Chapter 23
“Well, I’ll go see Michael then.”
“Okay, sure.”
Ayla gave a casual farewell, showing no intention of leaving Damian’s room. He secretly felt pleased as he put the candy wrapped in handkerchief into his pocket and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, there was a knock at the door. Knock-knock-knock-knock. The successive knocks seemed somewhat urgent. He was puzzled—no one should be visiting at this hour. Ayla also looked confused.
Their eyes met.
“What’s that about?”
“No idea. I’m not expecting anyone.”
Knock-knock-knock.
This time the knocking had a certain rhythm to it. Damian tilted his head as he walked to the door. When he opened it…
“…Eileen?”
“Hi, Brother Damian. It’s been a while.”
Eileen? At that name, Ayla jumped up and approached the door. Standing behind Damian, she discovered her only sister, who smirked upon seeing her.
“Oh my, Sister. So this is where you were?”
Ayla couldn’t believe who she was seeing. Why was Eileen at the Academy? And with…
“…Michael?”
Michael was with her.
“What is this…”
Ayla alternated between staring at them both, unable to finish her sentence. Eileen was beaming while Michael looked somewhat exhausted. Meeting Ayla’s eyes, he spoke to her in a firm tone.
“I don’t know. Really, Senior, I don’t. I just met her today.”
* * *
It was a strange four-way encounter.
Eileen rested her chin on both hands, watching the two with sparkling eyes and wearing a mischievous smile. Next to her, Michael sat staring blankly out the window.
“So. You two, since when?”
It was a bold and direct question. But Ayla ignored it.
“Shouldn’t I be asking the questions first, Eileen? How did you get here?”
“How? By crossing the gate and taking a carriage, of course.”
Eileen answered as if it were nothing special.
“Did you come alone?”
“I came too, Lady Ayla…”
Ayla startled at Jenny’s appearance, who emerged like a hidden assassin. Jenny’s face looked quite haggard. There was no need to ask about her ordeal. Ayla let out a small sigh as she looked at Jenny, Michael, and Eileen, who was still watching her with sparkling eyes.
“Go back home.”
“Why? I haven’t heard anything yet! To think that my sister and ‘that guy’—mmph!”
Eileen’s words were cut off as Ayla covered her mouth with unprecedented speed.
Michael’s distant gaze, Jenny’s eyes, and even Damian’s attention—all turned to Ayla. Their eyes fell on her hand covering Eileen’s mouth. Michael and Jenny hadn’t heard clearly, but Damian had heard perfectly. His eyes drooped. He hung his head dejectedly and mumbled to Ayla.
“Ayla. Was that… about me?”
Ayla bit her lip. Serina’s taught curse word came back to her mind. Well, f*ck. This was the one thing that shouldn’t have been revealed. Her mind raced to think of ways to console Damian. But her blank mind couldn’t come up with anything. Meanwhile, sensing Ayla’s grip weakening, Eileen quickly removed the hand covering her mouth and said in a thoroughly mischievous tone:
“So this time, Brother made the confession first?”
“…”
But there was no answer. Jenny wanted to say something. Lady, please read the damn mood…
Michael, who had quickly grasped the atmosphere, thought it was finally time to escape from Eileen. While she was distracted with the two of them, he quietly stood up and snuck out of the room, keeping his footsteps silent. Jenny, well aware of Michael’s struggles, didn’t try to stop him. She just shook her head while watching the three at the table.
“What’s wrong? Why’s the mood like this? Did you two fight?”
For the sake of her utterly tactless lady, Jenny dared to be insolent enough to cover her mistress’s mouth.
“Mmph?”
“Shh. Please be quiet.”
“Mmph mmph?”
Eileen protested that this was ridiculous, but Jenny ignored her. Lady Ayla was looking at Damian helplessly.
“Damian, that’s not it. Eileen was talking nonsense.”
“Mmph!”
Eileen protested, but with her mouth covered, it was futile. Jenny watched the exchange between Lady Ayla and His Highness like a theater spectator. It seemed like an implausible excuse, but it worked. Or rather, it seemed the Crown Prince wasn’t particularly concerned about it in the first place…?
A lightning-like realization struck her. Her widening eyes briefly met Damian’s. Jenny didn’t miss the smile that flitted across his lips.
“Really, Ayla?”
“Of course. Would I use such vulgar words? Right, Eileen?”
Eileen looked at Ayla with disbelief. ‘That’ sister had completely fallen for ‘that guy’. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy about this. She could imagine their story without asking. She’d expected something more interesting, but it seemed pride and stubbornness were no match for love. Well, after years of pining and fumbling around, all it took was for one person to gather their courage.
In truth, neither had actually gathered their courage, but Eileen didn’t know that.
Having quickly lost interest, Eileen became indifferent. She tapped Jenny’s arm to signal her to remove her hand. The restraining hand fell away. Now rather than her sister’s love story, yes… Eileen thought of someone else. That person had caught her interest more. Though it would be quite unfortunate for that individual.
“Jenny. Let’s head back.”
She was just as arbitrary about leaving as she had been about arriving.
“Sister, Brother, I’ll be going now. Sister, I’ll be waiting for a different form of address in your next letter?”
Eileen left the room, delivering these words despite Ayla’s glare. Jenny sighed deeply, gave her farewell, and followed Eileen.
A strange silence fell over the room. Ayla carefully watched Damian’s expression.
“Damian, um… you believe me, right?”
Seeing Ayla flustering over him sparked a faint sense of pleasure in Damian. Though he was a bit sad, he thought that nickname was acceptable enough. Wasn’t indifference supposed to be the scariest thing? The fact that she mentioned him in letters to Eileen meant she wasn’t completely indifferent to him. And while she always dismissed him, she ultimately accepted him. Though that could just be because they were friends.
It would be nice to go further. Would he get another chance?
A twisted part of his mind called out.
“…Then grant me one wish.”
“What? Hey, you don’t need a wish just because of this…”
She was about to scold him, but his dejected expression stopped her words. Finally, she spoke as if she had no choice.
“Fine. What is it?”
“Later.”
“What?”
“When I tell you my wish later, you must grant it. Okay?”
“When is ‘later’?”
“The day we catch that mage.”
“…”
“I’ll tell you then.”
If he couldn’t get an opportunity, he’d create one. He had no intention of repeating past mistakes.
“So, is it a promise, Ayla?”
She stared quietly at his extended pinky finger.
[Ayla.]
[Stay close to Damian in the future.]
Ah. She shouldn’t have recalled this memory. What was buried should have stayed buried forever.
She linked her pinky with his.
“…Alright.”
Watching him beam at her response, she felt as if she’d returned to being seven years old again.
* * *
Nivelia nervously bit her nails. Her face had turned so pale she looked like she might collapse at any moment. Despite it being midday, the room was dimly lit, with curtains drawn to block out even a single ray of light.
She hadn’t slept peacefully for a single night since that day. Every day was filled with anxiety. She had no idea what he was doing.
Where had things gone wrong? She had just been lonely, just been happy. That’s why she had accepted him…
She felt no happiness in this position he had given her. Yet he kept telling her to be happy. Rather, in the kingdom…
“Nivelia.”
She looked up at the familiar voice. It was the person she had been anxiously waiting for.
“What on earth are you…!”
Her sharp voice didn’t continue. The news she had heard was unbelievable to her. No, more precisely, she didn’t want to believe it. Gilrota. She knew well about that student.
The man approached her casually and embraced her anxious form. Then he patted her as if soothing a child.
“Lia. My beloved Lia.”
As if by magic, her trembling subsided at his words. Lia. This name he called her by was the pet name her mother had used long ago. Tears suddenly welled up in Nivelia’s eyes. She didn’t want to stay here. She was so lonely. In this imperial palace, she was still just a foreign princess. The Emperor didn’t love her. Now, he was the only one who could love her.
“It’s alright. It’s alright, Lia.”
His voice was gentle, like her mother’s. Nivelia buried her face in his unfamiliar yet familiar chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tight as if she could never let go.
A crooked smile appeared on the man’s lips. Nivelia was incredibly naive. She was truly like a bird in a cage. A small, fragile bird that would die someday if it couldn’t eat properly or fly.
He stroked her back. His sweet voice was the bird’s feed.
“Lia. You don’t need to worry about anything. I’ll…”
The Crown Prince had figured him out.
“I’ll take care of everything.”
Therefore, it was only proper to invite him as the master of this play.
