Chapter 6
“Come to think of it, I heard the dress Miss Aisha was wearing… it’s from Fidelie Boutique. To wear something that expensive to a party celebrating a successful charity event…”
As the gossip continued, one noblewoman in the group specifically targeted Aisha with her remark. Another woman beside her nudged her in the ribs.
“Luxury should be worn appropriately…”
The noblewoman turned and suddenly remembered someone who was still seated nearby. Her face paled slightly as she hastily covered her mouth with a fan.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the man they were now wary of—Ian. As the Marquis of Lloyd, he was clearly part of the old noble faction but had deep ties to the Count of Pardons. There had been multiple rumors of engagements with Aisha—some even ongoing.
Ian looked at the noblewoman with a cold, unreadable expression, yet there was something chilling in his air.
“I-I have something to attend to… Please excuse me.”
He hadn’t said a word, but the noblewoman couldn’t bear the tension and quietly left. Afterward, the rest of the group could only whisper in hushed voices.
It was practically a retreat. She hadn’t even greeted anyone as she left—that alone would feed the curiosity and ridicule of those still in the hall.
But her head was pounding and her stomach churned; she couldn’t endure it any longer. Aisha tightly clutched the handkerchief embroidered with blue sage, thinking of Ian. He told her to throw it away, but there was no way she could.
“Give it here.”
“Daniel!”
Daniel, who had been silently watching her, snatched the handkerchief from her hands. Aisha, who had been staring blankly at it, reached out in surprise. He knew what that handkerchief meant—he’d teased her for half a day when she pricked her finger embroidering it.
“This kind of thing…”
Daniel opened the window and looked ready to toss the handkerchief out. He didn’t know how it had ended up back with his sister, but seeing her just staring at it like a lost puppy made him furious.
“Don’t. Please?”
Just as he pulled the carriage window open with a huff, a trembling voice stopped him. When he looked over, he saw his sister shaking with tears brimming in her eyes. Daniel muttered all sorts of curses in his head and shut the window.
He folded the handkerchief in silence, frowning. The edges wouldn’t line up properly. After struggling with it for a while, he gave up and folded it messily.
“I’m sorry, brother.”
Aisha carefully took the now-uneven handkerchief and apologized while watching Daniel’s expression. Seeing her so deflated made Daniel want to march back into that party hall and beat Ian to a pulp in a dark corner.
He gritted his teeth and said gruffly, “What are you sorry for?”
“The party… I’m the one who insisted we go. And we didn’t even stay an hour… People will talk.”
“Whatever. I was going to go anyway because of Father’s orders. We spent a lot on that orphanage building—we had to show our faces at least. Besides, Arthur stayed behind. He’s smart; he’ll handle it.”
It had been Aisha who begged Daniel to attend the charity party. She’d wanted to see Ian as soon as possible and asked her easiest brother to escort her using the family invitation. But the result? Not only did Daniel attend the party he had no interest in, but they also left almost immediately—Aisha felt terrible.
“Still… it must have been chaotic, getting ready on such short notice.”
Daniel fumed again at her apologetic tone. Was she always going to be this way—apologizing and shrinking back around Ian, that bastard? She seemed to be growing more fragile as she got older. He sighed.
“Hey! I’m perfect even without dressing up, okay? I didn’t prepare anything. Just threw on whatever clothes I found.”
But as always, what came out of his mouth was a gruff sort of comfort. No matter how angry he got, Daniel found it hard to actually get mad at Aisha. She was delicate. Outsiders might think otherwise, but the family knew better—when it came to Ian, she was easily hurt and incredibly vulnerable.
“More importantly, are you going to tell me or not? What did that girl Sophia say to you to make you look like that? She probably brought up Ian and gave you crap, didn’t she?”
Daniel’s eyes sharpened in case Aisha had been hurt again. But Aisha just smiled and shook her head.
“Nothing happened, really. You know what Sophia’s like—always spitting out sharp words. I don’t care anymore.”
“She’s been like that since we were kids. Tch.”
“Don’t call her ‘that girl.’ That sounds mean.”
“What else should I call her? You want me to be polite to her?”
“Would you like it if someone called me that?”
“That’s different! You’re not like her—ugh, whatever. Forget it.”
Daniel whipped his head to the side, and Aisha laughed. She was always grateful to her brother who was willing to let her win.
“Well… thanks for always looking out for me, brother.”
“Get lost. You’re making my skin crawl.”
When Aisha gently placed her hand on his fist, Daniel twitched his eyebrow and closed his eyes. After tapping his hand a few more times, Aisha leaned back against the seat and stared outside.
The carriage window was dark. She couldn’t see even a step ahead, and the shadow cast a gloom over her face. She murmured the name in her heart.
“Ian…”
“Seriously… Ian! Why would you make that face in there? People might misunderstand!”
As soon as they got into the carriage, Sophia raised her voice. Ian ignored her, sat down, and knocked on the wall. The carriage began to move.
“You embarrassed me…”
Sophia was visibly irritated. It was fine to insult Aisha a little—why had Ian stood there silently and brought down the whole mood? He could’ve laughed it off or agreed. Because of him, Loretta Fideloy, niece of Count Fideloy, had nearly burst into tears!
“Didn’t you see Loretta almost crying? She was your chosen partner, and you were so rude to her!”
At the mention of Loretta, Ian’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Loretta… that was the name of tonight’s partner, wasn’t it? Now that they were out of the party, he couldn’t even recall her face. Blonde? Redhead? Definitely not light brown.
“Loretta Fideloy is the Duke of Levantus’s niece! She’s a good match—why not treat her a bit better?”
“…What did you say in there?”
Ignoring Sophia’s ranting, Ian finally asked what had been bothering him. Sophia, not grasping what he meant, scoffed.
“What are you talking about? You didn’t say a word in there and now suddenly—what are you even…”
“I asked what you said in there. Sophia.”
His cold voice cut through hers. Sophia flinched. He was her brother, but when he looked at her like that… it sent chills down her spine.
“I-I didn’t say anything. Just… said hi since it’s been a while.”
Though she believed she’d done nothing wrong, fear made her lie. But the moment she shrank back, anger bubbled up again. Why was she being interrogated like this over that stupid girl?
She glared at her brother with blazing green eyes.
“What’s with that look? You think I said something nasty to Aisha? Are you really that worried about her?”
A deep crease formed between Ian’s brows. In a low voice, he muttered:
“Keep your voice down.”
It was a warning, but Sophia didn’t stop. The emotions she’d barely held in at the party were spilling over now.
“You’re always like this! Pretending you don’t care about Aisha. You were tired of being tied to the Pardons. You even disappeared for six months without a word!”
At some point, Sophia stopped calling Ian “brother.” She thought Aisha calling her brothers “oppa” sounded childish. But when her emotions ran high like this, she couldn’t help herself.
“You’re planning to cut ties with the Count of Pardons too, right? You’re on Duke Levantus’s side now, so what good does getting tangled up with that family do you?”
“…”
“If you feel guilty about what they did for you, just throw money at them. They like money anyway.”
Coming from the Pardons, who were wealthier than most, that was ridiculous—even Sophia knew it. But she still said it because she wanted to demean them. She wanted to push them far away.
“Just clear up this engagement nonsense with Aisha too! People keep asking me. I hate denying it, and I hate how she looks down on me so smugly.”
Since Ian didn’t react, Sophia grew more confident. She kept ranting, not noticing how her brother’s expression changed every time Aisha’s name was mentioned.
“The best solution is to get engaged to someone else entirely—like Loretta Fideloy. She’s pretty enough, has a good family, and is sweet—”
“Sophia.”
Ian finally cut her off. She looked at him, realizing the shift in mood. But even her expression didn’t stop him from speaking.
“Shut your mouth. You’re overstepping.”
His voice was calm, but his icy gaze from within the carriage’s dim light was terrifying. Sophia began to tremble and tear up.
How could he say that? They were family…
“Why are you being like this? We’re siblings, your only family…”
“Yes. You’re my one and only sister.”
“Hrk…”
“That’s why I let it slide this much. So when I tell you to stop—stop. Got it?”
Though Ian’s tone didn’t change, Sophia sensed he had softened just a little. She cried louder, squeezing out more tears on purpose.
“I just… I just feel like… like you’re on Aisha’s side…”
“…”
“Do you know how much she looks down on me? She only cries in front of you. When it’s just me, she glares like she’s above me!”
“…”
“She didn’t even say goodbye to me at the party. And since she knows you won’t say anything about it, she keeps—”
