After spending the night at Debbie and Scott’s house as planned, Capella left Ayla behind.
Following Byron’s orders, she repeatedly reminded her to learn how to live there.
Yes. This was the first place where Ayla Heiling Weishafen, who disappeared with her nanny, grew up in the scenario designed by Byron.
It was the same in her last life.
Ayla was discovered deep in the mountains by a couple who lived alone and away from the world. She lived as the couple’s adopted daughter.
Then, the house burned down due to a bandit attack, and Ayla, who had lost her adoptive parents and survived alone, went down to a neighboring village and learned that she was the only princess of the lost Duke of Weishafen.
Ayla, who was 16 years old at the time, lived with the couple for over two months and learned about their lives.
Just to avenge her father and to avoid being suspected by Roderick and Ophelia, she pretended to be the family’s daughter.
But she didn’t know at the time that Byron would kill Debbie and Scott to make this made-up story come true.
Doing so would explain why they had not been able to find Ayla, and by killing the couple who would become witnesses, there would be no regrets left.
However, the couple were too good people to be sacrificed for this conspiracy.
They were truly heartbroken by the story that Ayla and Capella made up, as if it were their own business, and treated Ayla very kindly so that she could live comfortably and not be discouraged while she was there.
Even though her mother, who said she would come soon, did not return, instead of bothering the guest, they comforted her by saying that nothing would happen and her mother would be back soon.
When the couple burned down along with this small but neighboring cabin, she was greatly shocked.
When she thought about it then, it was probably the first time she had doubts about what her father was doing.
Of course, she quickly scolded herself, saying that she shouldn’t have done that, and her father erased that doubt by repeating that he was doing the right thing.
Feelings of regret surged in her like a tide, but she did her best to calm them down. Even if she remembered how foolish she had been in the past, nothing would change.
What was important was what to do next.
‘Madam, uncle…. That won’t happen this time. I’ll make sure you two survive because I will protect you.’
Ayla promised herself several times while preparing lunch with Debbie.
To protect them, she even got permission from Winfred to use the Imperial family’s safe house.
As she was thinking about that and skillfully trimming the vegetables growing in the yard, Debbie spoke to her with a kind smile.
“Oh my god!!! How can Ayla cook so well? She’s not just a pretty face.”
She was just used to it because she had already lived with them and learned from them once in her life. It felt awkward to receive a compliment, so Ayla blushed and said, ‘No.’ And she muttered softly.
Even when she was sixteen, they praised Ayla, but when she was a little younger, the couple seemed to treat her more leniently.
“Oh, look at my mind. I forgot to pick the basil leaves.”
Debbie, who was just about to start cooking with the ingredients Ayla had prepared, clapped her hands as if she had forgotten.
“I’ll come back, ma’am.”
Ayla, who had just finished chopping vegetables and had empty hands, offered to go on her own.
Debbie asked in an impertinent voice, “So, do you want to do that? Do you know where Basil is?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She nodded and left the cabin.
Debbie and Scott found it fascinating that they didn’t know how Ayla was able to learn the local geography so quickly because this place was almost similar to the past. This was possible because it was not much different from the future three years later.
It was as if time had stopped there.
She approached the herb field growing in a corner of the garden, picking herbs, when she suddenly felt a presence nearby and turned around.
It was still too early for Scott, who went to retrieve the fish trap he had thrown in the nearby stream, to return, and there was no sign of any wild animals nearby.
And above all, it was the presence of someone quite familiar to her.
“Cloud, don’t hide and watch; come out here.”
As she started talking to Debbie in the hut to see if she could hear her, a familiar figure came out from behind the tree.
“Miss.”
“What are you doing here?”
“This is the master’s order, Lady. Protecting you.”
It was unclear why Cloud, who was so good at hiding his emotions that he had deceived everyone, including her, would tell a lie that would be caught so quickly.
With a gasp, Ayla denied it.
“Not surveillance?”
“…….”
Cloud couldn’t answer. It seemed like her prediction was correct.
“I have to go in. If it takes a long time, do it later, and if it can be done briefly, just tell me what you’re doing.”
Ayla spoke in a cold voice as she picked basil leaves.
“Master… He was suspicious of you.”
He delivered the message briefly and clearly.
It seemed that the cause of the problem was that she was unable to control her facial expressions when she heard the order to kill Noah.
“Is it serious?”
“No, I just told him that she did it because she was worried about harming a newborn, and she seemed to accept it. However, I thought you would have to be more careful in the future.”
Ayla held a basil leaf in her hand and looked at Cloud for a moment. It was because she had a strange feeling.
Wasn’t it really strange that the person who once resented her to the point of wanting to kill her was now truly worried about her and helping her?
Even while betraying the man, he constantly called him ‘Master’.
“Okay. Are you going to keep hanging around me from now on? Then, behave well so that you and your uncle don’t get surprised.”
She was used to this kind of stalking and lurking, but it was clear that a couple who had been alone for a long time would be scared if they happened to discover Cloud.
At this, Ayla spoke with a small sigh, and Cloud briefly lowered his head as if he would obey orders.
“Yes, Miss.”
Then Cloud hid behind the trees again.
“Ayla, are you there yet?”
Inside the cabin, Debbie stuck her head out and called out to her.
“It’s done, ma’am! I’ll be there soon.”
When dealing with Cloud, her voice was as cold as ice, but when Ayla responded to Debbie’s call, she answered with a soft, childlike voice as if she had always done so.
Cloud, who was hiding behind a large tree, watched her until she completely disappeared into the cabin.
It was as if his mind was extremely complicated.
* * *
The war with the Sekim tribe ended in human victory, as it always had.
It was also a short-term war that would never be seen again in history.
The reason the war ended so quickly was mainly due to the activities of Roderick and the Weishafen Knights.
The Weishafen Knights had always played the role of protector of the Empire for generations, but then they boasted such outstanding capabilities that they could be said to be at their peak.
Above all, the decisive blow that brought about a quick end to the war was when Roderick jumped directly into the enemy camp and captured the enemy leader.
The Sekim tribe, who lost their heads, were confused and had no choice but to resign.
A small group of Sekim who did not want to retreat remained and attacked a nearby village, so they were unable to defeat the entire army. But then the urgent fire was extinguished.
So Roderick left the finishing touches to others and hurried back home.
These were newborn babies of Noah’s age who grew significantly, even if they were only seen for a few days. He wondered how much his young son had grown up while he was away on the battlefield.
It felt like his whole body wanted to hug Ophelia and Noah into his arms.
“Welcome, Roderick. Thank you for your effort.”
And when he arrived home, Ophelia was there to meet him at the front door. Noah, who had grown a lot while he was far away, was also with her, being held in his nanny’s arms.
Roderick just looked at his wife and son with a restless expression. He wanted to hug them, but because he was in such a hurry to return home, he didn’t wash properly, and his whole body was dirty.
“I’ll take a quick shower and come back.”
He waved his arms around to hug Ophelia without getting dirty but eventually gave up and ran inside the house.
Ophelia, who was laughing at the sight of her blunt husband waving his arms like a bird flapping its wings, also smiled and moved into the mansion.
Roderick went straight to the bathroom, cleaned off the old grime, and came out of the bathroom drying his wet hair with a soft towel.
As a soldier who had been to the front lines several times, his sturdy, muscular body, visible through his bathrobe, had small scars here and there.
“…….”
Roderick, who was absentmindedly looking around while covered in a towel, was only then able to notice a strange sense of discomfort flowing throughout the mansion.
For some reason, the atmosphere of the employees who provided him with a change of clothes was disorganized, and the house was not as neatly organized as before.
After roughly changing into comfortable indoor clothes, Roderick quickly headed to the baby’s room.
There was a reason why he wanted to hear for himself how much Noah had grown, but an even bigger reason was that he wanted to hear quickly from Ophelia what happened while he was away to find out what happened to the mansion.
“Ophelia, what happened? Why is the atmosphere in the house so chaotic?”
Roderick asked in a soft and cautious voice. He was worried that it might sound like he was criticizing Ophelia.
Of course, Ophelia, who knew full well that her husband did not abuse her over things like this, did not take it that way at all.
“Oh, That’s…”
Ophelia began her story by giving her young son to her husband, who had just washed up nicely.
Noah, whom he held in person, felt quite heavy as if he had gained a lot of weight as he had grown considerably on the outside.
“Suddenly, employees resigned one by one, leaving only the bare minimum of personnel. Noah is still young, accordingly, I can’t make the choice alone and hire additional employees. So I was simply waiting for you to arrive.”
Thanks for the translation