Chapter 26
I was only ever interested in writing—not in managing anything. I had entrusted all management of my assets to my nanny. I had no idea how she had handled them, and now it wasn’t as though I could ask her. At the moment, there was no way to resolve this lingering unease.
“It would’ve been nice if we had one more hair ribbon.”
Marie murmured regretfully. I had styled my hair today in a half-updo with a green ribbon that matched my light green dress. My curly hair, inherited from the Marchioness, naturally curled like it had been permed.
Marie undid my hair and loosely braided it to one side, weaving the light green ribbon through the strands. The green threads peeked out between my hair. She skillfully tucked away any stray strands and made it look effortless. Admiring her work, she smiled with satisfaction.
Knock knock.
It was as if someone had been waiting for me to finish getting ready. A knock came at the door.
I nodded toward Marie. She tidied up the remaining part of my dress and went to open the drawing room door. Outside stood Evan and a small girl, Lila. It looked like they’d changed their clothes—both appeared neat and presentable. The child clung timidly to Evan’s pant leg.
Marie stepped aside to let them in. Evan gently nudged the child’s back, guiding her into the drawing room.
“I sincerely apologize again, Lady Ellient.”
He bowed toward me. The child, glancing nervously around, followed his lead and bowed her head too.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
I leaned back into the sofa, watching them. I wasn’t particularly angry about the ruined clothes. It was a bit annoying and inconvenient, but not something I couldn’t forgive.
Forgiving is easy. However, the child’s carelessness could one day negatively affect the Peaceon Merchant Guild.
Maybe I was overthinking it. One child wasn’t going to ruin a massive trading company. But I had seen it—Evan’s expression as he rushed toward the girl had been full of concern.
For the guild’s leader to drop everything and come running because of one child—such a thing could raise issues. I wasn’t saying Evan’s care for the girl was wrong. But he was the one in charge of an entire guild. He carried too many responsibilities to act on personal impulse.
‘Does that mean this child is that important to him?’
I slowly scanned the child. Her head was still bowed, so all I could see was her silky hair. I frowned. Her hair was sky blue—that color again. The same as hers.
I tried to recall the child’s eye color. I hadn’t paid close attention to her before, so I couldn’t remember.
“Your name is Lila?”
“…Yes.”
She answered without lifting her head. Her trembling made her seem scared—or maybe frustrated.
“Do you understand what you did wrong?”
“I… I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head even deeper. With a little exaggeration, her hair could’ve touched the floor. I spoke slowly.
“What should I do with you?”
Her body flinched. I turned my gaze to Evan. At some point, he had straightened up and was now calmly looking down at me.
“It’s uncomfortable being looked down on like this.”
Evan briefly glanced at the child, who still couldn’t raise her head. He let out a low sigh and sat down on the sofa opposite mine.
“What would you have me do with her?”
“I ask for your mercy.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
He remained silent. His steel-gray eyes looked directly into mine without wavering. His monolid eyelids blinked slowly.
“What is it you want from me?”
I gave a short, bitter laugh. His answer was far too easy—it irritated me. He was the guild leader, asking me what I wanted in exchange for sparing a child. Had my grandfather really entrusted the guild to someone like him?
“Shall I kill her, then?”
“My lady!”
Thud.
Evan’s outcry was followed by the sound of something collapsing. The child had dropped to the floor in terror, tears flooding her face.
“If I decided to kill you right here and now, there’s no one who could stop me. Not even the man you trust so much.”
I rose from the sofa and approached the child. Her orange eyes were filled with sheer terror. They were similar, but not quite the same, as her amber ones.
“That’s what your mistake means.”
I knelt down to meet the girl’s eyes. The orange irises quivered with fear—and looked strange. I leaned in closer to get a better look.
It wasn’t a mistake. Her pupils were vertical, like a cat’s.
“My lady!”
A rough hand gripped my shoulder. Evan pulled me to my feet, his face full of alarm. I looked between him and the child.
“…Seems I have quite a few things to hear from you.”
Evan placed a hand on his forehead.
“I-I’m sorry! It’s all my fault. The Guildmaster didn’t do anything wrong, I swear! Please!”
The girl clutched my skirt, trembling violently.
“I-I’ll die if I have to. Please…”
She sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to me.
I knelt again, locking eyes with her. Her pupils were still slitted vertically, like a cat’s.
I reached out toward her. Her sky-blue hair slipped softly through my fingers. The same color as hers. Sky-blue hair wasn’t particularly rare. It wasn’t common, but it did show up sometimes, especially in people from the western regions.
‘Is this just coincidence? Or something planned?’
What was certain was that, whether back then or now, I knew very little about what was going on around me. And that fact alone was enough to make me uneasy.
“You know who you are, don’t you?”
Shock spread through the girl’s eyes, and her pupils narrowed even further. Those eyes were unmistakably a trait of the Inayari, a tribal people from the western deserts.
The Inayari lived in a closed-off society, barely sharing their customs or lifestyle with outsiders. Most empires and nations treated them as taboo. They were seen as savages, with distinct physical features. And people either deified what was different—or rejected it. Inayari were the latter.
In truth, Inayari weren’t treated as just another country’s citizens. They were considered a whole different species. Their key traits included darkish yellow skin (not quite brown, more like East Asian tones) and cat-like vertical pupils. In this predominantly pale-skinned society, they stood out too much.
Their pupils, normally round, would become vertical when emotionally agitated—like now. That was the primary reason they were shunned.
This girl’s skin tone wasn’t much different from mine. That meant she wasn’t pure Inayari—she was mixed. And mixed Inayari were treated even worse than full-blooded ones.
“Do you realize that your carelessness just endangered not only yourself, but that man and the entire guild?”
“P-please…”
Her chin trembled as she begged.
I didn’t feel nothing for the child. If she had just been a normal girl, I might’ve let her off with a scolding. But she wasn’t. She had Inayari blood—taboo in this land. If it weren’t for her pupils, I wouldn’t have taken it this far. But I needed her to remember this fear. Deeply. Permanently.
If word got out that the guildmaster was caring for a child of Inayari descent—even if she were a half-blood—the guild would be in danger. Peaceon Merchant Guild was large, but that only meant it had many enemies looking for an opening. Whatever reason Evan had for keeping this child close, it would become a weapon used against him. The guild could falter under the weight of it.
Harboring an Inayari child was a risk. At worst, her existence could be twisted into “evidence” of collusion with the Inayari.
The Inayari were fiercely protective of their own. Especially their children. That she was here, away from them, was strange in itself.
“If you don’t want to put those around you in danger, stay vigilant. Even one moment of weakness could put you—and everyone you care about—at risk.”
The child could only sob, unable to speak.
“Is it unfair? Do you resent me? I’m going this far just because of a ruined dress?”
I lightly tapped her sky-blue hair. Even if she carried Inayari blood, she was still just a child. She had made a mistake, yes—but in another world, in another society, it could’ve ended with a simple apology and a replacement dress.
Though she didn’t protest, she seemed to understand her situation—but not enough to suppress her sorrow. Her sobs grew louder.
“If you feel resentful, then grow stronger. Strong enough that no one can touch you, no matter who you are. If you can’t, then live your life in fear—quiet, invisible. That’s the only way to survive.”
I let go of her hair and stood up. Evan looked at me with a troubled expression.
Look at our villainess