Throughout their return to the royal palace, he kept a firm expression and remained silent.
She just inferred that the situation was serious by looking at his tightly closed lips and somber gaze.
Rattle, rattle.
Following the movement of the carriage, the bodies of the two people sitting opposite each other shook slightly.
As Ayla thought that everything would be over now, the sudden change didn't feel right.
And… she was afraid.
She felt a familiar warmth above her small hands, which she placed on top of her skirt at the unknown tension.
Ayla's blue eyes, which were facing downwards, turned to Theon.
Although Theon smiled lightly at her, as usual, he looked somehow distressed.
"Whatever happens from now on… It's not your fault Ayla, so don't blame yourself."
"…"
Not knowing what to answer to his heavy voice, she had no choice but to give a small nod.
At some point, the movement of the big carriage in which the two were riding started abating.
Theon, who got out of the carriage first, reached out to Ayla as if he was used to it now.
Immediately, a familiar scenery spread beyond Ayla's eyes.
An iron door nestled amongst the thick trees.
Trudge, trudge.
The tightly closed piece of iron opened with a screech.
Tap, tap.
Even while climbing the stairs, the two of them were silent.
They only confirmed each other's existence through the occasional breathing sound and body scent.
Soon after, their steps reached the second floor of the detached palace.
"Where are you going?"
"To the office. Mason sent me a carrier pigeon. Oh right, stay in the detached palace tonight."
Theon spoke in a low voice in response to Ayla's question. At the same time, she frowned slightly.
"In the detached palace? I'm going to go back to the maid's quarters. I don't want… people saying this and that for whatever reason."
"…"
"It won't be long before my parents come back. I want to look good. I don't want to break their hearts."
"It's because I don't feel at ease."
"… Not even Duke Daniel would have reached out to the Royal Palace. Don't worry. If you're really anxious, I'll stay with Miss Diane."
Ayla said, squinting her eyes.
"Miss Diane?"
"Yes. She has been helping me… and she is quite good at martial arts. It seems there have been some dangerous situations during the time she has been working for the community of merchants."
Ah…
A small sigh came out of Theon's mouth.
Judging from Ayla's expression, she was going to be insistent again.
Literally, it was a problem that could be solved by strengthening the guard around the maid's quarters.
As Ayla said, no matter how powerful Duke Daniel was, he was not going to take any risks inside the royal palace.
Seeing that he even put in a lot of effort and spent a lot of time poisoning the King, he was not someone who moved spontaneously.
As it was an assassination that failed once, he will move flawlessly, weighing his profits. And that meant that today was not the day for that.
Thinking that any more quarrels would be meaningless, Theon said, ‘Do it.', replying briefly.
Trudge, trudge.
Immediately, the two of them reached the end of the detached palace.
Whether he still had something to say, Theon turned to Ayla, who was following him, and hesitated.
"Do you have anything to say?"
Ayla asked, not missing his change in posture.
After hesitating for a long time, Theon slowly opened his mouth.
"Eden regained consciousness."
***
Between the randomly scattered silver hair, the equally gray eyes moved lifelessly.
Like a puppy that kept waiting for its owner, Eden, who had regained consciousness, was only looking at the tightly closed door.
A knock on the door and the metallic sound of the doorknob turning.
Every time there was a movement of medics coming in to check on Eden's condition, his eyes sparkled with anticipation. Even though the one he was waiting for did not come.
"What are you going to do now?"
Luke, who looked at him silently, opened his mouth.
Theon's orders were to protect Eden, but for Luke, Eden was a close friend and a former master.
Even if he had been away for a long time, he couldn't help worrying about his future movements.
"About what?"
Eden's eyes, which had been looking at the door, fixed on Luke.
Luke let out a small sigh at Eden's uninterested voice, as if he was talking about something else.
"I'm asking what you are going to do next. I noticed that His Highness wants you to stay…"
After he finished speaking, Luke pulled out a small chair that was placed next to the bed and sat down.
As Luke said, Theon, the Crown Prince, seemed to wish that Eden would continue his stay in the Stellen Kingdom.
It might be natural, seeing that the man who thought he was the head of the enemy country saved his life…
But Eden's thoughts were different.
As he heard, many things happened while he was unconscious.
Among them, he was happy to hear that Ayla's family had been cleared of their false charges and would regain their title, but he also felt bitter inside.
Since it also meant that he had no more chances left.
They were two people who were already growing their feelings for each other.
With all the problems solved, the natural course of things would be for Ayla and Theon to get married.
There was no reason for him to stay here.
"I have to go back."
"To where?"
"Anywhere."
Eden finished speaking and smiled bitterly, rolling up one corner of his mouth. Soon, Eden's silver eyes turned out of the window. He felt like he could jump off right away.
"If you're thinking of escaping, give it up. It will take quite a while for the wound to heal."
Luke, who had been keeping silent, spoke in a calm voice.
"I heard that there are old citizens living together at the border of Pella."
"…"
"I'm going to them. And we'll start over. I may look like this right now, but my name… it's from the royal family, isn't it?"
"It won't be easy."
"I'm willing to do it. I'm not running away anymore."
Eden grinned after he finished speaking.
***