Chapter 46

Duke Holt Daniel was also a danger to Theon.

He was the one who helped Kyle build his power by funding him behind his back, waiting for an opportunity to take over Theon’s position as the Crown Prince.

It was also because of him that His Majesty and his Father became estranged.

Like a snake, he had an extraordinary talent for secretly moving and luring people out.

In that train of thought, the image of Delia, who was forced to marry Kyle due to Duke Daniel’s stubbornness, passed through Theon’s mind.

Grabbing his hair in distress, he picked up the crystal cup that had been placed there and threw it at the bookshelf.

The crystal cup shattered into pieces, making a loud noise.

“Alright. I will allow him.”

Staring at the window with unfocused eyes, the corners of Theon’s mouth rose.

***

Strolling leisurely after lunch in the natural forest of the west palace for the first time in a while, Ayla saw a beautiful purple butterfly.

As if she had been possessed by a beautiful figure that she had never seen before, she went after the butterfly.

Seeing that there was little sunlight coming in, perhaps because of the tall trees, she must have entered quite a deep place as she left the trail.

Ayla could not see where the butterfly she had been following was.

“Where am I…”

Ayla’s voice echoed in the quiet forest.

She tried to go back the way she came, but she couldn’t remember as she was distracted when coming here.

The Royal Palace of the Stellen Kingdom was surrounded by a vast range of forests to prevent invasion from outside, so it was common to get lost if moving as one pleases.

Rustle.

Looking around for an exit, Ayla heard the leaves rustling behind her.

Thinking there might be something there, Ayla’s face quickly stiffened.

It would be quite a funny sight to see her unnatural behavior from a distance.

“I-I didn’t hear anything. There is no one there. Absolutely no one. But where is the exit.”

Rustle.

As if teasing Ayla, who was trying to remain calm, the sound was heard even closer.

Standing there blankly, overcome by tension, someone grabbed her shoulder violently.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!”

At the sudden feeling of her shoulder being touched, Ayla shook her body frantically.

A precious life, ending while being eaten by animals wandering in the forest. But something was weird.

Soon after realizing that the touch on her shoulder was of a person, Ayla carefully opened her closed eyes.

“You’re very noisy. I hate noisy things.”

‘Why is it you again, why, why, why!!!’

She wanted to dig into the ground in shame.

Just looking at that silver hair, she was getting sick of it.

She wasn’t very happy to see Eden, who had an attractive smile white restraining Ayla’s shoulders.

After checking Eden’s face, Ayla put her hands together neatly and kept her posture, as if she had behaved thoughtlessly. Very calmly and audaciously.

From the looks of it, it seems like he was slacking off too.

Not doing what he is told to during work hours, tsk tsk.

“Ahem, what brings you here?”

“Me? There is a lake, so…”

‘There is a lake? There is a lake, so what?’

Looking at Ayla’s curious expression, Eden shrugged and said nothing more.

“This is a pretty deep place, did you know?”

“O-Of course!! What, did you think I came here not knowing the way?”

Eden, who was going ahead, asked Ayla in a brusque tone.

Eden seemed to know the way.

Ayla naturally followed him, keeping her distance so that he wouldn’t find out she was lost.

How much did they walk? Suddenly, Eden stopped walking and stood there motionless.

As she approached Eden carefully, he was concentrating, seemingly fascinated by something.

Ayla’s gaze naturally followed Eden’s gaze.

Eden was looking at the puddle beneath his feet.

The rainwater from last night seemed to have accumulated.

‘Is he worried that his shoes will get wet? He’s more delicate than I thought.’

Ayla quietly stood behind Eden, waiting for him to move.

She didn’t know the way anyway, so it was meaningless to take the lead.

Eden, who had been looking at the puddle for a long time, opened his mouth with an exclamation.

“Ah… It’s really beautiful.”

‘Me?? Are you talking about me?’

Ayla’s eyes grew big at Eden’s words.

Ayla coughed with her face turning red as if she didn’t dislike his sudden confession.