I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 260: Coming of Age Ceremony (2)

'I definitely messed up the plan...'

Throbbing.

The more I think about it, the more my head hurts. How could I have made such a critical mistake? I felt ashamed of my past self.

'Yuri is currently fond of the dark-haired gentleman. So, confessing to her as Aslan Vermont now would surely lead to rejection, as she's waiting for the dark-haired gentleman.'

Yuri won't be able to meet the dark-haired gentleman for at least another two years, not until after her graduation.

But the engagement I planned in my grand and detailed roadmap is supposed to happen after the coming-of-age ceremony, which is this year. The problem is, Yuri likes the dark-haired gentleman, so she’ll refuse my proposal until she meets him, resulting in a two-year discrepancy.

Of course, an engagement is just that. The actual marriage wouldn't take place until Yuri is of age, three years from now. I could remove the engagement from the roadmap and the discrepancy wouldn’t matter... But to endure not being engaged? That’s not easy at all.

It’s like putting saliva on bread. This is my bread, and I intend to eat it, and although the bread knows this, and everyone knows this, not putting saliva on it and waiting two years is incredibly unsettling.

'I can’t reveal my identity myself either...'

Should I reveal that I am the dark-haired gentleman? That would be the worst move, ruining all the prestige and dignity I’ve built up so far.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Saying I'll meet her after graduation and then revealing my identity myself? If I did that, I'd look like a fool who couldn’t even keep his own promise to get engaged as soon as possible. That’s absolutely intolerable.

So, the best course of action is...

'Pretend it’s a mistake and subtly drop hints so that Yuri discovers my identity.'

Ideally, Yuri figuring out the identity of the dark-haired gentleman on her own. I didn’t want to be discovered, but if it’s by an unintentional mistake on my part, using accumulated evidence for her deduction might be the best scenario.

Then there would be no need to wait until graduation. I could propose right away.

'So how should I be discovered? Let's think about this...'

How should I be caught so that it seems like an unintended revelation? What evidence should I accidentally drop that looks like I didn’t want to be caught? I thought hard about it for a while with my eyes closed.

"Ah, Aslan..." "What's the matter?" "There's been a problem... sir." "...?"

Then, creak. The door slowly opened, revealing Yuliana's anxious face. A problem? I gestured for her to come in, and she hurried over and sat on my lap.

"Look at this. It’s a letter Yuri sent me... She was asking if a pink envelope had arrived at the mansion... sir." "..."

Yuliana’s gaze fell to the desk. Faced with the pink envelope, we silently looked at each other. It was a letter from Yuri.

"This... It’s a letter Yuri sent to the dark-haired gentleman." "Gasp!? It’s good you spoke to Aslan first! If you had replied that you saw it, you would have immediately been caught out as the dark-haired gentleman... sir!" "Am I under suspicion...?"

A chill ran down my spine. Why use a pink envelope that is not typically used?

It appears Yuri used Yuliana to find out if I was the dark-haired gentleman.

Thanks to Yuliana’s quick thinking, we avoided falling into that trap. Phew. Looks like I won't be discovered just yet. ...Wait a minute.

"Whew. So to Yuri, you haven’t seen it..." "No. Could you write in the reply that you saw the pink envelope?" "Huh? Why? That would reveal you as the dark-haired gentleman... sir?" "Just do as I say. I have my reasons." "Ah, alright... sir!"

Great. Now I might finally be discovered by Yuri. I patted Yuliana’s head, puzzled, as a ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ smile formed on my lips. . . . "See, you saw it? Really!?"

Yuri leapt up as she read Yuliana's response. A pink envelope. A color not sold anywhere, not used by anyone.

Even the post office doesn't handle pink envelopes as they are non-standard. Therefore, to send a letter in a pink envelope, one would have to paint the envelope pink themselves and use a private courier service.

The envelope I sent to the dark-haired gentleman was also one I made myself. And since the letters sent to the dark-haired gentleman use a private courier service to prevent me from tracking the recipient, using pink was no issue.

But Yuliana replied that she had seen a pink envelope at the Vermont mansion. The odds that it wasn't the letter I sent? Very slim. There’s no one else who would go to the trouble of using a private courier service just to send a pink envelope.

That means...

'Aslan Vermont was the dark-haired gentleman...'

Yuri headed towards the Vermont mansion, lost in thought.

At first, it was just a vague suspicion. Baseless, uncertain. But now that the suspicion had turned out to be true, it was shocking.

Aslan Vermont and the dark-haired gentleman. They are polar opposites. Logically, it makes no sense that they are the same person. But it seems intuition is more powerful than I thought.

'But what am I doing now...?'

I had unconsciously boarded the carriage heading to the Vermont mansion. But why am I going there? I can’t really explain.

Is it to thank him for knowing that Aslan Vermont is the dark-haired gentleman? Or to confront him about why he kept his identity hidden? To ask why he flirted with me as Aslan Vermont but put up walls as the dark-haired gentleman?

I’m not sure. What should I ask... No. I don’t even know where to start.

Maybe I should pretend I don’t know. Act like I haven’t caught on. The dark-haired gentleman said he would meet me after I graduated. What if he cuts off his support and distances himself from me if I figure it out too soon?

'No, surely not...'

Yuri clenched her trembling hand and sighed deeply.

Although it's shocking that Aslan Vermont was the dark-haired gentleman, it doesn’t change my feelings for him. He’s still precious to me, my first love... To think that the person who has been relentlessly kind to me was actually the clingy Count.

It was meant to be. Actually, it's something to be happy about. Yuri’s fist unclenched, and a smile spread across her lips.

'Should I just confess...?'

Marching into the mansion, finding Aslan Vermont, and revealing that I've figured out his identity. Imagining this sequence of events, I thought about proposing at this coming-of-age ceremony.

Of course, his priorities would naturally be Charlotte and Yuliana. But those two are still far from their coming-of-age. So, why shouldn’t I be the first to get engaged? Imagining this happiness, Yuri found herself already at the Vermont mansion.

"Whew... Shall I go in..."

Tensing up, I moved my legs. Just as I was about to knock on the main gate.

"...?"

That moment. Yuri turned her head, and a look of surprise spread across her face. . . . "Yuri is coming..." "..."

Seeing the familiar figure approaching the main gate from the window. I immediately stood up and started to watch Yuri as she approached the mansion.

The reason Yuri suddenly showed up at the mansion? Obvious. Thanks to Yuliana's reply, she must have easily figured out that I was the dark-haired gentleman. It was like I had fallen into the trap I set.

"Ha. Seems I've already been caught. What to do. I never wanted to be caught. I was going to reveal my identity after graduation..." "Sir. The more you do this, the uglier it becomes. Please keep quiet." "..."

[The evil god, 'Kalri', vigorously nods in agreement with our knight's words.]

While smirking, it was like cold water had been thrown on me. Annoyed, I turned my head back towards the main gate.

"Huh?"

I thought Yuri would just knock on the gate. But she glanced at the mailbox. After standing frozen for a moment, she suddenly turned around.

And then she got back into the carriage and left in a hurry. What? What did she see that made her turn back? Curious, I approached the main gate to check the mailbox.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

"Ah."

What was stuck there was none other than a pink envelope. Startled, I took it out and saw that it was a courtship letter disguised as Irene's investment report.

Wait a minute. There was someone else using a private delivery service to send pink envelopes besides Yuri? Then did Yuri see this and think the pink envelope Yuliana saw was this one...?

"No way this was guaranteed to be discovered!!"

Tears welled up in my eyes.