Chapter 102: A Resolute Rejection
“Why not be more direct with your refusal? From what I can tell, Lord Vandemir doesn’t respond to polite words,” Eric suggested, his voice low and measured.
“Direct… how?” Iris tilted her head, puzzled. She’d already been far more straightforward than usual when she’d expressed her disinterest before. How much more direct could she possibly be?
Eric leaned in slightly, ensuring his words wouldn’t reach Oscar’s ears.
“Just tell him plainly that you don’t like him.”
Iris’s eyes widened. Even at her most candid, her temperament made such bluntness difficult. She bit her lip, her expression troubled.
Anticipating her hesitation, Eric continued in a soft, reassuring tone.
“Lord Vandemir keeps acting disrespectfully toward you. It’s perfectly fine to get upset or speak harshly to someone who’s in the wrong.”
The Hugo marquisate carried enough weight that rejecting Oscar’s advances wouldn’t provoke unchecked retaliation from the Vandemir duchy. And honestly, what was wrong with saying you didn’t like someone because you didn’t?
Eric had little patience for the socialite expectation that noblewomen must always consider others’ feelings, offering refusals with delicate tact.
“For example, if someone like me shows up exhausted after staying up all night, it’s fine to call them out for being inconsiderate or rude,” he added.
In truth, this was something Eric had wanted to say to Iris for a while. He was grateful for her kindness, always considering his feelings even when she was uncomfortable, but it also made him feel guilty. He wanted her to know she didn’t have to hold back.
“Of course, I know you probably didn’t think that way about me,” he clarified with a gentle smile. “I just mean it’s okay to express your feelings openly, without softening them.”
Iris’s expression grew complex, a mix of uncertainty and contemplation. She stole a glance at Oscar, who was still trailing them with infuriating persistence.
Could I really just say I don’t like him?
She wasn’t entirely convinced. For Aracila’s sake, wouldn’t it be better to resolve things as amicably as possible?
Unable to make up her mind, the walk came to an end.
As planned, Iris and Eric moved on to the social club. Predictably, Oscar followed, doggedly sticking to their heels. Seeing him enter the club behind them, Iris pressed her lips together tightly.
Thankfully, Oscar didn’t join their table, instead veering off to another part of the club. Still, the possibility of him barging in and causing a scene kept Iris on edge.
In a place as public as the social club, a single misstep could spark a scandal tying her to Oscar. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, scanning for any sign of him.
Noticing her unease, Eric lightly tapped the back of her hand.
“Lady Iris, try to relax. If Lord Vandemir shows up, I’ll handle him.”
“No, it’s fine,” Iris protested, waving her hands. She didn’t want to burden Eric any further.
Eric slid her tea across the table toward her, his voice calm and steady.
“It’s easier to feel at ease knowing someone’s got your back, isn’t it?”
“But…”
“It’s alright. Lean on me. I’m doing this because I need to keep up this arrangement with you, too.”
His lips curved into a gentle smile, warm and comforting, easing her nerves.
As the eldest daughter and heir, Iris had always been the pillar for others, never the one leaning on someone else. The sensation was unfamiliar—awkward, even slightly uncomfortable, but oddly reassuring at the same time.
With a small nod, her expression softened, and Eric seemed pleased.
To their surprise, Oscar caused no trouble at the social club. In fact, he was so conspicuously absent that it felt almost suspicious.
“Where could Lord Vandemir be?” Iris wondered aloud.
“My guess? He’s probably gotten distracted by some amusement and forgotten about us,” Eric replied with a wry smile.
“Hmm, that’s possible.”
The entrance to the club was relatively tame, but deeper inside, the atmosphere grew lively with all sorts of diversions. Since Oscar had passed them on his way in, he might’ve found something—or someone—to occupy his attention.
“Lord Roberts, excuse me for a moment,” Iris said, standing. The tension had driven her to drink too much tea, and she needed to visit the restroom.
As she walked, her eyes scanned the room quickly. Sure enough, Oscar was nowhere to be seen.
Did he really go deeper into the club, or has he gone home?
Either way, it was a relief for now, but the thought lingered uneasily. This might just be a temporary retreat, and he’d likely pester them again another day.
Maybe I should’ve settled things today.
Sighing with faint regret, she stepped out of the restroom.
That’s when she heard it—a coy, flirtatious voice from around the corner.
“Oh, what if someone sees us?”
Iris grimaced. Who in their right mind would carry on like that in a place like this? Determined to avoid looking, she quickened her pace.
But another sultry giggle stopped her in her tracks.
“Eek! That tickles, Lord Vandemir!”
Lord Vandemir?
The unwelcome name drew her instinctively toward the sound. Sometimes, people can’t resist the urge to witness the worst with their own eyes.
Peering around the corner, she saw a dimly lit hallway where a man and woman were entangled, their lips locked.
The man was, unsurprisingly, Oscar Vandemir. The woman was some noblewoman Iris didn’t recognize.
So that’s why he’s been out of sight—because he’s been busy with this.
Iris stood frozen, staring in disbelief. She hadn’t expected to find him like this. She felt no personal betrayal—there was no affection for Oscar to betray—but the sheer audacity of him chasing her all day only to end up flirting with another woman was absurdly galling.
While Oscar was giggling and cozying up to the noblewoman, he suddenly sensed a chill and turned his head.
The moment his eyes met Iris’s, his face drained of color.
The truth was, the moment Oscar had stepped into the social club, a playground of his favorite vices, he’d lost himself. Forgetting his original goal, he’d indulged in drinks and caught the eye of a noblewoman intrigued by his status as the Vandemir heir. They’d slipped into the hallway for a fleeting dalliance, nothing serious—just a bit of fun behind Iris’s back. He’d planned to end his disruptions for the day and pick up his pursuit another time.
He hadn’t expected to be caught so quickly.
Oscar’s face twisted as he hurriedly chased after Iris, who was walking away.
He couldn’t let things fall apart so quickly, not after boasting so confidently to his parents.
“Lady Iris! Wait, it’s a misunderstanding! That woman just threw herself at me…!”
“Why are you explaining yourself to me?”
Iris’s voice was sharp, her expression icy. A glint of raw contempt flickered in her eyes, green as summer foliage.
Oscar flinched, momentarily speechless, and Iris pressed on, her tone cutting like a blade.
“Who you meet or what you do has nothing to do with me.”
She turned on her heel to leave, but Oscar, still dazed, rushed after her and grabbed her arm. His face was flushed, almost gleeful, as if he’d found some twisted joy in the moment.
To his mind, Iris’s sharp retort wasn’t indifference or dismissal—it was proof she cared. Why else would she respond so fiercely if she wasn’t, in some way, invested?
“I get it, Lady Iris! You’re jealous, aren’t you? That’s why you’re upset with me!”
“What? That’s absurd…”
“Exactly! I admit, I did it to make you jealous. To test how we both feel!”
In those fleeting seconds, Oscar’s mind spun wildly, concocting a flimsy excuse. He flashed a smug grin, utterly pleased with himself, while Iris stood dumbfounded, her words tangled in a surge of frustration.
She had so much she wanted to say, but it all knotted together, leaving her lips trembling. Oscar, misreading her stunned silence and parted lips, grabbed her slender wrist and pulled her closer.
“So, how about it? Why don’t you end things with Lord Roberts and start a proper courtship with me? With marriage in mind, of course. I came all the way to the capital for you, despite my busy schedule.”
He puffed up, acting as though his uninvited trip to the capital was some grand gesture. His baseless confidence—that she couldn’t possibly refuse him—only fueled Iris’s rising anger.
Suppressing the urge to snap, she forced herself to speak calmly, her voice steady but firm.
“Lord Vandemir, stop deRudyng yourself. Didn’t I make it clear last time? I have no feelings for you.”
“That’s just for now,” Oscar countered, undeterred. “Spend more time with me, and you’ll fall for me. I’m quite the irresistible charmer, you know.”
He ran a hand through his hair, flashing a slick smile that oozed self-assurance. Despite his decent looks, his overblown ego made him seem oddly repulsive, his charm backfiring spectacularly.
Unaware of this, Oscar tilted his chin arrogantly and pressed on.
“Really, what reason do you have not to like me? Can you honestly say you dislike me? Can you even name one thing you don’t like?”
“…”
“See? You can’t. Deep down, you want me, but you’re just too shy and embarrassed to admit it.”
Iris, momentarily speechless from sheer disbelief, made her decision in that instant. Enough was enough. With this man, the only way forward was to lay her feelings bare, unfiltered.
“You don’t have to be a good person for my sake, Iris,” Aracila’s voice echoed in her mind. “Sometimes, you need to be the bad one for your own sake.”
Her sister’s words solidified her resolve.
Looking Oscar dead in the eyes, Iris spoke her truth for the first time in her life, unapologetically honest.
“I don’t like you.”
“…What?”
Oscar blinked, certain he’d misheard. Had she meant to say she did like him?
But her next words shattered his illusion.
“I don’t like how you treat people like they’re beneath you. I don’t like your arrogance masquerading as confidence. I don’t like how you disregard basic courtesy, even to family by marriage. I don’t like your shamelessness or your self-centeredness. And most of all, I don’t like how you assume I’d ever have feelings for you.”
Iris drove the final nail in with a resounding thud. Oscar staggered, clutching his chest as if struck by a physical blow, his heart reeling.
Being so openly rejected by a woman was a first since Aracila. The Hugo sisters had, one after the other, torn his pride to shreds.
“Let this be a warning,” Iris said, stepping closer, her voice low and menacing. “Stay away from me and Aracila from now on.”
As she advanced, Oscar instinctively backed away, his confidence crumbling. Though her delicate features didn’t naturally lend themselves to intimidation, the gathering darkness around them amplified the fierce glint in her green eyes, lending her threat a chilling weight.
“If I catch you hovering around us again, you’ll regret it.”
Her words, sharp and precise, cut through the air. Leaving Oscar pressed against the wall, frozen, Iris turned away, her expression lighter, as if a weight had been lifted.
When she returned to her seat, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with a newfound clarity. Eric tilted his head, noticing the change in her demeanor.
“Did something good happen?”
“Hmm, yes. Something… refreshing,” Iris replied, her smile the lightest it had been all day.
Eric, puzzled but pleased by her brighter mood, didn’t press for details. Instead, he matched her smile, falling into step with her newfound ease.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
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