IRTRHP 10

Episode 10. Ethan’s Thoughts

The smile still lingering on Lloyd’s face was so annoying that Aileen turned her head away under the pretense of sitting down.

“Did you sleep well? Need anything?”

“No.”

If anything, there was too much. Her mind had been pulled in every direction, leaving no room to think clearly.

‘Now I can finally go home.’

Since the marriage had been decided, there was no need to stay at the Grand Duke’s residence any longer.

She’d just come up with an excuse—to go home for a few days, saying she needed to prepare her things after staying in the guest room yesterday. Either way, she just wanted to get out of this uncomfortable place and figure out how she was going to live from now on.

“I plan to go home right after breakfast,” she said.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

At her innocent reply, Lloyd cut her off as if it were absurd.

“Stay here.”

“But I can prepare for the wedding at home. And though everything’s been rushed, I still need to tell my parents. So I thought I’d go home and—”

“Count Claudia will be coming.”

They spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping. Aileen stopped mid-sentence and stared at him. For a moment their eyes met before she blinked in surprise.

“Who? Count Claudia? My father?”

“Yes. He’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

“Why?”

“You’re marrying me. Isn’t it proper to meet before that? Were you planning to marry without your parents’ permission?”

His retort was reasonable, though it made her feel oddly wronged. She nodded reluctantly, knowing he had a point—but it didn’t make her feel any better.

Why does it still feel unfair? she thought, glancing at him.

“Then you could’ve gone to my father first and proposed properly. Why barge in like that?”

“I didn’t barge in.”

Lloyd shamelessly retraced the events of that day.

“I contacted Count Claudia separately and visited to meet him. You were the one who came to greet me—and you accepted my proposal. So, where’s the problem?”

“You brought me here!”

Cracks formed in his calm expression. He frowned slightly and lowered his voice.

“I don’t have the kind of power to ignore my retainers’ eyes. I had to bring my future wife and show her to them.”

He almost sounded pitiful, but that didn’t work on Aileen.

“You said we were short on time—not that you’d be introducing me to people.”

“Ah, right.”

He admitted it cleanly, his feigned regret vanishing without a trace. The truth was, he’d brought her only to save time before his campaign departure—but he didn’t bother explaining. Not that Aileen didn’t already understand.

“Then starting today, I’ll introduce you one by one. I’ll arrange meetings after breakfast.”

But I just said I was going home…

Aileen dipped her spoon into the soup, stirring without eating. From his words, it was clear—he wasn’t going to let her leave. She had wanted to get away for a while and come back later, but that plan had already failed.

“Please postpone the introductions. I’m not used to this yet.”

“As you wish.”

Clearly, those introductions didn’t matter to him. Feeling defeated, Aileen clamped her lips shut and forced herself to focus on eating.

“But…”

This time, Lloyd spoke first.

Aileen looked up. His eyes had narrowed slightly, directed toward her—but not quite at her, more like at something reflected in her face.

“Isn’t there someone you should meet sooner?”

“Who?”

“Ethan Claudia.”

“Why…?”

She trailed off mid-question—because she already knew why.

“Ethan must have expected it. It was supposed to be a marriage between families, and he must have assumed it would be him. But things have changed—it’s you now, not him.”

Aileen tried to hide her reaction by spooning up some soup, but she froze before bringing it to her lips. The soup rippled and spilled slightly from the motion, yet her mind was elsewhere.

“I don’t care who I marry, but…”

Lloyd sensed her unease and gently pressed further.

“I wonder if Ethan feels the same.”

His words faded into a quiet, suggestive tone.

When Aileen returned to her room, she couldn’t even sit down. She paced restlessly across the soft rug.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

Even if she had, there wouldn’t have been much time to act—but at least she could’ve said something before parting from her brother.

“I can’t tell him what happened between me and the Grand Duke, but I could’ve said something.”

She ruffled her hair in frustration. The tangled mess of her thoughts wouldn’t untangle, no matter how hard she scratched at her scalp.

Finally, she sank into a chair and pressed her hand to her forehead. She’d proposed to the Grand Duke to save her brother—yet she’d never stopped to consider what he must be feeling.

She leaned forward, resting her head on the table.

To others, it’ll look like I stole my brother’s man out of love. That didn’t bother her much—but the thought that Ethan himself might think so hurt in a way she hadn’t expected. Suddenly, the fact that she couldn’t go home didn’t seem to matter anymore.

“How do I explain it? Will he believe me if I tell him I did it for him?”

She mumbled into the table, unaware that no maids were around this time.

“Your Grace, what are you doing—”

“Shh.”

Lloyd silenced Sir Jeremy with a glance. Jeremy fell quiet and nodded slightly, glancing at the slumped figure of Aileen before following Lloyd out.

When they were far enough from the room, Lloyd finally stopped. Jeremy stopped too.

“Your Grace, is it wise to proceed like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m… worried.”

Lloyd crossed his arms and looked at him, prompting him to go on.

“It seems strange, doesn’t it? She’s had no prior contact with you, yet suddenly she’s talking about having a child. Could she have another motive?”

During the council meeting, Lloyd had said that Aileen Claudia wanted a child.

Jeremy’s voice turned uneasy.

“Perhaps she hid that superior omega brother of hers on purpose, knowing she might marry Your Grace instead.”

He recalled Lloyd’s earlier explanation—that Aileen had brought her brother and pretended ignorance. Meaning, she might’ve coveted the Grand Duchess’s position and hidden her brother deliberately, now trying to conceive quickly.

“Sir Jeremy.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At the shift in address, Jeremy immediately stiffened. His lips sealed as he met his lord’s heavy gaze. The quiet pressure of a warrior emanated from him. Lloyd relaxed his brow slightly, seemingly satisfied—though he still looked grim.

“You know what happens when someone spreads baseless rumors, don’t you?”

At Lloyd’s ominous tone, Jeremy’s face tensed.

“People gossip about me all the time. They say that because I’m a superior alpha, I indulge in omega pheromones every night, or that I neglect my duties. Granted, my temper is foul—but the rest?”

Even his joking tone didn’t ease Jeremy’s nerves. He knew well that only a small fraction of the rumors surrounding Lloyd were true, yet people repeated them as fact. Lloyd was reminding him of that.

And Jeremy realized he was doing the same—judging Aileen unfairly based on suspicion.

“My apologies. I was careless.”

Lloyd didn’t press further.

“Just keep an eye on her. Someone might try to target her, so she can’t leave the estate.”

That was the real reason Lloyd hadn’t let Aileen go. Now that she was to marry him, she’d draw attention—both inside and outside the duchy. If she returned home, who knew what kind of predator might approach her along the way?

“Understood.”

“If she insists on going home, assign someone to her—discreetly.”

Jeremy, bowing in respect, froze for a moment as he realized what his lord meant.

The next day, Aileen stood beside Lloyd as her parents approached from the distance. They looked awed by the grandeur of the ducal mansion yet walked forward with careful dignity.

“Grand Duke Liherst, it’s been a while. I trust you’ve been well?”

Count Claudia, his golden hair slicked back, and the Countess, her brown hair neatly pinned, bowed deeply before Lloyd.

Even among nobles, rank mattered—and as mere counts with little real power, the Claudias were visibly intimidated by the Grand Duke.

“It’s been a while,” Lloyd replied with a polite nod. Even that small gesture seemed to overwhelm them.

Father… Mother…

Standing beside him, Aileen felt a lump rise in her throat. She pressed her lips together, trying to steady her emotions, but the sight of her parents made her chest tighten painfully.

Her father worked as an administrator in the imperial capital, her mother as a court lady—rarely home. She still vividly remembered the day Ethan died and her parents followed soon after. To see them alive and breathing again made her want to cry.

And then—

Ethan.

Her eyes drifted past her parents. Behind them, Ethan Claudia stepped forward.