Episode 72
“That’s fortunate.”
“Yeah, really fortunate.”
I was really fortunate to have met Lloydin and to have him marry me.
“How did you two meet?”
“What?”
“How did you end up marrying the Duke?”
“Oh, I just fell for him at first sight.”
“At first sight?”
“Yeah. I mean, just look at him. It’s obvious why anyone would fall for him at first sight.”
Although I was slightly taken aback by the unexpected question, the words came out smoothly.
And upon reflection, it wasn’t a lie, so it sounded even better.
“Hmm, I guess he was good-looking.”
“Was he?”
I wasn’t particularly seeking anyone’s approval, but Felix’s words brought a pleased smile to my lips.
“But, are you okay with it?”
“What?”
Felix suddenly asked if I was okay with it.
Puzzled, I looked at him, then suddenly realized the intent behind his question.
“If you’re going to say something weird, just leave.”
The warm atmosphere we had just shared turned cold in an instant.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You were about to say something because of Blighton, weren’t you?”
“Oh, no!”
“No?”
“I have some sense too. I know you didn’t like it when I said something like that before, so why would I do it again?”
Felix protested his innocence with a very aggrieved expression.
“Oh, was that it? Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
Feeling awkward for jumping to conclusions, I quickly apologized.
“Well then, what did you mean by ‘okay with it’?”
“Before I say anything, let me be clear. This isn’t about Duke Lloydin Blighton being a Blighton, it’s just that the way I felt about him as a man was a bit strange.”
“So what?”
Getting tired of his constant weird remarks without getting to the point, I urged him to speak up quickly.
“Well, you know, when I met you after a long time, and also at the New Year’s party, the way he reacted didn’t seem ordinary to me.”
As Felix became unusually serious, I also became a bit serious in response.
“What do you mean? Could you elaborate?”
“Well, whenever I was by your side and our eyes met, the way he looked at me was so intense. It felt like he were glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me.”
“What?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Felix’s words.
“The Duke?”
That gentle and kind man looked at people like that?
That doesn’t make any sense.
“You must have misunderstood.”
“No, I didn’t! I’m telling you, it really happened!”
“Come on, the Duke would never do that.”
What was I saying again? I felt unnecessarily tense.
“Do you really not know?”
“Not know what?”
“Ugh, this is driving me crazy.”
Felix sighed deeply, clearly frustrated.
But from my perspective, I was just bewildered by Felix’s lack of understanding.
“Ayla, please don’t just dismiss what I said.”
“To you the Duke would never be like that. Perhaps your preconceived notions have influenced the way you see it.”
“I didn’t! It’s not because he’s a Blighton.”
I shook my head vigorously, feeling uncomfortable with Felix vehemently denying it.
“Let’s stop here for today. I’m tired, so can you just go back?”
Continuing to be with Felix would likely lead to the conversation circling back to the same point.
It seemed better to just send him off and rest than to have meaningless conversations.
“Okay, I’ll go now. I probably won’t see you for a while. I’ll contact you again when I return to the capital.”
I didn’t like speaking in such vague terms without really understanding about the Duke, but I didn’t want to part on bad terms with my friend leaving.
“Yeah, take care.”
I forced a slight smile and bid him farewell.
“Okay, I’m off.”
“Yeah, goodbye, Felix.”
After Felix left, I washed up and returned to the bedroom, lying down on the bed.
Until I got married to Lloydin, sleeping alone was nothing unusual, but now it felt too lonely and dull.
‘I miss him.’
I wished he would come back soon.
When will I be able to see him again?
As time passed, rather than fading, my longing for him was growing thicker and stronger.
Thinking about Lloydin, Felix’s words from earlier suddenly came to mind, and I let out a slight chuckle.
So according to Felix, Lloydin was jealous?
But Felix thought that jealousy was a bit exaggerated?
‘Jealousy, really?’
Recalling how he treated me, he was definitely kind to me.
But that was just him respecting and caring for me as his wife, there was no sign of any romantic interest from his side in my opinion.
‘I must have misunderstood.’
But what if I didn’t misunderstand?
Then what would I do…?
I thought it was just a one-sided crush, but knowing it might not be suddenly filled me with hope.
Could this marriage really become a true marriage?
Could I really become his true wife?
As I pondered these thoughts, I drifted off to sleep with happy imaginings.
And for the first time in a long while, I had a dream, finding myself standing alone in a familiar place.
* * *
‘Seems like the illness wasn’t completely cured after all.’
As I looked at the several paths branching out in all directions, that was the first thought that crossed my mind.
Thanks to Lloydin, I hadn’t been wandering for quite some time, but now that he wasn’t with me, I fell into a ghostly sleep.
Still, the fortunate thing was that the number of paths had noticeably decreased again.
It was all thanks to Lloydin injecting energy into me.
‘Let’s see.’
How long will it take this time?
I plopped down on the ground and tried to estimate how long it might take this time.
In the past, I would have been too anxious and scared to afford such leisure, but not now.
Now that I had Lloydin, I wasn’t afraid of this dream at all.
‘But it might take a few days after all.’
There was no need to worry if I didn’t wake up; Lia would find out.
‘Oh, Lloydin might come back.’
I tried to relax a bit more, but thinking about Lloydin made my heart race again.
When he returns, I wanted to greet him with more warmth than anyone else.
To do that, I had to be awake from my sleep.
After briefly contemplating which path to take, I set off to the left.
When I reached the end of the path, there was, as expected, no exit.
‘There’s no way it’ll work on the first try.’
I briskly returned to the starting point.
This time, I walked along the path to the right, but it was futile.
I kept choosing and walking, but it was all in vain.
It was quite frustrating not being able to find the exit even after wandering for quite some time.
Suddenly, all paths disappeared except for one.
I already knew what this phenomenon meant and who had caused it.
‘Seems like Lloydin has returned.’
I couldn’t just stay here like this.
Thinking that I would soon see him, my tired body felt alive again.
After mentally preparing myself, I sprinted towards the end of the remaining path.
And when I exited the dream and woke up, instead of Lloydin, someone completely unexpected was holding my hand buried in the bed.
“Ian?”
I blinked several times, wondering if I was seeing things wrong.
But no matter how I looked at it, the person next to me was Ian.
“How…?”
Not knowing what was happening, I asked Ian with a dazed expression.
“My brother told me.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes. Just in case my brother wasn’t in the capital, William instructed William to contact me.”
“Ah…”
Only then did I remember the conversation the two had at the last enrollment ceremony.
“So that’s what he meant back then.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then, do you know about my illness?”
Ian nodded slowly.
“Perhaps…”
I was about to ask if he knew about Dahlia’s illness too, but thinking it was too early to bring it up, I hastily closed my mouth.
“Yes?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
I mumbled vaguely, scanning Ian.
Seeing him in a school uniform, he probably didn’t know I was asleep and called him urgently when he thought I hadn’t woken up late at night.
“What about classes?”
“I can make up for them later.”
“Well, that’s fortunate. Thank you, Ian.”
I expressed my gratitude to Ian for coming for me.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine for a while. This illness suddenly occurred, but once I wake up after sleeping once, I won’t fall asleep again for a while. So…”
Since it turned out like this, I explained in detail to Ian about my illness.
TL/N: Ayla ignoring all the red flags be like :
I only see Felix and Emperor as red flags, am I right?