182: A Secret Meeting With and a Report for my Husband!
That night, as Avril had decided at the tea party, she prepared to secret a visit to Dylan’s room.
Having changed into plain clothes unbefitting of a villainess, she opened the door and glanced around the hallway. It was empty.
No problems here!
After confirming that it was safe, she quickly dashed up the stairs.
Although their guest rooms were in the same building, Dylan’s was on a different floor, meaning movement between them would be conspicuous. It was why she had initially resigned herself to the difficulty of meeting Dylan alone in order to keep their marriage a secret.
However, the situation changed considerably when Emilia declared, “Avril has three lovers.” At that time, she had paled from guilt, but everything might have worked out for the better in the end.
As Lord Dylan is considered one of my lovers, it should be fine even if someone sees us! But right now, there’s no one in the hallway!
The hour was already deep into the night, nearing the change of the date. Avril safely managed to reach Dylan’s door.
Knock, knock, knock—
Dylan peeked his head out at her knocking.
“Who’s there— Wait, Avril?”
“Good evening, Lord Dylan. I have something I would like to discuss.”
“For now, come in.”
With a startled expression, Dylan swiftly pulled her into the room and then peeked into the hallway, cautious about their surroundings. After confirming no one was there, he slowly closed the door.
The creak of the door echoed through the castle at night.
“—You surprised me. Did something happen?”
“Uhm, I was concerned about what was said at the tea party today.”
As soon as she brought it up, Dylan’s expression seemed to say, “Oh, that.”
“Ah, you mean the matter of how difficult acquiring the rights to redevelop the mines through the proper channels?”
“—! Well, yes, that too, but…”
That was certainly on her mind, but that wasn’t why she had gone out of her way to come here alone at such a late hour. That said, she didn’t want to offer a tactless apology like, “I’m sorry for treating you like a third lover,” to her husband either.
Strictly speaking, I don’t want to apologize to Lord Dylan, nor do I want to bring up the whole third lover thing he kindly helped cover again.
On the other hand, Dylan seemed to believe that Avril had come for special business.
The deeply worried look he gave her wasn’t that of a husband, it was the face of a diplomate. And that made sense. They were both in the middle of an important mission.
Avril couldn’t seem to find the right words. She had a wide range of vocabulary, yet none of them felt right. In the end, what came out of her mouth after being cornered were her honest feelings, just as they were.
“I wanted to see you, so I came!”
“…!?”
A moment ago, Dylan’s blue eyes had been filled with serious concern, but now, they showed clear confusion. Apparently, she had chosen the wrong words.
Seeing his reaction, Avril guessed that her words must’ve carried too much meaning. Those words she had carelessly let slip in that moment of emotion now felt terribly embarrassing.
“Ah…!? I deeply apologize. It’s already late, so I shall return to my room. Good eve—”
Just as Avril was hurrying to flee by reaching for the door with a polite, “Good evening,” Dylan stopped her by pressing his hand against the door.
“Wait.”
Just like that, as if by accident, she ended up being embraced from behind. Within that quiet room, her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears.
Even though I’m the one who came here with enthusiasm, under the orders of Prince Lawrence… Lord Dylan must be exasperated with me at speaking so carelessly.
Behaving so recklessly was unbefitting of a villainess.
After hesitating over what to do, Avril finally mustered the courage to look up behind her and discovered Dylan smiling wryly. It wasn’t a smile of exasperation, but rather a troubled yet gentle one.
For a moment, she forgot all the tension from earlier and tilted her head. Dylan responded by reaching out and brushing her hair back, tucking it behind her ear.
“Something similar happened on our last voyage. I had trouble holding myself back that time as well.”
“?”
“You truly are a villainess”
“A vil—”
Avril didn’t understand what he meant. She hadn’t behaved like a villainess in the slightest. In fact, she had just been reflecting on her failure as one!
But then, Dylan’s blue eyes suddenly came closer. She reflexively closed her eyes, and she was kissed gently. The kiss lasted longer than usual, making it difficult for her to breathe.
“Lord… Dylan…”
Startled, Avril spoke his name, and Dylan gently pressed his lips against hers once more.
A few seconds passed.
“…Forgive me.”
Dylan seemed to have noticed that he startled Avril. Before she could respond, he softly gave her an apology.
But then before she could even reply to that, he continued.
“My lover, who I can hardly touch, said such a sweet thing. How am I supposed to simply let her leave?”
“!”
His use of lover likely referred to Emilia’s statement earlier that day.
Was that based on what Emilia had said earlier? Avril, who was still feeling guilty about the ordeal, couldn’t say anything back. Her cheeks turned redder and redder.
That Lord Dylan would say something so sweet…!
She felt incredibly embarrassed, but also incredibly happy. And as he looked at her with those deep blue eyes, she thought she caught a flicker of something different, a hint of desperation that wasn’t usually there.
His arms wrapped around her back with one hand reaching up to stroke her hair, almost lovingly. For some reason, she suddenly remembered their wedding night, when she fell asleep with a fever.
If she hadn’t been sick, would Dylan have held her like this back then, too?
—That she had missed that opportunity, she felt a bit of regret.
However, their sweet time together didn’t last long.
Suddenly remembering the other matter she had to address, Avril looked up while still in Dylan’s arms.
That’s right. There’s one more important matter to discuss today unrelated to work.
Avril hadn’t come to his room just to meekly apologize, give an explanation, or express her loneliness. She had come to tell him about the lady who had been introduced to her in Princess Emilia’s room as her “tutor.”.
“Actually, there is one more important matter to discuss.”
“What is it?”
“Today I was introduced to the lady visiting the Kingdom of Claughton from the Kingdom of Branwill by Her Highness Emilia.”
“!”
Dylan too must’ve been curious about this person. His expression changed in an instant, to the point it was difficult to believe they’d just shared a sweet moment together.
Well, of course, with her name…
Avril’s words became hesitant as she was about to touch on what Dylan was hoping for—or perhaps fearing.
“The guest from the Kingdom of Branwill… her name is Lady Anastasia Townsend.”
“…!?”
The arms holding Avril stiffened as his eyes widened in shock.
After all, it was the name of Dylan’s very own mother.
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