Chapter 77
“Huff, huff.”
Lloyd, who had chased after the fleeing Aslan, lifted her up.
A moment later, Ayla came running, panting heavily, and blocked the door with her arms spread wide.
“Huh? What’s going on, why are you doing this?”
As Aslan voiced her complaint while running in mid-air, Ayla squeezed her eyes shut and shouted:
“No! If the Duchess finds out, she’ll be disappointed! She’ll be disappointed that we lied!”
Aslan had hoped it wasn’t the case, but it seemed Ayla knew that Ide was the Grand Duke too.
She thought they were the best of friends, yet she had been keeping such a secret!
As she looked at her with eyes that screamed betrayal, Ayla hastily explained.
“I only found out recently! When we came here!”
“When we came here? So it hasn’t been long?”
“Yeah. And I don’t intend to keep this a secret forever. We’ll reveal it when the time is right. So please wait for now.”
“Ayla is right, Aslan. I’ll grant you anything you want, so please keep this a secret from Her Imperial Highness for now.”
Lloyd’s face, when Aslan looked up at him, was etched with the same fear as Ayla’s.
He looked like he might cry if touched.
It was very strange.
The Ide Mente that Aslan knew was a reliable adult.
He was so tall and big that she had even asked him to teach her how to grow.
Ide Mente and Lloyd Eckhart were the same person, yet why did the person holding her now look so small and weak?
It felt like she could easily knock him down if she wanted to.
Aslan subconsciously knew the reason.
‘Uncle really likes Mom a lot.’
Aslan imagined.
If she had told a lie for unavoidable reasons, and it was a lie that Mom would dislike, she wouldn’t want to be caught for the rest of her life.
‘Come to think of it, Mom probably wouldn’t like hearing this.’
The only person who would benefit from Lloyd’s secret being revealed right now was herself, who had tried to match ‘Ide’ with Minerva.
Minerva thinks a lot and worries a lot.
Aslan relaxed her body and went limp.
“Okay, I won’t say anything…”
At that, both father and daughter’s expressions brightened.
At the same time, they felt guilty for making Aslan uncomfortable unnecessarily.
Just as Lloyd gently put Aslan down:
“But!”
As soon as she escaped Lloyd’s hands, Aslan ran to the window.
By the time they thought they should catch her, she was already precariously standing on the windowsill.
A strong wind blew through the wide-open window, making it seem like Aslan could fall at any moment.
Lloyd sensed something was wrong.
“A-Aslan?”
This was Aslan, who had been fine even after falling from a chandelier.
If she wanted to, she could probably jump down from there and run away.
“Aslan, first come down and…”
“Marry my mom.”
“…What?”
The movements of Lloyd and Ayla, who were slowly approaching to dissuade Aslan, stopped abruptly.
Aslan looked down at them, crossed her arms, and smiled like a villain.
“I’ll keep it a secret until you want to reveal it. In exchange, marry Mom!”
“That’s a great idea, Aslan!”
“What kind of unreasonable demand is that!”
Conflicting opinions burst out from Ayla and Lloyd.
As if representing Ayla’s feelings, Aslan narrowed her eyes and reproached Lloyd.
“Mom needs an incredibly strong ally right now. Weren’t you going to help?”
“That’s not it! I was just thinking of helping in a different way…”
“No. Mom has a plan for everything. And didn’t Mom choose marriage as the method?”
While eavesdropping on the conversation, Aslan couldn’t understand some of the difficult words, but she was sure that Minerva’s goal was to marry the Grand Duke.
Lloyd still didn’t want his true identity to be revealed.
That’s why he probably wasn’t planning to respond to Minerva’s proposal.
‘But now that this Aslan knows, no chance!’
She had become a person for Mom’s sake, didn’t she?
Then she should do everything she can for Mom!
Ayla silently urged Lloyd with her eyes, wondering if this was some unexpected helper for an arranged marriage, while Lloyd racked his brain for any way to catch Aslan.
But Aslan shouldn’t be underestimated.
Aslan could see it all.
“Say you’ll do it right now. Tell Mom by tonight. If not, I’m going straight to Mom to tell her! You know how fast I am, right?”
Faced with Aslan’s strong threat, Lloyd had no choice.
Aslan smiled mischievously like a cat, finally thinking she could be of help to Minerva.
Mom, Aslan is sending you a present right now!
* * *
That night, just as she was about to turn off all the lights in the room and go to sleep, a letter arrived from the Grand Duke.
‘He’s decided already?’
A quick decision usually meant either an enthusiastic acceptance or a vehement rejection.
‘Surely it’s not a rejection…’
With an anxious heart, Minerva first lit a candle.
The paper knife sliced through the envelope, revealing its contents.
As she opened the neatly folded letter, neat handwriting appeared.
Minerva’s eyes first went to the last line, then widened before she read it carefully from beginning to end, and inadvertently muttered:
“I didn’t expect things to work out this well.”
To think she’d get this result even before revealing another card she had hidden just in case.
Aslan, with her good hearing, didn’t miss Minerva’s mutter. She quickly rolled off the bed and clung to Minerva’s back.
“What is it, Mom? Is it good news?”
Aslan, while clearly knowing the contents of the letter, pretended to know nothing and wagged her bottom instead of a tail.
“Hmm, I suppose it’s good? At least there’s hope.”
“I want to see too!”
Aslan read the letter, tracing the words with her finger, then scrunched up her face.
Thinking it was because Aslan couldn’t understand the vaguely written content that didn’t specifically mention anything, Minerva stifled a chuckle that almost escaped.
“Aslan, how would you feel if you got a father?”
“A father?”
There was only one reason Minerva would bring up the topic of a father now.
Lloyd had kept his promise!
With a fluttering heart, Aslan probed:
“Is he rich?”
“Very.”
“Is he handsome?”
“Maybe?”
Aslan tilted her head.
“Old?”
“Probably?”
“Reliable?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean.”
Aslan puffed out her cheeks.
It seemed like it was indeed from Lloyd since Minerva was showing a positive reaction.
But her answers didn’t match Lloyd’s characteristics, except for being rich.
‘Ah, that’s right! Mom doesn’t know yet that the Grand Duke is Uncle Ide!’
So of course she wouldn’t know his face or personality!
Thinking she had been of help to her mom, Aslan couldn’t hide her smile and giggled.
“I’m happy with anyone as long as Mom is happy.”
At those words, Minerva looked apologetic.
She didn’t need to feel sorry.
In fact, Aslan had even threatened Lloyd to marry her mom because that’s what she wanted.
Unaware of these circumstances, Minerva placed the letter on the bedside table.
As she leaned back on the bed, Aslan naturally crawled into the crook of her arm.
“Then, do you want to officially meet the person who might become your new father? The five of us.”
“Five?”
Aslan tilted her head, wondering who the five people were.
Ah, Uncle Lloyd, the stand-in uncle, and then Ayla and us, that makes five.
“Yeah, sure!”
Aslan quickly understood and nodded her head vigorously.
The movement caused a gust of wind that made the candle flicker strongly.
In the flickering candlelight, the last sentence of the letter wavered in shadow.
[Please clear your schedule for tomorrow.]
Tomorrow is when they’ll really get married!
Aslan looked up at the big full moon outside the window and excitedly tapped her feet.
* * *
At that same time, there was a carriage crossing a dimly lit plain where a large moon hung.
The carriage made no rattling sounds and didn’t shake, making it eerily quiet.
Inside, two middle-aged individuals sat facing each other with a single lamp lit.
The elderly butler asked:
“Lady Priscilla. Are you sure it’s alright not to send word to His Grace the Grand Duke?”
“Would that child welcome me even if I contacted him?”
As the gray-haired old lady frowned one eyebrow with her eyes closed, butler Sebastian closed his mouth.
He thought her mood had soured due to his unnecessary question, but she had only been momentarily irritated and soon spoke with expectant eyes:
“With Ayla and the Imperial Princess in one place, I can’t pass up the chance to see some welcome faces.”
Why such a rush, traveling by carriage even in the middle of the night.
Priscilla picked up her pipe with a joyful heart.
Although she didn’t light it since they were inside the carriage, it was a habit.
“I hope the picture I want is waiting there.”
The Imperial Princess wants reinstatement, and Lloyd agreed to help her.
The easiest political union is marriage.
The corners of Priscilla’s wrinkled mouth turned up in a smirk.
