Chapter 49: Aria’s Calculation

 “Lloyd, don’t do this.”

 “You’re the one who shouldn’t do this to me.”

 She didn’t want to be seen with Lloyd by people anymore.

 The more rumors spread about Edmund and Clea’s relationship, the more attention Aria was drawing.

 In such a situation, being seen with Lloyd like before would only hinder her relationship with Edmund.

 She wanted to drive him out, but it could lead to rumors of discord with the grand ducal family.

 So Aria recklessly led Lloyd to a place with few people.

 It was the result of moving impulsively, thinking she needed to hide his presence somehow.

 When she realized they were alone in a secluded place, Aria was overcome with fear.

 She belatedly felt a sense of crisis, not knowing what impulsive action the emotional Lloyd might take.

 So she tried to distance herself from Lloyd as much as possible.

 But Lloyd, refusing to allow it, grabbed her wrist and wouldn’t let go.

 “Lloyd, it hurts.”

 “Have you forgotten how many times I’ve heard you say you’re in pain while I was by your side?”

 Aria frequently claimed to be in pain.

 At first, Lloyd genuinely worried about her.

 But after hearing it for years, he was now thoroughly sick of it.

 Whenever she faced difficult situations or wanted something, she would say she was in pain, and Lloyd would move according to her wishes.

 It was a kind of signal. A signal indicating an opportunity to look good in her eyes.

 Once, Lloyd was happy when she said such things.

 He thought she was allowing him to see sides of herself that she didn’t show to Edmund.

 But not anymore.

He frowned and pushed Aria further against the wall.

 She bit her lip as she hit the cold wall.

 She bit so hard that blood flowed inside her mouth.

 “Why are you suddenly drawing a line with me?”

 “I’m not drawing a line.”

 “Then what is it? Tell me with that pretty mouth of yours.”

 Aria was only thinking about how to escape this situation.

 There was no one around who could help her.

 She needed to escape using her own strength somehow. After contemplating, she opened her mouth.

 “Clea said it before. Whether our relationship was truly proper. I just didn’t want to be questioned about that.”

 Hearing Aria’s words, he was dumbfounded.

 The two had been together constantly, both inside the academy and after graduation.

 There hadn’t been any strange rumors about the two of them who walked around laughing happily.

 It was during a time when it was already certain that Aria would marry Edmund.

 Since Lloyd was also known as Edmund’s close friend, there was no suspicion.

 Though he was usually quick to pick up on anything related to Aria, he couldn’t understand this, but unlike his thoughts, his heart wasn’t cold.

 “Lloyd, I did it all for you.”

 Aria held Lloyd’s hand with both of hers as she spoke.

 Seeing her asking for help, he felt both dumbfounded and conflicted. Lloyd recalled her usual demeanor.

 Unlike Clea, she was extremely kind to others.

 Perhaps because of the image of her in his mind.

 He thought that perhaps she really wanted to distance herself for the sake of his public reputation.

 “If it was for me, that was the wrong choice.”

 “I’m sorry, Lloyd. I was wrong.”

 “Do you really think you were wrong?”

 “Yes, I’m really sorry.”

 Until he came to meet Aria, he had thought countless thoughts.

 What he should say when he met Aria, how he should act, and so on.

 But after hearing Aria’s explanation, Lloyd felt the anger that had built up in his heart dissipate in an instant.

 “Then don’t say such things ever again.”

 “I understand, Lloyd. I won’t do it again.”

 “Good. That’s all I needed.”

 He embraced Aria.

 This time, Aria didn’t push him away.

 She felt no particular resistance since they had occasionally shared light hugs.

 Additionally, if she pushed him away now, she didn’t know what the barely calmed Lloyd might do in his excitement.

 She forced a smile and said.

 “Lloyd, could you do me a favor?”

 “Tell me anything. I’ll do it.”

 Lloyd was in a very good mood, having restored his relationship with her.

 Feeling like he could grant any request she made right now, she asked.

 “We used to be close with Edmund too, didn’t we?”

 “……We were.”

 Edmund, who was once a close friend.

 But now, just hearing his name made Lloyd grit his teeth and furrow his brow, showing how hostile their relationship had become.

 Aria continued speaking while observing his expression.

 “I want to go back to how we were before, when the three of us always went around together.”

 Lloyd still felt uncomfortable about Edmund.

 He didn’t want to face him again after Edmund had taken away his fiancée knowing full well who she was.

 However, such feelings didn’t take precedence over the fact that Aria wanted it.

 “Who is fundamentally responsible for the breakdown of our relationship?”

 Edmund’s name lingered in Lloyd’s mouth.

 He wanted to harshly criticize Edmund in front of Aria and diminish his dignity.

 He wanted her to stop looking at Edmund.

 But thinking that saying such things wouldn’t make her view Edmund negatively, he ultimately gave the answer she wanted.

 “Since Clea got involved.”

 “Yes, it’s been like that since that Clea appeared beside Edmund.”

 Lloyd almost furrowed his brow at Aria’s claim that all of this was entirely Clea’s fault.

 He vividly remembered the last time he confronted Clea, when she immediately coughed up blood after facing him.

 She wouldn’t allow anyone to come close, still giving a sharp gaze even while spitting bright red blood.

 Recalling her image, Lloyd felt discomfort and anger deep in his heart.

 ‘She was just following me around happily, and now she’s going to another man?’

 Since the academy, it was Clea who had constantly followed him around.

 Seeing her like that, he felt inner satisfaction.

 The more she obsessed over him by his side, the more he felt he wasn’t inadequate.

 But suddenly, in an instant, she changed. Due to her changed attitude, Lloyd felt a sense of discomfort and impatience.

 Given the relationship that had somehow continued, Lloyd thought of marrying her if she would act like she used to again.

 Every time she looked at Lloyd as if he were a stranger, his heart grew more stubborn.

 “We need to somehow separate Clea from Edmund’s side again.”

 “Separate? How?”

 “You’re still Clea’s fiancé, now as before.”

 “But Clea left the Odoi family……”

 “What does her leaving the Odoi family have to do with anything?”

 Lloyd’s mind became complicated at Aria’s words.

 The situation had become quite complex since Clea left the Odoi family.

 She was no longer a lady of the venerable Odoi ducal family.

 She was completely unsuitable for him in status, as the heir to the grand ducal family.

 “Just because Clea left her family doesn’t mean your engagement with her is broken off.”

 It was an assertion that could only be seen as completely unreasonable from Aria. But somehow, Lloyd felt enticed by those words.

 The thought grew that, as she said, it was difficult to see his relationship with her as completely severed.

 “And since it’s true that Clea liked you, if you treat her well now with determination, wouldn’t she come back to you?”

 Before he knew it, Aria had begun using Lloyd again.

 Lloyd believed her words as if they were true, without even realizing he was being used.

 “Lloyd, it’s up to you. Whether we three can be together like before.”

 With those final words, Aria nestled into his arms.

 Lloyd trembled as he felt Aria voluntarily nestling against him.

 He couldn’t believe she had come into his arms of her own accord.

 His reason began to numb with the faint scent and warm body temperature he felt.

 Seizing that moment, Aria raised her head.

 Lloyd was on the verge of surrender at such a close distance.

 “Please, Lloyd.”

 At a distance close enough for their lips to almost touch, Lloyd’s gaze wavered.

 But Aria was looking at him as if she wouldn’t allow him to look elsewhere.

 Finally, Lloyd nodded.

 “Alright. I’ll try somehow.”

 Though he said that, he didn’t like it.

 The thought of acting kindly toward that Clea felt extremely humiliating.

 However, what was more important was still Aria.

 ‘With this, finally.’

 Aria hadn’t calculated at all that Lloyd would suddenly appear like this without any notice.

 At first, she was very perplexed by Lloyd’s appearance, but nevertheless, the result was satisfying in the end.

 ‘Finally, you’ll be distanced from Edmund.’

 She thought this would make Clea distance herself in her relationship with Edmund.

 Because the Clea she had seen during the academy had truly loved Lloyd.

 If the relationship between the two were restored this way, Edmund would be alone again.

 Aria planned to have Edmund all to herself then.

 So that no one else could interfere this time.

 ‘So you should be grateful to me. Thanks to me, you’ll get the man you’ve been longing for.’

 But variables always existed.

 ‘How interesting. I never imagined the young grand duke of the Persi family and the lady of the Hersher family had such a relationship.’

No matter how secluded the place was, there was always someone passing by.