After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 29

“Bella, there’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“What is it?”

“Yesterday at dawn, you said I was lucky because I managed to grab hold of His Highness before losing him. You also said it would be safest for me to stay by his side.”

“That’s right.”

“I was just curious what you meant by that. What was your reason?”

“My reason?”

Bella tilted her head.

“Ayla, you and I were trapped in the same place. That man came looking for us later than he should have.”

“Yes…”

“That’s why I said you were lucky. You were lucky he came for you. To him, you’re something like fate, like the will of the gods.”

“The will of the gods?”

“Yes. But I cannot give you any proof. It’s just something I know.”

“Is it because you’re from the Shan tribe?”

“More accurately, it’s because of the divine punishment.”

“Why do they call it a punishment? It seems more like a blessing…”

“That’s what most people think. But look at me. What do you see?”

Bella lifted her bandaged arm playfully.
Ayla noticed the dry humor on her face and felt a wave of sympathy rise in her chest.

“That’s why we live hiding who we are. If people find out, we end up like this. With Shan people, all they need to leave intact is the mouth. That’s what they say is the best way to ‘tame a Shan slave.’ I get it, though. We don’t bow to force.”

“I didn’t know… I’m sorry.”

“It’s not something you would know. People who haven’t lived it don’t understand.”

“It must have been so hard.”

“It was. But I’m alright now. I mean, how many people are lucky enough to be rescued like I was?”

Ayla looked at Bella, who gave a wide smile and shrugged. Watching her be so strong and cheerful, Ayla’s hesitation faded, and her decision became clear.

“Bella. After I get married, I’ll be going to the North. If it’s alright with you…”

“It is.”

“What?”

“I’ll go with you. Honestly, I knew from the first time I saw you. You’re my path to survival.”

“You really think so?”

Ayla smiled softly.
She didn’t mind Bella’s bold and passionate affection.
They had only known each other for two days, but that had been enough to see that Bella was sincere and full of life.

“Alright. Then as your friend, I’ll do my best to help you live.”

“And I’ll be your strength, Ayla.”

“As a friend.”

“Yes, as a friend.”

The two girls looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Their bright voices filled the hallway, surprising the people passing by outside the room.

That afternoon.

The internal debate, now in its second day of meetings, was still going strong with sharply divided opinions.

“I’m against it. How can we let our commander marry the daughter of our enemy? What if, just saying, she stabs him in his sleep?”

“She didn’t seem like that kind of person…”

“What do you expect? Should a spy walk around with ‘I’m a spy’ written on their forehead? Maybe she’s not one now, but she could easily become one in the future.”

“Dave’s comment might sound harsh, but we cannot completely dismiss the concern.”

“Above all, the citizens of the territory will never accept it. Because of Your Highness, there is not a single person who is unaware of the Duke of Everett’s misdeeds.”

“But isn’t she the only one who can counteract Your Highness’s curse?”

“Still… surely there must be another way besides marriage.”

“My goodness. To think someone with such twisted thinking is considered a colleague. Don’t pretend we’re friends from now on, you hear me?”

“You think I’m doing this because I want to?”

Leo sighed and pressed his forehead in frustration as the meeting room descended into complete chaos.

At that moment, the doors swung open without a knock. Jade, who had gone out to investigate, returned with a triumphant look and declared loudly,

“I will handle it.”

“Jade. Is it acceptable to throw open the door without knocking?”

“Oh, I apologize. It’s become a habit.”

“You may be the commander at Moonlight Manor, but when you are in the presence of His Highness, please be more careful.”

“Yes, of course. But honestly, is there anyone here who did not realize I was about to enter?”

“Of course not.”

“Exactly. Everyone knew, so what is the point of knocking?”

Jade mumbled to himself, then continued with his report.

“In any case, Your Highness, I have confirmed it. She is not his biological daughter.”

At Jade’s words, everyone except Leo widened their eyes in surprise.

“She is an illegitimate child.”

“An illegitimate child? Not adopted?”

“Yes. I found a former servant who worked at the Saint estate about ten years ago. Back then, there were rumors that the second daughter was an illegitimate child the duchess had from an affair. Because of that, she was raised from a very young age in the annex, only cared for by a maid.”

“That alone is strange. How did someone raised like that gain the reputation she has now?”

“I found that odd too, so I looked into it. It seems Marcus Everett did not completely despise her. At some point, he began investing in her education. Whatever she wanted to learn, whether it was etiquette or anything else, he provided it without hesitation.”

Dex, who had been thinking quietly, suddenly brightened. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

“I am not sure that proves he did not resent her. Look at this.”

As Leo and the other aides turned their attention to the paper, Dex added with a clenched jaw,

“This is a clause from the marriage contract with the House of Esteban. As you can see, the Duke of Everett agreed to recommend the Esteban family’s business to the Imperial Palace in exchange for thirty percent of the profits. The dowry from the bride’s side is almost nothing. It clearly looks like a business deal disguised as a marriage.”

“This is terrible.”

“Truly awful.”

“I expected as much.”

As the others expressed their disgust one by one, Dex, now confident, spoke firmly.

“I am convinced that Marcus Everett educated her for this very reason. He really is as heartless as people say.”

“Duke Everett is definitely cold and calculating, but I am not sure I would call him heartless.”

Jade tilted his head in doubt, only to be met with a room full of sharp glares.

“Of course, he is a hardline noble. As a man obsessed with authority, he is certainly capable of doing something this cruel.”

As the others finally relaxed a little, Jade gave up with a sigh and thought to himself,

“These northern brutes are impossible to talk to. Especially…”

He cast a jealous glance at Dex, who stood beside Leo. Meanwhile, Leo was focused on following up on the tasks he had assigned to Dex.

“Did you catch that coachman?”

“Yes. We gathered him up along with the slave traders from the estate and put them all on the ship.”

“There’s no way they’ll trace it back, right?”

“Of course not. They won’t even be able to find the carriage the young lady used. We burned it for firewood.”

“Clean work. What about the Everett family’s movements?”

“They only found out this morning. I saw knights in plain clothes rushing to the temple, but obviously, they didn’t find anything.”

“Does the Esteban side know yet?”

“I doubt it. Speaking of which, what are you planning to do about the Count’s family? If we’re not careful, it could look like we’ve stolen the young lady away. That won’t end well.”

“I’ll take care of that. I know the fastest way to handle it. More importantly, what about the Count of Hanover? You contacted him, right?”

At Leo’s question, Dex sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead.

“Ugh. Just thinking about the curses, I had to endure…”

“There’s going to be a commotion.”

“The commotion already started. He’ll be arriving in a few days.”

As Dex grimaced, clearly unwilling to think about it any further, Leo casually turned his gaze out the window and shrugged.

“…We’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

The atmosphere at the Everett estate was like walking on thin ice.

More than ten servants had already been dismissed on the spot for being caught gossiping about the second daughter’s disappearance. Even Natalie, the nanny who had reigned over the household staff for years, was thrown out with nothing but the clothes on her back.

The family’s knights were doing everything they could to track the second daughter’s whereabouts, but days had passed without any progress.

To make matters even worse, it was the height of the social season, and a long string of formal gatherings had been scheduled. Under normal circumstances, they could have claimed she was away at the Saint estate. But with her wedding to Rodrigo fast approaching, even that excuse was no longer viable.

“How utterly disgraceful…”

The more Marcus thought about it, the more furious he became.

He had fed her, clothed her, and raised her for nearly twenty years. And in return, all she gave him was betrayal.

He wanted nothing more than to curse her out, but for now, finding her was the priority.

Holding a wine glass in one hand and maintaining a smiling face, Marcus silently wondered if canceling Ayla’s wedding was now unavoidable.

At that moment, a herald’s loud voice rang out clearly from the entrance to the great hall.

“His Highness, Crown Prince Leomond Zigranta, and his partner, Lady Ayla Everett, have arrived!”

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