Chapter 126

To be exact, she received three or four more mysterious notes and curious glances. They weren’t impolite, but they were still baffling.

“Who asked you to deliver this?” she asked a servant who delivered a note and tried to run away. The servant bowed politely with a very apologetic expression and then rushed off.

“Well, I’ll be.” Rodella, dumbfounded, opened the note.

[To Lady Rodella Syveric, from the Young Master Akland.]

The reason for this sudden note-sent greeting, it turned out, was…

[…would you be available for a short tea time…]

“He wants to have tea?” Rodella let out a bewildered laugh. If he wanted tea, why didn’t he just come and talk to her instead of sending a note? But he wasn’t the only one. The notes varied in length and formality, but the purpose was generally similar: “Let’s have tea,” “Would you like to join me at the social gathering?”

And, more than anything, they were all flustered to see Rodella opening the notes with Aivert.

‘Why? Did you think I wouldn’t open it with him if you gave it to me secretly?’

And Aivert’s expression as he read the notes was a sight to behold.

“Do those guys not see me?” It seemed they sent the notes secretly because he was there, but something about it was exceedingly strange. Of course, they must have been hoping the two would separate. The problem was, they couldn’t separate because they were handcuffed.

Of course, not everyone sent notes or servants.

“Good evening, both of you.” There were even those who approached them openly.

“My family has had many ties to the Syveric territory since childhood, you know.”

‘Really? I don’t recognize your face.’

While Aivert checked Rodella’s face, which clearly showed no recognition, the man’s smooth talk continued. “When monsters and bandits were rampant, our merchant caravan was once attacked on its way to the Syveric territory.”

‘Is that considered a ‘tie’ too?’

“I heard that the Syveric territory cleared out those bandits back then. I was so grateful…”

Rodella had definitely met people like this before, who would try to strike up a conversation by any means necessary. Not just one, but a whole bunch of them.

…During her academy days, before she was engaged to Aivert.

Just as Rodella sensed their intentions and raised an eyebrow, the gentle music filling the banquet hall shifted to a more passionate melody.

“This is your favorite song.” Aivert led Rodella away. As the man who had lost his chance to speak looked on regretfully, Rodella quickly followed him out. She wasn’t fond of social dancing, but in moments like this, it was a welcome diversion. As she spun in Aivert’s arms, she felt the gazes of those who had been approaching her with ulterior motives withdraw.

But today, the situation unfolded a little differently.

—Clink!

Perhaps it was because she was distracted while dancing, but she missed a beat, and her wrist separated from Aivert’s, causing the handcuff chain to flash into view. Rodella quickly moved closer to Aivert, but…

“Huh?”

“Those handcuffs…”

Many people were watching the empire’s most famous couple, the two who had played a huge role in suppressing the rebellion. The handcuffs were clearly visible to almost everyone.

“Aren’t those the new handcuffs the Azure Knights use?”

Rodella flinched at the clear voice that cut through the air. It seemed that those connected to the knights recognized the handcuffs.

“…Why are the two of you wearing them?”

…Of course, recognizing them was the problem.

“It’s a long story, this…” Rodella muttered as she spun. ‘The first time we wore them was a secret, so I should pretend this is the first time. I was trapped on a ship due to Duke Benerix’s scheme, and the ship was about to explode…’ If she explained, she might have to tell the whole story of the ship like a heroic tale.

The nobles, who were curious and thought they had found a rare story, slowly began to gather around the two as they finished their dance and entered. The first to bravely speak was an unknown young master.

“You’re wearing peculiar accessories.”

“Excuse me?”

The young master, who seemed to have an unusually severe lack of prejudice, shamelessly said so with a smile. It was clear that he wanted to talk to her no matter what, and Aivert was just about to curl the corners of his lips when a glass of low-alcohol wine was extended to Rodella.

“Happy early birthday, Lady Syveric.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Rodella understand the entire situation. Amidst all the chaos, her birthday was now just two days away.

“Thank you.”

In two days, she would turn twenty-five. She had wondered why people were so openly approaching her.

‘My birthday… Right, it’s my birthday.’

After her birthday, she would be twenty-five. The aristocratic atmosphere still considered people who weren’t married by this age to have a flaw. And since noble affairs weren’t decided in a day or two, and there had been no signs of a marriage before the rebellion broke out, there were those who harbored a hopeful, or rather, not-so-hopeful, thought: “Perhaps?” It was a calculation, or rather a miscalculation, that the Royden family, whose power had grown even stronger after suppressing this rebellion, would not bother to marry someone with a “flaw.” The shield of her contract engagement was fading.

They didn’t even ask why a couple who had been together for almost ten years weren’t married or if she had any intention of marrying after twenty-five. To them, custom was that absolute.

…But then. Rodella suddenly felt a pang in her heart. The fact that it was truly over after twenty-five was true, even for her contract engagement with Aivert. The thought that she had unconsciously assumed this “shield” would continue hurt her deeply in that fleeting moment.

“Does it just look like an accessory?” Aivert’s voice resonated.

“Excuse me?”

“What if I wore it because I wanted to be with her?”

At Aivert’s words, people looked bewildered. Handcuffs? For that reason? Rodella was equally flustered.

“If that’s the case, is it immoral for the husband of a potential future Chancellor?”

“Th-that… No, no, it’s not.”

‘You know that you’re talking to Rodella because she’s a candidate for the next Chancellor, and you know it’s because you hope she might not marry.’ His words, contained in that one sentence, left the young master speechless.

But in that brief moment, Rodella suddenly heard his voice from another time.

“It was good.”

“Sleeping next to you. I slept well.”

Those were his words when they first wore the handcuffs.

“I think I’m better than someone who approaches a person who has an fiancé with impure intentions, even if it means I’m immoral—”

Only after Aivert’s words ended did she stop reminiscing.

“What about you?” He looked directly at her with his blue eyes, asking. A charming and confident smile. More than anything, it was his typical expression. Yet, his gaze toward the approaching young master was only cold. It was as if he was looking at someone who truly targeted the person he would marry. Even though the engagement would end in two days, even though the contract engagement was coming to an end, his gaze didn’t change.

If the Royden family was thinking of their successor, it would be problematic to solidify his current image, even for the sake of the future wife. Aivert would know this better than anyone. This was a gaze that didn’t need to be shown to others more than any other time. Why?

Aivert was someone who didn’t do unnecessary things.

‘Is it really an act? Or…’

“What about you, Rodella?” Aivert asked again.

His gaze demanded an answer. She unknowingly replied, “Yes, me too.”

Before, she might have thought it was a habitual act, carrying a trace of genuine feeling in her heart. But not now. Rodella knew. The words she had unconsciously uttered were sincere.

‘I like you too. No matter who you are… I like you.’

“She says so. Ah.” Aivert looked at the handcuff chain dangling from his wrist and then at the young master. “If you just wanted a simple tea time, perhaps we can go together?”

But the young master, who had no such intention, stammered, “Oh, y-yes…!” and hastily retreated.

—Clink!

The chain, once again, revealed itself and shimmered. Even though he could adjust its length to be invisible, the reason he chose to display it was…

“…” Aivert met the young masters’ gazes.

After that, no one else approached Rodella.