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~Chapter 34~
Killian and Aisha arrived at the Winters estate by evening.
Aisha immediately excused herself, saying, “I have to write tomorrow’s article, so I don’t have time to eat dinner,” and went straight back to her room.
It was only thanks to Killian’s consideration that she was able to retreat to her own room instead of his office.
Of course, he had made her promise that before showing the article to Leoric tomorrow, she must let him check it first.
Killian’s chamber.
Wearing a robe, his hair still damp, Killian sat on the edge of his bed.
It had been a long time since he returned to his room before dawn. So long, in fact, that he could hardly remember when.
Quietly seated, he slowly lifted his head and glanced toward the half-open window.
Night had already fallen completely outside. Killian stared at the pitch-black sky in silence before lowering his gaze again.
A faint laugh escaped his lips.
“Does one’s birth really matter when dreaming of and achieving a noble cause? If only those born flawless are allowed such thoughts, can that truly be called noble?”
He recalled Aisha’s bold face as she spoke against Roselia.
“That’s not a noble cause at all… it’s nothing more than a childish, shallow game of power.”
Of course, Killian knew why Roselia had spoken about bloodlines and status. She had been mocking him—calling him a bastard of the Winters family, who killed his father and brother to become head of the house.
Roselia had dismissed both his birth and everything he had achieved in one stroke.
But then… Aisha had dared to throw those words back at her.
“Oh dear, Your Majesty! If that’s how you understood me, then I must apologize most sincerely!”
And afterward—
“After all, didn’t Your Majesty appoint knights regardless of their status?”
‘No wonder she runs Sunday’s Exposé… She must gather information from all over.’
But still, to wield it so shrewdly? Killian hadn’t expected that.
“Writing? Hmm… I keep a diary sometimes, but I don’t think I have much talent.”
Killian chuckled.
If you don’t have talent, then who in this empire does?
He had completely forgotten how furiously she had once come at him, screaming about being used as the main character in her articles without permission.
“If you were going to be treated like that, why go at all? You should’ve just made an excuse and skipped it. Anyway, from the look of things, you’re completely out of favor now!”
Today, for the first time in his life, Killian had been nagged.
“Title or not, the Empress Dowager has no right to treat people like that. Was her family nobility since birth or something?”
“……”
“And what is this so-called noble cause she speaks of? Humiliating others? Crushing them with status? You’ve been listening to that alone all this time?”
It was strange.
Killian was not used to anyone ever defending him. It was only natural—since childhood, there had been no one to open his heart to, no adult to protect him.
That was simply how he had lived.
As he pleased.
Even if someone attacked him in public, it didn’t matter. He didn’t feel hurt. That was just the way it was.
At the very least, it was less humiliating than being kicked down to the floor by his half-brother as a boy.
But Aisha… Aisha refused to endure such things.
In front of everyone, she had dared to defy the Empress Dowager. She had struck at Roselia’s hypocrisy directly. And yet she had also known when to bow at the right moment, leaving Roselia unable to continue her attacks.
Even though Killian himself had done nothing, Aisha had stood her ground.
He couldn’t believe it.
Everything about it was astonishing.
That she defended him.
That she shouted and insulted Roselia right in front of him.
That she grew angry for him.
And yet—when she admitted she still found him frightening—it was so contradictory, so absurd, that Killian couldn’t help but laugh.
What a strange woman.
He had known from the start she wasn’t normal, but not to this extent.
What was strangest of all, though, was that this woman he had hated so much before…
Now…
Maybe just a little.
Just a tiny bit…
He didn’t hate her anymore.
“Ha…”
Leaning back, Killian stared at the ceiling, breathing deeply in and out.
And then, one last time, he recalled her words.
“I only meant to say this: that a true noble cause should be something anyone can dream of.”
Anyone can dream of it…
That meant… even someone like him could dream. Even he had once dreamed.
“……”
His chest tickled with an unfamiliar feeling. He had no idea what it was.
She’s probably still writing her article right now.
Tomorrow morning, he would read again whatever nonsense she had written about him this time.
With that thought, Killian lay down on his bed, a faint smile on his lips.
Meanwhile, in the next room.
Aisha pressed her ear tightly against the door, holding onto the unfinished article, along with paper and pen Sien had handed her.
“He should be gone by now, right?”
She had refused Sien’s repeated offers to help with her bath and clothes. Sien had looked a bit puzzled, but since it meant less work for her, she had nodded and left.
The reason Aisha was like this now…
“The Empress Dowager has been investigating you for days. Check this when you’re alone. I found it in her chamber—well, I copied it down from there.”
It was the note Til had given her earlier.
It seems clear… no sound, no movement. He must be gone.
Still, just in case, she locked the door tightly. Killian might burst in at any time.
Taking the folded note from her pocket, Aisha opened it and began to read the densely written words.
Moments later, her face turned pale.
Her voice trembled in disbelief.
“What… what is this supposed to mean?”
