Soon after, Theon took the thin blanket hanging from the sofa and put it over Ayla's shoulder.
Ayla, who had been pondering over his words, seemed to remember something and said, That', and sighed.
"We need to know the cause so we can solve it, right?"
""
"It's terrifying what could have happened if it had been someone other than me. It's fine even if it's something trivial, you can tell me."
As if reassured by his persuasive words, she could feel the tremors gradually subside.
Ayla's lips, which had been trembling, slowly opened as if she had made up her mind.
"In particular There was nothing. It was the same as usual, except that the Grand Duke played the mandolin for me."
"The Grand Duke? Mandolin?"
"Yes. It's one of Grand Duke Arrot's favorite items. I don't think there is anything other than that I don't know why I am like this."
Seeing Ayla let out a small sigh, he brushed away her flowing hair as if it were alright.
He wanted to be greedy and covet the girl in front of him to his heart's content, but now seemed not to be the time for that.
The hand that was stroking Ayla's hair stopped and he stood up while keeping his cold gaze.
"I think it would be better if you just went back now. It was raining hard, and I feel uncomfortable."
"Ah"
"If you don't want to, we can go to sleep. My bed is very spacious."
"No! I-I'm going. Hahaha. My clothes are all wet too so I should go and wash up."
Ayla, who came down from the console, smiled awkwardly and looked around.
As Ayla looked awkwardly at the mess on the floor, Theon briefly said, "Leave it.", towards her.
Ayla, who had been looking at him gesturing at her not to worry about it and just go, quickly went downstairs.
Theon's expression, as he looked at her disappearing back, hardened like ice.
"That guy that is as small as a bean played a trick on you."
Only his cold, sharp voice resounded in the detached palace filled with silence.
***
The dark interior was lit by a small flickering candle.
It was so small that he could see the silhouette of a man sitting at the table, but he couldn't make out who it was.
Ting.
The ice crashed against the crystal glass filled with the strong liquor, making a clear and cheerful sound.
Soon after, through the flickering candle, Kyle appeared to be in deep thought.
His dark brown eyes were also cold today.
No matter what he was thinking, there was no emotion on his face.
He just kept silent, pouring the bitter liquor into his mouth, without any snacks prepared.
The golden bucket filled with ice was dripping with water droplets, as if to indicate that quite a bit of time had passed.
The opaque bottle was already half gone, but Kyle's face didn't show any signs of drunkenness.
Trudge, trudge.
At the sound of footsteps coming from the end of the hallway, Kyle slowly raised his head while holding the glass of alcohol.
"The Guard Knight, Eden, greets the Commander."
Eden, who came closer, gave a royal greeting to Kyle.
"We don't need greetings between us Come and sit down. A good drink just arrived."
As if annoyed by Eden's words, Kyle raised his hand and pointed to the chair in front of him, speaking.
Eden, who had a firm expression on his face, let out a small sigh and took a seat across from Kyle.
Squeak.
Kyle, who picked up a crystal glass that had been upside down, poured the transparent liquor with a fishy smile.
He then picked up a couple of ice cubes from the golden bucket and dropped them into the glass of clear liquid.
As Kyle slowly shook the crystal glass filled with ice, it vibrated softly with a rattling sound.
Thump.
As if satisfied, Kyle put down the glass and reached out his hand towards Eden with the word Drink'.
Eden, who silently picked up the glass, turned his head and gulped down the drink that smelled of strong alcohol all at once.
Eden's empty inside burned hot as the clear liquid went down his throat with a tingling feeling.
"It tastes pretty good. I drank a lot to forget the pain from the battlefield. Maybe it's because I'm living comfortably now, it doesn't taste like that anymore, does it?"
"No way. Is there a day when alcohol doesn't taste sweet?"
Kyle's words were somewhat lonesome.
Eden raised the corners of his mouth as if he was used to his appearance now and answered slyly.
Kyle, who let out a low sneer at his words, stared at Eden with ice-cold eyes.
"What about Zenia?"
"When I got to the mansion, it was already empty."
""
"It seems that She has already gone over to Ruit."
After finishing speaking, Eden looked at Kyle's expression from the corner of his eyes.
He had recently sent Eden to the mansion across the border to bring Zenia.
Of course, it was true that the mansion was empty, but they hadn't gone to Ruit.
It was unpredictable what would happen if Kyle found out that Zenia and Ayla were the same person.