“Lloyd, don’t do this.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t be doing this to me.”

She no longer wanted people to see her with Lloyd.

As rumors about Admund and Clea’s relationship spread, Aria was also attracting attention.

In such a situation, being seen with Lloyd as before would only hinder her relationship with Admund.

She wanted to drive him away, but it could lead to rumors of discord with the Grand Duke’s family.

So Aria recklessly led Lloyd to a less crowded place.

It was the result of moving thoughtlessly, thinking she needed to hide his presence somehow.

When Aria realized they were alone in a secluded spot, she was overcome with fear.

She belatedly felt a sense of crisis, not knowing what impulsive actions the emotional Lloyd might take.

So she tried to distance herself from Lloyd as much as possible.

But Lloyd, as if refusing to allow it, grabbed her wrist and wouldn’t let go.

“Lloyd, it hurts.”

“Have you forgotten how many times I’ve heard you say you’re in pain by my side?”

Aria would often say she was in pain.

At first, Lloyd genuinely worried about her.

But after hearing it for years, he was now utterly sick of it.

Whenever she said she was in pain during difficult situations or when she wanted something, Lloyd would act according to her wishes.

It was like a signal. A signal indicating an opportunity to look good to her.

Once, Lloyd was happy when she said such things.

He thought she was allowing him to see a side of her that she didn’t show to Admund.

But not anymore.

He became serious and pushed Aria further against the wall.

She bit her lip as she hit the cold wall.

She bit so hard that blood flowed inside her mouth.

“Why are you suddenly drawing a line with me?”

“I’m not drawing a line.”

“Then what is it? Tell me with that pretty mouth of yours.”

Aria was only thinking about how to escape this situation.

There was no one around who could help her.

She had to get out on her own somehow. After contemplating, she opened her mouth.

“Clea said it before, didn’t she? Whether our relationship was truly proper. I just didn’t want to be doubted about that.”

Hearing Aria’s words, he was dumbfounded.

They had been together consistently both inside the academy and after graduation.

There hadn’t been any particular rumors about the two of them who had been going around laughing happily.

It was a time when it was certain that Aria was going to marry Admund.

Since Lloyd was also known as Admund’s close friend, there was even less suspicion.

Although he was usually quick to notice anything related to Aria, he couldn’t understand this, but contrary to his thoughts, his heart wasn’t cool.

“Lloyd, it was all for your sake.”

Aria said, holding Lloyd’s hand with both of hers.

Seeing her asking for help, he was dumbfounded yet conflicted. Lloyd recalled her usual demeanor.

Unlike Clea, she was an incredibly kind person to others.

Perhaps because of the image of her in his mind.

He thought that maybe she really had tried to distance herself for the sake of his public reputation.

“If it was for my sake, that was the wrong choice.”

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I was wrong.”

“Do you really think you were wrong?”

“Yes, I’m really sorry.”

Before coming to meet Aria, he had thought countless things.

What to say when he met Aria, how to act, and so on.

But after hearing Aria’s explanation, Lloyd felt the anger that had built up in his chest dissipate in an instant.

“Then don’t say such things again.”

“Alright, Lloyd. I won’t do it again.”

“Good. That’s all I wanted.”

He embraced Aria.

This time, Aria didn’t push him away.

She didn’t feel particularly reluctant as they often shared light hugs.

Moreover, if she pushed him away now, she didn’t know what the barely calmed Lloyd might do in his excitement.

She forced a smile and said,

“Lloyd, then can you grant me a favor?”

“Tell me anything. I’ll do it.”

Lloyd was in a very good mood, having restored his relationship with her.

Feeling like he could grant any request she made right now, he asked.

“We used to be close with Admund too, didn’t we?”

“…We were.”

Admund, once a close friend.

But now, just hearing his name made Lloyd grit his teeth and furrow his brow, their relationship having turned so sour.

Aria continued speaking while observing his expression.

“I want to go back to that relationship where the three of us always went around together.”

Lloyd still felt uneasy about Admund.

He didn’t want to face him again after he had taken away his fiancée, knowing she was his.

However, that feeling didn’t take precedence over the fact that it was what Aria wanted.

“Whose fault do you think it is that our relationship fundamentally fell apart?”

Admund’s name lingered on Lloyd’s lips.

He wanted to severely criticize Admund in front of Aria and tarnish his reputation.

He wished she would no longer look at Admund.

But thinking that saying so wouldn’t make Aria view Admund negatively, he finally gave the answer she wanted.

“Since Clea got involved.”

“Yes, it became like that after Clea appeared by Admund’s side, didn’t it?”

Lloyd almost furrowed his brow at Aria’s assertion that it was all because of Clea.

He vividly remembered the last time he faced Clea, when she coughed up blood immediately after confronting him.

Even while spitting bright red blood, she still wouldn’t allow him to approach with her sharp gaze.

As Lloyd recalled her appearance, discomfort and anger arose from deep within his heart.

‘When did she follow me around saying she liked me, and why has she now gone to another man?’

It was Clea who had been following him constantly since their academy days.

He felt inwardly satisfied seeing Clea like that.

The more she obsessed over him by his side, the more he thought he wasn’t inadequate.

But suddenly, in an instant, she changed. Due to her altered attitude, Lloyd developed a sense of alienation and impatience.

Given the relationship that had somehow continued, Lloyd was willing to marry her if she would act like before again.

Every time she kept looking at Lloyd as if he were a stranger, stubbornness grew in his heart.

“We need to somehow separate Clea from Admund’s side again.”

“Separate? How?”

“You’re still Clea’s fiancé, now as before.”

“But when Clea left the Odoi family…”

“What does her leaving the Odoi family have to do with anything?”

Lloyd’s head became complicated at Aria’s words.

The situation became quite complex when Clea left the Odoi family.

She was no longer the young lady of the ancient Odoi ducal family.

She was completely mismatched in status with him, the heir to the Grand Ducal family.

“Just because Clea left her family doesn’t mean her engagement to you is broken off.”

It was a claim that could only be seen as Aria’s complete nonsense. But for some reason, Lloyd felt as if he was being enticed by those words.

The thought grew that, as she said, it was difficult to see his relationship with her as completely severed.

“And since it’s true that Clea liked you, if you treat her a little better now with determination, wouldn’t she come back to you?”

Before he knew it, Aria had begun to use Lloyd again.

Lloyd believed Aria’s words as if they were true, not even realizing he was being used.

“Lloyd, it’s up to you. Whether the three of us can be together like before.”

With those final words, Aria nestled into Lloyd’s arms.

Lloyd trembled as he felt the sensation of Aria voluntarily embracing him.

He couldn’t believe she had embraced him of her own accord.

His reason was numbed by the faintly perceived fragrance and warm body temperature.

Seizing that gap, Aria raised her head.

At such a close distance, Lloyd was on the verge of falling.

“Please, Lloyd.”

At a distance close enough for their lips to nearly touch, Lloyd’s gaze wavered.

But Aria was looking at him as if she wouldn’t allow him to look elsewhere.

In the end, Lloyd nodded.

“Alright. I’ll try somehow.”

He said that, but he didn’t like it.

The thought of acting kindly towards that Clea felt extremely humiliating.

However, what was even more important was still Aria.

‘Finally, with this.’

Aria had not calculated at all that Lloyd would suddenly appear like this without any notice.

At first, she was very flustered by Lloyd’s appearance, but nevertheless, she was satisfied with the result in the end.

‘Finally, you’ll be distanced from Admund.’

She thought this would make Clea distance herself in her relationship with Admund.

Because the Clea she had seen during their academy days truly did love Lloyd.

If their relationship was restored like this, Admund would be alone again.

Aria intended to have Admund all to herself then.

This time, so that no one else could interfere.

‘So you should be grateful to me. Thanks to me, you’ll get the man you’ve wanted so much.’

But variables always existed.

‘How interesting. Who would have thought the Grand Duke’s son of the Percy family and the young lady of the Hersher family had such a relationship.’

No matter how secluded the place was, it wasn’t that there was absolutely no one passing by.