Chapter 84

Real Look (1)

A few days of peace passed by. Lily’s heart grew tumultuous.

Would he really not punish her? Or was he contemplating a method…?

Now, what could he think of…

“Vlad.”

His eyes opened in an instant.

*Where is our destination? Where are we going…?”

“You will find out when we arrive.”

He suggested going out, but kept the destination a secret.

Lily had asked him a couple of times, but he didn’t even give a little clue.

It was the first time the two of them both went out of the castle after marriage.

Where is he taking me?

“…”

Lily’s hands, covered in her white fur gloves, clenched. She lowered her gaze to meet his neat boots. “Why did you order to return the items from the Isles?”

He could have ordered to throw away all those expensive things, which Lily couldn’t even dream of getting.

Her mind was complicated.

If Tristan arrived at the Isles, her father would find out that it was she, not Vlad, who asked for distribution information.

Not only would her father be unable to monopolize trade secrets, but he would even receive emotional humiliation from a returned gift.

Then her father…

“Look at me, Lily.”

She slowly raised her head.

Deep in her green eyes, there was fear.

The wound it had been engraved on was too old and warped that it’d hurt even if a mere feather were rubbed against it.

A bitterness passed through Vlad’s eyes. “Your father can no longer harm you. I won’t let him touch even the tip of your hair. He…”

He will pay the price.

Vlad swallowed his last words.

She must know nothing.

She must not go through anything harsher than what she had already gone through in her life.

“If there’s something that you want, I’ll order to have it left behind. There’s no need to worry too much.”

Lily hesitated. Seeing that she didn’t answer right away, she seemed to have something she needed, so Vlad paid attention.

“Dandelion…”

He frowned slightly.

“He got punished because of me.” Lily stopped fiddling with her fingertips. “He never got hurt anywhere on his body before. Since he was four, I always received his share of punishment. But now…”

“…”

Vlad clenched his jaw muscles with much force. He turned his head out of the window again, as Lily turned away.

Shylock Isles. Aren’t you a person who is quite adept at destroying people?

He tapped her armrest with his fingertips.

“Your brother…” He took time to choose his words. “It is not your responsibility. The only thing that an immature young man can do is resent his sister. Rather, he should thank you for taking care of him.”

A man who didn’t even have the courage to hate the person who beat him up, turned the arrow to his powerless sister.

He was a weaker and meaner young man than expected.

Isn’t it already unfair to have him survive so easily and indolently?

He had no intention of comparing misfortunes, but the world was harsher on women than on men. It was a fact that should be known to everyone.

The fact that Dandelion lived as a parasite in Lily’s tragedy did not change. The more she was with him, the more she suffered.

“I…” Lily lowered her head again.

Vlad, who was staring at Lily as if thinking of something with her, slowly opened his mouth. “Can’t your brother just go to where your father is?”

Lily blinked. She didn’t have to keep Dandelion by her side, but…

“I’ll take care of it so you don’t have to worry about it. Don’t worry.”

Lily’s expression softened. She licked her lips.

She felt unfamiliar with Vlad’s help.

She must somehow repay his forgiveness and help… “Thank you, Vlad…”

Vlad flinched and the corners of his lips twitched strangely.

Can you say thank you for just this?

It tickled between her ribs as she looked down shyly when she whispered.

Lily glanced up at him again and said, “But still, those things… What if we don’t return it?  That alone will help you quite a bit with your finances. Also, you do not need to spend the estate’s budget to decorate the castle.”

Vlad responded with silence this time.

Lily thought that rather than just saying it, it might be quicker to take action.

After thinking about it, the carriage stopped. When the door opened, a cold wind with the scent of wood swept through the carriage.

As he landed lightly on the snowy ground, the coachman put a wooden staircase under the door.

Vlad reached out to Lily, his hand in a leather glove. “The floor is slippery, so mind your steps.”

It was a natural gesture.

Lily’s slender hands, clad in white fur gloves, clasped his wide palms.

She carefully stepped down, clutching her luxuriously sparkling silver robe and pure white dress. He watched her without blinking an eye.