While You're In Love

While Oscar panicked, Aslan turned to Lyla.

“I can’t go back to Central. It’s too dangerous for me to be there in my current state.”

“What do you mean, dangerous?”

When Lyla raised her eyebrows, Aslan lowered his voice and began to explain.

“Actually, I’ve been holding off on telling you the truth because I didn’t want you to worry, but now that this has happened, I can’t hide it any longer.”

“……?”

Aslan paused, then spoke slowly.

“My accident wasn’t an accident.”

“What?”

“Someone deliberately caused the accident to harm me, probably for my life.”

“Huh!”

Lyla gulped.

“If I were in perfect condition, it might be fine, but right now, I’ve lost my memory, and I’m vulnerable. With an unknown enemy targeting my life, going back to Central with my weaknesses exposed…”

Aslan glanced at Lyla,who had her mouth wide open in surprise, and continued with a significant tone.

“I don’t know if I’ll be lucky enough to survive like this again next time.”

“Ah…!”

“So, I need to hide somewhere, away from the eyes of my enemies, but there’s nowhere else I can go. Here is the safest place.”

Lyla’s resolve wavered for a moment.

‘What should I do?’

Initially, when she first met these two men, she had wanted to kick them out without a second thought. Regardless of their intentions, she had sworn never to get involved with Aslan again.

But…

‘I can’t just ignore this kind of statement.’

Lyla had always been soft-hearted.

Lyla had always been unable to pass by another person or animal in distress without offering a helping hand. Even when she barely had enough to eat, having received stale bread from  Count Larestine, she shared her meal with hungry animals. During her days as the neglected Duchess of Tordell, she secretly helped those in unfortunate circumstances. So, after hearing about Aslan’s situation, she couldn’t remain indifferent.

Even if it was a complete stranger, she would have felt sympathy. But the main character of this situation was none other than Aslan Tordell himself. That made her feelings even stronger.

Even though she had traveled to this distant place to suppress her feelings for Aslan, her emotions didn’t disappear. Despite knowing that he had someone else in his heart, every time she saw him, her heart ached.

And that wasn’t all.

‘Besides, I owe him a great debt.’

Their relationship had begun in the form of a contract, but even that contract had come from Aslan’s great favor.

As much as Lyla needed him, Aslan didn’t need her.

Aslan could have easily taken what Lyla could have given him if he had wanted to.

Nevertheless, Aslan accepted Lyla and granted her every wish, even enduring awkward situations because of her.

And yet he wanted nothing in return. It was an unprofitable business for Aslan, and it left Lyla in debt.

For a combination of reasons, Lyla could not ignore Aslan’s situation.

“Yes, I see, I understand why you would ask me to do that.”

Although she wanted to nod in agreement with all her heart, Lyla couldn’t do it. Emotionally, she longed to welcome Aslan, but she couldn’t.

Hesitantly, Lyla spoke.

“But I’m not the only one here, and I know the rest of the family will be uncomfortable-”

“That’s okay.”

Lyla’s words were cut off by a sudden interruption.

“You said you didn’t have anywhere else to go, and we happen to have a spare room in our house, so you can stay there.”

Sophia, who had just gotten back from work, her sweaty hair sticking to her forehead, said as she walked over.

“Did you hear everything?”

Lyla’s pupils trembled as she looked at her.

“Everything we talked about…”

How much had she overheard?

Lyla looked at her mother nervously.

“Oh,” Sophia said nonchalantly.

“I heard that he has a threat to his life, and due to his current memory loss, he can’t return home,” Sophia said, summarizing the situation.

Luckily, she hadn’t heard the last part. The last thing Lyla wanted her to know was that the two had been married.

“Ah!”

Lyla, relieved, let out an exclamation without realizing it.

But right away, she covered her mouth.

Understandably, Lyla was concerned about revealing her past because she worried that her family, upon learning of her tragic past, would be sad and blame themselves. Mentioning her marriage to Aslan would require explaining how they met, and this might naturally lead to revealing the horrifying experiences she had endured at the hands of the Count Larestine.

‘I don’t want that.’

Lyla didn’t have the courage to tell them about her past yet.

She was ashamed of her past, and most of all, she didn’t want her family to be saddened by hearing about it.

Someday, at least when her family could handle her past without it being too heavy a burden for them, she would candidly share it herself.

Before, she had refrained from revealing her past to anyone because she dreaded being exposed.

‘What if Mother misunderstands the reason I’m hiding my past?’

The worry made Lyla glance at Sofia, who walked over and sat down next to her.

Sophia gazed at Aslan thoughtfully and said.

“You’re welcome to stay here.”

“Mother!”

“Why not?”

“Why are you allowing him so easily when you don’t even know what kind of person he is?”

In response to Lyla’s question, Sophia smiled. It was a somewhat tangled smile.

‘Why is she making that expression? It’s as if she’s known Aslan from before.’

Although she thought it was unlikely, Lyla couldn’t completely erase the sudden suspicion that came to her.

“He’s not a complete stranger.”

“What do you mean?”

Perplexed by the unexpected answer, Lyla asked with curiosity.

“You must know him quite well. He said he wants to stay with us at home, and seeing you hesitate, it seems like you have a fairly deep relationship.”

“That’s…….”

Unable to respond to Sophia, Lyla listened to Sophia’s words.

“Violet believes in repaying kindness.”

Why did she suddenly say this? Lyla looked at Sophia with curiosity.

Then she noticed something strange.

Sophia’s eyes, looking at Aslan, were filled with nostalgia, as if she had met someone she knew from the past once again.

At that moment, as Lyla was trying to deduce the reason, Sophia abruptly turned her body and extended her arms towards Aslan.

“Welcome to Violet House.”

“Thank you.”

In the midst of this atmosphere, which seemed to be settling just like that, a flustered Lyla interjected.

“Wait a moment, Mom. We haven’t heard the opinions of the other family members yet.”

“Oh, yeah, right, well, I’m sure they’ll be fine, but…….”

Just then, Luke and Aiden returned from work.

“Oh, it’s hot!”

“Dad, I’ll wash up first!”

Luke and Aiden rushed in and stopped when they saw Aslan and Oscar sitting in the distance.

“Who are these guys?”

“I’ve never seen you before, where are you from?”

Aslan stood up and was about to say hello, but Sophia beat him to it.

Let me introduce you. He’s a friend of Lyla, and he’ll be living with us for a while. His  name is—”

“Aslan.”

“Yes, it’s Mr. Aslan. Please welcome him.”

Finally, Lyla realized that Sophia didn’t even know Aslan’s name.

Allowing someone to live with them without even knowing their name was surprising to Lyla. She was aware of her mother’s influential decisions, but this was beyond her expectations. Moreover, her father Luke’s response was equally puzzling.

“Hehe, welcome. Make yourself at home and feel comfortable here.”

Is that it? Shouldn’t they at least inquire about the situation and understand what’s going on?

Lyla was bewildered, feeling like all the common sense she knew had been shattered.

‘I thought one would naturally object if a stranger came and said they wanted to live together…’

Fortunately, her younger brother Aiden showed a reaction that was somewhat similar to what Lyla had anticipated.

“Is he really your friend, sis? How did you meet him? Who is he?”

Aiden inquired with a narrow, inquisitive gaze. However, before Aslan could even react awkwardly, Sophia stepped in again.

“Hey, do you think Lyla would be friends with a weird person?”

Luke also chimed in.

“Yeah, our daughter has such a good judgment of character!”

Faced with her parents’ enthusiasm, Aiden pursed his lips reluctantly.

Seeing this, Lyla stifled a sigh. It seemed that using such arguments wouldn’t persuade them.