This time, Aaron quickly darted his eyes around, taking a step back. Only after confirming that no one was around did he continue speaking.
“Watch your words. She’s no longer your maid.”
“Oh, of course. I misspoke. Let me ask again. When did you start seeing Lizzy, who you so despise, just a few days ago? The busy crown prince?”
“Seeing? I told you earlier. I have no personal feelings. You said you understood, but was that just a matter of pride?”
Aaron’s face twisted in annoyance. His attitude was so brazen that even Ariella, who knew all the facts, felt like she might be fooled.
“Really? But Lizzy says otherwise.”
However, even so, a few words from her could easily shatter that confidence. A look of confusion crossed Aaron’s face. It seemed he hadn’t suspected that Lizzy would have told her about their relationship.
It was only natural. Lizzy hadn’t said anything. She had simply shown it directly.
“Can you say that in front of Lizzy? That you have no relationship at all?”
Aaron clamped his mouth shut.
Ariella wanted to recount the scene she had witnessed in the study a few days ago, but she decided to hold back. She didn’t want to describe that filthy sight herself, and it seemed more effective to save it for another opportunity.
“You graduated from the academy just last year. Did you have a passionate love affair in that short time? Enough to abandon your fiancée of eight years in an instant? You didn’t meet before graduation, did you?”
Aaron flinched, his eyes trembling slightly.
Not missing that, Ariella raised her voice as if she were shocked.
“Did you meet before graduation? How long has it been?”
“No, we first met during the last vacation!”
He reflexively protested. But soon, realizing his mistake, a look of embarrassment crossed his proud face.
“You said you had no personal feelings.”
“That’s……!”
“And the last vacation was when you were too busy preparing for graduation to even see me. I didn’t even know you were in the capital at that time.”
While pretending to be busy, he had met with Lizzy behind her back. Thinking back, Lizzy had often been absent around that time.
She recalled how she had treated Lizzy kindly, completely unaware of what was happening. Feeling pathetic, Ariella let out a small laugh.
In an instant, Aaron’s expression darkened.
“What does it matter when I met her?”
“When did you become so emotional? The change in attitude is just too fast.
Aaron seemed to have decided to be completely brazen, raising his voice to scold Ariella.
“Stop being so suffocating, Arrie. What else could I think?”
“I only asked a question because you told me to. Are you feeling suffocated?”
“Damn it, stop the sarcasm! Do you think I’m comfortable? It’s been years since we got engaged! But Lizzy does things you don’t remember! Like our first meeting!”
“Did Lizzy really remember that?”
This was what Ariella was most curious about.
“Aaron, you didn’t tell her, did you?”
Was Aaron truly a victim deceived by Lizzy’s lies, or was he a co-conspirator who had decided to replace his fiancée out of love?
It might be a leap, but it wasn’t just Aaron who had figured out the other over the eight years they had been together. Ariella knew well that her fiancé was capable of such actions.
That’s why she carefully observed Aaron’s immediate reaction as she asked the question.
The first emotion that appeared on his face was confusion.
And what followed was…
“Ariella Bedford!”
It was anger directed at someone who dared to doubt him without understanding the situation. It was so vivid that it was impossible to miss.
With his eyes filled with boiling rage, Aaron took a step forward.
Ariella flinched and took a step back, as if he might slap her at any moment.
Suddenly, memories of the past resurfaced. Among the painful memories, it was the one she wanted to forget the most.
“Stop squirming. Just stay still!”
The hot, firm grip that had bound her as she struggled. As that disgusting memory came to mind, her body instinctively stiffened.
It was the moment when Aaron’s hand was quickly approaching.
“Hey. What’s going on here?”
A deep voice split the space between Ariella and Aaron.
Hah. Ariella exhaled the breath she had been holding. Her body, which had instinctively frozen, finally began to move.
She turned her head to see where the voice was coming from.
Beyond the blooming blue lupines stood a tall man.
He was not unfamiliar.
Hair as black as the dark night, an appearance that was beautifully sculpted yet somehow not quite human. And those red eyes that were fixated solely on Ariella.
“Do you need help?”
The ruler of the Ashbon Grand Duchy, Nobert Ashbon, asked in a chilling voice.”
