“It was none other than my father who told me to end my relationship with Lloyd.”

When was the moment that the relationship with Lloyd completely changed?

Thinking about it, it was from the moment Duke Hersher told her to end the relationship.

Until then, they had been friends who did not cross the line.

But from the moment he said they should no longer meet, the relationship between the two completely changed.

Aria felt uncomfortable with Lloyd approaching her as if there was nothing more to hold back.

So she wanted to avoid meeting him as much as possible.

But the Duke’s thoughts were different.

“Given how things have turned out, there’s nothing we can do.”

For him, Aria marrying Lloyd was the best choice no matter what.

He noticed that they had already fallen out of favor with the imperial family.

Previously, he thought Aria was the only candidate to marry Admund.

So he arrogantly pressured Odin and even tried to negotiate with Admund.

Even when he heard the news that Clea had caught Admund’s fancy, he dismissed it as a false rumor without trying to find out directly.

Because of that, the Duke’s heart was now anxious.

His goal was to quickly marry Aria off to someone else and somehow get out of this situation.

“Father, I have no intention of marrying Lloyd.”

“Still, try meeting him first. You never know. You might like him better than the Crown Prince once you meet him.”

“No, that will absolutely never happen.”

“Aria!”

The Duke hoped his daughter would forget Admund for the sake of the family.

However, Aria felt rather rebellious against the Duke’s persuasion.

The only person she had eyes for was Admund alone.

Lloyd was merely someone who helped her completely, not someone she had ever thought of marrying.

Moreover, considering what happened with Lloyd, it was even more unacceptable.

In the end, the Duke raised his voice and Aria fell silent.

“Still, we cannot turn away a guest who has come. Especially if the other party is from a higher-ranking family than ours.”

This was the reason why they couldn’t drive away Lloyd who kept coming without appointments.

Even though they were a ducal family, the other party was the heir to a grand ducal family.

As someone who didn’t want to cause friction between families that would have many future interactions, he ordered her to meet him anyway.

Aria, not unaware of this, moved with a frown on her face.

“Do I not need to dress up?”

“Why dress up? There’s no one you need to impress.”

Feeling no need to dress up for meeting Lloyd, who was neither Admund nor someone else, Aria headed to the reception room.

Meanwhile, the Duke stroked his anxious chest as he watched Aria leave.

The two were said to be close friends, but that was only possible when they were at the academy.

As this was a place where status clearly existed, the relationship could be reversed at any time.

Worried that Aria might make a mistake, he wanted to follow along, but given the nature of the meeting, it was awkward to intervene.

In the end, all he could do was pray that nothing would happen as he watched Aria leave.

* * *

“Aria, it’s been so long. Have you been well?”

“Lloyd, what brings you here?”

As she opened the door to the reception room and entered, Lloyd was sitting there with a bright expression.

Seeing Lloyd’s face, Aria inwardly clicked her tongue.

She found it ridiculous how he was acting as if nothing had happened between them, with a nonchalant expression.

She couldn’t speak as affectionately as before.

But Lloyd seemed to be in a good mood just from seeing Aria’s face, as he smiled brightly.

On the other hand, the more Aria saw his smiling face, the more she felt like her insides were burning.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I’m busy right now, so could you just tell me why you came?”

Wanting to escape this uncomfortable situation quickly, she tried to avoid small talk.

Whether he knew her feelings or not, Lloyd began to say what he wanted to say.

“I missed you, Aria.”

Lloyd looked at the floor.

He recalled the things he had done to her in his moment of losing reason.

It had happened in an instant. He always had a feeling of regret in his heart.

“Ever since I let you go that day, I’ve been thinking. That I was wrong.”

Lloyd couldn’t forget the expression Aria had as she looked at him that day.

She slowly distanced herself, stiff as if she had no expectations at all.

He wanted to hold her back.

But thinking about it, Lloyd thought it was rather fortunate that he didn’t hold her back then.

Because at that time, he had truly lost his reason.

If he had held her back then, he couldn’t imagine what else he might have done.

Now he was in a state where he had calmly organized his thoughts.

So he wanted to ask for forgiveness.

To start their relationship anew from the beginning.

“It’s okay, Lloyd.”

“Aria.”

For a moment, Lloyd was overjoyed.

If Aria would let it pass without making a big deal, he was willing to do anything for her.

But her following words completely shattered that thought.

“It’s not like we were going to get married anyway, though I was very surprised.”

She spoke as if nailing it down.

Now it seemed that her relationship with him meant nothing to her.

There was no warmth felt in Aria’s voice, unlike the kind days of the past.

Aria had no intention of accepting his apology.

The relationship between the two had already reached a complete breakdown.

Not only had things gone wrong because of Lloyd, but her relationship with Admund had also deteriorated to the worst.

In fact, although it was something she had brought upon herself, she was shifting the blame to others.

She thought it was absolutely not because of her that her relationship with Admund had worsened.

‘It’s already completely over between you and me, Lloyd.’

But Lloyd, who was watching this, was not a fool either.

He had imagined scenes like this while coming here.

He had hoped that his imagination wouldn’t become reality, but it was hard to deny the situation unfolding right before his eyes.

Usually, Lloyd was infinitely foolish and oblivious, but he was particularly quick-witted when it came to matters related to Aria.

Disappointment and frustration settled in Lloyd’s eyes.

But soon after, he smiled brightly, just as he had when he first met Aria.

Seeing his smile, Aria felt somehow uneasy.

Thinking there was nothing more to talk about, she wanted to get up from her seat.

Aria opened her mouth to speak firmly to Lloyd. That we don’t really suit each other.

“I don’t think we suit each other. So please tell your family to stop the marriage talk…”

“Aria Hersher.”

However, Lloyd still had a lot more to say.

He held out something to her with a smiling face. It was something he had wanted to give her all along on his way here.

Aria’s gaze wavered as she looked at the well-packaged case.

Anyone could see what was inside the case he was handing over.

Aria’s expression hardened when she saw the case.

“I carefully chose this to give to you. You look good in anything, so this will surely suit you well too.”

When he opened the case, inside was a ring with a small diamond.

It was a sufficiently luxurious-looking ring, but she, being a duke’s daughter, had many better rings than this.

But what mattered was the reason why he was giving her this ring.

“I’ll gift you an even better ring later.”

“Lloyd, I’m not marrying you.”

“One that suits you.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“Do I look like I’m being stubborn right now?”

Lloyd stood up from his seat and slowly approached Aria.

As he approached and the distance between them narrowed, Aria wanted to step back.

She wanted to get up from her seat and move away from him, but Lloyd was faster this time too.

He stood in front of her, pressing close so that she couldn’t completely escape.

Aria felt somehow uncomfortable with the gaze directed at her.

On the other hand, Lloyd didn’t consider her discomfort at all.

What mattered to him now was to firmly impress his intention upon Aria.

“Our marriage is already in progress. The families are actively pushing for it too.”

“Lloyd, please stop.”

It was said in the hope that he wouldn’t cross the line any further, but hearing this, Lloyd snorted.

Aria had always been his top priority.

He always listened to whatever she said, and he was happy to see her pleased every time.

But now it was different.

Having realized that if he gave in to what she wanted, he would be the only one ruined, he took a different approach than before.

“The person who will marry you is me. Not Admund, but me.”

Lloyd, who had felt inferior to Admund, felt elation.

At the fact that he could decisively have what Admund had almost had.

Aria tried to somehow soothe Lloyd’s heart.

However, Lloyd stepped outside, ignoring Aria’s words as if he had no intention of giving her a chance.

Watching Lloyd walk away, Aria soon shouted.

“Why should I marry someone like you! Right now, the one who suits you is not me but Clea!”

In Aria’s eyes, Lloyd was an ugly and incompetent man who had fallen infinitely.

The person who suited such a man was Clea. Aria had thought they matched quite well.

But suddenly, she became the one who was supposed to marry Lloyd. She was overwhelmed with shock.

She tried to spit out sharp words until the end, but Lloyd didn’t look back at all and went outside.

All that remained in the room was the ring case he had left behind.

She threw away the ring case and thought.

‘I need to find a way quickly. Somehow, quickly!’