Our Summer Isn't Over Yet - Chapter 11

She wanted to shut his mouth right then and there.

She wanted to tell him that he had no filter, but she knew that Dylan would only twist her words, add some ridiculous explanation, and push her into a corner.

Deciding it wasn’t worth arguing with him, Mia let out a short sigh, took the dress, and walked behind the partition.

She unfolded the fabric that filled both hands and, without thinking too much, began changing into the dress. But as she moved through the steps, she quickly realized that she couldn’t fasten it by herself. Her hands came to a stop.

“Is something wrong?”

Dylan’s voice came from beyond the partition, sounding casual. Mia hadn’t come out for a while, and he had clearly noticed.

“It’s nothing. I just don’t think this dress is right for me.”

“It’s because you can’t fasten it, isn’t it?”

He figured it out immediately.

“No, I just don’t like how it looks after putting it on.”

It wasn’t the truth.

When Mia saw her reflection in the large mirror inside the partition, she was at a loss for words.

She had always believed her emotions stayed within a steady range, but seeing herself like this, she could only stand and stare in silence.

The gemstones sewn into every seam sparkled with such delicate care that it was obvious how much love and detail had gone into making the dress.

But that was as far as it went.

There was no point in feeling this way about something she would never be able to have. The spark of emotion faded quickly, and, as always, Mia’s eyes dulled. Deciding she had seen enough, she began pulling her arms out of the dress.

That was when Dylan’s voice returned.

“I’m coming in.”

Before she could stop him or respond, he stepped behind the partition without hesitation.

They had already seen each other without clothes, but maybe because of the inappropriate thoughts that had crossed her mind earlier, a wave of embarrassment surged through her.

“What are you…!”

Mia’s eyes widened in shock, and her gaze trembled as she quickly covered her chest with her arms and glared at Dylan.

Dylan looked her over slowly, then asked in a calm voice,
“Are you really embarrassed while carrying the marks I left on your body?”

Mia realized what he meant and pulled the falling fabric of the dress tighter against herself. His gaze, cold and sharp as if he were looking at a criminal, made her flinch. Then he narrowed his eyes and spoke again.

“What happened to the woman who stripped in front of a man she had just met?”

Mia immediately understood what he was referring to. On their wedding night, after posing as Princess Seydimia and marrying Dylan, she had stripped in front of him to prove she wasn’t the real princess. It had been less than five hours since they had first seen each other’s faces.

She remembered that moment clearly the elegant room prepared for the newlyweds, her bare body in front of a man dressed in formal military attire, and how utterly small and exposed she had felt. The scent, the tension, the silence of that night returned vividly to her mind.

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

“Turn around.”

Despite the tremble in her voice as she protested, Dylan remained unmoved. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around.

Then, starting from her waist, he began fastening the dress piece by piece.

Mia shut her eyes tightly as she felt the slow pressure of the fabric tightening around her. At that moment, she almost preferred his sarcastic remarks over the silence between them. The only sounds in the room were their breathing and the soft rustle of fabric as he worked.

And then there was his touch.

His hands kept brushing against her bare skin. Each time, her body reacted with a subtle flinch. He had to feel it, yet he said nothing and continued adjusting her dress calmly and precisely.

Finally, when his fingers moved away, Mia was able to breathe again. She hadn’t even realized how long she’d been holding her breath. Her cheeks were flushed deep red from the tension.

“Is anything uncomfortable?”

“No. Nothing.”

Dylan carefully checked the shoulders and the sleeves as he spoke. Mia, trying not to look directly at him, shifted her gaze to the mirror in front of her.

In the reflection, she saw a woman with unusually clear eyes and cheeks tinted with color. The faint lift at the corners of her lips reminded her of the photo hidden inside her locket—the one where she had once smiled just like that.

Unable to look away, she stood there in silence, getting dressed.

It wasn’t until she began to remove the final dress that Mia came to her senses again. As Dylan moved naturally to assist her, she stepped back and gently stopped his hands.

“I can take it off on my own. And the next dress is something I can put on without help, so I won’t need any assistance.”

Unlike before, he stepped away without hesitation. Left alone behind the partition, Mia slowly began taking off the dress.

Halfway through, she felt a sharp sting near her thigh. When she looked, she saw that a pin had been left in the fabric. Elise must have made a mistake. Mia pulled it out without much thought, and a thin line of blood appeared where it had pierced her skin.

When she raised her head, the woman in the mirror still looked full of life. But now, vivid red blood was running down the inside of her thigh.

The thin stream followed the path of an old scar.

The dazed, weightless feeling that had been hovering inside her started to fade.

Because the dresses would be adjusted and delivered directly to the estate, Mia waited for Elise in the drawing room.

Dylan was sitting across from her. Even though he had finished everything he needed to do, he still hadn’t gotten up. She was curious why, but she didn’t want to know. Her thoughts kept going back to the way she had looked in the mirror behind the partition. That expression of hers still haunted her.

She found herself wishing Dylan wouldn’t say anything else.

But, as usual, he didn’t seem to share that thought.

“Mia.”

He called her name just after placing the documents aside.

To avoid replying, Mia grabbed a newspaper from the table and pretended to read it. The print in front of her was completely meaningless.

When she kept ignoring him, he called her name again.

“Mia Blair.”

The way her name sounded in his calm and low voice sent a strange, uncomfortable feeling through her. Her fingers began to tremble slightly, and she furrowed her brow.

Even though he had seen everything and understood the situation, Dylan kept saying her name without hesitation. It was something she didn’t want to hear, something that made no sense.

“Mia Richard.”

“Can you stop calling me that ridiculous name?”

Her voice came out sharper than she intended.

“What exactly is bothering you now?”

“You calling me that. Would you like it if I started calling you Dylan Blair?”

Dylan didn’t answer. He just looked at her.

Mia thought that maybe his silence meant he understood how she felt. She took a slow breath to calm herself and asked him again.

“Stop saying strange things. Why do you keep calling me?”

After a moment of silence, Dylan finally responded. It was as if he had just remembered what he was actually supposed to say. He cleared his throat and spoke.

“The trial date for the Murad royal family has been set.”

The mood shifted so suddenly that everything he had said before felt like it had vanished. Expecting a serious conversation, Mia slowly lowered the newspaper she had been pretending to read.

She took a steady breath and spoke with a calm voice.

“That’s sooner than I expected.”

“Most of the surviving royals have already been captured. There’s no reason to delay it. The trial will be held in Murad, and unless something unexpected happens, they’ll all be executed.”

The war between the two nations had begun with Murad’s royal family pushing their imperialist ambitions. Because of their greed, tens of thousands, maybe even millions, had died. That was why both nations’ people demanded the complete destruction of the Murad royal line. The Hippolyte royal family had no reason to oppose it.

But the Murad nobles might not feel the same.

On the surface, only the royal family was being held responsible. Yet the nobles had clearly taken advantage of the chaos for their own gain.

“There will be strong opposition from the Murad nobility. Will that be a problem?”

“For now, no. You’re still alive, at least publicly, as a princess of Murad. And the late king’s brother is still living as well. That means they can’t block the trial or openly rebel.”

Mia’s concern wasn’t about what was happening now. She was thinking about what might come after she left this place.

Within the year, many things would likely be rebuilt and reorganized. But if Sadimia, the national hero and saint, suddenly disappeared after a divorce, it could trigger unrest.

It might have sounded cold, but that wasn’t something Mia needed to worry about.

She had done her part. Whatever happened afterward was a matter for the king of Hippolyte, for Dylan, and for those tied to this land. It no longer concerned her.

“Then that’s a relief.”

She gave a short nod, hoping that would bring the conversation to a close. But when Dylan spoke again, her eyes naturally returned to him.

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