Chapter 46
Aisha froze as Ian’s clear blue eyes bore into her. Flustered, she hesitated, unable to respond. He already knew how she felt about him.
Then why…?
“…I must feel the same way,” he said.
“Huh?”
Aisha blinked wide-eyed, not quite grasping his words. When she finally did, she clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
‘Is he saying… he likes me even a little?’
It felt like she had finally received an answer to the question she had buried in her heart. At a complete loss, she stammered, then barely managed to speak.
“But before, you—”
“Would I have acted like such a fool if I didn’t? Right?”
He laughed cheerfully, just like he used to long ago. Had the prince hit his head too hard? Aisha stared at him without blinking, half-wondering if he’d lost his mind.
“I’m sorry for partnering with that woman. I understand why you’d be upset. That won’t happen again.”
His words continued, leaving Aisha unsure if this was a dream or reality. Seeing him apologize first left her speechless. When she didn’t respond, Ian’s smile faltered slightly.
“What about you?”
“W-what?”
“Aisha, you should also say you won’t be hanging around with His Highness… no, with any other man.”
That slightly overbearing tone was oddly familiar. Aisha paused, thinking for a moment, then gave a small nod.
“…Okay.”
“What’s with that disappointed look? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of someone else?”
“No! It’s not like that!”
Startled by Ian’s teasing, Aisha shook her head. She wasn’t disappointed, but Jared had come to mind briefly, distracting her for a moment.
‘…I already sent a letter to His Highness. That should be enough.’
A hint of guilt crossed Aisha’s face. Ian noticed and suppressed the surge of irritation with effort, reminding himself of his goal.
“More importantly, Aisha. Don’t you remember something when you look at that tree?”
Ian turned the topic, pointing out the window. Aisha, who had worn a bitter expression, changed the moment she saw the tree he indicated. It was a lemon tree—lush green now, but bearing yellow fruit as winter approached.
‘Aisha, don’t cry. If my little lady cries, how can I be a gentleman?’
‘I… I’ll love Ian forever. I mean it. So don’t be sad. Don’t cry, Ian.’
That was when it had all begun. When she had first started feeling this way for him. Aisha was pulled straight into the past. Her face turned dazed and dreamy, and Ian slowly reached toward her.
“You remember too, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I remember everything from that time.”
“Really? Then, Aisha… can you…”
Ian gently pulled her head toward him. Their foreheads touched, their breaths intermingled. The air between them warmed with their closeness, and Ian whispered:
“…Hug me like you did back then.”
Aisha was not so oblivious that she didn’t recognize the tension in the air. Was this hug he asked for like the innocent one from their childhood? She didn’t think so—but still, she reached out and wrapped her arms around him. Ian moved her arms, guiding them around his neck.
“Close your eyes.”
Staring into his deep blue eyes, it became hard to resist. Drifting into the nostalgia, Aisha slowly closed her eyes. Instead of darkness, she saw the boy from long ago. Then, just as she expected, their lips met… and then…
His hands tracing over her clothes were dreamlike and gentle. As her body sank into the bed, Aisha whispered to herself to drive away the lingering uncertainty.
‘…It’ll be okay. He said he liked me.’
Aisha, now fast asleep, showed no signs of waking. Ian gazed down at her slow, even breaths and let out a cold laugh.
‘Not bad. No, actually, quite good.’
He was in a very good mood. A deep sense of satisfaction filled his body—like a lion full from its hunt.
‘Everything I was worried about turned out just as expected…’
Not only was his physical need satisfied, but he had also quelled the confusion inside himself. Now he was certain—his feelings for Aisha were purely physical. If it were anything else, he wouldn’t be able to look at her with such cold eyes after sharing a bed.
‘Well, in a way, this makes things even simpler… I can always discard her later.’
The conclusion came so easily, it almost made him laugh. He could just enjoy her when he pleased and throw her away when his revenge was complete. That, too, was a kind of revenge. He felt a slight pang of sympathy if he thought only of Aisha herself, but the memory of his parents’ deaths quickly erased that.
Now certain, Ian looked over Aisha with satisfaction. Red marks like scattered flowers adorned her neck and collarbone. Seeing them stirred his desire again, but he didn’t want to wake her. His eyes drifted lower, admiring the curves of her body under the sheets—until they stopped around her stomach.
A sudden thought struck him. What if she got pregnant?
Sure, he had given her birth control this time, and he could always make sure it was taken next time. But what if it failed? What if his seed took root in that small body?
He considered abortion briefly—but dismissed the idea just as quickly.
‘I’m not planning to marry her… but if that happens, I’ll have to keep her as my mistress. People would talk if I threw out the mother of my child. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind having her cling to me, unable to see even her own child freely.’
The thought of Aisha, cut off from everyone and entirely dependent on him, didn’t seem so bad. She was far too soft-hearted to abandon her child, even if she were just a mistress.
Picturing Aisha trapped forever in his grasp made Ian laugh quietly.
‘Whatever the reason…’
Unable to resist, he chuckled aloud and lifted a strand of her long, pale hair. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it gently and murmured:
“…I do like you, Aisha.”
Whoosh—
The sharp whistle of a blade cutting through the air echoed. Jared swung his sword with precision, as if an enemy general stood before him. He didn’t falter in form.
But even a strong knight had limits. After nearly three hours of nonstop training, his arms began to tremble from the strain. If he kept going, he’d drop the sword. He finally stopped.
“Haa…”
Straightening from his stance, sweat poured from him like rain, soaking the dirt floor. Jared wiped his brow roughly and walked toward a chair.
“Here you are, Your Highness.”
A young attendant ran over with a towel and water. Jared took the towel and drank deeply from the cup, then handed it back.
“Leave me.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the boy flinched under the force of it. Jared had always been a blunt master, but lately he’d been especially unapproachable.
The boy scurried off. Jared stared briefly at the frightened retreating figure, then looked away. He had no energy to worry about his attitude toward servants.
‘Damn it!’
That day, when he had exchanged blows with the Marquis Lloyd like a pair of 7-year-olds, Jared had been rejected before even confessing his feelings. Not that he had ever planned to confess. It was better to say he had wounded himself.
Watching Aisha return with her brother that day, Jared had understood clearly. The woman he loved would never look his way.
‘Ian… Are you okay?’
From beginning to end, Aisha’s eyes and hands had been for Marquis Lloyd. Jared had collapsed nearby, breathing heavily, just like Ian. Their wounds were similar, yet Aisha hadn’t spared Jared a single glance.
‘You dare lay a hand on royalty?! Jared, shall I order his right arm cut off?’
‘…’
‘…Sorry. I shouldn’t have egged you on.’
‘…’
‘Forget it. There are plenty of women. A dozen would come running if you so much as lift a finger…’
William, having heard what happened from Marquis Litman, tried to console Jared with an apologetic expression. But Jared was too pained to respond. It wasn’t the bruises or the soreness that hurt—it was her indifference.
‘Your Highness, Lady Aisha Parden from the Earl of Parden sent a letter.’
‘I’ll read it later.’
And so Jared rejected Aisha’s letter. He already knew what it would say. Reading it would only make him suffer more.
‘It’s over.’
He had confirmed her heart. Jared decided to suffer quietly—something he was used to by now, ever since hearing of her engagement.
But unlike before, not even swinging his sword could calm his heart. Perhaps it was because they had once been partners, even just once. It felt like something of his had been taken, and the unfairness burned.
‘Don’t go, brother. Or I’ll reveal your secret.’
And it wasn’t just Aisha troubling him. Helen’s unsettling words resurfaced. Jared clenched his eyes shut.
‘Lies. I won’t be played by some low woman’s tricks…’
Shaking his head, Jared rose to swing his sword again. But before he could move, someone entered the training grounds and called to him.
“Brother. We need to talk.”
Thud. Jared stiffened. That voice—one he’d been avoiding.
He slowly turned, and there she was—his sister Catherine, the only one among his siblings to inherit their mother Karna’s hair and eye color.
