Looking at Lily's face, Ayla answered in a despondent tone.
"I-I am doing well."
"Is this doing well? You get hurt, you fall down, and now you even get burned, I'm lying to the Prince! Please be careful. Sob, sob… It's really upsetting…"
‘I'm the one who's hurt so why are you crying.'
Standing in front of Ayla, the two acted as if they had been hurt by her.
Ayla was restless as she saw Lily sobbing, covering her face with both hands.
"Ouch!"
How much time had passed, that she could feel intense pain coming from her burned left hand.
Soon, Ayla's body trembled a little with the pain.
Owen patted Lily's shoulder a couple of times and took Ayla into the palace, hurriedly.
***
‘What's with that look…'
Having entered Owen's residence, a subtle atmosphere flowed between the two.
The sky had become quite dark, and the sunlight, which had been strongly shining down on the glass ceiling, had already turned into a sunset.
Even though she came to Owen's residence every day, she only came in the morning and during the day, so it felt unfamiliar.
Blonde hair, fluttering in the breeze coming in through the open window, and double eyelids on top of clear, big, olive-colored eyes. White skin, a sharp but soft nose, a slim jawline and appropriately thick reddish lips. Owen was a typical handsome boy.
Owen had always been charming, but his eyes looking at Ayla somehow gave off a mood different than usual.
She doesn't know if it's because he looks serious, unlike his usual mischievous appearance, but the way he looks at her… It was somewhat desirous. And uncomfortable.
Above all, she couldn't understand why he brought her to his residence.
"Ah…"
Amid the awkward atmosphere, Ayla grimaced at the pain she felt in the affected area and let out a small, pained sound.
Owen, who had been staring at Ayla absent-mindedly, opened the side table next to the bed and took out something small, as if he had come to his senses at the sound.
"Whatever you see, don't be surprised."
A small vial was in Owen's hand. How small the vial was, that his hand covered it completely.
Ayla's eyes naturally turned to the vial in Owen's hand and, checking its content, her eyes widened in surprise.
***
The Stellen Kingdom was one of the countries that regulated witchcraft and sorcery more strongly than anywhere else.
Shortly after Ayla's departure for Fencers, she heard that the corrupt sorcerers were unyielding in the Kingdom.
At that time, it was safe to say that most of the capable sorcerers were from Pella.
As the number of sorcerers increased rapidly, the country of Pella gave them a certain mission and sent them as spies to the neighboring countries; and, among them, the Stellen Kingdom was the place with the most influx of sorcerers.
The sorcerers from Pella, who had been secretly hiding their identity at first, extorted the commoners of their property and harassed the women and children as time went by. Daily life was collapsing.
The nobles knew their evil deeds, but the sorcerers gave them so many advantages that, whether the lives of the commoners collapsed or not, they were busy taking care of themselves only.
Grand Duke Todd Ermedi, who was the Crown Prince at that time, recognized the seriousness of the situation and implemented a large-scale policy.
The sorcerers who did not cooperate with the Kingdom were all terribly killed by the Archmages affiliated with the Royal Palace.
While all of the surviving sorcerers belonged to the Royal Palace and could only move within the regulations and control of the Stellen Kingdom, new sorcerers were able to train only if they too had the approval of the Kingdom.
Only the King and successor of the Stellen Kingdom could know who they were, where they were, and what they were doing.
Due to the strong policies, witchcraft and sorcery naturally decreased in the Kingdom.
Honestly speaking, it was an implicit ban.
Most people didn't even try to do it, nor wanted to do it, because anyone knew well the results that followed.
In front of her eyes, Ayla was seeing an item that absolutely shouldn't exist in a place like this.
"Th… This…"