One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 34

“I’m sorry, Jeron. But I don’t think I can do this. You’re a good man, and I don’t want to deceive you.”

“…Truly, not even a chance?”

Jeron lowered his head when Aileen couldn’t answer right away. The silence between them grew heavier, slowly filling the space. Aileen opened her mouth, ready to bring the moment to a close and suggest they return inside.

“J—”

“Then at least… let me follow you around as I please. Please allow me that much.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Jeron cut in.

It sounded like a firm statement, but there was something fragile about it—something closer to a plea.

“I won’t ask you to date me, or to consider an engagement. I won’t beg. But please… don’t stop me from courting you. That way, it’s one-sided—just me pursuing you. You won’t need to feel guilty or pressured to accept anything.”

It was unlike the calm and measured Jeron she had known—the man who used to speak like a quiet stream. Now, backed into a corner, he was willing to be reckless. Aileen almost asked what difference this would make, but stopped herself.

If Jeron’s feelings for her were truly that deep, then… she could understand. She knew from experience that such emotions couldn’t simply be severed or suppressed. She had been there before.

If he said she didn’t need to accept anything, then rejecting him later would be fine. And the more he saw the real her—not the illusion he’d created—the more likely he would be disappointed. Eventually, he’d let go. After all, she wasn’t the unshakable woman he imagined her to be.

Aileen’s resolve had been weakened, not only because of how much Jeron reminded her of herself once chasing after Carlisle, but also because she believed his feelings were built more on fantasy than truth. In the end, she quietly nodded.

“Thank you, Aileen.”

Jeron exhaled deeply, eyes filled with visible relief.

“Shall we go back inside?”

“Yes. It’s gotten quite chilly out here—we’ve been on the balcony too long.”

Jeron smiled faintly and held the door open for her. Just as Aileen stepped back into the ballroom—

“Ah.”

“Oh my!”

A sharp, shattering sound rang out—a glass hitting the floor and breaking. The startled voices that followed were soon drowned by the music filling the hall, leaving only faint echoes in their wake.

“I… I’m so sorry. Truly. I didn’t mean to, Lady Revart.”

A delicate, trembling voice pleaded for forgiveness. Aileen looked down at her dress, now splattered with a purplish-red liquid, then turned toward the voice.

“I didn’t expect you to come out from the balcony so suddenly…”

Judith stood there, hands covering her mouth, eyebrows drawn together in a show of distress. Aileen barely held back a bitter laugh.

The incident had happened right at the edge of the balcony, so few people had witnessed it—but they were still in a hall filled with nobles. Aileen steadied herself. She wouldn’t get angry. Not here. Judith had chosen to wear a mask—so Aileen would wear one too.

Now that she knew Judith’s true nature, that pitiful expression did nothing to move her. What troubled her more were the noble ladies flanking Judith, glaring sharply at Aileen as though she were the cause of the commotion.

“I didn’t mean to bump into you—I was just passing by. Please forgive me, Lady Revart.”

Judith’s face had gone pale. Her hands, clasped tightly in front of her, trembled as she looked at Aileen’s stained dress. To a stranger, it might’ve looked like Aileen had scolded her harshly, even though she hadn’t said a word.

Suppressing a snort, Aileen responded with a composed expression.

“It’s fine, Lady Judith Hessiden.”

“But… your dress. It’s completely ruined.”

“No need to worry. It was just an accident. Let’s both go on our way now.”

Aileen spoke simply, trying to end the matter and move on. But Judith quickly reached out again, her tone urgent.

“I brought a spare dress with me. Let me give it to you. Please, at least wear that.”

To an outsider, it might’ve sounded like a sincere offer made out of guilt and kindness. But Aileen knew better.

Anyone unfamiliar with Judith’s true colors might’ve believed her—but not Aileen. She knew exactly what kind of woman Judith was.

Despite having been caught in an affair with Aileen’s fiancé, Judith’s public image remained remarkably unscathed. Somehow, her moral failings were treated separately from her reputation. It was ironic. And maddening.

Even though people pointed fingers at Judith for stealing another woman’s man, many still agreed that she was a gentle and considerate person. That harmless-looking face she had so carefully constructed played no small part.

The Diar Empire officially upheld monogamy, but among the nobility, it was common practice to keep mistresses in secret. Judith herself was the daughter of the Marquess of Hessiden’s beloved mistress.

Because of that, while infidelity was certainly a sensitive subject, it wasn’t something that drew excessive condemnation. It might spark brief gossip and serve as a fleeting source of amusement for the social circles, but that was usually the extent of it.

When Carlisle broke off his engagement with Aileen and it came to light that Judith was pregnant with his child, the scandal centered less around the affair and more on what it disrupted.

Because Aileen and Carlisle’s relationship had once been the envy of countless young nobles.

A knight of common birth, who had earned the title of Count solely through skill and merit, and the Empire’s one and only princess—together, they had overcome every obstacle and all opposition. Their blazing love story had moved the hearts of the entire empire. Even the aristocracy, who pretended to look down on his origins, couldn’t help but secretly envy him.

So when they broke off their engagement, it caused a tremendous stir for quite some time. And no one was more aware of that fact than Judith—who was all too conscious of how others saw her.

“If you leave like this, I’ll feel terrible. It was entirely my fault for being careless with the wine. Please, Your Highness, allow me this small gesture.”

No matter how hard she tried, Judith could never truly claim the sincere love of Carlisle—nor the admired relationship that everyone in the Empire longed for. So, all her resentment, jealousy, and sense of inferiority were turned toward Aileen.

From the moment she entered the ballroom, Judith could feel it—Carlisle’s attention was fixed entirely on Aileen. Despite having his partner right beside him, his eyes were elsewhere. That alone was more infuriating than she’d expected.

From that moment, Judith kept her gaze locked on Aileen. When she saw her entering the balcony with Jeron, Judith deliberately guided her entourage toward that very area. She lingered nearby, pacing, waiting for them to come out.

And the moment the balcony doors opened, Judith purposefully walked in that direction. Without the slightest hesitation, and exactly as planned, she collided with Aileen and spilled wine all over her dress. Surely, the heavens were on her side.

“Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

Aileen’s curt, hardened expression as she rejected the offer caused the noble ladies surrounding Judith to frown slightly.

This was precisely what Judith wanted. Aileen, unguarded and sincere, would inevitably get caught in the net she had cast.

Having grown up surrounded by attention—from the Marquess and others—Judith had learned exactly how to win affection.

“Your Highness, I know you’re trying to be polite, but wouldn’t it be better to change? It’s not a good look…”

One of the noble ladies beside Judith stepped forward, her expression tinged with arrogance.

Aileen turned her gaze toward her. Light brown hair—she recognized her as the daughter of Count Kessna, one of the women who trailed after the Marquess of Hessiden like a shadow.

The situation was becoming more irritating by the second. Aileen’s brow furrowed slightly in quiet frustration.

“Changing would be more trouble than it’s worth. I’m fine, Lady Kessna. You don’t need to concern yourself.”

A faint note of annoyance bled into her voice. Why did Judith always have others stepping in for her? First Haller, and now this. At this point, anyone associated with the Marquess of Hessiden was becoming difficult to view without suspicion.

At Aileen’s firm rejection, Lady Kessna’s face flushed red with embarrassment. She opened her mouth, perhaps to retort—but another noble lady beat her to it.

“That’s too cold, Your Highness. We’re only trying to help. You went through all the effort to dress up tonight. Isn’t it a shame not to be properly seen?”

The words could easily be twisted, depending on how one heard them. Especially the part about “not being properly seen”—that clearly referred to Carlisle.

Was she reading too much into it? Aileen didn’t think so. After all, she had already danced in the center of the hall. She had been seen.

And those noble ladies—how unaware they were of their place. Had Judith not been with them, they wouldn’t even have dared speak to her like this. But with the Marquess’s daughter watching their backs, and themselves actively siding with her, it was as if nothing else mattered.

Aileen had no intention of tolerating further disrespect in silence.

But before she could respond, Jeron—who had remained quiet the entire time—let out a low cough, drawing everyone’s attention with a calm but steely voice.

“If the lady herself says she’s fine, then continuing to insist comes across as no more than forcefulness.”

His voice was quiet, but laced with clear sharpness. And above all, Jeron was the heir to the Duke of Diar.

The two noble ladies beside Judith visibly flinched and stepped back as if struck.

With the successor of the Diar Dukedom—until now standing quietly like a statue—now intervening, the direction of the pressure shifted.

“At this rate, all this meaningless fuss is only going to further soak Her Highness’s dress.”

His expression was ice-cold, and the strength of his features made him appear even more imposing.

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