Chapter 5

After parting with Aaron, Chloe felt strangely restless in both mood and body, and could not bring herself to go straight home, so she wandered aimlessly around the area near the house.

Even now, she could hardly believe what she had done. Even if it had felt as though she had been driven to the edge of a sheer cliff, how could she have done something so bold? But even harder to believe than that was the fact that Aaron had accepted her proposal. Not completely, but conditionally.

“Ah, I’ll get scolded if I’m late for dinner.”

Sometimes turning Aaron’s words over in her mind, sometimes circling the estate absentmindedly without thinking at all, Chloe eventually noticed that the streetlamps were beginning to light one by one.

Chloe hurried toward the Everdeen estate. As soon as she opened the rather heavy front door and stepped inside, the still disorderly interior of the house came into view at once.

“You have returned, Miss.”

“Butler. When will the construction be finished?”

“They say it will take about two more weeks.”

Looking toward the building materials still stacked high and taking up one side of the estate, the butler answered with a sigh mixed into his voice.

After becoming the lady of the house of the Everdeen estate, Chloe’s aunt had begun by renovating the mansion.

Of course, it was true that the mansion was old and worn. But it had once had a rather charming antique beauty, and now that it had been remade in a modern style, the butler seemed unable to grow fond of it at all.

To tell the truth, Chloe felt the same. A house should be warm before it is pretty, should it not? When one returns exhausted and worn out, it should have a comfortable, restful atmosphere that naturally puts the heart at ease.

But this house now was so clearly changed from the one Chloe had lived in before that not only her body, but even her heart, could not feel at ease.

“……”

Chloe looked outside through the drawing room window.

As the construction neared its final stage, the garden her mother had cherished was being dug up. It had once been a lovely little place, simple flowers and small shrubs planted so that it looked as though a meadow from nature had been brought and set there, but now not a trace of its former appearance remained.

“You must be very saddened, mustn’t you?”

“Mm, if it’s to Aunt’s taste, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Looking at the garden that had been nothing but beautiful to Chloe and her mother, her aunt complained that it had been planted with nothing but things like weeds. Then she decided to plant splendid roses and thick-branched shrubs trimmed into shapes, like those in other estates.

Of course, that too would be beautiful. It was only that it saddened Chloe to see the estate where she had been born and raised changing so much that even traces of the past were difficult to find.

‘Because now I no longer have any authority here.’

Even if she had complaints, what could she do? The new Earl and Countess of Everdeen would not listen to the likes of Chloe’s opinion. Now Chloe was in a position where even voicing her thoughts to them required great caution. With a small sigh, Chloe started walking again.

“Where have you been!”

She had just been about to go up the stairs when her uncle suddenly shouted at the back of her head. Startled, she turned around, only to see her uncle glaring at her, his face red with anger.

“Ah, I just went for a short walk nearby……”

“A walk? You really are at ease, aren’t you. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was before Earl Malbert because you suddenly disappeared at the park?”

Oh no. 

In fact, Chloe had gone to the park today with her uncle and Earl Malbert for a stroll. Spending time with the two of them was difficult, and to be honest, the way Earl Malbert’s gaze swept over her sharply from head to toe, as if he were appraising some object, was burdensome, so she had excused herself under the pretense of touching up her makeup. But after meeting Aaron, she had completely forgotten about her uncle and Earl Malbert.

Whatever the reason, there was no denying that Chloe had committed a grave discourtesy toward Earl Malbert.

“Wh-what should I do? Should I at least write him a letter of apology tomorrow……?”

“Of course. Offer him a sincere, respectful apology. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you so absentminded when you’re a young girl? Good heavens, I could hardly show my face. Just how did your mother educate you to make you commit such rudeness? And your father too. What was so important about that little bit of studying for a girl that he had to leave her in such a state and make us all lose face?”

“……I’m sorry.”

“I’m sick to death of hearing you say you’re sorry. They say you’re smart, so why can’t you understand things the first time?”

“I’m sorr……”

“I don’t want to hear it, so go upstairs. I can’t even stand the sight of you, so get out of my sight at once.”

“Yes.”

“Remember this. If something like this happens again, I won’t stay still either. As your legal guardian, I cannot leave you in such a mess. Nor will I. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

She had thought she was behaving obediently, but apparently simply answering like a parrot did not please him. When her uncle shot her another sharp glare, Chloe flinched and quickly turned around and stepped onto the stairs.

A delicious smell drifted softly from the dining room deeper inside, and she paused for a moment in hesitation. But soon Chloe quickly went up the stairs again.

If she said she wanted to eat in this situation, all she would get was a feast of scolding. And ever since talk of marriage with Earl Malbert had begun, her aunt had reduced her meals, saying she needed to manage her diet, so she probably would not be allowed to eat properly anyway.

‘It’s only one meal.’

Even though she was not originally someone who ate very regularly, for some reason she felt hungry today. To figure out why, Chloe absently began tracing back through the events of the day.

Ah. Soon Chloe’s face turned bright red. The only tiring thing she had done today had been kissing Aaron.

If someone saw her, they would think it strange, so Chloe hurriedly clasped both hands over her burning cheeks and rushed upstairs. Only after practically running into her room and shutting the door tightly behind her did she let out a sigh of relief. Her cheeks were still hot, so Chloe fanned herself with her hand and opened the little window above the desk.

As the cool breeze drifted in, the heat seemed to fade a little. After standing there for quite some time feeling the wind, she threw off the uncomfortable lace dress. Dressed in only her chemise, Chloe dropped onto the bed and blinked blankly.

“For now, let’s say you’re an apprentice.”

An apprentice. When Aaron had said that, she had been too flustered to think properly, and because he had not rejected her outright, she had simply nodded, pleased, and let it pass as though it were nothing. But thinking about it again, it did not seem like something she could celebrate so simply.

What if it ended with her being only an apprentice? She would go on doing things like today with him, perhaps even things beyond that, and most likely go all the way in the end, but what if it still came to nothing?

That would be a serious problem in its own way. At this rate, she would only be giving him her body and……

“But if it’s Senior……”

Suddenly, the kiss from earlier came back to her again. More precisely, the image of Aaron that had completely filled Chloe’s vision in that moment.

His blue eyes carrying a quiet heat, the cool line of his mouth with a faint smile that made him look slightly fierce, the rough sound of his breathing that kept making improper thoughts rise in her mind, the somewhat low voice she had heard now and then, as if it had a slight rasp to it, all of those things had been deeply tempting. So much so that she felt she wanted to give herself to him even if he did not ask for it.

In Chloe’s circumstances, when else would she ever get to sleep with a man like that? And besides, Aaron was someone she had admired and briefly held feelings for when she had first entered university in those fresh, innocent days. A man so far above her that she would never even dare dream of him.

It was only thanks to her father that they had become acquainted at all. Otherwise, he would have remained simply a man she could only watch from afar. No, even to be in a position where she could watch him at all would have been something to be grateful for.

“I’ll keep you by my side, and if you behave in a way that pleases me, we can discuss it again then.”

Still, he had said he would keep her by his side. Was that not already something? It meant he was willing to give her plenty of chances, and seizing those chances was entirely up to Chloe.

Feeling a little better, Chloe went into the bath to wash up. Since she had already decided to go hungry anyway, she thought she might as well go to sleep before she became even more hungry.