Chapter 19
But for some reason, the very next day, he came looking for her. Asking her to help him find her. Watching the man plead with her to help him find the woman who was standing right in front of him, she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
Knowing that he would never be able to find her, she only pretended to grant his request. She thought that if they searched for a while without success, he would eventually give up. And just as she had expected, he did give up. But the reason he gave up was not what she had anticipated. It wasn’t because he couldn’t find her, but because he wanted to prove the sincerity of his feelings.
His sincerity. But it would be a problem if she were the one to receive it. She wasn’t someone who belonged at his side. He deserved someone more beautiful, more radiant, someone far more dazzling than she could ever be. That one night they had shared would be enough to remain as a precious memory.
「Lady Daisy, you look much better smiling beneath the sunlight.」
Remembering Aaron’s words, Daisy stared blankly out the window. The weather was bright and beautiful. Before she realized it, she had walked out into the sunlight. Without even putting on her hood, she stood beneath the warm rays and reached out a hand toward the shimmering light.
“…”
Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes. She remembered the day she had spent with him. A whole day, from morning until sunset, entirely by his side. Talking with him, meeting his gaze, spending the day as though the two of them were truly close. That dreamlike day.
She barely managed to hold back the tears threatening to spill over when someone knocked at the door.
‘There shouldn’t be anyone coming to see me…’
There was no one who would go out of their way to visit this lofty tower. If there was business at the royal palace, they would send a messenger bird rather than come in person. Who on earth could it be? Wondering, Daisy opened the door—and froze in shock.
Aaron was standing there, leaning against the doorframe, his face deathly pale as he gasped for breath. Seeing him drenched in sweat as though he might collapse at any moment, Daisy hurriedly flung the door wide open.
“Sir, Sir Schmidt? Are you feeling unwell…?”
Had he fallen ill? Or had something terrible happened?
“Please, come inside first and catch your breath….”
Should she give him medicine for shock? Or perhaps summon a cool breeze to dry the sweat pouring from him?
As Daisy hesitated, Aaron held out the object in his hand.
“This is….”
What Aaron offered her was the enchanted shoe she had created for him yesterday.
“Didn’t you give this to Lady Garland?”
“I got it back. Though I earned myself a medal in the process.”
Still breathing heavily, Aaron pointed to his left cheek. Only then did Daisy notice the bright red handprint across it. He must have been slapped by Joanna Garland while retrieving the shoe.
But why had he gone to the trouble of getting it back? What did he need it for?
“But Sir Schmidt, why are you….”
“Would you try this on?”
“Pardon?”
Caught completely off guard, Daisy stared at him in bewilderment.
What on earth had gotten into this man all of a sudden?
“Come to think of it… you’re blonde too, Lady Daisy.”
“N-No, but even so, I….”
“And your foot size looks about the same.”
“But I….”
“You attended the ball that night, didn’t you?”
“……”
“You’re unmarried, you attended the ball, and you’re blonde. You meet all the conditions, so shouldn’t you at least try the shoe on?”
“And if I refuse?”
This was a situation she had never anticipated.
“Then I’ll stay right here until you do.”
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