Don’t Ask, It’ll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 60

The carriage, which had been driving for quite a while, soon arrived at Viscount Lloyd’s mansion. Chloe stopped the carriage a little distance away, not directly in front of the mansion, and hid behind an alley, waiting for the MacMilden Houeshold’s carriage to arrive.

“You said you were going to meet a friend, what are you doing?”

Mars, who knew nothing, asked, looking puzzled.

“Shh.”

Fearing they might be discovered, Chloe silenced Mars and continued to watch past the alley. How long did they wait like that? Just as her legs began to ache a little, the MacMilden Houeshold’s carriage finally appeared.

“Now, go, go!”

Since they had to stop it before it reached Viscount Lloyd’s mansion, Chloe hastily got back into the carriage and shouted. She nearly left Mars behind, but luckily, he followed closely. Moreover, without any separate instructions, the coachman skillfully blocked the path of the MacMilden Houeshold’s carriage.

“Oh my. It’s the MacMilden Houeshold’s carriage?”

Chloe stuck her head slightly out the window and acknowledged them before the ducal coachman could say anything to the loyal Elena family coachman. She saw the ducal coachman, who looked ready to get up and shout, flinch and sit back down. At the same time, the carriage door opened, and Ian MacMilden stepped out.

She couldn’t possibly stand by idly after he got out. Chloe quickly descended, too. Mars, who was about to follow her out, paused and backed away after confirming Ian’s unusually heavy atmosphere.

“Long time no see, Ian. It really feels like ages since we last met outside.”

Chloe, on the other hand, smiled brightly and greeted him. Half of it was genuine. Since the time she could spend in her original body was short, she hadn’t even dreamed of going out until now.

Speaking of which, how long can I hold out this time?

At the sudden question, Chloe’s blue eyes shook greatly. Based on her previous experiences, she had calculated the time, but since she didn’t know the reason for returning this time, she couldn’t guess.

Then I should finish quickly and go back. As alternatives, there were methods like collapsing in Bianca Lloyd’s bedroom or asking Mars to take care of things afterward, but she wasn’t fond of either.

“But Ian, what brings you here? There are only low-ranking noble residences nearby.”

Resolved to finish things quickly somehow, Chloe clasped her hands behind her back and asked Ian as if she were genuinely curious. But there was no reply. He merely stared down at her with silent, keen eyes, like a detective searching for clues to the culprit at a crime scene.

“Ah, are you here to see Bianca too? Bianca often talked about you, so you two actually knew each other. But it seems a little late to visit Bianca at this hour, doesn’t it? It’s fine since I’m a woman, but since you’re a man, it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings…….”

Although that time was stressful, Chloe ignored it and continued talking, since she had limited time. Ian then stepped aside and pointed with his chin toward the wide-open carriage door. Taking the gesture to mean she should check for herself, Chloe immediately approached the carriage.

As she drew closer, she saw Bianca Lloyd lying neatly on the seat. It was the first time she had seen the unconscious Bianca, and the feeling was a little strange. It was unfamiliar yet fearful. Perhaps similar to the feeling she had when she met the Crown Prince in the tea room. It was less frightening than that time, though.

Why on earth am I feeling this way? Chloe swallowed the sudden question, licked her dry lips with her tongue, and controlled her surging emotions.

“Bianca, wake up. Bianca!”

She wouldn’t wake up just by being shaken, but just in case, Chloe grabbed Bianca’s shoulder and shook her. This was also because she needed something to show the people outside. Sure enough, Bianca did not wake up. Even though this was the expected outcome, seeing it confirmed didn’t make her feel good.

“Oh dear, she must have been very tired.”

Hiding her bitter expression behind a feigned sigh, Chloe smiled brightly and got out of the carriage.

“Bianca is…….”

As soon as she turned around, seeing Ian MacMilden’s figure, Chloe was startled and opened her eyes wide. His body, blocking her path, felt enormous and distant, like a huge mountain.

“It seems you were taking Bianca home. Thank you. I’ll thank you on behalf of my friend, who is sleeping soundly.”

“Chloe.”

Ian’s voice was terribly low, like it was scraping the floor. Chloe, feeling an ominous premonition that something unusual was about to be said, tightly clutched her pounding heart and faced his golden eyes, which contained the sun that had vanished from the sky.

“Why aren’t you surprised?”

“Surprised by what?”

A curt reply, matching her tension, popped out. Ian paused for a beat and then added:

“Doesn’t a normal person get surprised when someone is lying unconscious?”

“Huh?”

As Chloe, who had been called out on an unexpected point, hesitated, Ian pulled the bowstring taut again.

“But you weren’t surprised at all to see Bianca Lloyd lying unconscious in my carriage. It was as if you knew everything.”

The arrow shot this time also struck her chest accurately.

“I guess you really did know everything.”

“Ian, that is…….”

“I’m curious how you knew.”

As Ian took a step closer, Chloe instinctively backed away. However, since the carriage was right behind her, she couldn’t go far and had to stop.

“You’ll have to explain properly.”

Ian stretched out his hand and leaned against the carriage, speaking in a low voice so Chloe couldn’t escape.

“So that I can understand clearly.”

* * *

What should I do? Should I intervene?

As the atmosphere between Chloe and Ian grew increasingly serious, Mars briefly hesitated before getting out of the carriage. As he approached them, deliberating on what to say and how, he flinched and froze in his tracks when his sister grabbed the Young Duke MacMilden’s collar.

Whack! Immediately after, the sound of two hard objects colliding echoed. Chloe, grabbing Ian’s collar, had headbutted him squarely in the forehead. Usually, this would have been impossible due to the height difference, but it was possible because Ian had been leaning down.

Their foreheads were crimson red, like ripe apples, from how hard they had struck each other. The pain must have been intense, yet neither Ian nor Chloe even blinked.

“Are you—are you interrogating me right now?”

Chloe tightened her grip on Ian’s collar and asked ferociously. The strength in her blue eyes, glaring at him, caused them to involuntarily narrow.

“Who do you think you are? Why are you interrogating me? Ah, is it because you’re the great Young Duke MacMilden?”

As Chloe tilted her head and asked mockingly, Ian clenched his fist tightly. He felt his breath catch, as if she were strangling his windpipe, not his collar.

“Are you interrogating me as the Young Duke MacMilden, and not as Ian MacMilden, my friend and rival?”

“……No.”

The voice he forced out was miserably cracked. Chloe narrowed her eyes and glared at his face, then let out a short sigh and released his collar.

“Then you asked as a friend…… and that crosses the line even further.”

Chloe placed that hand on her hip and spoke clearly and distinctly, as if giving a presentation.

“Because there’s a line that must be kept even between friends. And there was also a line that should never be crossed.”

At the words that seemed to draw a boundary, suggesting that they were only friends forever, Ian felt instantly dizzy, as if the ground had given way beneath him. A corner of his chest burned as he realized anew that there was a solid wall between her and him that could never be broken or crossed, no matter what he did.

Ian had to clench his hands even tighter to stop himself from immediately seizing both of her arms.

“Since you said you asked as a friend, I won’t answer.”

Chloe smiled sweetly, as if she had never been serious. Her bright red forehead stood out due to her pale skin, making her look somewhat ridiculous, but no one paid it any mind.

“I can take Bianca, right?”

With a short sigh, Ian finally straightened his back and nodded slightly. His hand, where blue veins stood out on the back, fell down lifelessly, unbefitting him.

Chloe sharply turned her head with a whoosh sound and looked at her brother, who was standing awkwardly.

“I need to move Bianca, so help me out, Mars.”

No matter how small and light Bianca was, it was difficult for Chloe to move an unconscious person by herself. Mars, who would usually have grumbled, asking if this was why she had brought him along, followed without complaint this time. He easily lifted Bianca into his arms and moved her to the Elena family’s carriage.

“Well, I’ll be going now. See you next time, Ian.”

As Chloe offered a conventional farewell and started to leave, Ian grabbed her wrist.