When Askin arrived back at the Lemut estate, the storm had already passed.
"Aria!"
He burst through the castle doors, his boots echoing on the stone floor. The servants, busy and exhausted, immediately bowed their heads. Askin’s eyes darted to the towels and basins of water they were carrying. He didn't wait for an explanation; he bolted up the stairs.
Nanny Martha was coming down. Her face was pale, the wrinkles around her eyes deeper than usual.
"Martha! How is she?"
"Ah... Your Excellency," Martha said, her voice trembling slightly. "She’s... she’s sleeping. She’s safe."
Martha had raised both Askin and Aria. She knew Aria’s health better than anyone, and Askin could read her expression with ease. Aria was alive. The crisis was over.
"...How did she get through it?" Askin asked, his shoulders finally dropping from their defensive hunch.
He’d been away for only a few hours, dealing with Ian Child. He’d thought it was safe to leave her for a moment, but the cost of that one moment of relief had almost been his sister’s life.
The local doctor on the estate was loyal but mediocre. Whenever Aria’s condition worsened, Askin had to personally bring a specialist from the capital. He hadn't expected her to deteriorate so rapidly while he was gone.
"Tell me exactly what happened," he commanded.
Martha hesitated. The knights and assistants nearby looked away, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. It was as if they were afraid to speak.
"Martha," Askin said, his voice turning cold. "Your left eyebrow always twitches when you're hiding something. Out with it."
Martha sighed, a small, awkward smile touching her lips. "I can never hide anything from you, can I?"
She took a deep breath. "Princess Charlize... she sent the Altsbeit family doctor."
Askin’s eyes widened. He started to speak, but Martha held up a hand.
"And she sent a healing mage. Your Excellency... if it weren't for that mage, the Young Lady wouldn't have had the strength to hold on. Her energy was completely spent."
"..."
Askin felt a surge of emotions he couldn't name. Shock, regret, and a strange, stinging sense of betrayal—not from Martha, but from his own assumptions. He hadn't wanted to hear this. He’d wanted to believe Charlize was the monster he’d always known.
But here were his own people, his own loyal servants, standing as witnesses to her intervention.
"Is it true?" he whispered.
"Yes. A high-ranking healing mage. They’re treated like counts wherever they go. To have one sent for a 'minor noble's sister' is unheard of."
In the Altsbeit mansion, where wealth was meaningless, a healing mage might be called for a scratched knee. But at Lemut, it was a miracle.
"The Princess... she already paid the full price," Martha added. "The mage and the doctor refused any further payment from us before they left."
"I see. Let everyone return to their duties."
Just then, a maid ran up to them. "Your Excellency! Aria-nim has opened her eyes!"
Askin didn't wait. He practically flew to Aria’s room.
"Aria!"
"...Brother?"
Aria was propped up against her pillows, her face pale but her eyes clear. Askin sat on the edge of the bed, his heart acheing at how frail she looked.
"Aria, I... I heard. I’m so sorry I wasn't here."
"Brother, did you hear?" Aria’s voice was small, but she sounded unexpectedly excited. A faint blush touched her cheeks. "The Princess helped me! She really helped me! Maybe... maybe we were wrong about her?"
Askin closed his eyes tight. He couldn't bring himself to agree, but he couldn't deny it either. He just nodded bluntly.
"You need to rest. Your complexion is still poor."
"Brother, listen to me! She sent an Imperial healing mage! Even our own doctor said they couldn't get an appointment with someone of that rank. And... she even said she would be my friend."
Aria had been depressed for months, terrified that she was nothing but a burden to her brother. Askin had never mentioned the money, but he knew she felt the weight of it.
'It's because of me,' he thought, his chest tightening.
To see her now, smiling with such hope, was more than he could bear.
"What a wonderful thing," he said, the words feeling heavy in his mouth. "That woman... she's your friend."
"Right? A friend like me... it’s like a dream. She’s so pretty, and so kind..."
Askin watched her, amazed to see her acting like a girl her age for the first time in years. But her strength was still low, and she soon began to drift off.
"Brother..." she murmured, her small fingers clutching the hem of his cloak. "You... you don't hate her, do you?"
Askin looked at her hand. It was so thin, so weak.
'Do I hate her?'
The resentment and hatred he’d carried for Charlize Altsbeit for years couldn't be summed up in a single sentence. There were so many incidents, so many cruelties that Aria knew nothing about.
But instead of telling her the truth, he simply stayed silent.
"Is it because of me?" she whispered.
"No."
"Then... maybe... just once... couldn't the Princess have a chance?"
The words took the air right out of his lungs. He loved her more than anything, but he couldn't bring himself to answer that. Aria gave him a tired, knowing smile and fell asleep.
Askin stepped out of the room and headed to his office. He sat on the sofa in the dark, rubbing his face with his hands.
'Why? Why did she do it?'
He remembered what Aria had told him about the rainy day—how Charlize had let her into the carriage and brushed her hair. He’d assumed Charlize was harassing her, but Aria had insisted she was kind.
And then there were the rumors from the village. *Charlize's Angel Theory.* He’d thought it was a scam, a new way for her to torment him.
But her behavior didn't fit a plan.
*“I fell on my own, but my grandfather misunderstood.”*
*“Give it time. Isn't it strange that I’m suddenly obsessed with dating you? I haven't actually done anything cruel, have I?”*
Charlize’s voice echoed in his mind.
And then he remembered the look on her face when she was being dragged away by her grandfather's knights. She’d looked like she was about to cry—not because she was afraid, but because it was an injustice she couldn't stop.
The "Tyrant" of Altsbeit had been silenced by her own grandfather, and she had looked... human.