Chapter 53: What is Love?

Unfazed by her, Kurd just smiled and said, “My apologies.” But Siana, startled by her own words, covered her mouth with her fingers.

Kurd then turned to Theobald with a grin.

“Was the commander at the cabin, as usual?”

“Yes. His Excellency’s always trailing after Lord Urien these days.”

“Haha. When the commander’s nowhere to be found, it’s faster to look for his spouse instead.”

“Indeed.”

Urien stood silently, bewildered. ‘Did they forget I’m here?’ the two spoke so casually about him and Rodrick that such a thought popped up in his mind. Regardless, this showed that even the others noticed Rodrick’s odd behavior.

At that moment, a knight approached them and said, “Captain, Lord Theobald.” Kurd’s smile faded briefly as he received the report, but after it was done, it reappeared as he turned to face Siana.

“I’ll have to excuse myself for a moment.”

“Mm.”

Theobald then turned to look at Urien, “Shall we head back to the estate now?” in which Urien turned his gaze towards Siana, who shook her head.

With a smile, Urien then said,

“The lady doesn’t seem to want to.”

“Understood. Please wait for us under the shade, then.”

After that, Theobald and Kurd headed toward the back of the training grounds, probably about to join Rodrick and the vice-commander.

Urien wasn’t involved in both the knights’ operations and the ducal family’s affairs. As a spouse who’d leave in a year, he had no business participating in their meetings, so he could spend his time idly like this.

Of course, he didn’t find his situation bad, or lonely, or anything like that. In fact, he admired how well the roles were divided here. It was nothing short of a miracle that Theobald, who was entrusted with managing the ducal estate, was so cooperative with his brother.

After letting himself get lost in such thoughts, he suddenly spoke up, “Lady Siana.”

“There’s a folly over there—h-huh? What’s wrong?”

That was when he noticed how dark Siana’s face looked. It seemed like she could just collapse at any moment.

“A-are you feeling unwell?” he asked in panic, but she just shook her head slowly.

“No… just now… I was rude, wasn’t I?”

“H-huh?”

“I told Sir Kurd I wasn’t waiting for him…”

“Um…?”

‘If she really wasn’t waiting for him, why is that a problem?’ confused, Urien tilted his head.

Siana covered her face with both hands and let out a soft cry,

“Why do I keep saying unnecessary things…?!”

“…”

“Sorry, I lost my composure for a moment. Let’s go.”

But it took just a moment before she let out a deep sigh and returned to normal again. Urien still didn’t understand what was going on, but he still led her to the folly.

One could overlook the whole training grounds from the folly. After they seated themselves, Siana spoke out first.

“I was honestly surprised by the earlier conversation. So Rodrick just follows you everywhere, Lord Urien?”

“Apparently.”

At the mention of Rodrick, Urien’s body was all tense again.

It was only natural she’d talk about him. The problem here was that Urien still couldn’t tell what she was trying to do.

“It seems like you two are getting along well.”

“…Yes.”

He nodded hesitantly, unsure if it was the right response. Even as he was thinking, he didn’t even know what he was so afraid of.

“Are you not going to bond with him, Lord Urien?”

But then she suddenly threw that question, catching him off guard.

“Huh?”

“You two are married, but I can’t see any marks on your nape.”

“How did you know I’m an omega…? …Ah, never mind.”

Even a child could guess that he was an Omega. After all, he was married to Rodrick despite him being a man. Naturally, Siana also knew.

But, the answer she gave up was different than he expected.

“Because I’m also an Omega.”

“You… are?”

“Yes. That’s why I can tell.”

The possibility that Siana might be an Omega never even crossed his mind.

She then continued,

“I smelled a similar scent to mine from you, Lord Urien, though yours is quite faint… Did you not notice mine?”

“No…”

Urien had never met another Omega. He had heard that his biological mother was one, but he had almost no memory of her, so this felt like his first encounter with another Omega.

Speechless from the surprise, he could only listen as Siana went on without slowing down.

“I see that you’re shocked. Female Omegas are rare, aren’t they? But, they exist, just hiding.”

“I see.”

“When I first heard about you, Lord Urien, I was surprised. I can’t believe that there was an Omega who openly enjoyed parties.”

The nasty rumors flashed in Urien’s mind, making his lips tightened. Rumors about ‘Devilish Urien’ flaunting his Omega status around. But that wasn’t his doing, it was Arnault’s.

As a noblewoman, Siana naturally knew of the rumors. Urien wanted to correct her, but he didn’t know how and hesitated. But that only lasted for a moment.

“But those rumors aren’t true, are they?”

“Huh?”

“Even if the part about ‘you’ playing around was real, I know it wasn’t actually you, Lord Urien.”

Urien blinked at that. Siana’s smile then faded, replaced by a serious expression.

“When I first visited the duke’s estate after your marriage to Rodrick, I instantly knew that the rumors were false.”

“Why?”

“Because you didn’t come to confront me.”

Siana narrowed her eyes gently.

“If those rumors were true, you’d come to keep an eye on me, but you didn’t, Lord Urien. When I heard Rodrick was smitten with you, my guess became certainty. Rodrick is an earnest man. He wouldn’t fall for someone who is depicted in those rumors. Then, with our meeting, I disproved the rumors once again. Your hair is chestnut-colored, not blond like in the rumors.”

“…It’s as you said, Lady Siana.”

“See? I knew it.”

“I’ve never even gone to a party. Let alone do what the rumors claimed.”

“Mhm.”

“But Lord Rodrick isn’t smitten with me.”

Siana blinked in confusion as she muttered, “Huh, really?”

He corrected her because it was the right thing to do, but he couldn’t understand her reaction. If she really had feelings for Rodrick, there’d be a hint of relief in her gestures, but she looked completely confused. Urien didn’t understand what was going on. After all, he had never been in love, nor had he seen others in love.

“Regardless…” Siana continued.