Ophelia was healthy. Contrary to her delicate appearance, she never had a single illness, and she was always full of life and had a bright smile.
It was over ten years ago that she saw her like that, but she has been constantly watching her movements since then.
But this has never happened.
“When did you collapse?”
“Looking at the date on the letter, it seems to have been about ten days ago.”
Byron had instructed Ophelia to report immediately if anything happened to her, but no matter how quickly the report was posted, it would take time for it to reach Byron.
It was because Byron was running away and wandering around this wide continent.
He was able to receive a letter within 10 days that contained information on Ophelia because of a unique Jeon Seo-gu. It was a magical telescope that had been programmed to use a magical tracking device to deliver letters anywhere.
If not for this, he would have had to wait a long time to hear news about Ophelia.
Byron jumped up from his seat. All he wanted to do was rush to the capital, Venator, right away. The fact that he was being chased and the fact that all he had on his body was a robe
It didn’t matter to him at all.
He felt like he couldn’t bear it if he didn’t see Ophelia in person right away.
But the longing for the woman he loved was short-lived. A more instinctive emotion held him back.
It was fear.
“….”
Byron looked down at where his right hand should have been with a frightened expression. He still occasionally woke up with pain in his right hand that was nonexistent.
It was a world where healing magic could completely heal any wound, but there was no way to get a cleanly cut hand back.
He didn’t want to admit it. The fact that he is afraid of Roderick, the man who took everything away from him,
Lovers and honour He had everything taken away from him, including everything he deserved.
But he was afraid. It was instinct.
A herbivore in the presence of a predator could not help but be in fear.
And Cloud understood his master’s fear. Of course, he had no intention of further disturbing Byron’s already uncomfortable feelings by saying these disloyal thoughts out loud.
In the Peles Empire, no one could defeat Roderick Weishafen in swordsmanship. A body strong beyond humans and swordsmanship given by God
Although he didn’t want to admit it because he was the family’s enemy, Rodrik’s sword was flawless.
‘Plus, I have that Ophelia Hailing. Even God is very unfair.’
Cloud clicked his tongue inwardly. He felt reckless fighting against such an enemy.
The older brother risked his life to protect his master And since it was something he had to do for his remaining sister-in-law and young nephew, he had no complaints.
While Cloud was lost in these thoughts, Byron sat down on the bed again. The sight of him sighing deeply and burying his face in his remaining left hand looked pitiful.
“I will report and post any other news as it comes, my lord.”
“Okay, let’s go out.” Because I want to be alone.”
“Yes, my lord.”
It was best to leave Byron alone when he was feeling this uncomfortable. Because he was so aggressive, anyone would probably be harmed by flying things if he were close to him.
‘I’ll have to go out and tell others to be careful.’
Cloud sighed as he came out of Byron’s room. He planned to tell Byron’s sister-in-law, who served in Byron’s care, and his niece Laura first.
He told Laura, who had never been close to Byron, since he was afraid Ayla, who generally just wanted her father’s attention, might get hurt from messing around with Byron.
‘This is why my sister-in-law is worried.’
Cloud laughed self-deprecatingly.
It was Ayla, a card that was already destined to be thrown away. The child who had satisfied his need would also be murdered once Rodrik was assassinated.
Still, he felt sorry for that child.
Cloud shook his head, shaking off the guilt that kept pricking his heart.
* * *
“Ah.”
Ayla, who was changing out of her sweaty training clothes, sighed involuntarily when the wound on her index finger brushed against the hem of her clothes. Last night, while trying to open a secret passage, she got hit by a stone wall.
It wasn’t that bad because it was only a slight peeling of the skin, but she couldn’t help but feel a little pain every time she touched it.
“What? “When did you get hurt here, lady?”
“It was just a little chafing.”
During training, minor wounds were bound to appear here and there.
Now she’s skilled at both swords and bows, so she doesn’t have new wounds, but around this time in her last life, her hands were covered in scars. A wound this small was insignificant.
And maybe Laura thought the same thing, so she passed on without any doubts.
Because there was something bigger this morning than the little cut on her finger.
“Here, about.” Now you can treat a wound like that on your own, right?”
Laura spoke bluntly, putting down a basket containing trauma medicine such as ointment and bandages next to Ayla.
It was always like this. This time she wasn’t seriously hurt, but even if she was, no one was worried about her health. Except for Cloud, who shows some sympathy.
While looking at the medicine bottle thrown at her with cold eyes, Laura opened her mouth again.
“Anyway, you’ll have to eat alone today.”
“Alone? why?”
Ayla asked in a voice full of curiosity.
Sometimes she ate dinner alone without Byron, but most of the late breakfasts were with him. This was an extremely rare occurrence.
“Well. I guess the owner is feeling uncomfortable. He says he wants to be alone. “Did you do something wrong?”
Laura said, crossing her arms and giving an unpleasant look. It was something Ayla said for no reason, even though she knew she couldn’t have done anything wrong after being locked in her attic all night.
But Ayla, who was stabbed, felt her heart sink.
‘You probably caught me sneaking in and out of the room, right?’
Even the mistake wasn’t usually a mistake. Not only did he sneak out of the room through a secret passage, but he also broke into Byron’s room while he was sleeping and uncovered his secrets.
Because of the ambiguous coded letter, nothing was known for sure, but there was no telling what would happen if they were caught.
“Then rest. “I’ll bring it here when the meal is ready.”
Laura said it with a grin. It was quite amusing to see Ayla’s face suddenly turn white, and she looked so proud.
When Laura closed the trapdoor and left, Ayla, who was left alone, began to worry in earnest.
‘no. ‘ It’s not like they got caught.’
If she had been caught sneaking into Byron’s room, it wouldn’t have ended like this. There must have been such a commotion that this ruined building was turned upside down.
Then why? Why did Byron suddenly feel so uncomfortable?
To find the cause of this, there was something she had to think about first.
Is that exactly what happened in the first place, regardless of the changes that occurred when Ayla returned to the past? It was to determine whether that was the case or whether things had changed because of her actions when she returned to the past.
‘Think about it carefully, Ayla Weishafen.’
She scolded herself for trying to remember.
It’s a name she didn’t know was her real name until not long ago. She called herself ‘Ayla Weishafen’, and her appearance was natural.
After wandering around in her memories for a while, she concluded, ‘It didn’t happen.’
It wasn’t certain, but there were a lot of happy things about the time she spent in this attic. Beautiful scenery and a special class for the first time in a long time
It was a time that felt even more precious because the time she stayed here was not that long.
However, if there was something sad about not being able to eat a meal with her beloved father during those happy times, she would remember it.
‘Then what is the cause?’
Ayla frowned as she applied a lot of ointment to the wound on her finger. Part of it was because her wounds stung, but more than that, it was more painful not to know the cause of the sudden change.
After the wound was roughly treated, Ayla calmly looked back on the day.
It was a start that wasn’t much different from usual. She started the day easily by waking up at dawn and running outside the ruins.
‘Wait a minute, then the cloud…’
Ayla was looking for something different than usual and remembered the unusual scene she had seen in the morning.
An unfamiliar bird that was not commonly seen around flew by, and Cloud caught it.
From a distance, she could not see it in detail, but as soon as she saw it, she started thinking and ran into the building.
Then perhaps Byron’s discomfort had something to do with the bird.
What if the bird had delivered a letter containing some bad news, and Byron had locked himself in his room after hearing the news from Cloud?
‘Well then, there’s only one thing I have to do tonight.’
It was time to find out what the strange bird was bringing.
