Don’t Ask, It’ll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 46

When Chloe visited the reception room again, Jeremy was already gone. When she asked the person who handled priest guidance, they said all the priests had gone to the prayer room for service.

What should I do? Should I wait?

Chloe hesitated because she still had things she wanted to discuss with Jeremy, but she chose to leave, thinking it would get too late.

She had thought Ian would have left this time, but he hadn’t. He was still waiting.

Thanks to him, Chloe didn’t have to make a miserable request to a stranger to ask for a ride in their carriage.

That was fortunate, but she couldn’t be happy because it meant she had to ride together with Ian MacMilden on the way back. Just thinking about spending that suffocating time again made her chest tight, as if someone was choking her.

She wanted to decline, but unfortunately, she had no choice. Not only did she not have a carriage to return in, but there was no way she could tell the person who had waited this long that she would go separately.

Having no choice but to board the Duke of MacMilden’s carriage, Chloe worried about how she would endure the long, awkward, and tedious time.

She was also worried about having strange daydreams again, like the ones on the way to the temple. If that happened one more time, she felt like she would truly cause a major incident.

But it was all pointless worry.

Because she was struck by a maddening wave of sleep shortly after the carriage departed. It seemed her energy had hit rock bottom after waking up early and moving around diligently. Honestly, it was impressive that she had endured this much with Bianca Lloyd’s stamina.

‘It’s better this way.’

Since this would allow her to easily bypass the uncomfortable time, Chloe closed her eyes and willingly surrendered to the sleepiness. She could feel him staring at her from the opposite seat as if he were dumbfounded, but there was no rule saying she couldn’t sleep in a carriage, so she completely ignored it.

* * *

Snore—

Ian, who had been looking out the window, only realized Bianca Lloyd had fallen asleep when he heard the sound of her snoring. She was snoring so heavily that his gaze naturally drifted toward her.

A Lady who snores.

It was a quite rare sight, but Ian had seen it frequently.

Of course, he had frequently seen Chloe Elena snoring, not Bianca Lloyd.

It wasn’t that Chloe snored much or anything. She snored occasionally when she was physically exhausted, such as when she had trained severely or stayed up all night for days doing assignments or studying.

“Pfft, what kind of proper Lady snores!”

When was it? Some jerk who saw Chloe napping briefly and snoring had burst into laughter, holding his belly, and mocked her.

If it had been a normal noble Lady, she would have blushed and been at a loss for what to do, but Chloe was not.

“For a man who calls himself a gentleman to mock a Lady for her mistake instead of overlooking it. You don’t deserve the title of a gentleman.”

Instead, she pointed her finger at him and rebutted him point by point. The enraged opponent challenged her to a duel, and the result, naturally, was Chloe’s victory.

“You lost to an improper Lady, so you don’t deserve the title of knight, either.”

As Chloe, who had confidently secured the victory, crushed his pride until the very end, the opponent ended up crying like a child and eventually dropped out of the Academy.

And after that, Chloe never slept in front of others on days when she was physically exhausted.

Except for one person, Ian MacMilden.

Snore, snore—

Listening to the regular snoring brought back fresh memories of the things that had happened with Chloe.

In fact, the image of Chloe was even superimposed onto Bianca, who was dozing and unable to properly support her neck.

That’s a crazy thought.

Even as he thought that, Ian somehow couldn’t take his eyes off the deeply sleeping Bianca Lloyd.

* * *

How long did she sleep? Chloe, who partially woke up feeling a strong rocking motion, pushed open her eyelids. They were still heavy, but much lighter compared to before.

“Do we have to go all the way to Viscount Lloyd’s mansion?”

As she rolled her eyes, which were clearly still drowsy, trying to figure out the situation, a low voice was heard. Only then did Chloe realize she was in the same carriage as Ian MacMilden. She quickly wiped around her mouth with the back of her hand and replied.

“No. If you drop me off near White Royal Street, I’ll go back on my own.”

If Bianca Lloyd, who had been oppressed and ignored, suddenly appeared riding in the Duke of MacMilden’s carriage, there was no way Viscountess Lloyd or Maria would remain still. They would definitely pry and ask questions or be consumed by envy and jealousy, and Chloe wanted to avoid trouble.

If Ian had exercised his chivalry and insisted on taking her all the way home or asked why she was getting off nearby instead of her house, it would have been a slight headache, but thankfully, he didn’t ask anything. In moments like this, Ian MacMilden’s indifferent personality was truly convenient.

Soon, the carriage arrived and stopped at the entrance of White Royal Street. The coachman, who got down from the driver’s seat, immediately opened the carriage door.

“Thank you for everything today. Well then, I should get going…….”

“Young Lady Bianca Lloyd.”

As she was about to give her farewell and step out, a monotonous voice with almost no inflection caught her at the ankle.

As expected, he won’t just let it go. Chloe bit the inside of her lip and turned to look at Ian. The corners of her lips, awkwardly pulled up in a smile, trembled slightly. The quick-witted coachman closed the door again.

“You said earlier at the temple that you came looking for me.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

She thought he would ask about the sapphire, but faced with a different category of question, Chloe nodded with a slightly awkward expression. The golden eyes staring at her darkened a little.

“How did you find me in that vast temple?”

“…….”

Chloe couldn’t answer the subsequent question immediately. She didn’t know the method herself. She just had a vague premonition that she knew where he was, and she just followed it. If she told him the truth, he probably wouldn’t believe her, but she didn’t want to lie again either. Chloe, agonizing over what to do, cautiously replied while observing Ian’s expression.

“Shall we say… I found you through a woman’s intuition?”

Ian’s face looked as if a cookie had been mercilessly stomped on, but Chloe ignored it. She hadn’t said anything wrong. She didn’t know if it was ‘woman’s intuition’, but she had certainly found him through an intuition, so there was no need to feel guilty. Chloe raised her head and asked brazenly.

“Is there any problem with that?”

“..….No.”

Looking at his expression, it seemed like there were plenty of problems, but his denial left a lingering discomfort. However, Chloe didn’t ask anything further. She had covered it up, albeit clumsily, and she didn’t want to needlessly dig it up. For the same reason, she quickly opened the carriage door herself and hastily got out, eager to escape the spot.

* * *

The Alfred family was a vassal house that had, for generations, produced butlers and attendants for the House of MacMilden. Hugo Alfred, the eldest son and heir of the Alfred family, also served as Ian MacMilden’s personal secretary, just as the previous heads of his family had served the future Duke of MacMilden.

However, Ian had been a student until now and hadn’t shown any particular activity even after graduation, so the personal secretary didn’t have much to do. At best, it was schedule management, and even that was relaxed because Ian canceled everything except for important appointments.

Indeed, the schedule written in the notebook right now was important enough that he absolutely had to attend unless both his legs were broken.

“Cancel all my appointments for tomorrow.”

“Pardon?”

When such a command fell, Hugo Alfred initially doubted his own ears. After confirming that he hadn’t misheard, he assumed Ian didn’t know what the next day’s schedule was and cautiously spoke.

“Well, tomorrow is the hunting competition hosted by His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

Moreover, it was an important event scheduled a full month in advance. It was the kind of event where an excuse about a sudden change in plans wouldn’t work.

“Furthermore, Your Grace received a handwritten invitation from His Highness, the Crown Prince, so attendance is mandatory unless there is an extraordinary circumstance…….”

“I said to cancel it because there is an extraordinary circumstance.”

An extraordinary circumstance, he said. Hugo checked Ian MacMilden’s schedule notebook again, but nothing like that was visible.

“If you don’t mind the intrusion, could you tell me what the extraordinary appointment is……”

“You may leave now.”

As if he had no intention of answering, Ian ran a hand across his face in a dry gesture and waved the other hand dismissively.

This really won’t do. You absolutely must attend the hunting competition tomorrow. The words hovered on his lips, but Ian’s expression was so firm that Hugo couldn’t say anything.

Just as he was about to leave, Ian added a thought that seemed to have just occurred to him.

“Investigate Bianca Lloyd.”