And Winfred, who was left alone, let out a windy laugh.
‘Is it possible to follow even if I try?’
She must have climbed onto the roof again like before, but she didn’t know that ordinary people don’t fly on rooftops.
And, as Winfred had expected, Ayla climbed up to the roof, looked toward the fountain square where Winfred was still standing, and hurriedly returned to the cafe.
When she learned about the existence of the curse by overhearing Byron and Cloud, she sometimes wished she had not listened to their story.
It’s better to not know. Then she wouldn’t be so scared and in pain.
But now she thinks a little differently.
If she hadn’t known about the existence of the curse, when she met Winfred today, she would have followed him and lost her life without even knowing why she was dying.
Ayla quickly turned back the way she had come and returned to the cafe. She naturally opened the window and returned to her room.
There was no sign that anyone had been there, perhaps because they had kept Gerald’s words to not come until called.
Gerald was also sleeping just as he had been a few hours ago.
‘… … Thanks to this burn, I still had fun.’
However, what Gerald was trying to do was too scandalous to just look at it as cute and move on.
If she made an issue of this, it would only get more complicated, so she pretended not to notice and put the remaining money back into her jacket.
Since it wasn’t used much, the weight wouldn’t have changed much.
And just as she was trying to organize her pockets.
When she took it out, it turned out to be some trinkets she bought at the souvenir shop where she met Winfred.
‘Oh, now that I think about it, I didn’t give you this.’
Even if she had to give it to her parents in person when she met them later, Winfred was right in front of her so she could just give it to them.
‘No, she didn’t give me what she bought for me. I can’t give it to her first.’
She said that somehow she felt like she was losing, so she put the things she bought today in a secret box.
Now it’s time for Gerald to wake up.
With that in mind, Ayla lifted her fork and took a bite of the chocolate cake. It was so delicious, probably because she had fun.
While she was drinking refreshing fruit tea that had cooled down while she was out.
“Uhm… … .”
Perhaps the effect of the medicine had finally worn off, but Gerald was shaking his body and groaning. He had slept in an uncomfortable prone position for several hours, so of course he would feel sore and dizzy here and there.
But Ayla pretended not to know him and continued to focus on eating the cake.
It was Gerald who foolishly took sleeping pills, and he was the one who put them in her mouth.
The story was that there was no need to help such an idiot.
‘This house is good at cakes.’
As Ayla was giving a generous taste review, Gerald finally woke up, probably fully awake.
“Hey you… … ! “You planned it!”
And this is what they say they do as soon as they wake up.
‘Did you change the glass?’ may mean something like that, but it couldn’t help but be a truly absurd question.
Isn’t the reason why this happened like this in the first place because Gerald made up such a mean thing in his dark mind?
‘But you’re going to blame it on me?’
That wasn’t right.
“What are you talking about? What did I make up? I was so bored because you suddenly fell asleep.”
She asked him to play with her first and then asked if that was polite, and she was confused.
Ayla says she doesn’t know, so what can he do? If he wants to raise an issue about this, he would have to confess that he tried to put Ayla to sleep by giving her medicine.
If this becomes known, the person who will be in even more trouble is Gerald, not her.
No one knew what Ayla did while putting him to sleep, and there was relatively clear evidence and witnesses about what Gerald had done.
“… … you!”
“Time is up. It’s time for the knights to come back. Why don’t you leave?”
Ayla put down her fork without making any noise in an extremely elegant posture and looked at him intently.
It contains the message, ‘If you tell someone about what happened today, you are the one who loses, not me.’
Perhaps her message was conveyed properly, but Gerald put on his coat without saying anything, even though his face was flushed.
He too would be scared of getting scolded by his father.
As he was leaving the room, he muttered these words to himself, thinking it was his final blow.
“Being proud of something so trivial.”
“… … .”
It’s a mean thing. He guessed he heard that Ayla was not Byron’s biological daughter.
That’s why he ignores them because they have a lower status than him.
‘I’m sorry, I’m not ‘lowly’.’
In the first place, it was absurd and undesirable to call people inferior or anything based on their status, but the blind spot was that even that status was much higher than Ayla’s.
She chased after him with an expression like, ‘Well, there’s everything.’
* * *
After Ayla returned.
Winfred stood blankly for a while, looking in the direction where Ayla disappeared.
This time too, she appeared like a dream and disappeared like a dream. Why are there all these strange friends? It felt like he was possessed by a ghost.
As he was just standing there staring into space, Joseph, who had been standing guard at a distance so far away that he could not be heard, sneaked up on him.
“… … “Who are you, Your Highness?”
It was highly unlikely that the crown prince, who was abroad for the first time in his life, would have any local friends.
Joseph, who has been by Winfred’s side since he was a toddler, would naturally be a familiar face to any friends he made in the Peles Empire.
That strange girl was a face he had never seen before.
“Besides, why are we talking so seriously? We cry, then we laugh, then we cry again, we get disappointed, and then we burst out laughing again… …. It didn’t look like it was a day or two-old relationship.”
“secret.”
Winfred didn’t seem to know whether Joseph was aware of Joseph’s feelings that were about to burst out of curiosity, but he just said this and closed his mouth.
Considering how talkative he usually is, this was truly unusual.
“Your Highness, am I going to get upset?”
“Either pout or not.”
The Chamberlain pursed his lips to express his dissatisfaction, but Winfred completely ignored him without even blinking.
The sight of him heading towards the place where the carriage was parked, saying that he was tired so he could quickly go back to his lodgings, was almost disgusting.
“majesty!”
He called out to Winfred in a tone full of disappointment, but he answered by picking his ears.
“It’s not your highness; it’s you, Master. What are you going to do if someone hears it?”
Joseph was innocent when he was young, but as the days went by, he became more sly and sly, and he seemed to be taking after His Majesty. He followed the crown prince with a sad face.
After exchanging a bit of humor with Joseph, Winfred got into the carriage and was lost in thought, with a serious expression on his face.
‘… … ‘How should I convey this?’
Ayla asked him to tell it to the duke and his wife, so he had to tell it to them, but it was such a big deal that he was already worried.
There is a long time left before returning to the empire, so he might say it is too early to worry.
‘… … Things are getting bigger and bigger. Shouldn’t I tell my father too?’
It was nothing else but a treason-related matter, so he wondered if he could keep his mouth shut like this.
He recalled the conversation he had with Ayla and fell on the carriage seat, burying his face deep in it. He felt frustrated and angry.
Why was he born as the nephew of such a vicious person?
Not only did he try to kill his biological father with his own hands, but he also took a child and tried to use him to kill that child’s biological father.
He was an immoral person who will never be seen again in the world.
‘But Ayla said she doesn’t hate me.’
When Ayla’s words of comfort came to mind, Winfred couldn’t help it anymore and hit the carriage seat. Maybe that’s why her personality was like that of an angel. Even her heart was silky, and it wasn’t just her pretty face.
‘by the way… … ‘You were really pretty today, Ayla.’
After hitting the bottom of the chair for a while, he relaxed his body this time and sat back on the chair, looking at the ceiling of the carriage.
It’s as if Ayla’s face is drawn there.
She was a little disappointed that she couldn’t see the hair that shined like moonlight because of the hat she was wearing, but she was still very happy just seeing the face.
She can’t believe how much he’s grown. When she saw him before, she had to look down for a long time when they stood side by side. Now, she can make eye contact even if she lowers her head a little, so her neck hurts less.
Considering that he also grew taller, it was truly an incredible growth rate.
And Winfred’s one-man show ended with him smiling while thinking of Ayla.
This is in front of the only audience member, Joseph, who watches with a puzzled expression.
* * *
“… … “I’m sorry for not telling you for a while, Ophelia. I didn’t want to stress you out about having a child.”
Roderick was confessing the things he had been hiding in front of Ophelia with a sad expression.
A child resembling Ayla was seen at the checkpoint, and the child called Byron her father. And there is even speculation that Cloud Air taught the child swordsmanship.
Ophelia, who had been listening to the story in silence for a while, accepted his apology in a calm voice.
“I understand. It’s not for a bad reason, it’s just because I’m worried. Now, stop getting up. My legs are going numb.”
Roderick was kneeling in front of her throughout the conversation.
“… … “Ophelia.”
He looked up at his wife’s face, still kneeling, who looked calmer than she was worried.
