Chapter 18

Aileen was about to speak, stunned by the absurdity of it all, but Carlisle spoke first. With calm patience, he asked Judith once more.

“Tell me exactly what happened.”

His voice had grown noticeably quieter, deeper. Judith flinched slightly and stammered out her explanation.

“I was… trying to say hello. So I walked up to her, and then… Lady Aileen… pushed me.”

“Suddenly?”

“She said I was making her uncomfortable… that she’d warned me last time… and then she pushed me.”

Aileen couldn’t believe her ears. Judith was lying through her teeth without blinking—boldly, shamelessly, and right in front of her.

Sera, visibly furious, was about to step in, but Aileen calmly raised her hand to stop her.

If a man could be swayed by such a sloppy lie, she didn’t need him anyway. There was no point explaining herself to someone who wasn’t even worth it anymore. And besides… what were they now, really? Not even close enough to warrant an explanation.

“…Is that true?”

After a long silence, Carlisle finally asked her in a low voice.

Their gazes met in the still air, tangled like vines. Aileen thought she might see a glimpse of the old Carlisle—the man she once knew—beyond the still, dark depths of his eyes, like the endless ocean at night.

How foolish. Just seconds ago, she had made up her mind, and yet her heart was already beginning to waver.

She forced herself to stay composed as she answered.

“I didn’t.”

“Then why did Judith fall?”

“She tried to punch me, and ended up falling on her own.”

Aileen told him the truth—nothing more, nothing less. Whether he chose to believe her or not was entirely up to him.

Sera had witnessed everything, and even the staff nearby must’ve seen it too. But she knew Carlisle would never drag ordinary people—especially commoners—into something so messy. Neither would she.

Carlisle fell silent at Aileen’s blunt response. Growing nervous, Judith grabbed at his sleeve and quickly denied Aileen’s words.

“No, Carlisle. Why would I try to hit her? Do I look like someone who’d do that?”

So she wasn’t the kind of person to swing her fists—but she was the kind who could lie so easily?

Aileen let out a short, bitter laugh through her nose. Carlisle’s gaze turned back to her. His steady eyes locked onto hers for a long moment, and finally, his quiet voice broke the silence.

“Can you swear that what you just said is the truth?”

“I don’t understand why I’m being asked to make a sacred vow over a woman who tripped over her own feet.”

“Because someone got hurt.”

“….”

Aileen was at a loss for words.

Fine. If she gave him the benefit of the doubt—if Carlisle said that because someone was injured, she could almost understand. He had spent years on the battlefield, witnessing life and death over and over. It made sense that he’d be sensitive to injury.

But that would only make sense if the person in question weren’t Judith.

Judith—who had picked a fight with someone who clearly wanted nothing to do with her. Judith—who fell all on her own. Judith—who had now shown her true colors.

And yet Carlisle was standing here, blaming Aileen on her behalf.

She couldn’t see him the same way anymore. The weight of disappointment bore down twice as hard.

Her temples throbbed. Aileen answered coldly.

“This has nothing to do with me.”

“Or was it your maid who pushed her?”

The moment he brought up Sera, Aileen’s fury exploded. She had held herself back from the moment Judith first said her name, but not anymore.

“You’ve lost your mind, Carlisle. Even that woman you claim to love didn’t point fingers at my maid—so who are you to insult Sera like that? You don’t even trust what I say, so why are you asking me anything? If this is how it’s going to be, just take her and get out of my sight.”

Not once had she ever spoken to Carlisle like this.

Born into a family of knights, she’d grown up among them—watched her hot-tempered father and brother, and learned strength. She’d been raised with love, growing into a cheerful, honest woman. Sometimes, she’d speak more bluntly than other noblewomen, but never to him.

With Carlisle, she always tried to be better—softer, kinder. She wanted to show him only her best side, and she put effort into doing so.

It was never a burden. When she stood beside him, it felt natural. Inevitable. Being around Carlisle made her smile without even realizing it. Her eyes would curve into joy without effort.

But now, all of that had become meaningless.

The spell had broken.

Caught up in her own anger, Aileen didn’t notice the small flicker in Carlisle’s eyes. His pupils trembled ever so slightly, but he quickly masked it. When he spoke again, his voice was calm, steady—just as it always had been.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just wanted to be sure.”

“I already told you the truth!”

“…”

“You’ve already decided to believe her. You just wanted to drag the same answer out of me, like some kind of formality. So stop it. I’m done.”

Aileen’s voice trembled with exhaustion as she dragged a hand down her face.

Carlisle stared at her in silence. Her eyes were hidden behind her hand, but in his dark blue gaze—always as calm as the sea—turbulence began to rise like a gathering storm.

The waves inside him only began to settle again when Judith tugged gently at his sleeve. Watching it happen, Aileen bit down her churning emotions and steadied her expression.

After a long moment, Carlisle spoke in a soft voice, almost like he was speaking to himself.

“So… you’re saying you didn’t push her.”

But even that quiet murmur shattered the last piece of patience Aileen had left.

“Carlisle, I told you to stop! I told you to get out of my sight! Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep hurting me?! Why?!”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I don’t even want to look at you. I hope I never see you again.”

“…”

“I curse you. I regret every second I spent loving you. I wasted eight years of my life, and it’s eating me alive.”

Her voice broke.

Aileen’s face twisted, desperate and devastated—like the crumpled breakup letter still hidden in her drawer.

Drip. Drip. The tears she had held back finally spilled over, soaking her cheeks as they poured down like rain.

Her heart was a pile of blackened ash. It felt like the only way to survive the pain was to strike back—no matter how much it might hurt him. So she said the one thing she knew would wound him most.

“I should’ve listened when people told me not to get involved with a parentless orphan from the lower class. If I had known this was how ungrateful and cruel you’d turn out to be…”

For a moment, Carlisle’s face turned pale—like frost spreading across a window in the dead of winter. But Aileen, blinded by tears, didn’t see it.

“So just leave. Take her with you. Get out. Right now.”

The room fell silent.

Even Judith couldn’t speak. Her wide eyes blinked, stunned into silence. The staff, including Madame Kiroé herself, who had been quietly observing the confrontation from a distance, could only gape.

Aileen’s slender shoulders shook with anger, shame, heartbreak—and something else even she couldn’t name.

Carlisle’s color slowly returned. His lips parted slightly, as if to say something. But whatever words had formed, he swallowed them. Without a sound, he turned his back.

He walked slowly toward the exit. But before leaving, he turned to Madame Kiroé and the staff and gave one firm warning.

“What happened today doesn’t leave this room. If word gets out—”

“Please don’t worry, Count.”

Madame Kiroé nodded quickly. Carlisle gave a curt nod in return and strode out of the atelier. He was gone before anyone could take a second look—but Madame Kiroé could’ve sworn his tightly pressed lips were trembling.

Left behind, Judith stared after him, her face caught between a smirk and a sneer. Then she turned to Aileen and said, almost mockingly,

“Thanks, Lady Aileen.”

And with that, she walked out too.

Aileen collapsed to her knees where she stood.

Sera, who had been nervously biting her lip nearby, knelt beside her in silence and gently rubbed her back.

Aileen’s thoughts swirled like a storm.

What did I do to deserve this? What crime did I commit to be treated this way?

Surely no one deserved to be dragged into such hell without cause.

There was no way she could sit down for a fitting now. Somehow, Sera managed to calm Aileen and get her back to the Revart estate.

They too made sure to ask the atelier staff to stay silent about what had happened. Out of courtesy—and to avoid another unwanted encounter—they even scheduled their next visit directly at the Revart mansion. It would cost extra, of course, but Madame Kiroé had no complaints.

When they returned, Aileen entered carefully, worried someone might see her swollen eyes—but thankfully, no one else was home.

She asked Sera to keep what happened a secret, just between them. Then she quietly retreated to her room.

Exhausted, Aileen barely managed to pull herself into a chair.

She opened a drawer and pulled out the letter she had folded and sealed away long ago.

Her broken engagement letter.