Lloyd had been very quiet since arriving at the duke’s residence.

It was because the knights had hinted that the Hersher household still didn’t know the fact that the heir had changed.

Lloyd knew what that meant.

The fact that he had been stripped of the position of heir had not yet been made public.

It would be known to everyone someday, but Lloyd wanted to delay that time as much as possible.

As soon as he arrived at the duke’s residence, he tried to meet Aria.

However, the duke said that Aria was not well enough to meet anyone.

Just how serious was it that she couldn’t even come out of her room?

He wanted to see Aria’s face in person, even under the pretext of visiting the sick, but he reluctantly chose to wait in the face of the duke’s resolute attitude.

After not seeing her for several days, Aria invited him to go to the salon together, and only now could he face her.

“Aria, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”

Inside the carriage heading to the salon, Lloyd asked, looking at Aria sitting across from him.

Even though she had become a little haggard, in Lloyd’s eyes, Aria still looked more beautiful than anyone else.

When facing Aria, all other worries disappeared.

In his mind, only the happy days he would spend with her were drawn.

“I’ve been well.”

“Really? I heard you couldn’t leave your room because you were sick, are you really okay?”

“Lloyd, you can stop asking. I’m fine.”

“Alright, if you say so, then it must be so.”

Lloyd didn’t want to ruin Aria’s mood.

It had been a long time since she had suggested doing something together first.

Although Aria kept her arms crossed and didn’t even make eye contact with him, he was happy just to be in the same space as her.

So Lloyd hoped that Aria wouldn’t say she wanted to go back because she was upset.

He wanted to savor this happy moment for as long as possible.

‘It’s suffocating. How long do I have to stay like this?’

However, Aria’s thoughts were different.

She wanted to turn the carriage around and return to the duke’s residence right now.

Clearly, when she thought of the days she had been trapped, the desire to return disappeared, but the scale tipped as soon as Lloyd was right in front of her.

Being in the same space as Lloyd brought a greater sense of frustration.

She wanted to get some fresh air outside, but it wasn’t easy to even open the window.

It was because she didn’t want to make eye contact with the people walking on the street.

Aria thought this was all because of Clea.

She said it was because Clea had taken everything from her that she had become so unfortunate.

‘Should I use Lloyd?’

Aria thought of one thing in her mind.

Using Lloyd to put Clea in trouble again.

She smiled thinking of the relationship between the two.

They had been engaged for several years.

How many people could say that nothing happened between them during that time?

Aria imagined Clea’s distressed expression.

Just imagining her turning pale at the wedding where everyone was gathered made Aria thrilled.

But soon that feeling plummeted again.

“Aria, we’ve arrived.”

The carriage had already stopped, as if they had reached their destination.

When Lloyd, who got off first, reached out his hand to her, Aria almost frowned for a moment.

It would be great if Lloyd moved like her doll, but she already knew.

The Lloyd who, like in the academy days, would listen to her words without suspicion and follow her, no longer existed.

Their relationship had already completely fallen apart, and there was no sign of recovery.

Lloyd was the only one clinging to the shattered relationship.

Aria’s heart had completely cooled the moment Lloyd crossed the line.

Lloyd kept pretending not to know that and harbored his own expectations that someday they could go back to how they were before.

“I’ll get off by myself.”

“Aria.”

She tried to get off the carriage ignoring Lloyd’s hand. She wanted to avoid physical contact with him because she didn’t like it.

But Lloyd couldn’t let that go, as if he finally wouldn’t step aside.

Rather, he blocked the entrance and prevented Aria from getting off alone.

Lloyd’s expression, which had been brightly smiling until a little while ago, had somehow turned very cold.

“Don’t reject my courtesy too much. You don’t want to have a hard time here, do you?”

“……”

Aria glared at Lloyd with narrowed eyes.

At his threatening words, she wanted to tell the coachman to return to the residence right away.

She had already seen Lloyd’s sudden actions several times. Moreover, they were outside now.

The duke’s seal was engraved on the carriage, so people’s attention would be drawn to it.

It meant that there was nothing good about causing a commotion here.

In the end, Aria reluctantly took his hand.

“Ugh!”

“You should have just taken it when I asked nicely.”

Lloyd roughly pulled her hand, almost dragging her out.

Aria lost her balance at the sudden action, and Lloyd caught her as she was about to fall.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Lloyd and Aria.

“Aren’t you afraid of the future?”

Aria asked Lloyd through gritted teeth. It was a question of whether he was not afraid of what would unfold when they returned to the duke’s residence.

Even though Aria asked fiercely, Lloyd answered with a smile.

“We’re going to get married anyway. So stop denying it. Our relationship.”

It was the worst thing to say to Aria, who had been thinking about Clea and Lloyd’s relationship.

Her mood plummeted endlessly.

She wanted to punch him in the face, but Aria was more concerned about the gazes of the people around her.

“Put me down now.”

“No.”

“I said put me down!”

She, who prioritized getting out of his arms, fidgeted and hit Lloyd’s side.

It seemed like he would never let go with just that, but unexpectedly, the strength in his arms loosened, and Aria was able to break free from him.

“I will never marry, Lloyd. Especially not you.”

Aria, who had broken free from Lloyd, left those words and walked forward.

On the other hand, Lloyd bit his lip at the pain spreading in his side and glared at her back.

“I will never let anyone else have you! Even if they do, I will have you!”

The people who had been watching the two’s unromantic appearance were now giving harsh looks.

Recently, the misdeeds that Aria and Lloyd had committed against Clea during their academy days were being re-evaluated.

The fact that Lloyd not only ignored Clea but also went out to meet other women.

The fact that Aria isolated Clea by forming a group and subtly bullied her.

Various stories were coming out, but the parties involved were not paying attention to the rumors.

* * *

“This is all you have prepared?”

“Yes, that’s all we have at the moment.”

Aria, who had arrived at the famous designer’s salon, threw a fit.

Her patience was already at its limit due to Lloyd.

And on top of that, the clothes prepared by the designer were not satisfactory either. Compared to before, it was really a miserable level.

Aria frowned and looked at the maid who had followed her.

Then the maid hurriedly waved her hands and said,

“The duke said you can spend as much as you want!”

The maid’s words were not a lie.

The duke regretted overinvesting in Aria, but she was still a symbol of the Hershers.

He couldn’t let her go to a place where many people gather wearing shabby clothes, so the duke decided not to spare financial support.

But for some reason, the prepared clothes were far below Aria’s standards.

“There can’t only be these dresses. Bring more quickly!”

Normally, the other person should have cowered and backed down by now.

But the designer was not intimidated at all. Rather, he showed an arrogant attitude and said to Aria,

“The good clothes have already been sold to other people.”

“Are you doing this just because you’re famous now?”

“Lady Aria, it will be the same at other places. The duke’s household requested suddenly, so it was difficult to prepare even this much.”

In fact, the dresses presented now were also of quite good quality.

To the point where you could wear them to another banquet right away without any problem.

But the place she was going to was none other than Clea’s wedding.

Aria never wanted her to be the protagonist there.

“Anyway, there’s nothing better than this, so look and go back.”

“Do you know who I am to dare say such a thing!”

“Who else, you’re the daughter of the Hersher duchy.”

But what was more infuriating was that now even a mere designer dared to show a disrespectful attitude toward her.

Lloyd was just quietly watching, perhaps because of what had happened in the carriage earlier.

So Aria got angry at the designer alone, but the answer that came back was cold.

“We’re dealing with you only because of the connection we had before. It’s not that we’re not afraid of losing our lives.”

The place most sensitive to rumors circulating in high society was none other than the salon.

As the rumors about Aria were not good, the places currently associated with Aria were either closing their doors or sweating to prove they had no relationship.

The current salon was the same.

They couldn’t openly refuse because it was the Hershers, so they earnestly hoped that trouble would arise on the way and she would go back.

They were worried about what kind of backlash might come because of Aria.

But in the end, Aria came, and the designer only resented Aria, feeling like dark clouds were gathering over his future.

‘If Balwin were here, at least this wouldn’t have happened.’

Looking at Lloyd, who was just watching quietly, Aria suddenly thought of Balwin.

Aria imagined what it would have been like if he had been here.

“Oh my. I haven’t seen you recently, but I get to see you all in a place like this.”

“Balwin?”

At the voice that came as soon as she thought of him, Aria turned her head, forgetting even her boiling anger.

There stood the person she had just been thinking of, smiling brightly.

“It’s been a while, Lady Aria.”