Chapter 184

She couldn’t think of anything, as if she had been hit in the head.

Due to everything she had been through in the meantime, his marriage to Ariel had long since disappeared from her memory.

She couldn’t help but blame her foolish self for forgetting such an important fact.

Ayla’s eyes began to shake quickly at the sudden rush of confusing emotions.

“I’m happy to be able to prepare Theon’s wedding myself. He has to increase his power as the heir, so Princess Ariel will be of great help.”

“Ah… I see.”

A bitter smile appeared on Owen’s face as he glanced sideways at Ayla’s expression, who answered by obligation.

He didn’t want to admit that they were so influential that just mentioning the national marriage could change their feelings.

He is in front of her.

Looking at her eyes, which had turned cold as if the person she was facing was invisible, he felt something strong coming up from the depths of his heart.

“He’s been through a lot, so it’s time for him to be happy. By the way, Ayla! You don’t look good. Is something wrong?”

Owen, who had been leaning towards Ayla, raised his body, straightened his posture and spoke.

“Ah… It’s nothing. I think I must go now. At this rate, the tea I worked hard to prepare will cool down.”

“Alright. If you have time, please stop by my office.”

Ayla silently nodded her head with an awkward smile at Owen’s friendly voice.

Owen lightly tapped Ayla’s shoulder and left.

While maintaining an ice-cold expression.

***

Knock, knock, knock.

Ayla’s expression, standing in front of the firmly closed office, was filled with tension.

“Ugh… Act composed. Take it easy.”

Ayla, who was taking a breath to calm her agitated heart, slowly turned the doorknob she was holding as if she had made up her mind.

As she entered the office after much deliberation, the interior was filled with only silence and there were no signs of a presence.

As she looked at the empty office, she immediately felt a sense of relief.

“Where did he go again.”

Ayla, who was muttering in a low voice, frowned slightly.

Ayla put down the silver tray she was holding and took a seat on the sofa in front of the table.

“Ah… Why are things so messed up.”

Daydreaming for a while, a deep sigh escaped from her mouth.

The conversation she had with Owen a while ago was repeating in her head over and over, like a repeat sign.

It wasn’t enough to be engaged; but with the national marriage, the scale had become too big.

It wasn’t a simple problem that could be ignored like this, but it wasn’t something simple enough to be talked about thoughtlessly.

She would be lying if she said she never thought that this would happen in the first place.

There was already a proposal of marriage coming back and forth between the two countries.

Unless there was something wrong, it was impossible to pretend it didn’t exist.

“It’s not like I didn’t know that from the beginning.”

Only the person involved could completely calm down this chaotic feeling.

Ayla, who was moving her lips anxiously, stood up slowly.

***

He felt exhausted from the frequent trips.

Theon, who opened the hard iron door, was particularly worn out.

Trudge, trudge.

Theon’s eyes gleamed slightly as he came upstairs with his exhausted body.

“What brings you here?”

He felt like he was about to burst into laughter when he saw Ayla sitting in front of the fireplace, basking in the heat as if it were her own home, but he was trying his best to speak with indifference. Because he made a promise to himself that he would investigate what was going on with the damn foreigner.

“I was worried because you were not in the office, so I came. But your clothes… Did you go out?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t even say anything. I didn’t even know that, and I went to visit you every teatime with a bunch of things that Your Highness likes.”

“Did we have time for that?”

Rather than having a welcoming heart, there was no way to stop his sharp way of speaking.

He was embarrassed to see himself grumbling like a little kid, but seeing Ayla’s expression, it wasn’t that bad either.

It was better to be honest, since the result of pretending not to care led to a sense of self-doubt.

He was angry and wanted to show that he was very bothered.

He wanted to let her know that he was just pretending to be fine but wasn’t fine at all.

Because he didn’t want to argue with Ayla anymore.

Because they’re already busy enough with other things.

“I… Eden…”

Theon’s face turned cold as the name Eden came out of Ayla’s mouth.

He thought that she wouldn’t talk about the foreigner if she had a sense, but his expectations were completely wrong.

“I’m not really curious about that foreigner. I’m a little tired. I’m fine, so you can go and rest.”

“…”