She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had a bitter expression on his face. It was a face that clearly showed what he was thinking.
'Is it okay to keep this little girl locked up, when she loves being outside so much?'
He might be thinking something like this.
Aila pretended not to hear and focused on putting the sandwich in her mouth.
No matter how much he felt guilty towards her, there was no way Cloud would betray Byron and help her.
Sympathy that could not be put into action was a no-no.
***
Why does time pass so slowly?
When she was young, she hated being locked in her room alone. It was a lonely and scary time. But that time always came back so quickly.
But what about now? She wanted to go back to her room as soon as possible and find out what that hidden space was, but time just wasn't passing by.
Even while eating dinner and letting Laura do her hair, Aila felt impatient with the passing time.
“It’s done. Your hair looks really nice today, young lady. I’m sure the master will be proud.”
Laura said as she put down the comb, having finished her work. It meant that she was finally free.
“Thank you, Laura.”
So, come down here quickly and lock me in this room.
When Aila gave her half-hearted thanks, Laura replied in a soulless voice.
"You're welcome."
It was a conversation no different from usual. Laura opened the attic door and went down the ladder. Soon after, there was a sound of the lock being locked on the attic door.
Aila, who was lying on the floor with her ear pressed against the door, let out a sigh as the sound of Laura's footsteps faded away completely.
From now on, it was entirely her time.
'Let's investigate this side first.'
She approached the north wall and held up her lamp to it. It was a simple stone wall, without any decoration.
Usually, there is some kind of device attached to a secret space hidden away. It could be a brick with a pattern on it, or even a torch holder.
But it was a monotonous wall where nothing like that could be seen.
‘...I thought there would definitely be something. Am I mistaken?’
It was a situation where she felt a bit uneasy. She had hoped that she would be able to find something, but there were no clues at all.
But she couldn't give up yet.
'There must be a reason for this. Otherwise, there would be no difference between indoors and outdoors.'
Aila sat on the floor with her legs crossed, resting her chin on her right hand and staring at the wall, trying to find something unusual.
She stared at it with her eyes wide open until they stung, but she couldn't see anything special. It was time to give up.
“Oh.”
There was a place where the gap between the stones was slightly wider than in other places.
'It may just be a mistake made during construction...'
Still, if there was even the slightest difference, it was something that could not be overlooked.
It was a narrow gap that even an adult wouldn't be able to fit a single finger through. It seemed like they would have to use a dagger or something, but fortunately, because she was a child, her fingers were thin and she could fit through somehow.
Aila put her finger through the gap. Her skin stung slightly as it rubbed against the stone wall, but she held it in and put her finger in deeper.
Soon, she felt something catch her finger. And at that moment, with a click, the stone wall opened. It seemed like someone had pressed the button to open the hidden door.
'That's amazing.'
Aila studied many secret places, but this is the first time she's seen a secret place like this. It seemed like the ancients' way.
She shone the lamp she had placed beside her into the open wall, and soon, she couldn't help but look disappointed.
It was because all sides were blocked. It was like a secret vault, not a passage. But the only thing inside the vault was dust.
'No. It's too early to be disappointed. There's another wall on the other side.'
She thought as she closed the open door again.
The door was quite heavy, perhaps because it was stuck to the bricks. She had to push with all her might to close it. It was so hard that sweat beaded on her forehead.
Once she found it, the second time around, she was able to find it without much trouble. It was a bit different from the north wall, but once she got the hang of it, the wide gap was immediately visible.
And this time too, when Aila pressed the hidden button, the door opened with a clicking sound.
'Found it.'
Aila, who looked into the open wall with the lamp, couldn't help but smile.
Hidden within the wall was a deep passageway whose length was unknown.
There was no need to hesitate. It was only a matter of time before she could see how far this passage led.
Aila stepped onto the protruding brick and began to move downwards, step by step.
It seemed to be a structure that allowed one to climb up and down by holding onto the protruding parts and stepping on them, like rock climbing.
No matter how carefully she stepped, the sound of her footsteps echoed in the narrow and long space. The sound echoing in the narrow space was extremely eerie.
It must have been countless years ago that a living person entered this passage.
She went down like that for a while.
She finally set foot on the floor and discovered a small hole through which light was streaming in.
'Where is this?'
Aila looked outside through the space where the light was coming in. The gap was narrow, and she could barely see anything, but she was still thankful that she could see what was going on outside.
'Is this the first floor lobby...?'
It was a familiar space. The light she had seen seemed to have come from the torches held by the patrolling guards. As the guards moved away, the light that had been leaking through the gaps also disappeared.
By the way, how do I get out of here?
Aila looked around. There must have been an exit button here, too, since it was the same in her room.
'Ah. Here it is.'
Without even looking far, there was a button hidden in the hole she had been looking through. It seemed to be a structure that could be pressed from either side.
If only she could get out of the room, then the night would be her world from now on.
Because she was better than anyone at avoiding people and carefully gathering information.
Aila pressed the button with a sinister smile. Swirling. The stone wall quietly opened the way for her.
Now that she's outside, she has a set task to do.
The first thing to do was to grab a pair of comfortable clothes to move in.
It was more comfortable to wear training clothes than pajamas to move around without anyone noticing every night. She stole a dark-colored training suit from the room where Laura and Capella had piled up Aila's clothes, then went back to the lobby and opened the door.
But she had no intention of going back to her room like that.
Her most pressing need was to infiltrate Byron's room.
Even if she couldn't get in right away, she had to find out if there was a way to sneak into Byron's room.
She changed her clothes in the narrow passage, looked outside, and came out again.
Fortunately, the security guard who had passed by didn't come back right away. He must have been looking somewhere else.
She quietly left the building, concentrating hard to make sure she didn't hear any footsteps.
Outside, she could see guards patrolling the area, torches flickering in the distance, but shaking them off was easier for her than breathing.
She sneaked out as quietly as a cat and looked up at the second floor where Byron's room was. The light streaming in through the window suggested that he was still asleep.
Well, it was definitely still too early for Byron, who was nocturnal, to be sleeping. He would probably be drinking wildly.
There happened to be a tree with thick leaves in the perfect location for peeking into Byron's room. Aila climbed the tree lightly and hid herself among the leaves, looking into the room.
As she had expected, Byron was drinking wine, wearing a silk bathrobe over his bare body. His red hair was damp, as if he hadn't even dried it, and his eyes were hazy, as if he had drunk too much.
“...Ophelia.”
Byron muttered, looking out the window with a wine glass in his hand.
“My Ophelia... why... didn’t you choose me?”
Byron, who was very drunk, looked into space with a pitiful expression, as if he were looking at Ophelia, who was not even there.
And Aila, who had been watching the scene from a hidden position, clenched her fists.
If possible, she would like to tear apart that mouth that called her mother's name. It was not a name that could be dared to be put on that filthy tongue.
It seems that Roderick 'stole' Ophelia, but from the beginning, Ophelia's choice was Roderick, not Byron.
The very expression of stealing and then being stolen from Ophelia, who was not an object, was awkward, but if Byron's expression is correct, then he had never had Ophelia in the first place.
Well then, that's right.
As she had expected, it seemed that Byron had come between Roderick and Ophelia, who were in love with each other.
“...It doesn’t matter. No matter who you love. Because I... love you.”
Byron put the glass down on the windowsill and took something out of his robe pocket. A purple gem sparkling in the moonlight caught his eye.
It was his dagger.
And Byron kissed the cold metal as if the dagger were his precious Ophelia.
“You are the only woman who can stand by my side. Beautiful Ophelia.”
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