I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ian smiled and approached them leisurely. The sound of his boot whirring could be heard as he stepped on the floor of the garden.

“Marquis Acpencia? No, Barrett? Since you’re younger than me, I can call you Barrett, right?”

He unbuttoned his sleeve and said.

“You’d better get your hands off this Lady right now. Apologize to her politely and say that you’ll never show up in front of her again. If so, I guess you can leave this place in peace.”

He was smiling softly, but somehow his voice sounded malicious, directed towards Barrett.

The Veridian family’s housekeeper was at the apex of the hundreds of swordsmen in the empire. Even Laurentia, who had not even learned sword art, felt that his spirit was quite extraordinary.

While staring blankly at Ian, she felt Barrett’s hand released her head. Turning back, she saw his hand, which was holding her hair a little while ago, was now stuck in the air powerlessly and saw his expression was pitifully stiff.

‘What happened to you now? Huh?’

“Barrett, do you know what the first thing Imperial knights are taught when they are trained? To become mentally educated. To inject the core value into one’s mind. Among the core values, the most important thing is the protection of women and loyalty to the country. These two are examples of pride and wisdom as a knight. But…..even if you’re not a knight, you should keep these in your mind.”

The corners of his mouth, which had been slightly raised, slid down. Barrett’s expression slowly hardened, and it seemed as though through his eyes, he was horrified.

“Isn’t it unseemly for a grown man to use violence against a woman like that?”
“…..I-It’s–”
“Ah, I didn’t say that for an answer. For your information, I tend to share my views with people.”

Ian raised both of his hands, stretching his index fingers.

“One, there are ordinary people, who are harmless to talk to. And two, there are some garbage people whom you can’t talk to. Isn’t that true? So what I’m saying is you can’t talk to me.”
“Yes, Your Excellency, the Grand Duke.”
“Now, where was I? Well, it doesn’t matter much. Anyway, here’s what I’m trying to say.”

He stretched his arms, grabbing Barrett’s collar.

Under the influence of the momentum, Barrett gritted his teeth. As Laurentia shifted her eyes towards him, she could see him sweating like a herbivore that had encountered a beast.

“I don’t care if it’s a woman or a man. I simply don’t like the idea of trash to stand in my own garden and wield its hand against the weak just because he or she is stronger. To be frank with you….”

He tilted his head, still looking down at Barrett.

“I’m very angry.”
“Yes, Grand….”
“I hope you wouldn’t have to face Miss Laurentia ever again.”
“…..”
“This is an order.”

With his last word, he snapped his hands and Barrett ran away from the garden with an ugly scream immediately. Compared to her, who had been caught and was being floundered by that man a while ago, Grand Duke Veridian simply scared him away.

Turning around, Ian shook his hands and smiled as he faced her.

It reminded her of her guard dog, Narr.

‘What’s with that smile? Don’t tell me…..you want a compliment.’

“Now, about that payment.”

‘Payment?…..Ah!’

“Ah yes, I’ll deliver it to you soon. I don’t have anything with me right now.”

Unfortunately, she had no purse or jewelry. She had a brooch on her dress, but if she untied it, her dress would fall down!

Ian softly stared at her. His eyes scanned her from her head to toe.

“You’re not trying to cheat me, are you?”

‘Cheat you?! How could you say that to the eldest daughter of the Aztane family?’

“The Aztane family values trust the most. For us, it means, if we lose faith, all our business will be ruined. So don’t worry, Duke.”
“Ah, the Aztane family.”

He gave a blank look before he muttered something and nodded. But somehow, she caught his words. It was “Good for you to have a lot of money.”

He walked the other way as if he had finished his business.

‘Wait, where are you going?’

“Wait a minute, Duke.”
“Why? If you don’t want to pay me, don’t call me. I’m busy.”

He said very leisurely.

“C-Can’t you have a discussion with me?”
“With you?”
“Yes….if you don’t mind, that is….”

Even if this man had kicked out the worm, she couldn’t guarantee that it was completely gone. Barrett was an obsessive person. He wouldn’t give up after being kicked out once.

Ian, who was staring at her, nodded and continued on his way.

‘Really?’

As she approached slowly and walked beside him, she somehow felt relieved.

It seemed like her plans had gone beyond her expectations. She felt regretful for not taking measures even though she knew Barrett was coming and for being helpless in front of him.

She was almost losing her strength, being swayed by his emotions. If not for Ian, who appeared, something she might not even be able to imagine would have happened.

She tried to change her future, but she still couldn’t get away from Barrett. He was persistent. If he wanted to isolate her, this time would have been perfect.

Even if the Aztane family was procedural, they would have problems with their businesses. She was sure that she would get in trouble. In any case, she wanted to avoid it. But how?

She turned her eyes to Ian, the Grand Duke of Veridian. She couldn’t believe that this man, who seemed to have lost a single crew, belonged to one of the three powerful families of the Empire. If he was out of her league, then…..

Suddenly, something came up in her mind.

“Grand Duke of Veridian,…..”
“Call me Ian. I don’t like being called that way in private.”
“Mr. Ian…..”
“….’Ian’ will be enough.”

‘He is very picky.’

“Ian.”
“That sounds better.”

He grinned. His smile was like a sigh of admiration.

“So what is it, Miss Laurentia?”
“I’m happy with Laurentia.”
“All right, then. Why does Laurentia want to talk with me?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Feel free to ask me.”

The shrug of his shoulders gave her a sense of composure. It felt like he could answer anything. She patted her nose and asked carefully.

“How much do I owe you?”
“The more, the merrier.”

‘The more, the merrier? How much does it worth in his eyes? A thousand gold coins? That’s a year’s budget for Aztane.’

She asked again, thinking that she had stepped on a landmine.

“Uh, how much will it be?”

Ian halted and snorted. As he flapped two fingers in front of her, she frowned.

“Uh, two thousand?”
“What? No, two gold coins will be enough. Not two thousand.”

The sight of his smiling face made her feel contented. Only two coins? Not two thousand, but two?

“Will that be enough?”
“Why? Were you planning to give me two thousand?”
“If you want…..”
“Haha.”

He began walking ahead, laughing wildly at her answer. But why?

As she quickly moved her feet to catch up to him, he slowed down his pace. When she raised her head at him, Ian said looking ahead.

“Don’t worry. I don’t really need money. Like I said, I would have saved you whether you paid me or not. That’s the chivalry.”

Was he waiting until her head got ripped off by that scoundrel? But she pushed the thought aside.

“I couldn’t be more grateful than this.”
“No, it’s fine.”

“No, thank you very much, Ian. I owe you a favor.”

She bowed to Ian, who was staring at her blankly without saying anything. It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but why couldn’t he?

“Ian?”
“…..Huh? Nothing. I think we’re on closer terms now.”
“I guess so.”

She headed back to the banquet hall, leaving him speechless.

“Laurentia.”

She turned around to see him, scratching his cheek and smiling handsomely.

“I think people would talk if you go in that state.”

‘That state?’

Looking down at herself, she saw torn parts of her dress, maybe because of the brawl with Barrett.

‘You, bastard! You even ripped off my expensive dress!’

“…..Seems like it.”
“There’s a room for the banquet participants, just in case you want to spend the night.”

He spoke lightly, glancing at her back as she walked. He was sharp but looked shy. He looked at her back, which was unexpectedly sensitive, before shifting his eyes to her head.

“……What are you──?”

***

Veridian was different from the territories of ordinary aristocrats. Although it belonged to the Empire, its culture was different as it was from a separate country.

For example, unlike the imperial culture, which considered the symbol of power was to build high buildings, Veridian’s castle was only three stories high, but it covered a large area.

Aside from admiring the vastness of the space, the numerous paintings on the walls and books were all majestic. She wondered if it really was the residence of the Veridian family, which led the Imperial Army.

The room was neat and spacious, and countless high-quality books lined the shelves.

“Is he a prolific reader?”

She asked because she had often noticed people showcasing the books on their shelves, without even giving them a read. Most of the time, such people were seen bluffing only to prove that their brains were empty.

‘Is Ian the same? He didn’t look like a bravado.’

“Hmm.”

The thought of that unpredictable person kept lingering on her mind. So before she went to bed in the room, she put a request in the information guild to find out more about the Grand Duke.

Fortunately, a batch of information came through the hands of the Aztane family’s servant the next day. One of the servants was disguised himself as an informational guild member.

There was no place in the Empire that isn’t accessible to the Aztane family. The Guild of Information was also sponsored by her family. Her grandfather was very sensitive to information, and now, he almost had the power to run it himself.

“Let’s see.”

Sitting on her desk, she looked through the thick bundle. Ian’s profile had just started and there were more than 10 rumors about his loss and debauchery. She didn’t need it. So, she turned over to the next page.

The Information of the Veridian Order of the Duchy. She needed this one.