Chapter 48
The place where Theron set Aveline down was the most luxurious salon in the capital.
“Oh my, what brings Duke Ribes here!”
At the appearance of a major first-time customer, the salon’s madam personally rushed out.
“This place only makes women’s clothing… huh?”
The madam’s gaze turned to Aveline, who was hiding behind Theron.
“I’d like to look at some shoes.”
“Ah, yes!”
The madam, coming to her senses at Theron’s words, responded in surprise.
“…Just to be sure, you’re asking about shoes for the young lady behind you, right?”
The madam, who had been turning to leave, turned back to confirm once more.
It seemed unreal to her that Theron, famous for being so strange, had visited the salon with a woman.
Judging by the madam’s confused expression, she apparently hadn’t yet heard about the bombshell statement Theron had made at Marquis Nor’s banquet.
“…”
When Theron nodded instead of answering, the madam hurriedly left.
“Why shoes all of a sudden?”
Once they were alone, Aveline asked.
To suddenly carry someone and bring them to a luxury salon.
Even Aveline had never been to this place before.
‘Though I haven’t been to other places either.’
In the past four years, fashion had changed a lot and many new shops had opened, but Aveline, who had always stayed at home, had no way of knowing.
“To buy some for you, of course.”
Theron answered as if it were an obvious question.
‘What? Did he notice it was because of my feet?’
She hadn’t been able to say her feet hurt because of her pride.
“Please sit down.”
While Aveline was anxiously biting her lips, feeling as if her inner thoughts had been discovered, Theron took her hand and led her to the reception room sofa.
Then he knelt in front of her and removed Aveline’s shoes with his bare hands.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Aveline, suddenly finding her bare feet exposed, panicked without realizing it.
“You’re injured.”
However, Theron examined Aveline’s feet with a serious expression.
Aveline’s small feet were completely enveloped in Theron’s large hands.
“From how easily they came off, the shoes you’re wearing seem a bit too big for your feet.”
“…I know.”
“Why did you wear shoes that you knew didn’t fit properly?”
Theron asked as if he couldn’t understand.
“Well…”
Because when I wear mother’s things, people look favorably upon me.
Aveline’s mouth, which had been answering carelessly, froze.
Even though it was an undeniable fact, somehow it hurt to actually say it out loud.
“Well… because these are pretty.”
In the end, Aveline said something different from what she felt.
‘This way, nothing’s changed from yesterday.’
It made meaningless her resolve to confirm her objective position with Lisa and try to build her own strength.
Just as Aveline was about to become gloomy again remembering yesterday’s events, the madam appeared.
“Here are the most fashionable designs these days… Oh my!”
The madam, who had been walking with employees trailing behind her, screamed upon seeing Theron kneeling and holding Aveline’s bare feet in his hands.
“Oh my, oh my!”
The other employees behind her also opened their eyes so wide they seemed ready to pop out, as if they couldn’t believe this scene.
“Let, let go!”
Flustered by the sudden appearance and reaction of people, Aveline unconsciously put strength into her captured foot and kicked Theron.
“Ugh.”
Theron, receiving an unexpected attack, clutched his chest and let out a faint groan.
“So it was true that you have good stamina.”
“Are, are you okay?”
Aveline had received knight training, after all.
She felt sorry for having kicked Theron’s chest hard without controlling her strength in the moment.
“It hurts.”
“Gasp.”
As the surprised Aveline didn’t know what to do, Theron leaned forward and took her hand.
“Precisely, you kicked me here.”
Then he pulled the hand he was holding and brought it to his chest.
‘Wh-what?’
Aveline, whose hand was suddenly placed on Theron’s chest, felt like her heart would burst.
She couldn’t tell whether the heartbeat she felt through her palm was hers or Theron’s.
‘Is he crazy?’
Why put someone’s hand on his chest?
‘A pervert?’
For a moment, Aveline remembered how Theron had remained silent and didn’t deny it when she had asked if he was a pervert before.
‘…Really?’
However, apart from her confused feelings, the sensation felt through Aveline’s palm was warm and firm.
Unlike Serio’s muscles that bulged prominently, Theron’s muscles seemed subtly hidden.
“Heat is rising where you kicked me.”
Theron, who had come close at some point, lowered his eyelashes.
“Hup.”
A handsome face that came closer than a certain distance was harmful to Aveline’s heart.
“Can you feel it?”
Theron spoke again.
Somehow, Aveline felt like a baby rabbit about to be swallowed, standing in front of a snake’s wide-open mouth.
“A-ahem.”
The madam, who had been watching the two, cleared her throat to announce her presence.
“Oh.”
Aveline, belatedly coming to her senses, hurriedly pulled her hand away from Theron.
Theron, as if the suddenly disappeared warmth felt empty, looked disappointed and curled up his hand where Aveline’s hand had slipped away.
However, to Aveline’s eyes now, even that looked perverted.
‘Get it together.’
He’s a polite crazy guy who knows too well that he’s handsome.
His words are gentlemanly but the content isn’t.
“…These are the most fashionable items in the empire right now.”
When the madam awkwardly approached and gestured to the employees, shoes of similar yet different designs were spread out in front of Aveline.
“Rather than these things, don’t you have anything comfortable for the feet?”
“Pardon?”
“Something that won’t hurt these small, delicate feet.”
Theron pointed to Aveline’s feet with a shameless tone.
Though wasn’t he just thoroughly kicked by those same feet?
The madam swallowed her internal questions and tried to manage her expression.
Even after getting shoes fitted, Aveline spent quite a while with Theron and could only return home in the evening.
“Welcome back.”
It was none other than Count Herolds who greeted Aveline.
“…Were you waiting?”
Seeing his appearance that clearly showed he had been outside the whole time, Aveline asked.
“Hmm. Waiting? I just couldn’t sleep and was taking a short walk.”
Count Herolds adjusted the robe over his pajamas and deflected.
“So, what did you do while out?”
Then he casually brought up the main topic.
“I bought shoes.”
“Shoes?”
Count Herolds opened his eyes wide as if it was a completely unexpected answer.
“Yes. The ones I wore out today were uncomfortable and hurt my feet a bit.”
“…Haven’t you been wearing them fine all this time?”
Count Herolds frowned as if he couldn’t quite understand.
“You knew they were a bit big and I was struggling with them.”
The day she had to attend a banquet for the first time in place of Count Herolds when he had collapsed.
When she had to wear mother’s shoes because she didn’t have proper ones.
Count Herolds had definitely been there then too.
So he couldn’t have not known that mother’s shoes were somewhat too big for Aveline.
It’s just that Count Herolds thought they were fine since Aveline seemed to manage well without showing any signs of discomfort.
“…Why didn’t you say something?”
Count Herolds said this because he felt somewhat sorry for not thinking to take care of it, even though he knew Aveline didn’t have shoes that fit her properly.
However, the answer that came back from his daughter was unexpected.
“Duke Ribes knew without me saying anything.”
“What?”
“Well then, good night.”
Aveline bowed in greeting and passed by Count Herolds to enter the mansion.
The sound of the butler, who had been standing uncertainly at the entrance behind Count Herolds the whole time, greeting Aveline could be heard.
“Hah…”
Count Herolds, left alone, stared blankly into space with a hollow laugh.
“You came back later than I thought?”
What Aveline encountered on her way back to her room was Ares leaning against her door.
“What?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? To your brother who was worried about you.”
Ares wrinkled his forehead in displeasure.
“Anyway, after I went out, was there anything unusual at home?”
At Aveline’s question, Ares fell into thought for a moment.
“Hmm… That Barom person or whatever followed out soon after, and then nothing much happened.”
“That’s a relief then.”
“Oh. Right.”
Ares snapped his fingers as if remembering something.
“Father asked me when Duke Ribes’ documents would finally be retrieved.”
This was a task Count Herolds had previously assigned to Ares.
“I thought he had forgotten about it for a while, but he asked about it again today.”
“What could those documents possibly be that he’s so concerned?”
“Who knows?”
Ares shrugged.
“Then was Father standing outside earlier also because he wanted to tell me something related to that?”
“Who knows?”
This time too, Ares shrugged.
“Anyway, it seems like Father’s mindset has been changing due to various recent events. I don’t know yet what connection that has with those documents though.”
“…Really?”
Listening to her brother’s words, Aveline worked her mind hard.
‘Is it because of the crown prince?’
If it was her father who was strangely wary of Aveline getting involved with the imperial family, it might be so.
‘I should properly find out what it’s really about.’
What reason could make a father who is loyal to the emperor so averse to being connected with the imperial family?
‘Could it be…’
For a moment, somehow the empress who died from sudden poisoning shortly after giving birth to the crown prince flashed through Aveline’s mind.
