SWWYV CHAPTER 154

Chapter 154

Returning to the Fraus Count’s residence, Sophia trudged heavily toward her room.

She hadn’t realised it while she was with Killian, but now, after everything that happened, her legs felt like they might give out from the shock.

‘It’s okay, Sophia. You’re alive, after all.’

Encouraging herself, she gripped the bannister and climbed the stairs.

‘And I got permission to marry Killian.’

Sophia nodded with a slight smile.

Once they were married, she wouldn’t feel so anxious anymore.

She hoped that, as in many romance novels, only a happy ending would await her after marriage.

Just as she reached her room, she noticed Ian leaning against the door.

Had he been waiting for her? Ian straightened up and approached her.

“You’re back earlier than I thought, Sophie.”

“I thought you went to Ruchtainer…?”

Sophia looked at him in surprise.

Estelle had said Ian would be at Ruchtainer.

Not only Estelle but also the other Ruchtainer knights assumed Ian would be there, holding a sword, given his personality.

Yet, here he was, already home.

“Marriage.”

Ian walked slowly and deliberately towards Sophia, stopping right in front of her.

“Don’t do it.”

His gaze had a different intensity than usual, causing Sophia to step back cautiously.

“It’s already decided, Ian.”

“Decisions can be overturned. You haven’t had the ceremony yet, right?”

Ian took another step towards her.

He was always unpredictable, but today his stubbornness was particularly intense.

“There’s no reason to overturn it.”

“There is.”

“What reason?”

When Sophia challenged him, Ian’s eyes hardened.

“Being with that bastard puts you in danger. I can’t allow that.”

“Danger? That’s not true at all…!”

“Not dangerous after pulling that crazy stunt?”

Ian referred to the time she had disguised herself as the Black Moon.

Others might not know, but he did. He knew the Black Moon that appeared during Killian’s imprisonment was a fake.

Sophia had gone to such lengths because Killian was the real Black Moon.

“I lied that day not because I believed in his innocence but because it sickened me to see you risk your life to save him.”

His eyes seemed capable of accusing Killian again at any moment, making Sophia shake her head.

“You’ll understand His Excellency if you know the truth.”

“What damn truth? The one that made you do such a thing? I don’t want to understand.”

“Please, Ian. I’m exhausted today.”

She had been on edge all day protecting Estelle in the Empress’s presence and had even survived an accident.

She had no energy left to argue with Ian.

But Ian didn’t seem ready to let her go easily.

“Break off the engagement, Sophie. It’s for your own good.”

“Hah, since when did you care so much about me?”

Sophia finally retorted cynically.

While she appreciated him covering up the Black Moon incident, that didn’t mean Ian had always cared for her.

He had treated her carelessly for so long, something he was well aware of.

Ian seemed momentarily taken aback by her words, his eyes flickering with surprise.

“Well…”

When did this start?

Somewhere along the line, Sophia began to influence him, determining his mood each day and challenging his beliefs.

When had he started caring so much about Sophia?

Ian looked away, confused.

Was it after he found out Killian was the Black Moon? No, he had cared about her even before that.

Maybe it was after discovering Sophia wasn’t truly a Fraus?

It had bothered him, making him think about it constantly.

No, that’s not it. I’ve cared about you for a long time.

Whenever he returned from the Knights to the Fraus household, he would seek her out without fail.

He had admired the insignificant girl confined to the attic.

The true Fraus that she was.

‘Then why do I still care so much, knowing she isn’t truly Fraus?’

Ian met her verdant eyes.

There was no longer any reason to admire her for being a Fraus.

But even knowing she wasn’t a Fraus, he still admired those green eyes.

There were still no eyes more perfect in the world.

And her bright brown hair was unmatched in its beauty.

Her pale, flawless skin was captivating, and he always longed to hear her voice when he returned home.

She was the epitome of his ideal, the true Fraus.

The one he had longed for and desired so deeply, the Fraus.

However, this belief was fundamentally flawed.

Sophia was not a Fraus.

Therefore, removing the Fraus from all his thoughts left only one truth.

Even without the Fraus name, she was his perfect ideal.

What he had longed for and desired was Sophia herself.

This realisation started to clear the emotions that had been confusing him.

“See, you have nothing to say.”

Sophia addressed Ian, who had fallen silent.

“So move, Ian.”

As she tried to pass him and enter her room, Ian, who had been standing in a daze, grabbed her.

“…Just one more thing.”

“What…?”
At that moment, Ian pulled her towards him.

Sophia’s body was effortlessly drawn into Ian’s grasp, and in the blink of an eye, his arms were wrapped around her.

Sophia blinked, her mind going blank.

‘What is this?’

It wasn’t a hug to congratulate her on her marriage, nor was it a warm embrace between family members.

Ian’s behaviour was so out of character that Sophia’s skin prickled with goosebumps.

“Ian, what are you doing? Let go.”

Sophia tried to push away from the awkward and uncomfortable hug.

But Ian held her tightly.

“Now I understand.”

Ian murmured softly, and in that moment, Sophia felt the same warmth from Ian’s embrace that she had felt from Killian.

So this hug was…

“Let go, Ian!”

Realising its meaning, Sophia pushed him away with more force than before.

Only then did Ian release her, and she stepped back as if she were escaping.

“What are you doing right now?”

“I’m confirming something.”

“Confirming what…?”

“What I’ve been missing all this time.”

Sophia almost asked, ‘What have you been missing?’ but her voice wouldn’t come out.

She had a gut feeling that once she heard his answer, there would be no turning back.

“I… I’m going to my room now. I’m too tired.”

Sophia turned hastily on her heel.

But Ian grabbed her wrist.

“I’m not finished talking.”

Ian pulled her back, making her swirl around.

At moments like this, she resented being the weaker one who couldn’t resist his strength.

“I’m tired. I don’t want to talk anymore.”

“You asked when I started thinking about you.”

Ian’s expression, which had seemed angry earlier, had now softened.

But to Sophia, that expression felt even colder.

“I’ve thought about you for a long time. Long before you got engaged to that bastard.”

Ian spoke to a bewildered Sophia.

Now everything was clear.

What he cherished, loved, and wanted to possess was not the Fraus title.

Why he thought Sophia seemed more genuinely Fraus-like than his father or mother.

The day he first saw Sophia after joining the Fraus household, Ian had thought,

‘The lady of the Fraus family is beautiful. So beautiful, I can’t take my eyes off her.’

And Ian had believed this was his admiration for the Fraus family.

But what he truly desired were Sophia’s green eyes, her hair, and her voice.

Hunting birds she liked and bringing them to her, even though she never spared him a glance.

Seeking her out and tearing the wings off blue butterflies because she ignored him.

Ordering her, rather than a servant, to fetch water just to have her near.

Feeling a surge of anger whenever she looked at him with an indifferent gaze.

All of this couldn’t be explained by mere admiration for the Fraus family.

Once the clear emotion was reflected in Ian’s eyes, Sophia shivered.

“You… Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I do.”

She was silent after her mother’s death, not wanting to associate with an outsider like him, but he still wanted to see her.

He thought it was because he wanted to observe what her mother had called the ‘Fraus nature.’

And he believed he was angry because the Fraus didn’t acknowledge him.

But that wasn’t it.

“Are you insane? You and I, we’re related by blood. We’re siblings!”

Sophia shouted at Ian’s affirmation.

No sane person would say such a thing.

Incest was a taboo topic, even in high-rated novels, and certainly not something discussed in an all-ages fantasy romance like *Withered Flowers Bloom Again*.

That’s why Sophia had never anticipated Ian’s feelings.

Though he had recently shown an odd obsession with her, she had assumed it was familial affection.

Some characters in novels fiercely protect their family, even displaying violent reactions like, ‘How dare you touch my sister?’

If it was about family affection, she thought it might be possible.

But…

“…What if we’re not siblings?”

Ian’s slow words flowed out.

Sophia’s lips moved wordlessly, catching air.

“What would you do if we’re not siblings?”

Ian prompted her for an answer, staring intently at her.