Chapter 65



65 An Entanglement

Aldrich’s POV:

It was ridiculous. It was one thing for the southern Duke to dote on his daughter, but why would her father agree to such an outrageous proposal?

“Don’t get so worked up, Son. It’s just a suggestion.” My father said, “There’s no harm in young people spending more time together. Don’t you think so?”

“No matter what you say, I won’t agree. I won’t get engaged to Carolyn, and I won’t see her. I don’t think our family is so down and out that we must rely on marriage between nobles to survive.”

After a long silence, my father suddenly put down the black tea in his hand and asked, “Why?”

“What?” I was confused.” It’s ridiculous to fall in love with an underage girl. Do you need other reasons?”

“It’s not that,” my father said firmly. “I know you, Son. So what’s the real reason?”

“… This is it. I said, nothing else.”

Selma’s smile appeared in my mind. The Moon Goddess knew how much I wanted to say the name I had been thinking about day and night, but I couldn’t. I promised Selma I would keep it a secret.

My father smiled and said, “You know what?” You ate a can of moon fudge under your blanket when you were young. Your mother asked, but you said you didn’t know. This was the expression you had when you lied. I know you too well. ”

I didn’t know what to say. The astuteness that I was so proud of disappeared before my family.

“I respect your choice, Aldrich, my son.” My father patted my shoulder. “But no matter your decision, I just want to say that I’ll be proud of you if you take responsibility like a man.”

This was a conversation that would lead nowhere. It had no effect other than calming down my excited brain.

I’d long anticipated that such a day would come. If it weren’t Carolyn, then it would be some other girl from a noble family. Although noble marriage was the end of the old era, it could not be denied that traditional customs impacted life.

If I had not met Selma, I was afraid I would have been like many noble young men, looking for a mate of noble birth.

In short, due to certain psychological reasons, I hid this matter from Selma.

I knew that I had never been a fearless and powerful warrior. When I faced my lover, I was like a wolf cub full of weaknesses. Any word from my lover would make me weak in the knees, so I was afraid of anything that might become a trigger between us.

However, life did not always go as one wished. The more one wanted peace, the more turbulent it would be.

Three days after the conversation, on Monday evening.

“I must say I have to find a new environment to train.” Lying on the grass, Selma panted as she said, “I keep feeling like there’s an invisible wall before me, which makes it very difficult for me to improve. Perhaps this is what they call a bottleneck?”

I handed her an energy drink and nodded with a smile. “That’s right, my dear. Your progress has surprised me. Your bottleneck period comes faster than the average person. This is normal. We can try some new training to help you find a more suitable state.”

Selma got up. Together, we snuggled up against a tree.

She took out the pendant on her chest and carefully observed it against the setting sun.

“I’ve always kept it close to me,” she said. “When I sleep at night, it’s close to my chest. It makes me feel very safe. Do you know why?”

“Why?” I shook my head.

Selma smiled slyly. She placed the black opal before her eyes. The brilliant light refracted by the gemstone could not compare to the liveliness in her eyes.

“Because it’s like this, it’s like you’re always by my side.”

I was like a little kid, dizzy from the great joy.

I kept telling myself, ‘Hey, Aldrich, calm down, don’t show such an embarrassing expression. This is nothing. It’s just an expression of love. So it’s not a big deal, right?’

However, I might have to admit that I was in love. Why couldn’t I just be a young boy?

So I hugged my beloved sweetheart like a bear, and I couldn’t help but suck the sweet honey from those lips that made me go crazy.

We touched our foreheads and rubbed our ears against each other under the dim setting sun.

On the way back to the palace’s main hall, we met the southern Duke and Carolyn.

“Good evening, young people.” The Duke looked very happy. “Did the training go well?”

“Thanks to you, everything is fine.”

The southern Duke invited us for a walk, which was not common. Out of courtesy, Selma and I had no choice but to agree to this rare invitation.

We casually chatted in the garden for a while before Carolyn suddenly said, “Father, are you not going to tell Sir Aldrich the good news?”

“You’re too impatient, baby!” The southern Duke adoringly reproached her but said to me, according to his daughter’s request, “I think the King and the Queen will inform you tomorrow, but it’s always better to get some hints in advance so that we don’t lose our composure.”

“What is it?” I had a bad feeling about this, especially when Carolyn constantly looked at me shyly.

The southern Duke chuckled. “Carolyn wants to make a trip back to the south. You’re a brave warrior. You can escort her, right?”

It was as if I had been struck by lightning on a clear day, and I froze on the spot.