Don’t Ask, It’ll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 52

“This is a big problem.”

Chloe, who was checking Bianca Lloyd’s bucket list, hoping to return to her original body today, frowned deeply. It was because there were no wishes that seemed suitable to grant.

Among the remaining revenge-related wishes, there were only unrealistically difficult ones, such as ‘Make Maria bawl,’ and ‘Lock stepmother in the basement storage.’ There was also nothing related to love or daily life that she could do right now.

“At least, this one seems possible…….”

Eat the Strawberry Chiffon Cake sold at Etoile Bakery in the Royal Department Store.

However, because it was a special cake that only ten were sold per day, there was a high possibility she wouldn’t be able to buy it even if she stood in line before the store opened.

I should probably find something else I can do, just in case.

She could tell the simplified wishes just by looking at the organized bucket list, but for specific information, she had to read Bianca’s diary.

[The Prince’s huge hand burrowed into my skirt and touched the inside of my thigh…….]

Smack—

So, Chloe, who was reading the diary, immediately shut it when a blush-inducing sentence appeared. She had only read one line, but her cheeks flushed red.

“Damn, I can’t let my guard down.”

It would have been easy to avoid if she had separated the diary entries and the fantasies, but since she hadn’t, reading it gave her a headache every time.

Reading the lewd content itself was fine. The problem was that the read content appeared in her dreams exactly as it was or even more intensely. Moreover, since the partner was Ian MacMilden, Chloe felt even more humiliated.

Every time she saw Ian, the dream kept resurfacing, which tormented her, and she also felt sorry, as if she had done something terrible to him.

If only a complete stranger had appeared in the dream instead of Ian…….

“No. That’s not okay either.”

Chloe shuddered and shook her head, suddenly imagining a scene of kissing a man whose face she didn’t even know. Just imagining it for a fleeting moment gave her goosebumps all over her body.

“It’s best not to dream at all.”

Surely, just reading this one sentence won’t make it appear in a dream.

The moment she put the diary in the drawer, desperately hoping that wouldn’t happen, the door burst open without a knock.

I must have told them to knock dozens of times, but they just won’t listen.

Letting out a small sigh, Chloe turned her head and frowned at the maids standing at the door. It was strange enough that five of them had rushed in, but their expressions were as solemn as soldiers going out to war.

Did the stepmother give some strange order?

The moment a slightly uneasy Chloe awkwardly stood up, one of the maids strode forward. She didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she didn’t intend to just let it happen. Chloe watched the maid, thinking about how to counterattack.

“…….”

As if mocking her, the maid casually walked past her and entered the bathroom right behind her.

While Chloe, flustered in a different way, just blinked her eyes, the maid standing at the very front came closer and spoke.

“He is said to be arriving within two hours, so you must prepare quickly.”

“……Who is coming?”

When Chloe, who had just regained her senses, asked, the maid lowered her eyes slightly and replied.

“The Master is returning.”

The Master must be referring to the Viscount Lloyd.

“What does that m…… no, what does my father’s return have to do with me?”

She would go out to greet Viscount Lloyd when he returned, but there seemed to be no reason to make such a fuss, right?

When Chloe asked, tilting her head as if she didn’t understand, the maid sighed deeply, as if exasperated, and signaled to the other maids.

Then, the maids each grabbed Chloe’s arms.

“L-Let me go!”

Caught by surprise, Chloe tried to pull away belatedly, but she couldn’t, as they were gripping her so tightly. This was also due to the ridiculously weak strength of Bianca Lloyd’s body.

“As I told you, there is not much time left. If you don’t want to show a shabby appearance to the Master, whom you are seeing after a long time, please cooperate readily, Miss.”

With this threat disguised as a request, Chloe was escorted into the bathroom by the maids.

* * *

“Here are the materials you requested on Bianca Lloyd.”

Hugo Alfred placed the materials he had brought onto the study table. Ian, who was sitting on the windowsill in a light shirt, looking out the window, nodded lightly. It was a sign for him to leave.

Ian, who remained seated for a long time even after his aide left, slowly got up and picked up the materials.

A large black-and-white photo of Bianca Lloyd was attached to the front page. The photo was much better than the real person.

His eyes narrowed when he meticulously examined her family relations, social circle, and growth process written below, and he read the part where Bianca was his stalker.

It was written that Bianca not only bought every newspaper and magazine with Ian’s picture but even commissioned the Information Guild to steal his belongings.

He had already thought it was strange that his pens, notebooks, and even his underwear had gone missing over the past year. However, he had just left it alone because he found it bothersome to search, and it was doubtful if he could even find them. Was this woman the culprit?

‘Then was that also deliberate?’

Ian’s eyes narrowed as he recalled Bianca, who had abruptly opened the carriage door last time, begging him to help her just once, claiming she was being chased by some jerk. If his memory served him right, her expression had been genuine. If that had been acting, Bianca Lloyd would have become the best actress on the continent.

Bianca, whom he had met a few times after that, always kept her distance, seeming extremely uncomfortable being with him. She avoided eye contact and never spoke to him unless absolutely necessary.

Because of this, Ian found it hard to believe that Bianca Lloyd was his stalker.

The description that she was very shy and extremely timid was also different from what he knew. The Bianca he had met in person was very lively and yet shameless.

Yes, just like Chloe.

As her face suddenly came to mind, Ian took out a cigar and put it in his mouth. Bianca Lloyd’s photo looked blurry through the pure white smoke.

Even after looking again, and several times, she didn’t resemble Chloe at all, but the reason her image occasionally overlapped must be because their speech and actions were similar.

To simply say they were similar because they were friends was an understatement; they were excessively identical. From her snoring to the habit of her lower eyelid trembling when she lied, everything was the same, so he couldn’t help but be suspicious.

It was like only the shell was different, but inside was Chloe Elena.

“……My delusions are serious.”

If Bianca Lloyd had suddenly dropped from the sky one day, it would be different, but she was a person who distinctly existed.

So, Ian, who knew it was an absurd idea but couldn’t completely shake off the feeling of ‘what if,’ let out a deep sigh and stubbed out the half-burnt cigar in the ashtray.

Even then, his gaze remained fixed on the black-and-white photo. Ian, who had been staring at Bianca Lloyd in the photo for a long time as if having a staring contest, touched his slightly stiff neck and put the paper down. The moment he did, a knock was heard.

“Young Master, it’s Robert.”

Ian tucked Bianca Lloyd’s materials under a thick book and answered for Robert to enter. The butler bowed lightly in greeting and then stated the reason for his visit.

“Madam has requested the Young Master’s escort to the tea party hosted by the Marchioness Balroman.”

Going out again this time?

The Duchess of MacMilden would dress up lavishly and go out for a few days after suffering from extreme stress to the point of self-harm.

The location of her outing was different each time, but there was one fact that didn’t change: she would be escorted by Ian.

His father, Duke Adolfo MacMilden, spent less than two months a year at the capital’s mansion, as he was busy managing the territory and the family’s businesses, such as railroads and banks.

Even when their time in the capital rarely overlapped, she could have been escorted by her husband, but she deliberately insisted on her son.

Ian didn’t understand his mother’s actions at first, but after accompanying her a few times, he realized it. Isabella MacMilden wanted to show off to others that she had such a reliable and proud son.

Why tell him to live quietly so as not to offend the Imperial Family and then show him off to others? This part, he still couldn’t understand.

“What would you like to do, Young Master?”

Even if he didn’t accept it, if Isabella MacMilden wanted it, he had to do it. Because she was his mother.

Ian rolled the word—the one that brought him into the world and, at the same time, was the cause of his greatest distress—around in his mouth and nodded.