Chapter 137. Revenge (II), Part IX
Translator: Khan
Editor Group: Liber Reverie
â⦠I couldnât do it when I saw you sleeping so soundly. Iâm worried. And⦠Iâm sorry for your pain, but I reached out because I couldnât pass it as your moonlight hair was so beautiful.â
She remembered something similar that she heard from him. He always told her that it didnât go as he thought when he saw her face-to-face.
Even though he said that she was beautiful, it was an answer that could be misleading. It was too much for the daughter of a prostitute. Was he too noble to have such a conversation with her? He was different from Mielle, who was pretending to be noble. So, as she was hesitant to answer, Asher sat on the side of the bed. He put aside his shyness and said, staring gently at Ariaâs eyes,
âI donât want to see you suffering like this.â
Although he didnât want to see it, there was nothing that he could do. It was all to come in at dawn and see her face secretly. But no matter what she was now, she was the daughter of a prostitute. With the fact that he had an acquaintance, he might get swept away by idle speculation and rumors, and why was he talking about this to her?
âIâve been thinking about a lot before, but⦠Iâve come to have realized with this incident. I could not meet you easily even though something happened to you.â
Aria slowly picked herself up when she heard that. Ariaâs face, leaning against the bedhead, was full of embarrassment. In the past, she, who had had meetings with countless men, could guess the following words of Asher but tried to deny that her assumption was ridiculous.
âSo I felt like I wanted you to be around so that I could meet you anytime, and that no one could hurt you.â
What Asher told her was what Aria thought. Ariaâs eyes shook without rest when she heard what he said.
âWere you just thinking? Or did you mean what you said?â Either way, she was sure she would be a stumbling block in the way of the future of Asher. It was best for him and for her to maintain a relationship without anyone knowing it.
âHow dare you! I am just another thing to you.â
So she answered like that and looked away. But he didnât seem to want to end what he had just said and didnât give up easily.
âPerhaps⦠donât you like me or feel uncomfortable?â
âNo, thatâs notâ¦â
No way. She had never lowered her guard to any man. She had always cooked to her own taste and used her greatest weapon, beauty, to make them lose heart. That was only possible because Aria didnât feel anything for her opponent, but Asher was the only one she couldnât resist.
It might be because he had been unusual from their first meeting. The unpredictable mix of situations and encounters had made it impossible to judge on the same lines as the other men she had met.
Perhaps it was because she had continued the meeting from the beginning without expressing her real intention. It had not been for her to not like him from the beginning, no matter what the process had been. No, she had been rather happy when he had worried about herself or she had come across him accidentally.
âBut Iâm sure Iâm not going to be of help to you. Iâm from a humble family that doesnât match Mr. Asher. Everyone will swear.â
It was the plain truth. No matter how much the reputation of Aria was changing, the stigma of being the daughter of a prostitute would always be there. But he didnât seem to think so.
âIs there anything more stupid than judging a person on such a useless basis? I donât, but do you judge people by their origin?â
âNoâ¦â
âAnd now Iâm not weak enough to be swayed by such trivial rumors.â
There was confidence in his eyes when he retorted. For him, who had long been oppressed and tested, what Aria was worried about seemed to be a trivial matter.
âIn addition, you are clever enough to make such rumors useless. At least thatâs what Iâve seen.â
He smiled softly saying what he could not easily convey, but he was full of trust and faith even though he did not know much of what Aria had achieved. While staring at Aria, who was speechless, his eyes blushed again.
âI just thought about it, but I didnât mean to tell you this much⦠Thatâs always what happens when I face you. I didnât mean to ask for an answer.â
Maybe he was trying to ease the burden by appearing suddenly and making surprising remarks, and he added, âDonât pay much attention to me.â However, Aria did not respond because it was something that she couldnât help but pay attention to.
âI was going to send this by letter, but instead, now that Iâve had the opportunity, Iâd better tell you in person.â
With a soft look, he faced Aria with a serious face. In an instant the mood changed, Aria swallowed her saliva and waited for he would say.
âI caught the criminal who tried to kill you. I personally let people search. I was thinking about what to do, and I thought it would be right to let you know first, so I was going to leave the letter behind.â
He took the letter out of his arms and said. When Aria accepted the letter, he added an explanation.
âThe letter says where she is being detained. Iâll leave it up to you.â
â⦠Thatâs the maid who tried to hurt me. Do you know what Iâm going to do to her?â
âYouâre doing it for a reason, whatever you do.â
As he said, âThat is all I can to do,â he kissed the back of Ariaâs hand softly and left. Her eyes followed the traces of him, who disappeared like a mirage.
âIâm doing it for a reason, whatever I doâ¦?â
She was always uncomfortable somewhere with impure thoughts in her mind, but when she heard it, she suddenly felt at ease as if she had been justified. Perhaps he could say so because he didnât know everything about Aria, but that was how she was able to put down a load off of her mind.
In the first place, she had never thought of having a special relationship with him because he was going to marry the princess later on, but she thought that she didnât have to avoid it now that she had made a lot of different moves.
* * *
Aria, unable to sleep at all after Asherâs visit, hurried to the place Asher had informed her of as soon as dawn came. It wasnât a place to laugh and go for a conversation, so she prepared herself simply and unnoticed. She thought about which of the maids she should take, but she didnât think it would look good, so she went out with the knight, John.
âI want to be alone, so please stay outside and wait for me.â
Aria, who told John so, rented a new carriage through the cafe owner and headed alone to the place where Berry was detained. In preparation for any possibility, she put the carriage on standby at a store a little further away from where Asher had informed her and walked for a long time.
It was a shabby warehouse that people had not visited for a long time. She didnât know if there was no surveillance at first, or if he had thought Aria would come and left it empty, but there was no one there.
Screech. When she opened the old door and went inside, she saw Berry lying in a corner of a warehouse with scattered straw. Even though she had run away nicely, she was now in a shabby mess.
âWhy would you do such a bad thing? You donât have anything.â
As she raised her head at the sound of the door opening, she showed off the white of her eyes as soon as the evil woman of the world she had tried to poison appeared.
âAh, ah, ahâ¦!â
âWhat does she want to say?â To prevent self-harming, the only thing flowing through Berryâs mouth was an ugly groan because a cloth was pushed deep into her throat.
âItâs been a long time, Berry. Iâve been looking for you for a long time. Where and how have you been?â
Then Aria slowly approached Berry. She grabbed Berryâs hair as she approached.
âHow do you feel when the evil girl you thought was dead came back to life?â
As Aria smiled brightly and asked, Berry burst into tears. There was still a groan of unknown meaning from her mouth. With the fear of imminent death, she seemed crazy.