Don’t Ask, It’ll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 59

“Come to think of it, I’m trying to lose weight, so having a dress fitted right now would be pointless. Please give me a pretty piece of jewelry as a gift instead of a dress.”

Chloe emphasized the word ‘gift,’ afraid he would tell her to buy it herself and send him the receipt again. Ian raised an eyebrow, as he wasn’t so dense as to not realize what she wanted.

His unpleasant golden eyes rolled, passing the yellow-dampened sleeve and the application form, and settled back on the pink-haired woman. Perhaps because of the afternoon sun pouring down onto her head, he had the illusion that her hair was shimmering gold.

“Will it suffice if I send the gift to Viscount Lloyd’s mansion by this weekend?”

“That’s good. If possible, please make sure it arrives by Saturday morning.”

That way, she could return to her original body before the afternoon. Chloe was extremely curious how long she could stay in her original body if she received a gift from the prince whom Bianca Lloyd loved so terribly—enough to steal items and stalk him. She was already excited.

“You must also grant the favor I ask of you later.”

Chloe, having risen from her seat, reached out her hand toward Ian. As if her initiating a handshake was slightly unexpected, Ian raised his eyebrow, then soon met her hand. His palm was as cold as his expression.

“It seems you have already decided what favor you will ask.”

“I have a few things in mind, but I plan to think a bit more about which one would be best to ask for.”

Since she had to ask him to grant one of the things written on Bianca’s bucket list, she intended to decide after receiving his gift first. She also had to carefully consider when to ask.

More importantly, how will I return to my original body today?

Chloe, having recalled the most important issue she had momentarily forgotten due to several things happening at once, wrinkled her nose ridge and pulled her hand away from his.

“……!”

At that moment, her body suddenly went limp, and her vision blurred as if enveloped in fog. It was a sign that their bodies were switching. Returning to her original body was good, but since this was outside and not Viscount Lloyd’s mansion, she felt anxious and worried about losing consciousness and collapsing.

The one saving grace in this misfortune was that there was someone with her to look after her……. Surely, he wouldn’t claim that looking after an unconscious lady repaid the favor he owed her today, would he?

If that happened, everything she had planned would be ruined, so Chloe desperately hoped it wasn’t the case as she was sucked into a deep abyss.

* * *

Mars returned triumphantly, having found out who the culprit was who tried to conceal the incident at Viscount Lloyd’s mansion with the help of the Young Duke MacMilden. He puffed out his chest, thinking of how delighted Chloe would be to hear the information and praise him as amazing.

“Welcome back, young master.”

Mars, who responded to the butler’s greeting with a light nod, looked up at the second floor. The butler, immediately noticing what he wanted, spoke with a slightly somber expression.

“Young lady Chloe has not woken up since yesterday.”

“Still?”

Deep wrinkles formed on his previously smooth brow at the bad news.

“What did Dr. Bertrand say? Did he check my sister’s condition?”

“Yes. He examined her this morning, but said there was nothing particularly wrong…….”

“Do you think it makes sense that she’s been unconscious for over a day, but there’s nothing wrong!”

His shouting echoed through the spacious hall. The butler bowed his head deeply and apologized. Seeing the man’s slightly gray hair, Mars’s heated mind instantly cooled. Realizing belatedly that he was venting his anger in the wrong place, Mars swept back his disheveled hair and took a deep breath.

“Where is Mother?”

He didn’t want to doubt the skills of the family physician who had worked for their household for a long time, but since his sister’s condition was not improving, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. He thought it would be best to urgently discuss calling another doctor or finding another solution with his mother.

“The Madam has gone to the Basilock Temple.”

“What for? Did she go to meet Jeremy?”

“I don’t know the exact details. However, she told us in advance not to prepare dinner.”

It meant she would return late in the evening. As luck would have it, Count Elena was also away on business.

Just as Mars, thinking he should at least meet with Dr. Bertrand, was about to ask for the physician’s whereabouts, Dorothy’s scream was heard from the second floor.

“You must not run suddenly, Young Lady!”

The only person referred to as ‘Young Lady’ in Count Elena’s mansion was Chloe Elena.

That meant Chloe had woken up.

His wrinkled brow smoothed out as if it had been ironed. Mars, who was about to go up to the second floor, stopped on the landing upon seeing Chloe rushing down the stairs, her skirt fluttering.

“Your body isn’t well, so why are you…….”

“Mars, perfect timing!”

Chloe, who gripped his shoulders tightly like a hunting dog spotting its prey, said with glinting eyes.

“Let’s go to Viscount Lloyd’s mansion right now!”

* * *

Clatter, clatter—

The carriage, emblazoned with a large deer crest that had big horns, sped quickly toward the darkness, its back to the sunset. It was the carriage of the Elena family.

As the carriage lurched violently over a stone, Chloe’s already nauseated stomach felt like it was turning over even more, so she quickly covered her mouth.

“What, are you okay?”

Mars, who was sitting across from her, asked in surprise, but Chloe, who didn’t have the energy to answer, replied by shaking her hand slightly. As her head increasingly bowed, her paper-white face was submerged in shadow.

Mars, watching her with a frown, moved to sit beside her and patted her back.

“You’ll feel more motion sick if you keep your head down, so lift it up. Looking out the window is even better. It would also be good to get some fresh air.”

As Mars reached out his arm to open the window, Chloe grabbed it. At her weak gesture, utterly lacking her usual strength, emotion welled up from the depths of Mars’s chest. It was the first time he had seen his always bright and spirited sister looking so fragile, making his throat tighten even more.

“Sister…….”

“……That’s disgusting, get off me.”

That sentiment was fleeting. At his sister’s curt remark, Mars scowled fiercely and shook off her hand.

“I worry about you, and this is the s**t I get.”

Mars grumbled as he returned to his seat, but Chloe paid him no mind, wiping her damp lips with a handkerchief.

It was the first time she had felt motion sickness while riding the family carriage, not even a commonly borrowed public carriage. It meant her body had deteriorated that much.

She had suffered a riding accident and had been lying in bed for nearly a month, only getting up for two or three hours a day, so it made sense. Chloe clicked her tongue, having personally checked her forearm, which had lost muscle and become soft. She thought again that it was a good thing she had given up on the Imperial Knightage Admission Exam.

Still, after a little time passed, the terrible motion sickness gradually subsided. Chloe looked out the window, as her brother had advised, clearing away the lingering remnants.

Thoughts related to Ian MacMilden filled that space one by one. This was also why she had shouted that they must go to Viscount Lloyd’s mansion as soon as she returned to her original body.

Surely he hadn’t just abandoned Bianca’s body. Even if Ian MacMilden’s personality was a bit rotten, he was still a gentleman, so he wouldn’t have done that.

Chloe was worried, yet at the same time, she felt a sense of expectation about the reaction of Bianca’s family when Ian MacMilden had brought the collapsed Bianca to their mansion.

Would they scream that this was ridiculous, like the villains who usually appear in novels? Or would they try to cozy up to Bianca to get some crumbs of benefit?

She didn’t know which side the Viscountess Lloyd and Maria would fall on, but she was certain that Viscount Lloyd was the latter. The Viscount Lloyd, with whom she had briefly conversed during luncheon, had a considerably large ambition for success.

That was why he focused more on work, and as a result, he naturally neglected his family. Of course, that fact could not completely excuse his faults.

In particular, neglecting the actions of the stepmother and stepsister toward Bianca was a crime so great that begging with all his might would not be enough.

“But why are we suddenly going to Viscount Lloyd’s mansion? To meet that friend of yours, Bianca Lloyd?”

“Something like that.”

“Hmm, well, I guess I should tell you directly then.”

When Mars spoke, puffing out his chest slightly, Chloe chuckled. She knew exactly why he was acting like that, but she didn’t say anything, as she didn’t want to disappoint her brother’s expectations.