You Will Pay With Your Life For Deceiving Me

 

It was the cloud.

 

“Miss, it’s time to go in… … . Oh, you were there too. What were you doing?”

 

Cloud spoke to Ayla slyly, as if he had discovered Gerald late, but somehow she felt that Cloud was lying.

 

After seeing Gerald together, he supposed he might argue that he felt rushed.

 

“I’m just… … “I’m going to eat cake with him.”

 

Gerald held up the cake box in his hand, and Cloud sighed in regret.

 

“Ah, I see. But it’s time for you to go in now, so unfortunately, I think you’ll have to eat the cake later.”

 

Cloud said firmly, intervening between Gerald and her as if to protect Ayla.

 

Gerald showed a slightly displeased expression at that overprotective appearance.

 

He was probably like that too. He just suggested eating a delicious cake together, but Cloud’s reaction was as if he had done something mean to Ayla.

 

However, Gerald had no choice but to meekly back down. He wanted to say something, but Cloud was too overbearing to do so, so he was a little scared.

 

He had strong muscles, and he didn’t know how he got hurt, but he even had a long scar on his face, which made it even worse.

 

“… … See you next time, pretty girl.”

 

She guessed she didn’t want her face to get hurt when she took a step back out of fear, so she greeted him like this in a hushed voice.

 

Ayla sighed and left the place with Cloud, having a premonition that she would come and shamelessly show her face again as soon as tomorrow.

 

Gerald, who was left alone, was angry and threw the basket of cakes on the floor as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. His pride was hurt, so he couldn’t stand it.

 

“… … “This is how a girl comes out arrogant, right?”

 

He stomped on the chocolate cake that had fallen on the floor, saying he didn’t know why something that was nothing special was being sold so expensively. The crushed cake felt like his pride had fallen to the floor.

 

At this point, regardless of her father’s orders, he felt like he would have to boil that girl and make her obedient to be relieved of his duty.

 

Gerald spat on the crushed cake and walked toward the main building.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so in your opinion, the child is quite useful now, right? Enough to be put into the Duke’s family right away.”

 

Byron asked back with a very satisfied expression. Cloud had just reported that he had nothing more to teach Ayla.

 

“Yes, I have grown quickly in a short time. I think that experiencing a few actual battles has probably been of great help.”

 

Cloud said, recalling the two battles he had recently experienced. It was because there was no way to explain Ayla’s super-rapid growth without thinking like that.

 

In reality, fighting with multiple people rather than sparring with just one person was often the basis for improving one’s skills, so it was not an unreasonable guess.

 

“Hmm, very good. Thank you for your hard work, Sir Cloud Air.”

 

Byron chuckled and poured a glass of high-quality whiskey into his mouth. It was one of the liquors that Count Senospon had given him as a gift to win his favor.

 

It was truly good news. It felt like the moment when his long-held plan to kill Roderick Weishafen by the hands of his daughter would come true was so close that it could be grasped.

 

Byron was filled with excitement as if he could send Ayla to kill Roderick right now.

 

However, it was only for a moment that he was able to laugh at that pleasant imagination. It was because he soon realized the terrible reality.

 

“… … Then what should I do? “Even if you try to send that girl away, you will have to do whatever it takes to return to your home country.”

 

He had now fled to a foreign country to avoid being pursued. Even if he tried to return, he was not sure whether he would be able to return until the security within the Peles Empire was slightly relaxed. Toto removed the curse placed on Ayla’s body, she had to go to the shaman who placed the curse, but it was okay since she could bring him to the Inselcorp Kingdom.

 

In addition, if they cannot return to the Peles Empire, various difficult problems will arise.

 

It took a long time for the situation within the empire to be communicated to him, and because of that, he was unable to control the unexpected situations that occurred within the country.

 

Uncontrollable anger welled up inside him. It felt as if this pointless resentment kept rising inside him, wondering if this was all because Cloud tried and failed to assassinate Winfred.

 

He had long since forgotten that it was his whim that had demanded the unreasonable assassination that Cloud opposed in the first place.

 

However, before Byron could express his anger as usual, Cloud changed the topic and started talking about something else. It was such surprising news that the fire burning inside him calmed down in an instant.

 

“Oh, and… … . Master, I have something to tell you. That is… … Count Senospon’s son keeps hanging around that child.”

 

“What do you mean? Why the earl’s son?”

 

“It seems like you are interested in that child. So… … .”

 

Cloud muttered as if he was embarrassed. He lived his whole life thinking only about his family’s well-being and had no experience in romantic relationships, so he didn’t know how to express it.

 

However, this explanation was enough for Byron, who had been living a promiscuous life dating one woman before meeting Ophelia.

 

Doesn’t that mean that that brazen young bastard sees Ayla as a woman?

 

“Ha, that’s right.”

 

Byron burst out laughing. It was because he never expected something like this to happen.

 

But if he thinks about it carefully, it is worth it. Since she is the daughter of Ophelia, a woman who is more beautiful than anyone else in the world, he has always thought that she would resemble her mother and have a pretty face when she grows up.

 

Moreover, hasn’t she grown so much these days that she could be mistaken for a slightly shorter adult woman when seen from afar? Byron also got drunk a few times, mistaking the child for Ophelia and rubbing his eyes.

 

To a child of sixteen, the little girl seemed quite nice.

 

But regardless of his understanding, the feeling that arose within him was displeasure. Displeasure came from the fact that a young person with no blood on his head dared to covet something that was ‘his’.

 

His feelings toward Ayla were complicated.

 

She was the daughter of his nemesis, Roderick, and was someone he would cruelly abandon once her usefulness disappeared.

 

But at the same time, she was the daughter of a woman she loved very much. Her cute lips were exactly like Ophelia’s small lips, and her hair was softly shining and flowing. Even the slightly curved shape of her middle finger was very similar to Ophelia’s.

 

So, when he saw Ayla, he felt filled with anger and hatred, but at the same time, he felt a sense of nostalgia. He feels like Ophelia is right in front of him.

 

Although he placed a curse on him so that he could be killed at any time, that was the reason why he never dared to activate the curse with his own hands.

 

So, for Ayla, he had to be everything, her ‘father’. Byron had to be the only one who could give Ayla happiness, and he had to be the only one who could bring her infinite pain and despair.

 

It was a twisted desire for monopoly.

 

But how dare the count’s young son, who is not even an earl.

 

“… … “It’s not easy for me to handle it. I’m sorry.”

 

Cloud lowered his head as if he had had no shame, but Byron shook his head as if telling him not to mind.

 

“I guess I’ll have to talk to the Count myself.”The Count would not have been very happy about this situation. His son was said to be interested in the hunting dog that was about to be boiled after the hunt, but there was no way the Count, who was quick to calculate, would ignore this situation.

 

Wouldn’t it be different if he mistakenly thought that Ayla was his real daughter?

 

“The Count is planning to come here soon, so we must talk about this.”

 

The Count, who left the house early in the morning before Byron even woke up, saying he had work to do, decided to come, saying he had something to discuss.

 

And after a while, the Count knocked on the door, as if he knew that he was talking about him.

 

“Then I’ll just leave.”

 

Cloud, who greeted the Count with a polite greeting, stepped back, and the Count, who was very angry as to where he had been, sat across from him with a huff.

 

“Where did you go to make you so angry?”

 

Byron placed the empty glass in front of the Count and asked as he poured the drink. It seemed that the Count also needed this drink to quell the anger burning inside him.

 

“I’m on my way back from the royal castle. “The king said he had something important to say and gathered all the nobles and officials.”

 

Count Senospon gulped down the drink Byron poured for him in one go, wiped his mouth, and spoke. The king’s ‘tense words’ seemed to have disturbed the earl’s spirits.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Well, aren’t you saying that you will put my son in the position of crown prince? It’s as if you were waiting for Duke Batches to be overthrown.”

 

Until a few months ago, the Duke of Vaches and the King’s eldest son were competing for the position of the next King, and the Count became angry, saying that it was no wonder how much time had passed and they were already talking about being crowned Crown Prince.

 

He must have been upset, so instead of waiting for Byron to fill his glass, he filled it with his hand and drank another glass. He seemed quite disappointed by the fall of the Duke of Batches, whom he supported.

 

“Oh my gosh.”

 

Byron thought to himself what was wrong with the king appointing his son as crown prince, but he heartlessly agreed and filled the earl’s cup.