Episode 09
It had been a month since I started living at Aiden’s house.
Quite a bit of time had passed, yet the days remained remarkably unremarkable. My life was a steady rhythm of trips to the marketplace, quiet meals, and aimless conversation with him.
That was precisely why each day felt so fragile, so precious.
I knew, however, that this peace was borrowed time.
Today, having woken before the dawn, I sat in the cozy room he had prepared for me and mapped out my future.
“It’s about time for him to leave.”
It had been the same in the previous timeline. Because Aiden was a mercenary, he was never one to stay rooted in a single place for long. The constant threat of pursuit by various factions only accelerated his restlessness.
Once his contracts ended, he would drift back to this place, filling the gaps in my life with lessons on reading or basic etiquette. Back then, I had waited for his return with a desperate, longing heart.
But now, his lingering presence was a complication.
“In a few months, the Duke of Papiope will select one candidate from the Talent Training Institute for adoption.”
I had to secure a place at the Institute and catch the Duke’s eye before then.
The Duke of Papiope.
A woman who, in her youth, had purged the elders and collateral branches that threatened her claim to the throne. Since then, she had ruled her duchy with an iron, uncontested hand. Perhaps it was that very solitude that led her to announce a succession method that no other noble house would dare attempt: she would adopt a child to inherit the Papiope title.
It sparked chaos and controversy, but in my past life, that radical gamble had only made the house more formidable.
“Regardless of their politics, I have no interest in a succession war. I only need the status.”
I needed to be an aristocrat. To protect Aiden properly, I would need the resources, the funds, and the connections that came with a title.
“The problem is… if I miss this year’s window, I’ll be waiting another three years.”
Entering the Talent Training Institute and winning the selection tournament—those were my two non-negotiable hurdles. Even starting now, the schedule was suffocatingly tight.
Still, I couldn’t just vanish without a word to the man who had sheltered me.
Just then, a knock echoed, and the door creaked open. Aiden stepped in.
“Tania, stop sleeping and get up… Ah, you’re up early again today.”
I sat at my desk, meeting his gaze. The corners of his lips quirked upward in a faint, tired smile.
“I’ve prepared breakfast. Come out.”
I cleared away the papers cluttered with my frantic calculations and followed him. Breakfast was white bread, toasted in butter until golden, served with sweet strawberry jam.
“Wow, that looks delicious!”
I reached for the jam, grateful for the simple nourishment, but he stopped me with a look of sudden gravity.
“Tania, there’s something important I need to tell you.”
The somber weight in his voice made me freeze.
[Overwriting current timeline onto Timeline 1.]
As I saved the timeline out of habit, his low voice cut through the air.
“I have been traveling the Empire to fulfill my contracts. I stayed here for a month to ensure you were settled, but I cannot remain static forever.”
So, he was finally leaving. Ironically, his departure was the opening I needed to pursue the Talent Training Institute without delay.
I stared at him, wordless, and he hurried to fill the silence.
“My leaving doesn’t mean you’re being cast out. I want you to stay here.”
“Does that mean…?”
“I won’t be able to return often, but I promise you won’t go hungry.”
In the previous timeline, he had offered me the exact same thing. Back then, it had felt like salvation to a girl who lived in constant terror of being homeless.
But I was not that girl anymore.
“Aiden, actually, there is something I need to tell you, too.”
“Speak.”
“I’m planning to enroll in the Papiope Talent Training Institute.”
He stiffened. “What?”
“I told you when we first met—it’s time I took the entrance exam.”
His expression darkened. “…Is it uncomfortable here?”
“No! Not at all. I’m truly grateful for everything.”
“I have more than enough to provide for you,” he insisted, his voice tightening. “You are welcome to live here forever.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you. I just don’t want to be a burden any longer.”
“Tania, that place is a den for the top Abilitators in the Empire.”
“I am an Abilitator, too.”
“I’m not questioning your ability. I know you could pass right now if you chose to.” He paced, restless. “But that place is a jungle. The students there will resort to anything to be adopted by Papiope.”
“Then doesn’t that just make my abilities shine even brighter?”
Unpredictable behavior was a tool, not a threat. “Please. Trust me.”
He was silent for a long time, caught in his own thoughts. Perhaps he realized that being there was safer than being left alone here without a guardian. His pupils wavered, flickering with a reluctant surrender.
I didn’t want to leave him. But because I knew exactly how this story ended, I could not afford the comfort of the present.
He sighed, trying a different angle. “Then, what if you come with me?”
It was an absurd proposal. A young girl, barely able to walk for a few hours without exhaustion, traveling the road with a mercenary? I would be nothing but a liability—a weakness for him to guard.
“Aiden, I…”
I meant to refuse, but the vulnerability in his whisper stole my breath.
“I don’t want to let you go. It’s… I’ve become too attached to send you away without warning.”
I knew he was kind beneath his gruff exterior, but I hadn’t expected to carve out such a space in his heart in just one month.
What do I do…?
✦ ✦ ✦
In the end, I couldn’t refuse him. I agreed to wait until he returned from his current contract.
He had wanted to leave me in the care of the Ageratum merchant guild, but I blocked that idea with stubborn persistence. If I were under their watch, I would be a prisoner in all but name.
Once we negotiated, he packed his bags to leave the very next day. He seemed to be in a rush; the contract must have been significant.
“The neighbor will bring you food every day.”
“All three meals?”
“Yes. I’ve paid her well. If you go hungry, go to Ageratum. Promise me you won’t wander far—it’s dangerous. And…”
His list of worries was endless. I cut him off with a bright smile.
“Don’t worry. Even if I look like this, I’ve spent enough time on the streets to know how to take care of myself.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you are a child who needs protection.”
“Hehe, I guess that’s true.”
Being treated like a child was a strange, soft sensation I found I didn’t mind. He watched me for a moment, then turned to the door.
“…I’ll be going.”
“Ah, wait!”
I rushed to hug him, acting the part of the daughter seeing a father off to work. “Don’t get hurt. Take care of yourself. I’ll be waiting.”
He went rigid for a heartbeat, then returned the hug—a fierce, crushing grip.
“I will return as soon as possible.”
*Creeak, thud.*
As the door clicked shut, leaving me in the silence of the house, the corners of my mouth curled into a knowing smile.
“He told me to stay put… but time is money, and I can’t afford to wait.”