Inside the carriage, a heavy silence continued between the two of them.
Theon gave a worried gaze at Ayla, who was looking out of the carriage with a blank expression.
She was the one who offered to come along in the first place, but he regretted not being more proactive in stopping her.
He couldn't figure out what she was thinking, but the expression on Ayla's face showed her confused mind.
"That's why I told you not to come…"
"…"
When he finished speaking, Theon reached out his large hand and grabbed Ayla's, which had turned white.
Ayla, who held Theon's hand, slowly lowered her eyelashes with a stiff expression on her face.
"We shouldn't have started this."
"What do you mean?"
"Ah… I think that happened to Baron Noir because of me."
"It is said that he suffered from extreme hardship in life and was drowned in debt. Don't feel guilty. He just killed himself."
Ayla took a deep breath while pressing her forehead. Theon's eyes were pitiful as he fiddled with the curly hair that flowed down over her small shoulders.
Although it was on the outskirts, the Baron's mansion was not far from the royal palace; so, the carriage, which was maintaining its speed, reached its destination quickly.
Getting out of the carriage, Ayla's body seemed to falter for a moment, but she straightened her posture.
Theon, who had come closer, supported her by the waist, and Ayla, who looked around, gently pushed him away.
"People can see us."
"You can tell me if you're having a hard time."
"This is nothing. I'm strong, so don't worry. Oh, and this…"
Ayla, who was rummaging through her pockets looking for the glass bottle she had brought from the Baron's mansion, reached out her hand towards him.
The glass bottle was so small that Theon could not see it, as it was hidden by Ayla's hand.
Theon tilted his head and looked down at the back of Ayla's white hand.
"What is this?"
In response to Theon's question, Ayla slowly opened her fist.
Theon's eyes began to turn cold when he found the small glass bottle in Ayla's hand.
"Why do you have this?"
Theon, who was keeping his cold eyes as he looked at the glass bottle in Ayla's hand, said in a low and hard tone.
Ayla's eyes trembled slightly as if she were bewildered by his appearance, which she had not seen in a while.
"In Baron Noir's mansion…"
Before Ayla could finish speaking, Theon nervously snatched the glass bottle, turned around and headed towards the royal palace. With an extremely angry expression.
Due to his incomprehensible behavior, Ayla stared at Theon's disappearing back with a blank expression on her face.
Ayla could no longer see Theon, who was maintaining a fast pace.
"He's mad at me for nothing. I did my best to bring it with me…"
A large shadow fell behind Ayla, who shook her head with a bitter smile as if trying to shake off the sudden rush of gloomy emotions.
"Going out with a maid… It's something worth seeing."
"The west palace maid, Ayla, greets the Grand Duke."
"So where did you go?"
"…"
Contrary to Kyle's low voice, Ayla was unable to find words to answer his sharp question and kept silent.
Eden, who was always with him, could not be seen anywhere.
Kyle, who was waiting for Ayla's answer, trudged towards her with a cold expression on his face.
She didn't know when she was Zenia, but at least the west palace maid, Ayla, was one of the most unpleasant and anger-inducing people to him.
And it was Ayla Serdian herself who knew that better than anyone else.
As Ayla, frightened at the sight of Kyle coming closer and closer, faltered and took a step back, a cynical smile appeared on his lips.
"His… Highness said that he needed me to attend to him."
"Don't you think the answer is wrong? I think I asked you where you went."
"…"
As Ayla reached a dead end and her body touched the cold wall, she felt goosebumps on her back.
Asking for help, Ayla turned her head to look around, but the guards were looking away, trying not to make eye contact with her.
Kyle, who came closer as if he had no intention of showing mercy, unlike last time, violently grabbed the front of Ayla's collar.
"Answer my question properly."
Ayla felt more and more power was being exerted on Kyle's large grasp, which was suffocating her.
Suddenly, Kyle's gaze was fixed on Ayla's blue eyes.
Tears welled up in Ayla's big eyes at the rushing pain.
Ayla could feel the unknown anger towards her, as Kyle pushed her even more into the corner without caring.
It didn't seem like it was just from her mistake at the banquet hall.
If that had been the case, there would be no way he would have left it alone since the last time they ran into each other.
Fortunately or not, she was able to find the answer not long after.
Kyle's dark brown eyes, which had no emotion, were trembling little by little.
"Ugh…"
"I really don't like you."
"S-stop… P… Please…"
"In particular, I hate those eyes even more. Although they shouldn't contain the likes of you, I keep thinking about them."
Kyle seemed to be angry at the traces of Zenia reflected on Ayla.
No matter how heavy the makeup and how well she dressed up, the fact that she was Zenia's true identity didn't change, so the confusion he felt was understandable.