After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 13

“Don’t tell me… it’s your first time?”

When Ayla blushed at his words, Leo let out a dry laugh. Somehow, it made him feel like the bad guy.

Suppressing the stir in his chest, Leo gave her a warning.

“If you want to stop, you can still turn back.”

“Why would you say that? What do you mean?”

“I mean that if we go any further, I won’t be able to stop. So don’t do anything you’ll regret. I won’t stop you if you choose to leave.”

“There’s no need to stop. I already told you. Tonight, you can have me.”

“You’re going to drive me crazy.”

Leo ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. His gaze deepened, becoming darker.

“You’d better be ready to take responsibility for what you just said. Let me warn you now, I don’t sleep at night. So don’t expect to rest.”

It must have been the alcohol. That was the only explanation.

But Leo, the man known as the “Slayer of the Night,” did not get drunk.

The sweetness from her body clung to him like heavy syrup.

It was a night unlike any other he had ever experienced, and because of that, it tempted him even more.

Leo’s eyelids slowly lifted.

The dim ceiling above him gradually came into focus, and his mind, once hazy, began to clear.

It felt like he had just woken up.

That shouldn’t have been possible.

Since the age of twelve, when he gained the power to survive, he had lost the ability to sleep. Whether under the blazing sun or the stars, he couldn’t rest without the help of magical artifacts.

Leo blinked in disbelief, then abruptly sat up.

“I fell asleep? Me?”

He had no idea how that could have happened.

He rubbed his temple out of habit, only to realize the constant, nagging headache he always lived with was completely gone.

His hand froze mid-motion.

Then, slowly, he turned his head to the side.

She wasn’t there.

“Unbelievable.”

He was stunned.

So that meant…

“She took me and ran?”

Now that he understood the situation, Leo let out a twisted smile.

By the time morning sunlight stretched through the windows, Leo had already showered, dressed, and was stepping out of his room, ready to enter the palace.

He walked down the quiet corridor, descending one flight of stairs. Behind him, a man followed at a respectful distance.

It was Jade, the manager of the Moonlight Manor and the head of the information guild. He had been the one who had nearly collapsed in shock last night upon seeing Leo escort a woman into his room.

“Are you heading straight to the palace?”

“That’s the plan. What about the others?”

“They arrived at dawn and are resting. Lord Dex is preparing the carriage. What about breakfast?”

“I’m not hungry. More importantly, the woman who left my room this morning.”

“Yes?”

“You found out where she went?”

There was only one reason Leo had not taken her out of the Moonlight Manor immediately.

He intended to keep her under his supervision.

Jade would have understood that. Which meant he had followed her movements.

“Of course we found out, I mean, we know where she went. But… Your Highness, you really didn’t know?”

“Didn’t know what?”

Leo stopped walking and turned to look at Jade.

Caught off guard, Jade hesitated before replying with difficulty.

“That lady is the second daughter of Marcus Everett.”

“What?”

Leo’s expression turned fierce.

“Did you say Marcus Everett’s daughter? Are you sure?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Leo let out a disbelieving laugh and rubbed his forehead. Then his face grew serious.

She had fooled him again.

At that very moment, in front of the Everett family’s townhouse.

The window of a hired carriage that had been parked there for hours slowly opened.

Ayla’s face appeared inside.

“By now, they must be in chaos.”

It was only natural. The young lady who was supposed to attend the imperial banquet was nowhere to be found.

Ayla glanced at the sky again, quietly calculating the right moment. It could not be too early or too late. Any deviation could disrupt her plan.

Just a moment ago, she had seen the carriage bearing the Esteban family crest enter the main gate. That was her cue.

“Let’s go.”

At her command, the carriage that had been waiting began to move. Her heart pounded, tangled in both tension and fear.

“You can do this. You were going to face it eventually.”

Encouraging herself under her breath, Ayla waited for the carriage to stop.

It pulled up in front of the Everett townhouse. After a deep breath, she stepped out.

She had barely taken a few steps before Rodrigo spotted her.

“My lady?”

He stood by the Esteban carriage, stunned, his gaze darting between Ayla and the cheap hired coach she had arrived in. His face quickly twisted in anger as he approached her with heavy steps.

“A hired carriage? Where were you coming from at this hour? And looking like that?”

“I was out longer than expected.”

“Out longer…?”

Rodrigo looked at her in disbelief.

Ayla tilted her chin with poise and gave him a cool smile.

“I came from the Moonlight Manor. I had a good time. Now I see why you go there so often.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean there’s no rose left for you to pluck anymore.”

Her voice remained calm as she undid the clasp of her cloak.

The garment slid from her shoulders, revealing a thin indoor dress beneath. Her collarbones and neckline were bare, and her pale skin was marked with red traces.

Rodrigo’s face turned red as he stared at the unmistakable signs.

“My lady! What have you done?”

“Exactly what you see. The Empire’s noble Blue Rose no longer exists. Perhaps it’s time you found yourself a new partner.”

Rodrigo clenched his jaw at her cutting words.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told you. I’m not going to marry you.”

He laughed bitterly.

“That kind of talk might work for a proper noble lady. But do you really think a bastard has the right to refuse the heir of a count’s family?”

Despite the threat in his voice, Ayla spoke with absolute composure.

“That’s what I’m wondering. Why would the heir of a count want to marry a bastard?”

Rodrigo drew in a sharp breath.

At that moment, a voice rang out behind her.

“Ayla Everett. What is the meaning of this?”

Marcus’s cold tone cut through the air. This was the moment Ayla had been waiting for.

She slowly turned around.

Marcus, about to leave for the banquet, was walking toward her. Claudia and Shuelle followed closely behind.

His looming figure cast a shadow over her as he shouted, his voice full of rage.

“So, this is where you’ve been, and this is how you show up? Have you completely lost your mind?”

“I told you. I was going to break off the engagement.”

“What did you just say? You still dare—”

“I’m calling off the engagement, Father. I will not get married.”

A sharp crack split the air.

A flash of light burst before her eyes.

Ayla held her cheek where the slap had landed, the sting still burning against her skin. She bit the inside of her mouth to keep from reacting.

Above her, Marcus’s voice thundered in fury.

“You have no right to decide that. How many times have I told you?”

“Lord Rodrigo wouldn’t want to marry someone like me anyway.”

Ayla forced the words out, steadying her voice despite the pain.

Marcus turned his head toward Rodrigo.

“Is that true, Lord Rodrigo?”

All eyes shifted to him.

Ayla waited, tense and silent. Her palm, damp with sweat, was clenched tightly in her skirt as her heart pounded.

But Rodrigo’s answer was nothing like what she had hoped for.

“Before I respond, I need Your Grace to make one promise.”

“A promise?”

“That you will keep everything that happened today a secret. That you will never speak of it again.”

The air grew heavy.

“The events of today, and the fact that the young lady is illegitimate. I want your word that neither will be spoken of.”

The temperature around them seemed to drop. Marcus’s presence turned cold and dangerous, his fury pressing down like a weight.

Even Rodrigo, despite being a knight, stumbled over his words under that pressure.

“T-that’s all I ask. Please, just that.”

Marcus’s voice was sharp.

“I didn’t realize you had such interest in my family matters, Lord Rodrigo.”

Rodrigo forced a laugh.

“Well, we are going to be family, aren’t we?”

Ayla’s hands curled into fists.

They were speaking as if she didn’t exist. Not a word was spoken to her, not a glance given in her direction. Neither man cared what she wanted.

Anger rose from deep within her chest.

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