outside, the personality.
A perfect person with nothing missing was jealous of Aiden?
I stared at Lucas’s face, wondering why, but once he turned his head away, he didn’t look back at me easily. He was just staring straight ahead and wearing that carefree smile.
He didn’t want to tell me about it.
Well… Maybe there was something between the two that I don’t know about. Because I wasn’t always with these two.
Reluctantly, I made my own conclusions and looked ahead of me.
Aiden sat next to Brother, greeting the nobleman across from him. People slowly gathered around them, so perhaps the sight was quite interesting. It seemed that the smile of a service worker, which he had learned from his long time as a servant, was shining through.
It was only when Aiden was hidden from view that I turned my head away from the crowd.
Come to think of it, wouldn’t I have to go out to the center of the hall now?
I didn’t intend to be there for long, as I told Lucas, I had to show up and greet people for at least 10 minutes.
Again, staying in the corner like this would get me nonsensical gossip.
With that in mind, I was about to take a step, but a lively voice called my name with familiarity.
“Lady Selena!”
“Lady Vivian.”
Vivian, who was lively today, approached me quickly with short steps even though she was wearing high heels.
“I’ve been looking for you since before, and you’re here!”
Vivian greeted me warmly and clapped her hands.
Perhaps clapping her palms wasn’t enough, as she grabbed my two hands, shaking them up and down. My hands, losing their will, moved excitedly as Vivian led me.
“Oh, Sir Lucas is here, too.”
After the long power handshake was over, Vivian let go of my hands and then stood next to me.
It seemed that she only realized then that Lucas was standing there.
Vivian briefly exchanged her greetings with Lucas, then looked back at me.
“There are many delicious desserts over there! Come with me, Lady Selena.”
“Ah, yes.”
I was going to get out of this corner anyway, but I thought I’d rather be with Vivian than be forced to talk in a crowd of strangers.
When I answered her, Vivian quickly crossed our arms. She looked very excited.
Well, good is good.
I leisurely followed Vivian toward the center. I was dazzled by the colorful lights pouring over the crowd’s heads, but I soon got used to it.
—-
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know or tag admin in comments so we can fix it as soon as possible.
