“Why, why are you doing this?”

“After we hold the wedding ceremony and your leg fully heals, I’ll grant you a certain degree of freedom. Until then, please be careful to avoid causing any disturbances.”

“I understand, I understand, so put me down.”

“If you wander around like this and get injured, you’ll never shake off the stigma of bringing misfortune.”

His demeanor was too unyielding to argue against.

Determination seeped from the strong jawline visible in her upward gaze.

Looking at his tightly closed lips, Lucilia didn’t know what to say.

Even if she struggled, it seemed she wouldn’t cause even the slightest vibration to him.

Begging to be put down would fall on deaf ears.

Still, she didn’t want the servants to see her like this…

With an anxious heart, she prayed they wouldn’t encounter anyone else.

How ironic that a saint who should be praying at the temple was now praying to avoid servants.

She couldn’t help feeling pathetic.

Being carried in Aaron’s arms was so embarrassing that she couldn’t even raise her head.

However, God had no intention of listening to such trivial prayers.

“Oh!”

Just as they left the greenhouse, a gardener passing by jumped in surprise and stepped aside.

“Y-young master, y-you’re here?”

Though he had greeted Lucilia earlier, he apparently hadn’t seen Aaron.

What if he misunderstood that they had been rolling around together in the greenhouse during worship time?

Her flushed face had no chance to cool down.

In contrast, Aaron remained unmoved, showing not even the slightest change.

As Aaron nodded dryly, the gardener hurriedly walked away with quick steps.

Fortunately, they managed to avoid awkward situations until crossing the front yard, but once they entered the mansion, everything became difficult.

“Y-young master.”

Everyone they met stammered and bowed their heads deeply.

It would have been better if they had simply stepped back, but every single one of them couldn’t suppress their curiosity and raised their eyes to steal glances at the two.

To make matters worse, even Hans appeared and opened his eyes wide.

“Young… master? Why aren’t you at the temple?”

Eventually, the butler’s attention shifted to Lucilia in his master’s arms.

His wrinkled eyes now narrowed.

“But why…”

Hans squinted and confirmed something, and Lucilia’s gaze followed his downward.

What Hans was looking at was her dirt-stained dress.

Finally, he hurriedly averted his gaze as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

What on earth is he imagining?

Why is his face turning red?

It was the perfect picture for misunderstanding that they had enjoyed a secret rendezvous rolling on the greenhouse floor.

In reality, she had been dragged across the ground by his rough helping hand.

She only wished Aaron would briefly acknowledge the greeting and leave quickly, as he had done with the gardener earlier.

But Aaron just stood still, exhaling a deep breath.

Was he contemplating whether to explain why he had returned from the temple?

Lucilia was curious about that too.

She wiggled her leg once to convey her desire for a quick answer, and Aaron opened his mouth.

“Something urgent came up that I need to handle.”

“Did you finish the service?”

“Well, more or less.”

At his irreverent attitude, Hans’s lips moved as if wanting to scold him, but he immediately closed them.

Unable to rush his master, he fulfilled his duty as a butler.

“Is there anything you need?”

Since Hans’s eyes were still staring intently at her dress, she could infer that “what you need” wasn’t related to work.

Though his tone was rational, his gaze was very suspicious.

Sure enough, there was a stir around them.

Everyone was clearly falling into similar fantasies, imagining a scene of passion.

Her face was so hot that her skin felt numb.

Lucilia bowed her head deeply. Being careful not to let her cheek touch his chest, she just waited to escape this situation quickly.

“Well…”

An ambiguous response came from Aaron’s mouth, carried on hot breath.

He moved his feet without giving any particular instructions.

With the sound of climbing stairs, her body swayed up and down. The muscles in his arms supporting her back and legs flexed in response.

Thump-thump, her heartbeat echoed in her chest, rivaling the sound of footsteps.

She was terribly worried about him seeing her peach-colored face when he would put her down on the bed later.

Thinking he might openly mock her, she wanted to run away immediately.

Perhaps her face would return to its original color during the journey.

If by chance he noticed her flushed face, she would have no choice but to pretend to be calm until the end.

But when orders were given to a maid cleaning the second floor, the heat she had barely suppressed rose terribly.

“Prepare bath water.”

Both the maid and Lucilia froze simultaneously.

Even while telling herself not to make assumptions, the atmosphere inevitably added suggestive implications.

Aaron, accustomed to giving orders, didn’t add any explanations.

This only fueled more sinister imaginations.

Just as she was about to move her lips to subtly inform the maid why her clothes were dirty:

“I fell while—”

She wanted to tell the maid she had fallen and needed a change of clothes, but Aaron cut her off mid-sentence.

“Go downstairs and tell the butler to bring the military expenditure statement. I’ll review it here.”

Before she could recover, he drove in the wedge.

It was as good as expressing his intention to stay in her bedroom after rolling around on the dirt floor.

Lucilia lost her resolve.

Under Aaron’s gaze, which seemed to criticize her for being so slow, the maid bowed her head with a reddened face.

“Yes, young master. I’ll bring it right away.”

Confusion settled on the maid’s face as she hurriedly turned away.

It was problematic enough that he wasn’t returning to the temple, but it was even more frustrating that he kept choosing actions that could be misunderstood.

She had pleaded with him several times to put her down on the way here, but he didn’t even pretend to listen and simply ignored her.

What was his intention?

Could he really be trying to share her bed?

No, that couldn’t be it—Aaron didn’t even want to exchange words with her.

He had told her to stay still to avoid appearing as an ominous woman.

It would be even stranger if he suddenly wanted to be intimate with someone he found so distasteful.

Aaron pushed open the bedroom door with his foot.

Lucilia couldn’t help but twist her body once more.

“Please put me down now. You need to go to the temple.”

“Didn’t you hear me say I’m not going?”

Why is he like this, really?

She had tried to comply quietly, but it was so absurd that she rolled her eyes.

“Then go to the study and work comfortably.”

“I have a duty to protect this estate.”

‘So go to the study and protect the estate from there!’

She felt like screaming at the illogical flow of conversation.

However, Lucilia understood the meaning in the gap that formed. Aaron’s words aimed at her had thorns.

“Are you saying I’m interfering with the protection of the estate?”

“If there’s even the slightest possibility, it shouldn’t be overlooked.”

He seemed to think she might use some dark magic.

She didn’t know what he had heard from where, but the reality that explanations wouldn’t work made her chest ache.

All because of this cursed divine power.

What could be more sinister and base than reading others’ thoughts?

This was truly ominous behavior.

“Haa…”

Keeping her mouth shut felt like closing off all her escape routes, causing rebellion to surge within her.

Lucilia tried to clear up Aaron’s misunderstanding, filled with indignation.

“I may have lost my qualification as a saint overnight, but I’m truly innocent. I’ve never harmed anyone or cursed anyone.”

“I hope the rumors are false too.”

His response remained consistent.

He held up an invisible shield, blocking all reactions she sent.

Suddenly, she thought there might be another reason why he had returned without finishing the mass.

“They were talking about me at the temple, weren’t they?”

“…”

Aaron put Lucilia down and swept back his fallen bangs.

His relaxed movement showed not the slightest trace of regret toward her.

“Did you think I would do something wicked while you were gone?”

“I’m sorry.”

“If that’s the case, why not just order the head maid to watch me? Why go to the trouble yourself?”

Though she was questioning him accusingly, the strength had completely drained from her limbs.

The answer was obvious without hearing it. There must be a reason why only Aaron could guard her.

His eyelashes lowered slowly and then lifted. Immersed in a bleak, ashen world, he silently poured out his words.

“Because the head maid and other servants lack the ability to handle unexpected situations.”

‘Yes, I thought as much.’

If a witch were to unleash curses, no one without extraordinary courage would dare try to stop her.

They would unanimously say that only their master, known as the “Black Mist,” could handle it.

When she gave a low, bitter laugh in deep disappointment, Aaron passed by her and lowered himself onto the sofa.

“Don’t mind me and live as you normally would.”

“Do you mean you’ll watch me even when I bathe? Can’t you leave for just a moment?”