In the end, Ariella had reluctantly apologized to him, and since then, she had followed him to even the events she didn’t want to attend.
But recently, there had been no such suggestions.
Had he finally found a new partner? Or was he perhaps refraining from attending parties lately?
No, that couldn’t be.
‘It would be more likely for a dog to stop pooping.’
Ariella bit her lower lip.
Something felt off.
She wasn’t jealous of some unknown new partner. Jealousy was a feeling that could only arise from affection.
However, separate from that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that when she met her friends at a social gathering a few days ago, their tone when mentioning Aaron had been strange. It felt as if they were oddly cautious around her.
‘I should ask them again soon. For now, rather than Aaron…’
Ariella set her now cold teacup down on the table.
A chilly breeze brushed against her arms. The early spring weather was too cold to sit outside for hours.
She looked around, but there was no sign of anyone she was searching for.
“Lizzy, where are you?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know either…”
The maid attending her bowed her head, saying she didn’t know.
Ariella frowned slightly and looked up at the second floor of the east wing of the mansion. That was where her room was.
It had already been over an hour since Lizzy had disappeared, saying she was going to get a shawl. There was no one else to assign tasks to her dedicated maid, and the mansion wasn’t a maze, so why was she taking so long to return?
Something urgent might have come up, but it had been happening too often lately. Her mood had been fluctuating too much as well.
‘She must be in love.’
With the sudden increase in expensive items and her frequent absences, it seemed highly likely.
‘I thought she liked Sir Adam.’
Ariella glanced sideways at the knight standing firmly behind her.
Adam Pavel.
The eldest son of the Pavel baron family and Ariella’s long-time bodyguard, he was often mentioned in social circles for his handsome appearance and calm, kind demeanor.
The harmony of his light brown hair, almost milky in color, white skin, and clear green eyes was often described as beautiful.
Lizzy occasionally cast glances in his direction, but unfortunately, Adam didn’t seem particularly interested in her.
Given the significant difference in their social standings, he was someone who showed no interest in anything other than his duties as a bodyguard.
“Miss, wouldn’t it be better to go inside now? It’s still cold out.”
Coughing lightly as their eyes met, Adam suggested in a worried tone.
“No, I’m fine.”
What would she hear next? It was obvious he would pour out all sorts of irritation about how she hadn’t waited for him.
Adam seemed to have similar thoughts, as his neatly shaped eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you not cold? Your clothes look thin.”
“I’m—”
Just as he was about to speak again, a voice calling for her could be heard not far away. It was very urgent.
“Miss! Lady Ariella!”
“Rose. What’s wrong?”
Seeing the head maid Rose rushing towards her, Ariella quickly stood up. If the head maid, who always carried herself with decorum and grace, was running like this, something serious must have happened.
“I think you need to go to the study right away! The master is calling for you urgently…!”
“My father?”
Without asking further, Ariella hurriedly made her way to the study.
“Could something have happened? Is there a problem with the wine business I was pushing forward? Did the royal family finally declare that they wouldn’t grant permission?
Or could it be…
Every step she took was filled with worries and the worst imaginations, all because of the pale complexion of the head maid following her.
However, what she discovered upon reaching her destination was something she had never even imagined for a moment.
In the study were Duke Bedford and Aaron.
And standing between them was Lizzy.
It was strange enough that Aaron was in her father’s study without saying a word, but the most peculiar thing was Lizzy’s presence.
What reason could there be for a maid who had disappeared to fetch a shawl to suddenly be standing between her father and her fiancé?
Especially dressed in a gown she had never seen before, with an expression that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
‘Did they bring her here out of anger at Lizzy’s attire? Both my father and Aaron are not the type to tolerate their subordinates behaving carelessly…’
Perhaps Lizzy had secretly changed her clothes to meet her lover, and her father had happened to discover it. Thus, the maid, forgetting her duties and dressed extravagantly, might have been brought here to be scolded.
It wasn’t a matter that would make Rose gasp in shock, but it was the only situation Ariella could imagine at that moment.
