Aiden murmured blankly.
It was phrased as a question, but he was almost certain.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Duke to step in.
However, even to protect Lucia, there was no need for him to step in personally.
The banquet hall was filled with smoke, and Lucia was under his protection.
He would have been able to handle it on his own.
'Didn't he hate bastards?'
Aiden looked at Duke Ego Rodbel with confused eyes.
Meanwhile, Rigrin, who had approached the Duke, spoke to him.
He seemed to be saying that they should evacuate quickly.
The Duke turned his gaze away and left the scene.
Feeling like an animal barely escaping a snare, Aiden turned around.
"Lady, we should also..."
However, Aiden couldn't finish his sentence.
Lucia, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
'I got lucky.'
Whether this should be considered lucky or not.
'The fire alone would have been a little 불안했는데.'
Thanks to Andro Croll appearing and drawing attention, I managed to escape from there without Aiden noticing.
The fact that the smoke was thicker than I thought also helped.
'To be honest, I wonder if I really need to go this far.'
To start a fire and run away from the person protecting me just to meet Marin.
I think it's too inefficient.
But...
'Once the banquet is over, I'll never have another chance to see Marin.'
I didn't want to leave any regrets behind again.
This was one of the principles I set when I started my new life.
So, there's no choice. I have to uphold the principles I set.
'Aiden will notice I'm gone soon.'
I need to get out of here quickly before that happens.
Barely escaping the burning kitchen, I coughed and opened the window in the hallway.
A gust of cold wind rushed in, making it easier to breathe.
Fortunately, the smoke hadn't spread to the hallway.
In the first place, that magic tool was for burning firewood, so the fire wouldn't spread much.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I was about to move my feet when.
"Stop."
A voice suddenly rang out from behind, and I stopped in my tracks.
In the meantime, footsteps approached quickly.
Whisk.
My arm was pulled upwards.
It was a slightly rough touch.
I looked up.
Aiden was staring at me with a slightly angry expression.
"Where were you rushing off to?"
"..."
"Even leaving me behind."
Ah...
I've been caught.
I thought about pretending to be a child who had wandered off course for a moment, but then gave up.
I instinctively knew that wouldn't work on Aiden right now.
"Haa..."
Aiden sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face, as if he had been quite surprised by my sudden disappearance.
His eyes were shaking violently.
Seeing that, I felt sorry for him.
You've been dragged into something unnecessary.
"I won't ask why you did it. I'm sure you have your reasons."
Even so, Aiden Balter was still kind.
Even in this situation where he could be angry, he didn't lash out emotionally.
He slightly loosened his grip on my arm and said.
"First of all, it's dangerous here, so let's go outside..."
He turned around, pulling my arm.
"..."
But he couldn't take a single step and looked back at me again.
I said to him, who had a bewildered expression.
"I'm sorry, Sir Aiden."
I pulled my arm out of his grasp and stepped back.
Then Aiden's brow furrowed.
"Do you know how dangerous the situation is right now...!"
"I started that fire."
"......!!"
Aiden's movements, as if he was about to snatch me, stopped abruptly.
His eyes shook violently.
He asked back in a voice that was hard to believe.
"What did you just say..."
"I had somewhere I really needed to go, but it didn't seem like I would get a chance no matter what. So I started the fire. I'm sorry for surprising you."
"You're telling me to believe that..."
"I put the magic tool under the table and started the fire. It will go out naturally soon."
When I explained it in detail, Aiden couldn't doubt it anymore.
He stared at me blankly for a moment, then slowly parted his lips.
"...Let's say it's true that you started the fire."
"Yes."
"What's the reason you're revealing that fact to me?"
His expression contorted.
He looked confused, and also seemed to be resentful.
"Because I want to tell you it's not dangerous."
"......Can't I come with you to that place?"
His voice sank low.
He stepped closer and said.
"I don't know where you have to go, but I've been assigned to protect you."
He stepped closer.
"The fact that you started the fire... that's an internal matter of the Rodbel family, so I won't interfere."
He was saying he would turn a blind eye, though he didn't say it directly.
"I don't know what your purpose is, but I won't interfere with that either. I just want to be by your side..."
"Are you sorry for me?"
Aiden's mouth closed at the words I blurted out, interrupting him.
I quietly stared at Aiden like that.
"What does that..."
His reaction was one of embarrassment, but.
'He's not good at hiding things.'
His voice was trembling too honestly, as if it was representing his emotions.
'I didn't want to use this method.'
But it seemed like Aiden would never let me go otherwise, so I couldn't help it.
'Aiden is kind, after all.'
It'll probably work well.
"A year ago, is it because you're sorry for ignoring me back then?"
Aiden's eyes gradually shook violently.
I watched that scene without missing a thing and calmly continued to speak.
"If that's the case, it's okay. I'm used to it. Turning a blind eye, pretending not to see. It's not just Sir Aiden who does that."
"...You, you remembered me?"
The voice asking back was trembling so much that I was worried he might burst into tears.
Of course, that wouldn't happen.
I nodded slightly.
It was only a year ago for Aiden, but it was a whopping 11 years ago for me now.
Even so, I vividly remembered that moment.
'Because he was the first outsider I saw.'
That day, the maid had earnestly told me not to step out of my room because an important guest from the imperial family was coming.
'I was so hungry.'
They were so concerned about the imperial guest that they hadn't given me anything to eat since lunch the day before.
If I kept waiting, they would eventually bring me something to eat, but I was so hungry that I felt like I would die before that.
So I decided to find something to eat myself.
Usually, guests would visit through the main gate of the main building, so I thought it would be okay if I walked around the back garden.
Anyway, I just had to avoid being seen.
After rummaging through the kitchen, I was able to find a piece of bread that had mold on it and had been thrown away.
I thought I could eat it if I just cut off the moldy part, so I carefully held it in my arms.
'What! I told you not to come out!'
The maid who found me scolded me loudly and dragged me away.
She moved to the back of the building connected to the bushes so that I wouldn't be seen by people.
While being dragged away by the maid, I happened to discover a person watching us beyond the bushes.
'That outfit is...'
I could tell at a glance that he wasn't a member of the Rodbel family.
A magnificent pattern was engraved on the golden armor.
'He's an imperial knight.'
I had heard of it sometime.
Imperial knights live with justice as their belief and to put that belief into practice.
Then, could that righteous knight help me right now?
But at the end of a glimmer of hope, what came back was his figure turning away.
Seeing that figure, I realized.
That even justice turns away from an impure bastard.
The maid didn't give me food until the next morning as punishment for sneaking out.
The first outsider I saw at Rodbel.
Justice that turned away from me.
So I kept remembering.
And as soon as I saw Aiden, I knew he was that person right away.
'Well, I understand now.'
He probably couldn't help it at the time either.
It wasn't because I was a bastard, but because he couldn't interfere in internal family matters.
Since I knew he couldn't help it, I didn't resent him that much.
But if he's such a kind and responsible person... I can't help it.
'This is the only way to get him away from me.'
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