Chapter 88
“Ah, that’s…”
Summer hesitated, and then Adrian appeared.
“Miss Summer, please change into this first…”
In his hands was a very familiar-looking outfit.
“Wait—that’s my dress, isn’t it?”
Unbelievable. My brother was really about to offer my clothes to his crush?
I knew they weren’t officially together yet, but still—seriously?
My expression must have turned sharp because Summer looked flustered, her face falling into an apologetic frown.
“It’s fine, really. I can just go home like this…”
“You’re not going anywhere looking like that. It’s my fault this happened, so please—at least let me do this much.”
What was with him?
Watching my brother act all heroic in front of Summer made me feel slightly sick.
Then he turned to me, smiling as if to calm me down.
“I’ll buy you a new one, Delly. All the boutiques are closed at this hour. You don’t mind, right?”
I swear, I almost punched him.
Did he just imply I was some desperate little sister obsessed with clothes?
I wanted to yell at him, but since Summer was there, I bit my tongue.
Instead, I snatched the dress from his hands and smiled sweetly.
“Of course, that’s fine. But let me give her a different one. This dress is tricky to put on and take off alone.”
Then I glared at him before turning to Summer.
“Come with me. You—stay there.”
My tone was sharp enough that Adrian clasped his hands together like he was begging for mercy.
Honestly, look at him. What a sight.
Annoying as he was, he was still my brother.
And now that there was no reason to pair Summer with Alperen anymore, helping my brother’s love life didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
In fact, it might help cure his ridiculous sister complex.
Feeling quite pleased with myself, I led Summer away with a sly grin.
***
While Summer was changing, I asked our loyal maid, May, what had happened.
Apparently, while Alperen and I were enjoying our romantic moment on the terrace, Summer had run into Nanael’s group.
“You know those young ladies who were always following Master Adrian around? They went straight for Miss Summer the moment they saw her. Master tried to stop them, but that just made it worse!”
I could already imagine it. Adrian was always polite to everyone, but lately, he’d been treating Summer differently.
And of course, the noble ladies who adored him noticed immediately.
It seemed one of them, blinded by jealousy, had stuck out her foot to trip Summer—
and she’d ended up crashing into a passing servant, spilling wine and cake all over herself.
“I’ve never seen the young master move that fast before!”
And then, of course, Adrian had carried Summer out bridal-style.
A perfect cliché, straight out of a romance novel.
‘Wow. The protagonist couple really doesn’t need any help—everything just happens for them naturally.’
Honestly, knowing my brother, there was no way he’d let Summer go home in that state.
Sure, bringing her here was definitely him acting on his feelings, but I decided to let it slide.
Just a few hours ago, I’d been worried about those two getting closer.
But now? I couldn’t care less.
The universe itself seemed determined to push them together.
It was a little unfair how lucky my brother was, but whatever—
‘Because I have Alperen now!’
Even now, it still didn’t feel real.
I could still feel the warmth of his goodbye kiss on my cheek, and yet… it felt like a dream.
Honestly, my brother’s love life wasn’t even on my radar anymore.
Then Summer stepped out, freshly changed.
“Thank you, Lady Rodelia.”
“Oh, you’re planning to take that with you?”
“Ah, yes. It was a gift, after all.”
“If you leave it here, I’ll have it cleaned and sent back. The fabric’s delicate—you’ll ruin it if you wash it wrong.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know that.”
Blushing, Summer handed the stained dress to May.
Seeing how carefully she treated it made me oddly proud.
“You must really like that dress,” I said.
“Yes! It’s the nicest one I’ve ever worn. The others I’ve had were always so uncomfortable, but this one fit me perfectly.”
“Right? It’s from Rosy Atelier’s new line. I bet it’ll sell out starting tomorrow.”
With Summer as the model, it was bound to.
Then, with her cheeks still pink, Summer murmured shyly,
“I knew it—it’s from a famous atelier. If it weren’t for the Young Lord, I’d never have been able to wear something like this.”
“Ah—next time, you can wear plenty of—”
I trailed off, blinking.
Something in that sentence bothered me.
“…Young Lord?”
“Oh!”
Summer’s eyes widened in panic. She fidgeted with her hands before finally confessing,
“Well, um… the Young Lord has actually been supporting me anonymously for a long time. I only recently found out it was him, and I wasn’t sure when or how to thank him properly.”
“…What?”
Wait, what was that supposed to mean?
Why did it sound like she was talking about me?
Completely thrown, I rubbed my forehead.
“So… my brother has been your secret sponsor?”
“Yes! But please don’t tell him I know. He wanted to stay anonymous, and if he finds out, he might get embarrassed.”
Summer smiled innocently, completely unaware of my inner chaos.
‘What the… what kind of misunderstanding is this?!’
How on earth did she mix me up with Adrian?
Trying to stay calm, I asked,
“But how did you figure out who it was if it was anonymous?”
“Well, the scent of the perfume the Young Lord uses—it’s the same faint smell left on the letters. And the handwriting matched too. That’s how I knew.”
What—how?!
I blinked in disbelief.
So she’d correctly matched the handwriting and the scent… but to the wrong person!
All this time, I’d gone to such lengths to hide my identity when sending support letters—
and it somehow ended up making her think Adrian was her mysterious benefactor.
‘So that’s why she suddenly stopped replying to the letters—she thought my brother was the one writing them!’
And according to Eden, Adrian had been visiting the Tower constantly lately.
Of course, he’d probably used “checking on Alperen” as an excuse just to see Summer.
And I bet Alperen had helped him do it, too.
All because I’d asked him to help them meet.
‘Unbelievable. My brother must be the luckiest man alive.’
I’d struggled for two months to make progress in my own love life,
and here these two were—
even their misunderstandings were working in their favor.
Then Summer added shyly,
“He’s been visiting the Tower a lot these days. I think he wanted to see with his own eyes that I was doing well. I suppose it’s natural—after all, if someone you sponsored was in the capital, you’d be curious too.”
No, no—he’s visiting because he likes you!
“Actually, my younger brother wanted to meet the Young Lord too, so we arranged to have a meal together soon.”
No, that dinner’s supposed to be with me, not him!
But it was too late. Summer’s misunderstanding had already taken root too deeply.
How was I even supposed to start untangling this mess?
“Are you done?”
Adrian’s voice came from the door; he must’ve been waiting impatiently.
Summer turned toward the mirror to check her hair one last time.
I let out a sigh.
‘You know what? This might actually be fine. As long as I have Alperen, I’m good.’
If my brother and Summer were getting closer because of me, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.
I could always clear things up later.
When I opened the door, Adrian blinked in surprise, his hand still on the knob.
I eyed him up and down.
He hadn’t even changed out of his formal clothes yet—
clearly trying to look good for Summer.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Brother! Please see Miss Summer home safely.”
There. Even a little sister can cheer for her brother’s love life.
