Chapter 3
She had been caught trying to get a free ride in such a man’s carriage. Moreover, something shiny caught her eye, and upon a second look, she realized he was even holding her lost item.
Aniella’s mouth went dry from tension.
“O-of course I know. How could I not know someone as handsome as Duke Paiki?”
Aniella desperately mustered the most innocent smile she could manage. Paiki responded with a faint smile. Regardless of how exceedingly beautiful that face was, a shiver ran down Aniella’s spine.
‘That man doesn’t smile out of joy. If you see him smile, you’d better be prepared. It’s a warning that he’s insanely angry and is about to kill you right now.’
It was something Marius, who had once studied under the same master as him, had told her. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but of all things, that saying had to come to mind now.
Trembling, Aniella lightly grasped her torn skirt and bowed her head to him.
“I’m sorry for, ugh, blocking your way.”
Bending her knee even slightly was so painful that a groan escaped mid-sentence. She hurriedly finished her apology and awkwardly smiled as she backed away.
Paiki raised the shoe he was holding towards her as she tried to limp away.
“Is this shoe yours?”
Aniella stopped and hesitated for a moment. Even without looking closely, she was certain it was her shoe.
“If you found it on the stairs, then… it might be mine…”
The words to ask for it back didn’t come easily. As Aniella hesitated, Paiki glanced at her foot. He compared the single shoe she was wearing to the one in his hand and nodded.
“Yes. It does appear to be yours.”
He affirmed it, but that was it. He didn’t hand it over or toss it to her to take. He just stared blankly at her foot, clad in only one shoe.
He looked strangely serious. Aniella, not knowing what he was pondering so deeply, was terrified.
She wanted to apologize for bothering him if possible and run away before he started tormenting her in some cruel and mean way. But those shoes were the ones she had borrowed from Marius.
‘Does it make sense to have only worn-out shoes to go to the party at the Imperial Palace? I’ll lend you a pair, so wear them and go.’
‘Your shoes probably won’t fit my feet.’
‘I never said they were my shoes. They’re women’s shoes, so they should roughly fit your feet.’
‘Why do you have women’s shoes?’
As Aniella looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had a hobby of secretly trying on women’s shoes, Marius became irritable.
‘You don’t need to know. I’m telling you in advance, I’m not giving them to you, so you must return them.’
She had wondered why he was showing such kindness without asking for anything in return, but the next day, Marius asked with a tense face.
‘Your sister… didn’t she say anything about the shoes?’
Aniella had two older sisters. Even though he didn’t specify which one, she knew which sister he was referring to. He had feelings for the eldest sister, Holly.
Pretending not to know, Aniella asked him.
‘Who would say what?’
‘You know, things like “they’re pretty,” or “I’m envious,” or “I want shoes like that too.”‘
When she told him Holly didn’t seem particularly interested, his face hardened, and he said he’d changed his mind and demanded the shoes back immediately. She pleaded that, as he had said, she only had worn-out shoes, and barely managed to keep them borrowed.
What would happen if she told him she had lost one of the shoes? And that it was with Duke Paiki, who had learned magic under the same master, whom he had considered a rival since childhood, and who was called a genius by everyone, unlike the sluggish Marius?
Just thinking about Marius flying into a rage made her head hurt.
“Um, the shoes… could you possibly return them……”
“You seem to be on your way home too, but I don’t see any other carriages at all.”
She had finally mustered her courage, but Paiki cut her off. The timid Aniella gave a dry laugh.
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