Chapter 31

The Valentine family’s carriage, carrying the brothers and the secretary, slowly rolled away.

Diana stood quietly, watching until it disappeared.

Will they really make up?

If it were me, I wouldn’t let my younger sibling off so easily.
I’d say I’m glad they’re safe, and then immediately blow up at them.

The thought left her feeling strange.

Younger brother…

It had been a long time since Diana thought of Park Hee-soo’s younger brother.

When it came to being pathetic, Park Hee-soo’s sibling was beyond words.
Nagging him to call their mother was useless—he’d vanish the moment he got drunk.

More than once she’d wondered, What’s going to become of him?

But still, he was her brother.

Even after such an unbelievable day, she couldn’t bring herself to resent Gideon. Because she understood his feelings.

Even if she, too, had broken with her family in such a way, it wasn’t as if she had felt relieved about it.

But then—what else could she have done?

“How could you say something so cold, as his older sister?”

“Who would ever like a woman as cold as you?”

They say people’s nature rarely changes.

When she recalled those words, Diana sometimes felt a deep sadness.

“I did a good deed, but somehow it feels so bitter.”

She shook her head, trying to let the uneasy feelings drift away.

At that moment—

“What good deed… did you do?”

“Kyaaa?!”

Diana screamed without meaning to. It was the most startled she’d been the entire day.

When she turned around, the last person she ever expected was standing there.

“L-Lord Ian?!”

It wasn’t an illusion. It was the real Ian Crawford.

Ian was staring straight at her, barely containing his ragged breath.

The sly, foxlike grin was gone. In its place stood the sinister, narrow-eyed villain himself, eyes wide open.

“Unbelievable… truly unbelievable.”

Had he run all the way here?

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but his shortness of breath kept interrupting.

Even so, his gaze never left Diana.

“Just what kind of… extraordinary business were you doing, that you’re still here… at this hour…”

“Lord Ian, how did you—”

“Damn it, Amber! I heard you were badly hurt! For God’s sake…!”

Diana froze, cutting off her own words.

Ian dragged a gloved hand harshly over his face.

In his voice, laced with irritation, there was also a strange kind of relief.

Only after quite some time did he catch his breath again.

“Miss Diana, you certainly have a knack for frightening people.”

“That’s my line…”

Diana’s heart had nearly dropped to the floor at his sudden appearance.

But it was hard to argue who was more rattled—his nerves were visibly frayed.

Proof of it was how he barely cared for her answers, too busy scrutinizing her with sharp eyes.

“Were you injured?”

“I twisted my left hand a bit… but how did you come—”

“That isn’t important.”

He finally tore his gaze away, sighing louder than she’d ever heard before.

To make matters worse, his brow furrowed deeply.

“…Whose coat is that?”

Sensing not just displeasure but a faint edge of anger, Diana blurted out:

“It’s not mine. I just borrowed it for a while.”

“…”

It seemed Ian was restraining something he wanted to say.

He barely managed to put on the mask of a polite gentleman.

“It’s late. The Earl and Countess of Wellington must be worried sick. Let’s return.”

“Ah, just a moment! Before we go—”

“My lady?”

By sheer luck, the person she needed to see showed up on his own.

Orlando strode quickly toward her.

“Mr. Orlando, how did the questioning go?”

“Smoothly. They broke quickly. All of those detained are dealers who once worked at Rigoletto.”

“Rigoletto?”

Diana’s eyes widened.

“The club where they were last spotted? The one run by the Pierce family…?”

“Exactly. We’ll have to interrogate them further, but there’s no doubt.”

Orlando nodded again and again.

“That’s useful information. If we investigate Rigoletto more closely—”

“Isn’t this enough?”

Ian suddenly cut in, gripping her shoulder.

“That’s enough. Let’s go back.”

If she lingered, he looked ready to drag her to the carriage by force.

Noticing Ian, Orlando quickly agreed.

“Er, the gentleman is right. I’ll handle the rest. Please, go home—you look terribly pale.”

With both men pressing her to leave, Diana had little choice.

“Alright. Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Orlando. Sorry for the trouble.”

The detective tipped his hat in reply.

Even in the middle of the night, still wearing that fedora… He’s really committed to his look, Diana thought as the carriage set off.

“…”

“…”

It then dawned on her: she was alone with Ian, who looked in an awfully grim mood.

His uncharacteristic silence was so heavy it made her want to fling herself out of the moving carriage.

He gave off the dark aura of some Russian villain firing missiles from a submarine.

“At any rate…”

At last, his lips parted.

“What exactly did you do to end up bruised from head to toe?”

Ian’s eyes scanned her thoroughly.

Her tangled hair and ruined shoes couldn’t be hidden, no matter how hard she tried.

Diana, flustered, only tugged at the collar of the borrowed coat.

“Well, um, you see…”

“I can’t imagine what possessed you to wander Seneca Street at this hour.”

“It’s not like I wanted to be out suffering this late.”

Diana’s tone turned defensive.

“I didn’t have a choice. You’re the one who conveniently omitted the casino budget issue, remember? I had to fix—”

“Is that what you call an excuse?”

“No, I wasn’t trying to make excuses—”

“Seneca Street isn’t safe even in daylight.”

He cut her off sharply.

“What were you thinking, walking around so late without even a guard? I can’t understand it.”

“Please, just listen—”

“I hope this never happens again.”

The man who used to patiently humor others was now coldly slicing off her every word.

Finally, Diana raised her voice.

“That’s strange. Don’t you already know exactly what I’ve been doing?”

“What are you implying?”

“You set someone to watch me.”

“…”

“Didn’t you?”

She glared at him.

See? Not denying it.

His lips, usually so busy, pressed tightly shut.

She had suspected it—and she was right.

The mysterious cookie benefactor had been his spy.

“I won’t complain since it helped me. But don’t act like you’re clueless while trying to police me.”

“Then at least take basic precautions for your own safety.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“Is there more I should say?”

This time it was Diana’s turn to be left speechless.

She had expected at least a brief explanation for his surveillance, but his shamelessness was on another level.

Ian’s voice turned cold.

“Courage and recklessness are not the same. Don’t use the casino as an excuse to seek out danger.”

“I’ve never done that. Listening to you, one would think you’re actually worried about me.”

Ian’s face twisted.

He recognized the strangely firm distrust in her tone.

“Sometimes it feels like you see me as a heartless villain.”

Well… aren’t you?

“What exactly… do you think I am?”

“What do I think…?”

A future fiancé who would poison her without hesitation.
An unexpectedly skilled actor.
A narrow-eyed schemer whose smiles only made him more suspicious.
A walking death cap mushroom, suspiciousness itself!

And yet—

“Why don’t you finish your thought?”