“Ah! Duke Aaron. There’s something I forgot to mention.”

Duchess Lia, who was about to exit the room, let out a short exclamation and paused her steps momentarily.

“Our Eileen’s favorite is strawberry cake.”

“……What do you mean?”

Aaron tilted his head and questioned.

“You may not remember, but Duke Aaron, you collapsed in front of our Eileen.”

“Ah……”

Come to think of it, he had collapsed while talking with Eileen.

Aaron groaned and pressed his forehead.

“If you want to thank her, she would appreciate a strawberry cake as a gift.”

“Thank you, Duchess.”

First Etoile Hill, and now this makes the second time.

To think Eileen saved me again.

Aaron let out a light chuckle.

“Ah! This is a secret, but my lovely daughter is extremely weak to food. If you ever do something wrong to our Eileen, I recommend giving her something delicious first, then asking for forgiveness.”

This seems like essential information for Duke Aaron!

Lia waved her hand lightly before gracefully leaving the guest room. Aaron let out a small sigh. After finishing his shower, he went down to the dining room on the first floor. Though it wasn’t particularly late for breakfast, only Eileen and Aaron were present at the morning meal.

For some unknown reason, the two only rolled their eyes around awkwardly, watching each other’s reactions.

But that didn’t last long.

Voices flowed through the awkward air between them.

“How’s your…”

“How’s your……”

“Ah, Duke Aaron, please speak first.”

When their voices overlapped as they spoke at the same time, Eileen gestured for Aaron to speak first.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine except for my slightly hoarse voice. How about you, Duke Aaron?”

“I’m fine too.”

“That’s good.”

In this atmosphere different from usual, Eileen rolled her eyes around while taking small spoonfuls of the chicken soup prepared as a pre-meal appetizer.

“Lady Eileen.”

“Yes?”

“No. Lady Eileen.”¹T/N: here he used the word 공녀님 which means ‘daughter of a duke’ whereas in the previous line he used 레이디 (lady)

Aaron loosened his tie that seemed to be choking him and slowly inhaled.

“……Yes, Duke Aaron.”

The sudden formality brought tension. Eileen swallowed hard, waiting for him to speak.

“First, I’d like to make one correction.”

“What…?”

“Yesterday, I attended the dinner to express my gratitude once more for your help.”

Not because of Lady Cordelia.

Unlike his calm words, Aaron’s eyes were quite serious.

“However, due to my sudden fainting, I couldn’t give it to you. This is a gift I prepared for you as a token of my gratitude.”

Aaron took out a small, golden shining box from his br*ast pocket and placed it in Eileen’s hand.

“And separately, I’m truly sorry for startling you.”

Aaron’s appearance as he bowed respectfully was awkwardness itself.

Oh no, could it be that after falling off the cliff and suffering from high fever, eventually…

“Duke Aaron.”

“What is it?”

“Would you like to go to the hospital with me?”

Eileen’s gaze softened as she sighed.

“They say when a person suddenly changes, it means they’re about to die…… Oh dear……”

Eileen’s sorrowful lips curled up slightly, and a voice full of mischief echoed between them.

“Is there a problem?”

“I’m wondering if you’re the same Duke Aaron who hurled curses at me on Etoile Hill.”

“Ha. Is it a problem now to express gratitude?”

Aaron clicked his tongue lightly and reached for the golden shining box.

“Wait! Wait a moment, Duke!”

Eileen urgently grabbed the gift and Aaron’s hand.

“It’s already over.”

“Wow…… that’s really mean.”

“I’ve always been a mean person.”

A light, dry laugh escaped from his lips. Aaron placed the box back in Eileen’s hand, indicating it was just a joke. Then he took a spoonful of the chicken soup prepared for him.

“This is delicious.”

“Right! Once you eat Dwayne’s cooking, you can’t eat anything else.”

“You really…….”

Aaron shook his head watching Eileen’s eyes sparkle at the mention of food.

Life must be quite easy living like that.

“What?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Duke, you were insulting me in your mind, weren’t you?”

Eileen narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

Aaron felt like laughing at her sulky face with her lips pushed out, but he merely shrugged his shoulders.

“Who knows?”

“Who knows, you say?”

Before they knew it, the awkward air flowing between them had completely disappeared, and only a warm spring-like atmosphere embraced the two.

* * *

“Master, did something good happen?”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to be in a good mood lately.”

Since returning from the Ceres family, Aaron had unknowingly been blooming with bright smiles.

Though he himself wasn’t aware of it at all, Liam, who served by his side, could clearly tell.

Recently, his master laughed often and brightened up, just like when he was young.

Liam was very curious about what had changed him.

“Something good…… I don’t think there’s anything in particular?”

However, contrary to Liam’s expectations, Aaron was merely puzzled.

Work still tormented him, and his lifestyle hadn’t changed at all.

Aaron gently shook his head and shifted his gaze back to the documents.

“Anyway, seeing you in a good mood makes me happy too.”

“……If you’re going to talk nonsense, leave.”

“I can’t do that. Isn’t it my job to always stay by your side and take care of your health?”

Liam wore a sly expression and laughed softly.

“In that sense, it’s time for you to go to bed now.”

“This won’t work. Leave.”

“If you collapse again……”

“Hah……”

Aaron sighed deeply at Liam’s concern and organized the documents he had been working on. Then he rose from his seat to go to his bedroom.

* * *

— Our baby!

— Mom!

A woman with long, luxurious silver hair that reached her waist, and a small child with the same silver hair running toward her.

They were none other than his mother and his younger self.

Though he’d been having this dream every day since that day until he was sick of it, it always started with this scene.

This damn dream again.

Aaron bit his lip.

— You’re back?

His dream self, unaware of the impending tragedy, was smiling brightly.

So bright that it made his current self feel miserable.

— Aaron, can’t you see your dad?

The next scene was his father.

A tall height that could block the high-risen sun, and purple eyes identical to his own.

And his young self bursting into laughter when his father expressed his disappointment.

They were people he loved, and these were happy scenes, but Aaron felt suffocated every time.

The impending tragedy, his clear fault, choked him…

— But why…… We promised to go out today!

The sun that had warmly embraced the three of them suddenly disappeared. Dark clouds and drizzling rain took its place.

When this scene began, Aaron desperately struggled to wake up from the dream. But cruelly, the dream continued.

— Young master, it’s raining, so you won’t be able to play properly even if we go out.

— When can we go if not today? We promised last week and the week before that…

— Young master…

No.

— Liam, that’s enough. How can I keep breaking promises after teaching him that breaking promises is wrong?

— But, Master…

— Yes, Aaron. Let’s get ready to go out. Going on a picnic on a rainy day will also be a memory.

Please, no.

Aaron shook his head violently, trying to stop his father.

But his voice didn’t reach him.

BANG.

With a flash of lightning, the real nightmare began.

— A-Aaron…… cough Our son…… are you alright?

— Aaron…… as long as you’re safe…… cough everything is fine…

The relentless rain blurred their vision, and they failed to avoid an obstacle they would have easily passed in normal circumstances.

And that small mistake caused a terrible accident.

The child survived, but the parents did not.

— Aaron…… we’re sorry…… cough for leaving you…… alone.

His young self’s white silk shirt gradually became stained with bright red blood. Until their last breath, his parents kept apologizing.

The sight and their voices were so painful that Aaron tried to shut his eyes and cover his ears, but there was no escape from this terrible nightmare.

— I…… I killed…… my parents…

When his young self, now left alone, began to blame himself, the nightmare transformed into an increasingly terrible and cruel form.

— If only you…! If only you hadn’t existed, we wouldn’t have died.

Please.

Aaron desperately pleaded, but a black shadow with no discernible form gradually consumed him.

— Aaron de Monston, you killed us. So you shouldn’t be happy…

The black shadow, wearing his parents’ masks, kept whispering in his ear.

So become more broken.

Feel the guilt.

Even breathing should be painful for you.

The chains made of words bound the child’s hands and feet, slowly dragging him into the black mire.

“Master!!”

He was just about to become one with the mire where not even a single ray of light entered. The sharp shout piercing his ears awakened the helpless child and brought him back to reality.

“Haah……”

Damn it. Damn this dream!

Aaron clutched his head. First his parents’ time together, then their accident…… It was a nightmare he had every day.

However, the last part—the black shadow consuming him—was a dream he had for the first time.

“Are you alright? Here, have some water.”

“Thank you.”

The water, cold enough to make him shiver, spread throughout his body and made him feel a little better. Aaron emptied the remaining water into his mouth.

“Master, you’re sweating……”

“Don’t worry, I just had an unpleasant dream.”

Aaron brushed back his bangs that tickled his eyes and placed the water glass on the bedside table.

“Liam, what day is it today?”

His eyes naturally went to the calendar on the bedside table. Aaron asked while keeping his gaze fixed on it.

“It’s the 13th, Master!”

For a moment, a welcoming smile spread across Liam’s face, but since Aaron was still looking at the calendar, he couldn’t see it.

“Today is when Duchess Lia promised to bring Eileen to Patisserie de Monston.”

“What…?”

“Why? Is there something important?”

When a voice filled with obvious disappointment echoed, Aaron finally shifted his gaze to Liam.

“Um…… Master.”

“What’s wrong?”