Chapter 11
“I’m not interested.”
“What? I’m telling you that guy has a mistress!”
Layla didn’t believe a word Hugo said. If he were the kind of man who could be trusted, he wouldn’t have shattered that trust and gone to Sieber in the first place. Not just once, but several times.
“Keep your voice down, Hugo.”
Even considering that she was twenty now, Layla vividly remembered that he had gone back and forth between her and Sieber more than once.
“Oh, I see. You’re not reacting because you’re not interested in him.”
“What did you just say?”
At her words, he suddenly smiled leisurely, as if realizing something.
“Then let’s get back together.”
“Are you insane?”
“Yeah, I’ll go crazy over you again. Let’s start over.”
As Hugo approached menacingly, Layla instinctively stood up from the vanity chair.
“Get out.”
“We haven’t even kissed yet, have we?”
“I told you to get out.”
“Then let’s kiss now. This is your first kiss, right?”
“Get out!”
Terrified, Layla grabbed a perfume bottle from the vanity and held it up threateningly.
“If you don’t leave, I’ll throw this!”
“Go ahead, throw it. It’ll save your dignity. If you accept me too easily… Urk—!”
–Thud!
The perfume bottle Layla threw in panic grazed his shoulder. She had never thrown anything properly before, so of course she couldn’t hit him dead-on.
“Happy now? This way, you can save face, right?”
“I said, get out!”
There were only the two of them in the room. As Hugo quickly approached, Layla turned to run.
But with her frail body, running was impossible. She barely managed a few steps before he grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around.
“Fine, I’ll just pretend you’re my first kiss. Will that make you feel better?”
“Your first kiss was with my sister.”
“…You knew?”
How could she not? He had said it himself before.
Layla was dumbfounded. She remembered the sneering words he once said in her past life:
‘Whose lipstick do you think is on my lips? How long are you going to pretend not to know?’
“So that’s why you’re mad, Layla.”
“No.”
“Then why are you so angry? I’m telling you, I’m coming back to you.”
“Please just disappear from my sight. I never want to see you again.”
“You’re really angry, huh? That’s why you keep lying like this.”
As his hands moved from her shoulders to clutch her head, Layla started pounding his chest and shoulders with her fists. But he endured the pain and kept forcing his face closer.
Layla squeezed her eyes shut in fury, her whole body trembling violently.
–Thud!
“Urgh…!”
Suddenly, the shadow looming over her disappeared. Layla opened her tightly shut eyes. Her vision was blurry from tears, but then it became clear.
“You…”
“My head was pounding so badly, I couldn’t stand it.”
It was Rainier.
His expression was terrifyingly fierce. Hugo, who had apparently been dealt with somehow, lay sprawled on the floor in an even more miserable state.
Layla couldn’t understand how Rainier had appeared here. But she was grateful nonetheless.
“Young Lady.”
Rainier glanced at Hugo lying unconscious on the floor, then looked back at Layla, who was sobbing in rage.
“Want to take revenge? Maybe then you’ll calm down a bit?”
“H-how?”
“Somehow.”
When Layla nodded, Rainier gave a bright smile as he approached her. His smile, while looking at her tear-streaked face, quickly turned cold again.
“What are you going to do?”
“Strip him and stuff him in the cleaning supplies closet.”
“…What?”
“That way, a maid will find him. Imagine the rumors when someone finds him naked and tied up in another family’s mansion.”
“Oh…”
That would be the end of the Iden Trading Company. A filthy scandal—especially a sexual one—would ruin everything. Even in a society that seemed free about romance, there was a world of difference between consensual dating and being involved in a lewd scandal. Reputation would be destroyed beyond repair.
And no one would lend money to a merchant head tainted by such rumors.
“Should I not do it then?”
“No, please do it.”
“In exchange, you’ll have to grant me a favor.”
Of course, he wants something.
Thinking that, Layla smiled coldly, just like Rainier.
“What favor?”
“I’ll tell you when I return.”
Rainier hoisted the unconscious Hugo onto his shoulder like a sack and was about to leave. Then he glanced back and met Layla’s eyes as she wiped her face.
When Layla instinctively gave him a faint smile, he dropped Hugo with a loud ‘thud.’
Snapping back to his senses, he picked Hugo up again and walked out.
This time, the door closed firmly behind him.
Layla couldn’t help but feel suspicious of Rainier. How did he always show up at such perfect timing? It was almost as if he were watching her from the shadows.
Come to think of it, the last time she was in danger, he appeared suddenly too.
She looked up at the ceiling. Could there be a secret passage above?
Rainier definitely wanted something from her. That’s why he was keeping such a close eye on her, swooping in like this.
Whatever it was, she’d just give it to him and then ask for the blood she needed.
With that thought, Layla scrubbed the tears from her face.
Layla was later dressed and groomed by Catherine, who had arrived belatedly.
She intentionally dragged things out, taking nearly two hours to wash and get ready—just to give Sieber and Sonnet some time alone.
When the preparations were finally complete, Layla looked stunning, but her mood was still foul after what had almost happened earlier.
Why on earth had she liked Hugo so much in her past life?
After dying once and coming back, he no longer looked the same. Instead, she now saw his true nature all too clearly—a man she wanted nothing to do with.
Hugo was shameless.
He was also someone who exploited her desperation.
“All done, my lady. You look absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you, Catherine. You’re so skilled.”
“Thank you.”
Watching Catherine gaze at her in a daze, Layla recalled something.
What had happened to Catherine’s child?
Catherine once had a daughter younger than Layla. But the child died of illness, and Catherine had become a maid because of the debts she incurred trying to save her.
Layla remembered that Catherine’s daughter had the same blue eyes as her and smiled softly.
“I’m so glad you’re my maid, Catherine.”
As she said this, Layla noticed Catherine’s expression falter for a moment before stiffening again—proof that her stepmother had given her some kind of warning. Layla also realized that Catherine was hesitating to harm her.
She had become very perceptive after being sick so often. Reading faces had become a survival skill.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady.”
With that, Layla headed toward Sieber’s room across the hall.
“Oh my, really?”
From inside came laughter. Layla recognized Sieber’s unique snorting laugh that always slipped out when she was genuinely amused. She knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
When she entered, Sieber was pressing her palm against Sonnet’s outstretched hand.
“Layla, look at this.”
Startled, Sonnet tried to pull his hand away, but Sieber clasped their fingers together, making it impossible.
“Sonnet’s hands are huge!”
“You two were comparing hand sizes?”
“Ah, Layla, this is…”
“Come here, Layla, you should see this.”
Sonnet frowned slightly. Layla gave him a calm smile, as if unbothered.
His expression softened, then hardened again—only to soften once more when she approached.
“They really are big.”
“Right?”
Sieber made Sonnet spread his hand again and pressed her own against it.
“Layla, try too.”
“Can I?”
“Of course.”
Sonnet quickly withdrew his hand from Sieber and took Layla’s uninjured one instead.
“You wanted to compare, right?”
“Ah, yes…”
Without realizing it, he held her hand for a second before pulling back, then lined up their palms to measure.
“Your hands are like rabbit paws.”
“Were they always this big? I didn’t notice when I held them before.”
Layla spoke in surprise, and Sonnet frowned slightly again. Then, deliberately softening his expression, he said:
“Your fingers don’t even reach my second knuckle.”
Layla laughed at his words and then withdrew her hand, sitting down in her seat.
“I’m late, aren’t I? Sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who came without notice. I should apologize.”
When Layla said this, Sonnet quickly replied that it was fine and began to move—likely intending to sit next to Layla. Sieber was on the couch beside him, while Layla sat across from them.
–Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Sieber responded, but the person who entered wasn’t her servant.
“Who are you…”
“My name is Rain, and I’ve been hired to serve the Count Abier family, Lady Sieber.”
“Oh, you’re that commoner doctor my mother brought in.”
“Yes.”
At the word “commoner,” Sieber’s expression twisted slightly.
“What is it?”
“Lady Layla isn’t feeling well.”
Layla felt relieved, guessing he had finished dealing with Hugo. Perhaps he had come here to collect on the favor he wanted? She waited for him to ask her to leave with him.
“I’ll be staying by her side to watch over her health.”
“…What?”
Startled, Layla looked at him, and Rainier said:
“The young lady only stays healthy when I’m by her side.”
Sonnet is so weird..