Gerald, who was left alone, glared at the spot where Ayla was standing as if he were angry. His pride was so high that he couldn’t bear it.
‘How dare you humiliate me like this when you don’t even know the fundamentals?’
He felt like his teeth were all shaking. It was the first insult he experienced growing up as the only son of a noble count family.
She’s such a young girl, he thought it would be okay to just force her if she couldn’t tell me.
Today, seeing him dexterously catch a thrown stone and throw it back at an unbelievable speed, it seemed like even that might be impossible.
When Gerald was shaking with such unbearable humiliation. Two surprising pieces of news sent from the Peles Empire were flying towards the Inselkov Kingdom.
* * *
Byron was very uncomfortable.
The Count had made a firm promise in front of him that he would discipline his son well, but as time passed for nearly a month, nothing had changed.
Lately, he has stopped talking directly to Ayla about what happened, but whenever he gets the chance, Gerald can be seen wandering around the villa’s garden with a dissatisfied look on his face.
As the frustration continued to build, the eye planted in the Duke’s house even sent news that could overturn Byron’s judgment.
It was the news that Ophelia had given birth to a son.
His name is Noah. He is said to be a lovely child who inherited his father’s black hair and Ophelia’s violet eyes.
‘I get very upset when I have black hair.’
All the obstacles in his life had black hair, including his younger brother Hiram, who took his place, and his son Winfred.
And Roderick, who stole Ophelia and betrayed her, also had black hair.
‘That child should have been mine.’
Byron clenched his fists, imagining a son who looked exactly like Ophelia and himself.
In fact, as a man, he naturally had a desire to leave behind a lineage that resembled his own. Since he would ascend to the position of emperor in the future, the sacred purpose of continuing the lineage of the imperial family was added to that.
But he gave up all those desires. Because he loved Ophelia. Because he loved her, who had the fatal flaw of having difficulty having children?
He thought that as long as she was by his side, it would be okay to not have children. Because he loved Ophelia enough to give up that desire.
But somehow, the child, who was said to be difficult to create, suddenly entered the room. That was Ayla. They said she was a healthy child who could withstand all the adverse conditions.
However, the probability of having another healthy child like Ayla was close to zero, so it was said that that child would be the first and last child.
So all he had to do was eliminate Ayla. There may be little chance of her giving birth to a child of her blood, but she still believes that Ophelia Heiling is the only one who can sit by his side and take the position of empress.
‘… … But this time it’s my son.’
Son. A son who resembles the traitor Roderick Weishafen, whom he detests to the point of shuddering.
He wanted to storm into the Duke’s house right now and twist its delicate neck to death. The mere fact that such a horrible creature was alive under this sky made him feel sick to his stomach, which ripped out his intestines.
Even if it was for the most perfect revenge, the reason he was able to see Ayla alive and breathing was probably because she was a girl.
“… … “It would be fun to kill my brother with that woman’s hands.”
How much fun it would be. If he could watch them die after realizing that he killed his own younger brother and father with his own hands,.
Just thinking about that moment felt like an exhilarating feeling of joy was filling his whole body.
When Byron was controlling his anger by imagining such things,.
“Lord Byron, Lord Byron…”
The Count suddenly came and delivered one surprising piece of news that remains.
“What brought you here so suddenly without any message?”
“Oh, that’s…” I went to the palace today and heard an incredible story.”
Byron, who thought that no matter how surprising the news was, it would not be as good as the news of Ophelia’s birth, asked with a sour face.
“What on earth are you saying? Are you saying there’s a war?”
Seeing his attitude of not being very interested, the Count caught his attention by tapping the desk as if asking him to listen.
“Well, didn’t they say the crown prince is coming next month?”
“The crown prince? Where does the prince come from?”
What kind of sound is this, the sound of a bell being struck in one’s sleep? Byron then became a little interested and asked, and the Count became very excited and told the story in detail.
“The crown prince of the Pheles Empire is coming to our kingdom!”
It was news that the crown prince would personally lead a congratulatory envoy from the empire to the inauguration ceremony of the Crown Prince of the Inselkov Kingdom next month.
“… … “You mean my nephew?”
“Yes! Isn’t this a heaven-sent opportunity, Duke? “The Duke happens to be in the Kingdom of Inselkov, and the Crown Prince is visiting here.”
The count laid out an absurd plan, saying that he could assassinate the crown prince if he took the right opportunity. He was an idiot who only knew one thing and did not know the other.
“And if you fail? Are you sure the Count will be safe?”
“… … ah.”
When Byron asked with his chin resting, the Count’s spirits seemed to drop as the words ‘failure’ and ‘discovery’ came to mind.
There was already an assassination attempt once, but it failed. As a result, the situation got so bad that he couldn’t even set foot in the empire, so he ran away as if he were being kicked out.
However, Byron is not stupid enough to try to assassinate Winfred in a spontaneous mood.
“I’m more worried than that. If an envoy from the empire comes, security will be tight here too.”
Byron spoke as if he were worried that he might be discovered hiding here.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Although Count Senospon’s territory here is close to the capital, it is still on the opposite side of the empire, so imperial envoys will not come all the way here.”
The Count shouted, telling him to hold on. That’s because, even among the employees of this mansion, there were only a few people who knew about the existence of guests in the villa.
“I have set up the security of this annex very strictly. You don’t have to worry.”
Looking at the Count beating his chest and speaking proudly, Byron opened his mouth in dissatisfaction.
“For that matter, don’t people who shouldn’t be in the annex keep coming in and out?”
It was the story of the Count’s son, Gerald.
“yes? Who shouldn’t come? How dare someone…”
“I mean your son. “Son.”
He can’t believe he’s working together on a great cause with someone so foolish and tactless. Byron said, trying hard to hold back a sigh.
“Ah, you meant Gerald… … .”
When the subject of his son came up, the Count looked very gloomy and spoke silently.
“I’m so sorry, Duke. I hope you understand. There is nothing more difficult for me to do than my children’s farming. I am constantly admonishing them.” That guy is stubborn.”
The Count bowed his head as if he had no shame, saying that he could not tie up his grown son.
“Now I’m past the age of being hit and scared. “I’m trying my best. I’m sorry.”
“All right.”
In response to the count’s sincerity in repeatedly apologizing, Byron soothed him by saying that he was done with his apologies. Although he could not sympathize with his words.
“If your child doesn’t obey you, isn’t it enough to make him obey you by hitting him, tying him up, and locking him up? This doesn’t matter whether he is old or young.”
He doesn’t know if it’s because he doesn’t have the blood of his own, but it doesn’t seem like it will change much even if he has a child who carries on his lineage.
“Then I’ll just leave. I took up too much of your precious time.”
Only when the Count bowed his head and retreated, Byron was finally able to regain peace.
* * *
Ayla was left alone after Laura locked the door from the outside and read the papers containing the information she had been researching.
Now, she slowly getting used to the life of hiding in the count’s villa. She doesn’t know when she’ll be leaving, but she feels comfortable.
In fact, since coming to the count’s house, she hasn’t even been able to try going out at night.
Knowing the truth that there was a curse on her body, she did it to protect herself, but it was because the guard that the count had set up to keep a tight guard over the villa was standing right in front of her room window all night.
Still, as a result of overhearing several conversations between Byron and Cloud during the day, she was able to find out one thing.
What the Count decided to help Byron with was the fact that the Count himself would ascend to the throne of this country.
Both Byron and Count Senospon were very ugly, and greedy for things that were out of place.
Anyway, since she had nothing else to do in her spare time, she was reading this to organize the information she had found out so far.
Ayla neatly organized the information she had written down so far and put it into Winfred’s secret box.
And before sending the box back, she took out the pocket watch that Winfred had given her as a gift.
Sometimes, with the excuse of needing to wind the clock, Ayla would take out the watch containing her memories of Winfred and look at it.
The day she met Winfred and received this watch as a gift, she felt like that magical moment was unfolding vividly before her eyes.
‘… … Has that child grown up a lot?’
That must have been so. Just as Ayla has grown up a lot, Winfred has grown up a lot.
Even back then, he was quite tall for his age, so she wondered how much taller he would be now. A lot of time has passed, so he would be fifteen years old now.
As Ayla imagined him growing up a little, she realized that this was her longing.
