One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 43

After a long, drawn-out sigh, Carlisle finally opened his mouth.

“…Fine. I understand. Go on.”

“…It’s not exactly satisfying, but I’ll let it go for now. I know this is you compromising more than you’d like.”

Judith’s ever-brazen tone carried a faint trace of satisfaction. She tossed the book she’d been holding carelessly to the floor and rose to her feet.

Still half-reclining as she sat up, she tilted her chin at Carlisle, who stood facing her directly.

“The annulment papers.”

“……”

“How much longer are you going to drag this out? I think I’ve waited more than long enough.”

“……”

“I figured I’d better remind you, since you’re acting like you’ve completely forgotten they exist just because I haven’t brought them up.”

The lilting voice she had carried throughout the conversation sharpened into precise, deliberate enunciation.

Carlisle’s eyelids drooped a little lower. Beyond Judith, the sky was awash with the fading light of sunset, framed by the tall windows behind her.

Her red hair glowed under the crimson sky, almost sensuous in hue. Watching it, Carlisle gave a quiet breath and nodded.

“I’ll send them tomorrow.”

It was a more agreeable answer than expected. Judith curled one side of her lips into a crooked smile.

“That damn Revart—there’s nothing you won’t bend for when it comes to her.”

There was a bite to her sarcastic mutter. Rather than respond to her jab, Carlisle simply turned away and left the room.

Aileen got what she wanted. So did Judith. With that, Judith would behave herself for a while, playing the docile cat and leaving Aileen alone—for now.

That was enough. Aileen’s happy ending.

That was all Carlisle wished for.

He glanced down at his fingers—the same fingertips that had nearly brushed Aileen’s hand just earlier. Had he been even a moment slower, they would’ve touched. An accident, but one that left his heart plummeting in a flash.

A chill swept through his mind. Cold sweat broke along his back.

He should’ve been more careful—should’ve watched Aileen more closely. But being near her, sharing time with her, seeing her alive and radiant before him—it had made him drop his guard, if only for a moment.

Carlisle silently vowed there would never be a slip like that again.

Because Aileen was everything to him.

The summary Carlisle had given her turned out to be more helpful than she’d expected. It highlighted with remarkable clarity the small details Aileen herself had overlooked.

She had thought she’d remembered every movement well enough and passed them on accurately to the knights of the Khan Order—but that had been overconfidence.

“…He could’ve just given this to me earlier.”

Had he done so, it would’ve made teaching them far easier. Aileen muttered the small complaint under her breath as she casually eyed the knights in front of her.

“Setz, the line needs to fall straight—vertically.”

Her eyes flashed like a hawk’s. The unfortunate knight she called out—Setz—immediately sensed doom. Please, no!

“After training, repeat that movement a hundred times before you go.”

Came Aileen’s merciless command. As expected, there were no exceptions.

For what seemed like a minor slip, Setz was now sentenced to a hundred repetitions. Shuddering, he voiced his protest.

“Isn’t this worse than the commander?!”

“Seriously—way worse.”

“Come on, it was just a small mistake!”

Since the start of the special joint training for the northern tribal subjugation, Aileen and the knights had grown significantly closer. Now comfortable enough to joke around, their complaints flowed freely.

“Maybe Setz is just that bad,” someone muttered playfully.

Aileen replied coldly, “Then don’t be that bad.”

Setz trembled. Around him, playful boos rose like a chorus.

“We’re trying to master in weeks what the Sel Order took years of rigorous training to perfect. To catch up, we’ll have to work ourselves to the bone. Do you even know how brutal their training is?”

Aileen’s smile faded as she spoke with unexpected seriousness.

“Once we head into the subjugation, it’s the real deal. If you want to survive, if you want to keep your life as a knight—then train like your life depends on it.”

It was advice born of real experience. The sudden shift in atmosphere was palpable around her.

It wasn’t that the Khan Order was weak. But compared to the Sel Order, they lacked combat experience—especially in live battle.

The Sel Order had always been on the frontlines of conflicts with northern tribes and the extermination of monsters. Their training, honed by deadly encounters, was intense by necessity.

By contrast, the Khan Order mainly handled palace security. Occasionally, they’d be dispatched for major incidents in the capital—but that was the extent of their action.

Naturally, their training mindset couldn’t match that of the Sel Order. And it was Aileen’s role to help them realize that.

“We’ll give it our all, Acting Commander!”

In the midst of the heavy mood, someone raised their voice, playfully saluting her.

“We’ll at least do better than the Lil Order!”

“Setz is gonna do two hundred reps!”

“Hey! When did I say that?!”

With Setz’s indignant outcry echoing in the background, Aileen returned to the remaining drills with an unshaken calm.

After finishing training with the knights of the Khan Order, Aileen took a brief rest before dragging her feet toward the joint training grounds.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted. I seriously want to skip training today.”

Tanil, who was training alongside Aileen as the Khan Order’s representative, let out a deep sigh. He still had the smooth, youthful look of someone just outgrowing boyhood, and a faint wrinkle formed between his brows.

“I feel like I’m going to die…”

Since the special training had begun, Tanil and Aileen had grown quite close. He had a certain charm to him—slightly naïve, but polite and respectful enough to keep boundaries.

Aileen liked him. In fact, he felt almost like a younger brother. She wanted to treat him more casually, but reminded herself that she had to maintain formality.

So, despite the age difference, Aileen spoke to Tanil in honorifics, and he did the same in return.

“Doubling up on training really is exhausting.”

Aileen nodded slightly in agreement.

“I just wish the tournament would end already. That way, we could focus solely on the subjugation drills, and the fatigue wouldn’t pile on as much.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Still, with how intense the schedule is, I do like that I’ve been building muscle faster.”

Tanil grinned proudly, flexing his noticeably bulky arm. Aileen’s gaze followed, landing on his muscular forearm.

Most knights held a quiet pride in their bodies. They understood how much masculine appeal came from a physique honed through relentless training.

But among them, there were always a few foolish ones—those who became obsessed with bulking up, endlessly chasing sheer size over practicality.

Tanil belonged to that category.

Aileen studied his arm—which looked easily double the size of her own—and commented seriously.

“If that gets any bigger, you’re going to get stuck in a doorway.”

Her flat tone left Tanil looking visibly wounded. Just then, they arrived at the entrance to the auxiliary training grounds. Thankfully, the doorway was massive.

Tanil paused before entering and stared gloomily at the door.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gone to Where the Wind Rests…”

Where the Wind Rests was a well-loved tavern among the knights of Khan. A bit old and shabby, but known for its good food and generous owner, it had a solid reputation. Aileen had been there a few times herself, with Setz and the others she’d grown close to.

However, due to its age, the interior was cramped and the entrance narrow—so bulkier knights tended to avoid it. Tanil, despite his size, occasionally braved the awkward fit, drawn back by the tavern’s flavor.

“That’s unfortunate,” Aileen said sincerely.

Tanil sighed even deeper and added, “I got dumped again yesterday, too.”

“That makes twenty-five times now.”

His gloomy mutter practically dripped with despair. Aileen, though normally one to stay quiet, decided to offer a bit of advice.

“…Tanil, your muscles are impressive, really. But most women prefer something a little more… moderate.”

Her cautious remark made Tanil jump in disbelief.

“What? How could this not be attractive? That’s impossible!”

“It’s entirely possible.”

“……”

Her cold honesty left Tanil speechless, devastated.

Aileen had seen plenty of men like him. Growing up surrounded by knights, they were everywhere.

They mistakenly believed the bigger they got, the closer they’d be to finding love. But in truth…

What draws women’s attention isn’t gorilla-like brawn.

She clicked her tongue inwardly and happened to glance over her shoulder—where she spotted a pair of broad, well-balanced shoulders, defined but not overdone muscles, and long, lean arms.

Yes. That’s the ideal.

Still thinking about Tanil’s hopeless future, Aileen realized—just a beat too late—who that body belonged to.

“…We should head inside.”

A quiet voice came from behind.

Tanil, who had been slouching with despair, jumped with a start, his shoulders twitching.

Whether it was because Carlisle had deliberately masked his presence or because they’d been too caught up in their conversation, neither of them had noticed his approach. How long had he been standing there?

Aileen quickly bit the inside of her lip and bowed politely.

The subtle tension that had hovered around them back in the commander’s office had vanished like a mirage. It was as though that day had been erased from existence. Carlisle and Aileen had reverted to their cold, distant dynamic.

“Y-yes, Commander Carlisle!”

Tanil straightened up and stepped aside with comical speed to clear the path.

Without a word, Carlisle passed between the two of them and walked into the training ground. Yet, Aileen had the distinct sense that his gaze had lingered on her for just a moment before moving on.

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