Inside the jewelry store, as Benjamin had said, it was packed with numerous women.

Most were upper class, and among them were some noble ladies who seemed to recognize Aden and were whispering. Even if not, it was natural for attention to be drawn to Aden.

The majority of those entering and exiting the jewelry store were women. In fact, Aden was the only man inside the store.

It was natural for him to attract interest. Of course, the man who paid no mind to such gazes was silently looking around the jewelry store.

“…Excuse me, sir.”

It was after some time had passed that a clerk cautiously approached Aden, who was drifting around the jewelry store like a buoy caught in waves.

It was an unavoidable response, as the noticeable man was drawing attention.

“Is there perhaps something you’re looking for?”

With a very tense face, accepting the fate of a low-ranking employee, the clerk asked the intimidating Aden, who was a head taller than the average man.

Aden rolled his eyes towards the young clerk who had spoken to him. The clerk’s shoulders trembled slightly at the golden eyes reminiscent of a beast.

“If, if you’re perhaps looking for a gift for your wife, may I guide you?”

But mustering courage to the end to convey what he needed to say, the clerk tightly grasped his uniform.

Aden still maintained his silence, and the more he did so, the more the eyes of the women in the jewelry store were fixed on him.

How much time had passed? Aden paused for a moment, then let out a slow breath.

“Then please…”

At the moment his voice mixed with that breath, Aden’s mouth stopped.

As he turned his head while continuing to speak, it was because right in front of him, a woman with a veil pulled low, showing only faint red eyes, was staring intently at him.

What on earth was that man doing there? Ludmila felt perplexed as she observed the man wandering around the jewelry store.

At first, she thought she had seen wrong.

A man who should be at Habertz Castle, not in the capital, at this time, and in a jewelry store of all places.

At first she thought she had seen wrong, but as she watched his hardening face, her doubt turned to certainty.

An expressionless face with dry eyes.

To a stranger, it might look like nothing was wrong, but to her eyes, Aden appeared quite flustered.

Should I help him? She hesitated briefly, but Ludmila didn’t move.

As it was, with her wearing a veil, there were many people glancing at her, and if Aden joined her, she couldn’t handle the repercussions.

However, she couldn’t just leave him like that either, and as she was wondering what to do, fortunately, a clerk approached and spoke to him first.

Though the question about buying a gift for his wife was unexpected.

And the moment their eyes met as Aden was about to nod and agree, was even more unimaginable.

“…”

When Aden closed his mouth, silence fell. As the silence lengthened, the clerk asked again with a smile.

After coming to his senses, Aden turned to look at the clerk and left the words “It’s alright” before promptly turning away.

Ludmila let out a bewildered laugh and followed his retreating back with clear eyes.

“…I’ll go ahead, so come along as you please.”

Benjamin, faced with the awkward situation, quickly left after saying goodbye.

Thanks to his unnecessarily deep consideration of not just leaving, but taking his horse back with him, Aden was feeling an embarrassment that might have been a first for him.

Entering the jewelry store had been a mistake.

Contrary to his thought that he could just buy any item and leave, the inside was truly terrible.

Aside from there being many women, he had no idea what to buy.

For Aden, utility and practicality were the two criteria for choosing a gift.

In that sense, the white plum tree he had gifted previously satisfied utility.

Planting a white plum tree in a barren garden was certainly not a bad choice.

But this case was different. These small accessories and fabrics.

The world where prices varied greatly just because of a little embroidery on silk or a pattern on a mug cup was as good as unknown territory to Aden.

Choosing a gift for Ludmila there made him feel the same tension as being alone in the middle of a battlefield.

“…Aden.”

But now even that was meaningless. Aden raised his head to Ludmila, who was sighing.

“Weren’t you supposed to be at the Black Barrier?”

Ludmila asked the most fundamental question.

Although the hunting competition was just around the corner, there was still some time left.

Moreover, Aden was supposed to handle work for at least three or four more days before coming here due to his duties.

Ludmila couldn’t understand why such a man was already here, and worried that it might be because of her.

He, more than anyone, knew well that the capital was a dangerous place for her.

She hoped she hadn’t caused him to overexert himself due to her concerns.

“The work was finished faster than expected. And just then, Benjamin suggested going together, so I hurried here. And…”

Aden briefly trailed off, narrowing his eyes, then let out a low sigh.

“That pompous Crown Prince sent Benjamin to bring me along. So I had no choice but to come together.”

“Ah, if that’s the case…”

Ludmila, who had been listening with her head tilted slightly, nodded briefly.

If it was indeed due to the Crown Prince’s order, then it couldn’t be helped. As Ludmila smiled beneath her veil, erasing the doubt and concern that had briefly lingered, Aden felt uncomfortable.

He had criticized Benjamin’s excuse for trying to tease him, yet here he was using it himself. How fortunate that the fellow had left first.

If he had stayed, he might have seen this smirking sight. Although Aden felt a surge of embarrassment at the thought, he struggled to maintain a calm expression.

“But why were you in the jewelry store? I heard you say you were buying a gift for your wife.”

“That was…”

“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not misunderstanding. I know you don’t have a wife, Aden. That was actually for a gift for Countess Turval, wasn’t it?”

Aden, who had been wondering how to explain, raised an eyebrow at Ludmila’s words that followed as if she had been waiting.

Ludmila nodded gently with a soft smile.

“The Deputy Minister of Finance told me. That Aden would also be staying in the same annex as me. You had to stay at your friend’s house, so you were looking for a gift to give out of courtesy, right? Am I wrong?”

“…That’s right.”

“I thought so. Have you chosen anything yet? Shall I help you pick?”

Aden nodded briefly. Ludmila smiled as if pleased and turned around.

“Let’s go shopping together.”

With those final words, Ludmila, wearing her veil, walked ahead and gradually moved away.

As she did so, her uncharacteristically hasty tone and high-pitched voice penetrated deeply into Aden.

‘It’s a misunderstanding.’

Aden realized that the word ‘misunderstanding’ from her mouth somehow felt uncomfortable to him, as he quietly followed behind Ludmila.

After finishing a simple shopping trip, Ludmila came out of the store and handed the item she had purchased to Aden, who was waiting outside.

It was a gift based on her previous knowledge of Countess Turval from meeting her before.

Since she didn’t enjoy luxury, expensive and flashy items were excluded.

As she liked cute and dainty things like herself, Ludmila chose items that could be easily held.

Whether the memory inside was terrible or he realized that if he went in together it might draw attention.

Aden, who had been waiting outside the door, received the gift she handed him and expressed his gratitude with a light bow.

Ludmila guided Aden, who was now saying it was time to return, to where the carriage was parked.

The streets of the capital were always beautiful and splendid as usual. There was no place for darkness, and everywhere was filled with light.

Ludmila didn’t like this kind of light.

In such bright light, no matter how much she wanted to hide herself, she couldn’t.

Sometimes she wanted to hide in the darkness where no one could see her, but even in the mansion and outside, Ludmila couldn’t hide.

That’s why she liked Send Plateau. When the dazzling sunlight disappeared, only faint lights remained.

Even those faded away in the deep night, and the gentle breeze created a pleasant harmony that rang in her ears.

Standing there, a thick darkness that made her forget where she was for a moment settled and enveloped her body.

It was a calm and cozy experience.

It was a place where she could feel more peace than at any other time in her life, which had been spent in contempt, surveillance, and neglect.

How nice it would be if she could really live there.

“By the way, what were you trying to buy when you went into the jewelry store?”

It was when the bell tolled nine o’clock that Aden suddenly asked the question as they were walking and exchanging gentle conversation.

When Ludmila looked up, he jerked his chin to indicate the paper bag hanging on her arm.

“Oh, this.”

With a short exclamation, Ludmila put her hand in the bag, gave a faint smile, then took out one of the items inside and held it out. It was a handkerchief.

“It’s a gift for Aden when you go to the hunting festival. I know it’s presumptuous, but I thought it would be better to give something than nothing after hearing about it. Oh, if you were planning to receive one from someone else, I can give this to you later.”

Seeing her smiling brightly and not hiding her purpose, Aden unknowingly lowered his lips that he had pushed up.

Even for a man living on Send Plateau, he knew well that a handkerchief given to a man participating in a hunting competition held special meaning.

‘If you’re looking for a gift for your wife, may I guide you?’

Why was that tactless question from the employee coming to mind now?

“That’s a lie.”

“What? What do you…”

Aden’s tightly closed lips opened when a drunk man was staggering dangerously past behind Ludmila.

Just as they were about to collide, Aden’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her, and at that moment her veil fluttered.

Seeing her exposed cheek turn bright red, Aden narrowed the gap between them.

“The gift I was trying to choose earlier wasn’t for Countess Turval.”

“Then the person you were going to give the gift to is…”

Ludmila’s eyes shook violently like leaves at the breath felt right in front of her nose.

“Ludmila. It seems the answer is already in that misunderstanding you mentioned.”

Aden’s breath tickled Ludmila’s skin as he smiled quietly.

“What do you think?”