Chapter 117

“Why… Are you telling me this?”

“I told you. We are similar.”

“…”

“Whether you go and grab her hair or swear at her, that’s up to you, but… Be really careful. She doesn’t seem like a normal kid.”

With her meaningful last words, Diane turned around, waved her hand, and headed towards the north palace.

She was numb as if she had been hit in the head with a hammer.

Her incessantly trembling fingers and her blue eyes showed no intentions of calming down.

What should she do now…

Her chaotic mind could not get organized at all.

After a long time had passed, Ayla, who had lost all the strength in her body, trudged towards the maids’ quarters.

Ayla’s eyelashes, which were facing the floor, rose upward at the sound of quick footsteps coming from close by.

Just then, a familiar silhouette appeared from afar.

At that moment, she saw the person she wanted to avoid.

“Young Lady!”

That child, who ran towards her with a bright smile, as usual. The child who caused her this confusion was running towards her.

Ayla felt her heart rate increase as Lily got closer.

She couldn’t tell if she was feeling anger or relief; but if there was one thing that was certain, it was that the incoming child, who was smiling as if nothing happened, wasn’t necessarily happy to see her.

“Young Lady! Where on earth did you go? Do you know how worried I’ve been these days? Sob…”

She couldn’t fully accept Lily’s appearance, who was brimming with tears as she stood in front of her.

“Did something… Happen?”

“…”

She hesitated about what to say to Lily, who asked a question as if she didn’t know anything.

She wondered about whether she should just follow Diane’s words and grab her hair, or if she should reconcile with her.

She feared losing the person closest to her. No, she was afraid of feeling betrayed by someone she thought was close.

However, this relationship could not continue like this.

A relationship in which one side’s trust is broken.

She doubted it could last long.

Doubts about Lily had already appeared, and those doubts were growing.

She needed confirmation for both of them; and if their relationship was rotten, cutting it out was the right thing to do.

At least that’s what she thought.

“Were you really worried about me?”

“That… What do you mean? If Lily doesn’t care about the Young Lady, then who will!”

Thick drops of water dripped from Lily’s tearful eyes, but Ayla’s gaze looking at her was cold.

As if trying to suppress her emotions as much as possible and maintain her reasoning, Ayla closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

‘That’s right… That can’t be. Miss Diane wouldn’t have made a mistake. Lily wouldn’t do that to me. Exactly, that can’t be…’

As soon as she lifted her closed eyelids, Ayla spoke in a soft voice.

“I heard from someone. That there is a rumor circulating about me and the source is you, Lily… I want to think it isn’t true… But I am a human too, so I keep having bad thoughts. Is it true that you said that because you were really worried about me?”

“…”

After hesitating for a moment at Ayla’s words, Lily wiped the tears off her eyes with the back of her hand.

She, who remained expressionless as if she had never cried, looked into Ayla’s eyes and slightly raised the corner of her mouth.

“Hehe… Was I discovered?”

“?”

“Maybe it’s because our Young Lady doesn’t know how the world works… Didn’t you find out too late? You know that now. Hm… Lily was a little disappointed. You’re smart, so I didn’t know you could be fooled so easily.”

The words that came out of her mouth shattered even the last bit of hope left in Ayla.

That child, who casually spit out that she has been fooling her all this time, with such a bright expression on her face, felt so unfamiliar that she wondered if she really was the Lily she knew; she gave her goosebumps and was scary.

But she wanted to know. When did this nonsense start?

She has to know why on earth she did this to her.

“When… Did the lies start?”

“I didn’t lie. I was just joking around a bit. It was quite fun because I deceived the Young Lady so well… It’s unfortunate.”

Ayla looked at Lily with a dumbfounded expression as she spoke coldly.

Despite Ayla’s reaction, Lily looked up at her and showed a triumphant attitude.

She seemed to have no sense of guilt, as if she had beaten her.