Chapter 8
“……Pardon?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected strike, Lobelin panicked.
So, Ian had known the truth from the very beginning.
Before she could even wonder Why? or How? , Lobelin’s instincts screamed at her.
‘I have to get out of here first!’
She didn’t know how he had tracked her down, but for now, she had to insist he was mistaken.
She could worry about the rest later.
“I—I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Not sure? You know exactly what I mean.”
“……It’s confusing when you speak in riddles. I’ll go bring more tea.”
Lobelin rose from her seat, moving with a forced composure.
She felt it best to excuse herself naturally and send Ian away.
With that thought, she stood before the drawing room door.
‘Huh?’
The doorknob wouldn’t budge.
As Lobelin looked up with a bewildered expression, she saw a hand holding the door shut.
At the same time, a cold voice reached her ear.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Pardon?”
Lobelin turned her head to find blue eyes looking down at her.
He looked completely different from the playful man who had forcibly snatched the portrait moments ago.
It was as if everything until now had been a mere appetizer, and the true purpose of his visit was finally surfacing.
“Planning to run away again?”
“I’ve been telling you, what on earth do you—”
“It’s you. The woman who ate and ran.”
“Eate—ate and ran…….”
The blunt, crude expression left Lobelin feeling as if she’d been struck dumb.
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
However, she couldn’t allow herself to be swept up in his pace.
“N-no, you must have the wrong person.”
“Is that so?”
A crooked smile played on Ian’s lips at Lobelin’s feigned ignorance.
He slowly raised the hand that wasn’t bracing the door.
‘Is he going to hit me?’
Lobelin’s pupils dilated as she watched his hand rise.
Considering it was Ian, he probably wouldn’t think twice about striking a woman!
Her mind racing with worst-case scenarios, Lobelin squeezed her eyes shut.
Click.
Contrary to her expectations, she only heard the sound of something coming loose.
Click, click.
After hearing the sound a couple more times, Lobelin cautiously opened her eyes.
She immediately regretted doing so.
“W-why are you undressing?!”
Through the gap in his shirt, she could see the man’s chest.
Even at a glance, it was a well-defined chest with firm muscles.
But she was in no position to admire the view.
“I’m going to check.”
“Check… check what?”
“Whether or not you’re the woman from that night. You seem to have forgotten, so wouldn’t reenacting it help your memory?”
Click. With those words, the last button of his shirt came undone.
Lobelin’s mind went blank.
“It’s hardly fair, is it? For you to be the only one acting like nothing happened.”
A fleeting look of obsession flickered in Ian’s eyes.
Terrified by the gaze that seemed to have turned predatory in an instant, Lobelin recoiled.
‘Reenact it? What does he mean?! Is it what I think it is?’
Setting aside the fact that this was her home.
To harass a lady so brazenly.
Above all, wasn’t this a crime?!
It seemed that even if everything else in the original story changed, Ian’s temperament remained exactly the same.
But she had no intention of following the fate of sleeping with him.
“W-wait, Your Highness!”
Lobelin raised her hand and firmly blocked his descending head.
‘Damn it, he’s too strong!’
It was impossible for Lobelin’s slender arm to hold him back.
She felt Ian’s lips curl into a smirk beneath her palm.
Helpless, Lobelin glanced around frantically.
But trapped between Ian and the door, her entire field of vision was filled with him.
As his solid chest and the lean line of his waist became visible through the fully opened shirt, Lobelin eventually squeezed her eyes shut in despair.
At that critical moment.
Thump, thump, thump.
She felt someone knocking on the door behind her.
Startled by the sudden interruption, Ian froze.
In the silence, the voice of Lobelin’s maid, Sarah, drifted through.
“My lady. Duke Raven has arrived.”
“What? Brian?”
Stunned by the sudden development, Lobelin looked up at Ian.
Ian tilted his head as if wondering what the problem was.
There were plenty of problems.
“F-first, close your shirt!”
A man with his shirt hanging open and a woman who had let him into her home.
To anyone’s eyes, it was a scene ripe for misunderstanding.
Above all, wasn’t Brian the male lead of the original story?
The one who would suspect Lobelin and Ian’s relationship until he finally brought down the hammer of judgment!
“Oh, come on! Hurry!”
“Hey. If you touch me so haphazardly……!”
In her desperation, Lobelin reached out first and grabbed the front of Ian’s shirt.
Flustered, Ian flailed his hands, trying to pull Lobelin away.
“W-wait!”
Creak, thud!
It happened in an instant; the two lost their balance and tumbled to the floor.
And at that exact moment……
“Your Highness! Just how long do you intend to stay—!”
Brian burst through the drawing room door.
He was breathing heavily as if he had rushed there in a hurry.
But the two people who were supposed to be in the room were nowhere to be seen.
Slowly, Brian lowered his gaze to the floor.
“……What are you two doing?”
At the end of his gaze were Lobelin, lying on the carpet, and Ian, pinned on top of her.
“Ha…….”
Brian was speechless at the absurd sight unfolding before him.
He’d had a bad feeling ever since he heard Ian was still at the Viscounty.
But seeing the shirtless Crown Prince lying on the floor with Lobelin was a different kind of shock—
“Oof!”
“B-Bri!”
—before he could even process it, Lobelin shoved Ian away as if throwing him.
Regaining her freedom, Lobelin scrambled up and ran to Brian.
“Bri! It’s not what it looks like! Y-you’re misunderstanding!”
“……Misunderstanding?”
“Yes, exactly! His Highness, um, he spilled his tea! I was going to get him a change of clothes, but he suddenly got dizzy and…….”
Lobelin made a frantic excuse and signaled to Ian with her eyes.
Taking the hint, Ian reached for a teacup.
He poured the cold tea onto his shirt and set the cup back down just as Brian’s gaze landed on him.
“Your Highness, did you spill your tea?”
“Ah, I felt a bit lightheaded. I suppose the shock from the accident earlier was greater than I thought.”
Ian covered his eyes with his large hand and slumped onto the sofa.
It was a fairly convincing performance.
Brian still looked suspicious, but fortunately, he didn’t press further.
“Let us depart. I will have a physician waiting at the Imperial Palace.”
“Shall we? Ah, my head.”
Ian stood up, swaying slightly.
Through his still-open shirt, the man’s impressive chest was partially visible.
Seeing this, Brian’s eyes narrowed.
“……What are you doing, Duke?”
Ian looked down with a bewildered expression at Brian’s frock coat, which had suddenly been wrapped around him.
‘Isn’t this the kind of kindness usually shown to ladies?’
Of course, rather than gently draping it over a lady’s slender shoulders, it was more like he had tightly bound Ian’s upper body.
“Sorry for the intrusion. I’ll be going now, Bell.”
Brian practically hauled Ian out, supporting him as they left.
Lobelin watched them go with a dazed expression.
“Duke, I can walk on my own two feet.”
“Just follow me for now.”
“Good grief, I’m not a child.”
Despite his grumbling, Ian followed Brian out of the Viscounty obediently.
Before boarding the carriage, he glanced up and saw Lobelin peeking out from the window, only to duck back inside when their eyes met.
Seeing that, the corners of his mouth drifted upward.
‘I knew it. It really was her.’
With a pleasant premonition, Ian smiled and stepped into the carriage.
However, as soon as he was inside, his gaze sharpened back into that of the Crown Prince.
“Duke, first, secure the background of the coachman who was in charge of the carriage earlier. The registration number is……”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”
Slam!
Count Wighill flinched at the sound of a fist striking the desk.
His cousin, Carola, the Empress of the Empire, was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
He had expected this when he walked in, but he could never get used to her fiery temper.
“Y-Your Majesty. Please, calm down and listen to me……”
“Do I look like I’m in a position to be calm?! Are your eyes just for show, Count? Look at this!”
Carola shrieked, throwing a crumpled piece of paper at the Count.
The Count picked it up, smoothed it out, and let out a small groan as he read.
