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“Hello Den,” Ilyin said quietly, recognizing him straight away because Grand Master’s uniform was a familiar sight to her now.

Aden put his index finger on his lips while smiling at her. “It’s only Delrose people in the hallway.

“Okay.” Ilyin approached him then and asked, “Is there something urgent?”

She talked as quietly as she could, and Aden found it adorable that she was trying to keep the Delrose’s secret. He thought for a moment that he could hear her small heart beating. Before speaking further, Aden took her hand in his, hoping to soothe her. He’d come to see her unexpectedly and didn’t want her to be more surprised by what he had to say. “I have something to ask you, Ilyin.” He paused for a moment before looking directly at her, “It’s about the Viscount’s estate.”

The carriage she’d ridden into the winter land hadn’t had a Biflten symbol on it. She was sure of that. If the bride didn’t like the winter region and wanted to return home, Biflten used the same carriage for the bride searching and left it as it was. And to prevent rumors from spreading, they didn’t put any symbol on the carriage.

“What is it?” Ilyin asked, feeling shaken.

“Shh.” Aden seemed to know what she was thinking. He quickly pulled Ilyin into his arms and then hugged her tightly. She nuzzled her face in his broad chest and let out the breath she’d been holding. As he felt her relax in his arms, Aden stroked her silky soft hair.

“Is it something bad?” Ilyin asked as she couldn’t even guess what it was.

Aden rubbed her back while speaking. “It’s not something bad. Would you like to listen?” He whispered. “If it’s uncomfortable, we can talk more about it later.”

Ilyin held him tighter and said, “Tell me now.”

“Okay then.” Aden separated Ilyin from him momentarily, but her face was close to his. He didn’t know how to explain the situation to her. “The Arlen estate is growing carrots,” he started speaking slowly on purpose. Milo must be going crazy waiting for the message from the winter region, but Aden wasn’t concerned about that right now. He didn’t have an incompetent subordinate who couldn’t stand his ground while waiting for a message.

“Carrots?” Ilyin tilted her head slightly. She didn’t know too much about carrots but knew it was a crop from the southern region. “But the Arlen estate is near the capital? So it certainly wasn’t something that originally grew there.”

Aden slid back the blue cloth that was covering the top of her head. The blue cloth followed the flow of the silver hair as he put it around her neck. Her purple eyes, which Aden could now look into, shimmered as they reflected the library’s light. “Milo is looking into the details,” he replied.

The mansion’s temperature was on the high end due to Aden’s divine power. It was higher than February, but it still seemed cold to Ilyin, who was from the warm region, and she wore a thick cape over her clothing. In the warm region, a cape would be something that would only be worn in the middle of the winter.

Aden stroked Ilyin underneath her cape, and she laughed as it tickled. Then he started talking quieter again, “Biflten has no shortage of food. We have enough without Arlen’s carrots.” The touch of his warm hands could calm Ilyin’s nerves, and she slowly nodded her head as she listened to him.

There was no way that crops would grow in a place where all four seasons were winter. And because of that, in the warm region, there were rumors going around that the winter region likely lacked food supplies. The people who had started this rumor didn’t know about the relationship between the Acid Merchants and Biflten.

“But if you want to, we’ll import the Arlen estate’s crops,” Aden offered. The number of crops grown on the Arlen estate’s farm wouldn’t put a dent in Biflten’s finance anyway. Aden looked down at his hand while he was thinking and noticed that Ilyin was holding onto his hand so tightly that her fingers had become white around the knuckles. He carefully brought her hand in front of him and stroked it gently before adding, “If you find it uncomfortable, then we won’t take up their offer.”

Ilyin relaxed the hand that she’d clenched so tightly without realizing it, and Aden carefully massaged it. The hand which was touching each part of her fingers moved around to the palm and then to the back of her hand again. Aden had strong hands that could handle a giant sword, but they were soft whenever he was touching Ilyin, and she moaned softly.

His hand, which trailed over hers, was very attentive, and Ilyin’s body reacted to the ticklish sensation of fingers moving between fingers. Aden’s big hand, which was covering her small one, was touching the sensitive part on the inside of her wrist.

When he touched her again, the soft cloth slid down her arm and hung over her elbow. Aden then leaned his body into her and planted a kiss on her forehead. The area of her skin that had been touched by his soft lips, was then touched by his forehead as he brushed his head against her. Aden whispered against her cheek, and she felt his warm breath. “Also, if you never want to hear about Arlen again, I will shut my mouth about it.”

“Okay” was all she could mumble.