To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 24

Aisha felt a chill crawl up her spine at Vincent’s sinister laugh. She could clearly see in his flaring nostrils and gaze exactly what he was thinking.

“Mmff! Mmm!”

She struggled harder. But the man holding her tightened his grip and breathed his filthy, disgusting breath near her ear.

“Well  judging from the way she talks, it’s obvious. Her face and body are more than useful. And if that bastard Ian is hesitating like the rumors say, it must mean she’s been with more than a few men. No one will care if we just mess with her a little.”

The way his mind worked in such a vile direction was disgusting. The men laughed as they treated Aisha like an object, evaluating her. This wasn’t the first time. Whenever they got drunk, they would always harass the weakest ones especially women in sneaky ways.

Cruel words and hands in places where there were no witnesses. It was evil not just because it left no evidence, but also because if it got out, the victim would end up with an even worse reputation. That’s why, even though more than five victims had suffered from Vincent and his group, only one case had ever been reported. And even that had been dismissed due to lack of evidence and the fact that the victim was a half-noble.

“Well, enough scaring her. It’s time to punish her. Jamie, use this to shut her mouth.”

Like a man mocking a street girl, he reached for her. She would scream and cry in fear and shame. Imagining Aisha’s face covered in terror and humiliation, Vincent roughly undid his cravat and tossed it to one of his men. Like a hyena licking its lips before a hunk of meat, the man took the cravat and walked toward Aisha.

“Hold still, will you—ugh!”

As the cloth was being stuffed into her mouth, Aisha kicked the man with her only free leg. The man staggered back, clutching his shin. Vincent clicked his tongue and snatched the cravat from him.

“Tsk. Can’t even handle something this simple? Move.”

Vincent rubbed the cravat between his hands and stepped up to Aisha. Her face twisted in pure disgust as she violently shook her head, clenching her teeth. But she couldn’t stop Vincent’s hand from coming closer.

Thud.

Just as Aisha refused to give in, something sliced through the air with a whoosh—and then a dull thump followed. Surprised, Aisha lifted her head to look.

“W-what?!”

She saw the shocked face of the man she had kicked. And next to him, Vincent lay collapsed on the ground. He wasn’t moving, his eyes rolled back and tongue hanging out, making it look like he might be dead.

“Eek!”

The man holding her let out a stupid noise and stepped back. Then, a voice filled with rage shouted down at him, along with a fist.

“You filthy animals how dare you!”

Ian was walking quickly along the garden path when the hall and corridor came into view. He stopped immediately.

“Damn it…”

He furrowed his brows and ran his hand through his golden hair. The neatly parted and combed hair was now a mess, but he didn’t care. Ian ran his fingers through it again and again.

“I can’t just let that bastard Albert get away with this.”

In the original plan, Aisha was never supposed to find out about the bet. There was no benefit to her knowing. And if the bet got out, and someone used it against him, it would be a huge hassle.

But now, things had already gone wrong. Aisha had heard about the bet—and even the outcome—from him directly. As he tried to think of how to handle the situation, he noticed a small white flower under his shoe and angrily kicked it. The petals scattered and the flower was crushed halfway.

He was about to stomp it completely when he suddenly stopped. It was just a weed, but for some reason, he didn’t want to destroy it anymore. He let out his frustration by kicking the bare ground, sighed, and looked around for a place to sit.

There was a long marble bench nearby. Rubbing his forehead, Ian walked toward it only to freeze in place at the sound of movement from behind the bushes.

“What if… what if someone sees?”

“Everyone’s at the hall. Don’t worry. The only people in the garden right now are either drunk or lovers like us.”

“Ugh, you’re so cheesy.”

The man and woman’s voices were mixed with occasional moans. Ian instantly recognized their voices and looked baffled. From what he knew, those two were not supposed to be having a secret affair. They were both married. Disgusted, Ian turned away.

If he were someone who loved gossip, he might’ve stayed to watch the scandal. But Ian wasn’t interested in such things. He just wanted to get out of that dirty place as quickly as possible and started walking back toward the corridor.

But as he reached the stairs leading up, he suddenly stopped.

Just like the couple behind the bush had said anyone wandering the garden right now was either drunk or looking for romance. And the latter group wasn’t necessarily safe.

He remembered a nasty rumor: a young lady from the countryside had gone walking alone in the garden during Count Iren’s party and was assaulted by a drunk man. No one thought something like that could happen at a royal palace banquet, but still—it wasn’t impossible. There were always awful men in high society. Some of them became beasts when drunk. Ian knew more than ten of them himself.

“Damn it!”

The worst-case scenario flashed in his mind. This time he cursed out loud. Aisha’s tearful face popped into his head.

Without another thought, Ian turned and ran. His heart pounded, and his mind went blank. A voice inside him asked why he was running.

“Because I’d be responsible if something happened.”

He told himself that he had to, or it would be his fault. But the only thing filling his face was pure worry and fear.

Sophia glared at the man in front of her, her eyebrows raised. He had suddenly grabbed her and dragged her into the lounge. What if someone saw? But despite her annoyed expression, the corners of her lips were slightly upturned.

‘He must’ve really missed me.’

The man standing in front of her was Sophia’s secret lover. They had been together for two years now. And as time passed, Sophia liked him more and more.

With black hair and green eyes, he didn’t have the muscular body of the knights who always followed her around, but he was tall and had the attractive air of a scholar. She liked the smell of dry paper and ink that clung to him when he came close.

‘But that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive him.’

Still, she had no intention of hugging him or speaking first today. Though his actions were cute, dragging her to the lounge showed a lack of caution. And more than anything, he had danced with another woman at the party.

As Sophia looked up at him with a pout, the man stared at her silently and finally spoke.

“Sophia.”

Something felt off. He was usually a little blunt, but he had never spoken to her in such a cold tone. She forgot her plan to stay silent and called his name.

“Arthur?”

Arthur Parden Sophia’s lover looked even more serious. With a cold expression to match his voice, Sophia reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Arthur, what’s wrong?”

Her worried face made Arthur wince. His brothers always said Sophia was sharp and mean, but the Sophia he knew was kind and gentle.

“You…”

That’s why it was hard for him to believe she was the source of those horrible rumors about Aisha. He knew Sophia disliked Aisha, but she had never crossed the line at least not openly. Biting his lip, Arthur opened his eyes and asked quietly.

“Was it really you?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“There’s a terrible rumor going around about Aisha. And people are saying you started it.”

Sophia felt like her heart dropped. She had already been worried that the rumor she started had grown too big. Swallowing nervously, she tried to play dumb and moved closer to Arthur.

“Who would say that? I didn’t do anything!”

“So it’s true.”

From her reaction, Arthur was sure. Sophia was never good at lying to him. He ran a hand over his face in despair and asked with a furious voice.

“Why? Do you know how dangerous those kinds of rumors are in this society?”

“I said I didn’t! And why are you getting mad? I’m the one who should be angry! You broke your promise!”

Sophia flinched at his angry expression but suddenly shouted back. Arthur didn’t understand and raised an eyebrow coldly.

“You danced with another woman! You promised you wouldn’t!”

Arthur had danced only once that evening and his partner had been Aisha. He had noticed Sophia glaring while dancing with Ian, but this was her reason? Arthur pulled her hand off his arm and stepped back.

“Another woman? Aisha is my twin sister.”

“She’s still a woman. If you promised not to dance with any women, you should’ve kept it!”

Support To the One Who’s Only Cold to Me