“Perfume……” Although she was called a scentless fake flower, she didn’t usually wear perfume. It was because she could imagine the Countess and Roselyn mocking her, saying she was covering herself with a false scent.

Moreover, she didn’t like headache-inducing perfumes in the first place. The only fragrance she used, if any, was aromatic oil when bathing.

Even that had almost no scent, so the Grand Duke’s words about her wearing perfume were hard to understand at first glance.

“…No. I don’t wear any.”

“You don’t wear any….”

At Aidel’s answer, the Grand Duke’s blue eyes gleamed sharply as if examining her. Her innocent-looking expression had no gaps.

He leaned close to her face, propping one hand on the bookshelf. Because of that, Aidel had to face him at a distance close enough for their breaths to touch.

Due to his flawless cold impression, his deep blue eyes also seemed infinitely chilly, but the eyes she faced up close felt hot like blue lava instead.

“…This is troubling.”

The one in trouble in this situation was clearly herself.

Still, he spoke through clenched teeth as if struggling to hold something back. The blue lava in the man’s eyes surged violently as if it would soon swallow her.

“Your scent makes me feel like I’ll lose my self-control.”

Her mouth went bone dry with tension as if looking at a volcano about to erupt. Even though only her wrist was grabbed, somehow she couldn’t move an inch as if her whole body was tied up.

“What scent are you even talking about…?”

Aidel asked in a trembling voice, flustered. Unless it was her half-sister Roselyn…. There was no way she could have a scent.

If she did, her mother wouldn’t have passed away, she wouldn’t have grown up amid constant criticism all those years, and she wouldn’t have ended up sold off in an unwanted marriage.

Aidel, feeling a sudden surge of pent-up injustice, asked sharply in a somewhat agitated tone.

“Are you mocking me? Even if you’re the Grand Duke, this is a clear rudeness.”

“You’re the one mocking me. Such a strong scent is coming from you…. If it’s not perfume, is this your natural scent?”

Caeron unconsciously brought his nose close to her neck. An insane urge to lick the soft, cream-like white skin rose up.

Startled by the hot breath on her neck, the woman twisted her body and wriggled. The scent that rose up even stronger drove his barely restrained reason to run wild.

‘Damn it….’

Letting out a low growl, Caeron snarled.

“What trick are you pulling?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But one thing is clear. What you’re doing right now is a clear violation of imperial law.”

In front of the somehow unstable-looking Grand Duke, Aidel decided to calm herself first. Although her body was still trembling finely, she continued in a resolute tone.

“I believe you are well aware of Article 251 of the imperial law regarding forced molestation. Unwanted physical contact is punishable.”

Caeron chuckled at the brazen woman mentioning the law to him, the Chief Justice of the empire.

In this situation, the woman’s unexpected response was certainly commendable. The recklessly raging momentum of his body considerably subsided. The excitement died down, but a different emotion rose up instead.

“So please let me go. Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

She was a slender woman who looked like she would crumble if he applied force, like the thin wrist he was grasping. Her soft green eyes like newly sprouted leaves also looked infinitely fragile. Yet the way she stared at him resolutely with those naive eyes was quite intriguing.

“Forced molestation….”

Caeron had been thoroughly indifferent to others since birth. Touching someone else’s body by his own will was also unfamiliar to him. If it was his usual self, he wouldn’t have cared in the slightest whether the woman in front of him fell or not.

However, the moment the woman’s body swayed, his body reacted first without him realizing it. Even at her polite request to let go, he didn’t want to release her hand that had come into his grasp.

He felt absurd and dumbfounded by his own actions, even after hearing the woman talk about forced molestation. For him, this behavior was novel and ridiculous.

At first, he suspected that the woman’s scent that shook his reason served as an aphrodisiac perfume. In reality, it was Caeron’s daily life to be plagued by women trying to seduce him in all sorts of bizarre ways.

‘But if her intention was to seduce….’

There would be no reason for her to plead this much to be released. The woman in front of him was desperately trying to escape from him.

‘Just what is this woman?’

To be honest, his body still hadn’t cooled down from reacting to the woman’s scent. He had barely found the calmness in his head…. Looking at this woman who made him like a beast without a leash, Caeron became curious about another person for the first time in his life.

Sensing that the man’s grip strength had loosened as if lost in thought, she took that moment to shake off his hand with all her might.

He let the woman brush him off without resistance.

“Excuse me. Your Highness.”

Leaving a brief greeting, the woman turned around and ran out of the library. Her hair, lush like wheat before harvest, fluttered like waves in the wind.

Caeron intently took in the back of the fleeing woman. Contrary to his relaxed-looking expression, he clenched his fists tightly. His damn body was howling to chase after the woman right away.

Even after she completely disappeared, the image of the woman staring at him with upright eyes remained imprinted in his mind as if engraved.

‘I hope you never catch my eye again….’

His reason was telling him that would be better.

In the first place, Caeron disliked variables with his temperament. Especially losing his reason by getting entangled with a woman was the variable he considered most foolish.

Of all places, he had to encounter that variable at the Imperial University he had visited after a long time.

Entering the library hallway, he had unknowingly walked here as if entranced, drawn to the unfamiliar scent that pulled at him strongly.

At the end of his steps was her, immersed in a book.

‘I wasn’t in my right mind.’

Caeron smiled self-deprecatingly and ran his hand through his hair.

Attributing it to a momentary inexplicable impulse, he tried to sort out his complicated feelings and was about to walk away but stopped in his tracks.

His gaze fell upon the cloche hat the woman seemed to have left behind. Perhaps because traces of the woman’s lingering scent remained in the library…. In the end, he picked up the vestige the woman had left.

‘Aidel….’

It was the woman’s name embroidered inside the hat. He recalled the names of noble family daughters he remembered but couldn’t find it.

Her etiquette that seemed ingrained in her body appeared noble…. She might be from a well-educated middle class.

“Your Highness! You were here? I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

What broke his thoughts was Gregory, his chief of staff. In a way, the culprit who made him encounter the unwanted variable was this talkative aide.

“They say the entrance exams are all over. Let’s hurry to the dean’s office. Huh? But what’s that in your hand? It looks like a cloche hat women wear….”

“Haa….”

Heaving a deep sigh, Caeron walked to the dean’s office without reply. Gregory trotted after him.

“Why do you suddenly have a woman’s hat that wasn’t with you when we came together? Don’t tell me you had a secret rendezvous in the library….”

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll withdraw my decision to hire a new aide.”

“Why the upsetting words? You know how long I’ve waited for this day! According to Professor Nichen who oversaw the exams, a tremendous talent has entered….”

Half-listening to Gregory’s noisy chatter, Caeron threw his gaze out the window as he walked in silence. His eyes seemed to be unconsciously searching for someone.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke! You’ve come?”

Arriving at the dean’s office, Jefferson, the dean of Jupiter Imperial University where Caeron served as the nominal chairman, welcomed him gladly. Professor Nichen of the Department of Public Administration also noticed him and politely bowed.

“You said you’re taking in a new aide for the Grand Ducal House among this year’s freshmen in the Department of Public Administration. There are many good talents even among the current students, so why freshmen of all people….”

“Well, I thought it would be more rewarding to teach and nurture freshmen. Plus, for the sake of outstanding talents from the beginning, His Highness the Grand Duke also plans to spare no support. Right, Your Highness?”

Gregory answered the dean’s question on his behalf, his eyes shining as if to say, ‘Right, Your Highness?’ Caeron nodded roughly as if bothered.

He was tired of Gregory constantly pestering him to hire a new assistant who would work diligently under him because he had a lot of work.

“Among the freshmen who took the Department of Public Administration entrance exam, this answer sheet is the most excellent. But, this freshman is….”

“Oh, is that so? Let me take a look.”

Cutting off Professor Nichen’s words, the impatient Gregory took the answer sheet he was holding as if snatching it away.

‘No, but that freshman is….’

Professor Nichen’s mouth gaped open due to his unfinished words.

It was clearly an answer sheet anyone would call the top score, but the one who wrote it had difficulties becoming an aide to the Grand Ducal House.

“Wow! This answer is perfect? Is this really written by a freshman?”

Quickly skimming through the answer, Gregory opened his mouth in admiration. The writing laid out clearly had very solid evidence supporting its arguments.

Although talkative, Gregory was someone who did his job properly. That was also why Caeron had fully entrusted him with hiring a new aide.

Uninterested in the freshman’s answer sheet, Caeron was fiddling with the cloche hat, lost in other thoughts.

“Let’s go with this person! No, it has to be this person. Wait, the name is….”

Gregory, full of conviction, checked the name written on the answer sheet.

“Number 136… Aidel?”

At the familiar name Gregory uttered, the motion of fiddling with the cloche hat stopped. At the same time, Caeron’s long outstretched hand reached for the answer sheet Gregory was holding.

“…Let me see that.”

Receiving the answer sheet, he examined it with gleaming eyes, searching for her traces.

The same scent as the one lingering on the cloche hat was faintly soaked into the paper. The slender and elegant brushstrokes of the handwriting resembled the owner of this hat, but the writing style was concise and clear.

“The student who submitted this answer sheet was the first to finish the exam and leave. That’s why I remember. The student who submitted that answer….”

Professor Nichen hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“…was a woman.”