Episode 42
“Sleep well, my lady.”
As if holding hands was nothing, he casually bid me goodnight.
“…You too, Duke.”
When Lloydin took my hand, my heart, which had been pounding fiercely, showed no sign of slowing down.
I pretended not to be surprised and returned his goodnight wishes.
But even with closed eyes, it was a restless night with a heartbeat faster than usual.
* * *
In the deep night, someone struggled more than Ayla to fall asleep.
It was Lloydin.
Hearing Ayla’s quiet breathing, Lloydin slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the strength leaving his hand, he tightened his grip on her hand even more.
While holding her hand, he turned his body slightly to the side.
With the help of moonlight, he could see her face clearly as she peacefully slept with her eyes closed.
‘Ayla.’
Internally, he repeated her name several times, a name he had never uttered aloud.
Coincidentally, as if hearing his inner thoughts, the corners of Ayla’s lips curled.
Surprised, he saw her smile, and a sense of warmth and satisfaction filled his heart.
Every time he looked at Ayla, she always showed him the brightest smile in the world.
Since the passing of his parents, no one else had smiled or welcomed him like that.
Instead, they would either avoid him as if seeing something dirty or openly express discomfort.
Her smile meant the world to him.
However, Ayla’s actions towards him were based on their contractual relationship.
Perhaps, after her illness was completely cured, he might never see her smile again.
Sometimes, or rather frequently, dirty desires tried to surface in his mind.
There was a way to keep her by his side longer, perhaps for a lifetime.
He could have taken a selfish and despicable approach.
By being cautious with physical contact and refraining from infusing magic, the treatment of her illness would undoubtedly be delayed.
There was a selfish and petty way to achieve it.
But he couldn’t do it.
His emotions overpowered his will.
It was clear to see how his power affected Ayla’s illness.
Every time he held hands with her and saw her youthful face, he unintentionally sent even stronger magic to her.
It was his feelings toward her that he couldn’t control.
If this continued, Ayla’s illness would soon be completely healed, and their marriage would likely come to an end.
‘Yes. Eventually, I…’
Although the demons had been surprisingly quiet lately, it was unknown when and where they would attack the empire again.
One thing was for sure; time was running out.
In that case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tie up loose ends before being dragged onto the battlefield.
While his younger brother had always been desperate to prevent him from going to the battlefield, life was uncertain anyway.
But if possible, if it were possible at all, he wanted to spend a little more time with her.
As if not wanting to let her go, Lloydin tightened his grip on Ayla’s hand again.
“Umm.”
It was then.
Ayla tossed and turned as if the grip on her hand was too tight.
Instantly, Lloydin loosened his grip on her hand slightly.
In response, Ayla pulled her hand away from his.
As her hand, the only one he had touched, moved away, waves of regret and loneliness washed over him like a tide.
But it was only a moment. Ayla, who seemed to shiver, soon snuggled into Lloydin’s arms as if seeking warmth.
The soft touch of her body, rather than just her hand, made his mind go blank and his body stiffen.
Ayla, unaware of Lloydin’s state, suddenly hugged his waist and fell back into a deep sleep with a satisfied smile.
*Sigh*
After a while, a sigh escaped Lloydin’s lips involuntarily.
He was uncertain about how to handle the unexpected situation.
It was right to put Ayla back in her original position, but he didn’t want to do it, creating a conflict.
But the dilemma didn’t last long.
Even if it was greedy, it was okay.
He didn’t want to push away this chance.
He wanted to etch this moment, which might be the last, into his heart forever.
Having made his decision, Lloydin cautiously pulled Ayla back into his arms.
As he embraced her, Ayla nestled deeper into his embrace as if they were one from the beginning.
It satisfied him to no end that her body fit against his as if he were her only one.
“Ayla.”
Perhaps because of that, courage surged within him.
Lloydin uttered her name aloud, a name he had only muttered to himself before.
“Ayla.”
Until he fell asleep, he kept echoing the name that others could easily call, but he could never bring himself to say.
* * *
The next morning, I woke up feeling fresher and more refreshed than yesterday.
As expected, my side was empty when I woke up.
After preparing for the day like yesterday, I had breakfast with Lloydin.
Ian, just like yesterday, insisted on eating alone, seemingly in no mood to join us.
“I guess I should hurry.”
I couldn’t let my brothers continue to live like this because of me.
After finishing breakfast, Lloydin escorted me to the study and then returned to his office.
In the study, I pondered over what to do with Ian and eventually called the butler.
“Madam, it’s William.”
“Come in.”
The butler entered the study.
“What can I do for you?”
“Is there anything Ian particularly likes? Like something I could give as a gift.”
As far as I knew, children were weak to gifts.
Of course, just giving a gift wouldn’t immediately win favor from a child who currently harbored ill feelings towards me, but it was better than nothing.
“If possible, something very small.”
“Is there something he likes?”
The butler paused, lost in thought.
“Even something trivial would do.”
“Well, there is one thing that comes to mind.”
“What is it?”
I asked eagerly.
“It’s books.”
“Books?”
“Yes. It’s a book that the Duke gave Master Ian as a birthday present last year.”
“A book given by the Duke as a gift?”
“Yes. Master Ian lost the book and asked me to get the same one again, but it was already out of print.”
“If it’s out of print, then it would’ve been impossible to get.”
“Yes. That’s right. Master Ian was particularly upset because it was a gift from the Duke and he cherished the book.”
“I see. By any chance, do you know the title of the book?”
“It’s a book called ‘Exploring Various Places on the Continent’ by Christian Maximus.”
“Christian Maximus…”
Strange. The name sounded too familiar…?
I murmured, pondering over the author and the title of the book.
It felt like I heard it somewhere before.
Judging by the title, it seemed to be a travel book.
“Travel, travel…”
“Oh!”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing, nothing.”
As a sudden memory struck me, I unintentionally made a loud noise.
Quickly, I raised both of my hands to my mouth, feigning innocence, while internally smiling at the rush of recollection.
‘It’s the book Brother Noah was reading!’
The day I went to find Brother Noah after using my powers on Ian and found him reading, the book he was reading was unmistakably the same.
“So the Duke gave Ian that book as a birthday present?”
“Yes. As you know, Master Ian cannot step a foot outside the capital without permission from the royal family and the temple. So the Duke often gave him travel-related books as gifts.”
Ah, that’s right.
Under the guise of protecting Ian, the Empire confined the child to the capital.
In reality, it was to keep him under their control and manipulate him, with Lloydin as the pawn.
“But how did he end up losing that book?”
“Well, that’s…”
The butler seemed hesitant to speak.
“He took it to the Academy and lost it.”
“The Academy?”
“Yes. That’s right…”
Though it seemed like there was more he wanted to say, I didn’t press further.
I didn’t need to ask; I already knew.
If he lost it at the Academy and couldn’t tell Lloydin about it, then it was obvious.
The children who tormented Ian took the book and didn’t return it.
‘These naughty children.’
As I seethed with anger towards the unseen children, I barely managed to regain my composure.
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