Don't Ask, It'll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 21
“It’s the MacMilden Duke’s carriage!”
If they were from the MacMilden Duchy, which valued chivalry, they wouldn’t ignore a lady in danger.
Having assessed the situation, Chloe quickly ran toward the carriage. The coachman, who noticed her belatedly while preparing to depart, called out urgently.
“Wait……!”
Before the coachman could finish, Chloe opened the carriage door. She was about to climb in but stopped when she saw a familiar face.
“Ian?”
Surprised, Chloe momentarily forgot she was wearing Bianca’s mask and called his name familiarly.
Ian’s eyebrows rose at an angle. His cold eyes seemed to scold her, as if asking ‘who are you to call my name?’
“Ah, I’m sorry, Young Master.”
Realizing her mistake belatedly, Chloe apologized with a bow before getting to the point.
“I’m currently being followed by someone. So…… if it’s not too presumptuous, could you take me to the Lloyd Viscounty mansion?”
Chloe could make such a bold request because she was certain Ian would accept. After all, he was a knight too.
Of course, not all knights strictly followed chivalry, but from what she had observed so far, Ian was quite good at upholding it.
So this time too, he would gladly help…….
“Why should I?”
……or so she thought, but he didn’t?
Caught off guard by this unexpected response, Chloe blinked her large eyes while staring at Ian. He clicked his tongue as if annoyed by her reaction, then asked the coachman who was anxiously shifting behind her.
“Aren’t we departing?”
It was an indirect way of saying to remove her. The coachman, who understood the hint, approached Chloe.
“Miss, you should let go of the door…….”
“I’ll keep it a secret.”
Having an ominous feeling that something terrible would happen if she lost Ian here, Chloe called out desperately.
“I won’t tell anyone about how you cried at the Elena Countess’s residence, so please help me just this once.”
“Gasp.”
The coachman let out an astonished breath at the shocking news that Ian MacMilden had cried.
And Ian’s expression turned as fierce as it had been at the Elena Countess’s residence.
“……Are you threatening me right now?”
Though his voice and expression, mixed with irritation and anger, were quite threatening, unfortunately, they had no effect on Chloe.
“Of course not. How could I dare threaten the Young Duke MacMilden? Let’s call this a ‘deal’ instead.”
Ian twisted his lips in disbelief.
“How can I trust you enough to make a deal?”
“Ah, when you put it that way, I have no counter-argument…… but please trust me just once.”
Just then, a cool breeze blew, gently scattering her pink hair. Bathed in the red sunset light like a spotlight, she smiled brightly and continued.
“I’m not a woman who speaks with two tongues. You can trust my word.”
“I’m not a woman who speaks with two tongues, you can trust my word!”
As the image of Chloe Elena overlapped with the pink-haired woman, Ian frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“……Nothing.”
Ian, his face suddenly composed as if nothing had happened, looked at her for a moment before nodding.
“I’ll accept the deal.”
* * *
‘This is awkward.’
Though she had expected it would be very awkward riding in the carriage alone with Ian, she hadn’t anticipated it would be this bad.
It seemed even more awkward since she was there as Bianca Lloyd rather than Chloe Elena. Chloe moistened her dry lips with her tongue while repeatedly clenching and unclenching her fingers that kept wanting to shrink back.
The awkward atmosphere was a problem, but Ian’s gaze was an even bigger issue. He had been staring at her with a strange look since the moment she entered the carriage.
‘Why is he staring so intently?’
Just say it if you have something to say or if something’s bothering you! Stop staring like a pervert!
Words she couldn’t speak rose to her throat before disappearing. When she was Chloe Elena, she would have said even harsher things without hesitation, but strangely, she couldn’t do it now.
Had she inherited that woman’s timid personality along with Bianca Lloyd’s body?
Suddenly imagining herself acting timidly like Bianca, Chloe shuddered. The thought alone was horrifying.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
Thanks to her newfound courage, Chloe asked, and Ian responded as if he’d been waiting for this.
“I heard from my brother that you’re an old friend of Chloe’s.”
Only child but what brother? Ah, perhaps he means Aaron?
“Since when have you been friends with Chloe?”
“Ah, well…….”
Chloe rolled her eyes, considering how to answer. She hadn’t thought through such specific details, and knowing that a careless lie would be immediately exposed, she couldn’t answer right away.
