Chapter 80

Completely at a loss, I could only blink my eyes. Lloyd looked at me strangely and asked:

“I mean Aslan’s father.”

“Ah, that, that person!”

The imaginary figure I hadn’t even given a name to.

Only then could I recall the fictional man in that portrait.

When the Fran mansion was destroyed, the portrait was naturally ruined too, and of course, I had left it behind and completely forgotten about it.

It felt like a small ball I had tossed up had come crashing down as a huge cannonball.

Since Lloyd had confessed his lie, I felt it might be time for me to confess too, and for a moment I was tempted to tell the truth about Aslan’s identity.

But.

‘Realistically, would anyone believe that a cat turned into a human?’

Somehow, in my case, the truth seemed more like a lie, making it difficult to speak.

Lloyd was waiting for my response, so I had to decide quickly one way or the other.

I struggled to part my reluctant lips and stammered:

“So…”

* * *

Ide Mente had been a suspicious character from the start.

The fact that he was the father of Ayla, the original story’s protagonist.

The fact that he became the lord of Mente County, which used to be imperial territory.

The fact that he didn’t seem like an ordinary rural nobleman.

The fact that he saved me when I thought he might be Mars’ man.

His extraordinary swordsmanship skills.

The fact that he casually found the assassin guild’s trade token.

Yet he didn’t appear in the original story, so at first, I thought he might be set to die young, leaving Ayla an orphan. But as I observed him, my thoughts changed.

Even if Ide suddenly died, there was no reason for Ayla to become an orphan and change both her parents and family name.

Above all, with Ide’s mother showing so much interest in Ayla, there was no way Ayla would end up like that just because Ide died.

That’s where my suspicions began.

‘Did something happen to Ayla rather than Ide?’

I kept thinking about it on the way to the Grand Duke’s castle.

But when I saw Ayla at the castle, dressed like a Grand Duchess and receiving precious treatment, that assumption also seemed unlikely.

Anyway, what I was most focused on was figuring out exactly who Ide was.

And when I had lunch with the Mente father and daughter, suspicion blossomed.

‘He’s overly conscious of the Grand Duke.’

It seemed unnatural in many ways for him to be so reserved just because he was a subordinate.

It seemed like there was a secret conversation about the Grand Duke between them.

Feeling that investigating the Grand Duke might resolve my suspicions about Ide, I eagerly awaited my conversation with him.

And when Ide accompanied me to that meeting, I was a bit disappointed.

‘So Ide and the Grand Duke were separate individuals after all…’

But as I observed the Grand Duke, something felt off.

‘Strange. Something’s different from the last time I saw him.’

Was his build always like that? His physique was obscured by layered clothing.

When I couldn’t quite pinpoint the discrepancy, what caught my eye was Ide’s hand.

Beneath the white silk gloves, I caught a glimpse of bandage marks.

“Waaah, this is the Grand Duke uncle’s blood. He got hurt while saving meee.”

The Grand Duke had reportedly saved Aslan when she nearly fell from a tree.

I secretly focused on the Grand Duke’s hands as well.

He was also wearing gloves, but he didn’t show the slightly awkward movements typical of someone with bandaged hands.

Ide is Lloyd Eckhart.

As soon as I made that assumption, many pieces of evidence supporting it came to mind in a chain reaction.

Ayla receiving treatment rivaling a Grand Duchess at the castle.

The secret between Ide and Ayla.

All the suspicions I had about Ide could be explained by the single fact that he was actually the Grand Duke!

‘So you deceived me too.’

If Ide’s account of the Grand Duke’s mental illness was true, I could understand.

An ordinary person would have understood given the circumstances.

But why am I now coldly looking down at this man who’s making a pitiful face after having his identity exposed?

“So, Aslan is…”

I couldn’t say anything more.

I had hidden my identity too, and Lloyd was my lifesaver.

But from the moment I realized Ide was Lloyd, I couldn’t look at him kindly.

In the original story, the Grand Duke had encouraged Riona’s revenge and ultimately stood by and watched her die.

Until I understand why he did that, I’ll use him as much as possible under the guise of marriage while keeping watch over him.

Without revealing my own weaknesses.

I relaxed my tightly clenched fist and smiled sweetly.

“It’s okay. He’s already gone.”

“Wasn’t it love strong enough to make you flee the Imperial Palace…”

“But, doesn’t the Grand Duke have someone he loves too?”

I quickly cut off his persistent questioning.

This time, Lloyd tilted his head in confusion.

“…?”

“I mean Ayla’s mother.”

“Ah.”

This person also seems to have just remembered.

Don’t tell me he’s the same?

I waited for Lloyd’s answer with expectant eyes, but it missed the mark spectacularly.

“Ayla is adopted.”

“…What did you say?”

“I brought her from an orphanage when Ayla was four. I didn’t want to get married, but I needed an heir.”

Ah, come to think of it.

I recalled a few frugal living habits that seemed far from someone born into a wealthy noble family.

It was ironic.

In the original story, the Grand Duke’s adopted child was Riona, but now it’s Ayla.

‘Wait, if Lloyd isn’t her biological father, does that mean the Wolfgang couple are her biological parents?’

No, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Wolfgang couple had also adopted Ayla.

The family tree had become so tangled compared to the original story that I gave up trying to figure it out.

‘The original story is the original story, and this life is this life.’

As long as nothing happened to Aslan, I didn’t care if Ayla was a princess from a far-off country or if she came from an orphanage.

As long as Ayla was happy, that’s all that mattered.

The important thing was why Lloyd had adopted a child earlier than in the original timeline.

“I know it’s rude, but was there a specific reason you brought Ayla in?”

Lloyd seemed to hesitate a bit at my question, fidgeting with his hands.

“…I needed an heir, so I consistently visited orphanages after coming of age.”

He opened his mouth but seemed unable to meet my eyes, looking only at the ground as he spoke.

“It wasn’t easy finding a child who could withstand both my mother and the position of Grand Duke, so I couldn’t make a decision for nearly four years. But Ayla was different. She was exceptionally bright, and even though she was an orphan, I thought she might satisfy my mother’s eyes. It was only after Your Highness scolded me that I realized I was doing something no different from my mother.”

And suddenly, it led to self-reproach.

Doing something no different from his mother – could he be referring to Priscilla’s abuse of him?

His inability to meet people’s eyes and his easily frightened demeanor overlapped with how Ayla used to be.

“I ended up burdening Ayla. I had vowed not to become like my mother…”

While I despise the Lloyd from the original story who left Riona to die, seeing the current Lloyd so dejected made me uncomfortable.

Because, apart from being wary of him, I was grateful for many things he had done.

Setting aside the original story for a moment, I wanted to comfort the Lloyd I had come to know.

“You’re different from Lady Priscilla. Just look at the present – you don’t welcome Priscilla, but Ayla does. Ayla loves you so much.”

“She’s just young. When I was young, my mother was my whole world too…”

Oh, come on!

I tried to comfort him, and he dismissed it as nothing.

This was almost pathological self-harm.

Exasperated, I sighed deeply and put my hands on my hips.

Then I presented a hypothetical situation.

“Grand Duke. How do you think it would have been if you could have gotten away from Lady Priscilla for about two weeks when you were Ayla’s age?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Usually, children don’t want to go back home. But Ayla was different. Apart from having fun at our house, she missed you.”

I still remember how much Ayla wanted to see Lloyd.

Even while eating something delicious, she would become gloomy, perhaps wanting to eat it with Lloyd, and she constantly looked out the window, eagerly waiting for his carriage to arrive.

I didn’t know she was adopted then, but thinking back, I didn’t sense any anxiety about being abandoned again.

“You’re a good father. You keep trying.”

If he dismisses this as nothing again, I swear I’ll really get angry.

With that in mind, I glared at Lloyd, and for the first time, he was looking at me properly, eyes wide open, unable to say anything.

“…Do you think Ayla thinks of me that way too?”

“It’s not a matter of ‘do you think’ – she already thinks that way.”

I added that I could guarantee it as Ayla’s friend’s mother.

Lloyd slowly turned his head to look towards where Ayla would be.

“I see…”

Blinking his deep eyes several times, Lloyd smiled faintly.

It seemed like Lloyd’s face relaxed for the first time.

The change in his expression was like watching ice melt in an instant.

He had smiled occasionally as Ide Mente, but I had never seen a smile like this.

For a moment, I couldn’t believe this person could have driven Riona to her death.

How could someone who cares for Ayla so much have encouraged revenge against Riona?