Chapter 22

– Chapter 22 –

After closely observing around the area, Erin found a list of places inside the mansion.

Out of those, there was one spot that she liked the best. It was a pavilion at the top of a small waterfall that was made by a sponsor.

People could go up there by climbing a hill that was connected to the back.

If she sat there while drinking tea and looked down, the entirety of the house could easily be seen.

Usually, she would be there, watching over everything. And if there was a situation that Erin had to deal with, she would begin to move.

Especially today since she told the duchess which road Aiden walked on, they were bound to cross paths.

She was planning on watching over them and if the atmosphere got bad, she would run down to them and help.

After waiting for a bit, the duchess arrived first and Erin could see her pacing around the area.

Then she ran into Aiden, who had just finished his training and was coming back.

Since there was a distance between them, she couldn’t hear their conversation but she at least could see their facial expressions very well.

At this rate, they’re going to go their own ways without even saying much.

Thinking enough was enough, Erin stood up with the intention to run to them and help.

However, she got stuck on something and slammed her head with a bam.

Ow……

Because the object was so hard, her nose tingled even though the impact was slight

To see what she ran into, Erin lifted her head and saw a familiar face.

“You……”

The person, who was about to say something but closed his mouth, was the duke.

“Hello, father.”

Erin quickly showed respect and greeted him.

“Yes.”

The duke stared closely at Erin’s face and after giving a short response, passed by her.

After seeing the back of the duke taking a seat in the pavilion, Erin tilted her head.

She strangely felt a sense of dejavu.

‘Didn’t we also run into each other here the last time?

This wasn’t the first time.

Last time, she was there to observe the duchess and the two of them came across each other.

And just a couple of days ago, when she was waiting there to surprise Aiden, they bumped into each other again.

Don’t we run into each other a lot?

How many times has it been now?

Erin counted the number of times they had run into each other.

This is already the fourth time?

Every time the duke sat at the pavilion, he always looked in the direction of the house.

But rather than looking at something, it seemed more like he was spacing out.

And after sitting there for a moment, he got up.

It wasn’t like he was looking at anything in particular, and it didn’t seem like he had any specific destination in mind.

Then, what is be doing?

This wasn’t something that fit the duke. He was a very busy person.

But right now, he looked like a loafer who was wandering around because he had nothing to do.

For a moment, Erin thought of a hypothesis while thinking about the duke looking towards the house.

Was the duke coming up here for the same reason she was?

To look down at the house and watch over the people he wants.

And those people were…….

Eh, there’s no way.

The Duke Logan Leinster that Erin had been observing this whole time was someone that was indifferent about everything.

Usually, her morning greetings were the only time she would see the duke. Even when they ran into each other multiple times, the only thing he did was stare blankly.

But the moment his interest disappeared, he would turn his head away.

And immediately after, the conversation would end.

After he returned from his trip, she hadn’t seen any other expression from him besides an indifferent one.

Very rarely did he make a different expression, but when he did, his eyebrows frowned slightly.

That’s why Erin especially didn’t like the duke.

Because it was that indifference that allowed Whitney to do those atrocities to Aiden.

It seemed like he had no interest in both Erin and Aiden.

At least the duchess put Aiden in Whitney’s care because she wanted the best for him.

On the contrary, the duke’s indifference caused Aiden to be neglected.

Erin planned on giving up Duke Leinster quickly.

Even if she had any expectations of him, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be any help.

That’s why she had given up all interest in him.

After that, the duke was completely excluded and observing the duchess became her priority.

But wait a second. Now that I think about

it……

Ever since she stopped taking an interest in the duke, they’ve actually been running into each other more often.

Normally, she couldn’t see him often because he would be going somewhere in a hurry, or he would always be cooped up in his office.

Erin slowly counted the number of times she’d run into the duke.

Huh……?

After counting, Erin realized it wasn’t just her imagination.

She had really been bumping into the duke more often.

However, she hasn’t seen the duke and the duchess together.

Why? I wonder why that is so.

Erin’s thoughts continued to deepen, but there wasn’t anything she could put her finger on.

It was at that moment.

After turning her head, she noticed right away that the atmosphere between Aiden and the duchess was getting awkward from a distance away.

The space they had between each other from the moment they first ran into each other hadn’t shrunk one bit.

It didn’t look like they were greeting each other, but rather, confronting one another.

It was obvious that if it continued like that, they would part ways without even having a proper conversation.

In the end, Erin gave up on thinking any further. After being back to back with the duke who was still sitting at the pavilion, she ran to where the duchess and Aiden were.

For now, those two were most important.

***

There was nothing that could be compared to the awkward atmosphere between Aiden and Isabella.

Truthfully, both of them had different reasons for meeting

Aiden had just finished his training and was walking back.

When Aiden saw the duchess from afar, he had a small urge to turn back.

Even if they ran into each other, there was nothing else to say besides formal greetings.

Compared to that, the awkwardness was greater.

However, since Aiden was taught not to ignore his parents, he decided to just greet her and continue going on his way.

That was what Aiden had planned.

And yet he hasn’t been able to move a step.

It wasn’t like Isabella was forcing him to

stay.

They were just standing there, unable to say anything else besides their greetings.

But because of Isabella’s unknown stare, Aiden was unable to move.

To Aiden, she was more like the Leinster duchess rather than his mom.

If it wasn’t something purposeful, they had nothing to say to each other.

If Erin was here, this situation would have been solved immediately.

He suddenly missed Erin.

However, only the duchess and Aiden were there.

In the end, without a single conversation, the two only stared at each other with their mouths closed shut.

If someone who didn’t know the situation were to look at them, they would think the two were having a staring contest and a battle of nerves.

Silence followed after silence.

It felt iffy to stand there any longer.

It was when Aiden parted his lips to say he was going to leave.

“Mother! Aiden!”

Erin called out while approaching them.

“Erin!”

Instinctively, Aiden’s face lit up at the sight of Erin.

“Welcome.”

As soon as Isabella saw Erin, her nervous face was relieved.

Seeing how the two’s expressions change, made the corner of Erin’s lips rise.

I’m glad I rushed over.

Erin wanted to help them so they could share more conversations with each other and get closer

As such, she actively tried to improve the atmosphere between the two of them.

“I saw the two of you together so I came!”

Just from Erin speaking with a bright smile, it felt like the whole atmosphere was becoming warmer.

“Aiden, is your training for today over?”

“Yeah.”

“You have class in a bit, right?”

Erin was bringing up Aiden’s schedule and Aiden nodded.

For a second, Erin thought of a good idea. So she asked the duchess a question.

“Mother, where were you going?”

“I was just on a walk.”

As if Erin was waiting for that answer, she opened her mouth.

“That’s great. Then let’s all go on a walk together.”

The atmosphere was bound to worsen if they just kept standing awkwardly there.

Rather than trying to talk while standing still, it would be better to at least move around.

Their eyes widened, not expecting Erin’s suggestion, but not long after, the two of them started to walk.

There was an assortment of flowers and trees planted in the garden, so thankfully the atmosphere wasn’t too bad.

Although it seemed like Erin was talking to herself, the two of them worked hard to either nod or say short responses to everything she said.

Erin looked at the two of them.

Though it was slow progress, she felt that they could grow closer.

“It’s nice to go on a walk all together.”

Erin spoke with a bright smile.

Erin felt thrilled at the thought of the two getting closer.

After Isabella saw Aiden, she had a grin on her face and extended her hand.

Her hand reached out to Aiden’s head.

“……!”

Aiden panicked and flinched.

At that moment, Isabella, Aiden, and even Erin were shocked.

Isabella’s awkward hand placement and Aiden, who had his head tilted back slightly.

And Erin who witnessed all of that, for a second the three of them froze.

“A flower petal fell on Aiden’s head……”

The duchess shyly said while staring blankly. So she meant that she extended her hand to remove the petal.

The duchess said that in hopes of lightening the atmosphere, but instead, it became more awkward.

The duchess quietly hid her hand behind her back.

Erin also didn’t expect something like this to happen.

Currently, Aiden was able to have skinship with Erin without any problems. No matter where he and Erin had contact, he had no reaction.

Aside from Erin, he rejected everyone else’s touch. But she didn’t know that this also applied to the duchess, who is his parent.

To Aiden, she was the same as the others.

“…….”

As if everything had stopped, silence passed.

It even seemed as if the duchess forgot how to breathe.

Without blinking an eye, she looked at Aiden.

“…… It looks good on you, as if the petal was purposefully placed on your head.”

Erin spoke with a bright smile that didn’t match the atmosphere.

They were just about to get closer, she couldn’t let something like this turn them back to how they were before.

– To Be Continued –