Chapter 58 Chapter 54 - Unexpected Visitor II
58 Chapter 54 - Unexpected Visitor II
"So, with all that being said, I'd like to ask again… What are you up to Caroline Roseblade?"
Caroline just stared at Aiden while smiling at him in response to his question, her scarlet red eyes holding the composed gaze of his emerald-green eyes.
After about a minute, Caroline finally spoke up.
"Well, I guess I do have a reason for coming here..." she began while taking a sip out of her tea which was now almost completely cold.
"But it's not nearly anything as crafty as you'd expect…" she added while returning the tea cup back to its saucer.
"In fact, it's so simple you might regard it unbelievable…" she continued, her palms now elegantly resting on her laps.
"Shoot Miss. Roseblade. I'm all ears" Aiden responded calmly, despite his increasing interest in why this young lady had approached him since the day of the royal banquet.
The reason Aiden was being so blunt with Caroline was because, just like he had previously explained to her, she was someone who would reciprocate the type of approach you put forward to her.
Asides from also actually understanding how Caroline's mind ticks due to reading the novel for years on end, Aiden had also been telling the truth regarding how he had been studying her and a bunch of other nobles over the past few years.
The black-haired youth also wanted to know what the cause of this butterfly effect was and how it would play into the things that were still going to happen in the future, if that future could still even be depended upon anymore.
Although Caroline never did anything particularly bad in the novel and was more neutral to most things to say the least, she did have a hand in a few major events due to her crafty nature.
Aiden as a result was getting immensely curious about what the silky, black-haired young lady who was known for her foxy nature, had approached him for.
"I would like to…" Caroline began and then stopped abruptly, much to Aiden's confusion.
However, after a short pause, she completed her statement.
"…be your friend…" she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper and her face now slightly facing downwards.
'Huh?!' Aiden inwardly exclaimed in confusion.
'What's with that expression?' he inwardly asked himself while seeing the embarrassed expression on Caroline's face.
At first he had immediately thought she was joking when she responded but judging from the way the tips of her ear were also red, he knew that she had been very embarrassed to have said those words.
Caroline then raised her head up, her cheeks a rosy flush of red as she stared at Aiden with expectations in her eyes.
Aiden however who was still trying to make heads or tails about what was happening was suddenly put on the spot after locking eyes with Caroline's gaze.
A brief period of awkward yet palpable tension could be felt in the small living room but after a while, Aiden broke the tension with a deep sigh.
"Haaaaa…" he voiced in resignation.
"That was totally unexpected but…" he continued, his words seemingly lingering in air as Caroline kept staring expectantly.
All of a sudden though, Aiden gave a slight chuckle, and then, gradually, he burst into laughter.
Not the type of laughter to mock a person's request but the type that was genuinely hearty.
The awkward tension in the room completely dissipated the moment Aiden began to laugh and Caroline just stared at him for a few seconds, completely entranced by the sight before her.
-Thump!
"If that's all Caroline, then it's nothing" Aiden replied to her request with a smile after he had stopped his laughter.
"It would be my pleasure to be a friend of yours" Aiden continued with a charming smile.
-Thump!
'Haa~… this is bad… this is really really bad…' Caroline thought to herself while staring at Aiden who now had a charming smile on his face.
-Thump!
'I said I wouldn't be greedy but at this rate, I'll be totally and completely consumed by it…' she inwardly continued.
Aiden on the other hand who was completely unaware of Caroline's internal thoughts, had a completely different thought process of his own.
'It's really unexpected though. She's just like Flynn and I before we had our memories returned…' he thought to himself after which his internal monologues then continued.
'It must really suck I guess, being constantly surrounded by people who are only out for their own benefits most of the time, especially when you're the daughter of one of the most prestigious family. Makes it even harder for you to have genuine friends your age…' he inwardly concluded.
After a while, Aiden looked up to see the Caroline was still staring at him without saying anything to his response, causing him to slightly tilt his head while calling out to her.
"Caroline?" he called questioningly.
Caroline upon realizing she had probably been staring at Aiden for the past few minutes without even replying to any of his responses was about to speak up when Aiden suddenly got up from his sofa and began to walk towards the door with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Hmmm, so there's a spy in this house…" Aiden said while immediately walking towards and up the small staircase leading to the door and swinging it wide open.
Caroline who had been taken aback by his sudden movement, watched as the door opened to reveal a small cute girl who seemed to be around the age of four, her brown hair in a ponytail which was tied with a cute ribbon and big purple eyes that showed a wave of panic.
The cute brown-haired girl was wearing a small, one-piece, green-colored dress with a small white sash tied gently around the waist of the dress into a large bow behind her back.
Briar upon realizing she had been caught by Aiden after peeking through the small space that had been left slightly ajar by the door, immediately tried to run away but Aiden who was now mischievously smiling immediately chanted his [Suction] spell.
Briar who was now running as fast as her small legs could take her, suddenly felt herself been pulled backwards towards Aiden who was now standing in the corridor.
As soon as she neared him, Aiden discontinued his spell and scooped her up off the ground while smiling at her playfully.
"Caught you, you little spy!" Aiden declared playfully, much to Briar's relief.
"Hehehe…" Briar let out a small yet mischievous chuckle.
"Next time Briar, knock on the door alright" Aiden gently told her.
"I will!" she immediately responded while nodding her head.
"I have to say though Briar, how far did you think your tiny legs could carry you?" Aiden asked mischievously.
Briar however was not having it and she immediately pouted at him while averting her gaze, as if to tell him that she was not happy with the outcome of her intended escape.
"Hmph!" she voiced unhappily.
Caroline who had already moved out from the small living room into the corridor from the moment Briar had begun to run away, watched the interaction between Briar and Aiden play out.
Aiden after noticing Caroline standing behind him immediately turned to her and apologized.
"Ah! Caroline! Sorry for abruptly cutting our conversation short"
"I don't mind at all but who's she?" Caroline asked curiously.
"This little one here is Briar. She's my little sister" Aiden answered immediately.
The young lady was immediately taken aback by this sudden information and wondered when exactly the Belmont's had given birth to a child this young without anyone ever even knowing.
"Briar, this is my friend Caroline. You can say hello to her" Aiden said to Briar.
Caroline who had not expected Aiden to introduce her so informally, despite only accepting her request a just a minute ago, was understandably surprised but yet, she was also happy at his
"Hello Caroline…" Briar said politely, her hands slightly waving to her.
"And hello to you too Briar" Caroline immediately responded back with a warm smile.
Although she had a lot of questions to ask, she had ultimately decided to save it for later.
However, just as she was about to speak to Briar again, Flynn came out from the corner of the long corridor while carrying a sleeping Ivelia who was wrapped around him in Koala bear hug.
Upon seeing all three in the distance Flynn walked up to them while greeting them and acknowledging Caroline's presence.
"Hey guys. So Miss. Caroline was your guest Aiden. Well that isn't too surprising…"
"Good day to you Flynn Belmont" Caroline gave her greetings with a smile, to which Flynn acknowledged with a slight yet respectful nod of his head.
Caroline who was already trying to wrap her head around how Briar even came to be, watched the orange-haired girl who was sleeping as Flynn carried her, gently clutching her hands onto his head.
"So you had guessed that it was her" Aiden remarked while looking at Flynn through squinted eyes.
"I mean, eliminate a few variables here and there and it would either be her or Adrian. However, considering mum's coy smile, I was definitely sure it was her" Flynn responded calmly.
"Fair point" Aiden said in acknowledgement after which he then added.
"I'd expected Ivelia to take it easy after completing it but good lord does she ever take a break…"
"Well in her defense, she was testing for any possible flaws. Gotta give props to her for that" Flynn replied.
orange-haired figure suddenly arrived behind her.
14:30
"Good morning Miss" Ivar politely greeted.
Caroline just watched with immense curiosity, and just as she did, she watched again as another orange-haired figure suddenly arrived behind her.
"Good morning Miss" Ivar politely greeted.
"Ah yes… Good morning…" Caroline responded to the sudden greeting from the youth behind her.
"Why's everyone here?" Ivar questioned with an interested look even though he was wondering who the beautiful black-haired lady was.
Before Aiden and Flynn could even respond to Ivar's question, Butler Frank appeared in the long corridor too while gracefully walking over to them, causing Caroline to wonder what the hell was even going on at this point.
The butler however upon reaching them, and politely giving a short bow, informed Caroline that her mother was about to leave and that she was requesting for her.
Following this Caroline promptly gave her goodbyes to everyone present in the corridor while following Butler Frank who was going to guide her to her mum who was now already waiting outside in her car.
Aiden had promptly given Briar whom he was carrying over to Ivar while following Caroline, in an effort to show appreciation by seeing her off as she began to leave. She did come over just to visit him after all.
As the young, silky black-haired lady got into the car with her mum who had already ignited the engines of the car, she watched as Aiden gave her a slight friendly wave.
This caused her to give a slight smile while also waving back in a similar fashion.
Now, as Selena drove out of the gates to the Belmont's residence, she looked over to her daughter who now had a genuine smile on her lips, not the fake alluring one she usually kept on her face whenever she was in public.
As the car kept gliding across the road smoothly, a testament to Selena's excellent driving skills, Caroline requested something from her mother.
"Mother…"
"Hmm?" Selena responded.
"How did you and dad meet?" Caroline asked.
Selena on the other hand just glanced at her with a curious look, but almost immediately after, she spoke.
"I don't mind telling you but why ask now dear" she questioned curiously.
"Well… I just thought it'd be nice to hear it at least once…" Caroline replied truthfully.
"I see. Well, it isn't anything too spectacular but it's definitely a fun one" Selena began, her words along with a slight smile on her face, carrying a strong hint of nostalgia in them as she began to narrate the story of how her and her now dead husband had met themselves.
I'll be updating more character arts very very soon. Some characters are insanely hard to get with AI though.
~(>_<~)