Chapter 8
“I thought you two had grown apart since childhood, but seeing you now, you seem close. Ah, by the way, I heard the news.”
Ayla froze. There was only one piece of news the Emperor could be referring to.
“I heard an Academy student died in an accident. Such a tragic event.”
The Emperor spoke as if it were pitiful. Ayla remained silent, unable to find words to respond, while Damian spoke in a seemingly regretful tone.
“Yes, it’s terrible. I don’t know how it happened.”
“I hear there are voices calling for raising the legal drinking age because of this. They argue that even if one comes of age, self-control is still lacking at that age.”
The mourning for the dead student was fleeting. The topic of conversation quickly shifted to state affairs. Damian was adequately engaging with the Emperor, while Ayla elegantly cut and ate her steak, seemingly uninterested in their topic. However, her mind was in turmoil.
Forbidden herbs. Illegal harvesting. The king’s tomb. Gilrota. Magician. Engagement. These fragmented words floated around in her head, things that had been troubling her all along.
Ayla suddenly cast her gaze forward. The Empress, sitting opposite her, had been unusually silent throughout the meal. Her face was so pale it seemed as if she might be ill, and her knife was cutting through the air as if she were deep in thought.
Ayla felt a strange sensation. An inexplicable thorn pricked at her heart. Her overwhelmed mind began to weave implausible fantasies. Could the Empress be connected to this incident?
That’s impossible. It’s absurd. Whether it’s a magician or multiple people, they’re bold enough to make a show of it. It couldn’t be someone trembling so frailly.
Shaking her head slightly to dispel these thoughts, Ayla asked, concerned for the Empress’s well-being as a lady should be:
“Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?”
At her question, Damian and the Emperor, who had been discussing the appropriate legal drinking age, turned their attention to the Empress. Meeting the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Nivelia composed herself as if nothing had happened. The pale complexion disappeared, leaving only the gentle face of the Empress.
“Is something wrong with you, Empress?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. I was just worried about whether Herdin was attending his lessons well, and I must have unconsciously shown a concerned face.”
The Empress laughed as if it were nothing. She also spoke to Ayla.
“Thank you for your concern, Lady Ayla.”
Ayla smiled in response. However, in her mind, the thoughts she had sent away were returning. The Empress is not a magician. But what if she’s connected to someone who is?
“Herdin is already five years old. You should stop worrying so much.”
“Already? Five years old is still a child, Your Majesty.”
The Empress wore the face of a loving mother. Ayla was smiling casually to hide her sharpening senses.
“Come to think of it, Damian, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Herdin.”
Herdin was the Empress’s young son. In other words, Damian’s half-brother. Now five years old, Herdin was said to be diligently receiving lessons as a member of the imperial family. Herdin floated into Ayla’s mind. Herdin looked different from Damian. When Damian was young, he resembled the late Empress more than the Emperor, which briefly led to rumors questioning whether he was truly of imperial blood. Of course, his distinct silver hair proved his imperial lineage.
In contrast, Herdin resembled the Emperor. The Emperor’s younger appearance, though still youthful now, was reflected in Herdin’s face. But setting all this aside, Herdin was incredibly cute. His chubby cheeks were almost biteable. It had been months since Ayla had last seen Herdin, who occasionally visited the Academy to see Damian. She wondered if he had become even cuter now. Ayla found herself missing Herdin.
As if on cue, the Emperor was about to suggest the same thing.
“He should be in the middle of his sword training now. Would you like to go see him?”
At the Emperor’s question, Damian’s gaze turned to Ayla. He saw Ayla staring at him with sparkling eyes. Though he didn’t like Ayla’s eagerness to see his brother, he had no reason to refuse. Besides, his brother was still innocent.
Damian nodded.
“I’ll go with Ayla. Herdin will be happy to see her too.”
“Oh, that’s right. Herdin did like Ayla, didn’t he? Is that alright with you, Lady Ayla?”
The Empress smiled at Ayla with an incredibly innocent face, as if she knew nothing. Lady Ayla smiled back at the Empress.
“It would be my utmost honor, Your Majesty.”
Laughter that sounded like masks filled the dining room. Ayla thought to herself that abandoning the life of a lady and choosing to become an imperial civil servant was indeed the best decision she had ever made.
* * *
Ayla couldn’t understand why the servant had guided her to Damian’s room when they were supposed to go see Herdin together. She desperately called for the servant, but the vanished attendant did not return. Ayla had no choice but to stay in the room. She figured Damian must have gone to fetch Herdin.
Ayla sat on the bed with familiarity. The large bed was spacious enough for three people to sleep comfortably, and it was very soft. Come to think of it, she used to play with Damian in this room when they were children. Sometimes they would fall asleep on the bed, exhausted from playing. It was possible under the name of friendship.
Ayla gazed blankly around the room. The room, filled with memories of Damian, remained unchanged from before.
If anything had changed…
“…I’m crazy. You’re crazy, Ayla von Dürman. You’re really out of your mind.”
Ayla clutched her head. Belated regret washed over her like a flood.
“Should I back out now? But can this be canceled after even meeting His Majesty? No, it will be canceled when we find the real culprit, right? No, but that’s not the problem.”
Her father. Duke Dürman, who had adamantly refused public office and was running businesses in his territory, was the problem. Now that the Emperor knew, it was only a matter of time before Duke Dürman found out. He was an even bigger issue than the Emperor. It was a problem because she couldn’t predict how he would react.
“This is driving me crazy. Should I write a letter first? Yes, let’s write to Eileen first.”
Ayla searched every corner of the room. She thoroughly checked every drawer. And finally, she found some nice stationery. It was the high-quality paper used by the imperial family.
Ayla sat down in a chair to write the letter. She placed the stationery on the table and fell into deep contemplation. She couldn’t think of what to say or how to start. Until now, she’d always had so much to say to fill these long sheets, but why couldn’t she think of anything now? The tip of the fountain pen touching the paper only left black stains.
How long had she been in this state of anguish? Finally, Ayla picked up the pen and began to write. What would normally have been a long letter-writing session ended very quickly, and Ayla folded the letter with a deep sigh and tucked it into her inner pocket.
Walking to the bed with steps as weak as a defeated knight returning from war, Ayla flopped down onto it. The bed was very soft.
Blink. Blink. When she closed and opened her eyes, she could vividly hear the laughter of children. It was her memory.
Ayla closed her eyes. Her mind was quite exhausted, the bed was very comfortable, and the room was quiet. It was the perfect environment for her to fall asleep. The feeling of fatigue overwhelmed her in an instant.
Ayla’s flickering eyes no longer opened. She fell into a sweet slumber.
* * *
Damian looked down at the bed with a slightly bewildered expression. He couldn’t tell if this was his bed or hers. Ayla was sprawled out, deeply asleep, as if it were her own room.
“Big brother. Is sister Ayla sleeping?”
Herdin, nestled in Damian’s arms, moved his chubby lips as he looked at Ayla on the bed. Damian spoke while comforting Herdin in his arms.
“Yeah. Looks like she was very tired.”
“Is studying that hard?”
At Herdin’s question, Damian carefully recalled Ayla at the Academy. Ayla studied like a madwoman. Whether exams were over or ongoing, she was always in Caelum. Her concentration was so intense that she’d completely forget his presence and bury herself in books. He wondered if she ever had fun. Damian often worried she might fall ill from studying so much. And for all that effort, she always secured second place. While others might mock her as the eternal runner-up, he knew her efforts. He knew her dreams. That’s why he couldn’t just force his will on her.
“Wearing a crown is always difficult.”
Though he wanted to place a different crown on her head. But not yet.
“Big brother. I’m sleepy too.”
Herdin, quickly losing interest in the conversation topic he had started, whined while hugging Damian’s neck. Damian looked at Ayla and the bed, momentarily conflicted. He could sleep too if he lay down. The question was, this bed or the sofa?
“…Then shall we sleep together with sister?”
He decided on the bed. It was a large bed anyway. And he also wanted to sleep with Ayla after such a long time. Childhood memories came flooding back.
Herdin nodded with a bright smile.
“Yes. Let’s sleep!”
“Okay, just a moment. We need to lay sister straight so we can sleep well.”
Damian set Herdin down beside the bed. The good boy Herdin stood still obediently.
Damian carefully lifted Ayla. He laid her straight and even adjusted her pillow. Then he gazed at her quietly. Her plump lips, through which soft breaths were escaping, looked so soft that if touched, they might be pillowy, and if bitten, they might burst with juice. His hand moved unconsciously. The fingers slowly approaching her lips were stopped by his innocent brother’s question.
