Aria's heart beat faster and flushed as she got closer to Sabina's room. She started kicking her sole to the ground.
'I'm nervous.'
She doesn't know what makes the visit so nerve-wracking.
Lloyd was both puzzled and dissatisfied with Aria's reaction he had never seen before.
"Rabbit, you were so shameless in front of me…."
Because it was true that she stroked his hair, kissed him, and held his hand, she smirked and averted his gaze.
"Because you never had a face like that."
What?
Aria looked straight up, but Lloyd only stared forward.
This, should she answer or not?.
'It seems like he said it out of nowhere.'
As she pondered, they arrived at the door of Sabina's room.
Perhaps as he had often come and gone, Lloyd naturally opened the door and walked in, so she met Sabina in an instant without having to prepare her heart.
'Sabina.'
It was the first time Aria had met her in person. But Sabina was just what she imagined.
Her ailment was clear on her face and body, but her spirit was not withered at all. She was stiff and completely flawless, but naturally relaxed.
'Cool....'
That was the first thought she had.
"Are you feeling a little better?"
"There's still pain."
Sabina shrugged her shoulders and touched the sword adorned next to her.
It was in the cabinet, but it didn't seem to be for decoration. The blade stood sharp and it was maintained consistently, and traces of the years were felt, like the paint staining and discoloration in some places on the handle of the sword.
'As expected, she's cool....'
One day, when her body fully recovers, Sabina was depicted wielding that sword.
Aria looked up at her with twinkling eyes without realizing it. Sabina, who looked at her, grinned and asked in a mischievous way.
"Would you like to touch it?"
"Mother."
Lloyd let out a sigh, and he briefly discouraged her from doing so.
"Hmm"
Sabina poked him in a funny way and swiped Lloyd up and down.
"Class, class, class, train, train, train...."
"…"
"It seems that youth has come to my boring son who only knows how to study. The fever of first love is more summer than spring."
"It's not like that."
Lloyd shook in reply.
"No way. With that hot youth on your head."
Hot youth.
It is the flower language of the flame tree.
Sabina almost took the red flower off the boy's head.
It was then that Lloyd, who just noticed Aria's prank, turned his head and glared at her.
The knights and employees that did not look away all the way.
"You … ."
[Lloyd looks good in red.]
"…"
Ho.
Lloyd let out a sigh and ruffled his disheveled bangs.
She had the talent to keep him from getting angry no matter how angry he was.
***
After that, Aria and Lloyd went to visit Sabina every day. Then, they had an unexpected encounter with Tristan.
"Hmmmm."
"….."
Tristan raised the corners of his lips crookedly and smiled with a mischievous smile. And Lloyd hardened his expression as if he had seen something he couldn't bear to see.
Aria looked at the two father-and-son without a word. They seemed incredibly out of touch together.
'It's like looking at sworn enemies.'
It wasn't to the extent of hate. It was more of a one-sided hatred.
Aria looked at Lloyd, who looked like lava. The eyes were almost pitch black.
'Before, it wasn't this bad?'
After all, it was right before Vincent was kicked out. And in another situation, they had to agree with each other over the gutter rat issue.
The situation outside was getting more serious, so there would have been no time to pay attention to each other.
"So, you suspected the child to be a spy and tried to kill her before? Are you going to get married now?"
Then Lloyd was surprised.
The momentum to jump out at any moment and cut off the Grand Duke's head was slowed down for a moment.
Tristan leaned back without a smile.
"Do you think I will allow it?"
It was the tenacity of a daughter-fool father, who said that he would never marry his daughter to any bastard.
'No, His Grace has no daughters and only two sons.'
Besides, the bastard he was wary of was his own son.
Dwayne, who watched the scene from afar, was very excited.
"Who made this child my marriage partner in the first place?"
Lloyd did not lose and responded. With his arms folded and his head tilted languidly.
"And you were going to build a play park when before you were going to toss the rabbit for dog food."
Then this time, Tristan had no choice but to harden his expression.
"Do you think you are qualified to talk about permission?"
Silence fell between the two father-and-son.
It was as if invisible sparks were flying as they confronted each other without a single step back.
"You both are trying to kill me."
It was Sabina who broke that silence.
"I can't believe it. Are you both out of your minds?"
Tristan and Lloyd sunk at Sabina's eyes burning with anger. At that time, both of them deeply regretted it.
"What the hell were you two doing while she was wandering around for a while?"
Sabina opened her arms towards Aria without hesitation.
'Are you asking me to come closer?'
Aria hesitated, blushing, and she approached.
"Where in the world can I touch such a small and precious baby?"
Sabina grabbed Aria's waist and lifted her, and placed her on her own lap.
She was so strong that it was hard to believe that she was a person on the brink of life-and-death just a few days ago.
The red eyes stared gently at Aria. Because she was worried that there might have been some trauma left in the child.
But Aria just sat there, blinking her eyes wide.
"Is this what it is?"
With her hawk's eyes, Sabina found a very faint sword mark on the nape of Aria's neck.
With her expression hardened, she glanced at her husband and son, sharper than the blade.
[I'm fine.]
Aria took the card out of her bag.
[I came prepared for everything.]
Of course, she expected to be rejected. For this life, she was risking her life to save Lloyd.
If she were to die at his hand, she thought it would be impossible as it is.
However, seeing the card, Sabina's expression was crumpled like a piece of paper.
"Don't say it's okay. If you keep saying that, you'll think you're really okay."
How can that be okay?
Sabina said firmly.
"It shouldn't be okay. That is nothing to say even if you hate these two father-and-son for the rest of your life."
The two father-and-son who were mentioned without a story, flinched at the same time.
While confirming the existence of a conscience that she didn't even know existed, and she wasn't supposed to know in the future.
'As expected, the Madam...!'
The Valentine's only common sense!
Dwayne was so moved that he almost applauded.
The moment it came out of Sabina's mouth, seeing Sabina speaking without hesitation in the murderous remarks made her relieved.
"It sounds like a thing of long time ago to hear."
Aria nodded her head.
When it's their first meeting.
When they see someone they don't know, that might be the case if the nature of their meeting was to take up swords instead of greetings.
That's what she thought....
"But it is just something that happened because it's been a long time?"
Sabina said something completely unexpected, and Aria became confused for a moment.
"Don't talk to those two until you get a proper apology. And if you don't want to forgive them, never forgive."
"…."
"It's not like it's been a year. They didn't even know you were hurt."
Obviously this.... Aria glared at Lloyd without realizing it.
He also looked at her with a complicated expression as if his thoughts had increased.
'You just can't take care of your wounds.'
'You look like an idiot who didn't even know you were hurt.'
She definitely has heard the same thing.
'That's what he meant.'
Lloyd knew what state Aria was in. And she realized later.
In her previous life, she suffered a lot of worse things that can't be compared, so what she experienced at that time was really nothing.
She received sincere affection from the employees.
Someone is willing to run around for her.
Someone is willing to find out what she likes and do it for her.
Someone is willing to get mad at her whenever she gets hurt.
Thinking about it after she became friends with Tristan and Lloyd.
'I think I got hurt.'
It wasn't that she wasn't hurt.
The calluses around her wounds were hard enough for her to bite in pain.
Aria had a tearful face. She suddenly became sad. It was the first time she felt this way.
'Is this sadness?'
It wasn't that she was afraid to die or anything like that. Her feelings for Lloyd didn't change either.
'That can't be true.'
It was just a little bit of her heart pounding.
As Aria shed tears and stifled her nose, Sabina hugged her tightly without hesitation.
Aria smelled a faint herb in Sabina's arms.
"Both of you, get lost."
Sabina beckoned her husband and her son to go away.
Lloyd's tenacious gaze was fixed on Aria for a moment and did not fall.
However, for this time, he had no choice but to back away.