At the sight of Aisha’s tears, Ian’s eyebrows shot upward. Folding his arms, he stepped half a pace back from her, then twitched the corner of his mouth before delivering another cutting remark.

“Don’t waste your time blaming me. You said it yourself—if I’m happy, you’re happy.”

“…”

“I’m in a damn good mood from winning that bet. The prize is quite something. So smile, Aisha. I’m happy—shouldn’t you be happy too?”

Despite claiming to be, Ian didn’t look pleased. He looked like a man being pursued. Trapped in the panic of her tears, Aisha didn’t notice, but an onlooker would have thought Ian sounded impatient.

Despite Ian’s brazen audacity, Aisha said nothing. She didn’t even look at him, letting her tears fall to the ground instead. The droplets were so large and clear that sorrow clung to the path they traced as they fell.

When she gave no response, Ian turned his head and let out a long sigh. His irritation was plain.

Clicking his tongue, he turned back towards her, his blue eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion. Reaching out, he seized her limp right hand carelessly. Aisha jerked her hand away sharply — she was nervous.

The meaning behind her rejection was clear: Aisha Parden was rejecting him. That had never happened before. Ian’s eyes widened for a moment before narrowing again. Nevertheless, he reached for her hand again. Aisha resisted in silence, but Ian eventually caught her hand and pulled.

“Ow! That hurts!”

Aisha cried out sharply when Ian twisted her slender wrist, which was as thin as a bamboo shoot. He flinched at her cry and his grip on her wrist loosened slightly.

With his other hand, he searched inside his coat and pulled out an object. He forced it between her fingers, pressing until the cold metal and raised engraving made her open her hand.

“Take it.”

Recognising this, Aisha let out a rough breath. The halting breaks in her breathing betrayed her fragile state. It was the watch that she had commissioned from a craftsman, with her name engraved on it, as a gift for Ian. She had spent years saving up to buy it and had even swallowed her pride to ask her brothers for help.

“I thought it was a bit pathetic, but someone else seemed to want it. I suppose it’s still worth something.”

Against her will, Aisha finally met his gaze and saw his lips curve into a crooked smile. He tapped the watch on her open palm, then folded her fingers over it one by one.

“I don’t know if you need a reward, since my happiness is your happiness—but it’s useless to me, so it should make a decent prize. After all, I won thanks to you, Aisha.”

The smooth face of the pocket watch dug into her palm, stinging. Aisha stared at Ian with a stricken expression as he forced it on her, each word striking like a blow.

“I’ll send a bottle of wine to the Parden estate soon, too. You should share in the joy of the fine grapes I’ve gained.”

He had bet her a kiss. He was always tearing her down. He never stopped saying cruel things.

And yet, he still had the face she loved. For the first time, Aisha resented her feelings for him. But even if she could hate herself, she could not bring herself to hate Ian. It was this that made her feel the most wretched of all.

In her wounded state, the strongest emotion she could express to him was sorrow. She let her tears fall freely as she looked up at him.

Ian’s face, set in displeasure as he flung out his harsh words, went still at the sight of her tears spilling again. Releasing her hand, he took a step back as if to push her away. Brushing back the hair that had fallen across his forehead in an impatient gesture, he turned away.

“…I’ll go back first. Your face is a mess—stay and look around the garden a bit longer, or people will start talking.”

There was no warmth in his cold tone or the way he turned his back on her. With long strides, he disappeared from her sight.

Once he was gone, Aisha sank to her knees and buried her face in her palms. For the first time since becoming an adult, she cried loudly in public.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Why is Father always on that bastard’s side? Isn’t his son me—no, us? Anyone would think Ian was his real child!”

“Daniel, watch your mouth. This isn’t home.”

“No, but do you get it? Aisha went running after him, and instead of stopping her, Father says to just leave them alone? What if that bastard makes her cry again? Tell me I’m wrong, Arthur!”

The Parden brothers were gathered in a corner of the hall—or more accurately, Edward and Arthur were trying to restrain Daniel, who was lashing out after an argument with their father, the Count of Parden. After finally calming him down, they had been listening to his complaints for a full thirty minutes.

“Enough. She’s already gone after him—what are you going to do about it now? Aisha’s an adult. She’s not the little girl you used to dote on.”

“Hey! Arthur Parden! You fight with Father all the time, but when it comes to this, you always take his side?”

“Don’t be childish—taking sides, really? How old are you?”

“You little—how dare you talk to your older brother like that?”

“Both of you, enough.”

Seeing the argument about to boil over, Edward stepped in. At his stern expression, even Daniel—usually quick to challenge—fell silent, along with Arthur.

“Daniel, go and find Aisha. As you said, leaving her alone with Ian is cause for concern.”

“What, why me when the youngest is right here…?”

“No backtalk—just go. Unlike you, Arthur doesn’t know the palace grounds well. And who’s the one who’s been going on for thirty straight minutes about being worried for Aisha?”

Unable to find a rebuttal, Daniel muttered under his breath and left. Once he was gone, Arthur turned to Edward.

“Do you have something to say?”

Daniel clearly hadn’t caught on, but Edward did seem to have something on his mind. Arthur’s quick grasp of his intent earned a nod from Edward.

“That’s right. I sent Daniel away on purpose. If I told him what I know about Aisha now, he’d cause a scene right here.”

“What is it?”

“Arthur, you’ve heard, haven’t you? The foul rumors going around about Aisha—so vile you can hardly say them aloud.”

Scandalous whispers about their sister circulating through high society. Arthur’s face hardened. He had learned of them recently and had been investigating quietly on his own. Thanks to the Parden family’s influence, they hadn’t spread far yet—but people were saying that Aisha had been caught in bed with a man by Ian, and that was why the engagement would be broken.

“Do you know who’s behind it?”

Of course, unless those involved spoke up themselves, nobody would dare open their mouths recklessly, given the looming influence of the Parden family. Nevertheless, the culprit had to be caught. Whoever had spread such filth had to be held accountable.

Uncharacteristically, Arthur didn’t bother to hide his anger. But Edward remained silent, his expression unreadable. Growing impatient, Arthur pressed him.

“Who is it? If you’re hesitating this much, it must be someone we know well.”

“…Yes.”

“…”

“The rumors passed through so many mouths, twisted in all directions, that it was hard to find the one who spoke the first foul word… but before coming to tonight’s banquet, I confirmed it.”

Arthur remembered seeing his brother’s face harden after receiving a letter just before leaving the Parden estate. When he gave Edward a look urging him to speak, Edward slowly opened his mouth.

“Before I tell you, Arthur, I want your opinion. What do you think should be done to the one who started this?”

“They should be humiliated in kind. They need to be held accountable for what they spread.”

“…”

“What? Is it a member of the royal family? Or the Duke of Levantus’s faction? I didn’t think this would be something tangled in politics…”

“Neither.”

Cutting him off, Edward let out a deep sigh. After a pause, he uttered a name in an icy tone.

“Sophia Lloyd.”

Arthur’s mouth fell open at the unexpected name. When his younger brother frowned, clearly unwilling to believe it, Edward drove the point home.

“Yes. Ian’s younger sister. She’s the source of the rumor.”

“…Why? What reason would she have?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“…”

“But you know as well as I do that Sophia has always harboured an unusual hatred towards Aisha. It could be nothing more than her dislike of Aisha turned into a lie.”

Everyone in the Parden family knew of Sophia’s animosity toward Aisha. Arthur lowered his head, then dragged a palm over his face as if to wash it.

“…What will you do? This involves Sophia. If Father finds out, he’ll just bury it quietly.”

When Arthur finally spoke, his voice carried a faint tremor. Edward met the fine quiver in his brother’s green eyes with a steady gaze.

“I’ll tell Father a little later. For now, I’m looking for a way to handle this without involving him.”

“But if he finds out later, he’ll be furious. You know how he gets when something involving the Lloyds is kept from him.”

“True. But as you said, I believe Sophia should take full responsibility for the rumor. And if Father hears of it, he’ll try to forgive her. As much as I hate to admit it, Daniel’s right—Father sometimes protects Ian and his sister more than his own children.”

Ever since the Marquis and Marchioness of Lloyd had died in a carriage accident, the Count of Parden had doted on their children, Ian and Sophia, shielding them fiercely. His favoritism could be excessive at times, and more than once it had caused friction with the Parden siblings—especially Daniel, who often clashed with their father over it.

“Honestly… how many decades does he intend to be held captive by a friend’s death?”

Edward’s words were tinged with bitterness, prompting Arthur to lift his head and study his brother’s face.

“So for now, you’re working on a plan? I’ll think about whether there’s a good way to handle it too. Just keep me informed about what’s happening.”