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~Chapter 28~
Killian and Aisha returned to their seats only after Killian’s foot had been stepped on exactly eight times.
“I think I should show a little more sincerity to Madam Brienne.”
“Huh?”
“After all that training for days, and this is the result? I can only imagine how much Madam Brienne must have suffered teaching you.”
Well… technically, he wasn’t wrong.
“Sorry, but could you please shut your mouth right now?”
Aisha lowered her head slightly and threatened him.
“I’m already going crazy from everyone’s stares. Can’t you feel it? All the women in this hall are glaring at me like they want to kill me.”
“If you’re scared this easily, that’s a problem.”
“Why?”
“Well… why do you think?”
At the sight of Killian’s sly smile, Aisha faintly realized something.
The real battle hadn’t even started yet.
“……”
Her mind cleared in an instant, as if someone had thrown cold water over her.
No. Don’t panic. Madam Brienne said the same thing.
Yes. She had years of experience in politics and reporting. She’d nearly gotten into fistfights with her bosses over articles, had her pay cut, and become the laughingstock of her workplace.
Not just that—during election season, she once charged recklessly to expose a candidate’s corruption and got thrown aside by bodyguards.
But no matter what, back in reality, those people couldn’t just kill her for making them angry. Here… things were different.
“……”
Killian silently stared down at Aisha for a moment. Then he slowly stood up.
“W-Where are you going?”
“I was going to get us a drink.”
“……”
“Forget it if you don’t want any.”
“N-No, I do! But don’t take too long, okay? I don’t like being left alone. If you take too long, who knows what I might do.”
“…What a scary threat.”
With a sour expression, Killian walked away. Aisha, left alone, took deep breaths to keep herself steady.
But then…
“Now that I see her up close, I really don’t understand. Why would the Duke take that young lady as his fiancée?”
The whispers struck Aisha’s ears the moment Killian was gone.
“Exactly. She doesn’t seem special at all. Not strikingly beautiful, and she doesn’t look very noble either.”
“Could it be Count Ashton schemed something? Everyone knows how much he loves power.”
Fine.
Go ahead and insult my father. That’s easier to take. Our whole family’s a mess anyway. Not a single decent human among us.
As Aisha threw away the last bit of “filial piety” inside her…
“Hello, my lady.”
Suddenly, someone stopped in front of her.
Everyone nearby immediately turned their attention toward them.
Aisha looked up with the dumbest expression on her face.
“But she’s more than beautiful enough, isn’t she?”
Wait… earlier…
“They say you can’t judge a person by looks alone, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen such an elegant and noble young lady.”
The one person who had defended her when everyone else insulted her.
She had thought his back looked familiar. His voice too.
The reason was simple.
Because the man really was someone she knew.
Til?
“An honor to meet you, Lady Aisha Ashton. I am Argent of Baron Lieb’s family.”
What kind of nonsense was this?!
“I was born in the outer regions and have been sickly since childhood, so I could never properly join the social scene. That’s why you may not know me. I understand.”
Baron? Argent?
How had he even managed to sneak in here? And how was he mingling so naturally with the noblewomen?
Soon enough, Aisha figured it out.
Right. Til always talked nonsense, but his looks were… flawless.
Like Killian, he was tall—over 180 cm. His silver hair gleamed, his golden eyes shone like the sun, and his face was perfectly sculpted.
Of course, no one here knew that inside, he was absolutely insane.
“If it’s alright, may I have the honor of dancing with you?”
“…Me?”
“Would the Duke be angry, perhaps?” Til asked with a smile.
“But please know, I don’t have any silly ulterior motives. I only wish to give you some enjoyment.”
No, no. There was nothing enjoyable about this at all.
Aisha could feel even more eyes stabbing into her than before.
“Just say yes already.”
Til leaned close, whispering threateningly in her ear.
“I need to talk to you. It’s urgent. But if you’d rather just sit here and get slapped around by that crazy woman—the Empress Dowager—then suit yourself.”
Slapped? By Roselia?
In the end, Aisha had no choice but to stand.
“Thank you for granting me the honor of this dance, my lady.”
“It’s nothing.”
As Aisha took Til’s hand, people began whispering even more fiercely behind her.
“How can a woman who’s already engaged do that in public?!”
“This is disgraceful! To think the Ashton family had fallen this low!”
“Shouldn’t we tell the Duke right away? This is outrageous!”
Their words cut sharper and harsher than before.
But Til held her hand firmly and led her into the crowd, starting to dance naturally with her.
“What’s going on? What do you want?” A flustered Aisha whispered in a tiny voice.
“No—first, are you crazy? Do you know where you are? The palace is hunting your people down, and you just waltz in here? What if someone discovers your identity?”
It didn’t make sense. If Rune guild members had come, maybe. But Til? He hated showing his face in public more than anyone. And yet here he was.
“Do you think I came here because I wanted to?”
“Yeah, sure. You looked pretty popular earlier.”
“Of course. No matter how noble those ladies are, do you think they can stay calm in front of my beauty?”
Wow. Disgusting.
Without thinking, Aisha stomped hard on his foot.
“Sorry. Not on purpose. I already stepped on Killian’s foot eight times.”
“……”
“If you don’t want more of that, you’d better say what you need to and leave. That’s my advice.”
Til sighed quietly and finally spoke in a low voice.
“The Empress Dowager has been investigating you for days.”
