To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 104

Daniel and Edward widened their eyes and looked toward the center of the hall. Not only the brothers, but many others were also watching the same place with curious eyes, whispering among themselves.

“What’s going on? Mother didn’t say anything, but she keeps dancing.”

Daniel mumbled as he fixed his gaze on Aisha, who was dancing in the middle of the hall. She was already on her fifth dance, and many others were still waiting for a chance to dance with her.

“Is the sun going to rise in the west tomorrow or what? Don’t you think so, brother?”

“Aren’t you worried at all?”

Edward sighed deeply, scolding Daniel. The situation had started when Aisha accepted dance invitations from both Jared and Iskan one after another.

Aisha had already attracted attention because of her different appearance and mood that day. But now, after dancing with both the prince and the crown prince both good-looking and high status men she had become the center of attention at the banquet.

‘L-Lady Aisha! May I have this dance?’

With everyone watching, one of Daniel’s fellow knights finally gathered the courage to ask Aisha for a dance after Jared and Iskan. Aisha didn’t refuse. After the third dance, several men lined up, hoping to dance with her.

“Why should I worry? She looks great.”

Daniel looked at his sister with a happy face. But unlike him, Edward watched Aisha with concern.

“This is your fault, Daniel. If you hadn’t brought your fellow knights, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You worry too much. You always worry about useless things.”

“There might be gossip. No matter what anyone says, Aisha is still engaged”

Edward frowned and stopped mid-sentence, realizing his mistake. Aisha’s engagement to Ian mentioning that in front of Daniel was nearly forbidden.

“Brother.”

As expected, the moment the word “engaged” came out, Daniel’s voice grew cold. Edward silently cursed himself and turned toward his younger brother. Daniel met his gaze with a serious face and spoke.

“Since we’re on the topic, let me ask.”

“Do you plan to keep that guy near Aisha?”

Of course not. But their mother had remained silent so far. Ian’s actions and their parents’ vague responses couldn’t be shared, so Edward stayed quiet.

“I knew it.”

Daniel studied Edward’s face, and his brown eyes turned sharp. He was never praised for being clever due to his impulsive nature, but he was unexpectedly good at reading people. From the slight twitch in Edward’s face, Daniel realized his brother also intended to break the engagement. He spoke again in a low voice.

“If you and Mother planned to keep him around, you would’ve stopped me from bringing those guys in.”

“You’re keeping secrets from me, huh? Whatever. As long as Aisha breaks off the engagement with Ian, I’m fine with it.”

“Daniel”

“Enough. Don’t say anything. I don’t care about whatever complicated plans you and Mother have. I just want them to break up. That’s all that matters.”

Every word Daniel said carried weight. After all, he was the one who had seen, more than anyone else, how Ian treated Aisha over the years how he hurt his only sister. Edward couldn’t say anything and just looked at Aisha again.

“More importantly, our sister looks amazing. Honestly, girls her age should meet lots of men. It’s not like we’re living 300 years ago, right? What kind of woman sticks to just one guy? And let’s be real other noble girls all dance with men who aren’t their fiancés. But just because Aisha had a long crush, people held her to this weirdly strict standard. Sure, she acted foolishly in the past, but asking only her to be overly modest is ridiculous.”

Daniel spoke sharply but softened his expression as he looked at Aisha. She was dancing cheerfully and chatting happily with her partner. Still, Edward couldn’t shake a strange sense of unease as he watched her.

Something’s off

A gut feeling. Edward didn’t like that word, but he felt something was wrong.

As he seriously reviewed recent events in his mind, he suddenly remembered Aisha stumbling with a pale face on the stairs. It wasn’t unusual for Aisha, who had a weak constitution, to feel dizzy. It had been a while since she looked that unwell but why did it feel so ominous this time?

Come to think of it, I forgot to ask the doctor. I’ll ask when we get home.

Edward shook his head slightly and decided to speak with the physician as soon as they returned. Just then, he noticed a man standing far off in the crowd also staring at Aisha.

That lunatic.

The moment Edward recognized Ian, a chill ran down his spine. Ian’s eyes were beyond mere staring. They were filled with tangled emotions. The light blue eyes he once thought beautiful now burned dark with jealousy and twisted emotions.

His eyes looked even worse than when he used to treat Aisha coldly. Watching Ian stare at her with barely hidden possessiveness, Edward muttered to himself:

That ungrateful bastard must not stay near Aisha.

She was out of breath and thirsty. But just after finishing her fifth dance and barely moving, yet another man reached out a hand to her.

“Lady Aisha. May I have this dance?”

“Ah I’m sorry. I need to rest for a bit.”

Aisha waved her hand gently and declined with an apologetic smile. She enjoyed dancing, but she needed a break.

“In that case, may I bring you a drink? Or we could sit and chat over there.”

“No, thank you. It’s not far. I’ll go by myself.”

The man seemed disappointed and insisted. She did need a drink, but she didn’t want to keep talking to someone she didn’t know well. So she refused more firmly. The man looked a bit hurt, but when he noticed Edward and Daniel’s cold stares, he quickly walked away.

Daniel was about to go to her when the next song started, and people began to move. It would be rude to walk through dancers. Aisha shook her head to stop him and pointed to a table in a quiet corner. On the table were drinks, wine, and some light snacks. She quickly walked over and picked up a glass of red liquid.

Tiring. Dancing isn’t easy.

Thankfully, with so many people dancing, fewer eyes were on her. She moved beside a pillar near the table to rest alone.

My legs hurt a little.

Leaning against the pillar with her back to the hall, Aisha used her free hand to gently hit her thigh with a closed fist. The light massage helped, and she closed her eyes.

Come to think of it what the crown prince said earlier

With a bit of peace, she recalled what Iskan had whispered at the end of their dance. Unlike before the dance, he had acted quite neutral during it. But just before he left her side, he said something strange.

“Look forward to it. You’ll be coming with me.”

“Disgusting.”

Just as Aisha lifted her drink, annoyed by the memory, a dark, hateful voice came from beside her. Startled, she turned her head. A young woman with moss-green hair had suddenly appeared at her side.

“Did you hear that?”

The woman smirked as their eyes met. Her red lips curled up unpleasantly against her pale face.

Lady Sarah of Count Holtin’s family . She has the name, but she’s the count’s illegitimate daughter.

Aisha barely recalled who she was and blinked in confusion. They had never spoken before. Though their families were both old nobles, they had no bad history.

“I said, did you hear me?”

Sarah repeated irritably when Aisha said nothing. Caught off guard by the obvious hostility, Aisha asked,

“Lady Sarah, were you speaking to me?”

“Can’t you tell? I guess you’re too busy drooling over men to pay attention to anything else.”

Her words weren’t just sarcastic they were outright insulting. Aisha’s confusion disappeared, and she looked at Sarah cautiously. Sarah looked her up and down with a sneer.

“Right after being dumped by the marquis, you go and flirt with every man in sight. I guess the rumors were true.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. It’s not like there’s only one dirty rumor about you, right?”

“You have nothing to say? Of course not. Those kinds of rumors don’t spread for no reason. As a fellow woman, it’s disgusting. Someone like you should be whipped and repent at the temple!”

“Lady Sarah. That’s enough. If you continue, I won’t stay quiet.”

Aisha’s voice turned cold. But before the words were even fully spoken, Sarah’s eyes lit with rage.

“No.”

“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

Aisha sighed. Sarah wasn’t just picking a random fight there was something deeper. Her expression and tone were full of more than hate. There was resentment.

“Lady Sarah, are you angry with me for something? As far as I know, we’ve never even spoken before.”

At her calm question, Sara hesitated slightly. But soon she glared even harder and spat out her words like poison.

“Just because the Marquis of Lloyd dumped you, don’t go wagging your tail at someone else’s fiancé with that filthy body.”

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