~Chapter 87~
The next day.
The new issue of the “Sunday’s Exposé” also sold very well.
The biggest reason was that it finally talked about the “Dark Guild Rune,” which had always been a mystery until now.
People in the Draxion Empire were so scared of Rune that they would even tell crying children,
“If you keep whining, Rune will come and take you away.”
Whenever something bad happened, even if Rune didn’t do it, people always blamed them.
But in the “Sunday’s Exposé,” Aisha wrote about the good things Rune had done. She told people that Rune was not just an evil group, unlike what the palace or most people believed. So, of course, everyone was interested.
Of course, some people still didn’t believe it.
“That’s just nonsense. Did the ‘Sunday’s Exposé’ get bribed by Rune or something? Those people are killers, they’d never do good!”
But there were others who thought differently.
“But the ‘Sunday’s Exposé’ and Vivi Bubblemouth didn’t just defend Rune without proof. They even showed all the records of Rune’s donations.”
“I know. Even if ‘Sunday’s Exposé’ exaggerates sometimes, it never lies. They risked everything to write about the Empress Dowager too! There’s no reason they’d suddenly side with Rune.”
So, Aisha’s article brought her a lot of attention.
High sales were nice, but it was even better that some people finally believed Rune’s good deeds. It was a win for Aisha.
But Aisha didn’t feel any better.
‘Damn it.’
In Til’s hideout.
Aisha had been living in the workroom all this time, but today, for the first time, she was spending time in the bedroom.
The bedroom Til prepared was just as fancy as the workroom. When Aisha lived at the Winters mansion, she used to think,
‘If all nobles live like this, it’s no wonder people start a revolution.’
But this place was even fancier.
Actually, Til had decorated the bedroom even more on purpose—he didn’t want to lose to Kilian in anything. But Aisha didn’t know that.
But what’s the point of a fancy bedroom?
She was lying on a bed covered in expensive sheets and surrounded by sweet smells, but she still couldn’t sleep.
The reason was simple.
“Aisha Ashton.”
Kilian’s voice kept calling her name in her mind. She kept seeing his face.
And it never stopped.
“I’m really going crazy!”
Aisha couldn’t hold her annoyance and sat up in bed. She grabbed her pillow and threw it as hard as she could.
“This is insane! Why am I acting like this?!”
It was unbelievable.
Kilian Winters. The villain she hated most in the original story. He was even the one who killed Aisha Ashton.
How could she fall for him after all that?
“No wonder stories about living together are so popular. I used to think it was nonsense, but now I get it.”
Aisha started mumbling to herself.
“If I knew this would happen, I would have looked at his face one more time before leaving the mansion.”
Now, except for ending the engagement, she had no reason to see Kilian again. He always stayed at his mansion, and she never went to any social gatherings, so it would be even harder to see him.
Just thinking about this made her more upset.
‘Did anything happen with Hilda that day?’
In the original story, Kilian fell in love with Hilda at first sight.
Did that happen this time, too?
“But things aren’t going exactly like the original anyway…”
Aisha lowered her head and sighed deeply.
Right then—
“What are you doing all by yourself?”
A voice surprised her, and Aisha quickly looked up. She saw Til standing in the doorway, looking at her with a pitying face.
“What—what are you doing? Don’t I have any privacy? You just come in like that?”
How long had he been watching her? Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Aisha glared at Til.
“I knocked, but your yelling was louder than my knock.”
“Oh.”
“And I knocked twice, actually.”
Aisha looked embarrassed.
“Anyway, here. Take this.”
Til came closer and took something out of his coat, handing it to Aisha.
“What is this…?”
Aisha narrowed her eyes and took what Til handed her.
“It’s a letter?”
“To: Aisha Ashton”
Her name was written neatly on the envelope.
“Your brother came by earlier and gave it to me. He said it arrived this morning.”
“A letter for me?”
“Someone even came to your family’s house to deliver it in person. They said it was really important.”
…But I don’t have anyone close enough to send me letters.
Something felt strange. If this was about the “Sunday’s Exposé,” like a news tip or something, the letter should have gone to Paul, not her family’s house.
‘Is it from Grand Duke Baltric or Baron Hayden?’
Only those two knew she was Vivi Bubblemouth. But would they really send her a letter?
Or maybe… maybe it was—
‘Kilian?’
It could really be him. Kilian didn’t know where Til’s hideout was, and he couldn’t send letters to her directly unless it was through her family.
Thinking this, Aisha quickly tore open the envelope.
And then…
“What is this?”
Aisha froze as she read the letter.
“Dear Aisha Ashton,”
Til looked at her face.
“Why do you look like that?”
“Or, to the publisher and reporter of the ‘Sunday’s Exposé,’ Vivi Bubblemouth.”
The letter, written in beautiful handwriting, said something Aisha never expected.
