“Come to think of it, Miss Aisha’s dress… I heard it was from Fidelis Atelier. To think she’d wear something so expensive to a party meant to celebrate a successful charity event.”

As the gossip continued, one of the noblewomen singled out Aisha with a sneer. The woman beside her nudged her sharply.

“Luxury should be tempered by the occasion…”

The noblewoman glanced around and suddenly remembered who was present. Her face paled slightly as she hastily covered her mouth with her fan.

The person making everyone uneasy was Ian. Though he was clearly a member of the old nobility as the Marquis of Lloyd, his deep ties to the Parden family—and all the engagement rumors with Aisha, rumors that still persisted—meant things were complicated.

Ian simply gazed at the noblewoman, his face expressionless, but with an unmistakably cold air. He said nothing, but the effect was enough: the woman, unable to endure the silence, quietly excused herself and left. After that, the group kept their voices low, whispering among themselves.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It felt like running away. Leaving without saying goodbye to anyone, Aisha could practically feel the curious stares and snide laughter following her out of the hall.

But her head throbbed and her stomach churned—she couldn’t bear it any longer. Clutching the handkerchief embroidered with blue sage, Aisha thought of Ian’s eyes. He’d told her to throw it away, but there was no way she could.

“Give it here.”

“Daniel!”

Without warning, Daniel took the handkerchief from her. Startled, Aisha reached out automatically. Daniel knew exactly what it meant to her. He’d teased her for half a day when she’d pricked her finger sewing it, calling her an idiot.

“This kind of thing…”

He went to open the carriage window, clearly intending to toss it out. He didn’t know how it had come back to his sister, but the sight of her sitting there, slumped like a lost puppy and staring at that handkerchief, infuriated him.

“Don’t. Please?”

He was huffing as he reached for the window, but her trembling, tearful voice made him pause. When he glanced over, he saw her shaking, eyes swimming with tears. Daniel cursed silently as he closed the window.

He said nothing as he began folding the handkerchief, but soon his brow furrowed. He couldn’t quite line up the corners neatly. After a while wrestling with it, he just gave up and handed it back, still crookedly folded.

“I’m sorry, brother.”

Aisha glanced at Daniel as she took the unevenly folded handkerchief, then apologized, sensing his mood. Seeing her so deflated made Daniel want to storm back into the hall and drag Ian off to beat some sense into him.

Biting back his anger, he spoke gruffly.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“For today’s party… I was the one who begged to go. But we didn’t even stay an hour… Everyone will talk.”

“It’s fine. Father ordered us to come anyway. With how much we spent on that orphanage, it wouldn’t have made sense not to show up and get some credit. And Arthur stayed behind, didn’t he? He’s smart—he’ll manage just fine.”

It was Aisha who had begged Daniel to go to the charity party, even though he hadn’t wanted to. Wanting to see Ian as soon as possible, she’d clutched the invitation sent to the family and pleaded with her most easygoing brother to be her partner. And yet, look at the result. Aisha felt deeply sorry for dragging Daniel to a party he hadn’t even wanted to attend, only to leave almost immediately.

“Still… You must have been so busy, having to get ready at the last minute.”

Daniel’s anger flared up again when she apologised — would she always bow her head and apologise, even to Ian? The older she got, the more he wondered what was missing. He let out a sigh despite himself.

“Hey! I don’t need to get ready to look perfect, okay? Just look at this face. I just threw on whatever was closest. Don’t worry about it.”

But, as always, his words were wrapped in gruff affection. No matter how angry he got, Daniel could never truly lose his temper with Aisha. She was fragile. Outsiders might not see it, but the family knew. When it came to Ian, Aisha was always the one who got hurt most easily.

“Anyway, aren’t you going to tell me the truth? What did that Sophia brat say to you to make your face look like this? Did she start in on you about Ian again?”

Worried that Sophia might have hurt her, Daniel clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. But Aisha only shook her head with a smile.

“It was nothing, really. You know how Sophia is—always sharp-tongued. I don’t even care anymore.”

“She’s been like that since she was a kid. Seriously, what’s wrong with that girl?”

“Don’t call her a brat. That’s rude, you know.”

“What else am I supposed to call her? She is a brat…”

“How would you like it if someone called you that?”

“That’s different! You’re not—ugh, never mind. Forget it.”

Daniel jerked his head away in frustration, making Aisha laugh out loud. She was always grateful to her brother, who never failed to take her side.

“Well… still, thanks for always looking out for me, brother.”

“Yeah, yeah. Enough of that, you’re making my skin crawl.”

When Aisha quietly placed her hand over Daniel’s fist, he raised his brow and closed his eyes. After patting his hand a couple more times, Aisha leaned back in the carriage seat and stared out the window.

It was pitch black outside. Unable to see even an inch ahead, darkness settled over Aisha’s face. Silently, she murmured his name.

‘Ian…’

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Honestly… Ian! How could you make a face like that in there? People are going to get the wrong idea!”

No sooner had they left the hall and gotten into the carriage than Sophia raised her voice. Ian ignored her, settled into his seat, and knocked on the carriage wall. On cue, the carriage began to move.

“I was so embarrassed…”

Sophia was thoroughly irritated by Ian’s attitude. She could understand him bad-mouthing Aisha, but why did he just stand there and ruin the mood with his silence? He could have joined in, or at least laughed it off. Because of him, she’d had to deal with the look on Duke Levantus’s niece! Loretta’s face; she was almost in tears.

“Didn’t you see Loretta looked like she was about to cry? You picked her as your partner, and then you treat her so rudely!”

Ian’s brow lifted at the mention of Loretta.

Loretta…

That was the name of his partner tonight. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t even recall the woman’s face. Was she blonde, or red-haired? He was certain she wasn’t light brown.

“Loretta Fideloi is Duke Levantus’s niece! She’s a perfectly good match—would it kill you to treat her well for once?”

“…What did you say in there?”

Ian ignored Sophia’s ranting, focusing instead on what had been bothering him. When she didn’t catch his meaning, Sophia stared at him in disbelief and snapped back.

“What are you even talking about? You ignore me the whole time and now you’re spouting nonsense—”

“I asked what you said in there, Sophia.”

His cold voice cut her off. Only then did Sophia understand, and she flinched. He might be her brother, but when he looked at her like that… it sent a chill down her spine.

“N-no, I didn’t say anything. It’s just… It’s been a while since we saw each other, that’s all. We just said hello.”

She told herself she’d done nothing wrong, but a twinge of fear made her stumble over her words and lie. The moment she shrank back, though, anger welled up again. Why should she have to be interrogated by her own brother over that girl?

She glared into his cold blue eyes with her own green ones, burning with resentment.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you worried I insulted Aisha or something? Is she really that important to you?”

At that, a deep crease appeared between Ian’s brows. His voice dropped a little, flat and warning.

“Keep your voice down.”

It was meant as a warning, but Sophia wasn’t about to back off. Her emotions, barely held back in the ballroom, finally spilled over.

“You’re always like this! Acting like you don’t care about Aisha, saying you’re tired of being tangled up with the Parden family. That’s why you cut off contact for six months—so you could finally break away from them.”

For some time now, Sophia had avoided calling him “brother.” She thought it unrefined, the way Aisha clung to her brothers. But in moments like this, when her feelings ran high, she used it on purpose.

“And now you’re planning to cut ties with Count Parden too, aren’t you? You’ll end up on Duke Levantus’s side anyway, so what good is it to stay involved with the Count?”

“…”

“If you feel guilty about what they did for you, just throw some money at them. That’s all those people care about, isn’t it?”

It was a ridiculous thing to say—especially considering the Pardens were wealthier than the Lloyds, and Sophia knew it. But she said it anyway, simply because she wanted to distance herself from the Pardens, to belittle them.

“And while you’re at it, why not end all this engagement talk with Aisha? People keep asking me about it. I’m tired of denying it, and I can’t stand the way she acts so dignified while secretly looking down on me.”

Since her brother didn’t react, Sophia grew bolder, letting all her pent-up feelings about Aisha pour out. Her eyes were red with agitation, so she didn’t notice how, at the sound of Aisha’s name, her brother’s expression changed.

“The best thing would be for you to get engaged to someone else now. Loretta Fideloi would be perfect. She’s pretty enough, comes from a good family, has a sweet temperament—”

“Sophia.”

Ian called out, cutting off Sophia, who showed no signs of stopping. Only then did Sophia realize the situation and glance nervously at her brother, but Ian didn’t hesitate to continue.

“That’s enough. Shut your mouth. You’re overstepping.”

Even in the dimly lit carriage, Sophia could see the coldness in his eyes, which matched the coldness in his voice. She swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she began to cry. She was hurt.

‘I’m family, and yet I can’t say what’s on my mind?’

“How can you talk to me like that? We’re… we’re the only family each other has…”

“That’s right. You’re my only sister.”

“Huu….”

“That’s why I’m this patient with you. So when I say stop, you stop. Understand?”

Ian’s voice was still cold, but Sophia sensed just the slightest softening. She forced out even more tears, making her sobs louder.

“I just… it’s just… it feels like you always take Aisha’s side…”

“…”

“Do you know how much she looks down on me? Sure, she cries in front of you, but when it’s just us, she glares at me and acts all superior.”

“…”

“She didn’t say anything, but even at the party, she was the same. She didn’t even greet me when I left. She thinks she can get away with it because you won’t say anything to her…”