After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 102

Alexander, seemingly unable to easily accept it, frowned and asked again.

“Because of Leo?”

“Of course! He’s about to have the position she thought was naturally hers stolen by Leo! Do you even know how the first competition ended?”

Alexander quietly sighed, trailing off.

“I know. But Tia, it was just the first competition.”

“Are you going to keep saying such carefree things?”

She retorted sharply.

“Are you saying it’s okay if Edward loses the Crown Prince position?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“He’s your son, Alex. This isn’t the time to say something carefree like Edward just needs to win the competition.”

“…….”

“You saw it too. He can’t do it. He’s too kind and gentle, not ruthless enough!”

“What are you suggesting, then?”

Tatiana finally revealed her true intentions.

“We have to step in. Isn’t it natural for parents to step in for their children?”

“How exactly are we supposed to step in?”

“Before it’s taken away, we have to take it.”

“…Take it, Tia? What are you…?”

“Take back your position, Alex, even now.”

“What…?”

Alexander’s eyes widened.

Tatiana, holding his hand tightly, lowered her voice with an expression that suggested there was no turning back.

“We’re going to pull Friedrich, your brother, down from the throne.”

“Tia…….”

“I’ve already finished the preparations.”

“Preparations?”

“The plan is set, and the groundwork is done. All that’s left is a little time and the right situation.”

Tatiana hid her trembling hands and inhaled.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid, but it would be alright.

She had planned thoroughly, and the plan was perfect.

It was a brilliant idea that could get rid of Friedrich, Leo, and even Ayla, who was an eyesore.

“So take back your position, Alex. It’s the only way for Edward.”

The atmosphere at the Everett Estate was as cold as thin ice.

It was because the head of the family, Marcus, had been in a terrible mood for days.

In the middle of the study, which was impeccably organized, Marcus was the only one overwhelmed by disarray.

Sitting there blankly, his gaze fell on the desk.

Several unopened letters were neatly stacked.

They were all letters from the Empress faction nobles.

The contents were obvious without even opening them.

Now was not the time to be sitting idly.

It was a crucial time to decide whether Tatiana’s son would take the next imperial power, and Marcus was well aware that the Empress faction nobles had to join forces to support Edward.

But he couldn’t bring himself to focus on the work.

Frankly speaking, wasn’t Edward the one who caused the commotion by appearing at Ayla’s Consecration Ceremony?

Besides, to put Edward on the throne, they had to bring down the First Prince, who was married to Ayla.

Until a few days ago, that was a perfectly natural calculation.

But now, he wondered why he was reluctant…

‘Is it different now that I know she’s my daughter…? I’m pathetic. The worst.’

Marcus sighed deeply.

It was already irreversible.

So even if he tried not to think about it, Ayla, that child, kept popping into his head.

The child who always tried so hard to be recognized by him.

The small hand that once offered him cheap cufflinks, saying she was celebrating his birthday.

The sadness in her blue eyes as she forced a smile despite his cold words to leave them.

He had seen Ayla but pretended not to see her.

He knew but pretended not to know, turning a blind eye.

Whenever he saw her, she was like a thorn in his chest, and the more he felt that way, the more he repeated the words “Act like a princess” like a mantra.

She fulfilled that one request so well that it became a bit of a nuisance, but he was also satisfied, thinking that she was worth the cost of raising her.

And that Ayla… was his daughter.

Marcus exhaled shallowly and tightly closed his eyes, then opened them.

On the day of the Consecration Ceremony, Marcus, who had entered the temple with an unpleasant feeling, saw Ayla smiling.

It was a smile he had never seen before.

He instinctively felt that it was a smile that looked genuinely happy.

That kept bothering him.

Again, he pretended not to see it, turning a blind eye.

Nevertheless, that smile, which had not disappeared, vanished the moment Edward raised his objection.

And it did not return even after the magic tool glowed red.

Marcus saw the First Prince standing by Ayla’s side.

He had always regarded him as an enemy, but strangely, at that moment, his hostility disappeared.

The First Prince did not leave Ayla’s side for a single step until the end of the Consecration Ceremony.

The First Prince glanced at him as if he knew he was being watched, then turned his head, and Ayla got into the carriage with his escort.

Ayla never tried to look at Marcus even once.

Throughout the time he kept looking at Ayla, she never turned around even once.

“…How heartless.”

Marcus’s eyebrows twitched.

That was the result. How could she not turn around even once after seeing all that?

“A cold one.”

That must be why she left the house.

Breaking off the engagement, choosing the First Prince, who was in opposition to her father, and even marrying him…

…No, that’s not it.

The cold one was none other than Marcus Everett himself.

He should have let her break off the engagement with Rodrigo when she said she wanted to.

He should have listened a little when the child, who had been so obedient, said she hated it so much.

Marcus covered his face in a wave of regret.

As always, regret was always too late.

“Chase him away.”

At Leo’s command, the butler asked back.

“Again? It’s been three days already…”

“Three times is nothing. Haven’t you seen me send back the servants from the Imperial Palace?”

“But he came to see Your Highness. Is it okay to chase him away without even telling you…?”

Leo clicked his tongue at the butler’s hesitant attitude.

“It’s only three times. If he’s going to give up after being chased away that many times, he might as well quit.”

Dex, who was next to him, nodded in agreement with his statement.

“That’s right. Only three times.”

The butler looked at Dex with a pathetic expression, then glanced at Dex, who was grumbling that the butler was only like that to him, and asked again.

“How many times are you going to chase him away?”

“Butler, how many times do you think Ayla suffered because of that guy?”

“…It must be hundreds of times.”

“It’s my motto to pay back as much as I’ve been wronged.”

“I agree with that motto, but shouldn’t the decision be made by the person who was wronged?”

Leo, who had been looking at the documents, put them down and looked out the window at the butler’s words.

A man with silver hair could be seen far away outside the main gate.

He looked like a dog that needed to take a dump as he got out of the carriage and paced around.

Leo narrowed his eyes and watched the scene, then got up from his seat with a displeased sigh.

Dex widened his eyes and asked back.

“Why are you getting up? Are you going to go out there yourself?”

“I’m going to see for myself and decide.”

Dex followed Leo, not wanting to miss a good spectacle, at Leo’s indifferent reply.

Leo, who had come down to the garden, glanced at the direction of the marital bedroom.

‘Diana must be doing a good job.’

For the three days since Marcus started coming, Diana had been visiting Ayla and distracting her, even though she hadn’t been asked to.

So that she wouldn’t look outside, so that Ayla and Marcus wouldn’t meet.

When Dex asked why she was going so far, Diana said this.

“I wouldn’t want to see him if I were her. It’s annoying when someone’s attitude changes after finding out she’s his daughter. There’s no need for my sister to know anything unpleasant, is there?”

Diana, who had been more hostile to Ayla than anyone else, had long since become her sister.

Leo smiled at the thought of Diana, then erased his expression as he faced Marcus, who was pacing outside the main gate.

“Your Highness!”

Marcus, who had discovered Leo, approached with a bright expression.

He was blocked by the knights before he could even take a step, but he waved his hand as if he didn’t care.

Leo walked slowly, regardless. Then, standing in front of the main gate, he asked indifferently.

“Duke. Why do you keep coming to my house?”

“…It’s Ayla’s house now, too.”

“That’s the same thing. Aren’t couples one?”

Then, he lightly ignored Dex, who was coughing as if he had choked, and added casually.

“So, think of me as Ayla and speak, Duke.”

Leo crooked one corner of his mouth as if mocking Marcus, who had a blank expression.

“I don’t really want to, but I’ll allow it.”

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