Finding the Hidden Cinderella - Chapter 16

‘Olson… Olson, was it?’

Repeating the name his comrade had given him, Aaron ran through the palace corridors with his breath coming hard.

As he rounded a corner—

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“Eek!”

The two people who had collided dropped to the floor at the same time.

Aaron had been moving so fast that he slammed his forehead into the other person’s head, while the other person buried their face straight into his chest.

“A-Are you all right?”

Rubbing his aching jaw, Aaron looked up—and froze.

Daisy was sitting right in front of him, one hand pressed to her head.

“Ah, Sir Schmidt.”

Daisy looked just as flustered as he was. After all, who could have possibly expected to run into each other like this?

“Um… well… yesterday…”

Did you get back home safely? Did you sleep well?

The questions rose all the way to the tip of his tongue, but Aaron barely managed to swallow them back. He had almost blurted out, I didn’t get a wink of sleep.

There was no reason to say something like that to Daisy. She had no obligation to help him.

“It seems you’re in quite a hurry.”

Gathering up the books she had dropped when they collided, Daisy lowered her head politely.

“Ah, yes. Something rather urgent.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he thought he had found her.

Or rather, that he thought he had found the woman who knew where she was.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me…”

After picking up every last book, Daisy gave him a small bow before continuing on her way.

Aaron watched her silently for a moment before turning and heading toward the royal palace kitchens.

A woman named Olson was there. If he found her, he would be able to find the blonde woman.

But… what then? What exactly was he planning to do once he found her?

Was he really going to marry her? Why? Because he loved her? Or because of appearances? Because of his honor? Because he was obligated to take responsibility?

Would he simply marry her for form’s sake, then return to his old life—taking lovers whenever he pleased and carrying on as though nothing had changed?

A dull ache throbbed in his chest.

No.

That wasn’t it. That wasn’t why he wanted to see her.

At first, perhaps that had been his reason. But not anymore. He absolutely was not trying to find her for that.

There was something he had to say to her. He had to apologize. He should kneel before her and ask for her forgiveness first.

Yes, they had both agreed to spend the night together. But regardless, there was no doubt that he himself had played a part in the reason she had fled.

So first, he had to tell her he was sorry. Then he had to ask what she wanted. He had to ask what she wished to do… and what she wanted from him.

If she wanted to forget that night with him, then he would respect her wishes. If she wanted him to take responsibility, then he would do that instead. But would he go back to seeing other women afterward?

Absolutely not.

He had no intention of doing that. But if, just if, she truly wanted to forget the one night they had shared, then there was one person he would want to tell before anyone else.

Daisy Freyan.

He wanted her to be the very first to hear the news. To tell her before anyone else, and then… and then…

Aaron’s steps gradually slowed. The closer he came to the kitchen, the heavier his feet became. He was afraid of meeting the woman named Olson. No, he was afraid of learning the identity of the woman from that night through her. If that woman wanted to marry him, he felt as though his heart would ache. And if someone asked him why it would ache… he was afraid he would have to answer that it was because someone else already occupied his heart.

While he wrestled with his thoughts, Aaron’s hand had already pushed open the kitchen door. Amid the bustling kitchen, alive with the clamor of lunch preparations and people hurrying back and forth, it wasn’t difficult to spot the brown-haired woman. She was strikingly beautiful. And before Aaron could call out to her, she noticed him first.

“Lord Schmidt?”

Startled, the brown-haired Olson froze, the frying pan still in her hand. A troubled expression soon crossed her face. The instant Aaron saw it, he realized something.

She had orchestrated whatever it was that made her react that way upon seeing him.

What had happened that night hadn’t been a coincidence. The switch in partners midway through… perhaps it had all been part of a carefully planned scheme.

But why?

For what purpose?

“This is exactly why I said I absolutely couldn’t help you…”

Olson murmured under her breath, still holding the searing-hot frying pan, and every word reached Aaron’s ears with perfect clarity.

She knew. She knew exactly why he had come to see her.