The boy gasped and placed his hand on the wall. He knew it would be so difficult to catch up with a girl who was shorter than him and had shorter legs.
“Oh, no… … . “What the hell are you?”
The boy’s yellow eyes were full of surprise and curiosity.
“That’s a random and rude question. What do you want to ask?”
Ayla asked back in a dumbfounded voice.
The boy scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression as if he had missed what he had said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. but… … . “I’ve never seen such a perfect fall technique in my life. How did you do it?”
The sight of a small girl, wearing a white one-piece pajama with flowing frills and lace underneath a black robe, jumping from a high roof and landing lightly, was something he couldn’t help but feel amazed by.
At the unexpected question, Ayla slowly blinked. This is not a difficult question to answer.
“… … “I don’t know.”
The boy’s expression turned into disappointment as Ayla thought for a second before speaking coldly.
That sullen appearance somehow made her feel like she had made a big mistake.
Maybe that’s why. Even though she was irritated and in an annoying situation, she did something she wouldn’t normally do.
“It is dangerous for a child to walk around alone at this time of night. So please go back.”
The youngster became confused when Ayla spoke. He was younger, she said.
Despite the fact that the youngster was rather tall, his face gave the impression that he was either four or thirteen years old. In actuality, Ayla is older than he is if he looks at himself.
However, he was twelve years old, and Ayla had no idea that eighteen was not that old.
“… … Uh, yeah. I see yes.”
At that moment when the boy was answering in confusion, Ayla had a chance to outsmart him.
It was because a man who seemed to be looking for the boy ran from the other side of the alley and returned the boy’s gaze.
“Uh, no, master!”
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the boy turned his head in the direction from which the sound was coming, Ayla quickly jumped up onto the fence. Climbing from the wall to the roof was no task.
“What are you doing here? Why do you keep going out at night without us knowing? If something happens, we won’t be able to save our lives. “You know.”
“No, that’s… … . What kind of child is here… … .”
As soon as he found him, the boy noticed the servant nagging him and turned his head back to where Ayla had been a moment ago.
But there was no one there. Because Ayla was already hiding on the roof and watching the funny scene.
“A child? “What kind of child are you talking about?”
“uh?”
Did he even see a ghost? Thinking of her disappearing as suddenly as she had appeared, the boy blinked lazily his golden eyes and made a dumb expression.
It was quite pleasant to see that stupid expression, but Ayla turned her head. Because she couldn’t afford to worry about that right now.
Ayla looked into the alley across the street to find her original purpose.
‘It seems like the cloud is still there.’
Although she was hiding in the dark, she could still feel Cloud’s presence.
Like her teacher, Cloud was also good at hiding his presence, but he could not avoid Ayla’s keen senses.
There were ups and downs, but she gathered her mental power and focused. This was so that from now on, she would not miss even the slightest movement about what the cloud was doing.
However, the conversation coming from behind kept breaking her concentration.
“Enough nonsense and go back quickly. “Why do you keep sneaking out every night?”
“What nonsense. “Ruthless!”
“Yes, yes. “I have committed a mortal sin.”
There was no skit.
Eventually, her concentration broke and she slightly turned her head. She saw the servant grabbing the boy by the back of his neck and dragging him away.
Thanks to this, the hood that was on the boy’s head was removed. The hair that was hidden was black with a fine texture.
Just like the hair of her missed father, Roderick.
‘… … ‘It doesn’t just remind me of Byron.’
She lay flat on the roof, resting her chin on her chin as she watched the scene, and smiled innocently.
Even though he resembled Byron and interfered with her work, it was because he didn’t dislike the boy for some reason.
‘Well, I won’t have to see that kid again.’
That’s what she thought at the time. She saw it once and said it was meant to be. It was foolish.
* * *
When the boy was dragged by the servant and completely disappeared, Ayla was able to focus her mind on Cloud again.
Because they were hiding deep in an alley, She knew they were there, but she couldn’t tell what they were doing.
‘The original plan was to move to the building across from there.’
Due to the sudden meeting, there was a significant delay in time.
Ayla clicked her tongue and jumped back down the back alley where she had encountered the boy. Fortunately, this time, no one suddenly appeared.
She was hiding in the alley, looking for an opportunity, and quickly crossed the street. She easily climbed the wall and hid at the top of the building again, sticking her head out and looking down the alley.
Cloud was glaring at the other side of the intersection, not knowing that she was watching him.
‘What are you looking at?’
She followed Cloud’s gaze and looked across. At the end of her gaze, there was a gorgeous building surrounded by a high wall.
‘Are you watching that building?’
Ayla frowned and looked closely at the building. She noticed heavily armed knights standing guard in front of the building’s wall.
‘… … As expected, my prediction was correct. The person who made this city’s security so strict. He’s tailing that guy.’
Who is that person? I have a feeling that he must be the ‘Young Lion’ himself, or at least someone related to him.
It wouldn’t be difficult to find out his identity and status.
It is not such a noisy procession that even ordinary passers-by would know about it. They would definitely be able to find a clue.
But she felt like she had to call it a night. She wasted precious time by having a useless conversation with the boy.
She doesn’t know if she’ll ever have time to go out at night like today in this city again, but even if she did leave here, she wouldn’t have to worry about time.
There were many more opportunities in the future. Because she would have to move around many more times in pursuit of that unknown person.
Thinking like that, Ayla went back the way she came, leaving behind the foolish Cloud who was still wary of the surroundings without noticing her presence.
And this time, not even a single mouse found her.
* * *
When she returned to the inn room, Laura was still sound asleep, leaning on the chair.
That would have been the case. There would still be a long time left before the effect of the medicine wears off.
Ayla shook off the smell of the wind from her cloak and hung it back on the coat rack.
Then she lay down in bed and went to sleep as if nothing had happened. As if she had been sleeping so well all night.
The next morning, as she expected, Laura did not tell anyone that she had fallen asleep for fear of being scolded.
She even shamelessly lied to her, saying that she watched her sleep all night.
Even though Ayla was the one who put Laura to sleep.
Ayla laughed at Laura inwardly and pretended not to notice, saying she was deep asleep and didn’t even know she was being watched.
In that way, she won’t be able to put Laura to sleep every night and move around freely.
Of course, she couldn’t really do that every night. The next day, Capella watched her all night, and the next day she left Grunfeld and set off for the next city.
Moreover, no matter how young Laura was, it was clear that she would be suspected if she was put to sleep every day. If she used it repeatedly, she would develop a tolerance to the sleeping pill, so she had to use it sparingly.
Because of that, Ayla went out at night again after a week had passed since her first outing. It was a few days after arriving in her second city, Bar Haight.
* * *
Thanks to her quiet behavior and pleasing Laura, Laura didn’t have any suspicions.
This time, Ayla thoughtlessly drank the water she had secretly added sleeping pills to, and soon fell asleep.
After confirming that Laura was fast asleep, Ayla opened the window and looked outside.
There was no need to follow Cloud today. She just planned to walk around the area and find out who was visiting this city right now.
That is until she spots Cloud wearing a mask and carefully going out.
‘Let’s chase after him. If we follow the author, it will save us a little bit of trouble.’
Even if she wanted to find out information, it would be faster if she got close to the target. If she just tried to find out, she would be able to find out where he is staying.
There is no need to go through such trouble and leave a guide behind.
If she went nearby, passersby might start whispering like before and tell her what kind of great person was visiting. If that happened, it was a chance for her to blow her nose without even touching her.
Even today, Cloud was walking around, very wary of his surroundings, lest his destination be discovered by someone.
He didn’t seem to notice at all that there were eyes looking down on him from high above.
She did follow Cloud around like that.
Arriving in front of a gorgeous mansion surrounded by high walls like before, he walked around and looked around the building.
