Chapter 3
A voice that should never have been heard at this moment rang through the space, reaching the ears of the boys surrounding Aryan.
In an instant, five pairs of eyes snapped in the same direction.
“Gasp—”
“C-Clarissa?”
The first boy to recognize the voice swallowed hard as he called her name.
With each step she took, her soft chestnut-brown hair swayed lightly.
Carrying a sweet fragrance, Clarissa walked gracefully and effortlessly into the circle of stunned boys.
As she drew closer, they parted without a word, stepping back one by one.
Only Aryan lifted his head slightly, his face blank with disbelief.
This…
Clarissa’s eyes quickly swept over Aryan as he stared at her in a daze.
His once-translucent silver hair was smeared with sand and dirt. Small cuts marked his cheek, and the skin beneath his knees and palms was stained red.
Crunch.
Clarissa ground her back teeth together, twisting her lips into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Then she examined each of the faces around Aryan.
No matter the world, it seemed the law of conservation of trash still applied.
Even if it was a truth she would rather not have realized at a time like this.
You rotten little bastards.
Clarissa’s gaze settled on Toddga, the host of today’s party.
The moment she met his foolish face, her mood crumpled like paper.
So that’s where you were hiding.
Toddga’s foot was still raised, as if ready to stomp down at any moment.
Swallowing her surging anger, Clarissa opened her mouth.
“Good daaay, Viscount Lavender. Thanks so much for inviting me.”
There wasn’t a shred of gratitude in her voice.
Toddga’s eyelids twitched as he faced Clarissa’s dazzling smile. He couldn’t bring himself to say a word.
He simply couldn’t comprehend the situation—
“Now, gratitude aside.”
—at all.
Frankly, Clarissa had no interest in whether he understood it or not.
“So.”
The smile vanished from her lips in an instant. What followed was chillingly cold.
“What do you think you’re doing to what’s mine?”
“W-What do you mean…?”
Still sitting on the ground, watching everything unfold, Aryan’s blue eyes trembled.
Flustered, Toddga stumbled over his words.
Clarissa’s hand curled slowly into a fist.
A cold breeze swept past, crawling down the boys’ spines.
“Oh dear, Viscount. Is your hearing already that bad at your age?”
A sharp, unpleasant smile spread elegantly across Clarissa’s lips. Her golden eyes sank into a frigid glare.
“Didn’t you hear me? What the hell do you think you’re doing to my fiancé, you pieces of trash?”
The boys went slack-jawed at the vulgar word that fell from Clarissa’s mouth.
Taking advantage of the moment, Clarissa calmly walked over to Aryan and knelt before him.
She brushed the sand and dust from him as best she could, then gently lifted his chin to assess the cuts on his face.
Good. No scars.
Just as her anger began to cool—
“Lady Clarissa, what did you just say?”
“Did you just call us t-trash?”
“How could you say something like that—!”
Toddga and his lackeys snapped back to their senses, shouting over one another.
Clarissa let out a long, weary sigh and turned her head slightly.
Her half-lidded golden eyes briefly held the four hesitant boys before sliding away, as if she couldn’t even be bothered to look at them.
“Was I wrong?”
She made no attempt to hide her disdain. The voice that fell from beneath her red lips was no gentler.
The faces of Toddga and the three boys flushed crimson.
Aryan stared at Clarissa with empty eyes.
He still couldn’t believe what was happening.
Was the person standing up for him really the Clarissa von Lisette he knew?
With a trembling voice, Aryan called out to her.
“…My lady?”
“Shh. It’s okay.”
When Clarissa turned back to him, her expression softened.
Her voice was gentle. Her golden eyes shimmered, warm enough to melt.
“Can you stand?”
A small, delicate hand extended toward him.
Aryan hesitated.
If he took that hand so easily, he felt like he wouldn’t survive the moment she let go.
As if she understood him perfectly, Clarissa didn’t rush him in the slightest.
Normally, she would have snapped impatiently long ago.
Why…?
At last, Aryan’s trembling fingertips touched Clarissa’s soft hand.
It was warm.
Is she being kind to me?
Even after saying she didn’t need me anymore?
Confusion clouded Aryan’s eyes as he stared at the ground.
Leaving his tangled thoughts untouched, Clarissa simply supported him with a gentle grip.
Their steps fell into sync.
Just as they were about to leave the place steeped in discomfort—
“Lady Clarissa!”
Toddga shouted after them, his voice filled with anger.
Clarissa’s left eyebrow rose sharply.
She shifted Aryan behind her and turned around slowly.
“Who gave you permission to raise your voice?”
“How could I not? You’re being rude, my lady!”
“Rude?”
Clarissa’s voice snapped like a blade.
“You even know what rude means?”
Toddga and the other boys flinched.
If looks could kill, they would have already been torn to pieces.
The air stiffened in an instant.
Aryan tightened his grip on Clarissa’s hand.
But Clarissa had no intention of stopping.
“Oh, I see… So in the Lavender household, it’s good manners to knock someone down and mock them while they’re on the ground?”
“That’s not what—!”
“If that’s the case, then yes, that is rude. Count Lavender must’ve done a stellar job raising you, huh?”
“Ugh, th-this is—!”
No one could stop Clarissa once her words began to flow.
Toddga’s face went pale as his family name was dragged through the mud.
“And touching what belongs to someone else—now that’s bad manners in any country, isn’t it?”
“…Why would he belong to you?”
At that pitiful attempt at a retort, a small pfft escaped Clarissa’s lips.
“He’s my fiancé. What—did you think he was yours?”
“But! Didn’t you two break off the engagement?!”
Toddga’s outburst made Aryan’s body tremble faintly.
Clarissa shrugged, ignoring the prickling in her conscience.
“Nope.”
…It’s only been a day. Has the rumor already spread?
The road ahead felt suddenly much longer.
Feeling her mood sink further, Clarissa replied curtly.
“And whether I’m engaged to Aryan or not, what business is that of yours?”
“Ugh… Your speech has been awfully informal all this time, my lady.”
“I figured we were speaking casually, since you’ve been throwing around his name so freely.”
“Kh—! A-Anyway, Lady Clarissa… I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
Stung by her sharp reply, Toddga quickly changed tactics.
It was a desperate attempt to regain control of the conversation.
“Boys will be boys. We were just playing around.”
“Oh? So all of this was just a game?”
“Yes.”
“Y-Yes, of course!”
“It might be hard for a sheltered young lady to understand, but… well.”
Seizing the chance, the boys piled on flimsy excuses.
A short, scoffing laugh cut through them.
Clarissa.
She tilted her chin slightly.
Oh, so that’s how you want to play this?
Clarissa released Aryan’s hand.
Before he could even regret the loss of her warmth—
“Aaagh!”
Toddga rolled across the ground.
Clarissa’s arm swung down over him.
Even when her fist struck his jaw, even when pain shot through her ankle from stepping wrong, she didn’t stop.
Everything happened in a flash.
The boys who had frozen in shock belatedly grabbed at Clarissa’s arm.
“M-My lady!”
“Hey. Let go.”
Her voice was eerily calm as she barked at them.
Twisting her body sharply, Clarissa broke free—
And struck again, this time driving her kick cleanly into Toddga’s knee.
“Gah!”
“Lady Clarissa, please stop!”
“Why are you doing this?!”
As Toddga choked back a groan of pain, Clarissa answered placidly,
“Why?”
She smiled.
“We’re playing.”