Chapter 20
“Sir Schmidt.”
“Aaron.”
“If someone happens to see us….”
“They’ll probably think I’m courting you.”
Aaron said it so casually that Daisy’s face instantly flushed a deep rosy red.
How could this man say something so shamelessly? Just hearing those words made her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“It’s simple. All you have to do is try the shoe on once. That’s not such a difficult thing to do, is it?”
“It isn’t difficult, but neither is it something I have to do.”
“If it’s not difficult, then give me one good reason why you won’t.”
“Then why don’t you tell me why you’re so determined to have me try on this shoe, Sir Schmidt?”
He couldn’t have remembered her face. The spell had been cast flawlessly. It wasn’t the sort of magic that could be undone so easily. As the Grand Archmage of the Kingdom of Peron, she had staked her honor on casting a spell that no one could break.
“I’ll tell you after you’ve tried the shoe on.”
Stubborn. It seemed impossible to overcome this man’s stubbornness. After a moment’s hesitation, Daisy lightly tapped the shoe with the staff she was holding. Instantly, the enchanted shoe she had created vanished without a trace. Since it had been made with magic, making it disappear with magic was a simple matter. And just like that, the only piece of evidence was gone.
“I don’t know what has gotten into you, Sir Schmidt, but would you please return now? I have a great deal of research to do, and I don’t wish to be disturbed any longer.”
With those words, Daisy gently pushed Aaron back and quickly shut the door. Then she sealed it firmly with magic. She had no intention of opening it for anyone now. Unless she herself opened the door, no one—not even Aaron—could enter.
“How could he…?”
Listening to the fading footsteps descending the stairs, Daisy let out a shaky breath and pressed a hand against her chest. The fact that he had come this far could only mean he had found something or remembered something. But she had no idea what.
Even so, she had no desire to step forward now and tell him she was the woman he was searching for. She couldn’t bring herself to shatter what might become one of his precious memories.
‘Maybe if I just stay out of sight for a week or so…’
As Daisy wondered whether Aaron’s interest would fade if she stayed out of sight for about a week, she walked back toward the cauldron where the medicine was still brewing. Just then, a tremendous commotion erupted outside the window. It was so loud that she couldn’t help looking outside.
The moment Daisy looked out the window, she froze in shock. With a thunderous roar, a massive dragon was beating its wings as it soared up to the tower, hovering just outside her window. But even more astonishing than the dragon itself was the man riding on its back.
Of course, Aaron Schmidt was a Gold Hand Holy Knight. The ability to command dragons was what earned one the title of Gold Hand. But dragons were never used for something so personal.
“Sir Schmidt!”
The roar of the dragon’s wings was so deafening that Daisy doubted he could hear her, so she raised her voice and shouted.
“What are you doing, Sir Schmidt?!”
“Because this isn’t a joke!”
Aaron shouted back from atop the dragon.
“I want to show you that I’m serious!”
Had he lost his mind? He had brought a dragon here just to prove he was serious? Everyone was watching this spectacle. Before long, the entire kingdom would hear about it. And all this uproar was simply to show that he was sincere?
Sincere about what? What exactly was this sincerity he kept shouting about? About spending one night with her? But it had been only one night. Surely she wasn’t the only woman he had ever spent a night with. What made that so important? Was it because he felt obligated to take responsibility? Even if he didn’t love her? Was she supposed to spend the rest of her life bound to him because of that?
No. She didn’t want that. That would only shackle both of them together. She wanted no part of such a future.
At that moment….
“Daisy Freyan!”
The man atop the dragon shouted at the top of his lungs.
“I’m in love with you!”
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