Chapter 10

– Chapter 10 –

It was the eve of their wedding, an event solely for benefits.

The teachings that Whitney wanted were being enforced.

“These are lessons that every noble must take if they are to wed early. If you do not learn them well, you may be sneered at in the future.”

Even though he didn’t know what Whitney was attempting to teach, all he wanted was for time to pass faster. Aiden was ignorant about marriage in general until then.

“I’ll be teaching you how the two of you will live as a couple.”

To Aiden, married life was an odd term because even at that moment he still didn’t know what his marriage partner’s face looked like.

“As a matter of fact, the Leinster family doesn’t have much help.”

Aiden was the only heir to the household.

The ducal couple acted as if their only job was to ensure an heir, Aiden, was born. It couldn’t be helped that they didn’t have much help.

“Your biggest duty, Master Aiden, is to produce an heir.”

It was absurd to tell a 10-year-old boy that his biggest responsibility was to produce an heir.

Aiden made sure to hide his internal disgust during the whole affair.

“That’s the main point for today’s lesson.”

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“You have to be focused.”

Whitney grabbed Aiden’s wrist while saying

this.

Aiden’s expression froze immediately and his face lost all color.

Whitney would occasionally grab Aiden’s wrists and make him stare at her, before taking him outside claiming it was normal education.

It was a deliberate move on her part.

By grabbing Aiden’s wrist, Whitney was able to render him useless.

In the beginning, Aiden had tried to resist by fighting back against her.

But after a while, Aiden wasn’t able to do anything and became more and more helpless.

Although it was something as small as just grabbing his wrists, it made Aiden feel as if he were suffocating.

If it was simply a matter of raw strength, Aiden could have shaken her hands off at any point.

However, not being able to made his anxiety skyrocket.

“Now that you’re married, your responsibilities are even greater.”

Aiden wanted to cover his ears.

However, it was impossible because his wrists were being held.

“It’s lesson time right now. You can’t lose focus.”

Her actions, along with those words, meant that Whitney would carry on as she pleased and stared at Aiden with her thin eyes.

“These teachings will be helpful to you, Master Aiden.”

He felt sick every time he heard Whitney’s voice.

The lessons continued to drag on for a long time.

As time passed, Whitney’s voice and glare felt like it was squeezing his body tightly.

He wanted to shake off Whitney’s hands and punish her, but Whitney’s words held more sway with the Leinster couple than Aiden’s.

Even if he were to shake off her hands, nothing would change until he had the power to do so.

Whitney knew that and purposely abused him, enjoying the sense of superiority.

As if the real owner of the household was her.

Aiden clenched his teeth.

Be patient for now. It’ll be over if I hold it in a little longer.

Eventually, the lesson and abuse would end.

He’d lost count of how many times he stopped himself and waited for the right moment.

He barely managed to hold in his tears because he felt that everything would be ruined if he cried.

There was nowhere to run.

He could do nothing but take the pain and abuse.

To him, Whitney was a monster.

The lingering sense of helplessness after Whitney’s actions was the worst part.

Those uncomfortable feelings couldn’t be erased and clung to Aiden long after the events were over.

His touch-aversion started because of her.

The slightest touch from anyone and it felt like bugs were crawling over his flesh, tracking goosebumps in their wake.

“You must remember well what I’ve taught

you.”

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He could barely hear Whitney’s words. All he could think about was how he could stop shaking in front of her.

He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control himself and end up revealing his emotions.

“Officially, because you two are young, there are more things that need to be taken care of.”

Whitney’s confusing words continued. It was disgusting.

She didn’t pay any attention to Aiden’s feelings, only rambling on with what she had to say.

“If there’s something you’re unsure about, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

He wished for Whitney’s words would end. Or else it felt like he would rip his ears off.

The hellish time finally ended.

Because of lessons like this, it was hard to see

Erin.

Every time he saw her face, he was reminded of that night.

She was a living reminder of the nightmares Whitney gave him.

With just a glance at her face, Aiden would remember Whitney’s words and actions.

His whole body rejected it. He didn’t want to see Erin Zahad.

It felt as if everything he’d kept hidden would be revealed.

It was a way to protect himself.

Not getting close, no contact, and not seeing her.

He was desperate to protect himself.

Not realizing his actions made Erin Zahad even more interested.

It was like he’d fallen into a hole he’d never be able to escape.

Another problem was Erin had been able to adapt to the dysfunctional duchy so fast, it seemed unreal.

She fit in as if she’d been born and raised there

How could she fit in so well?

The duchy was where he’d lived since birth.

Lately, it’d been too uncomfortable to stay at the house. Because of that, his time at the training center increased.

When he’d nothing else to do or anywhere to go, he’d go to the training center and just sit there.

The noise from the knights increased and he heard a comment that put him on edge.

“He’s over there.”

He didn’t know who was looking for him so he lifted his head, anxious to identify them.

“

!”

Erin’s ability to infiltrate was far better than Aiden had anticipated.

She was entering the training center after catching the knights’ attention.

Interesting…

Anyone watching would mistake her for the head of the household.

No one would ever assume that he, the real owner, was the actual heir to the duchy.

How was she able to do that?

Despite the danger she represented as an unknown, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at her.

Even though Aiden was only 10-years-old, he was already doing a lot as the Leinster’s heir.

Aiden looked over the duchy’s accounting and was learning about marketing and businesses.

Out of all the businesses, the first ones to be in Aiden’s care were the industrial businesses.

The Leinster family was in charge of a livelihood business that helped with the welfare of the people of the lower class.

Because it didn’t require an extended amount of trading and was only for appearances, it was the easiest business for Aiden to be left in charge of.

A secret fund would be hard to make with this kind of business.

Aiden let out a sour laugh.

However, this was the only thing he had to do to build his own hidden savings.

Just how much money would be possible if he forced the business to run? Aiden calculated the amount.

What Aiden needed was money.

Although he was just 10, he was already sick of the Leinster family and didn’t want to continue to be tied down by it.

Whilst completing his work as the Leinster heir, he decided to also create his own power completely separate from the family.

Even though I can’t even start anything right now.

Before Aiden could start something serious, there were several problems that had to be solved first.

Aiden had to make sure that the couple and Whitney would never find out about this work.

That would mean he would need to find a substitute to take his place.

Also, he would need more trustworthy people and most importantly some money.

Although Aiden had a lot of money to his name, the moment it was spent on anything it would be recorded and reported to the couple.

That’s why he needed money that could be spent without anyone’s knowledge.

Aiden may be the Leinster heir but he wanted the strength to be able to escape their grasp.

While at the peak of these thoughts, he was to be wed.

He did not want to even think about the teachings he was forced to go through during that process.

As if it was his fate, he had received another responsibility.

At that moment, Aiden’s patience in waiting to be an adult was destroyed.

“That’s how it was.”

All of a sudden he remembered what had happened that afternoon.

How the girl who is his wife barged into the training center.

She got along with the knights right away and barged right into his space……

She took him from Whitney.

Unlike Aiden who couldn’t say anything against Whitney’s words, his wife was able to stare straight at Whitney and talk back to her.

Truly, at that moment…… he thought she was admirable.

Her confident figure and unwavering walk seemed amazing to him.

Although he at first avoided even looking at her because it made him feel sick, it was actually Erin who had been protecting him from Whitney.

What a strange person.

That’s what he first thought.

However, his wife’s strange behaviour became more frequent.

“I want to be friendlier with you.”

The person he had been trying so hard to avoid had just asked him to be closer.

But Aiden wasn’t able to lower his guard right away.

Erin continued to talk, not minding Aiden’s reaction.

“First of all, we’re married.”

Even though Erin had said this as a way to get closer to him, those words were like poison to Aiden.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Aiden’s face contorted.

They were such unexpected words that came from his peculiar wife.

“Couples are supposed to be on the same side. And they are the closest of friends.”

Friends.

On the same side.

It felt like he was hearing new words for the first time.

Even in a parent-child relationship, no one was on his side. Each person only took responsibility for themselves.

However, his weird wife was saying this very sincerely.

“I’m on your side. You’re on my side!”

No matter how hard he tried while reading her face, he could only find sincerity.

She really wanted to be friends, and was saying that they were on each other’s sides.

It sounded like a hopeless idea.

But he was oddly curious, as if he had been infected by his strange wife.

In a short period of time she was able to agitate him.

Up until this point, his life had been boring and suffocating

But his wife’s hopeless offer gave him some hope.

Unaware that unimaginable things would happen in the future.

Thinking that maybe this will be able to give him the escape from his life that had been eating away at him.

“Yeah. I’ll do it!”

Aiden’s response was somewhat impulsive.

However, Erin’s words were beginning to have an effect on Aiden’s heart.

Is that it? Is it possible for a couple to have that kind of meaning?

At that moment, Aiden was able to see Erin’s face clearly.

Without knowing what it was doing, his face formed a small smile.

– To Be Continued –