CH 109

What should we do, Aeris?”

“I’m not sure.”

Time was passing as Aeris stood there with a much more serious expression than usual. The men were troubled over this dilemma. But Maki was different.

“Let’s get this straight. Who is that person? Is she your lover?”

Maki crossed her arms and asked Aeris. Aeris replied frantically.

“Lover? Certainly not. She is one of the princesses. In fact, she is married…no, she’s a widow now.”

“A widow?”

“A widow?”

Maki and Edwy said at the same time. It was not particularly unusual to be widowed when they lived so long. And remarrying was just as common. Maki had been relieved to hear that she was married, but she couldn’t keep silent once she heard that the woman was a widow. She had plenty more to say, but Chiharu suddenly pulled at her clothes.

“Chiharu…”

Maki turned to her with a worried expression. But Chiharu looked quite normal now. Yes, she did. However, Maki suddenly felt a chill. Chiharu looked straight at Aeris.

“Aeris.”

“Chi-Chiharu. It’s not that. Never.”

“Aeris.”

“…Yes.”

His shoulders slumped.

“What are you going to do?”

“Just throw her out.”

Aaron muttered from behind her.

“Aaron, a lady cannot be treated in such a fashion. Still, what can I do…”

He really could not think of anything. They needed her to get dressed and leave. But that required going into the room and persuading her. And he didn’t want to go inside.

“Aeris. When you came in the room earlier, there were people behind you.”

“Ah, the fifth princess kept following me from the entrance. But I managed to brush her off, as I had an audience with the king.”

However, something told them that there was still someone waiting behind the door.

“The fifth princess. So the younger sister of the first princess.”

Chiharu muttered.

“Are they close?”

“They are not close at all.”

“Aaron…”

Aeris didn’t feel that it was right to speak so boldly about the royal family. However, Aaron did not care.

“They are nearly 200 years apart. And yet they are rivals for Aeris’s affection.”

“Aaron! I do not care for her at all! It’s just that I played with her when she was little, and she seems to have misunderstood something.”

“Well, there it is.”

Chiharu folded her arms and looked at Maki.

“Wh-what? Chiharu?”

“Maki-chan. I want to take a bath already.”

Maki had been watching the scene excitedly and was taken aback.

“Uh, right. Yeah. We’re all sweaty.”

“But it’ll be so much trouble to talk her into putting on her clothes and leaving.”

“Ye-yes. I don’t want to do that.”

“Well, we’ll just have to let them fight.”

A silence fell over the room.

“Di-did you say fight?”

Maki’s voice echoed in the silence.

“Maki-chan. I’m going to open the door.”

“Wa-wait, Chiharu!”

But even Aeris’s intervention was ignored as Chiharu opened the door.

“Lord Aeris! Oh, who might you be?”

The person on the other side of the door was the fifth princess. But when her shining, beautiful face caught Chiharu, she looked very confused. Chiharu spoke without emotion.

“Come in.”

After a second of silence, the princess’s servants began to talk.

“How dare you speak to the princess with that voice!”

“So rude.”

“This is why I don’t like humans.”

Maki was annoyed as she listened in the back. However, it was clear that Chiharu didn’t want her to join them.

“So you don’t want to come inside?”

Chiharu asked. The fifth princess managed to reply.

“This is Lord Aeris’s room. What authority do you have to be here?”

Chiharu chuckled.

“Authority? I was called here as Aeris’s guest. I have his permission. Now come in.”

Of course, she had no such thing. However, the princess and her servants had no way of knowing this. The men behind her were overwhelmed as well. And so they all entered the room quietly. Then they saw Aeris standing awkwardly in the back.

“Lord Aeris!”

The fifth princess tried to run to him, but Chiharu stopped her with a raise of her hand.

The princess couldn’t help but stop. Chiharu was angry. And that was a rare thing. Maki clenched her fist in front of her chest.

“That’s not where you should go. Go that way.”

She said as she pointed to Aeris’s bed room.

“Th-that is…”

The princess’s face reddened. She looked to be in her twenties. But to be honest, both Chiharu and Maki looked older than her. But Chiharu did not allow the blushing woman to phase her, and she opened the door without hesitation.

“Go ahead.”

“But…”

“You don’t want to?”

And so the fifth princess took a step into the room and gasped.

“Sister!”

“What’s all this noise?”

“How shameless!”

“If anything, it is shameless for someone like you, who has never been married, to come in here.”

Now that the fight had begun, Chiharu shrugged her shoulders and closed the door.

“Chiharu, wouldn’t it be more entertaining if you left it open?”

“But then she won’t be able to get changed.”

Maki was enjoying this now, but Chiharu was not in the mood. She was still angry.

There was a lot of noise coming from the bedroom for a while, but then the door finally opened, and out came the fifth princess and her servants. She was soon followed by the first princess. In human years, she would be a little past thirty, which made her look quite nice standing next to Aeris. She was very beautiful as she stood there with her hair tied loosely to the side. Of course, she was wearing clothes.

“Aeris. You are quite cruel. Not only do you rarely return, but you kept me waiting so long.”

She said sweetly. Maki thought she could hear the sound of a vein bursting on Chiharu’s head.

“Princess. You go too far. No matter how many times you request it, I cannot oblige you. You must search for someone else to spend the rest of your life with.”

Aeris said. He sounded both annoyed and polite.

“Sister. Let us leave for now. I do not like to think what will happen if father learns of this.”

“And what is that to me? Love should be free. I doubt anyone takes interest in my affairs at this point. Even father said that I should do as I please.”

Chiharu just opened the door without saying a word. But the first princess’s mouth curled with irony.

“Get out, is it? Don’t you know that I’m a princess?”

Chiharu kept her silence and opened the door even wider.

The first princess turned to look at Aeris.

“I’m sure you’ll be staying for a while. We’ll have time to talk later.”

She smiled and then left the room.

“Sister!”

The fifth princess said goodbye to Aeris and then frantically left the room.

Chiharu slammed the door shut and turned around.

“Well, then.”

The others suddenly felt quite nervous.