One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 42

At some point, Carlisle had approached and handed Aileen two sets of documents.

“One copy is for you. The other, deliver to Sir Setar.”

“What is it?”

“A summary of what the knights have learned so far.”

His brief response led Aileen to flip through the documents herself to satisfy her curiosity.

The summary reflected Carlisle’s personality—concise, to the point, and devoid of unnecessary detail. After skimming through it, Aileen looked up at him, who still stood across from her.

“Should I hold on to this, or should I pass it along to our unit commander?”

“It should go to those handling the practical work.”

By “those handling the practical work,” he meant the four knights from the Sel and Lil Orders who were participating in the joint training. Each had been selected as a representative of their Order to undergo training and relay that knowledge back to their fellow knights—essentially, field officers.

Even if Aileen had been personally trained by Carlisle, the Commander of the Sel Order, it was inevitable that there would be some gaps. The training summary he handed her now was the perfect supplement to fill those in.

“Understood.”

With a small nod, she tapped the documents neatly into place. Just then, Carlisle’s voice dropped near her ear, soft enough to feel like a whisper.

“You were the only one who stayed till the end, Aileen.”

That’s why I left the Lil Order’s copy with you. So don’t misunderstand.

Even if those words weren’t spoken aloud, Aileen understood perfectly what he meant.

You don’t have to explain—I won’t misunderstand.

Instead of offering a curt reply, she responded with silence. Carlisle studied her unreadable expression for a moment, then turned and walked back to his desk. A moment later, he returned with another stack of documents and held them out to her.

“I’d appreciate your help finalizing these as well.”

Lost in thought, Aileen instinctively reached for the papers—just as her fingers nearly brushed his.

“Ah…”

Rustle—

Before she could get a proper grip, the documents slipped through her hands and scattered across the floor.

Aileen stared blankly at the fallen papers, then slowly lifted her gaze.

Carlisle’s face was briefly filled with surprise and discomfort.

But just as quickly, it vanished. By the time Aileen blinked, his expression had returned to its usual cool indifference.

“My apologies.”

It was an excessively short apology—especially coming from the person who had suddenly pulled his hand away and caused the mishap.

Rather than ask for an explanation, Aileen crouched down and began picking up the scattered papers. Carlisle said nothing, simply bent over and helped her collect them.

When they had gathered the documents, Carlisle handed them to her again. This time, he gripped the bundle so lightly that it was obvious he was avoiding any physical contact.

Was touching her really so unbearable?

Aileen scoffed inwardly.

Just a few months ago, this man had whispered love and desire while holding her close—and now he was acting like this.

Aileen forced herself to stop thinking. She snatched the documents from his hand and checked their contents.

It was the roster of the Khan Order—documents pertaining to the northern tribal subjugation campaign.

“Since it’s the Khan Order’s roster, you’d be the best person to verify it.”

His indifferent tone held no trace of personal feeling. After a moment of consideration, Aileen responded plainly.

“Understood.”

“You just need to compare the names.”

They dove straight into work, without a word of idle chatter. In the stillness of the room—reflective of its owner—the only sounds were the soft scratching of pens and the occasional rustle of turning pages, slowly brushing away the oppressive silence.

Scratch, scratch.

The rhythmic sounds overlapped, diverged, and repeated. A cool breeze drifted in and out through the half-open window.

It was a scene that felt like an old, familiar habit.

Thanks to Aileen, Carlisle returned home slightly earlier than usual. When the butler informed him that Judith had been waiting since morning, he sighed and went to see her without even changing out of his uniform.

Though she was officially his fiancée, she had persistently demanded a room of her own. In the end, he relented and gave her the one farthest from his—still on the same floor, but as distant as possible.

Without even knocking, she flung the door open. From within, a voice far too relaxed for the situation greeted him.

“You’re finally here, Carlisle.”

Judith, lounging on the sofa with a book in each hand, welcomed him as though she were the lady of the house.

“What is it?”

“Is that really how you greet your poor fiancée, who nearly died of boredom waiting for you all day? Harsh.”

“Get to the point.”

“You’re no fun when you’re like this. Honestly, I think you keep forgetting that we’re in a mutual contract. Or wait—am I actually in the superior position?”

Judith widened her eyes in mock innocence and tilted her head in exaggerated thought.

But her demeanor shifted quickly.

“If this contract falls apart, you’re the one with more to lose. So yes, I’d say I have the upper hand. Which is why, even though I’m a little angry…”

With her smile wiped clean, Judith spoke in a flat voice. A faint glimmer of fire flickered in her crimson eyes.

“If you keep being this uncooperative, I might just stop holding back. Maybe I’ll call the whole thing off if I’m in a bad mood—or maybe I’ll just go to Aileen and tell her everything.”

Carlisle ran a gloved hand down his face. A heavy wave of fatigue washed over him.

From the very beginning, when they first discussed the terms of the contract, he had asked Judith not to question his reasons.

At the time, it was still common knowledge that he was in love with Aileen. Accepting Judith’s sudden proposal for a marriage contract would have been difficult to justify under any normal circumstances.

So, in a way, it was a gamble. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Judith might actually have feelings for him. If that were true, she might agree to the arrangement—even with unreasonable conditions.

He didn’t know when exactly she had started to harbor feelings for him, but even back in their academy days, their brief “relationship” had been nothing more than a facade.

Even now, when Judith cried and begged him not to go through with the marriage, it was hard to take her seriously. There wasn’t a shred of real emotion left between them.

Carlisle remembered the first time he ever felt that strange emptiness.

At some point, Aileen had started to change. She used to suddenly appear during his solo training sessions, chirping away like a bird and pestering him without end. Then, almost overnight, she began avoiding him—flinching away from eye contact as if he were some sort of monster.

Of course, it had gotten under his skin. Even now, he could still hear the echo of her chatter as if it were only yesterday.

Funny how, back then, he hadn’t realized it was love. He’d thought it was just irritation at being ignored by the first real friend he ever made.

That was when Judith appeared—like salvation.

She approached Carlisle and offered a suggestion. Aileen was just overwhelmed, she said. Maybe it would help if he pretended to date someone else.

—”Try pretending to go out with me. If Lady Revart sees that, she’ll probably act like nothing ever happened and speak to you again.”

She persuaded him that spending more time with someone else would make Aileen stop running away. When he asked why they had to go so far as to pretend they were dating, she replied:

—”Because it’s more dramatic. It’ll get a faster reaction.”

Normally, Carlisle would’ve dismissed such nonsense outright after the first sentence. But for some reason, he found himself drawn to the ridiculous idea.

After several days of agonizing over it, he finally agreed.

And as absurd as it was, the plan worked—accurately and effectively.

At first, Aileen still kept her distance, warily watching Judith whenever they met.

But then, during one meeting, Judith had joked that Carlisle was in her care and asked Aileen to keep him company when she wasn’t around. With that, Aileen gradually began to let down her guard.

When she finally started acting like her old self again, Carlisle’s heart, which had been writhing in uncertainty, was able to rest. And with that, the act with Judith came to an end.

—”Congratulations, Carlisle. I hope you and Aileen remain good friends forever.”

To be fair, Carlisle had expected some level of rejection. That’s why he’d prepared a cover story—just in case.

After all, a terminal illness isn’t the only plausible reason to end something suddenly. He didn’t mind if Judith found out that he had accepted a future where he would soon die.

What mattered was that he was under a curse—and that Aileen didn’t know.

But then Judith gave him an unexpected answer.

Unexpectedly pregnant at the time, Judith had readily agreed to the marriage contract. From that moment on, Carlisle had never once told her the real reason behind it. And Judith never asked.

As a result, Judith entered into the contract without knowing that Carlisle was terminally ill. All she knew was that it was another play—another performance to push Aileen away.

And yet here she was, tossing Aileen’s name around as if she had Carlisle on a leash.

Had she seen him taking his medicine? He should still be able to sense when someone is nearby—he couldn’t possibly have slipped up.

Carlisle stared at Judith without expression.

“So now you want me to go to Aileen and say: ‘The child I’m carrying isn’t really Carlisle’s. He just wanted to end things with you, so I offered to marry him instead. He accepted. Please don’t misunderstand’? That about sums it up, doesn’t it?”

“…….”

“You’ve treated Aileen terribly, sure. But everyone knows that the Duke of Revart’s daughter goes absolutely mad for the Count of Avergue. Even if she were furious, don’t you think she’d still come crawling back if you asked?”

“…….”

“That’s not what you want, though. Is it, Carlisle?”

Judith gave him a sweet smile. Her tone was playful—like she was humming a tune. But it was a threat, plain as day.

She had pinpointed exactly what Carlisle feared most.

“I think I know what you’re thinking right now… but don’t underestimate me. After all this time, anyone with half a brain would’ve figured it out.”

She clicked her tongue and arched her brow with mock pity. Carlisle closed his eyes, then opened them again with a long breath.

He didn’t want to be dragged around. But if it involved Aileen, the rules changed.

He had more than one reason to keep this contract with Judith intact.

Even if she tightened the leash around his neck and dragged him through the mud even if she shoved his face into it and cut off his air the contract had to continue.

Support