AWEOM 09

Chapter: 09

Even though I knew this was just practice, and that he wasn’t serious, why did I get caught up in such a strange atmosphere? Could it be because this is happening on a bed?

“Croa, Aloze.”

Diello called my name again.

“Why are you adding ‘Aloze’? It makes it feel distant.”

It’s not Aloze anymore—it’s Argenta now.

I tried to brush away the strange feeling that lingered at my fingertip and spoke again.

“Just call me Croa, Diello.”

I had thought he used to call me that comfortably before, so it was strange that it felt awkward now.

Diello murmured a few times, then spoke softly.

“…Croa.”

Maybe it was the dim lighting, the slightly alcohol-warmed atmosphere, or the sweet scent of wine.

That voice sounded as sweet as one you’d only hear on a newlywed’s first night.

“Good. Pass.”

I withdrew my hand from his lips.

It seemed the lingering sensation at my fingertips hadn’t completely faded.

I felt like my cheeks might flush for no reason, so I subtly turned to lie on my back, facing the ceiling.

“As promised, I won’t try to seduce you. But we still have to spend the night together, without it looking strange. Like tonight.”

Even practicing this, I held his hand tightly.

“Alright, then.”

Diello answered softly and came a little closer to me.

I could feel his breath brush against my neck, and it was ticklish.

Even more stimulating than before.

…Eventually, I looked back at him. And then I realized something important.

“Ah.”

Even if it’s a promised first night, there was something I should do just in case.

I turned my body fully toward Diello.

“But I have a request.”

Partly as practice.

“What kind…?”

I whispered my small plan to him as he tilted his head.

“…!”

Diello’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

“Are you sure about this, Croa?”

I nodded willingly. Still, Diello seemed a little conflicted.

But I had to carry out this ‘plan.’

So I whispered a little more earnestly.

“They say something like this in Argenta, don’t they, Diello?”

I spread out my hand.

“‘Do it, or don’t.’”

Diello’s eyes widened slightly at my words, and I nodded once more.

“So if we’re doing it, let’s be certain.”

After I finished speaking, it seemed Diello set aside his conflict. He exhaled shortly, then finally nodded.

Then he gently pushed my shoulder and climbed over me.

Trapped between his arms, my vision was instantly swallowed by shadows.

After the first night.

Pretending to be a sweet newlywed wasn’t difficult.

Above all, Diello Argenta was naturally a kind person.

If I just matched him a little more actively, pretending wasn’t hard at all.

“I like quiet too, in my own way.”

Saying that and leaning against me, Diello, blushing but holding me close, looked every bit the shy newlywed.

Moreover, after the first night, it seemed he was determined about something.

―Kiss.

A soft kiss landed on my forehead.

He became gradually more skilled at the act.

The more he did, the more the Argenta people began to anticipate it.

After we spent three full nights together, when Diello’s lily disappeared, they would receive the awakened power and grow stronger.

Besides, our relationship had been developing quickly, and since I wasn’t acting like a villainess despite rumors, there were no more checks on us.

Thus, our sweet honeymoon continued into the third day.

Today was also the last day the Aloze maids would stay.

After today, the Aloze maids who had been watching me—or rather, surveilling me—would leave this mansion entirely.

Of course, we still had to pretend in front of the Argenta people, but it would be freer than being openly observed by the Aloze maids.

―Rustle.

“This is lightly brewed Lorail tea. It should help with fatigue.”

I was looking at a surprisingly well-kept garden, considering it had been prepared quickly.

Diello was in the study attending to some Argenta matters.

‘He’ll be down soon. Just wait a little.’

I remembered his apologetic, awkward face and chuckled quietly.

“Thanks. Could you bring a cup to Diello too? He must be tired from work.”

“Understood, my lady.”

Piele now called me “my lady.”

The wedding had taken place, and I was now undeniably the mistress of Argenta.

Just as Piele summoned another maid to follow her orders, a voice echoed from afar.

“Waaah…! Mommy…!”

It was a child’s voice.

“…Crying?”

I turned toward the sound.

Through the neatly arranged flowerbeds, I saw a small child trudging along.

“Uh…!”

Then, perhaps seeing me through tears, the child ran toward me, sobbing.

Piele quickly blocked the child.

“You’re not someone you can approach freely. But you…”

Judging from Piele’s reaction, the child didn’t belong in this mansion.

Of course. Only the servants who served Diello and me should be here.

“Help me, sister!”

But the child ignored Piele’s blocking and tried to reach me.

Piele’s gaze quickly scanned the child, likely checking for weapons.

As Argenta’s “cleaner,” she was also probably ensuring the child wasn’t some disguised assassin.

Seeing no issues, Piele finally looked up at me.

“What should we do?”

It seemed the child had followed one of the servants.

I gestured to the child.

First, I needed to calm the crying.

“Come here. Why are you crying, hmm?”

When Piele removed her hands, the child immediately ran to me and clung tightly.

I lowered myself to meet the child’s eye level.

Her cheeks were swollen from crying; it seemed she had been crying for a while.

“My mommy… my mommy’s gone.”

“Mommy?”

“She came with me… hic!”

I tilted my head at the child’s words.

“Could one of the servants have brought a child with them?”

“There’s no one like that in Argenta,” Piele replied immediately.

Meanwhile, the child’s crying grew louder.

“Mommy…!”

Clinging to me, the child refused to let go.

“Waaah!”

“She must be anxious…”

I gently stroked the child’s hair and looked at Piele.

“This won’t do.”

I stood up, cupping the child’s face to soothe her.

“I’ll take her to the main road. Then it’ll be easier to find her mother.”

“My lady, there’s a safety concern―”

“It’s fine.”

I spoke firmly to Piele, who hesitated.

“I trust Aloze and Argenta.”

As I said Argenta, I looked Piele straight in the eyes.

Aloze, who needed to use me, wouldn’t harm me. And Argenta, who knew me as Pero, the head’s daughter, wouldn’t either.

In other words, the knights stationed around the mansion were all there to protect me.

“Still, just in case, don’t tell anyone else.”

I winked at Piele.

“I trust you, Piele.”

Her eyes widened at my wink.

“Besides, what could a child do?”

“Sniff….”

Eventually, Piele nodded.

“Understood. You two go ahead, my lady―”

She was about to summon the other maids to follow me.

“Waaah!”

The child’s cries grew louder again.

Hiding her face in the folds of my dress, she trembled as if distrusting strangers.

“I’ll just go to the main road quickly on my own.”

Finally, Piele dismissed the other maids.

Only then did the child calm down.

“Shall we go?”

I patted the child’s sobbing head and started walking.

I didn’t know the mansion’s paths well, but I could find the main road and have the Aloze maids or knights guide her.

―Step, step.

Moving away from Piele and the maids, the child stopped crying.

I let go of the hand that had been stroking her head.

The child quietly started tugging at my dress.

Until now, I had been leading the way, but this new behavior was significant.

“Hmm? What is it?”

I asked innocently, but the child only tugged harder at my dress.

That confirmed my suspicion.

This child was deliberately sent to me.

1. The mansion was heavily guarded, yet the child was here alone, sticking to me.
2. There was mud on her shoes, even though there was no muddy area nearby.
3. Most importantly, as she moved away from Piele, the Aloze emblem glinted through her cloak.

That alone was enough to raise suspicion.

Of course, this child could pose a threat.

Even if Piele had checked her, not all weapons are visible.

And since some people could freely manipulate wind, water, and fire, there was no guarantee that shapeshifting magic didn’t exist.

This child might not even be a child.

Either way, I had no worries about safety.

Argenta’s “cleaner” Piele would be discreetly following behind me.

If necessary, her sword would strike.

―Rustle.

The child naturally led me to a quiet area.

Then she spun around to face me.

The childish appearance was gone.

“Croa Aloze.”

The child’s cold voice rang out.

Unsurprisingly, her voice shifted into that of an adult woman.

She had been the surveillance agent disguised as a child.

On her wrist, the Aloze emblem gleamed.

From it radiated the strong power of Aloze—sent directly by the duke himself.

After confirming that, the woman asked.

“Did you spend the night with Duke Argenta last night?”

…She actually sent someone just to confirm this.

I opened my mouth in disbelief.

“…Of course.”

I couldn’t exactly say, “We only held hands,” so I answered directly.

Anyway, they didn’t actually witness our night; the truth belonged only to us.

Yet the woman, absurdly, reached out her hand and demanded:

“Then, proof.”

She demanded proof of the first night.

I widened my eyes.