“Young Master!”
When Elise saw the person who had appeared before her, her eyes sparkled with light.
Ian wiped his palms and looked at the Fat Noble he had knocked to the ground.
“You there, stay away from my Elise.”
Hearing Ian’s words, Elise’s small face flushed red.
‘My Elise? Does the Young Master consider me family?’
“Are you alright, Elise?”
Ian asked softly, looking at her.
“Young Master, I am fine.”
Just then, Aetherinra pushed through the crowd and ran to Elise’s side.
“Elise, are you okay? It is all my fault for not protecting you well.”
Aetherinra held Elise tightly, afraid she would be harassed by strange people again.
“Young Lady, I am fine,” Elise said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Aetherinra’s tight embrace.
“It was all thanks to the Young Master saving me.”
As she spoke, Elise’s eyes revealed a hint of admiration for Ian.
After carefully checking Elise for any signs of injury, Aetherinra’s racing heart finally settled.
She then turned a somber gaze toward the Fat Noble lying on the ground.
“Who are you? Why were you approaching Elise?”
The Fat Noble steadied his head, which was still ringing from the blow.
Upon hearing Aetherinra’s words, he keenly picked up on a key piece of information.
‘So the Lord Angel is named Elise?’
He stood up and introduced himself to Aetherinra.
“I am Remand Anke.”
The Fat Noble recognized the person in front of him as Aetherinra of the St. Yola Duke’s Mansion, so he stated his identity directly.
“Remand? What are you doing in Far East City?”
Aetherinra naturally knew the significance of the name Remand.
It was the name of a Count’s family in the Royal Capital.
Logically, the Duke and the Remand Count Family should have no connection.
Why would he come to this land in the far east?
Aetherinra was deeply confused.
“Pardon my intrusion, but may I ask what your relationship is with the Lord Angel?”
‘Angel? He must mean Elise.’
Although Aetherinra did not know why Anke called Elise “Lord Angel,” she still answered his question.
“Elise is like a sister to me.”
Aetherinra did not know for what purpose the man was approaching Elise, but by telling him that Elise was her sister, she was making it clear that anyone who moved against Elise would have to consider whether they could withstand the wrath of the Duke’s Mansion.
However, Aetherinra’s words did not seem to dampen the man’s passion.
Instead, he became even more excited.
“Really? The Lord Angel is actually your sister? Then that means after we are married, the Lord Angel will have to call me Brother-in-law? Though if possible, I would prefer it if the Lord Angel could call me Big Brother.”
Anke muttered words to himself that no one else could understand.
Aetherinra’s brow furrowed upon hearing his nonsense.
‘What does he mean, after we are married?’
Noticing Aetherinra’s shocked expression, Anke bowed and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Aetherinra. The purpose of my visit this time is to go to the Duke’s Mansion to propose to you.”
Standing to the side, Ian finally understood the sequence of events.
In the original story, a certain Count’s family had indeed proposed an alliance to Aetherinra, but they had been rejected outright.
In the original work, it was just a brief mention in the plot.
Ian had not known that the noble who proposed to Aetherinra was actually a pervert who enjoyed wearing women’s clothing.
Looking at the scene before him, Ian knew he did not need to step in.
Veronica would never allow such a thing to happen.
Sure enough, the very next moment after Anke finished his explanation, Veronica’s figure rushed forward.
“We will not agree to your request.”
“And you are?”
Anke asked, sizing up Veronica.
“I am Aetherinra’s guard.”
“A mere guard probably doesn’t have the authority to decide such matters.”
“As the Young Lady’s guard, I have an obligation to keep perverts away from her.”
The two were at loggerheads, neither willing to back down.
Veronica was even mentally calculating where to bury Anke’s body later.
Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly tense, Aetherinra spoke up slowly.
“I am sorry, Remand. The St. Yola Duke’s Mansion will likely not grant your request. So, if there is nothing else, could you please leave?”
Aetherinra did not want to tear down all pretenses with a Count’s family from the Royal Capital at this time, so her tone of refusal was relatively mild.
Anke was not angered by Aetherinra’s answer.
Instead, he replied calmly, “Very well. I cannot force such things. We shall talk again after you have thought it through.”
After speaking, Anke walked toward Elise.
Seeing the approaching figure, Ian blocked his path.
“Is there anything else?”
“Are you that unlearned, lawless Ian? What is your relationship with the Lord Angel?”
“Elise is my maid,” Ian answered truthfully.
“As I thought. You truly are not human. You are a Demon.”
Ian was baffled by Anke’s baseless verbal abuse.
He had only answered one question; how did he suddenly become a Demon?
Before Ian could think further, Anke shouted toward Elise, “Wait for me, Lord Angel! One day, I will defeat this Demon and rescue you!”
With that, Anke fled the clothing store like a gust of wind.
Ian naturally felt no goodwill toward this pervert who had set his sights on Elise.
He thought that if he had the chance, he would teach the man a lesson.
After Anke’s interruption, none of them had the heart to continue shopping.
Aetherinra paid for the clothes and prepared to head back.
“Let’s go. We should head back,” Aetherinra said to the group.
Veronica and Elise both nodded.
Although Veronica had not yet figured out if Ian was the one who bought the sword for her, she could try again later.
She did not mind missing this one chance.
However, when Ian heard Aetherinra’s suggestion, his face stiffened.
He had been so focused on protecting Elise that he had forgotten his own objective.
“Um, I won’t be going back just yet. You all go ahead.”
“Then Elise won’t go back either. Elise wants to stay with the Young Master.”
Hearing Elise’s words, a trace of bitterness appeared on Aetherinra’s face.
‘It seems my plan has fallen through. Not only did I fail to make Elise resent Ian, but she seems to like him even more now.’
“Elise, you go back with Aetherinra and the others first. I will return to the Duke’s Mansion naturally once I’ve finished my business.”
Ian naturally could not let Elise follow him.
He was planning to leave the city, and leaving without the Duke’s orders was illegal.
How could he take Elise with him?
“Elise, just follow Aetherinra and the others back first.”
Seeing how hard Ian was trying to push them away, the corners of Aetherinra’s mouth curled up.
She acted as if nothing were wrong and spoke slowly.
“Actually, we don’t really want to go back that much either. Why don’t we just follow you until you’re finished and then go back together?”
Looking at the slight smile on Aetherinra’s face, Ian’s body involuntarily shuddered.
It felt as if his intentions had been seen through.
“Well, you all should really head back first. You’ve been out so long, you must be quite tired.”
“Not at all. We don’t feel tired in the least.”
“On the contrary, Ian, since you are so against us coming along, are you planning to do something scandalous?”
“How could that be? How could what I’m doing be scandalous?”
Ian laughed a few times, playing it off.
“Then don’t worry about us. It just so happens that we can accompany you around the city a bit more.”
‘Damn, I’ve been outmaneuvered by this woman.’
As things stood, if Ian refused again, he would be admitting that he was preparing to do something shameful.
He could no longer say no.
It seemed his only option was to find an opportunity to give them the slip later.
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