Scott’s face brightened as he heard the address.
“Oh, I know that neighborhood well! Working as an apprentice and learning the carpentry trade, I stayed for several months to build a house in that village. It may have been decades ago, but rural areas don’t change much.”
When Ayla heard those words, the concern left her face. That was an extremely lucky situation.
“I think you’re talking about the mansion at the entrance of the village. I think I can somehow find it there.”
“I’m so glad…… !”
Ayla somehow felt overwhelming joy and wiped away the tears from her eyes.
And that night……
It was the last night spent in the beloved cabin for the couple and Ayla. The last night before leaving home, they might never return.
Debbie spent that precious night not with her husband, but with Ayla. It probably wasn’t enough time to look at each other and fondly share memories with Scott.
‘Do you want to sleep with her tonight?’ After asking, Scott kicked Ayla out of the guest bed where she was staying.
“Ayla, are you sleeping?”
Debbie asked the girl sleeping beside her, but there was no answer.
There were many things she wanted to ask, like if the girl’s real name was Ayla and how she got caught up in something dangerous at such a young age.
But she just stroked Ayla’s silken hair while breathing calmly.
“Everything will be okay, Ayla. With you and us.”
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t scared.
Although she had lived for half a century, the world was still full of fear.
But Debbie, and probably her husband Scott…… Thanks to Ayla, the past two months have been truly happy for them. It was the first time in decades that she had let go of her son.
There was a hole in their chest that nothing could fill…… Still, Ayla healed the couple’s wounds to some extent.
Though Ayla’s words were questionable, they had to be followed.
Even if it meant leaving their beloved home and going to an unfamiliar place.
Debbie, who had been watching the sleeping girl’s pretty face for a while, fell asleep without realizing it.
* * *
Smart.
A knock on the door of a remote cabin in the woods.
The three people, who were sitting apart from each other and staring at each other in silence, were startled by a signal coming from outside the cabin.
Scott turned his head towards Ayla, and when their eyes met, she nodded.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me; I’m here to pick up Ayla.”
It was Capella, who called herself Ayla’s mother.
“Oh, please come in.”
Scott pulled the door open quickly.
It was something that could not be helped since he was not a professional actor and was an ordinary person who had lived a good life without ever deceiving others. Watching the scene, Debbie thought, ‘What if he gets caught doing that?’ She couldn’t help but think.
But fortunately, Capella was not interested in Scott’s awkward movements. As soon as she entered the house, she rushed towards Ayla and hugged her tightly.
“Ayla, mom is here.”
“Are you here, Mom?”
Ayla barely managed to utter the title ‘Mom,’ which had never been used in her mouth.
Her inner feelings seemed to rot as she had to use a word to Capella that she had never sung to Ophelia. Fortunately, unlike Scott, it seemed manageable.
Sadly, she was used to acting like this.
“It took longer than I thought. Did something work out?”
Debbie smiled sweetly and stepped on her husband’s step without Capella seeing. It was an unspoken signal for him to take care of himself.
“Oh, that’s…… Well, the debt collectors were guarding the front of my sister’s house. I somehow managed to get in touch with my older sister without them knowing, and we were able to settle down in a village a little further away.”
And Capella was also good at acting. Maybe she was so good at lying so blatantly.
The story of the non-existent sister became much more vivid with the story of the debt collectors who were guarding the front of the house.
Debbie clasped her hands under her apron, saying that if she hadn’t heard from Ayla in advance, she would have been fooled into believing her.
“That’s good. Isn’t that right, honey?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s a good thing.”
Scott, taken aback when Debbie suddenly asked him for consent, stuttered his answer. It looked very suspicious.
“……Why are you doing this? You don’t look good.”
Seeing the suspicious appearance and sweating profusely, Capella asked curiously.
Scott felt like he was going to faint from fear as she looked at him with those red eyes that were flashing with death.
“I’m so attached to Ayla but sad to break up with her.”
“Your wife is right. Ayla must be so cute. But when I was gone, I was so consumed by her eyes because she doesn’t know how to live.”
When Debbie cleverly made up an excuse, Scott nodded and agreed. Fortunately, it didn’t look that awkward.
“……You said so. Thank you so much for loving my little daughter.”
Capella smiled seductively and placed her hand on Ayla’s shoulder.
Ayla resisted the urge to shake off the touch, stood up, and bowed her head politely.
“Thank you so much, ma’am and uncle.”
‘I hope to see you again alive.’
It was something she couldn’t say in front of Capella, so she blinked and prayed for her feelings to be conveyed.
She hoped they could safely reach the hideout prepared by Winfred.
“Yes, Ayla, Good luck, stay healthy… I’ll come over later when I have some free time.”
Debbie smiled sweetly and waved at her. Before she knew it, tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Let’s go, Ayla.”
Capella gave strength to the hand that wrapped around her shoulder and led Ayla out of the cabin.
She couldn’t take a few steps and kept looking back at the couple’s cabin. The image of the couple in tears kept flashing before her eyes, and she couldn’t bear to leave.
“……What are you doing, girl?” “Ma’am, please wait.”
Seeing such an unfamiliar appearance, Capella whispered in a low voice that only her ears could hear. Due to her continued urging, Ayla had no choice but to move her feet.
They walked far along the forest path. There was a flat road for horses to travel on, and a carriage was parked. And Cloud was waiting next to the carriage.
“When are you going to deal with it, Cloud?”
As Cloud opened the carriage door so she could get in, Capella asked in an overbearing manner.
“When the sun sets…… We’ll take care of it right away. She’s waiting in the carriage.”
He answered in a blunt voice, no different from usual.
And Ayla tried to read his thoughts from that hard face.
He might have made his choice. He might follow Byron’s orders and deal with that couple, or he might follow Ayla’s words and show them mercy.
However, Cloud did not give any answer to Ayla’s earnest gaze.
After a nervous time, the sun began to set and turn the sky red.
“…..Then I’ll be back.”
Cloud said as he got on his horse.
* * *
“Oh my, I’m out of my mind. I don’t know what I should take care of.”
“But we still would need some travel expenses. There’s a purse in there in the closet under the winter blanket, Scott.”
Ayla left, and the couple was busy packing their belongings.
Since she had been sitting there, she’d never once planned to go on a long trip, so it felt awkward.
“Ah, it’s here. Is this enough? These days, you should be able to know what the prices are like.”
Scott put his hand between the thick blankets in the closet, pulled out the wallet containing the coins, and said, licking his lips.
Still, sometimes he went down to the general store in the village across the mountain to buy necessities like salt that couldn’t be found in the mountains and exchange things like animal skins for money. Still, the last time he went there was two years ago, so he had no way of knowing the situation outside these days.
“If it’s not enough, there’s nothing you can do about it. I think this is enough for the clothes…… Let’s leave quickly, honey.”
At Debbie’s urging, who had packed a quick change of clothes into a cloth, Scott put his wallet deep into his pocket and took the crossbow and dagger he used for hunting.
Now it was time to leave my beloved home.
The couple cleared the land by hand, cutting down trees and selecting land to build a house. It was a house where every single piece of wood that went into building the house was untouched by their hands.
But they had to leave this place.
They were still confused as to what suddenly happened to the couple, who had been living peacefully.
“……Let’s go, Debbie.”
Scott smiled sweetly as he held out his hand to his wife.
As he grew older with her, his wrinkles increased one by one, and he now looked like a middle-aged man, but his smile still contained the smile of the young carpenter who had made Debbie’s heart flutter when she was young.
“Sure, Scott.”
Debbie took his hand and was about to leave the cabin.
With a bang, the cabin door opened, and a huge figure appeared in the doorway. Solid muscles and a blunt face. A large vertical scar was marked on his face as if he had lived through rough work. It looked so intense that it seemed like it could kill a person with just a glance.
Even just looking at him, he was a scary-looking man.
For a moment, the couple wondered if they had been too late.
She took the money for no reason. She should leave her clothes behind and run away.
She would be unable to fulfill her commitment to Ayla of meeting her again alive.
