He was a lapdog that she couldn't stand to watch any longer. Any more bullshit, and she might just jump in and strangle Byron.
But fortunately or not, Byron stumbled to the bed and fell down. Even at that level of intoxication, he was able to find his way to the bed on his own two feet, which was impressive.
Aila hid there for a while to see if Byron was really asleep, but he didn't move at all. It was to the point where she thought he was dead rather than asleep.
Now all that was left to do was sneak into the room. Unfortunately, the distance from the tree to the window was a bit far.
It was a distance that seemed like she could hang on to the window frame if she ran as fast as she could, but that would have left her too exposed. It would also be noisy.
'There must be another way...'
She looked around. The moon, which had been hidden by clouds, had just appeared again, and she could see a relief sculpture on the exterior wall of the building bathed in light.
Aila couldn't tell what it represented, but if she could step on that sculpture, she would be able to infiltrate the room much more safely.
'Let's give it a try.'
Byron was asleep anyway, and there were no guards nearby. Deciding to give it a try, Aila stretched her legs toward the wall with all her might, using the thick branches as her support.
First of all, step one was a success. Aila, who was safely hanging on the wall, carefully put her foot out toward the window frame.
'Yes.'
Knock, knock. There were two small noises, but Byron, who was drunk and asleep, did not wake up to such noises. He hid behind the wall and glanced out the window, but it seemed that the guards in the distance did not notice.
Aila, who successfully infiltrated the room, first approached his desk.
It was the place where the letters she had always wanted to read were placed.
She glanced at the luxurious letterhead with the red wax seal to make sure Byron was still sleeping soundly. Fortunately, it was torn, indicating that Byron had already read it.
[ I have thought deeply about the offer you have given me.
I, too, would like to hunt a wild young lion.
I think you know very well that it is not easy to hunt a lion while it is guarded by a huge white wolf.
Besides, didn't you fail in your previous attempt to hunt an old lion?
So I will assume that your suggestion was not listened to. ]
'What does this mean>>>?'
Hunting a lion?
Byron was a man who was far from being a hunter. He hated physical exertion and spent most of his time indoors.
The evidence was his skin, which had turned pale from lack of sunlight.
But Byron is hunting.
It didn't take much thinking to realize that this didn't literally mean hunting.
And the other letters were similar in content to the first one Aila read. They were full of things like hunting lions or hunting wolves.
The handwriting was different, and the pattern on the seal was different, so it seemed like they were all letters from different people.
'I wish there were any other clues.'
She checked again to see if Byron was sleeping well and put the letters back in their proper places. Then she found a reply from Byron on the desk.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, although she couldn't tell whether it was because he hadn't sealed it yet or because he didn't like the reply and had rewritten it on a different piece of paper.
Aila swallowed dryly with a sense of needless nervousness and looked at Byron's reply.
[ I know more than enough what you are worried about.
That cheeky wolf is guarding the lion, so you must be scared.
But don't worry, I have a very good hunting dog.
My faithful hound will soon destroy that white wolf.
So, let's join forces and hunt the lion.
P.S. I'm telling you this because you seem to have forgotten. I have proof that she was with me long ago. ]
Aila's expression as she put down Byron's letter was not very bright. She was deeply lost in thought.
'Byron's hunting dog... does it mean me?'
In fact, Byron did keep dogs, but the dogs he kept were far from hunting dogs. They were small, cute-looking puppies.
'Of course, it'll be me.'
She also likened herself to Byron's hound.
If the hound refers to her... then the ‘great white wolf’ mentioned in the letter refers to Aila’s father, Roderick Eren Weishaffen.
She felt like she was sweating profusely.
Isn't the murder of the head of the Duke of Weishaffen, the so-called protector of this empire, merely a step towards murdering someone else?
It was unclear who the 'young lion' referred to, but it was at least a title higher than that of Duke.
‘...What on earth is the identity of interest?’
Aila, her face pale, stared at the back of Byron, who was sleeping on the bed, for a long time.
Who on earth is Byron to hatch such a terrible plot?
Aila, who had been staring blankly at Byron with a chill down her spine, quickly left the room when she realized that too much time had passed.
It was time to quickly head back to the attic.
Back in the attic, Aila thought about the contents of the mysterious letter she had read before falling asleep.
Who on earth does the 'young lion' refer to?
No, it could have meant something other than a person.
She thought the giant white wolf guarding the lion was Roderick, but it could also mean the Duke of Weishaffen itself, not Roderick himself.
In that case, the lion could also be a metaphor for a certain family or group.
'If I had known this would happen, I would have listened better in class.'
Aila tousled her fine silver hair.
After two years as a Princess, when she finished her basic etiquette training, Roderick began to gradually train her to become a successor.
He began teaching information about the history of the Peles Empire and the Dukes, the current state of affairs in the Empire, and other major noble families.
But unfortunately, at the time, Aila was so preoccupied with Byron's plan that she didn't pay any attention to other matters.
It wasn't like she was just listening to the lectures half-heartedly, thinking that she would never become the successor to the Duke's family anyway.
After rolling her head and wandering through her memories for a long time, Aila had to fall asleep without even being able to figure out who the 'young lion' was.
“My lord.”
Byron, who had barely managed to fall asleep after drinking late into the night, grimaced at the unpleasant voice that woke him up.
It's probably a well-known fact to everyone here that he hates being woken up by someone before he can get up on his own.
“...Master. You should wake up.”
It was the voice of Cloud, Byron's faithful shadow.
Cloud was not the type of person to wake himself from a deep sleep for just any reason. He knew this well, so he sat up in bed, though he didn't feel like it.
The sun had just risen, so the sky was still a pale color.
“Isn’t this the time for that girl to train? What are you doing here instead of supervising?”
He spoke with an expression of annoyance at having his sleep disturbed.
For most people, it was a lively time when the day was just beginning, but for Byron, it was still midnight.
“I woke you up, my lord, even though I knew it was rude, because I had urgent news to report. I apologize.”
But Cloud simply stated his business in an urgent voice, despite his master's annoyance.
Urgent news. How urgent must the news be for Cloud, who never displeases him, to do something like this?
“What on earth is going on?”
It's nothing special, Byron thought, and took a sip of the water on the table. His throat was parched from drinking too much last night.
“I have news that Lady Hailing is unwell.”
Hailing, which is also Aila's middle name, was Ophelia's original surname.
After she became the Duchess of Weishaffen, her name remained only as a middle name.
However, in front of Byron, who was still full of infatuation with Ophelia, the title of 'Duchess' was taboo, and since one could not carelessly call a person of high status by her name, Byron's people called Ophelia that.
Cough, cough, cough. Byron, who had been gulping down water in a hurry, coughed repeatedly as he was shocked by the unbelievable news.
“That, what does that mean? Tell me more.”
Byron was always easygoing, but he couldn't be that easy when it came to Ophelia. Ophelia was that kind of person. The one person who always made Byron worry and impatient.
“This is urgent news from a source within the dukedom. I don’t know the details, but it seems that she is in a very critical condition. She suddenly collapsed and has not regained consciousness since...”
Byron's face grew increasingly pale as he listened to Cloud's explanation.
Aila hid there for a while to see if Byron was really asleep, but he didn't move at all. It was to the point where she thought he was dead rather than asleep.
Now all that was left to do was sneak into the room. Unfortunately, the distance from the tree to the window was a bit far.
It was a distance that seemed like she could hang on to the window frame if she ran as fast as she could, but that would have left her too exposed. It would also be noisy.
'There must be another way...'
She looked around. The moon, which had been hidden by clouds, had just appeared again, and she could see a relief sculpture on the exterior wall of the building bathed in light.
Aila couldn't tell what it represented, but if she could step on that sculpture, she would be able to infiltrate the room much more safely.
'Let's give it a try.'
Byron was asleep anyway, and there were no guards nearby. Deciding to give it a try, Aila stretched her legs toward the wall with all her might, using the thick branches as her support.
First of all, step one was a success. Aila, who was safely hanging on the wall, carefully put her foot out toward the window frame.
'Yes.'
Knock, knock. There were two small noises, but Byron, who was drunk and asleep, did not wake up to such noises. He hid behind the wall and glanced out the window, but it seemed that the guards in the distance did not notice.
Aila, who successfully infiltrated the room, first approached his desk.
It was the place where the letters she had always wanted to read were placed.
She glanced at the luxurious letterhead with the red wax seal to make sure Byron was still sleeping soundly. Fortunately, it was torn, indicating that Byron had already read it.
[ I have thought deeply about the offer you have given me.
I, too, would like to hunt a wild young lion.
I think you know very well that it is not easy to hunt a lion while it is guarded by a huge white wolf.
Besides, didn't you fail in your previous attempt to hunt an old lion?
So I will assume that your suggestion was not listened to. ]
'What does this mean>>>?'
Hunting a lion?
Byron was a man who was far from being a hunter. He hated physical exertion and spent most of his time indoors.
The evidence was his skin, which had turned pale from lack of sunlight.
But Byron is hunting.
It didn't take much thinking to realize that this didn't literally mean hunting.
And the other letters were similar in content to the first one Aila read. They were full of things like hunting lions or hunting wolves.
The handwriting was different, and the pattern on the seal was different, so it seemed like they were all letters from different people.
'I wish there were any other clues.'
She checked again to see if Byron was sleeping well and put the letters back in their proper places. Then she found a reply from Byron on the desk.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, although she couldn't tell whether it was because he hadn't sealed it yet or because he didn't like the reply and had rewritten it on a different piece of paper.
Aila swallowed dryly with a sense of needless nervousness and looked at Byron's reply.
[ I know more than enough what you are worried about.
That cheeky wolf is guarding the lion, so you must be scared.
But don't worry, I have a very good hunting dog.
My faithful hound will soon destroy that white wolf.
So, let's join forces and hunt the lion.
P.S. I'm telling you this because you seem to have forgotten. I have proof that she was with me long ago. ]
Aila's expression as she put down Byron's letter was not very bright. She was deeply lost in thought.
'Byron's hunting dog... does it mean me?'
In fact, Byron did keep dogs, but the dogs he kept were far from hunting dogs. They were small, cute-looking puppies.
'Of course, it'll be me.'
She also likened herself to Byron's hound.
If the hound refers to her... then the ‘great white wolf’ mentioned in the letter refers to Aila’s father, Roderick Eren Weishaffen.
She felt like she was sweating profusely.
Isn't the murder of the head of the Duke of Weishaffen, the so-called protector of this empire, merely a step towards murdering someone else?
It was unclear who the 'young lion' referred to, but it was at least a title higher than that of Duke.
‘...What on earth is the identity of interest?’
Aila, her face pale, stared at the back of Byron, who was sleeping on the bed, for a long time.
Who on earth is Byron to hatch such a terrible plot?
Aila, who had been staring blankly at Byron with a chill down her spine, quickly left the room when she realized that too much time had passed.
It was time to quickly head back to the attic.
***
Back in the attic, Aila thought about the contents of the mysterious letter she had read before falling asleep.
Who on earth does the 'young lion' refer to?
No, it could have meant something other than a person.
She thought the giant white wolf guarding the lion was Roderick, but it could also mean the Duke of Weishaffen itself, not Roderick himself.
In that case, the lion could also be a metaphor for a certain family or group.
'If I had known this would happen, I would have listened better in class.'
Aila tousled her fine silver hair.
After two years as a Princess, when she finished her basic etiquette training, Roderick began to gradually train her to become a successor.
He began teaching information about the history of the Peles Empire and the Dukes, the current state of affairs in the Empire, and other major noble families.
But unfortunately, at the time, Aila was so preoccupied with Byron's plan that she didn't pay any attention to other matters.
It wasn't like she was just listening to the lectures half-heartedly, thinking that she would never become the successor to the Duke's family anyway.
After rolling her head and wandering through her memories for a long time, Aila had to fall asleep without even being able to figure out who the 'young lion' was.
***
“My lord.”
Byron, who had barely managed to fall asleep after drinking late into the night, grimaced at the unpleasant voice that woke him up.
It's probably a well-known fact to everyone here that he hates being woken up by someone before he can get up on his own.
“...Master. You should wake up.”
It was the voice of Cloud, Byron's faithful shadow.
Cloud was not the type of person to wake himself from a deep sleep for just any reason. He knew this well, so he sat up in bed, though he didn't feel like it.
The sun had just risen, so the sky was still a pale color.
“Isn’t this the time for that girl to train? What are you doing here instead of supervising?”
He spoke with an expression of annoyance at having his sleep disturbed.
For most people, it was a lively time when the day was just beginning, but for Byron, it was still midnight.
“I woke you up, my lord, even though I knew it was rude, because I had urgent news to report. I apologize.”
But Cloud simply stated his business in an urgent voice, despite his master's annoyance.
Urgent news. How urgent must the news be for Cloud, who never displeases him, to do something like this?
“What on earth is going on?”
It's nothing special, Byron thought, and took a sip of the water on the table. His throat was parched from drinking too much last night.
“I have news that Lady Hailing is unwell.”
Hailing, which is also Aila's middle name, was Ophelia's original surname.
After she became the Duchess of Weishaffen, her name remained only as a middle name.
However, in front of Byron, who was still full of infatuation with Ophelia, the title of 'Duchess' was taboo, and since one could not carelessly call a person of high status by her name, Byron's people called Ophelia that.
Cough, cough, cough. Byron, who had been gulping down water in a hurry, coughed repeatedly as he was shocked by the unbelievable news.
“That, what does that mean? Tell me more.”
Byron was always easygoing, but he couldn't be that easy when it came to Ophelia. Ophelia was that kind of person. The one person who always made Byron worry and impatient.
“This is urgent news from a source within the dukedom. I don’t know the details, but it seems that she is in a very critical condition. She suddenly collapsed and has not regained consciousness since...”
Byron's face grew increasingly pale as he listened to Cloud's explanation.
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