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nChapter 33

nSince when has he been watching?

nAria quickly looked at Lloyd’s expression.

nThe boy’s smooth forehead had cracks as before.

nThis situation seemed unsatisfying, but he didn’t seem to know anything.

n‘He didn’t see it.’

nAria sighed in relief.

nIf he had witnessed her move with the movement scroll, he would have started to doubt her again.

nAs she lifted her head, rainwater poured in through the hole.

nLloyd stared tenaciously at the raindrops that flowed from her eyes and formed a mask, running down her chin.

nThe eyes, blacker than the night sky, shone like a wild beast.

nHe asked, narrowing his eyes.

n“Is it rain or tears?”

n“…”

nWell, of course it was rainwater.

nAria couldn’t understand those words.

nThen she suddenly remembered a scene in the opera ‘Aida’. The main character, Aida, was in the rain to hide her crying.

nCrying in the corner that no one can find out.

n‘Is that a misunderstanding?’

nSold to the Grand Duchy and with no other to turn to, she hid in the rain and cried secretly. Because she was afraid to show people even her flowing tears.

nIt was an absurd misunderstanding, but there was no way to solve the misunderstanding.

n‘No, it might be better to let it be misunderstood….’

nBecause she doesn’t have any excuses for why she was out alone. So Aria avoided his gaze, as she did not answer the boy’s question.

n“It’s a talent to go against my nerves this much.”

nLloyd grabbed the railing of the terrace and jumped lightly. Mud stuck to the boy’s trousers, which were made of fine fabric. He approached her without paying any attention to his clothes getting wet.

n“If you speak, I will understand.”

n“…”

n“If you don’t face anything, I’ll feel bad.”

n“…”

n“Whether it’s rain, people or anything, don’t leave like this.”

nLloyd came close to her threateningly and clenched his fists tightly.

nHe seemed not to know why he had to put up with this. As if he didn’t know what to do with Aria, who made him say this.

nLloyd’s eyes, soaked in rainwater, sank more and more deeper than the deep sea.

n‘Calm down.’

nAria put her hand on the boy’s head as if saying so.

n“…..”

n“…..”

nHer hand didn’t even reach the top of his head, so it was closer to touching his bangs.

nShe admired in her mind.

nThe feel of his hair was soft. The slender, slickness was easily disorganized between her fingers.

n‘As expected, this person was still a child?

nAs if he was very surprised, his wide open eyes felt cuter than expected, and Aria was perplexed inside.

nThe Lloyd that she remembers was a fully mature man.

n“…. What are you doing?”

nWhat are you doing? Well.

nAria thought for a moment.

n‘When Dana stroked her hair, I couldn’t pinpoint what to explain…..’

nThe tickling from the fingertips spread all over her body, filling her with warmth, and it seemed as if all her clots were melting away.

nNo pain, no anger, no sadness, no loneliness.

nShe just thought he would like it too. She wanted to comfort him.

n– I hope you don’t get sick.

nAria flapped her lips.

nLloyd’s black eyes fluttered slightly. He again carefully flicked the rain-drenched black bangs to the side.

nThen, even at a young age, his cool and stretched facial features were revealed.

n‘This makes him a little meek.’

nA feisty cat.

nIt was when Aria was secretly thinking she was rude.

nLloyd, who seemed to have calmed his excitement for a moment, grabbed her wrist roughly.

n“Who do you think is weak like you?”

nHe sighed as he brushed his bangs with his remaining hand.

n“I don’t know how you’re going to hold out while getting rained on.”

n“…..”

n“You’ll die. Surely.”

nAria knew it too. That the Valentine Grand Duchy wives are short-lived from generation to generation.

n‘It’s not that I didn’t know.’

nAria looked up at Lloyd with a dazed gaze with such a meaning.

nThen the boy licked his mouth and then bit it. At the same time, his gaze at her at the same time became cold in an instant.

n“I won’t even look at you if you cry.”

nLloyd dragged Aria and took his steps.

nEven the gatekeepers who guarded the castle gates were confused as they looked at them drenched in the rain.

nLloyd naturally grabbed the towel the servants handed over and put it on Aria’s head. And he pressed it on her crown as if to wipe it off. Aria bowed her head for a moment at the strength, then grabbed the end of the towel with her hands and she looked up at him.

n“It’s no use having eyes like a puppy in the rain.”

n“…”

n“I don’t know what you’re dreaming of in the Grand Duchy…”

n“…”

n“This is hell. It’s worse than any past you’ve been through.”

nAs she stares silently,

n“This is the bottom.”

nThe boy re-emphasized it and put on a freezing cold sneer.

nHis brief smile seemed to ask sarcastically why she was staying here when she was weak in body and mind.

nAt the same time, he felt a deep hatred for Valentine.

nThat was also self-hatred.

n“Once you step in, you’ll never get out. You can’t handle it.”

n“…”

n“Before that, get out. I’ll take responsibility and let you go.”

nLloyd added, pushing Aria into the guest room. And as she thought he was going out, he threw her into the bathroom.

n“Can you take a bath by yourself?”

nCan you take a bath by yourself?

nWhen Aria was treated as a child by Lloyd, she felt strange.

nBecause, in her eyes, he looked younger.

n– I’m not a kid.

nShe licked her lips.

nAfter reading Aria’s mouth shape, Lloyd snorted back in reply.

n“That’s right, kid.”

n“…”

nHe strode in, turned on the faucet, and poured the hot water in the bathtub.

nHot steam rose from the water filled in the bathtub. If she takes a bath here, her flesh will probably ripen.

n‘Do you want me to go in?’

nAria took turns looking at Lloyd and the boiling bath water. He raised his eyebrows as if asking if there’s a problem.

nThe young master, who must have been taking a prepared bath unlike this all his life, didn’t seem to know that he had to control the temperature of the water.

nWho is really looking at whom and calling them children?

n‘You tried.’

nAria gently stroked the boy’s head, who was standing crookedly.

nAs if weird.

n“Oh, why again… Hoo, take a bath and change clothes.”

nHe let out an annoyed sigh and clasped her hand. Then he rummaged through the closet, pulled out any clothes, and forced it into Aria’s arms.

nWith a bang, the bathroom door closed.

nOutside, she could still feel the boy’s presence.

n‘Oh, he’s watching.”

nWas he planning on waiting outside until she’s all washed up?

nAria was bewildered, but she understood his feelings.

nShe had gotten ill after getting rained on-well it was because she used too much power– and she barely stays in her room, and he finds her getting rained on outside again.

n‘It’s strange that he wasn’t angry.”

nIt was fortunate that people didn’t get angry and shout like fire.

nHad Aria was with the people she had been through in her previous life, they would have raised their hand already. She knew Lloyd’s different from them.

n‘I thought he would at least ignore me now. I didn’t even think to listen to him and disappointed him many times.’

nBut contrary to Aria’s expectations, Lloyd still cares about her. He seemed to not want her to get sick.

n‘Because he can’t kick me out when I’m sick?”

nNo, he could’ve kicked her out at any time, whether sick or not….

nFor some reason, it felt like her face was heating up from the heat of the hot water. Aria turned the faucet and mixed cold water into the boiling bath water.

n“I ordered my knight to find a mansion worthy of your living without the Grand Duke’s knowledge. I’ll get it in one day, so don’t get sick until then, stay quiet.”

nYou want me to live outside the castle? How?

nAria splashed water for no reason and made a sullen expression.

n“You know, once you get married, you can’t legally divorce.”

nAs long as the marriage documents were exchanged, the two were married and could divorce after reaching adulthood under Imperial law. It was a law to prevent even a little bit of the reckless marriage business of the aristocrats.

n“So now is your last chance to run away…”

nAria slammed the bathroom door open.

nLloyd, leaning against the wall right next to the door, looked down at her with a surprised face.

nLloyd stopped talking.

n– I’m not running away.

nAs Aria said, she could have lived a normal life in the Grand Duchy. She could have completely ignored the Valentine’s Incident and the misfortunes of this place.

nShe will be able to live freely.

nBut she didn’t want to live like that. She will definitely regret it. One life full of regrets for her was enough.

n– Divorce. 10 years later.

nWhen she become an adult

n– So, marry me.

nAria moved her bluish lips to and fro so he could understand. Lloyd, who was paying close attention to the shape of her mouth, didn’t seem to understand at all.

n“Did you understand what I was saying?”

nLet’s get married to get a divorce?

n“No matter how much you think about it, I don’t know what you want. I’m worried about your safety, yet you don’t care about your body at all. You’re not interested in money or power. Then…”

nAria hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly. She grabbed the rain-soaked boy’s collar and tugged it.

nSuddenly she pressed her lips to his closer cheek, pressed it together, and pulled back quickly.

n– I don’t bite.

nI came all the way here to marry you, and I have no intention of running away no matter how much you scared me.

nSo even if you hate me, I can’t help it

nAs if saying that.

n“…..”

nLloyd slowly raised his hand and brushed his own cheeks away from her, that had touched Aria’s lips.

nThe light slowly returned to his eyes, which seemed to have gone out of his mind, and it burned horrible.

nIt looked like a black flame.

nAria felt threatened by the threatening aura.

n‘Heuk!’

nShe quickly closed and locked the bathroom door before the boy regained his senses. It was fortunate that it was a structure that could be locked from the inside.

n” ….Hey. Open the door.”

nKuang-!!

nThe doorknob fluttered.

nAria was startled and she went into the moderately warm bathtub. She pretends to wash hard while hearing the sound of gritting teeth from outside.

nSurprised by Lloyd’s threatening aura, her heart raced.

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