It was a voice that was so eerily affectionate. A voice that sounded like it was mixed with tears made Aila feel like the hairs on her body stood on end.
Shudder. Forgetting that she had to pretend to be asleep, she instinctively avoided his touch. And then, her eyes met with Byron’s, who seemed somehow empty.
It was a disaster. She couldn't overcome her physiological aversion and ended up doing something she shouldn't have done.
“...Ah, Father? When did you come?”
But there was a way. Aila looked naturally surprised, as if she had just woken up.
But Byron seemed more surprised than she was, and just froze with his pair of golden eyes wide open.
It was as if he had only just realized that she was his daughter and not Ophelia.
A moment of disgust appeared on Byron's face as he looked into Aila's blue eyes.
What on earth is Byron's state of mind?
What would it be like to see Aila, who resembles the woman he is so obsessed with, and who also resembles the enemy he hates so much?
It was a feeling that Aila could neither understand nor wanted to understand. There was only a feeling of disgust that came from deep within.
But it was something that shouldn't have been revealed.
To survive. To find out what Byron's intentions are.
She smiled broadly.
“Did you come here because you wanted to see me, Father?”
With an expression of such happiness, as if in disbelief.
She didn't forget to slightly stick her head out, as if asking him to reach out and pat her head.
But Byron didn't reach out. He just turned around and showed her his back.
“...It's late. Sorry for waking you up. Go to sleep.”
Byron, who had said this in a soulless voice, quickly climbed up the ladder and left the room.
He suddenly came in the middle of the night, tried to pat her head, and then turned around and left.
It wasn't just a matter of time before Byron had been an odd and incomprehensible man, but this was the first time he had been seen so unstable.
'What on earth is going on?'
Aila, left alone, calmed her startled heart and collected her thoughts.
In this situation where Byron might suddenly come looking for her again, it was difficult to move around secretly at night for the time being.
Today, she was really lucky and barely managed to avoid being caught leaving the room, but there's no guarantee that she won't have the same luck again.
‘...I think it would be better to take care of myself for the time being.’
Aila was curious as to why Byron was suddenly acting strangely, but then he got caught sneaking out at night... Isn’t it terrifying to even think about it?
First of all, explaining how she got out of this room was a problem. Even if she somehow got through it, there might be surveillance at night.
In the worst-case scenario, she could have been silenced if she had been caught knowing that she was Rodrick's daughter.
'He wasn't originally the type of person to come at night like this... He'll probably go back to how he was before. No, he definitely has to.'
Right now, things are unstable because of something going on, but she has no choice but to hold her breath, believing that when things stabilize, things will go back to how they were before.
Then, wouldn't she be able to roam the night like before and gather information?
It was truly pitiful that she had to wait for her enemy to feel better, but there was no other way.
‘...If you take one wrong step, you’ll end up on a thousand-foot cliff.’
It's still a season when the days are long, so the nights shouldn't be that long. But tonight, too, felt like it would be long.
Time passed regardless of Aila's anxious feelings, as if she were walking precariously on a tightrope.
She thought that as time passed, Byron's condition would stabilize a little, but it didn't happen as quickly as she wanted.
He hadn't come to the attic in the middle of the night since that night, but he still seemed a bit uneasy.
If this situation continued, it wouldn't have been strange if he had barged into her room in the middle of the night at any time.
Shudder. Forgetting that she had to pretend to be asleep, she instinctively avoided his touch. And then, her eyes met with Byron’s, who seemed somehow empty.
It was a disaster. She couldn't overcome her physiological aversion and ended up doing something she shouldn't have done.
“...Ah, Father? When did you come?”
But there was a way. Aila looked naturally surprised, as if she had just woken up.
But Byron seemed more surprised than she was, and just froze with his pair of golden eyes wide open.
It was as if he had only just realized that she was his daughter and not Ophelia.
A moment of disgust appeared on Byron's face as he looked into Aila's blue eyes.
What on earth is Byron's state of mind?
What would it be like to see Aila, who resembles the woman he is so obsessed with, and who also resembles the enemy he hates so much?
It was a feeling that Aila could neither understand nor wanted to understand. There was only a feeling of disgust that came from deep within.
But it was something that shouldn't have been revealed.
To survive. To find out what Byron's intentions are.
She smiled broadly.
“Did you come here because you wanted to see me, Father?”
With an expression of such happiness, as if in disbelief.
She didn't forget to slightly stick her head out, as if asking him to reach out and pat her head.
But Byron didn't reach out. He just turned around and showed her his back.
“...It's late. Sorry for waking you up. Go to sleep.”
Byron, who had said this in a soulless voice, quickly climbed up the ladder and left the room.
He suddenly came in the middle of the night, tried to pat her head, and then turned around and left.
It wasn't just a matter of time before Byron had been an odd and incomprehensible man, but this was the first time he had been seen so unstable.
'What on earth is going on?'
Aila, left alone, calmed her startled heart and collected her thoughts.
In this situation where Byron might suddenly come looking for her again, it was difficult to move around secretly at night for the time being.
Today, she was really lucky and barely managed to avoid being caught leaving the room, but there's no guarantee that she won't have the same luck again.
‘...I think it would be better to take care of myself for the time being.’
Aila was curious as to why Byron was suddenly acting strangely, but then he got caught sneaking out at night... Isn’t it terrifying to even think about it?
First of all, explaining how she got out of this room was a problem. Even if she somehow got through it, there might be surveillance at night.
In the worst-case scenario, she could have been silenced if she had been caught knowing that she was Rodrick's daughter.
'He wasn't originally the type of person to come at night like this... He'll probably go back to how he was before. No, he definitely has to.'
Right now, things are unstable because of something going on, but she has no choice but to hold her breath, believing that when things stabilize, things will go back to how they were before.
Then, wouldn't she be able to roam the night like before and gather information?
It was truly pitiful that she had to wait for her enemy to feel better, but there was no other way.
‘...If you take one wrong step, you’ll end up on a thousand-foot cliff.’
It's still a season when the days are long, so the nights shouldn't be that long. But tonight, too, felt like it would be long.
***
Time passed regardless of Aila's anxious feelings, as if she were walking precariously on a tightrope.
She thought that as time passed, Byron's condition would stabilize a little, but it didn't happen as quickly as she wanted.
He hadn't come to the attic in the middle of the night since that night, but he still seemed a bit uneasy.
If this situation continued, it wouldn't have been strange if he had barged into her room in the middle of the night at any time.
She wanted to think that if it was bad for the enemy, it was good for her, but it was a problem that she couldn't just ignore.
Should I say that I feel uneasy or have a bad feeling about this?
This never happened before Aila returned to the past, so it's only natural to feel uneasy.
She thought it might have been something that happened because of her actions, but nothing came to mind.
When she returned, the only thing that had changed was that she had been secretly following Byron every night. If she had been caught, it would have been more reasonable to question her or keep her under surveillance rather than locking herself in her room and feeling anxious.
'Then... Is there anyone else besides me who has memories of the future?'
Since Byron and those around him showed no such signs, it could be that Roderick or Ophelia had memories of the future.
But does that make any difference? Byron is on the run, and her parents don't know where she spent her childhood.
'I hope it's not like that.'
She hopes that's not all.
It was such a cruel thing to return to the past with the memory of being murdered by her own daughter, or the memory of her own daughter killing her husband.
One day, Aila thought about apologizing to her parents for the foolish mistakes she had made.
It was another matter that her parents experienced it firsthand and remembered it vividly.
She alone was enough to keep that horrible memory of feeling like she would vomit blood and die from resentment at any moment.
“What are you thinking about so intently, my lady? You shouldn’t have so many distracting thoughts when you’re holding a sword.”
Aila, whose head was complicated with various thoughts, realized that it was training time after Cloud's words that woke her up.
As she simply repeated the motion of swinging the dagger following the movement of the cloud, she found herself unconsciously lost in thought.
"Sorry."
To be honest, it was true that the training was repetitive and boring.
It was like asking someone who could walk, run, and even do somersaults to start walking again.
However, it was not good for her to be absent-minded and lose focus in class.
There were more than a few eyes watching her.
Of course, it was true that the atmosphere was chaotic because Byron, the leader, was like that, but that did not mean they could let their guard down.
“...Would you like to take a short break?”
It wasn't strange that she got scolded for thinking useless thoughts during training, but Cloud asked her in a gentle and affectionate voice.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. It’s better than swinging your sword while distracted by distracting thoughts and getting hurt.”
Despite her puzzled question, Cloud still spoke kindly. A rare, awkward smile appeared on his usually blunt face.
‘...What is it? It seems like you’ve become kinder to me lately.’
Although Cloud was the one who respected her more than others, it only went as far as not ignoring her; he never said anything kind or smiled at her.
But why did he suddenly become so kind?
The only thing that had changed recently was that Byron was spending more time alone and not looking for Ayla.
'Could that be why?'
In fact, it was frustrating not being able to track down Byron and not being able to find the cause of the incident, but it was a good thing for Aila that she rarely clashed with Byron.
It was such a struggle to smile brightly every time she encountered that horrible person, but how wonderful it is that she doesn't have to do that.
But when she thinks back to him before, she can tell that he would have been anxious and uneasy in this situation.
Could it be that Cloud is acting unnaturally because he is worried about Aila?
'People are softer than I thought. Is it sympathy?'
In fact, it was not a very pleasant thing to receive sympathy from the enemy. In some ways, it could be unpleasant, but Aila decided to think differently.
If she makes good use of this strange sympathy, she might be able to manipulate Cloud to extract information.
Well, given his usual personality, no matter how much he sympathized with her, he would never tell her everything about Byron's personal life.
'It'll be hard, but maybe I can get a hint.'
Let's give it a try now.
She braced herself mentally with an iron plate over her face.
Although she looked like a twelve-year-old girl on the outside, she was actually eighteen, legally an adult.
Objectively, she was not that old, but for Aila, who considered herself an adult, her next actions required quite a bit of courage.
“Hey, hey. Cloud...”
She grabbed Cloud's sleeve with a very pitiful and cute expression.
Shd couldn't bear to imagine how her actions would look, because she felt so disgusted with herself, but she tried to convince herself that it would be okay, because she was just a child on the outside.
“What is it, Miss?”
Cloud seemed a little taken aback by her sudden actions, even though he tried not to show it on the outside.
In front of Byron, she was always a charming girl who tried to be loved, but that was only in front of her 'father'.
It was surprising, since she rarely did this to others.
“...There you are. Did I do something wrong to my father?”
She asked with her eyelids fluttering pitifully as if she were about to burst into tears.
Should I say that I feel uneasy or have a bad feeling about this?
This never happened before Aila returned to the past, so it's only natural to feel uneasy.
She thought it might have been something that happened because of her actions, but nothing came to mind.
When she returned, the only thing that had changed was that she had been secretly following Byron every night. If she had been caught, it would have been more reasonable to question her or keep her under surveillance rather than locking herself in her room and feeling anxious.
'Then... Is there anyone else besides me who has memories of the future?'
Since Byron and those around him showed no such signs, it could be that Roderick or Ophelia had memories of the future.
But does that make any difference? Byron is on the run, and her parents don't know where she spent her childhood.
'I hope it's not like that.'
She hopes that's not all.
It was such a cruel thing to return to the past with the memory of being murdered by her own daughter, or the memory of her own daughter killing her husband.
One day, Aila thought about apologizing to her parents for the foolish mistakes she had made.
It was another matter that her parents experienced it firsthand and remembered it vividly.
She alone was enough to keep that horrible memory of feeling like she would vomit blood and die from resentment at any moment.
“What are you thinking about so intently, my lady? You shouldn’t have so many distracting thoughts when you’re holding a sword.”
Aila, whose head was complicated with various thoughts, realized that it was training time after Cloud's words that woke her up.
As she simply repeated the motion of swinging the dagger following the movement of the cloud, she found herself unconsciously lost in thought.
"Sorry."
To be honest, it was true that the training was repetitive and boring.
It was like asking someone who could walk, run, and even do somersaults to start walking again.
However, it was not good for her to be absent-minded and lose focus in class.
There were more than a few eyes watching her.
Of course, it was true that the atmosphere was chaotic because Byron, the leader, was like that, but that did not mean they could let their guard down.
“...Would you like to take a short break?”
It wasn't strange that she got scolded for thinking useless thoughts during training, but Cloud asked her in a gentle and affectionate voice.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. It’s better than swinging your sword while distracted by distracting thoughts and getting hurt.”
Despite her puzzled question, Cloud still spoke kindly. A rare, awkward smile appeared on his usually blunt face.
‘...What is it? It seems like you’ve become kinder to me lately.’
Although Cloud was the one who respected her more than others, it only went as far as not ignoring her; he never said anything kind or smiled at her.
But why did he suddenly become so kind?
The only thing that had changed recently was that Byron was spending more time alone and not looking for Ayla.
'Could that be why?'
In fact, it was frustrating not being able to track down Byron and not being able to find the cause of the incident, but it was a good thing for Aila that she rarely clashed with Byron.
It was such a struggle to smile brightly every time she encountered that horrible person, but how wonderful it is that she doesn't have to do that.
But when she thinks back to him before, she can tell that he would have been anxious and uneasy in this situation.
Could it be that Cloud is acting unnaturally because he is worried about Aila?
'People are softer than I thought. Is it sympathy?'
In fact, it was not a very pleasant thing to receive sympathy from the enemy. In some ways, it could be unpleasant, but Aila decided to think differently.
If she makes good use of this strange sympathy, she might be able to manipulate Cloud to extract information.
Well, given his usual personality, no matter how much he sympathized with her, he would never tell her everything about Byron's personal life.
'It'll be hard, but maybe I can get a hint.'
Let's give it a try now.
She braced herself mentally with an iron plate over her face.
Although she looked like a twelve-year-old girl on the outside, she was actually eighteen, legally an adult.
Objectively, she was not that old, but for Aila, who considered herself an adult, her next actions required quite a bit of courage.
“Hey, hey. Cloud...”
She grabbed Cloud's sleeve with a very pitiful and cute expression.
Shd couldn't bear to imagine how her actions would look, because she felt so disgusted with herself, but she tried to convince herself that it would be okay, because she was just a child on the outside.
“What is it, Miss?”
Cloud seemed a little taken aback by her sudden actions, even though he tried not to show it on the outside.
In front of Byron, she was always a charming girl who tried to be loved, but that was only in front of her 'father'.
It was surprising, since she rarely did this to others.
“...There you are. Did I do something wrong to my father?”
She asked with her eyelids fluttering pitifully as if she were about to burst into tears.
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