As Aden promised, he stayed with Ilyin until morning.
The bride easily met the Winter Duke's eyes and no one on the seventh floor gave her actions a second glance.
“So, you’re telling me, everyone already knew?” Ilyin narrowed his eyes at Etra, who had come to greet her in the morning and open the voluminous curtains.
Etra lowered her head more than usual:
"I apologize, madam.
We were instructed to be quiet."
His words were, of course, the same as always.
“His Royal Highness ordered us not to tell,” a maid said too much and when she felt Aden's gaze, she sobbed loudly for some strange reason.
Perhaps it was a nervous reaction to being in his presence.
Ilyin observed this, which gave her the impression that the maids were not afraid of Aden as she assumed they would be.
Then again, this should be expected because Delrose maids were known for not freezing at the sight of their master, but that wasn't all, the dynamic between noble and servant seemed different from where she came from and she couldn't help but frown at his casual behavior.
“Sorry, ma’am!”
The way the maids spoke was distinctly different from the way the maids spoke in the sunny lands.
Ilyin thought of the maids at the viscount's estate who would stiffen at the sight of the viscount.
“If it is an order, it cannot be helped.” Ilyin finally burst into laughter.
She couldn't be cruel to the poor maids who asked for forgiveness with such teary eyes and they weren't intentionally deceiving her.
The maids were just following orders.
“The person who lied is the villain,” Ilyin added.
Aden suddenly decided to look out the window, looking into the distance and the maids looked at each other without saying anything else and then looked at the floor.
“What time will the boss at Delroses start work?” Ilyin asked Aden.
“It’s time to start the morning agenda now,” he replied as if it was someone else’s business but it was his own.
Ilyin smiled with a twinkle in his eyes as he asked, “Should I take him out?”
“It’s cold outside.” Aden tried to discourage Ilyin, but she stood up and pulled him to his feet.
Seeing this, Etra quickly draped a thick shawl over Ilyin's shoulders.
“It’s very cold outside, madam.”
“I won’t leave then.”
After washing and getting dressed, Aden finally left the room, escorting Ilyin on her arm and she unexpectedly lost herself in a strange feeling.
Different families occupied the floors below them, so the two couldn't walk around together that freely, but on the seventh floor, they were free to do whatever they wanted.
In the privacy of their rooms, they could share secrets without worrying about anyone overhearing them.
This place was much more comfortable than Arlen's estate and the seventh floor was the quietest place of all.
Ilyin felt that sometimes it was like walking on fluffy clouds.
Following closely behind the two were the maids who carried items that helped combat the cold and extra warm clothes for the sunny side madam.
As they approached the stairs that led to the sixth floor, Aden slowed down and said:
“From here, I must be the commander of the knights.”
In short, it meant that he couldn't walk with her unless there were specific circumstances that forced him to do so.
Ilyin then turned to face him.
When they were outside, she was able to look at him as much as she wanted and feeling better, she smiled:
"It's okay.
I understand."
Her voice sounded different as if she was imitating someone else.
Instead of saying it was “fine” because they were on the stairs, Ilyin copied what Aden had said earlier.
Noticing this, Aden placed his hand on his forehead.
It was then that Ilyin found herself acting strange and unfamiliar, teasing him with a voice so playful that it was unlike her own.
It was a side of her she'd never seen in the twenty-odd years she'd lived on the Arlen estate.
Aden's momentary silence seemed longer than it was and a slight uneasiness invaded her.
She was afraid he might be angry with her.
Although the pause in the conversation was prolonged, it ended like this when he said:
“A commander guiding the Duchess around doesn’t seem so bad after all.”
A maid stood behind her, holding a pair of thick gloves and then she came up to her and slipped them onto her hands and before she knew it, someone wrapped a woolen scarf around her neck below her hair.
Seeing this, Aden waved his hand to send the maids away.
When he reached out his hand, a blue light flashed in his palm and Ilyin's eyes widened.
It must have been his power that she had pondered.
"Wow!" Ilyin exclaimed.
In an instant, the internal temperature seemed to become hotter and the body heat under the scarf around his neck quickly began to feel hot.
Aden's intentions were clear and understanding her owner's wishes to spend time with just the two of them, the maids quickly freed her from excess protective equipment, except for the scarf and gloves.
They then moved away from the couple and a small commotion ensued among the maids.
Because they whispered, Ilyin couldn't hear a word, but Aden could.
The maids were thinking about whether or not to remove the scarf from Ilyin's neck.
When the maids saw Aden's eyes on them, they immediately stopped talking to each other.
“Should we go?”
Ilyin looked at him and then back at the maids who were now far away and when she looked at them, the maids lowered their heads.
It was a greeting to wish him a safe trip rather than a way to avoid his gaze.
She couldn't say no, so she smiled at Aden, trusting herself in his hand.