Unwanted Worries
I let out a long sigh. “Haa…”
In the end, I couldn’t even finish my meal properly. I returned to the study, sat down at the desk, and let out several more heavy breaths. She was already difficult to deal with, but after what happened yesterday, the awkwardness had reached the point of driving me insane.
Why won’t she just leave me alone? We agreed to interfere with each other as little as possible. We said we wouldn’t get in each other’s way. Yet I’ve never once seen her actually keep her word—neither in the past nor now.
I wanted to go straight to my father and tell him everything. That woman is actually a cold-blooded villainess with neither blood nor tears, and everything she’s showing now is nothing but an act. That he’s being completely deceived.
…But no matter what I said, he would never believe me.
“Huu…”
I buried my face in both hands and let out yet another sigh. Ever since I got tangled up with that villainess, nothing has gone right. At this rate, she might even sneak into my room one night and demand we sleep together…
“Young Master Leo?”
“Uwaaak!”
The sudden voice from beside me made me jump and let out a startled scream. Thinking I might have been hearing things, I whipped my head around—only to find, astonishingly, that Aria herself was standing demurely right next to me.
When on earth did she get here? I hadn’t sensed anyone entering at all.
While all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind, Aria tilted her head with an innocent expression and asked, “Is something troubling you?”
With a brazen, faintly smiling face, she tossed out those words. And as always, her appearance was dazzlingly pure and beautiful—long silver hair flowing elegantly, a face as delicately sculpted as a work of art, and a slender frame.
…But all of this is because of you, you damn villainess.
I swallowed those words deep inside and forced myself to answer calmly. “No. It’s nothing.”
“If you have any worries, please don’t hesitate to tell me. After all, I am your fiancée.”
“……”
What is she even saying? She’s the root cause of everything. And yet…
“Um, Lady Aria.”
“Yes?”
At the sound of my voice, Aria tilted her head again with those innocent eyes. To her, I finally voiced the question that had been circling in my head.
“Why are you in my room, my lady?”
“Ah, that’s… well…”
Aria averted her gaze for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before answering timidly. “We have to handle the work together, don’t we…?”
“I already told you in advance that there isn’t much to do today, so you didn’t need to come.”
“Still, you never know…! There might be something you need me to do…”
“No, I doubt that will happen…”
It’s an amount I can handle alone, and honestly, I don’t have the slightest desire to work with you. Besides, you said you wouldn’t interfere—why do you keep coming here every single day?
“Is it… not allowed for me to come…?”
“……”
“I’ll stay very quiet and won’t disturb you at all. Couldn’t you let me stay here…?”
“……Do as you wish.”
In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to coldly send her away again and surrendered. A sigh escaped me at my own lack of resolve.
Still sighing, I filled in my signature with a fountain pen on the bottom right of the document and gently set the pen down. Then, remembering something I had forgotten to mention, I glanced over at Aria and spoke.
“Oh, right, my lady. I have a personal schedule today, so I’ll be stepping out this afternoon.”
“A schedule?”
Aria tilted her head, and her lovely silver hair swayed gently.
“I have a dinner appointment with Lady Floria.”
“…Pardon? What did you just say?”
“I said I have a dinner appointment with Lady Floria… Ah.”
“……”
I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth without thinking. Come to think of it, this woman currently has feelings for me—and her jealousy is incredibly strong.
Sure enough, Aria’s expression began to harden rapidly at my words.
Aria
The moment I heard those words, alarm bells rang inside my heart. My heart raced wildly, and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
“…Pardon? What did you just say?”
“I have a dinner appointment with Lady Floria… Ah.”
I asked again, wondering if I had misheard, but his answer only confirmed that I hadn’t. I failed to control my expression.
And for good reason…
That woman, in my previous life, had been an incredibly persistent vixen who constantly flirted with Leo even though he already had a fiancée—me.
I had forgotten about her existence.
It seemed that during the five years I was gone, she had freely thrown herself at Leo. From the way he looked, it didn’t seem like anything serious had happened between them yet…
But I couldn’t just let this slide.
“Young Master.”
“Yes.”
After hesitating for a moment, I gathered my courage and spoke. “Couldn’t you… take me with you to that dinner?”
“…Pardon?”
I had pathetically begged Leo to take me along, but he ultimately refused. After that, I could only lie sprawled on the bed, letting out pitiful sobs.
Honestly, even I knew it was unreasonable. Showing up unannounced at an official dinner without any prior arrangement was simply bad manners. And since it was supposedly an important investment matter for the family, I had no excuse to stop him.
From what I heard, this investment opportunity was an incredibly rare chance for the Stuart family. Becoming a business partner with the Floria family, which was rapidly expanding its floral enterprise nationwide, was truly a golden opportunity.
From my memories, this was exactly the time it happened—the moment the Floria family struck it rich through their floral business.
In my previous life, the Floria family suddenly prospered around this period thanks to their booming floral trade and amassed enormous wealth. If we invested early and secured a share of their business, there could be no better preparation for the future.
That was why I had no choice but to stay behind like a dog waiting for its owner, quietly suffering alone.
No matter how jealous I was, I wasn’t so unreasonable as to stand in the way of Leo’s future. All I could do was swallow my tears and send him off.
“Haa…”
Leo must be meeting with Lady Floria and having dinner right about now. What could they be talking about? What if the atmosphere turns pleasant while they eat? What if Lady Floria accidentally spills something, and Leo wipes it for her? Then their hands might brush, their eyes might meet, they would gaze at each other passionately, their faces would draw closer and closer, their lips would touch, and then they would hold hands and head straight to the bedroom…
“Uwaaaang~!!”
I clutched my head with both hands and rolled wildly across the bed. No, no, no. That can’t happen. It absolutely must not happen.
That’s right—in my previous life, Leo never showed much interest in Lady Floria, so in this life too…
“……”
…There was no guarantee of that.
Lady Floria was, despite everything, a renowned beauty in social circles. If we were talking purely about appearance, she would undoubtedly rank among the top three young ladies in all the surrounding territories. She had an innate elegance, luscious golden hair that anyone would envy, seductive eyes and alluring lips that could captivate any man.
And above all, her most dangerous weapon was that signature fox-like pretense of hers. What looked like obvious fakery to a woman somehow came across as merely cute and charming to men.
“…Leo…”
I buried my face in the pillow and murmured his name with a heavy heart. It hadn’t even been an hour since he left, yet I already missed his face terribly. The longing that filled my chest was so intense it made me wonder how I had endured five whole years without him.
And because he had gone to meet Lady Floria, that yearning felt even more painful than usual.
Leo. Please come back soon. Don’t be too kind to her. Don’t fall for her fox-like tricks no matter what. I miss you. Please come back to me quickly.
I prayed desperately and swallowed my tears.
Leo
“Ah, Young Master Leo!”
When I arrived at the Floria mansion at the appointed time, Lady Floria was already waiting for me at the bottom of the front steps. Her voluminous golden hair, styled with soft waves, looked lovely. As she approached, I noticed her distinct features and the artistic curves of her figure, accentuated by a dress that clung gently to her body. She truly was an extraordinary beauty, just as the rumors said.
“You must be tired after coming such a long way. It wasn’t too difficult, I hope?”
As we walked side by side up the stairs toward the mansion entrance, Lady Floria smiled warmly and spoke in a friendly tone. Before we even reached the top, two neatly dressed maids opened the grand front doors for us.
“Not at all. It’s only about an hour by carriage, so it’s not that far.”
When I gave the polite reply, Lady Floria let out a soft giggle as if something about it amused her greatly. We continued our conversation as we walked down the hallway lined with lacquered wooden tiles past the entrance.
“How have you been lately?”
“I’ve been the same as always. Quite busy, as usual.”
“I see. Hehe.”
“And how about you, Lady Floria?”
“I’ve been well too. Lately, things have suddenly gotten so busy with business that I’ve barely had a moment to breathe.”
We walked the long hallway together, exchanging updates on our lives. Because she was wearing high heels, her steps were a bit slow, so I matched my pace to hers, walking more slowly than usual.
“Ah! We’re here. It’s just up ahead.”
When I looked in the direction she pointed, I saw an opulent drawing room beyond an antique door at the end of the hallway. It seemed the food had already been prepared. On the round table in the center of the room, plates, napkins, and wine glasses were neatly arranged according to proper etiquette.
As soon as Lady Floria and I sat down facing each other at the prepared seats, a maid from the Floria family wheeled in a food cart and placed a bowl of cream of mushroom soup in front of each of us.
I was just wondering if I should bring up the business discussion now, carefully watching for the right moment—
“Um… Young Master Leo.”
She stole the timing while I was hesitating. I looked at Lady Floria, who was staring intently at me, and answered.
“Yes? What is it?”
She briefly glanced away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with her hand, then looked back at me with slightly upturned eyes and asked timidly, “I heard that… recently, you became… engaged.”
“……”
I had roughly expected this topic to come up. From what Sebastian had found out, my father had apparently sent letters to various families recently looking for a marriage partner for me, so it wasn’t strange that rumors had spread. Still, hearing it directly like this made it a little difficult to respond.
“Ah… yes. Has the rumor spread that far already?”
“Yes. It’s become quite the topic of conversation among the surrounding families.”
“I see…”
So it had even become a hot topic. I wasn’t particularly fond of receiving this kind of attention. However, I knew I couldn’t show any signs of displeasure on the surface. At least until I officially broke off the engagement with that villainess a year from now, I would have to keep up the act.
But then, suddenly, Lady Floria’s demeanor began to change. She kept stealing glances at me, hesitating, before blurting out something completely unexpected with a face flushed bright red.
“T-then… does that mean the reason you never replied to any of the letters I sent was because you got a fiancée…!?”
“…Pardon?”
What on earth is she talking about?