“Now. Please go quickly.”

Ariel, who had been unable to move due to Kaius watching her the whole time, quietly slipped away at Demian’s words. Checking behind her several times as she walked, Ariel let out a deep sigh of relief only after she had gone some distance.

She had succeeded.

Now she just needed to go to the room where Anna was waiting, change into her dress, get ready, and leisurely head to the competition hall. It was already filled with the smell of steak, so the scent on her now wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

After that, well. Things would flow naturally in whichever direction.

Suddenly remembering the wishing fountain, she burst out laughing.

“I wonder what will happen.”

Nodding with a smile, she thought about teasing Edward if the wish that had failed five times succeeded. Along with a resolve to never waste coins there again.

A cool autumn breeze blew.

The mood was good,

The air was nice,

And there were no people around due to the competition. It was a quiet road.

Perhaps because she felt everything was perfect, her sense of relief grew even stronger. Ariel walked that path with a much lighter heart.

Kaius found Ariel about halfway between the competition hall and the room where she had been staying. The moment he confirmed she had disappeared, he asked Devian to take care of things and headed straight for this road. She was a woman new to the palace, and there wasn’t much time to prepare for this, so she couldn’t have gone anywhere else.

Kaius found Ariel on that expected path.

Kaius, who had been walking with wide strides, gradually slowed down when he was at a distance where Ariel wouldn’t notice him. If she encountered him now, she would surely flee in panic, so he planned to slowly follow her to her lodgings like this.

Ariel, who had been walking peacefully with her hands behind her back, started humming a song. Kaius’ gaze sank deeply as he let out a small laugh at how incredibly absurd the sight was.

Even after seeing Demian injured. An act he had absolutely forbidden. Without a word of discussion. As she pleased.

At that moment, Kaius stepped on a broken branch. At that small sound, Ariel stopped walking. Her head slowly turned back. After discovering Kaius, Ariel’s head naturally turned back to the front. And then she started walking again as if nothing had happened.

Pretending not to know?

If this too required mental preparation, he was willing to grant that much generosity. Kaius leisurely followed behind such an Ariel.

But her steps gradually quickened, and then she started running outright, holding up her skirt.

“Ha……”

***

Kaius remained in place for a moment, unable to even think of chasing after that absurd sight.

She must know she would be caught soon, having seen his abilities in the Letiana forest. Or did she believe she could escape from him? Kaius started carefully looking around to see if there was anyone else nearby.

There was only his woman nearby, running while gasping for breath.

If that was the case.

Kaius, putting strength into his toes, began chasing after her. The forest path densely lined with large fir trees quickly passed by.

Ariel saw Kaius chasing from afar. He was fast. Which meant she would be caught before reaching the room where Anna was waiting. Various thoughts flashed through her mind, but they quickly disappeared. Now, with only the thought that she must not meet him, she turned into the forest. Judging by the intensity of the pursuit, he seemed very angry, so for now, it was best not to encounter him.

It was pure instinct that made her quickly scan her surroundings while running. Finding a place to hide her body, Ariel crouched down, pulling her dress as tight as possible. Her panting breath subsided, but her heart’s trembling did not calm.

Please. May he pass by without knowing.

Burying her head between her knees with a prayerful heart, Ariel let out a silent sigh.

It was something she had done because it was really necessary…

Kaius was standing near the thicket where Ariel was hiding. As he approached after discovering her, the sight he saw deeply grated on his nerves. The sight of her trembling violently with her face buried between her knees as if terrified. She looked like a small animal being chased by a hunter, not a wife. Seeing that sight, Kaius unconsciously stepped back.

A woman who handled potentially dangerous matters alone without a word of discussion was brazen and irritating. Moreover, if discovered, it would simultaneously violate the fifth and sixth clauses. The very person who made a woman so fearful of contract violations commit such an act so easily was none other than himself.

If he had examined Demian’s wound more closely. This ridiculous situation would not have happened. In the end, the current anger was directed at himself. Not at that small and fragile woman.

But it was clear that he disliked the woman who made him fall into such a mood. So he needed to rein in the willful woman before it was too late. While he could still be patient.

“Ariel.”

“……”

“Answer me. Ariel.”

Ariel buried her head even deeper and held her breath. She had no leisure to notice that his voice was gentler than expected. She only knew that he was nearby, and she did not want to be discovered.

Kaius let out a small sigh. There was no need to see how frozen stiff she must be.

“I’m not trying to get angry, so answer.”

At those words, which sounded a bit gentler, Ariel’s head, which had been buried in her knees, finally rose slightly.

“…Really?”

Kaius chuckled at the faintly trembling voice. He felt as if he had become a man harassing a woman.

“You cooking in place of the injured Demian.”

“……”

“Running away from me.”

“……”

As the words continued that far, Ariel’s face began to slowly creep back between her knees.

“I promise not to ask about everything. But. I want just one promise from you.”

“……”

“Promise that you won’t deceive me from now on. That’s the one promise I want to receive.”

Ariel couldn’t readily answer. How could she shamelessly, when she was already deceiving him? If she made the promise now, even that promise would become a lie. She only felt more apologetic towards him for asking for an impossible promise.

“……”

‘I’m sorry. I can’t make that promise.’

“Answer.”

Strength gradually built in Kaius’ hand at her unresponsive attitude. He intended to extract this promise no matter what. He was not confident he could treat her well if he saw her deceiving him again.

“Answer me. Ariel.”

Kaius’ voice, which had been gentle, lowered and became pressuring. Feeling uneasy, Ariel had to say something.

“…I’m sorry. Just get angry if you want to be angry.”

Ha…

A dejected sigh escaped at the sight of the woman saying she would continue to deceive him. How could this be? What was this feeling of being stuck in a quagmire that came with her every word? Irritation welled up at the incomprehensible emotion. Damn it. Without realizing it, Kaius’ fist clenched tightly, veins bulging.

He should have just carried her into the room. Seeing her eyes trembling with fear would have been better than this, he thought, finding himself unbearably ridiculous. Self-deprecating, Kaius finally closed his eyes with a quiet sigh.

“Go change your clothes and come to the competition hall.”

Kaius slowly opened his eyes and took a step. As the footsteps faded, Ariel rose from her hiding place. Though she couldn’t give Kaius the answer he wanted, she went after his footsteps, thinking she shouldn’t let him go like this.

But Ariel, who had run with all her might and crouched for a long time, stumbled after just a few steps. At her presence, Kaius stopped in his tracks. Without turning around. He knew well that if he saw her, the anger he had been holding back would be directed at her.

Slowly getting up, Ariel approached his back. Looking at his large, firm back, Ariel quietly opened her mouth.

“…Um, even if I can’t promise what you said, I won’t decide and act alone like today from now on. But I can’t promise to do that for everything. It may sound like an excuse, but I have circumstances I can’t tell you about.”

“……”

“Someday when I can tell you everything, then…”

Ariel, who seemed to hesitate, bit her lip and gently placed her hand on his back.

“…I’ll definitely promise then.”

At Ariel’s last words, uttered softly, Kaius slowly turned around. The sight of his wife looking at him with clear eyes filled his gaze. The reddish glow of the evening sky settled on both their faces.

***

“Dessert category, Kaldenbach wins 9:6.”

A huge cheer erupted at the attendant’s shout. Amidst that, the black box was raised again.

“We will now begin counting the votes for steak.”

It was around then that Kaius, Ariel, and Anna arrived at the competition hall. Lemon and Devian, who spotted them, quickly approached.

“Your Excellency, we won the dessert category, and the steak votes are being counted now.”

A silence so deep that not even breathing could be heard followed.

“The winner of the steak category is…”

The attendant scanned the crowd once before opening his mouth again.

“Kaldenbach, 9:6. The winner of Le Cordon Bleu is Elbartan’s Kaldenbach! The award ceremony and celebratory banquet will follow, so please enter the banquet hall.”

At the attendant’s final announcement, heated cheers echoed throughout the gardens of Klardeus Palace. The nobles came over offering congratulations and asking the same question. When would they start selling the steak? Reminded of Elia Company by that question, Ariel smiled with overwhelming joy.

For a while, supply wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand so prices would rise, but Ariel planned to increase production as much as possible to lower prices.

Sharing good things was her motto.

After the award ceremony inside the banquet hall, Kaius was surrounded by nobles. As Ariel watched that scene, someone approached from behind her.

“Ariel.”

Caught up in the boisterous atmosphere, Ariel turned at the voice calling her. It was a gentleman wearing his hat low.

As she tilted her head looking at him, the gentleman slightly lifted his hat then lowered it. At that sight, Ariel’s eyes filled with surprise. It was the same for Anna who was beside her.

“How…”

“Shall we step outside for a moment?”