Falling to Paradise - CH 2

He must want to kick the Princess out of the capital as soon as possible, Aiden thought to himself.

That certainly made a whole lot of sense, considering he went through all the trouble of calling him away from his quiet corner of the countryside.

Emperor William played matchmaker, arguing that it was his ‘duty’ to help the ‘poor’ Princess who’d lost her fiance because of him—her fiance of course being the former Crown Prince of the Empire, Philip Gardiner, who was exiled by his brother shortly after he took the throne out from under him.

But of all the noble men he could have picked as her husband, instead he went for the bastard son of his predecessor, the last Emperor. A clear move to distance himself from House Gloucester, who was persistently seeking the Empress’ seat.

Not a nobleman of similar status as her, but instead to the ‘half-blood’ Aiden.

Aiden smiled bitterly at the term those in noble society called him by. It was a hateful nickname, spread by Philip, the former Crown Prince, because of his lowly origins and common mother.

The religious ties within the Albion Empire were strong. Illegitimate and bastard children, born outside of the bonds of marriage, were widely considered to be ‘unclean’ and thus ignored.

Even with Imperial blood flowing through his veins, Aiden was no exception.

Well, he got some stuff at least. Being the Emperor’s bastard had some perks, like a title, a small tithe of land, and knighthood along with the name of ‘Fitzroy’, meaning ‘son of the king’. (1)

Still, it was insignificant in comparison to what he would’ve had, had he not been a half-blood.

I guess you really can’t hide lowly blood.

Aiden furrowed his brows at the surge of past memories. Coming back to the capital and seeing William made him remember a past he would much rather forget entirely.

[Angie] “Hey! Are you listening to me?”

Angie raised her voice at Aiden, who was lost in thought, successfully earning his attention. Maybe it was the attitude of this Princess that forced him to remember old memories, too.

[Aiden] “Is something wrong?”

Despite his clearly troubled thoughts being obviously exposed on his face, she protested loudly and without reservation.

[Angie] “I was told I couldn’t take a maid or a servant with me. How is that fair?”

Even saying it out loud was completely unbelievable. Imperial custom said that she should be allowed to bring one or both of her exclusive maids from her home. That was simply how aristocratic society functioned.

But the man just heaved a heavy sigh, shaking his head indifferently.

[Aiden] “It’s my land, my house, and my rules. You’re under my law now. I’ve already reached my quota of strangers brought into my home with just you.”

He answered firmly. With just the tone of his voice, no doubt he wasn’t willing to bend on anything for anyone, much less her. Angie scoffed and immediately asked back.

[Angie] “Then who will tend to me on the way there?”

She was raised preciously and beautifully, as all members of high society. Even on a short trip, it was customary to have someone to wait on her. Ignoring the pale look on Angie’s face, Aiden rudely rolled his eyes.

[Aiden] “The trip isn’t exactly difficult. Do you honestly need two people to tend to you during it?”

The woman’s eyes were still puffy and her nose was still red from her crying, but she indignantly put her hands on her waist.

The only possible comparison he could make is like when those small sparrows ruffled up their feathers to make themselves appear bigger in front of predators.

[Angie] “Of course! If I have no maid with me, who will fan me during the trip? And if my legs go numb, who will massage them for me? And who will read my books to me when I get bored?”

Aiden’s face twisted into an almost comically obvious frown. He was tired of hearing this woman’s shrill voice, but he wasn’t about to just give in to her ridiculous demands.

The reason why he lived in the far countryside in the township of Leslie was because he wanted to avoid people.

No matter what he had to make this prissy princess endure, he refused to let the number of people he had around him increase.

[Aiden] “It’s early spring. Do you really need a fan?”

[Angie] “Of course! Just look at this dress—!”

Angie nearly screamed at him—Do you have any idea how many layers this dress has!?— but she managed to bite the words back. She’d taken off her noble mask that she often wore in society, nearly bursting out in complaint at him as if he were a maid himself.

[Angie] “This dress is very thick. I suppose you would not understand considering your…humble attire.”

Aiden frowned. The contempt mixed with the biting disdain in her choice phrasing did not go unnoticed by him.

[Aiden] “You have perfectly functioning eyes and hands. You can fan yourself, you can rub your legs yourself, and you can read a book yourself.”

[Angie] “Oh, the nerve. Annie!”

Angie shouted out a maid’s name. The maid, hesitantly to follow her up to the carriage, quickly ran up and produced a brown bottle from her dress pocket, placing it under the lady’s nose.

It was an herbal essence that the noble ladies of House Gloucester brought with them to help them calm down whenever they became agitated. Which basically meant it was a highly essential item for the Duchy of Gloucester.

[Angie] “I can’t go without a maid. No, I won’t go!”

The man stared at the fussy princess, who was moments away from collapsing right then and there, then turned around towards the carriage and took out one of Angie’s bags, dropping it right onto the street.

Angie looked visibly stunned, her voice shaking.

[Angie] “What are you doing?”

[Aiden] “For every minute you delay our departure, the fewer bags you get to take with you.”

Already, they’ve been delayed for five minutes. Aiden turned and took out another bag.

[Angie] “Get your hands off my things!”

[Aiden] “If you don’t get in, you’ll be starting the trip barefoot.”

[Angie] “Threaten me all you’d like, I’m not leaving without a maid. Ah, wait! My fragrances are in that bag, you have to be careful!”

Even though Angie shouted at him, he just kept taking bags out, one right after the other. With her face flaring up red, Angie shouted in anger.

[Angie] “Oh…..You brute! Tyrant!”

[Aiden] “Hmph.”

Angie shifted over to take her precious bags, shouting again as she took another from his hands.

[Angie] “Demon! Satan! Beelzebub!”

[Aiden] “How scary.”

It was fitting that the only curse words a precious daughter who grew up like a flower in a greenhouse could think of were just the names of demon kings. True to her tender nature, that was the extent of the vitriol inside her heart.

A flimsy curse like that was nothing for him who’d encountered violent soldiers.

Aiden didn’t even flinch as she shouted, taking out as many bags as there were minutes in their delayed departure. One of the bags rolled across the pavement, causing some of Angie’s shoes to spill out onto the ground.

[Aiden] “If you take too many burdens, you’ll have nowhere to put it anyway. Just take what you need.”

[Angie] “I need all of this. Stop touching my things, you….you……you half-blood!”

Angie felt so angry, the heat filling up to the top of her head, that she shouted out the most hurtful thing she could imagine.

But after she said it, even she flinched. It was a really charged thing to say at a moment like this, and Angie knew it, but Aiden just answered her simply one more time.

[Aiden] “Right, I have lowly blood in my body, which means I’m used to doing lowly things.”

He was relentless as more and more bags rolled across the ground. Angie stomped her foot, gesturing to the maids.

[Angie] “What are you doing? Put all of this back.”

[—] “Pardon? Ah, well……”

Annie and Sophie exchanged glances. Yes, they served Angie, but in this conflict between her and Aiden, they were at a loss about what they were supposed to do. Aiden was now their lady’s husband, which meant he was akin to their master as well.

And as a ‘master’, he had a very tall and sturdy body. Certainly not the kind of person they felt like they could fight against.

But isn’t she not technically our lady anymore?

This lady had been giving them a hard time for a long time and now that they were freed from their duty of care to her, they weren’t sure just how far their personal loyalty extended.

Seeing their hesitation, Angie pointed at them and cried out again.

[Angie] “You….! I’ll be telling my father this! That goes for you too, Sir Aiden!”

[Aiden] “Duke Gloucester? I’m afraid that won’t do you much good.”

Someone who didn’t even attend the wedding would hardly pose any kind of threat. Aiden was aware of that fact too, catching her threat and throwing it back with the added sarcasm.

[—] “Oh, yes, miss.”

The maids were also vaguely aware of the meaningless threat, but they still hesitantly began collecting her things from the ground, just in case something unexpected happened.

Angie lowered her gaze from them to the ground, holding back a sigh that threatened to burst out of her. Seeing her own maids not move immediately at her command made her stomach hurt.

She no longer had any connection to Duke Gloucester, and their actions seemed to scream that out.

And not even she could deny that fact. She was alone now with no one by her side.

No, that’s not true. Once Father’s anger subsides……he’ll help me somehow.

Forgetting her earlier resolve not to ruin another pair of gloves, she started picking at the lace. She felt herself start to cry again, but she refused to let this wicked man be the cause of her tears.

Stiffening her face and throwing back her urge to cry, she held her chin up high at Aiden.

[Angie] “……I will go without a maid as you wish, so please stop touching my things.”

Angie didn’t want to have to take a disloyal maid with her anyway, so she changed her mind quickly. She’d much rather keep the valuables she’d been holding onto since she packed them the previous night.

Fashionable clothing tailor by famous tailors in line with the trend, beautiful perfume bottles she’d been collecting, and dozens of dress catalogs and magazines from the publication [La Mode Illustree]. (2)

Although she couldn’t bring any of her more valuable accessories because her father forbade her, she brought with her as many other small accessories as she could carry because to her, what this man called ‘burdens’, they were irreplaceable treasures.

Generously nodding, Aiden went for the carriage door.

[Aiden] “Alright, let’s get going.”

[Angie] “Wait, I need…..! No, never mind.”

It was too much to expect this man to understand the manners of helping her get into the carriage. Rather than ask him, Angie turned to her maids.

[Angie] “Annie, Sophie!”

When their names were called, they readily ran up and helped her into the carriage in a very professional manner.

Her dress was bulky because of the wire crinoline beneath the fabric, making it difficult to pass through the carriage door, but thanks to the maids carefully working the wire inwards, they managed to make it so that she could get inside without much issue.

[Annie] “Travel safely, miss.”

Annie, the one who tended to her the longest, murmured an awkward farewell.

This situation didn’t seem like it would be appropriate to say a wish for happiness or congratulate a new bride on her wedding day, and they all knew it. Angie nodded to silently accept her words, then turned her head, focusing intently on the window like she saw something interesting outside.

Hyah—

The coachman urged the horses and the carriage buckled forward, carrying inside the newly wed couple.

She was leaving the capital of Albion for Leslie, where Aiden Fitzroy lived—a small rural township that Angie never knew existed, tucked away in the corner of the countryside.

* * *

astralmech T/N: (1) Fitzroy is a name of French origin, indeed meaning “son of the king”.

(2) [La Mode Illustree] was an actual French fashion catalog that was published in the late 1800s to the early 1900s