It was the night they had planned.
Laura locked Ayla’s door like she always did, and Ayla was locked in the room and escaped from the building through the familiar secret passage.
It’s already been a long time since they settled in this fortress, and since they’ve been secretly going out more than once, Ayla has already become proficient and was able to find Byron’s room very easily.
The window was closed due to the chilly weather, but she was able to see inside clearly through the crack he broke when he threw the glass.
Ayla, who was peeking into the room through the broken window, frowned without realizing it.
‘Ugh, what kind of alcohol smell is so strong… … .’
The smell of wine permeated the room to the extent that one could have assumed a whole bucket of wine had been used. The floor is also covered in broken liquor bottle pieces.
The person responsible for the mess in the room was lying face down on the bed.
She obviously would have gone to sleep if this much powerful alcohol had been poured into her, but she threw a tiny rock into the room as a precaution.
Talked. A small rock fell on the floor, but Byron was drenched in alcohol, shorthead no sign of waking up. He seemed to be deeply asleep.
Ayla gently pulled open the window and carefully entered the room. The smell of alcohol, which was even in the slightly open window, became even stronger as she entered the room. It was enough to make her eyes sting.
If she stayed here for a long time, she felt like she would get drunk just by the smell.
‘I have to quickly investigate and return.’
Ayla shook her head with a disapproving expression and quickly scanned the room. However, there was no note anywhere in the room.
Does she have to go back like this? It’s such a shame.
Ayla was in tears and looked around the room one more time.
‘Wait a minute. This… … .’
Ayla was looking near the fireplace and noticed that there were burnt pieces of paper among the extinguished ashes.
It looks like it was crumpled and torn before burning. Her piece of paper was tattered. She couldn’t tell what the content of her report was, only the part she found, but if there were other parts, she might be able to figure out her content.
Ayla glanced at the bed where Byron was sleeping, then picked up the poker and started stirring up the ashes.
After some time like that.
Ayla was able to find two pieces of burnt paper. It seemed like the other parts were all burned and disappeared.
The room was dark and the writing was small, so it wasn’t easy to read. Since it seemed like it would take a long time, Ayla decided to return to the room with the piece of letter.
Ayla’s room was also dark, but it was much better because there was a small lamp. Even if it took a long time, it was also a safe place without worrying about being seen by anyone.
If the letter was burned anyway, Byron wouldn’t know even if she took it with her.
Finally, she took the rock she had thrown before entering the room and quietly left the room through the window.
Ayla skillfully returned to her room through a secret passage, quickly changed into her pajamas, and sat, on the bed. Then, she looked at the piece of note she had taken from Byron’s room and shined it in a small lamp.
“The Duchess… … “You did it.”
Could it be a letter containing news from Ophelia? Coincidentally, the most important part of what he did was obscured by soot.
It was news about her missing mother, but she was frustrated because she couldn’t tell what exactly it was about.
She is questioning whether he thinks this will be their last enjoyable time together, even if that’s not the case.
Nervous and uneasy, Ayla rubbed the burned area with her hand. This was done in the vague hope that hidden letters might be revealed.
However, perhaps it was simply because of the soot, so only her fingertips turned black. She looked like she was crying.
‘No. Are you okay? ‘Because there’s still one piece left.’
She hopes she can get some definite clues from the remaining pieces.
Ayla held a small piece of paper in both hands and held it up to the light as if she were praying. Then, she slowly read the words she could see, one by one.
‘The duke was very happy… … .’
That was the end. This time, there was no further content.
Even though she knew there would be nothing, She turned the paper over and looked at the back, but she got nothing more.
It was a nerve-wracking moment, but Ayla’s face had lost color due to nervousness and regained color.
‘If my father was happy, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.’
She doesn’t know what made Byron so angry, but fortunately, it seemed to be a good thing for her parents.
That’s it.
It’s a sin just to think about it, but if those two people are happy, it’s done.
Ayla carefully stored the burnt pieces of paper in a box. That shabby piece of paper was crumpled, torn, and even burned.
Even if the original content of the document is unknown, it seems like a priceless treasure.
Ayla, lying in bed, felt chilly for no reason, so she pulled the blanket up to her neck and covered herself. She didn’t know if it was because winter was approaching, or if it was because her heart was cold. The air was cold.
* * *
After that day, Ayla pretended to be quite calm and watched Byron’s movements.
This was because Byron heard the news that Ophelia had collapsed, and suddenly found her in the middle of the night.
But this time was different. He didn’t lock himself in his room in an unstable state, and he didn’t come to her out of the blue.
If she completed her training quickly, she could still enjoy the street free time that was sometimes given to her.
The only thing that was different from usual was that he sometimes gave her a cold look.
When she noticed that and turned her gaze towards Byron, she smiled warmly as if she had never done that before, so it was very calming.
She was lost in thought as she watched Byron elegantly putting bite-sized pieces of meat into his mouth.
‘… … they’ll, if there’s nothing special about it, wouldn’t it be okay to move at night?’
With winter in full swing, She was anxious because she needed to gather a little more information before the snow piled up.
The more anxious she was, the busier she moved. Every night she went out and searched Byron’s room. She didn’t stop there, but she began going in and out of the entire fortress as if it were her own room, looking for information.
Thanks to that, she was able to find out a few useful things. Among those who shared Byron’s interests, there were foreign nobles who were not imperial nobles. And she was able to find out the name of one of them.
They had discovered details that a man named Count Senospon of the Kingdom of Inselkov, a neighboring country to the southeast of the empire, was providing money and valuables to Byron’s treason.
She doesn’t know what the deal between Count Senospon and Byron was, but unless the Count is an idiot, he wouldn’t support a rebel force in another country without compensation.
It was clear evidence that Byron was conducting some kind of transaction with another country.
Ayla had been wasting time in a sluggish state without finding out anything, was greatly encouraged by learning this important information, and that exhilaration made her pretend not to notice the fatigue that was accumulating due to lack of sleep.
It was a day when fatigue was accumulating day by day.
‘… … Why do I feel so heavy? I’ll just sleep tonight.’
As the days got shorter and the sunrise time was delayed, Ayla had been searching the fortress until dawn and woke up with sleepiness in her eyes.
Her physical condition wasn’t that good, but she wasn’t allowed to oversleep or skip training.
She stretched her body and struggled to get up from her seat.
She went out to the training ground with such a lethargic body and soothed Cloud that she had grown a little more today than yesterday.
Although most of her original skills are still hidden, they are outstanding skills that they’re hard to even imagine at the age of thirteen.
After satisfying Cloud and being granted some free time today, she went for a walk around the fortress-like she always did.
It was a scene she saw every day, nothing special, but it was a very helpful time for her, whether she knew it or not.
It was the only time where she could completely relax and escape tension even for a moment.
She was walking around for a while with the knight following at a distance behind her but stopped in her tracks when she was startled by a rustling sound coming from the bushes.
The sound was very small, so it didn’t seem like it was made by a large wild animal. Since it was deep in the mountains with few people, there was little chance that it was a person, but she never knew.
Ayla raised her index finger to the knight following her gave a signal to kill the presence, and looked in the direction from which the sound was coming.
It was when Ayla was hiding behind a tree, and was looking at the twitching bushes.
Something popped out from the bushes. It was a small black lump, so it wasn’t easy to recognize at first, but when she looked closely, she saw long ears and a small, round tail.
‘… … rabbit?’
It was a black rabbit. The rabbit was looking around with gentle eyes and twitching its nose. For some reason, Ayla could not take her eyes off the rabbit and looked at it.
After being cautious and exploring the surroundings for a moment, the rabbit seemed to think it was safe and started running around and eating blades of grass.
The sight of him eating grass while clenching his protruding front teeth was somehow very cute.
Ayla hesitated for a moment. She was currently living a miserable life to get revenge on Marshal Cheolcheon, who ruined her entire life and was walking on a single-wood bridge that would fall down an endless cliff at the slightest slip.
But, is it okay to get distracted by just one rabbit?
‘but… … ‘It’s so cute.’
She giggled, eventually bursting into laughter, and looked at the rabbit with a smile on her face, not even realizing that time was passing.
The fluffy, shiny black fur and the gentle, gentle eyes they’re so lovely. It was something that could not be helped.
The driver who was following her was wondering whether he should tell her that it was time to go back, but he felt bad about breaking the mood when the little girl was looking at the rabbit with such excitement, so he just continued to watch.
Thanks to that, by the time Ayla entered the fortress, the significantly shorter sun had completely set over the western mountains.
