Don’t Ask, It’ll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 30

There was still time until morning, but perhaps because of that dream, she didn’t want to go back to sleep. And sleep wouldn’t come anyway.

Since she was already awake, Chloe thought it would be best to do what she had planned. She put on a thick shawl over her thin nightgown and left the bedroom.

The place she headed to was none other than the room of the Viscountess Ashley Lloyd. The Lloyd household servants completely ignored Bianca, which must be due to the stepmother’s influence, so Ashley Lloyd was her first target.

Chloe confirmed no one was in the hallway and entered the Viscountess’s bedroom. The room, which had been without its owner for nearly a month, was filled with a chilling cold. Still, the maids cleaned it regularly, so there was no dust.

She didn’t turn on the lights so no one would see, instead relying on the dim moonlight to check every corner of the room, including the cabinet, dressing table drawers, sofa, and table. She even checked the bathroom, but there were no suspicious objects to be seen anywhere.

Instead, what she found were decorations so extravagant they made her eyes pop. The roses in the vase were not real flowers but were made of rubies. Not only that, but the cabinet handles were all adorned with diamonds, and the bedpost corners were studded with all sorts of jewels.

“It wasn’t that the family had no money.”

She had thought so because Bianca Lloyd’s bedroom was so shabby, but she was mistaken. Of course, there was no way the Viscount Lloyd, who was in the trading business, would have no money.

It was just that Ashley Lloyd wouldn’t spend money on Bianca. Typical of a stepmother, her disposition was certainly wicked.

“The truly terrible one is the Viscount Lloyd.”

His own daughter was being ignored by her stepmother, stepsister, and even the servants, yet he did nothing and stood by and watched.

She heard he came back home every quarter, and if he had just said something then, Bianca’s situation would not have deteriorated this badly.

Perhaps the person Bianca Lloyd hated most was not her stepmother but her own father?

“I should check Maria Lloyd’s room and then go to Viscount Lloyd’s room.”

There were many places to check, and since the servants would soon be active, Chloe hurried to her stepsister Maria Lloyd’s bedroom.

That room, too, was incomparably more lavish and luxurious than Bianca’s bedroom. The dressing room was packed with the latest fashionable dresses. Chloe shook her head at the overt discrimination. It was a moment that made her even more curious about what kind of person the Viscount Lloyd was.

“Nothing here either.”

She searched thoroughly but couldn’t find anything. Chloe swallowed her disappointment and left the room.

The previously dark hallway was now filled with the dawn’s early light. The servants would be waking up soon, so Chloe hurried to the third floor to check the Viscount Lloyd’s room before then.

Her busy feet stopped when she found someone crouched on the middle of the stairs.

“…My Lady?”

It was a young maid she had seen a few times in passing. Was she about 15?

She was holding a dirty rag in her hand, so she must have been cleaning the stairs. Cleaning so early in the morning. Thinking how diligent she was, Chloe smiled warmly.

“Good morning.”

When she greeted her so amiably, the maid was startled, stood up, and bowed politely to her.

“G-good morning, My Lady.”

Her hand trembled as much as her voice, and the rag she was holding fell with a thump onto her foot. But the maid didn’t mind and continued speaking.

“Perhaps you are going to the attic, My Lady? If so, I would appreciate it if you would use the east staircase. This staircase is slippery because I’m cleaning it, so there is a danger of you falling.”

The attic. The moment she heard that word, Chloe recalled the attic she had seen in her dream. Her heart pounded, thinking that the maid’s attic might be that exact place.

“Did I usually go to the attic often?”

“What? Oh, yes. You went there often.”

“Really?

This must be the place from the dream. Gaining certainty from the maid’s answer, Chloe’s face brightened significantly. It was also because she had a good feeling that the clue she was looking for would be in that attic.

“You mean if I go all the way up the east staircase, I’ll find the attic?”

“What? Oh, yes.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Chloe thanked the bewildered maid several times and then hurried toward the east staircase.

The east staircase was primarily used by the servants, and this was the first time she had ever climbed these stairs. That’s why she didn’t know there was an attic, but thanks to the kind maid, she found out.

No, she should say thanks to the dream. If she hadn’t had that dream, she would have just dismissed the mention of the attic.

When she reached the top of the east staircase, a rough wooden door came into view. It was exactly the same as the one she had seen in her dream. Chloe firmly pressed down on her pounding heart and opened the door.

“……It’s identical.”

Everything was the same, except for the bright light outside the window and the absence of newspapers lying around on the floor. It was so identical that goosebumps erupted all over her body.

Chloe caressed her goosebump-covered arms and slowly stepped inside. With each step, she heard the characteristic creaking sound of the wood.

Why did a place she had never been to before appear in her dream?

Was it because she had entered Bianca Lloyd’s body and her experiences were being added? She wasn’t too fond of that idea.

Chloe swallowed the billowing questions and stood in the same spot where she was sitting in the dream. Then she looked around widely, searching for the notebook with Ian’s pictures.

But no matter how much she looked, there was no sign of a notebook. Instead, she saw a stack of newspapers piled up in the corner.

Chloe picked up the topmost newspaper and unfolded it. There was a square hole punched clean through one side of the paper. It seemed to be the spot where a black-and-white photo had originally been. The other newspapers also had holes in the same place.

So that notebook really does exist. With this certainty, Chloe almost threw the newspaper down and checked the nearest box first. She didn’t miss the drawers either. The old, worn-out drawers didn’t open easily, forcing her to unintentionally show off her strength each time she pulled.

When she had checked over half of them, a box that was unusually clean caught Chloe’s eye. While the other boxes were covered in a thick layer of dust, only that one was clean. Its opening was also slightly ajar.

That’s it. Before the thought could reach its conclusion, her body moved. Bright sunlight poured down behind Chloe’s back as she practically ran towards the box.

“……I finally found it.”

Inside the box were not only the notebook she had been so desperately looking for but also many other things. Chloe first took everything out of the box and laid them on the floor.

There was one thick notebook, five journals that looked like diaries, cufflinks and a brooch that seemed to belong to a man, a pure white handkerchief, and various other items.

Chloe first opened the notebook she had so eagerly searched for. The contents inside were exactly as she had seen in her dream.

Seeing the pictures of Ian plastered all over the notebook made her instinctively frown. Especially on a recent photo, there was a ridiculous phrase written: [I’ll be seeing you soon, my prince].

Bianca Lloyd really liked Ian MacMilden.

It wasn’t a surprising thing. Even when she was in the academy, there were quite a few followers who liked Ian and chased after him. Among them were some who, like Bianca, misunderstood the relationship between Ian and Chloe.

So it wasn’t strange that Bianca liked Ian, but this seemed a bit too extreme. It was still disgusting to look at, and Chloe frowned sharply, closing the notebook. As she was examining the other items, a pattern engraved on the cufflinks caught her eye.

A roaring golden lion. It was the crest of the MacMilden Grand Duchy.

“……Don’t tell me that’s Ian’s, too.”

If so, the other items next to it must also be Ian MacMilden’s.

It was unlikely that Ian would have given these items to Bianca, so she must have stolen them. As Chloe carefully checked what items she had stolen, she discovered a pair of men’s underwear and quickly turned her head away. Her cheek, where her hair had brushed against it, was flushed red.

“S-she must be crazy!”

A pen or cufflinks were one thing, but to even steal his underwear. She was not just a little crazy. Chloe shivered in disgust.

“This woman was a true stalker.”

And a very twisted one at that. Chloe clicked her tongue, feeling sorry for Ian MacMilden, who had gotten tangled up with a woman like this.

“It seems she really did misunderstand.”

Chloe, now certain that Bianca Lloyd had used dark magic because she had misunderstood the relationship between her and Ian, wrapped her hands around her head in deep despair.