Chapter 134

When she heard the door, Ayla, who only moved her eyes to look at the person who entered, frowned slightly.

Soon, Theon appeared through the open door with a firm expression on his face.

Beyond Theon’s field of view, Ayla was seen sighing with her head bent down.

Her droopy shoulders, as if she had given up hope, were pitiful.

Creak.

Theon pulled out the table chair that was next to her and sat quietly.

Feeling his gaze, Ayla swept her hair up and spoke.

“Things are totally messed up… I never imagined that the Grand Duke would be such an obsessive man.”

“…”

“He said he’s going to kill my lover who doesn’t even exist. At this rate, I don’t know if I really will be able to get married and die.”

As if sensing a heavy atmosphere, Ayla uttered a joke mixed with a faint smile.

Despite her efforts, Theon’s hardened face showed no sign of improving.

‘It must be because of Delia…’

The ardent romance between the three of them was well known.

It was a fight between two brothers over a woman, and there was nothing better to talk about other than this. Not only that, how it ended was also a tragedy among tragedies. Thanks to this, the rumors surrounding them had grown bigger and spread through the kingdom and neighboring countries.

The degree of the dirty rumors surrounding Delia was so high that they even reached the ears of the young Ayla.

Ayla, who had known Delia since childhood, couldn’t even count how many quarrels she had with her Fencers’ classmates, who talked about those absurd rumors.

Despite Ayla’s efforts, Delia’s death acted as a way to acknowledge everything that had been rumored between the three of them. At the same time as the news of Delia’s passing, the rumors surrounding them grew even more rampant. And cruel.

She only had to pretend to be a princess, how did she get dragged into a factional strife between brothers… For a moment, she was annoyed.

She doesn’t know if he had remembered Delia, but Theon’s dark expression, which seemed like he carried all the world’s problems alone, was annoying and displeasing.

What happened to Delia was regrettable and sad, but to be honest, she was the one who was going to die right now.

If Kyle’s proposal were rejected as it is, it was obvious that Zenia, who wasn’t even a person sent from Ruit, would be thoroughly investigated. It was only a matter of time before her identity was revealed.

Although she accepted the proposal, she wasn’t sure for how long she could keep up the play.

Everything was a problem.

Literally, she was in a situation where she couldn’t do anything.

As if thinking of a way, Ayla closed her eyes and kept silent.

A long silence flowed between the three of them starting from Ayla; and Theon, who had been hesitating, slowly opened his mouth and broke the silence.

“We have to reveal… That you’re a fake.”

“Don’t say nonsense. Baron Noir will come tomorrow, and he will bring a lot of tribute, so we can’t do that.”

Theon thought that he couldn’t be dragged around by Kyle like this.

Rather, he decided that it would be wiser to reveal everything and admit the failure of the job.

Contrary to his expectation that she would naturally accept it, Ayla was determined.

As if taken aback by Ayla’s attitude of refusal, Theon’s gray eyes shook slowly.

She accepted the job in the first place because she could not overcome Theon’s pestering, but she didn’t have any responsibility.

He was afraid as he thought that Ayla might be the one to take all the damage, even though he did all the planning and execution.

“My Brother isn’t as good-natured as you think. If he wants to have something, he will have it somehow, regardless of the means and methods. Just like that nonsense he said a while ago.”

“Let’s put up with it for now. That is the only way. We will die anyway so we must get what we are trying to get. The Grand Duke… I’m bewildered because it’s totally unexpected, but, in the end, our goal are those guys. We cannot stop here.”

“…”

“A lot of people are involved in this. I can’t give up everything just because I want to live. With that being said, there is also no guarantee that I will live…”

Orhan’s eyes reddened at Ayla’s words, as if she had truly become Princess Zenia.

Ayla smiled prettily at him and gestured as if telling him to stop. A deep sigh escaped Theon’s mouth as he looked at them.

“Like Count Serdian, your stubbornness is not ordinary.”

Theon, who had been muttering to himself in a voice that was barely audible, frowned and shook his head.

Soon after, Ayla, who was drooping over the table, stretched out her arms lethargically, picked up the neatly placed ring box, and opened it.