“Aaron! Are you alright?”

Larien quickly got down from the sofa and examined Aaron.

“I’m, fine, Lady Countess…”

Jade found it quite amusing to see Aaron deliberately groaning in pain while clutching his stomach.

‘As expected of a snake, he’s acting weak.’

Though he rushed at him in a moment of excitement, he held back his strength since Larien was watching.

It wasn’t enough to make him unable to lift his head and be in so much pain like now.

“Aaron. Should I call a doctor? Hm?”

“No need, Lady Countess…”

Yet Aaron pretended to be pitiful and stopped Larien. Jade wanted to separate the two of them right away.

“Then for now, lean on me comfortably. Aaron.”

“Lady Countess, thank you.”

Larien, unaware of the situation, carefully tended to Aaron while glaring at Jade.

“Jade. Why did you suddenly come in and hit Aaron? What did Aaron do wrong?”

“…Hah.”

Jade let out a low sigh, frustrated with Larien who didn’t know the previous situation.

“Why did I hit him, you ask? Doesn’t he know the reason best? If your mouth works, speak. Don’t just keep quiet like that.”

He wouldn’t have kicked Aaron out of nowhere if he hadn’t seen the previous situation.

A little while ago, Blanche, who had fallen while playing outside, injured her knee.

Though the wound wasn’t deep, it needed to be washed and disinfected, so Blanche was left with Mary.

After that, Jade, who had come upstairs, discovered Aaron knocking on Larien’s door.

Larien was sleeping now, so knocking was useless. He hoped she wouldn’t be woken up if possible.

Yet Aaron still went into the room.

He thought there might be an urgent matter. Normally, when there’s no answer after knocking, one should turn back.

Yes. Until then, it was fine.

But he clearly saw through the slightly open door.

Aaron touching Larien’s hair as she lay on the sofa.

Soon after, Aaron stroked Larien’s lips with his finger and tilted her chin to the side.

Perhaps he was checking if she had fallen into a deep sleep before pouncing on her.

When Larien stirred at that action and was about to open her eyes, Aaron shamelessly shook her body to wake her up.

Then he calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped away her cold sweat. But when he reached out his hand again as if to kiss her, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Larien, who was asleep and didn’t see that, scolded him.

‘No one else saw it but me.’

He felt wronged and angry, and Aaron’s hand touching Larien’s lips grated on his nerves.

He hadn’t liked Aaron from the beginning. When he didn’t know Blanche was his own blood, he had mistaken her for Aaron’s daughter.

He was relieved when Larien retorted how could he be Blanche’s father when they were different species.

But the name ‘Aaron’ mentioned occasionally by Larien and Blanche bothered him.

Aaron had spent the 5 years he was absent with them, and hadn’t he deeply penetrated Larien’s life?

He disliked it even more when Blanche called Aaron uncle. Sometimes she seemed closer to him than to Jade himself.

This time too, his insides boiled at the words that they came because Blanche wanted to see Aaron.

“Jade. What’s wrong with you?”

While Larien was looking at him, Aaron bared his sharp teeth at Jade.

‘He said he was a snake shapeshifter.’

Even if he intended to sink those venomous fangs into him, it wouldn’t mean much.

He was immune to poison after all.

Aaron, who was showing his venomous fangs rather than quietly crouching down, disgusted him.

“Before I pull out those teeth and throw them away, put them away right now.”

Arrogant snake bastard. Just now, reptiles were added to the long list of things Jade hated.

“Teeth? Aaron, is that true?”

At Jade’s words, I glanced at Aaron.

“Perhaps, the Duke, has seen, wrongly?”

Aaron’s eyes drooped downward, with an expression of not understanding what Jade was saying.

The day I first met Aaron flashed through my mind.

‘We’re both in a position to hide our identities, so let’s pretend not to know. I’ll do the same.’

When I mentioned the name Diego Barbosa, you bared your teeth with a chilling gaze that had been gentle before.

Aaron wasn’t the type to just take a beating quietly either. Like he did to me then, he might have shown his venomous fangs to Jade.

Of course, in the process of being kicked by Jade and complaining of pain, he wouldn’t have felt good.

I concluded that he deliberately showed his venomous fangs and then claimed Jade had seen wrong.

‘Even if Jade doesn’t like Aaron much, he wouldn’t hit him for no reason out of nowhere.’

He must have misunderstood something about Aaron. Anyway, it wasn’t good to leave the two of them facing each other in this room any longer.

“Jade, let’s go out. Aaron, rest here.”

“…No, Lady Countess. I will take my leave now.”

As I was about to take Jade out, Aaron got up painfully and left the room.

“Aaron!”

Worried, I tried to follow him, but Jade immediately grabbed me.

Utterly bewildered, I decided to ask him first.

“Jade. Why did you do that?”

What on earth was the reason for this.

“If I tell you, will you believe me?”

“You’re really acting like a child.”

Jade still held onto me with a sharp edge, not letting go of my hand.

“Never mind, let’s go back to Langransha right now. Larien, don’t come to Recarf anymore.”

I couldn’t readily answer Jade’s suggestion to return to Langransha.

‘If we go back now, Duke Belaste will come looking for us at the Boston estate again.’

In fact, Recarf wasn’t such a safe place to avoid Duke Belaste either.

Duke Belaste knew that Boston’s trading company was in Recarf.

After the Boston estate and territory, he would naturally come to Recarf next.

‘He must have realized that I’m hiding with Boston’s help.’

In that case, it might be better to return to Langransha and buy even a little time before meeting Duke Belaste.

“…I’ll go back to Langransha. I’ll do as you say, so please apologize to Aaron.”

“Apologize?”

Jade sneered as if that was the one thing he absolutely couldn’t do.

‘Why is Jade really acting like this?’

If I had to guess, perhaps Jade was being sensitive because he saw Aaron close to me?

‘I understand, but he was rash.’

I felt sorry for Aaron who left clutching his stomach. It seemed like he got kicked by Jade because of me.

“I don’t do that even when you’re asleep.”

“…What?”

“If you hadn’t woken up then, and if I hadn’t been watching… He wouldn’t have stopped.”

Jade suddenly wiped my lower lip forcefully.

“J-Jade!”

“Stay still. I’m barely holding myself back from killing that snake bastard right now.”

His thumb was stained red, and my lip started to hurt.

“Is there something on my lip? Why are you really doing this?”

He didn’t even pretend to listen and just kept wiping vigorously. While doing so, he muttered in a low voice.

You really have no sense, he said.

“Larien. That snake bastard is Diego Barbosa, right?”

I was about to flare up at those words, but stopped at Jade’s question.

“T-That’s…”

Diego Barbosa.

Jade had figured out the real name of Aaron, who was now a traitor in Langransha.

Of course, he wouldn’t take Aaron away and present him to the emperor, but somehow it felt dangerous.

‘What if he casually lets something slip about Aaron?’

As I nervously chewed my lip, Jade frowned.

“Why can’t you speak? Are you afraid I might tell the emperor?”

“…Jade. As you know, Aaron tried to kill the emperor. If he finds out he’s been staying in Recarf all this time…”

“Let’s say I tell the emperor and that snake bastard dies. Do you think he’d forgive Boston for hiding him as the trading company’s proxy all this time?”

The emperor hadn’t lifted the wanted order on Diego Barbosa even after several years.

It meant he held a deep grudge. He might even dig up the grave of the late Earl Boston for protecting him.

‘Even if he wants to engage Blanche to Serendio…’

Of course, it was obvious he wouldn’t let me and Blanche live either.

“He would kill us…”

“Right. Even if I want to reveal that snake bastard’s identity and kill him, I can’t because of you.”

For a moment, my heart raced ahead, beating rapidly out of sync.

‘He’s saying he won’t even mention Aaron’s existence in case I might die.’

I tried to calm down so Jade wouldn’t hear, but it wasn’t easy.

“Larien. You have no intention of not seeing that snake bastard again, do you?”

“…Jade. Aaron is the trading company’s proxy, and the person I rely on for Boston’s affairs now that my uncle is gone.”

He wanted me to never see Aaron again. But wouldn’t it be fine if I reduced my visits to Recarf and only contacted him through communication orbs?

It was difficult to not see Aaron at all.

“Alright. Then I won’t say.”

“Jade?”

“If I tell you what happened, you’ll keep being conscious of that snake bastard whenever you see him in the future.”

Should I ask Aaron? What am I supposed to be conscious of?

“Larien. Do you know why I hate that snake bastard?”

Jade disliked him from the day he first saw Aaron.

Wasn’t it because he was close with Blanche?

Jade didn’t even like Blanche hugging Aaron.

He said Aaron was dangerous because of that, that he was strange and empty-headed.

“…Because he was there during the 5 years I was gone.”

“Huh…?”

Completely unexpected words came out of Jade’s mouth.

“He took the place where I should have been, didn’t he? Blanche calls him uncle, but doesn’t she think of that snake bastard as her father? Not me.”

“…Jade.”

“That’s why I hate him.”

Those were the past days when he wasn’t by my side.