Because the information was so sudden, Ayla needed to organise her complicated thoughts for a moment.
She hid behind an old cabinet in the hallway, squatted down, hugged her training clothes, and was lost in thought.
‘Laura is called Cloud uncle.’
Thus, Laura’s father is Cloud’s elder brother. She was uninformed of the information. because he never showed that in her presence.
And only then did she remember who the owner of the voice she couldn’t remember was.
It was Laura’s mother who took care of her when she was young. It was so long ago that she couldn’t remember her name.
Even though she spent the entire day with her when she was twelve only a few years ago, it seemed like a very distant memory to her at the age of eighteen.
‘And, Laura’s father…’ … He said he died at my father’s hand.’
She was surprised that there was a backstory when she asked Laura about why she was treating her so harshly.
Still, She couldn’t forgive him for tricking and using her. She wasn’t that kind of person.
No, if she forgives and forgives the other person even after going through such a terrible thing, that is not kind; it is stupid.
“I must go and see my lord, sister-in-law.” The schedule will be tough starting tomorrow, so go to bed early. Laura, you too.”
The sound of Cloud opening the door and coming out was heard. Although her mind was still spinning, Ayla couldn’t hide herself in this hallway forever, so she stayed close to the wall and watched their movements.
Not long after Cloud came out, Laura and her mother also returned to their bedroom.
Ayla, who had been waiting until they stopped hearing their footsteps, quickly put the training clothes she was holding between the piles of laundry and returned to her room.
When she returned to her room, she was staring at the vaguely visible ceiling in the dark. It was a night when she couldn’t sleep at all.
It was because the story of the three of them—Cloud, Laura, and their mother—kept coming back to her mind.
She knew very well that the arduous journey would continue starting tomorrow and that she would have a hard time if she didn’t sleep quickly, but the same question kept lingering in her head.
‘What on earth happened between Byron and his father?’
In the past, Duke Roderick Weishafen had falsely accused him, and because of that, he completely believed Byron’s words that he had to live in hiding.
Now that she knows that Byron deceived her, she doesn’t believe everything he says, but she is still confused because she doesn’t know exactly what happened.
‘Father… … He killed a man.’
She has known Roderick for two years, and although he comes off as blunt at first, he is really kind to Ophelia and Ayla.
Of course, he is a sword master who boasts excellent swordsmanship skills, and he is the leader of the Weishafen Knights, who are called the guardians of the Peles Empire, so he could have cut down countless enemies on the battlefield.
But…
‘What if everything Byron says is true? if my father is really a villain……’
No, that couldn’t have been the case.
And even if Byron’s words were true, it didn’t matter. That didn’t change the fact that Byron and his subordinates deceived and used her.
They kidnapped a two-year-old child from his parents, tamed her to their taste, and used her as a tool to kill her parents.
That was something that no one but a true devil could do.
‘Father, mother…’
Ayla clutched the blanket tightly with both hands. A sudden feeling of loneliness came over her, and she couldn’t bear it.
It was a long night.
* * *
“Lady, wake up. Lady.”
At the sound of Laura’s voice calling her, Ayla’s consciousness, which had been floating in a dream, was summoned back to the real world.
Maybe it was because she fell asleep late at night with her pillowcase wet with tears, but she couldn’t wake up easily. Her swollen eyelids didn’t want to fall at all.
“Really, it’s ugly. Why is it so swollen? My master will be happy to see it. If you don’t get up quickly, he will leave you behind. Get up quickly.”
Laura spoke sharply as she pulled up the blanket. Maybe because Ayla was so sleepy, she wasn’t even angry at Laura for being so annoying. She just got up from the bed and sat blankly.
“Now, here.” If you drink cold water, you’ll wake up a little.”
As she gave her a drink of water, Laura uttered this. She felt like she was beginning to wake up a bit as she drank the cold water, exactly as Laura had said.
After washing her face and changing clothes, she felt like she was almost ready to leave. There was one last thing left to do.
That is, wearing a hat that covers the entire head
“You know you must never take off your hat until you get to a safe place, right?”
“huh.”
Laura said as she tied the string of Ayla’s hat under her chin. This was the warning she always gave whenever she moved to another place.
When she thinks about it now, it seems like it was an action to hide her silver hair. Because silver hair is an unusual hair colour.
Wearing a bonnet with frills and a cute, fluttery dress that she doesn’t usually wear, she looks like a rich man’s daughter. This time, she looks like she’s going to disguise herself as a mercenary.
What clothes they wore varied depending on who they were camouflaging, but they mainly disguised themselves as wandering gipsies or wealthy merchants.
She and Laura got on the small carriage that followed at the back of the procession. It was a crude carriage.
They said they had no choice because the situation was not favourable, but perhaps the carriage Byron was riding in was luxurious even under these circumstances.
As Ayla sat down in the carriage seat, she saw Laura’s mother sitting across from her. At first, she couldn’t remember it, but as she kept thinking about it, she vaguely remembered that her name was Capella.
Not long after, the procession departed. The carriage swayed back and forth, perhaps because it was a poorly paved forest road.
Laura, who frequently has motion sickness, immediately frowned.
“I’m going to rest for a bit. Please don’t talk to me.”
“okay.”
She didn’t think they were the kind of friendly people who usually talk side by side. Laura closed her eyes after saying something she didn’t need to say.
Ayla turned her eyes away from Laura and looked at the scenery outside the window that was quickly passing by. All she could see was an endless forest, but the peaceful scenery seemed to make her distracting thoughts disappear.
How long did it run like that?
They still couldn’t get out of the wide forest, but it was getting dark, so we had to prepare for camping.
Ayla, who had been squirming in the narrow carriage all day, stretched and got out of the carriage. Only then did her sore body seem to relax a little.
After filling her stomach with simple food, she entered the small tent she shared with Laura and was barely able to take off the hat she had been wearing all day.
It was summer, and it was hot, so it was hard to even wear a hat.
Since they were camping, water wasn’t easy to come by, but fortunately or unfortunately, there was someone obsessed with her hair, so Laura brought water.
It was to wash Ayla’s hair.
Because she was exhausted from the arduous journey, Laura didn’t say a word while she was washing her hair.
It was something that Ayla welcomed. She also kept her mouth shut, so there was only silence in the tent.
After carefully drying their washed hair, Ayla and Laura lay down in their sleeping bags without saying a word, probably because they were both exhausted.
As they lay side by side, trying to sleep, She suddenly remembered the conversation she overheard last night.
If she looks at it that way, Laura is also a person with great patience. It wouldn’t be easy to wait on her father’s enemy.
Every time Ayla sees Byron, she fantasises about killing him in various ways and manages to soothe her anger. When she thinks that Laura may also be looking at her with the same feelings, she bursts into laughter.
It was a truly ugly sight.
The sight of people lying in one space like this, wearing thick masks, deceiving each other.
It was a pity that she was the only one aware of this interesting situation.
Laura seemed to have fallen asleep before she knew it, and she was breathing evenly.
Ayla looked at her side for a long time.
This is a truly peaceful face. It didn’t look like the face of a girl who lived fiercely every day to avenge her father.
Ayla, who was looking at Laura’s face in the dark, also fell asleep not long after.
* * *
The carriage carrying Ayla continued for several more days.
Even after escaping from the forest, She was able to reach her destination only after finding a path with few people and running for a while.
The place they stayed this time was an old ruin with a half-torn wall. The unique building made of stone was said to be a trace of an ancient civilization.
There were ruins like this all over the Peles Empire.
The remains of ancient people say that the ice age came, rivers and seas froze, and all plants froze and died.
Most people didn’t even like going close to ancient ruins. This was because they believed they would be cursed by the ancient people.
There were places where undead monsters actually appeared, but such places were rare. This was because most of the ruins had long since become dens of bandits or cultists.
Thanks to this, it was perfect as a hideout for fugitives like Byron.
‘Yes, I’ve stayed in places like this before.’
Looking at the old wall covered with moss and vines, Ayla gently closed her eyes as if trying to reflect on those memories. She moved around so often that most of the places were the same, but this place was a little special and remained in her memory.
