~Chapter 85~
After seeing Kilian and Hilda, Aisha returned to Til’s hideout.
With Leoric.
“So… um…”
In Aisha’s workspace.
Leoric, sitting on the sofa, hunched his shoulders as if he had been scolded. He looked nervous.
“That guy… um…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Til, sitting next to him, gave a big, proud smile.
“I’m the Guild Master of Rune.”
“…”
“But what did you call me earlier? Was it ‘weird guy’?”
Til reached out and grabbed Leoric’s shoulder tightly. With a crunching sound, Leoric started to panic, but Til’s smile didn’t fade.
“So, do I still look weird to you?”
“Well, uh…”
“Uh?”
“You look very handsome and seem like a person of great character.”
“I thought so.”
Til finally let go of Leoric’s shoulder.
‘What nonsense…’
Aisha, who was sitting at her desk, looked at them both with a face that said this was the most pathetic thing ever.
‘Well… Still, it’s better to be busy like this. It’s much better than being alone and digging myself into a hole.’
Besides, she needed to explain things to Leoric anyway, so it worked out well.
“So, that’s how your sister ended up coming here with me.”
Til, who had finished a rough explanation, shrugged as if to ask if Leoric understood now. But Leoric still had a strange expression.
“Did I explain it badly? Why the face?”
“No, no. I understand. So, the Emperor tried to attack Rune to strengthen his position, and my sister decided to support Rune through the Sunday’s Exposé.”
“That’s right. So what does that look mean?”
“It’s just… a little surprising.”
Leoric mumbled quietly, still watching them.
“It’s a bit surprising that Duke Kilian allowed it.”
“What’s so special about Kilian?”
Til looked annoyed for some reason.
“Aisha and Kilian weren’t even really engaged! If Aisha said she wanted to come with me to the hideout, who was he to stop her?”
“That’s true, but…”
“And most of all, it was Aisha herself who chose me instead of Kilian. If the Duke had tried to stop her, I wouldn’t have just stood by—”
“I just heard something like that, that’s all.”
“What did you hear?”
Til narrowed his eyes and asked. Leoric, not noticing, started to recall what happened a few days ago.
“Go and tell Count Ashton.”
“We’ll hold the engagement ceremony as soon as possible.”
“So you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Til’s face became hard as stone after hearing Leoric.
Did Kilian really say that?
It was unbelievable.
“I… I didn’t really get it either, so I asked again.”
“But my sister was supposed to be a shameless person who sold out the Duke…”
“He said his answer was enough…”
“…”
“So I thought… I didn’t think my sister would leave the Winters family so easily…”
That’s right.
He did say those things.
Aisha quietly remembered that conversation.
“Aisha Ashton.”
After Leoric left.
“Do you have someone else in your heart?”
Kilian’s words, which had sounded meaningful at the time…
“I didn’t mind it. Living together with you, I mean.”
“…”
Til squinted a bit, and without knowing, his face became stiff.
‘Did Kilian Winters… like her? Did he have feelings for Aisha?’
Since when?
‘Then Aisha…’
He turned his gaze back to Aisha.
Til realized the truth by instinct.
Aisha had left the most important thing at the Winters family.
…It was her own heart.
Her feelings for Kilian Winters.
“Ha…”
A dry laugh came from Til’s lips.
Til was smart and skilled, but his greatest talent was something else.
He could pick up on things very quickly.
That talent had helped Rune escape danger many times, and it was useful even now.
‘They really don’t know each other’s feelings…’
If Kilian had known, he would have stopped her, just like Leoric said. The only reason he didn’t must be that he didn’t want to pressure her.
And Aisha probably left for the same reason. Their relationship had started as a contract, but real feelings had developed, so she wanted to hide them.
‘She purposely followed me here, away from Kilian Winters. Before her feelings got deeper.’
Now, everything made sense.
But suddenly, Til felt a twisting pain in his stomach.
‘If I’d known, I would’ve brought her here from the start, not let her go to the Winters mansion.’
Business partner Aisha Ashton.
Aisha Ashton, publisher and journalist of the Sunday’s Exposé.
That’s all she was to Til at first.
But now, that had changed.
Aisha Ashton, who spoke nonsense without fear, who wasn’t scared of him at all, who chased her own dreams, unlike other noble girls…
Til thought she was fun, and he liked her.
He found it ridiculous that he only realized this after Kilian Winters appeared.
‘I have no right to call others clueless.’
Til, who finally understood his own heart, let out a small laugh.
But it was okay. Now, Aisha and Kilian had nothing to do with each other. Aisha had already left the Winters family, and the only thing left was to end this fake engagement.
‘She can just stay by my side. Like now. Just like this.’
Yes.
Whatever the reason, the one Aisha chose was not Kilian, but him.
That’s what Til thought.
“Hey, Leoric.”
Then Til looked at Leoric and spoke gently, pretending to be very kind.
“From now on, let’s get along together. You can call me big brother. What do you think? Isn’t that nice?”
“What…? Uh… what?”
“Call me big brother.”
…Til thought he was smiling nicely, but for Leoric, it was just scary. So Leoric, almost crying, answered in a trembling voice.
“Yes… Big brother… I look forward to it… Please take care of my sister too…”
“Good. Very good. Then shall we have dinner together? What do you think, Aisha?”
“Oh, I’m not really hungry…”
“You finished your deadline, so you should celebrate. I’ll serve you the best and most expensive wine. Let’s go downstairs!”
Aisha shook her head, but as always, Til didn’t care. Of course, Leoric couldn’t stop him either.
So Til started to lead the siblings out of the workspace.
With a sly smile on his lips.
Hilda Everett.
The troublesome princess of Aldrosia.
Because her mother was a commoner and a dancer, Hilda couldn’t have any real power.
But people said, even if half her blood was lowborn, Hilda’s mother gave her the best gift.
Her beautiful looks.
Kilian thought the same.
“…”
The royal palace.
Kilian, arriving at the palace, got off his horse and walked to the carriage.
He knocked softly, then opened the door.
Inside, Hilda was looking up at him.
