Chapter 43
“Let’s go.”
“Oh my. You’re leaving? Well, I don’t mind…”
As Helen expected, Ian didn’t hesitate and started walking. As they approached Aisha and Jared, everyone around them seemed to hold their breath. Jared noticed Ian approaching and quickly tried to lead Aisha away, but Ian was faster. A thrilling face-off between two lions. All eyes sparkled with anticipation.
There was no avoiding gossip now. The only silver lining was that the four of them were situated in a corner of the banquet hall. And since all of them were conscious of the surrounding gazes, they kept their voices low and facial expressions in check. To someone unaware of the situation, it would look like acquaintances having a quiet chat.
“What rudeness, blocking my path. Marquess, do you have something to say?”
Jared spoke, glancing sideways at Aisha. The difficult situation had drained the color from her face.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness. I know this is rude, but I came because I have something to say to my fiancée. Would you mind if I borrowed her for a moment?”
Ian bowed respectfully to Jared and stated his purpose directly. The emphasis he placed on the word fiancée was no accident. Aisha gasped at his words.
“Your fiancée? You haven’t even had the engagement ceremony yet. Isn’t that a bit odd, calling her that?”
Unlike the tense Aisha, Jared remained completely calm as he pulled her behind him. His mocking tone did not waver, and Ian, unfazed, looked directly at Aisha and held out his hand.
“Aisha, we need to talk.”
Jared stepped in coldly, blocking Ian’s hand. The mocking smirk vanished from his face, replaced by a stern expression.
“Marquess, that’s enough. How dare you order around someone else’s partner?”
“Your Highness. You’re damaging my fiancée’s honor. This situation is not good for Aisha. People will start talking.”
Ian didn’t back down an inch. He argued that Aisha attending the event with Jared, when she was engaged to him, would damage her reputation. Jared let out a scoff, clearly incredulous.
“Scandal? From whom? I don’t think you’re in a position to talk. And if you take your fiancée away now, wouldn’t that stir up even more gossip?”
For the first time, Jared looked at Helen. The meaning behind his gaze was clear, and Ian fell silent. After all, he had left his own fiancée to attend the banquet with another woman.
But Ian thought their situations were different. Aisha, being a woman, was more vulnerable to scandal. And what did it matter if there was a little gossip because a fiancé took his fiancée away?
Justifying himself with those thoughts, Ian kept signaling Aisha to come with him. Jared noticed Ian’s glances and scowled. But before things escalated further, Helen, who had been waiting for this moment, interjected.
“Allow me to introduce myself.”
She had been waiting all along—waiting for her half-brother to finally pay attention to her. And the moment Jared’s gaze landed on her, she didn’t miss it.
“You may already know, but I’m the prince’s half-sist—”
“…The marquess’s standards have truly fallen. That the heir of the prestigious Lloyd family would bring someone bearing the surname Fitz as his partner.”
The name Fitz was a stigma given only to the emperor’s illegitimate children. It was a real surname, but it came with no title, no land. It couldn’t be passed down, and the bearer would never inherit nobility—unless the emperor personally granted them a title and estate, their descendants would remain commoners. For that reason, the royal family used Fitz as an insult.
“I have no intention of speaking with anyone bearing the name Fitz. So Marquess, please keep your partner in line. How dare she speak to me first?”
Helen’s face turned pale at the unexpected hostility from her half-brother. Jared, waving his hand as if brushing Ian away, spoke coldly.
“You should go. Just looking at the two of you ruins my mood.”
“Your Highness. I said I need to speak with my fiancée.”
“Marquess! Are you disobeying a royal command? How dare you!”
Finally, Jared raised his voice. The people who had been stealing glances now turned their heads openly at the prince’s outburst. In the distance, the host of the banquet, Marquess Litman, and his son Damian, looked flustered. No doubt—they were no longer the center of attention.
Thinking he couldn’t cause any more trouble for them, Jared turned to Aisha.
“…Lady Aisha. Let’s return to where the others are.”
Aisha, who had been shrinking back, quickly nodded. She didn’t want things to escalate either. She thought that stepping away would calm the situation. But just as she was turning to follow Jared, it happened.
In a flash, Ian locked eyes with her—and suddenly, his large hand reached out toward her.
“Aisha.”
“Huh?”
With a familiar voice, she was pulled forward. Aisha didn’t even realize what was happening as she fell into Ian’s arms. The moment she was in his embrace, Ian turned and swiftly walked away.
The suddenness of it all left Jared and Helen momentarily stunned. Jared quickly regained his senses and tried to follow the pair. But just as he was about to take a step, a pale hand grabbed him.
“Let it go. If you follow them now, it’ll really turn into a scandalous love triangle. That wouldn’t be good for that young lady, would it?”
Jared frowned. The one holding onto him was Helen. She looked him straight in the eyes and calmly laid out the situation.
“It’s better to let them go. Everyone already sees him as a jealous fiancé. Thanks to that, Lady Aisha? She’s shaking off the image of being neglected. There’s no need to ruin her engagement ceremony next month over this.”
Jared begrudgingly admitted she had a point. But he still couldn’t just let them go. He snapped at Helen.
“Do you think I’ll listen to you? Someone like you—”
“I gave you a chance.”
Helen cut him off and curled her lips into a twisted smile. There was something venomous in her expression that made Jared shiver for a moment.
“Don’t go, brother. Or I’ll reveal your secret.”
The word secret felt ominous. That woman—Helen’s mother—who had smiled at him as a child, holding this newborn baby girl. That blood-red smile now overlapped with Helen’s.
“Say whatever you want. I don’t care. Let go. This is your last warning. Or I’ll cast you out.”
Jared, fighting off a creeping unease, gave a cold warning. But Helen, sensing his nervousness, narrowed her eyes and smiled even wider. She raised her index finger to her lips and whispered a name.
“…It’s about Princess Catherine.”
* * *
“Aisha! Aisha! Where are you? Ian, you bastard! Hey! Come out right now!”
Peeking through the stair railing, Ian watched as Daniel ran around the lower floor in a fury. He held Aisha close and covered her mouth, silently observing.
When Daniel’s footsteps finally faded into the distance, Ian let her go and headed back up the stairs. Surprisingly, Aisha didn’t resist when he covered her mouth or guided her away. Ian let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least she knows she did something wrong.
Deliberately avoiding her eyes, he dragged her along roughly.
They arrived at a small resting area tucked away at the far end of the second-floor corridor. Secluded and quiet, not even a servant passed through here. Ian shoved Aisha onto the lone couch and stood before her.
“You.”
He took a deep breath to control his rising anger and ran a hand through his neatly parted hair, now tousled and falling naturally.
Aisha averted her gaze, tilting her head slightly to the side. Ian, frustrated by her silent defiance, habitually grabbed her chin and tilted her face up.
“Are you not going to explain? I’m asking what the hell you were doing.”
Even as he pushed, Aisha kept her mouth tightly shut. Just moments ago, she had been panicked by Jared’s presence—had she erased her guilt so quickly? Ian tightened his grip.
“Aisha, answer me.”
As his grip grew stronger, Aisha winced. Ian finally realized and loosened his hand. She pulled away and asked quietly:
“Why are you angry?”
Instead of answering, she questioned him—leaving Ian utterly speechless. His irritation flared.
“What? Are you seriously asking that…?”
“You’re no different.”
Her words stopped Ian cold. He glared at her, and Aisha flinched under the weight of his gaze. But she soon took a deep breath and stared right back.
“You came with another woman. So why are you acting like I’m the only one who did something wrong?”
“Our situations aren’t the same!”
His voice exploded. Aisha, already tense from the confrontation, instinctively clamped her mouth shut under the pressure of his presence. Ian pressed on.
“I was there for business. But you? You came here holding hands with another man just to enjoy some entertainment.”
“……”
“And I originally planned to attend this banquet with you. You’re the one who didn’t respond to my letters. That’s why I brought her. But from the look of things, you planned to come with him all along, didn’t you?”
Aisha turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze. Ian reached for her chin again, but stopped himself. He was too worked up. He took a breath.
Damn it.
Something was wrong. When had Aisha stopped responding the way he wanted? She used to be so easy to manage. Now everything felt off. Grinding his teeth, he tried to tamp down his anger.
Aisha, still turned away, glanced at him and muttered.
“You didn’t reply either…”
