Chapter 10. The Benefactor’s Identity

“Oops. I got caught.”

The man awkwardly smiled at the maid. As soon as I heard his name, I realized who he was.

‘So he’s the young Marquis the maid mentioned earlier.’

He looked younger than I had expected. I thought he’d be an adult since he participated in the war, but he seemed younger.

‘He looks about 18. He must have joined as a boy soldier.’

Aster had also joined the war at nineteen. The young Marquis before me was no exception.

Christopher scratched his cheek and muttered.

“I just wanted to surprise Grandma.”

“Christopher! You should consider Mrs Ayla’s age. She could be in danger if startled.”

“Alright, stop nagging.”

Covering his ears as if he didn’t want to hear, he looked every bit the boy. I chuckled, and the maid apologized on his behalf.

“I’m truly sorry, Miss Camilla. We’ve caused you inconvenience.”

“No, it’s fine. It was entertaining since I was bored.”

I smiled nonchalantly, and the maid looked touched. Then Christopher, with wide eyes like a surprised rabbit, asked,

“Camilla? Are you Camilla Francis?”

“You know me?”

“Gasp!”

Christopher took a deep breath and covered his mouth in awe. As he looked at me as if he knew me, I tilted my head in confusion. At that moment, the former Marchioness of Letia, whom I had been waiting for, entered the reception room.

“Sorry for being late. I had an important guest… Christopher?”

“Grandma!”

Christopher warmly embraced Ayla Letia, who looked surprised.

“Christopher, you should have let me know you were coming.”

“I wanted to see you.”

Ayla’s eyes were warm as she looked at her grandson. She must be very grateful to the benefactor who saved such a precious person.

Seeing an opportunity, I greeted Ayla.

“Hello, Mrs Ayla. I’m Camilla Francis.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Has Christopher been bothering you?”

“Not at all.”

Though I was startled by him coming through the window, nothing else happened. I smiled a business smile, hiding my thoughts. Then Ayla touched Christopher’s cheek and said,

“If I had known you were coming, I would have asked you to show your face.”

“Who visited?”

“Lord Aster came by.”

“What! My benefactor is in the capital? When? Why didn’t he contact me? That’s so unfair!”

“He came to ask me for a favor. He said he would contact you soon, so calm down.”

Christopher’s eyes lit up at Aster’s name, and he became animated. Ayla patted his shoulder to calm him.

They were clearly a close grandmother and grandson. But there was no time to enjoy the warm atmosphere.

‘She just mentioned Aster, didn’t she?’

Could it be that the benefactor of the young Marquis of Letia is Aster Blanche?

Now that I think about it, Aster also participated in the Colt War. Originally, it should have been Paris, not Aster, who went to war, but Aster was conscripted instead.

At the time, I thought it was to avoid the engagement. Perhaps the influence of the Duchess of Blanche played a part.

I calmly inserted myself into their conversation.

“Excuse me, but was the benefactor Aster Blanche?”

“Yes. Thanks to him, our Christopher is alive and smiling in front of me.”

Ayla smiled gently and continued.

“You’ve come to see me because you need a chaperone, right?”

“Oh, yes. I really need your help, Mrs Ayla.”

Suddenly jumping to the main topic made me nervous. But her next words made my tension disappear.

“Aster asked me to be your chaperone.”

“The young duke did?”

This was unexpected.

I felt bewildered by her words. I was surprised that Aster was concerned about my debutante and wondered about Helen.

I had heard that Helen was making every effort to have Ayla Letia as her chaperone for this debutante.

Since Helen was also a Blanche, having Ayla as her chaperone would benefit the family. Whether they got along or not, the rights given to the Flower of the Year were a significant advantage to the family.

But Aster had recommended me to Ayla.

This confirmed that Aster wasn’t on good terms with the Blanche family. Considering Helen’s slander about Aster, it seemed he had a strained relationship with the Duchess of Blanche.

‘Perhaps his long study abroad was not voluntary.’

Yet he still wanted to marry me.

The more I learned about him, the more mysterious he became. It seemed I needed to find out more about Aster.

Ayla then spoke.

“In fact, if Aster had asked me to be Helen’s chaperone, I would have been in a difficult position. Helen is quite unique.”

She diplomatically described Helen as unique, but even I thought Helen’s gift-giving was excessive. Trying to bribe the upright Letia family with expensive gifts was shortsighted.

Approaching through literature or art would have been much better. For instance, understanding her tastes and approaching accordingly. Ayla said,

“I was very impressed with your speech during the Goddess’s Month in place of the Duke of Francis.”

“Thank you for thinking highly of it.”

“You seem to like Emil’s poetry. That poem was an obscure posthumous work.”

“I prefer Emil’s posthumous works. Although Emil’s end was dark due to the war, his poems are always full of hope and deeply moving. They make me reflect on whether I am living well.”

“You must really love Emil’s poetry.”

Ayla’s eyes became even more affectionate.
In fact, I had given that speech because I knew Ayla Letia would attend. Knowing she liked Emil’s poetry, I quoted it in my speech, and it seemed she remembered.

Of course, thanks to Aster, I could easily propose the chaperone request, so I owed him. At that moment, Christopher, who had been quietly listening, joined the conversation.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Aster!”

“The young duke mentioned me?”

“Actually, I kept asking about you. Aster always carried a handkerchief you gave him when he went to war.”

“A handkerchief?”

Did I ever give him such an item?

I was about to clarify that he might have mistaken someone else’s handkerchief for mine when Christopher continued.

“Yes. It had the World Tree, the symbol of Francis, embroidered on it. There was also a pink rose next to it.”

A pink rose was my personal symbol.

‘How strange. Why would Aster have my handkerchief?’

Aster and I had never met. If we had, I would surely remember him.

‘Especially not during the war.’

However, denying it here would be inappropriate in front of my potential chaperone. I shamelessly said,

“Yes. I wished him good fortune.”

“I knew it.”

Christopher beamed with a big smile.

* * *

As soon as I returned to the capital after my conversation with Ayla, I headed to the Red Knights Order. I wanted to thank Aster for arranging the chaperone.

When I entered the entrance of the Red Knights Order building, I saw knights in uniform walking briskly. They wore the same navy blue uniform that Aster had worn.

“This is the vice commander’s office. The vice commander is currently in a training session. Please wait a moment.”

“Sure, I’ll wait.”

After the secretary left, I looked around the vice commander’s office. The space seemed a bit empty, with only the essentials. It hadn’t been long since he was appointed, so he probably hadn’t moved all his belongings in yet.

Hearing the sounds of training through the open window, it seemed the training ground was nearby.

Even after looking around the room, Aster didn’t come. Since I had come without prior notice, I decided to wait patiently, closing the window and sitting on the sofa.

How long has it been? As I sat quietly, I started feeling sleepy, and my eyelids grew heavy.

‘I shouldn’t fall asleep.’

I shook my head to stay awake, but it was no use. Eventually, I dozed off.

How much time passed?

I had completely settled on the sofa, but something felt oddly hard under my head. As I groped around, the hardness became more pronounced. It felt familiar.

“That’s a bit dangerous.”

Someone’s hand stopped mine, and a low voice whispered. Recognizing the voice as Aster’s, I opened my eyes wide.

The first thing I saw was a white shirt. A broad waist that seemed to hide well-toned abs caught my eye.

What I had mistaken for the sofa was actually his thigh. If he hadn’t stopped me….

‘Oh my god!’

I covered my burning face with my hands. Aster laughed out loud. Yes, I had fallen asleep using Aster’s lap as a pillow.

‘No wonder it felt familiar!’

I quickly sat up and moved to the far end of the sofa.

Aster cheerfully said,

“Did you sleep well? You can sleep more if you want.”