Chapter 46  

A candidate for a priest who has been nurtured and cherished since childhood cannot be let go.

Because it can be tainted with evil.

But it sounds like a rolling stone from the lowest place won’t be cared less whether they fall into evil or not.

It was blatant discrimination.

‘Besides, wanting him to volunteer on his own means making it his own choice and letting him take on the responsibility.’

As expected, humans are humans.

Even for a priest who stands in the church and preaches the doctrine of God.

Aria knew a little about how the priest apprentices who were educated under him grew up.

Because they made a great contribution to making war as sacred as possible in front of the Church in the future.

‘What is good and what is evil.’

According to Garcia’s standards, is it good to listen to the Pope and evil to not listen to the Pope?

One thing was certain.

“Valentine representing evil and Garcia representing good are the same.”

The essence was no different.

‘Anyway, it seems that soon someone with an angelic name will come as an apprentice from the Holy Empire.’

The priests didn’t seem to mind.

It seemed that they had to send a child with divine powers to Valentine’s.

‘Because there is no way to do such a loss without any profit considering Garcia.’

Is there some kind of contract?

Aria had no choice but to doubt.

‘I thought that Valentine and Garcia were opposites of each other. Did they have a relationship?’

When there is darkness, there is also light. They obviously said so.

“What do you mean?”

Does it mean that Valentine is necessarily evil?

That’s the law that governs everything in the world, though.

‘But there seems to be something deeper…..’

It was when she was immersed in her thoughts.

“What are you doing standing in the hallway?”

Suddenly Lloyd’s voice was heard.

“If you can’t sleep, ask them to sing a lullaby.”

Aria looked up at the approaching boy and flapped her lips.

– Sing it for me.

“No, are you crazy?”

Lloyd let out a harsh sound without realizing it, then rubbed his lips.

As if he had made a mistake.

“Not me. The chief handmaiden or something.”

– I don’t like anyone but Lloyd.

“You keep saying things like that, so I’m mistaken…”

Ha.….

The boy sighed deeply.

Aria looked at Lloyd, wiping his bangs wildly, and she suddenly wondered.

– It seems that we often meet at the detached villa.

“Well, one of the rooms here is being used as my office.”

Aria widened her eyes.

– Really?

Even in the same building, it was not on the same floor, so she didn’t seem to hear Lloyd’s voice.

If she had known earlier, she would have gone for him.

She looked disappointed.

“Didn’t you know?”

He thought she knew it.

In a place overlooking Lloyd’s office window, she would always stand looking up at the sky endlessly, as if asking to take a look.

Even when it rained on.

He wondered what the purpose was.

“You just had no idea.”Aria heard those words and tilted her head.

Lloyd rubbed his finger against his heated earlobes with an expressionless face.

He knew for the first time that he lived with so many misunderstandings up to this point.

– Lloyd.

Then Aria pulled Lloyd’s hem, who was turning his gaze away, and flapped her lips.

– Your mother told me to curse at you.

“…..”

This was another development he hadn’t thought of.

He said after being silent for a moment.

“……Where are you going to do?”

Lloyd thought it’d be better off listening to her cursing.

Even if that makes her feel better.

– I’ve never cursed.

“You probably know.”

This person.

Aria thought for a moment before she poured out the swear words she knew.

– Retard, half-wit, dumb, monster, f***, stupid bastard….

It stopped right there.

It was because she couldn’t think of it anymore.

“The last thing was the one I taught you.”

-Huh.

“Did you hear somewhere else about the rest?”

That….that’s how it is.

Aria didn’t answer the question, but Lloyd was already convinced.

The back of his hand was tightly engraved with veins, and his jaw tightened.

His eyes, which had darkened as pitch-black, flashed a blatant expression of threatening energy.

“I should have taken care of it sooner.”

Count Cortez.

Aria instantly figured out who the boy was thinking of now.

It wasn’t a complete misunderstanding.

‘The second last thing I heard from Carlin.”

She’ll keep this a secret forever. Aria swore to herself.

It was difficult for her if the capable and useful shaman was sent to the underworld.

This time Lloyd spoke up.

“It’s not that you’re bothering me, I just realized that I care about you for no reason. Although it’s late.”

Aria was confused as to how to take these words.

He cared about her for no reason.

‘Are you saying in a roundabout way that you cared for me because I look like your mother when she was sick?’

Lloyd’s words continued.

“I understand why you want to marry me and I have decided to accept it.”

It seems like he’s talking while grinding his teeth.

Aria became even more lost as she read the hazy resentment from the boy’s black eyes.

She wants to give him happiness in return for being saved by Lloyd.

‘In the end, he will be angry, but…..’

Aria had a time-limit.

The fact that she would die anyway was also the reason why she completely hides that she can sing a siren song.

‘Still, it would be a shock if someone who he had been married to for 10 years died suddenly without saying anything.’

Angry with himself and with his partner.

So Aria was never going to tell him her own circumstances in detail.

Then Lloyd will remember her for the rest of his life.

‘Lloyd, will outlive me. I don’t want him to carry the guilt for nothing.’

So, a light sympathy was enough as Lloyd decided to marry Aria.

‘It’s rather the best scenario.’

They stay married as they are, and when he becomes an adult he can go out and find the rest that he didn’t know about.

“Are you listening to me?”

It was when she was in deep thought.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes and pulled Aria’s cheeks to either side.

“I’m serious.”

It looked really serious.His hand was fiddling with Aria’s cheek.

He just stretched her cheeks without much thought, because he liked the feel.

“Marshmallow……”

Is this serious?

Aria, caught by Lloyd’s serious expression, was stunned for a moment.

When she showed her sullen eyes, the boy let go of his hand and coughed a little.

“I made my own judgment and threatened your life and made it difficult.”

“…..”

“I want to apologize.”

Aria was startled.

It was because Lloyd clasped her hand politely and bent one knee to the floor.

“It will never happen again.”

“…..”

“I swear, Aria.”

The boy’s eyes, who had always been cold, seemed deep for that moment.

Even the end is invisible.

Aria couldn’t take her eyes off the lake-like eyes that illuminated the night sky.

He called her ‘Aria,’

For the first time.

“Never again, no one will be able to deny Ariadne Valentine.”

“…..”

“I’m here. Don’t go anywhere. This is your home.”

My home.

‘… home?’

Aria had no home.

She lived in a cage with iron bars.

She was a livestock raised in strict confinement.

Where is the luxury of talking to and expressing emotions to livestock that are desperate to live day by day?

The Siren’s only worth was singing, and it was thanks to it that she survived.

‘Home.’

It was a more miraculous word to her than the siren song.

She never dared to wish, believing that even if she died and woke up, she wouldn’t have it.

Aria’s eyes, who had reacted bluntly to everything he did, shook greatly.

“Anyway, I’m your husband now.”

– Am I, Lloyd’s wife?

“Yes, Wife.”

Lloyd replied bluntly.

He didn’t make a bitter face, nor did he make an awkward face as if he was spitting out unfamiliar words.

Just as he would say that apples are red by its natural definition, he called her his wife.

“If you allow it, I’ll tell the employees of each department to prepare for the wedding as soon as possible.”

Wedding?

Naturally, she thought that when they got married, they would only exchange documents in an informal way.

‘I don’t think we can do that?’

Aria was perplexed.

Because weddings of young nobles were prohibited by law.

That was the privilege of only those who had the right to hereditary powers to the throne.

In other words, the only person that can hold a wedding at such a young age is only the Crown Prince.

‘That skeptical and inflexible Emperor would certainly take it as treason.’

He will definitely run wild.

Or, he can remember the incident forever and accuse him of it later.

Aria was well aware of the current Emperor’s personality. Because she’s been watching him closer than anyone else.

– It’s illegal to hold a wedding.

When Aria asked, Lloyd replied.

“You still follow the law. When did you see the Valentine’s do the law?”

“….”

That’s right….

Aria had nothing to say.

If the Emperor wanted to nitpick the wedding, they would have to catch up with the shaman who was blazing in Valentine’s castle.

He was a criminal just by his existence.

‘Then, what the Grand Duke said wasn’t a joke?’

Of course, she thought it was a joke to say that he would give her a wedding as luxurious as the Empress’.

But it wasn’t.

– But then it’d be a blemish for Lloyd when you remarry again.