Chapter 3

While Aaron seriously reflected on his own past, Chloe fidgeted with the hands resting on her knees.

‘Am I not even mild? Maybe I should have said unusual instead?’

Then again, because of her uncle’s pressure, she had recently been forced to attend society events, and Chloe too had realized something. How could there be so many women in the world who were so pretty, cute, and lovely? Even just looking around at the young ladies who had come to the park for a picnic today, all of them looked bright and sparkling.

She tried to console herself by saying that it could not be helped, since she had done nothing but study, but that did not stop her from feeling ashamed of how shabby and old-fashioned she seemed compared to them. So the method she chose was to spend time alone on the narrow bridge. Thanks to that, she gained the good fortune of meeting Aaron.

“Why not be honest? Isn’t it because you don’t want to get married that you’re saying you want to become a mistress?”

Aaron had now become considerably calmer. Because while examining his past conduct in detail, especially while retracing the moments he had encountered Chloe, he had been reminded of her circumstances.

Whether he had hit the mark, Chloe flinched in surprise and opened her mouth hesitantly.

“……You knew?”

“It’s common talk that Earl Malbert will soon be taking a fourth wife.”

“……I need money. I want to become independent. From what I’ve heard, men give their mistresses all sorts of things. A house, a carriage, jewelry, spending money.”

So that was it. She would give her body, and in return wanted money. Aaron let out a dry laugh before he knew it.

But there was one fact Chloe had overlooked. The reason men lavished gifts on women was because they had fallen completely head over heels for them. Unfortunately, he had never once felt the need to spend money because of a woman. Even if he stayed still, women were the ones who got worked up first and threw themselves at him, so why would he bother? It was annoying enough already, so why should he spend money on top of that?

“All right, I understand. Then let me ask you one more thing. If I make you my mistress, you’ll receive a house, a carriage, jewelry, money, all of that from me, so what exactly do I gain from it?”

“Uh, well, first……”

“Don’t bother with things like a clean, simple taste. In the first place, why would anyone keep a mistress just for that kind of thing? Isn’t the point of having a mistress to enjoy something thrilling and out of bounds?”

When Aaron cut her off bluntly, Chloe fell into thought. He was not wrong. The things she had picked up from the social world had much the same conclusion.

Stories like a man growing distant from his wife, or becoming bored with her, then falling utterly for his mistress and giving away everything he had, property, liver and gallbladder, causing an enormous uproar. Every year there were several such stories going around, pathetic husbands who ran to their mistresses even while their wives cried and made scenes.

Anyway, the point was that such women all had sensuality written across their faces, had fine figures, and were dazzling in bed, so that men could not help but lose their senses over them. In other words, a mistress was not someone who won with learning, refinement, or knowledge, but with her body.

“Like you said, Senior, I really am lacking in…… that kind of knowledge or experience. But if you teach me, I can catch up quickly. I learn anything well.”

“Ah. So I’m supposed to give you a house, a carriage, jewelry, money, and on top of that teach you too? That’s far too one-sided a deal.”

“In return, you’ll be able to end things cleanly.”

“What?”

“I looked into a few cases of romantic scandals, and the problem always seemed to be how things ended with the mistress. But I’ll leave cleanly, so I won’t damage your honor or become a problem when you marry. I won’t cling to you or ask you to love me or make a nuisance of myself.”

“Hah?”

“If you can’t trust me, shall I write a memorandum? You can even have it notarized so it has legal effect.”

Well, would you look at that. So she was saying she was certain she would not get emotionally involved? That she was that confident? 

For some reason it scratched at his nerves, and Aaron let out another dry laugh.

Even though there was no reason for it to.

“That’s not bad. Then try seducing me. Make me want to keep you as my mistress.”

“What?”

“So I can judge for myself how much teaching you’ll require by experiencing it.”

Provocation for provocation. Even while thinking it was childish, Aaron, a little spitefully, made a counterproposal. Of course, he had said it because he was sure Chloe would never actually come at him. The moment she heard him she had tensed up and was visibly trembling, so what seduction could there be?

“Would a kiss do?”

“Do you even know how?”

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

“No, you really are a child.”

With that question just now, she had practically confessed she had no experience at all. Seeing the handsome face of the man smiling in a teasing way, Chloe felt a sudden flare of irritation without realizing it.

If she had entered society early, her shortcomings would have been pointed out in many ways, but Chloe’s only social experience was school. As her excellent grades proved, she had never once been openly treated as insignificant by anyone, so it could not be helped that a strange stubbornness rose in her.

Of course, just as Aaron said, she had never kissed anyone. Naturally, she did not know how. But what was a kiss, really? It was only the act of pressing lips together.

Having reached a conclusion, or more precisely made a decision, Chloe suddenly sprang to her feet and cupped his face with both hands. Then, as though she were stamping a seal, she pressed her lips firmly against Aaron’s and then pulled away.

“……Pff.”

Not a child, she said. And this was how she kissed, yet she was not a child?

Unable to stop himself, Aaron burst out laughing and bent his head, shoulders shaking.

If he were to take this woman as his mistress, it really did seem he would have a great deal to teach her. Starting with the very basics.

“D-don’t laugh. It’s true that I’m bad at it, but still……”

“Ahaha. Sorry, sorry.”

Still laughing, Aaron raised his head.

In truth, even without taking her body, he could give Chloe the things she wanted for free. A house, a carriage, jewelry, money. Aaron already had those in such abundance that even if he handed a few over like alms, he probably would not even remember it by next year.

If it were said to come from respect for his mentor, Professor Everdeen, and sympathy for a junior facing an unfortunate marriage, then tossing her such things would not be all that strange.

But after receiving a kiss like some child’s game, his thoughts changed. Was it because Chloe, reacting earnestly to every tease and provocation, amused him? Perhaps it was a playful whim mixed in?

……Well, shall I leave it at that.

“You really do have a lot to learn.”

“Ah.”

In an instant, Chloe was pulled onto Aaron’s lap. Wrapping one arm around her waist, Aaron caught hold of Chloe’s glasses with his other hand.

“These glasses are cumbersome, so take them off……”

Aaron paused.

Without expecting much, he had merely removed an obstacle, yet her eyes, those eyes he had not been able to see properly behind the glasses, were beyond what he had expected. A mysterious shade of blue, like a few drops of pure green had been added to a clear bright blue. It was a color he had never once seen in his life.

“Um, Senior?”

“Are your eyes very bad?”

“No.”

“Then why were you hiding them, no. Why did you wear glasses?”

“It’s just that…… Father said it would be better for concentrating on studying. Since I read a lot of books, it was also to protect my eyesight.”

“Ah. As expected, the professor is wise.”

Not to protect her eyesight, but because he must have wanted to protect his daughter from the people around her so she could focus on her studies.

If she had gone around showing this face, troublesome men would have clung to her and she would not have been able to study properly. She probably would never even have needed to make an absurd proposal like becoming someone’s mistress. She might even have found a far better husband than Earl Malbert, someone deeply captivated by these eyes.

But Aaron said no more and tossed her glasses onto the seat.