“Yes, I’m sure.”

Saying that, Eileen turned around. There stood a woman who could be described as cute and lovely.

Her chubby cheeks remained the same, and her deep pink hair was still curly. When their eyes met, her golden eyes sparkled.

“I knew it! It was you, Eileen!”

She ran quickly toward Eileen with her arms spread wide.

“Hey, are you cra…!”

She was so fast that there was no time to stop her.

Thinking that if she couldn’t block it, she should dodge to the side, Eileen was looking for the right moment. Just then, a shadow fell in front of her, and a low, subdued voice flowed in.

It was Aaron.

“No matter how happy you are to see someone, you shouldn’t try to hug them recklessly.”

Aaron skillfully blocked the woman with one hand and lowered his gaze. Her golden eyes were full of dissatisfaction, as if to say, what business is it of yours?

“Look here, handsome sir. I don’t know who you are, but I need to hug my friend whom I haven’t seen in a long time, okay? Would you please get out of the way and not interfere?”

Could she be related to Cordelia? A chuckle escaped through Aaron’s teeth.

“I happen to be Eileen’s husband.”

“……Husband?”

As if he was talking nonsense, the woman’s face contorted.

Meanwhile, Eileen stood side by side with Aaron. She put her hands on her waist and sent a disapproving look while grumbling.

“Cecilia. You suddenly run at me after not seeing me for a long time……”

“Eileen. You got married?”

Before Eileen could finish her sentence, Cecilia cut her off. She felt a strain in her neck.

Whew, after letting out a deep sigh, she showed her finger with the ring on it and continued speaking.

“……you could get hurt. Yes, I got married.”

“Then why didn’t you send me a wedding invitation?”

She’s asking this? A chuckle escaped from Eileen’s mouth.

“I did send you an invitation.”

“……Really?”

“But you didn’t even contact home because of your self-discovery journey or whatever!”

As Eileen’s voice rose, Cecilia scratched her cheek with an awkward laugh.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Never mind that, why are you here? Are you still on that journey or whatever?”

“Y-yes?”

Cecilia couldn’t bring herself to say that she was traveling around the world looking for her destined partner.

Not even that after three years, she hadn’t met not just destiny but even a bad connection.

“Anyway, won’t you introduce me to your husband?”

She was clearly trying to change the subject, but Eileen pretended not to notice. The line for the limited edition tart was getting longer, so there was no time to waste here.

“This is my husband, Duke Aaron de Monston. Aaron, this is Cecilia Matière, who went to school with me.”

After Eileen’s introduction, Aaron greeted her according to proper etiquette.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Aaron de Monston, Eileen’s husband.”

“I am Cecilia Matière, Eileen’s college friend.”

Now that they had exchanged greetings. All that remained was to send Cecilia on her way.

Of course, there was also the option of going together with Cecilia. But since it was the last day of their honeymoon, Eileen wanted to spend time alone with Aaron, so she said goodbye without hesitation.

“Well, it was nice to see you. Take care, Cecilia!”

“What, already?”

“I’m a bit busy. Write to me when your journey ends.”

“Wait a minute!”

As Eileen took a step, Cecilia urgently grabbed her arm.

“It’s a miracle that we met like this, and you already want to part ways? That’s too cold!”

She was so strong that Eileen couldn’t even shake her off. Just then, words that were hard to believe came from Aaron above her head.

“How about coming with us instead?”

Eileen looked up and met Aaron’s eyes. Unlike the stunned Eileen, Aaron’s eyes were curved beautifully, almost brilliantly.

“Eileen. She’s your friend, right? I think it wouldn’t be bad to spend time together since you haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

But I wanted to date just the two of us. The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but fearing they might not even get to see the tart if they delayed any longer, Eileen reluctantly nodded.

‘I’ll send Cecilia away as soon as possible and spend time alone with Aaron.’

Having made up her mind, Eileen gestured.

“Follow me, Cecilia.”

* * *

“Thank goodness.”

Eileen let out a sigh of relief. If they had been a little later, the lemon tarts would have been sold out. Cecilia laughed heartily and said.

“You still love desserts?”

“Of course.”

While Eileen was answering, the employee brought various desserts including the lemon tart. A smile naturally appeared on Eileen’s face at the rich buttery scent that tickled her nose.

Eileen cut the lemon tart in half and placed it in front of Cecilia. Cecilia sent a grateful look with her eyes and then opened her mouth with a grin.

“You know, Duke Aaron. This girl Eileen had conquered all the famous desserts since her school days.”

“She’s still the same. That’s why she married a man who owns the most famous patisserie in Bereut.”

The answer came from Eileen. She cut the tart into bite-sized pieces and held it out to Aaron. It was something she was now very accustomed to, so Aaron also ate it without any awkwardness.

“Aaron. How is it? Is it delicious?”

“Yes, very.”

“Want another bite?”

“No, I’m fine. You eat a lot.”

A gentle touch brushed through her hair.

Eileen nodded and took a bite of the lemon tart. The lemon cream spreading in her mouth was sweet enough to blow away all regrets.

Then suddenly, her gaze went to Cecilia. She wasn’t even holding a fork and was covering her mouth with both hands.

“What’s wrong? Do you want more lemon tart?”

At Eileen’s question, as if a spell had been broken, Cecilia burst out with words.

“Eileen. It’s really true that you got married! When I would jokingly ask you to feed me, you hated it so much!”

She was so excited that it was hard to hear exactly what she was saying, but to summarize, it was like this,

This is a side of you I couldn’t even imagine when we were in college.

Eileen responded half-heartedly and picked up her teacup with an indifferent expression.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me more details?”

But Aaron was different. As if ready to hear any story, he adjusted his posture. The purple eyes were full of interest.

Excited, Cecilia clapped her hands and continued.

“The Eileen I knew would get annoyed and tell you to eat by yourself rather than feed anyone.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, for such an Eileen to feed someone directly! I think she must really love you a lot, Duke.”

Satisfied with the answer, a faint heat spread across Aaron’s cheeks. His long eyes also curved gently.

“Eileen. Since we’ve met like this by fate, can I tell the duke stories from your college days? I think he might be curious!”

Cecilia raised the corners of her mouth and winked one eye. What on earth is she going to say? Anxiety rose, but Eileen gestured for her to go ahead.

With Eileen’s permission granted, Cecilia cleared her throat, ahem, and began to speak.

“When Eileen represented the freshmen at the entrance ceremony……”

Eileen rested her chin on her hand and watched Cecilia, who was continuing her story in great detail, starting from the day of the entrance ceremony. Her story was full of affection for Eileen.

Of course, there were also some mischievous stories mixed in, like falling asleep during lectures and giving strange answers.

Eileen rolled her eyes to look at Aaron. They were ordinary, perhaps even boring stories, but he was listening attentively, as if not wanting to miss a single word.

‘Really……’

She had planned to send Cecilia away quickly and enjoy their date alone, but that was clearly impossible now.

Well, spending the last day of their honeymoon like this isn’t so bad either.

Eileen wore a bright smile.

* * *

As the red sunset spread across the blue sky and people began to return home one by one, the long conversation finally ended.

“Eileen, Duke Aaron. Let’s meet in Bereut next time!”

The carriage departed with a cheerful farewell. Soon, the carriage carrying Cecilia disappeared completely from view.

As if by prior agreement, the two held hands and began to walk slowly.

“I actually thought you would greet Cecilia and send her away.”

You don’t like having our time together interrupted. At Eileen’s additional comment, Aaron laughed softly.

“How could I do that to your friend.”

“You do it to Cordelia.”

“Cordelia is an exception.”

At his ruthlessly firm answer, Eileen let out a chuckle.

“Weren’t you bored by Cecilia’s stories? You didn’t have to listen all the way through.”

“I’d like to know everything about you, even the trivial things.”

The unchanging feelings directed toward her made her heart tickle for no reason. Eileen tugged slightly at Aaron’s clothes.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Could you bend down a little?”

When Aaron lowered his height, a soft sensation immediately descended on his lips. As if he hadn’t expected it at all, Aaron’s eyes widened, and Eileen gave him a bright smile.

“I love you.”

“……It’s going to get dark soon, let’s go home.”

Despite his gentle tone, Aaron’s eyes were half-rolled back.

I’m doomed.

Thinking this, Eileen still followed Aaron while giggling.