“…….”
Askin glanced over at the silent Charlize.
Naturally, he had no way of reading her mind. He was completely unaware that behind her expressionless mask, she was thinking, *I’m so relieved that Askin is no different from usual.*
Askin, meanwhile, wrestled with his own thoughts.
*Has something truly happened to her—her body, or her mind?*
It was a genuine concern, not a touch of sarcasm. When he stopped to consider it, Charlize hadn’t picked a fight the moment she saw him as she once would have, nor had she insulted or criticized him with that desperate need to elicit a reaction.
“Is there a need to frown and blush like that?”
Was it perhaps too harsh to call her stupid in response to those words?
Askin’s expression soured. He couldn’t tell if his line of thinking was right or wrong. Why was he even entertaining these thoughts because of that woman? A sense of confusion he thought he’d buried washed over him—a feeling he had no desire to experience.
While Charlize felt a surge of relief, thinking, *It seems Askin hasn’t heard the rumors yet,* Askin fell back into his own internal conflict.
It didn’t take long for him to speak.
“……Thank you.”
Charlize tilted her head.
For someone who had been throwing a private celebration inside, relieved that the rumors hadn’t reached this far, it took her a moment to process his sudden gratitude. What was he thanking her for?
“Ah, don’t tell me—is that for sending the doctor and the mage for Aria?”
“……I will make an exception this once for you to speak my younger sister’s name.”
At that, the corners of Charlize’s mouth curved up beautifully.
With an appearance so striking it was said to bewitch even the ferocious dragons of a thousand years past, Charlize’s smile was dazzling.
“Goodness, it was Aria who gave the permission. Why are you acting like you’re the one granting it?”
Charlize covered her mouth slightly, chuckled, and looked up at him. Her long, elegantly curled eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes crinkled into soft half-moons.
“But you do know how to be grateful, don’t you?”
“Did you come here just to say useless things?”
“Oh my, are you feeling shy? You’re kind of cute.”
“…….”
The moment Askin’s face twisted in annoyance, Charlize quickly changed the subject. *I must bring it up before his face turns into a block of ice. Definitely.*
“Actually, you agreed to go to the Imperial Banquet with me, right?”
“So?”
Charlize smiled brightly.
“I brought the clothes we’ll wear then. Try them on.”
“I refuse.”
“……You refuse so bluntly?”
*If only he knew the effort I put into this, he wouldn’t be able to say that,* Charlize grumbled to herself. It wasn’t something she could voice aloud.
Askin’s gaze flickered for a split second as he watched her expression dim.
“……I certainly express my gratitude for the previous matter.”
Askin spoke with an uncharacteristic pause.
“Since there is nothing I can do in return for now, I offered to attend the banquet to avoid tarnishing your family name, following the wishes of Duke Alzbeit that you have mentioned since last year. However, I do not think anything has changed between you and me. Don’t you agree?”
“Wow, it’s not bad to hear long sentences in such a pleasant voice.”
“What?”
Charlize shrugged.
“Ah, I don’t think so. Can’t you just try it on once? It turned out really well.”
The two gazes clashed intensely.
“……Don’t treat me like a doll.”
How cold he was.
However, having navigated this man’s temperament for a while now, she was no longer fazed by his firm refusals. Charlize, who had been smiling brightly without a care, slightly erased her smile and said.
“I told you. Why don’t we try our best as an engaged couple for just one year? Have you thought about it?”
“It’s not worth thinking about…….”
“You didn’t flatly refuse it that day, saying it wasn’t.”
“…….”
Charlize and Askin’s gazes locked in the air.
“Please. One year, could you please try your best for just one year? If you feel it’s not right even after this period, I will break off the engagement cleanly then. I’ll cover the costs for that time, too.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Think about it. You have nothing to lose, right?”
Charlize fought to bury her desperation—the suffocating fear that she might die if she couldn’t last a year—and continued her argument with an air of studied nonchalance.
“The engagement preparations are already well underway, so stop talking nonsense and go back.”
“Wow, why are you being so gentle for a change?”
“……Gentle?”
“You didn’t tell me to get lost, did you?”
Indeed. Considering the atrocities the past Charlize had committed against this man, it would have been perfectly understandable if Askin had ordered her away or spat profanities in her face.
“……I will keep my mouth shut at the banquet and play the role of your fiancé, so don’t worry and go back immediately.”
“Don’t be so gentle all of a sudden. It makes my heart flutter.”
“Huh?”
Charlize stood up elegantly.
“Yes, that’s right. As you said, until I pay off all my debts, we are in an engagement relationship, and you are my fiancé, so wear these clothes.”
“What kind of forced logic is that?”
“I’ll take the carriage with those clothes that day, so we’ll ride together. We’re partners, aren’t we? Consider the cost of the mage and doctor I sent as payment for this, too.”
“……What if I refuse?”
At Askin’s firm retort, Charlize wore a sullen face.
“Then pay back all your debts. Right now.”
Askin was caught off guard by the pout.
“Are you defying me?”
It was only natural; he had been bracing for the familiar, venomous glare or the vitriolic tantrums that usually defined her.
“I don’t know. Pay it all back now. Otherwise, I’m going to lie down right here and not move. Got it?”
“……Are you a child? No, even a child wouldn’t behave like that.”
“Ah, right. The children in your territory are quite precocious. That aside, didn’t you know I was immature?”
Charlize said shamelessly.
“Do it for me.”
“…….”
By Askin’s standards, this was undoubtedly a ‘tantrum.’ A tantrum from *that* Charlize.
He nearly let out a dry, incredulous laugh. It was so absurd it bordered on the surreal.
Meanwhile, Charlize, who had genuinely been prepared to lie down on the floor, felt a flicker of intimidation at the sight of Askin’s cold, sunken expression.
*Don’t, don’t be intimidated, Yoon Ji-Hoo!*
He was merely dumbfounded, but Charlize, having suffered the weight of his hostility so many times before, had terrified herself.
*……Hmm, let’s stop here. Yeah, I’ll just leave the clothes and go.*
She decided to leave the garments with a servant and retreat. Since the orders came from Charlize herself, no servant would dare discard them.
She turned to leave, but stopped, her body half-rotated, suddenly struck by a thought. A flash of fierceness crossed her face.
“And hey, you.”
“You?”
“Yes. Pretty boy. This noona is giving you a piece of advice: I know you’re a very capable person, so stay by your younger sister’s side when she’s sick. Got it?”
Losing her temper out of the blue was nothing new for Charlize, but the content of her words left Askin completely bewildered.
To get angry about his younger sister, of all things?
Before he could process his confusion, Charlize had already turned and strode out. She had fled, fearing the impending explosion of Askin’s rage, but to him, the scene looked entirely different.
He felt a strange, hollow ache in his chest as he watched her leave without once looking back.
Ridiculously enough.
‘…Was she the type of woman to walk away so cleanly?’
Not long after Charlize had departed, Askin hurried from the room. He made a beeline for Aria’s chambers.
‘…I only hope that woman didn’t say anything untoward to Aria.’
It was a reasonable concern, given that Charlize had specifically mentioned Aria’s name as she left. The situation was suspicious enough to warrant alarm.
Meanwhile, before Askin arrived, Aria stood by the window.
She often stood there when she longed to step into the garden, though her frail constitution forbade it. Today, however, the reason was different.
Lingering regret over their brief parting clung to her. She lingered by the glass, hoping for one last glimpse of Charlize as she made her exit.
‘…I wanted to spend a little more time with the Duchess-To-Be.’
Aria’s expression darkened.
‘If only I had told my brother, just once, that I wanted to stay longer…’
Aria had obeyed her brother’s every word for her entire life. He was the brother who had sacrificed everything for her sake, and she had always believed that subservience was only natural.
Having spent her entire life unable to utter “I don’t want to” or “No,” she had complied with his command to leave Charlize’s side without a murmur. Now, back in the solitude of her room, she could not suppress the ache of her quiet regret.