“The illness is cured, so I should be going now.”
Although he really didn’t want to disturb the touching display of sisterly affection before him, Ian still spoke up to interrupt.
Hearing Ian’s words, Lilian walked over to stand in front of him.
‘What’s going on? Is she going to silence me?’
Watching Lilian approach closer and closer, Ian admitted he was a little panicked.
“I helped you cure your sister’s illness; you can’t go burning bridges now!”
Ian shouted as he backed away.
“What are you thinking?”
Lilian frowned upon hearing Ian’s words.
“I am merely retrieving the Mark I previously planted inside your body.”
Ian stopped retreating.
It seemed Lilian really had struck some kind of Mark into his body before, though he hadn’t felt anything.
“You cured my sister. From now on, if you have any trouble, you can speak to me.”
“If it is within my power, I will get it done for you.”
Hearing this, the heart hanging in Ian’s throat finally settled back into his chest.
“If I have any trouble, I will certainly look to you for help.”
Lilian nodded.
“Brother-in-law, are you leaving?”
Lilith, who was sitting on the bed, suddenly spoke up.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if she had stayed quiet, but her opening her mouth gave Ian a fright.
“Um, Lilith, I am not your brother-in-law,” Ian explained to Lilith with a wry smile.
“Really?”
Lilith was still somewhat skeptical.
Ian’s eyes had been darting toward her sister just now, so she had assumed he liked her sister.
If Ian knew what Lilith was thinking, he would have definitely been amused to the point of laughter.
He had glanced at Lilian only to observe her expression and prevent her from getting angry; it had nothing to do with liking her.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“You, go back first.”
Lilian stepped forward and tapped Lilith on the head.
If she continued to let Lilith speak, there was no telling what kind of mess the girl would stir up.
Hearing this, Ian felt as if he had found a life-saving straw and hurriedly walked out.
“Sister.”
“You never hit me before.”
Lilith pouted, her face full of indignation.
“And who told you to talk such nonsense?”
“Hmph, I wasn’t talking nonsense.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t argue with you. Your illness has only just been cured, so you should lie down and rest for a while.”
“Mm.”
Lilith nodded and lay back down.
However, Ian’s figure remained in her mind.
Before she fell ill, Lilith had thought to herself that if someone could cure her, she would find a way to repay them.
Now that Ian had cured her illness, how should she repay him?
Money? Or something else?
Lilith thought of many things in her heart, but she shook her head and rejected them one by one.
Ian was wearing the clothes he usually wore in the Duke’s Mansion today.
As one of the most powerful nobles in the entire Farah Empire, Ian’s attire was very sophisticated.
One could tell at a glance that he was either wealthy or noble.
‘If money won’t work, how else can I repay him?’
Lilith pondered deeply, and after a short while, she actually came up with something.
‘Right, why don’t I just give my sister to him?’
At this thought, Lilith’s small face turned bright red, but she became more excited the more she thought about it.
Ian’s behavior just now clearly showed he liked her sister; he was likely just embarrassed to admit it in front of Lilian.
‘Then I can help Ian pursue my sister!’
Furthermore, Ian helped with the treatment without taking any money and had a dashing appearance.
This showed that he either liked Lilian or had a good character.
Or perhaps it was a combination of both.
Thinking of this, Lilith became even more convinced of her idea to play matchmaker for Ian and Lilian.
What Lilith didn’t know was that Ian’s voluntary help wasn’t because of her guesses, but because he had been coerced by Lilian.
Of course, Lilith would likely never know the truth.
“What are you thinking about? Why is your face so red?”
Lilian noticed Lilith’s odd behavior and frowned.
“Nothing, I just thought of something happy.”
Hearing this, a question mark appeared in Lilian’s mind.
‘What kind of happy thought makes someone’s face turn that red?’
***
After completing the mission to help cure Lilith, Ian secretly returned to the Duke’s Mansion.
Just as he thought today’s tasks were over and he could finally get a good night’s sleep, an uninvited guest arrived at his door.
“Young Master, something is wrong!”
Elise rushed into his room once again, completely smashing the door in the process.
Looking at the fallen door that was so badly damaged it couldn’t be repaired, Ian mourned for it in his heart for three seconds.
“Elise, can you please use less strength when you enter the room? Do you know how many times my room door has been broken?”
“Elise already held back her strength, but for some reason, your door seems very easy to break, Young Master.”
Ian didn’t argue further with Elise on this issue, because he knew her personality was such that she couldn’t control her strength when she was nervous.
For Elise to be this flustered, something major must have happened in the Duke’s Mansion.
“What happened to make you so panicked?”
“It… it’s the Young Lady! She’s gone!”
“Aetherinra is missing?” Ian repeated in shock.
“Yes, we have searched the entire Duke’s Mansion and cannot find any sign of her.”
“Wait, don’t panic. Who was the first to realize Aetherinra was gone?”
Ian knew that he couldn’t panic in this situation.
He had to find as many clues as possible to have a chance of finding Aetherinra.
“It was the maid who delivered dinner to the Young Lady tonight who discovered it. This afternoon, when the maid brought lunch to Aetherinra at the usual time, the Young Lady unusually told her to just leave the food at the door. Thinking that the Young Lady might be in a bad mood after just having an argument with the Master, the maid left the food and departed.”
“But when that same maid passed by the Young Lady’s room tonight, she realized the food was still at the door, with no sign of it being touched. Remembering that the Young Lady isn’t the petty type who would skip meals just over an argument, she realized something was wrong. But by the time she opened the door, the Young Lady had already vanished.”
Hearing Elise’s words, Ian lowered his head in thought.
From what Elise said, it could be confirmed that Aetherinra went missing sometime between the maid’s delivery in the afternoon and the evening.
‘And why did she stop the maid from entering her room?’
The only possible reason was that she was doing something scandalous that she couldn’t let the maids see.
‘So, what exactly was Aetherinra hiding?’
“She argued with Father and was in a bad mood?”
Ian muttered to himself, trying to deduce what Aetherinra was concealing.
Suddenly, Ian thought of something.
He looked at Elise and asked, “Did Aetherinra’s weapon also disappear with her?”
“Yes, but Young Master, how did you know? Have you guessed where the Young Lady went?”
“It’s exactly as I thought. I probably know where Aetherinra went.”
“Where?”
“Magic Beast Forest — Junior Labyrinth!”