Aila squatted down on the handkerchief Winfred had laid out for her with an awkward expression. This was the first time that anyone other than her biological parents and the Duke's servants had shown her such consideration.
"Thank you."
As Aila sat down on the handkerchief, Winfred lay back down on his arm and looked at the stars.
“Thanks to meeting such an amazing person like you, I got to see the stars from the rooftop. I should be the one to thank you.”
Winfred looked at the twinkling stars with a pure smile. The sight somehow warmed her heart, so Aila smiled slightly and raised her head to look at the sky.
The Milky Way was flowing, shining so clearly that it seemed as if it would pour down.
“So, continuing with what we were talking about, you’re really cool.”
She thought the flattery was over, but Winfred blurted out another embarrassing line.
Am I cool? Aila repeated Winfred's words in her mouth at the compliment she had heard for the first time in her life. She had never thought of such a thing before.
No, on the contrary, she was embarrassed to show off this kind of technology and laughed at herself.
“Am I cool?”
Aila asked in a dark voice. It was strange to hear such unexpected praise, but Winfred, who could not know this, thought to himself that he had made a mistake.
In general, it is more common to compliment women by saying they are pretty or beautiful rather than saying they are cool.
“No, that’s it! I didn’t mean it in a bad way...”
But Winfred, who observed Aila's expression, realized that Aila was not upset for that reason.
There was a pain in it that Winfred could not easily say he understood.
“You’re cool. And you’re pretty.”
Winfred blushed shyly.
Aila, she's pretty. Her small face and the close-knit facial features were cute and pretty. Her straight-faced, gentle eyes and her small, red lips.
And even her seemingly indifferent expression was attractive.
She's so pretty, even though she's still a little girl, so he wonders what she'll look like when she grows up.
"...Thank you."
Aila said in a bewildered voice. How many times did they have to say thank you to each other?
As she was staring at Winfred's honest eyes, thinking such trivial thoughts, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
The golden eyes of the Crown Prince-to-be, who resembled Byron. And the words Byron said to her dying father.
His words were, 'I gave my place to my brother.'
'Surely Byron isn't the Emperor's older brother?'
Just a moment ago, her heart was pounding at the sound of Winfred's embarrassing compliments, but that feeling disappeared in an instant.
“Hey, did you say Winfred?”
Aila hesitated for a moment about whether or not she should just call out the name of the Crown Prince-to-be, but since this was her chance to find out Byron's true identity, she called his name anyway.
“Yeah. You can call me Win.”
To Aila's dismay, Winfred smiled brightly and went one step further, even asking her to call him by a nickname.
“...Yes, Winfred. Can I ask you something?”
Aila asked with a blank face, lightly ignoring his request. It was too high-handed an attitude to be treated as an imperial Crown Prince, but he smiled faintly, as if he liked even that attitude.
He said he would answer any question she asked.
“...Do you have an uncle by any chance?”
But at Aila's subsequent question, Winfred's expression darkened.
The story of her uncle was a dark tale of the imperial family that every citizen of the Peles Empire knew. He wondered why Aila didn't know that, but it was another matter to reveal the family's corruption with his own mouth.
But the other person was the one who had saved his life. Winfred opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
“Yeah. There is. No, there was. Byron Lionel Vito Pele.”
When Byron's name came out of his mouth, Aila let out a sigh.
Rather than saying it consciously, it was more like a sigh that came out of his involuntary pleasure at finally discovering the true identity of his enemy.
“Why is it past tense?”
Aila asked cautiously.
Of course, she had expected it, but she wanted to confirm it directly from Winfred's own words.
If there was one crime that could make Byron, a Prince by name, a criminal, he could be pursued for, it was only one. The phrase she read in Byron's letters, 'I tried to hunt an old lion and failed.'
It was an unbelievable and outrageous thing.
“Phew, that’s right...”
In response to Aila's subsequent question, Winfred took a deep breath and opened his mouth. However, what came out of his mouth was not an answer to her question, but a question.
“But, are you from the Peles Empire? Or are you a foreigner? This story is quite famous.”
It's possible that she hadn't heard of it because she was young, but it was questionable that Aila, who was incredibly smart for a twelve-year-old, didn't know about such a famous incident.
“...I have some circumstances. I am from the Empire.”
When she answered with a bitter expression, Winfred's eyes, which had been looking at her with suspicion, drooped. He felt a deep wound that he should not touch.
“Ten years ago, he committed treason. He tried to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor, who was my grandfather and my uncle’s biological father.”
You tried to kill your own father.
As expected, when it actually happened, Aila's mouth dropped open as she realized once again how evil Byron was.
“Why on earth...?”
“... His Majesty the Emperor was the second son, not Byron, who was the eldest. In other words, because my grandfather put our father in the position of Crown Prince. While my father was on his journey to be appointed Crown Prince, he committed treason.”
But how could he possibly kill his own father? Aila really couldn't understand it. No, she didn't need to understand it. That kind of devilish mind.
“I heard it almost worked. But the Knights of Weishaffen rescued my grandfather. Byron escaped. I don’t know the details. I was only four years old when it happened.”
The Emperor, who was in shock over being almost murdered by his son, ended his story by saying that he had been sick for a long time and passed away three years ago.
Winfred looked apologetic, but Aila shook her head. This was more than enough information.
And there was a moment of silence between them. It was a very dark conversation for a pair of twelve and fourteen-year-olds sitting on a rooftop.
Aila sat in silence, lost in thought. Now she knew for sure what Byron was. Who he was and what he was up to.
These were facts she found out much faster and luckier than she thought.
In that case, it might be okay to return to the Duke.
'No.'
Aila shook her head. She had no identification at the moment. In her last life, when she had entered the Duke's household at the age of sixteen, she had taken with her an old pendant.
Byron gave her a pendant that would be proof that she was a Princess. She needed the necklace with the name Aila engraved on the back to prove that she was a Princess.
'I want to get revenge on that devil in exactly the same way.'
The pain of being betrayed by the person you trusted more than anyone else in the world, at the moment you achieved your life's goal. She wanted to inflict that pain on him.
Every time she faced Byron, she felt like she was walking on a single-plank bridge, and she constantly thought about running away.
She could not fully convey to Byron the despair she felt, but she had to endure it so that Byron could feel at least a tenth of it.
She had to make them believe that things were going smoothly.
She was so determined to seek bloody revenge.
Winfred, who had been keeping his mouth shut in the dark atmosphere, opened his mouth with a bright smile as if trying to change the mood.
“Oh, right. I forgot. Take this. It’s a token of my lifesaving.”
He thought she wouldn't have to bother to refuse him because he passed by without thinking, because of the drunkard who suddenly showed up. But Winfred stubbornly held out his pocket watch again.
Thanks to this, Aila had no choice but to force herself to shake off the dark thoughts that were tormenting her.
“That is... I appreciate your kindness, but I’m sorry. Even if I accept this, I don’t think I can keep it.”
“What does that mean?”
When Aila opened her mouth as if to apologize, he made a face that showed that he couldn't understand. It was hard for a Prince who had grown up preciously to understand that she was being controlled to the point where she couldn't even have one thing of her own.
“...If I had such a valuable item, I would be caught sneaking out at night, and it would be embarrassing.”
“Why don’t you just hide it?”
At Winfred's question, Aila smiled sadly and closed her mouth, as if she were embarrassed. It was hard for her to hide even a small glass bottle.
At this, Winfred seemed to have a complicated mind and ruffled his black hair, deep in thought.
“Is it hard to hide it? Then I’ll take care of that too.”
How do you plan on solving this? Aila was flustered and opened her mouth to ask, but before she could, Winfred whistled.
Aila wondered why there was a whistle in the middle of the night, but soon her eyes widened at the sight that unfolded before her.
Between Winfred and Ayla, a jewel-adorned box suddenly appeared.
"Thank you."
As Aila sat down on the handkerchief, Winfred lay back down on his arm and looked at the stars.
“Thanks to meeting such an amazing person like you, I got to see the stars from the rooftop. I should be the one to thank you.”
Winfred looked at the twinkling stars with a pure smile. The sight somehow warmed her heart, so Aila smiled slightly and raised her head to look at the sky.
The Milky Way was flowing, shining so clearly that it seemed as if it would pour down.
“So, continuing with what we were talking about, you’re really cool.”
She thought the flattery was over, but Winfred blurted out another embarrassing line.
Am I cool? Aila repeated Winfred's words in her mouth at the compliment she had heard for the first time in her life. She had never thought of such a thing before.
No, on the contrary, she was embarrassed to show off this kind of technology and laughed at herself.
“Am I cool?”
Aila asked in a dark voice. It was strange to hear such unexpected praise, but Winfred, who could not know this, thought to himself that he had made a mistake.
In general, it is more common to compliment women by saying they are pretty or beautiful rather than saying they are cool.
“No, that’s it! I didn’t mean it in a bad way...”
But Winfred, who observed Aila's expression, realized that Aila was not upset for that reason.
There was a pain in it that Winfred could not easily say he understood.
“You’re cool. And you’re pretty.”
Winfred blushed shyly.
Aila, she's pretty. Her small face and the close-knit facial features were cute and pretty. Her straight-faced, gentle eyes and her small, red lips.
And even her seemingly indifferent expression was attractive.
She's so pretty, even though she's still a little girl, so he wonders what she'll look like when she grows up.
"...Thank you."
Aila said in a bewildered voice. How many times did they have to say thank you to each other?
As she was staring at Winfred's honest eyes, thinking such trivial thoughts, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
The golden eyes of the Crown Prince-to-be, who resembled Byron. And the words Byron said to her dying father.
His words were, 'I gave my place to my brother.'
'Surely Byron isn't the Emperor's older brother?'
Just a moment ago, her heart was pounding at the sound of Winfred's embarrassing compliments, but that feeling disappeared in an instant.
“Hey, did you say Winfred?”
Aila hesitated for a moment about whether or not she should just call out the name of the Crown Prince-to-be, but since this was her chance to find out Byron's true identity, she called his name anyway.
“Yeah. You can call me Win.”
To Aila's dismay, Winfred smiled brightly and went one step further, even asking her to call him by a nickname.
“...Yes, Winfred. Can I ask you something?”
Aila asked with a blank face, lightly ignoring his request. It was too high-handed an attitude to be treated as an imperial Crown Prince, but he smiled faintly, as if he liked even that attitude.
He said he would answer any question she asked.
“...Do you have an uncle by any chance?”
But at Aila's subsequent question, Winfred's expression darkened.
The story of her uncle was a dark tale of the imperial family that every citizen of the Peles Empire knew. He wondered why Aila didn't know that, but it was another matter to reveal the family's corruption with his own mouth.
But the other person was the one who had saved his life. Winfred opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
“Yeah. There is. No, there was. Byron Lionel Vito Pele.”
When Byron's name came out of his mouth, Aila let out a sigh.
Rather than saying it consciously, it was more like a sigh that came out of his involuntary pleasure at finally discovering the true identity of his enemy.
“Why is it past tense?”
Aila asked cautiously.
Of course, she had expected it, but she wanted to confirm it directly from Winfred's own words.
If there was one crime that could make Byron, a Prince by name, a criminal, he could be pursued for, it was only one. The phrase she read in Byron's letters, 'I tried to hunt an old lion and failed.'
It was an unbelievable and outrageous thing.
“Phew, that’s right...”
In response to Aila's subsequent question, Winfred took a deep breath and opened his mouth. However, what came out of his mouth was not an answer to her question, but a question.
“But, are you from the Peles Empire? Or are you a foreigner? This story is quite famous.”
It's possible that she hadn't heard of it because she was young, but it was questionable that Aila, who was incredibly smart for a twelve-year-old, didn't know about such a famous incident.
“...I have some circumstances. I am from the Empire.”
When she answered with a bitter expression, Winfred's eyes, which had been looking at her with suspicion, drooped. He felt a deep wound that he should not touch.
“Ten years ago, he committed treason. He tried to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor, who was my grandfather and my uncle’s biological father.”
You tried to kill your own father.
As expected, when it actually happened, Aila's mouth dropped open as she realized once again how evil Byron was.
“Why on earth...?”
“... His Majesty the Emperor was the second son, not Byron, who was the eldest. In other words, because my grandfather put our father in the position of Crown Prince. While my father was on his journey to be appointed Crown Prince, he committed treason.”
But how could he possibly kill his own father? Aila really couldn't understand it. No, she didn't need to understand it. That kind of devilish mind.
“I heard it almost worked. But the Knights of Weishaffen rescued my grandfather. Byron escaped. I don’t know the details. I was only four years old when it happened.”
The Emperor, who was in shock over being almost murdered by his son, ended his story by saying that he had been sick for a long time and passed away three years ago.
Winfred looked apologetic, but Aila shook her head. This was more than enough information.
And there was a moment of silence between them. It was a very dark conversation for a pair of twelve and fourteen-year-olds sitting on a rooftop.
Aila sat in silence, lost in thought. Now she knew for sure what Byron was. Who he was and what he was up to.
These were facts she found out much faster and luckier than she thought.
In that case, it might be okay to return to the Duke.
'No.'
Aila shook her head. She had no identification at the moment. In her last life, when she had entered the Duke's household at the age of sixteen, she had taken with her an old pendant.
Byron gave her a pendant that would be proof that she was a Princess. She needed the necklace with the name Aila engraved on the back to prove that she was a Princess.
'I want to get revenge on that devil in exactly the same way.'
The pain of being betrayed by the person you trusted more than anyone else in the world, at the moment you achieved your life's goal. She wanted to inflict that pain on him.
Every time she faced Byron, she felt like she was walking on a single-plank bridge, and she constantly thought about running away.
She could not fully convey to Byron the despair she felt, but she had to endure it so that Byron could feel at least a tenth of it.
She had to make them believe that things were going smoothly.
She was so determined to seek bloody revenge.
Winfred, who had been keeping his mouth shut in the dark atmosphere, opened his mouth with a bright smile as if trying to change the mood.
“Oh, right. I forgot. Take this. It’s a token of my lifesaving.”
He thought she wouldn't have to bother to refuse him because he passed by without thinking, because of the drunkard who suddenly showed up. But Winfred stubbornly held out his pocket watch again.
Thanks to this, Aila had no choice but to force herself to shake off the dark thoughts that were tormenting her.
“That is... I appreciate your kindness, but I’m sorry. Even if I accept this, I don’t think I can keep it.”
“What does that mean?”
When Aila opened her mouth as if to apologize, he made a face that showed that he couldn't understand. It was hard for a Prince who had grown up preciously to understand that she was being controlled to the point where she couldn't even have one thing of her own.
“...If I had such a valuable item, I would be caught sneaking out at night, and it would be embarrassing.”
“Why don’t you just hide it?”
At Winfred's question, Aila smiled sadly and closed her mouth, as if she were embarrassed. It was hard for her to hide even a small glass bottle.
At this, Winfred seemed to have a complicated mind and ruffled his black hair, deep in thought.
“Is it hard to hide it? Then I’ll take care of that too.”
How do you plan on solving this? Aila was flustered and opened her mouth to ask, but before she could, Winfred whistled.
Aila wondered why there was a whistle in the middle of the night, but soon her eyes widened at the sight that unfolded before her.
Between Winfred and Ayla, a jewel-adorned box suddenly appeared.
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