Chapter 122

‘I’d rather you just live without knowing and get out of my sight.’

She tried hard to push down those words that rose up to her throat.

Ayla chose to ignore Lily’s manipulation because she thought it might backfire again.

Lily, who stood there staring at Ayla for a long time, turned her steps and got out of the dining room, dejected.

When Lily was no longer in sight, Ayla, who had been holding her breath, leaned against the table, gasping.

It was scary and creepy to see Lily acting as if she had become a different person.

She was confused as to whether the Lily she saw yesterday and the Lily from a while ago were really the same person.

The heavy silence that filled the room was erased by the loud noise of the boiling water kettle.

***

“The west palace maid, Ayla…”

“Enough with the greetings and sit down.”

As Ayla came to the detached palace and greeted Theon as usual, he gestured as if telling her to stop.

She wanted to punch Theon in the nose for getting her involved in this ridiculous rumor, but strictly speaking, he was also a victim.

‘Your life is so… Unlucky.’

Ayla’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Theon.

If the rumors surrounding Ayla and Theon even reached Princess Ariel’s ears, the outcome would be terrible. No matter how kind Princess Ariel is, as the princess of a country, she won’t be able to just sit still.

Since it is a scandal with a low-rank maid before their engagement, if it were her, she would have argued with Theon, asking how he could do that.

But don’t they say the final boss naturally comes last?

The biggest problem was the King, not Princess Ariel, the maids of the royal palace, or the nobles.

He brought her into the palace to inquire about Count Serdian’s sins, but she ended up having a scandal with the Crown Prince, his grandson and successor. They will be lucky if the King doesn’t lose his reason with his nasty temper and kill the two of them.

It’s funny how rumors are; even though there were two main characters in the rumor, Ayla was the one being criticized.

She seduced the Crown Prince first or something. The innocent Theon was deceived, and everything was Ayla’s fault. It clearly showed the difference in opinion towards the two of them.

As it is still a false rumor that only circulates among the maids, it would be wiser to keep it a secret from Theon for now. It won’t be too late to talk about it when the situation gets a little worse.

Ayla, who was silently organizing her thoughts, nodded her head slightly.

She felt disgusted when thinking of the words he said to her at the mansion; but she wanted to ease the burden even a little bit on Theon, who seemed to be working even harder as Zenia’s affairs progressed.

“What, what is it? What are you going to say again this early in the morning…”

At Theon’s words, Ayla sat down in a crooked posture across from him and spoke. At the same time, his eyes as he looked at Ayla changed sharply.

He left it alone yesterday because of the mean words he had said, but even today, when that situation was over, she looked miserable.

He was secretly worried whether the words he had told her were still weighing on her mind, but Theon tried hard to ignore it.

Unable to understand what he felt, Ayla was firmly on the defensive, waiting for Theon’s next words.

“I have received a report from Orhan that Baron Noir is going to visit the mansion tomorrow with the tribute.”

“Ah, is that so? Things are going faster than I thought.”

“Make sure to come to the detached palace tonight. You have to go to the mansion before sunrise, so hurry up.”

“…”

“Oh, and also… It would be good if you learned how to ride a horse as soon as possible. I will have to accompany you this time. Since there is no other choice.”

Theon put emphasis on his last words.

‘Is he saying he will give me time and conditions to learn?’

Ayla paused for a moment at Theon’s uninterested voice and organized her thoughts.

She was worried about what the other maids would think if she went in and out of the detached palace again in the current situation but, when you look at it like that, that was exactly what she was doing.

Under Theon’s orders, everyone has been skipping the final teatime they have at their residences.

Grand Duke Arrot said that he liked tea so much that he brought in a maid to his place who served tea several more times in addition to the set hours.

‘Everyone does that, so why is he like that only to me!’

She came to the conclusion that since there is a rumor going around, reducing the number of times or acting in an unreasonable way would result in acknowledging the ridiculous rumors surrounding Theon and Ayla.

Of course, it bothered her that she had to go to the mansion and stay for a few days; but this was also very important, so she had no other choice.

She had to catch the thief first, and this was a turning point for what the rest of her life would be like.

Ayla nodded her head slightly at Theon’s words, as if to organize her thoughts, and gave him a hint of acknowledgment.

***