To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 69

Sophia recalled the proverb related to sihocho, the main ingredient in the snack, and murmured its meaning. Diane nodded approvingly and looked back at Leah.

“Leah. When you hand over the snack, show Miss Helen the writing I put on your wrist just to her, okay? Make sure no one else sees it. Can you do that?”

Leah had no problem being told to deliver a snack, but her face tensed at the secretive instruction. However, when the elderly lady gently patted her head, the girl nodded firmly as if gathering courage, then left the drawing room with a determined expression.

The sound of the door closing snapped Sophia out of her daze. She looked at her grandmother with worried eyes. Despite having watched her closely, Sophia still couldn’t fully grasp her grandmother’s intentions.

Diane gave her anxious granddaughter a kind smile, then turned her gaze back to the window. She spoke again, this time in a soft voice like she was soothing a child.

“Miss Helen is smart and clever. She’ll handle it well. More importantly, we should go down and play our part.”

Outside the large, clear window, Aisha and Daniel had just stepped down from a carriage. Diane, seeing them head toward the entrance stairs, gestured for Sophia to follow and left the drawing room.

“Welcome, Sir Daniel. It’s been a long time.”

Daniel had been about to call for Ian in frustration when Diane and Sophia suddenly appeared, catching him off guard. As rude as Daniel could be, even he wouldn’t raise his voice at an elderly woman. So, though his expression was stiff, he greeted her with proper knightly manners.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“And Miss Aisha, it’s been a long time since I saw you too. Have you been well? You look even more beautiful.”

Though she remained guarded, Aisha gave a faint smile at Diane’s warm greeting. She returned the courtesy with elegance, no less than her brother.

“Thank you for your concern, ma’am.”

“So polite. Sophia, what are you doing? Come greet Sir Daniel and Miss Aisha.”

At her grandmother’s gentle voice, Sophia, who had been standing behind Diane, slowly stepped forward and bowed silently. Aisha, used to seeing Sophia glare at her with narrowed eyes, was puzzled to see her quiet, even avoiding eye contact. Daniel also tilted his head slightly at Sophia’s strange demeanor, but quickly turned back to Diane when she spoke again.

“Well then, now that greetings are done what brings you to House Lloyd?”

“I came to see Ian. Where is he?”

“Sir Daniel. My grandson is the head of the noble Lloyd family, a marquis, and a high-ranking member of the Central Nobles’ Council. While it may be acceptable for his fiancée, Miss Aisha, to address him by name, is it not improper for a mere knight like yourself to do so?”

Instead of answering his question, Diane criticized Daniel. His expression darkened at the unexpected remark.

Seriously?

As a member of the Parden family, Daniel knew quite a bit about Diane and the Lloyds. She had turned her back on her husband and son over a land dispute, then tried to use her grandsons and lost her position as guardian only to now refer to Ian as “my grandson”?

He had tried not to care about the Lloyds, especially Diane, but this only worsened his opinion of her. His posture shifted with displeasure.

“Ian gave me permission. A long time ago, my family received his consent to use his name in private. Ma’am.”

Just as Daniel was about to add a sharp remark, Aisha stepped in first. Her tone was more respectful than her brother’s would have been, but the phrase “a long time ago” had clear weight. Everyone present caught the meaning.

“I see. I’ve been away for a while, so I wasn’t aware. As you know, I only saw Sir Daniel once during the engagement ceremony If you had visited more often, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake.”

Diane paused before speaking as if to excuse herself. Daniel found her tendency to shift blame amusing but didn’t argue. He simply curled and released one side of his lip in a smirk.

Diane, who still saw Daniel as nothing more than a knight from a merchant family, stiffened at his response. As the mood between Diane and Daniel grew tense, Aisha quickly stepped forward to end the encounter.

“Ma’am, we’ll return to greet you another time. James, could you tell Ian that I came by?”

Aisha turned to James, who had been standing nearby, and stated her original purpose. Relief washed over James’ face, having been worried about the tense exchange at the door.

“Yes, miss. If you could wait a moment, I’ll inform the young master”

“No need, James.”

Just as James raised a hand to call a servant, Diane stepped in. She looked at Aisha with a mocking smile and spoke.

“Miss Aisha. I suppose it’s because you’ve visited House Lloyd so often, but it seems you’re already ordering the butler around like the lady of the house. You’ll adjust quickly once you move into the marquis’ residence.”

Daniel’s face twisted in anger at the obvious jab, and he started forward. But Aisha gently stopped him with a hand and responded to Diane politely.

“Ma’am, I came here today to see Ian”

“I know. You want to see Ian. But there’s no need to ask James. I know where my grandson is.”

“Ma’am. The master is currently with a guest”

When Diane interrupted Aisha and deliberately mentioned Ian, James stepped in. Knowing Ian’s current relationship with Helen, James didn’t feel it was right to tell Aisha that Ian was with her.

But Diane simply smiled, her eyes crinkling as deep wrinkles formed. A strange unease grew in Aisha’s chest.

“That’s enough, James. As you know, it’s been a while since Sir Daniel and Miss Aisha visited, but Miss Helen comes here every day. I’m sure they won’t mind interrupting her just once.”

Of course her unease was justified. At the mention of Helen’s name and the implication that she was alone with Ian, Aisha’s face paled. Daniel’s eyes widened before his face flushed red.

“But I’d rather go and tell the master myself that the Parden siblings are here.”

“It’s fine. I know Miss Helen well. She’s a sweet, kind girl. Still, if you’re concerned, I’ll take you myself.”

Seeing their reactions, James felt helpless. He tried to keep things under control, but Diane drove her words like a blade into Aisha’s heart.

“Sir Daniel. Miss Aisha. I’ll guide you. Helen is not only Sophia’s friend but also a friend of mine. Compared to stiff, boring Ian, she’s hmm”

Diane looked with amusement at the speechless Aisha, then glanced at the clock on the wall. She murmured that quite a bit of time had passed loud enough not to be a whisper.

“They must’ve had plenty of time together by now.”

In truth, Ian and Helen hadn’t been alone for that long, but Diane acted as though it had been three hours. Unable to bear it any longer, Daniel signaled to Aisha that they should leave.

“No need to hesitate. By now, Miss Helen might be happier playing with me. You two should go meet Ian. I’ll borrow Miss Helen and have a little chat with her and Sophia.”

Even with her brother’s signal, Aisha stood frozen. Diane watched her face with a gentle tone, continuing to speak as Helen’s name kept coming up.

“I heard Miss Aisha is well-mannered Is it because you don’t want to interrupt their meeting? Then why not wait here a bit? They should return before dinner.”

“No.”

“Aisha!”

Finally, Aisha responded. Daniel called out to her in a quiet but urgent voice.

He instinctively knew following that old woman would lead to nothing good.

“Please lead the way, ma’am.”

Aisha also felt that same anxiety. But she still wanted to see with her own eyes.

“Then let’s go.”

Diane hummed happily as she led the way. Behind her followed Sophia with a complex expression.

“Aisha, think again.”

“No, let’s go, brother. You told me we can’t always avoid things.”

Daniel watched Diane’s swaying gray dress and tried once more to stop her. But Aisha only shook her head and followed resolutely.

“What a sweet girl. I heard she came all the way from the kingdom with the old lady? These days, it’s not easy to find such loyal maids at that age.”

Helen spoke while watching Leah bow and run off. Unlike her, who looked at Leah with approval, Ian’s face was dark. A maid from his grandmother had shown up the moment they settled in the garden leaving behind a dark leaf-shaped cookie. It smelled nice, but Ian looked at it like it was poisoned.

“Try it. It’s from your grandmother.”

“No, thank you.”

Helen had already picked up one of the cookies and eaten it. But despite chewing it down, her insides were not calm.

—With the Parden girl, I’ll head there shortly.—

The girl’s wrist had briefly shown her a hidden message. Though some letters were smudged from sweat, it wasn’t unreadable.

“Don’t lose to the rival. Seize the chance you’ve been given”

Helen was smart enough to see through Diane’s blunt scheme. For whatever reason, Aisha would soon show up Diane clearly wanted Helen to use that to her advantage.

“She might be old, but she sure knows how to play dirty.”

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