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Chapter: 16
Luka Shaud
“Yaaawn.”
Right out on the main road, without a shred of embarrassment, Iana opened her mouth wide and yawned.
“Oh dear, my lady!” Lu groaned softly, but more than embarrassment, worry filled her heart.
For several days now, breakfast with the Grand Duke had continued. Even before collapsing, Iana had never been particularly diligent, but after falling ill, the concept of a “wake-up time” had practically vanished—she spent entire days glued to her bed. Ever since that handsome aide arrived, that habit had only worsened, to the point where Lu, who watched her, felt suffocated.
And now, waking at dawn? Breakfast started at six, which meant she had to rise at five just to look presentable. Lu wouldn’t even be surprised if Iana fell asleep mid-meal with pasta hanging from her fork.
“Are you alright, my lady?”
“I can manage… somehow.”
“Do you have another breakfast appointment tomorrow?”
Instead of answering, Iana let out a deep, exhausted sigh.
“Then… how about going to bed a little earlier tonight?”
Lu spoke while anxiously examining Iana’s pale complexion. Today, her face looked especially bloodless, as if she might collapse at any moment.
“You should exercise. Staying in bed all day like that will only ruin your health.”
Yvon, who had been leading the way, glanced back at Iana and frowned as he started scolding her.
“Hey, you brat! You’re only saying that because you’re young!”
At Iana’s remark, Yvon stopped walking and stared at her in disbelief.
“My lady, how old do you think you are to say that to me?”
“Me? Well, I….”
Iana, who had been shouting confidently, suddenly faltered. She could feel Lu’s pitying gaze on her. It was obvious Lu was still worried about the injury to her head.
Even now, Iana couldn’t quite grasp that she was no longer the old grandmother Alice Lemaksion. She was eighteen—young and blooming. The very age Alice had once envied. She was even five years younger than Yvon.
As Iana hesitated, at a loss for words, Yvon resumed his nagging.
“And that way of speaking, too!”
“No, Yvon. My lady is still recovering, that’s all.”
Lu muttered in a sad tone, as if making excuses for her. But instead of comforting Iana, it only made her feel worse.
The three of them bickered as they entered an alley off Bourgogne Street. Yvon had said there was an empty shop nearby he had his eye on. It was close to a famous restaurant, and although it was in an alley, it had a clean and distinctive atmosphere—good for business.
But before they even reached the shop, they heard the sound of a fight.
“Thud! Thud! Ugh!”
Yvon stopped and looked around, but there was no visible sign of a fight.
“Sir… could it be happening somewhere farther away?” Lu asked cautiously.
“Let’s just pass through quickly. Before we get dragged into anything.”
But the moment they turned the corner, they saw it.
In the narrow alley, three or four men dressed in black had surrounded what appeared to be a nobleman. They were trying to take something from him, and when that failed, they resorted to beating him. Yvon’s face twisted.
“Of all times…!”
“Is this alley always like this?”
Even as Lu hurriedly stepped in front of Iana, Iana herself muttered calmly.
“This shop won’t do. How can you run a business if fights break out here every day?”
Just as they were about to turn back, one of the men in black spotted them.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
Yvon cursed under his breath and quickened his pace. But the man was faster. He suddenly blocked their path, standing crookedly, spitting to the side.
“Well, well… looks like we’ve got some nobles. Hand over everything you’ve got.”
Yvon immediately stepped in front of Iana. Lu, trembling, clutched her small beaded handbag tightly to her chest and stood protectively beside her.
“Why don’t you just pretend you didn’t see anything and keep doing what you were doing?”
“What?”
“It looks like you want to rob us too, to disguise this as a simple mugging. Hmm… but those clothes are too high-quality for that. Your hair’s freshly styled, and those shoes are expensive. Doesn’t suit common thugs.”
Iana continued calmly, almost muttering to herself.
“We’ll pretend we didn’t see anything, so just let us go. I’m still not fully recovered, you see.”
After speaking, she let out a small groan. Lack of sleep had left her exhausted.
But the man frowned and suddenly lunged.
“You filthy worms!”
He rushed forward with a dagger. As Lu screamed, Iana casually shifted her body aside, while Yvon’s fist slammed into the man’s jaw.
“I told you to just let us go,” Iana muttered irritably.
Yvon kicked the attacker’s wrist, sending the dagger flying. Lu ran forward and kicked it even farther away before rushing back to Iana, screaming again.
As Yvon dealt with one attacker, the others who had surrounded the young nobleman quickly turned and surrounded Iana’s group. The nobleman, injured and bleeding, leaned against the wall, watching them, while one remaining attacker stood protectively beside him.
As one thug charged at Yvon, another reached toward Iana and Lu.
“Ah! My lady!”
Lu shut her eyes tightly and collapsed where she stood. But soon, hearing strange noises, she cautiously opened one eye.
“Hey! You punk! Didn’t I say to let us go?! Didn’t I?! You little brat! You never listened to your elders, did you?!”
Her lady was sitting on top of the fallen thug, hitting him repeatedly with Lu’s handbag.
Thud! Thud!
The hard shell decorations on the bag struck the man’s head with crisp sounds that oddly stirred Lu’s heart.
* * *
After dealing with the last thug guarding the nobleman, Iana’s group helped the young man up. Iana examined him carefully and clicked her tongue.
“I didn’t expect to meet Young Master Shaud here. Are you alright? This seems to be the worst injury.”
She frowned as she looked at Luka’s side. Blood had soaked through even his jacket—it was clearly serious.
“I regret meeting a lady in such a disgraceful state. Thank you for your help. I will repay this debt.”
Luka tried to compose himself despite his condition, but Iana waved her hand dismissively.
“You should stay still, or the wound might open further.”
She began inspecting his injuries more closely. Luka had no choice but to look at her up close, in an unbefitting posture for a gentleman.
Her long black eyelashes partially veiled her violet eyes, which looked strangely languid.
In truth, she was simply sleep-deprived—but the moment that thought crossed his mind, Luka found it hard to breathe.
Blaming it on the beating he’d taken, Luka tried to steady himself, but Iana gently grabbed his arm to stop him. As her arm extended, her scent drifted toward him.
A faint jasmine fragrance mixed with mint.
It was completely out of fashion. These days, strong rose scents were popular, and before that, white musk had been the trend. Luka knew all of this well—under Kal’s orders, he had kept up with the latest trends in perfumes, jewelry, and dresses while selecting gifts for Vivienne.
The scent Iana wore was something his mother might have used—old-fashioned.
‘Did she come from the countryside and hasn’t caught up with the capital’s trends yet?’
Unaware of his misunderstanding, Iana carefully finished tending to his wound and said to Lu:
“Go call a carriage.”
As Lu ran off, Iana turned back to Luka.
“Honestly, I was going to ignore it since it’s not really my business. But nothing is more important than a human life. So if people like that demand your belongings, just give them.”
She glanced over the fallen attackers.
“And one more thing—you should be more aware of your surroundings.”
They were all dressed the same—black pants and black shirts of identical material.
“How would they have known to follow you otherwise? Look at them. No one in the capital is wealthy enough to dress like that just to commit petty robbery.”
Iana clicked her tongue. She had heard the succession struggle in the Shaud family was fierce, but not to this extent.
Seeing Luka’s side soaked with blood again, she frowned.
“My lady! The carriage is here!”
Lu returned just in time. Iana grabbed Luka’s arm to support him, but Yvon quickly stepped in.
“My lady, I’ll handle it.”
Luka’s eyes widened as he looked at Yvon.
As the heir of the Shaud family, he had met many people—but never a man this beautiful. Soft brown hair covered half his face, and pale blue eyes—slightly lighter than Luka’s—were partially hidden behind horn-rimmed glasses. Even so, he was strikingly beautiful.
Yvon roughly pulled Luka up and practically dragged him to the carriage. Luka groaned involuntarily as his wound tore further and his battered body protested.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t exaggerate. If it weren’t for my lady, you wouldn’t have gotten off this lightly.”
Yvon pouted slightly as he lifted Luka into the carriage with surprising strength.
“Good work.”
Iana smiled at Yvon before climbing into the carriage and sitting beside Luka.
“My lady, why are you getting in?”
Yvon looked at her in disbelief.
“Are we supposed to just send off someone this injured?”
Lu quickly climbed in and sat across from Iana.
“You can stay and look for another shop, then come back.”
At Iana’s words, Yvon silently sat beside Lu, crossing his arms and looking out the window—clearly unwilling to talk.
Iana muttered with a dry expression.
