Clank.
The day Lily accidentally broke a valuable drink she was going to serve to a customer.
Lily's face turned into tears when she saw the broken glass bottle. A dark shadow fell over Lily's head as she knelt down to clean the messy floor.
The angry man grabbed her with his tough-looking hands and took her to the back of the tavern, blurting out harsh insults.
After throwing the small, fragile woman around, the man continued to punch and kick Lily mercilessly.
Hearing criticism of being a useless bitch, a dirty whore, and a bitch obsessed with men, she felt it had been a really long time since she had been beaten to the brink of death.
When Lily's face and body were all covered with blood to the point where it was hard to see the color of her skin, her father, who came to his senses just then, said the same thing he did before.
I did it because I love you. Because you can't make mistakes in other places.'
Leaving a ridiculous remark, the man hurried into the tavern, saying that he had to receive the customers.
Her body ached so much from all the beating that she couldn't even move, so she even thought that it would be better if her life ended like this.
It was then, when she was in such pain that she couldn't even make a sound and lay in the street for a long time, whimpering.
"You A-Are you alright?! Who did this to you? What is your name? No, more importantly Mattel!! Please call a medic here!!"
The day the emotion called love' came to her too.
It was the day she met that person, who treated her like a human for the first time.
***
Lily didn't even move, as if time had stopped.
Ayla passed by Lily as she was because she wasn't kind enough to consider her feelings.
Ayla, who had been panting for a while, turned around a corner and collapsed.
Being betrayed by someone she trusted was harsher and more difficult to accept than she thought.
A shadow fell over Ayla's head, who was hiding in the corner and wiping away her tears.
Ayla's gaze, which had been facing downwards, slowly turned upwards.
"Ayla? What are you doing here?"
Above her head, Owen was looking at her, clearly surprised.
"Grand Duke Arrot?"
"Yeah, it's me. It's me, so don't worry. For now Huh Don't cry, hm Yeah, for now, stop crying and take a slow, deep breath, Ayla."
"It's Nothing. You don't have to worry about it."
Unlike the bewildered Owen, Ayla struggled to brush it off, as if nothing had happened, and get up, but her face was already a mess.
What do you mean it's nothing.'
Owen, who looked at Ayla with worried eyes, remained silent.
""
"I'm really fine. Don't worry and go inside."
Owen had the usual playful expression on his face at Ayla's awkward smile, as if he had never done so.
"Did you trip over a stone or something? That's because you weren't careful. How much did it hurt, that your eyes swelled up like this? Hahaha, Ayla! You're really like a carp! Do you know how funny you look right now?"
"I know, right It hurt so much that tears came out."
"Haha, the carp in the pond is asking me to be friends. This is a spectacle. Should I help you? Can you walk?"
Owen giggled as if something was so funny, and even teared up.
"Yes, this is nothing. I'm fine."
Ayla grinned in response to Owen's playful attitude.
Owen, who had been throwing silly jokes at Ayla, said, Alright then, go on.', and turned around.
As he turned his body, his expression was stiff, unlike just a moment ago.
Owen, who turned his head slightly to look at Ayla, took a quick step with clenched fists.
***
"Why did you come to such a shabby place"
Rose was clearly taken aback by the unexpected visit.
She had been organizing the data about the maids working at the royal palace, after her daily tasks.
Even though she was not happy to see the person who came without making an appointment, she smiled softly.
"I need to talk to you about something."
"Hm Looks like the talk is going to be long. I'll serve some tea. Please stay here for a moment."
Rose went into the small pantry on one side of the room and lifted a small kettle of water with a familiar gesture.
As the water boiled, making a loud noise, she poured the water into a teacup with tea leaves and quickly made the tea.
Tap, tap.
Rose, who had poured all the tea in an instant, came out holding a tray with teacups on it.
Rose and Louis sat down and sipped their tea while facing each other, without saying anything.
As the heavy silence continued between the two, Rose put down the teacup she was holding and looked at Louis.