To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 49

“Did you wake up?”

“Yeah”

Aisha replied in a quiet voice, rubbing her eyes. Ian thought she looked like a small, cute animal, but he quickly frowned at his own thoughts. Noticing his reaction, Aisha widened her eyes and began to watch his expression carefully.

“I’ll call a maid. Get dressed and go back.”

Ian felt annoyed for some reason as he said this coldly and roughly pulled her hand away.

As always, Aisha lowered her eyes at his cold behavior. But before Ian could turn away, she spoke in a small but clear voice.

“Um…”

Her outstretched arm showed hesitation but also a bit of urgency. Ian looked at her with a bored expression.

“Do you have something to say? Say it quickly. I’m busy.”

“Is this really okay?”

Ian frowned, not understanding what she meant. Aisha hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.

“I mean… about the baby. I’ve been careful, but just in case”

A child. It was a sensitive but important subject. Having a child before marriage was strongly frowned upon, even among the young nobles who enjoyed romantic freedom before marriage. Usually, people married their partners, so it only caused minor gossip. But if they didn’t, the woman was often completely shunned by noble society even if the man was fine.

“You never know what could happen.”

Aisha’s face was full of worry and fear as she spoke. But deep inside, a small hope was rising in her heart. If he said it would be okay to have a baby if he said they could marry if it happened if they could live like the Count and Countess Garrot…

But Ian’s cold expression shattered Aisha’s hopes. He looked down at her with no sign of surprise, as if he had never even considered the idea of a child. Even though she had expected this, the pain in her chest made her grab the bedsheet tightly as she forced a calm voice.

“Just in case, I got some medicine. If I take it regularly, there’s almost nothing to worry about, so”

“Why are you taking medicine?”

Ian, who had been quietly staring down at Aisha, suddenly spoke with a chilling voice. Aisha looked up in shock.

Ian pulled his cravat diagonally in frustration, clearly annoyed. He ran a hand through his hair several times before asking again, trying to control his anger.

“When did you start taking it without telling me?”

“I-I was worried the first day, so I asked Marie for help.”

“Marie? You mean your maid?”

There was clear anger in Ian’s bitter laugh. He bit his lip hard and glared at Aisha.

“A mere commoner somehow got her hands on decent medicine, huh?”

Aisha blinked, unable to understand why he was so angry. He didn’t want a child she was sure of that. So why…?

While Aisha was confused, Ian was struggling to hold back his rage. In truth, even he didn’t fully understand why he was so angry.

‘Is this…’

He was especially upset that Aisha had taken contraceptives from their very first time. Worse, from what he knew, many of the female contraceptives available in the empire could harm a woman’s health if taken long-term and could even cause problems with pregnancy later.

‘I went out of my way to take care of it myself, and what? She just took some shady drug a maid brought without even telling me? She doesn’t even know what it is.’

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Ian couldn’t hold it in anymore and snapped at Aisha without hiding his harsh tone.

“Throw it all away. Right now.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry about stupid things. Like you said, we’re being careful. Besides, I’m the one taking medicine. There’s no chance we’ll have a child.”

“There’s no chance we’ll have a child.” The words were meant to calm Aisha, but they only made her heart sink further.

‘Right. There’s no way a child will come from us’

The image of the Count and Countess Garrot holding their child together flashed through her mind. Aisha quickly lowered her head to hide the tears welling up.

“If you’re still worried after everything I said”

Knock knock.

Ian raised his eyebrows at Aisha’s reaction and spoke in a sharp voice. But before he could finish, a knock at the door interrupted them. Ian’s expression turned grim as he realized someone was outside the bedroom. He immediately gave a command.

“Cover yourself. Now.”

His tone left no room for refusal. Aisha quickly pulled the sheet up to her neck. But Ian still looked displeased and covered her completely, even her head, with the sheet. Then he crossed the room with heavy steps and opened the door.

The door burst open, and Ian’s irritated voice rang out.

“What do you think you’re doing? I told you not to come until I said so.”

“I’m sorry, sir. But something urgent is happening. You need to come now.”

It was James standing outside. Though he bowed at Ian’s angry tone, his voice was urgent. Seeing this unusual behavior from James, Ian glanced back at Aisha in the room and called to a maid passing by the hallway.

“You. Go inside and help the lady get dressed.”

Once the maid entered through the slightly opened door, Ian shut it and stepped outside.

“What’s going on?”

James quickly followed Ian down the hallway, unable to hide his concern. Then he revealed the unexpected visitor.

“The former Marchioness has arrived.”

There was only one person in House Lloyd who would be called “former Marchioness.” She was Diane Lloyd, wife of Ian’s grandfather Iron Lloyd, and mother of Ian’s late father, Cliff Lloyd in other words, Ian’s grandmother.

The moment Ian heard that she had come to the house, his pace quickened. But there was no joy in his steps only displeasure.

‘Shameless old woman.’

Ian held not a single warm feeling toward his grandmother. To him, she was someone who should never show her face in front of him or his sister Sophia.

After going down several stairs, they reached the small parlor between the central staircase and the entrance. From a distance, Ian saw the old woman with gray hair sitting there, and his face tightened with displeasure.

The sound of Ian’s fast footsteps seemed to alert the old woman, who looked up. When she saw Ian, she hesitated for a moment and then stood up with a warm smile. A brown-haired girl next to her also stood up slowly.

“It’s been a while. You must be Ian.”

The old woman approached and greeted him. But Ian looked at her with nothing but contempt and anger.

Diane Lloyd was born in the Kingdom of Todome on the western side of the Empire. Her mother was the eighth princess, so Diane was born and raised in the royal palace where the most noble people lived.

“Since the eighth princess has so many sons”

“She looks just like the princess If only her hair or eyes were a different color.”

But even though Diane grew up in the palace, she was never truly accepted as royalty. Her mother may have been a princess, but her father was unknown she was illegitimate.

In the conservative Todome royal palace, Diane’s existence was seen as a disgrace. Her mother had no power, being just a weak concubine, so Diane was a forgotten granddaughter whom the old king barely remembered. She had to survive by reading the mood around her and endured whispers about being a “half-blood.”

“Mother, I want to play in the garden.”

“No! His Majesty is walking there with the crown prince today. If you show up, I’ll be in trouble too.”

Even so, Diane didn’t grow up weak. In the Todome Kingdom, royalty were seen almost like gods. Though she was ignored, Diane inherited their arrogance.

But just because she had the same pride didn’t mean she had the same status. Diane was treated like a useless pawn, always chosen for unwanted marriage arrangements.

“Where this time? Some old man over eighty? Or a crippled count from the border?”

She barely escaped a few terrible proposals, but in the end, she was chosen for a marriage that no other royal wanted.

“The Lloyd family? Sure, they’re powerful in the Empire, but he’s just the third son of a noble family. Who would want that?”

“Exactly. The Empire says it’s about harmony through marriage, but really, they just want to humiliate us by marrying off a royal to a low-ranking noble.”

“What can we do? It’s humiliating, but marrying off one royal gives us big benefits. Just close your eyes and accept it.”

“Well, it’s not like we’re going. His Majesty won’t send his favorite granddaughters. Actually, I heard it’s already decided… Diane’s going.”

“Diane? She should be thankful for that match. At least the guy’s young, handsome, and smart. Better than becoming the second wife of some dying old man.”

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