Chapter 167

Soon after, Ayla’s gaze, which had been facing downwards, turned to the high-rising detached palace.

“Hm, looks like no one went there.”

Theon avoided exposure to an extreme degree. Thanks to this, except for only a few people, access to the detached palace was restricted.

And now that he had left the royal palace, access to the detached palace was even more restricted, so no one would ever set foot inside it.

She made the judgment that dust was slowly accumulating by now, so she hurried her steps even though she had finished her scheduled daily routine.

Pit-pat, pit-pat, swoosh!

As she approached the middle of the bridge leading to the detached palace, the dark sky gradually became cloudy, and rain finally started pouring.

Although it had a roof because it was an arched structure, the space in the middle was so wide that it was not enough to block out the rain.

“Ahh, why is it raining all of a sudden? Ugh, I’m all wet.”

Ayla, who was breathing heavily from having to run to avoid the rain, quietly grumbled. The damp feeling that covered her whole body wasn’t pleasant at all.

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing and sighed.

Because it was made of such a thin material, Ayla’s white skin was revealed under the blouse that got wet from the rain and stuck to her body.

“There’s nobody there anyway…”

Ayla, who had been muttering in a low voice that she would clean up quickly and go back, reached the end of the hallway and prepared to go upstairs. But her plan always went wrong.

Screech.

As she quietly held her breath and climbed up the stairs, she heard the familiar sound of the door behind her.

She could feel someone else’s breath at the bottom of the dark stairs. As the sound of wet footsteps drew closer and closer, the torches on the wall lit up one by one.

Soon, a familiar silhouette appeared in the blue eyes that were trembling slightly.

Thump, thump, thump. Ayla’s heart started beating fast.

***

Screech.

It was the sound of the iron door of the lower floor opening.

It may sound like an unpleasant sound to others, but Ayla was an exception.

Trudge, trudge.

After the sound of the heavy iron door, the sound of regular footsteps resounded in the quiet detached palace.

As the footsteps got closer and closer, Ayla could feel her heart beating louder and louder.

‘Did His Highness come…’

Soon afterwards, through the dark staircase, Theon’s black hair appeared.

Looking somewhat exhausted, his shoulders were wet, perhaps because of the rain that poured on his way back.

Theon’s clothes, made of thin fabric, were tightly sticking to his firm body due to the sudden rain.

Looking at his body, exposed over the wet clothes, her lips seemed to dry up with a sense of tension.

Gulp.

Ayla, who was looking at Theon, bit her lips and swallowed dry.

His heavy gaze downwards continued for a while, as if he had not yet found her.

Trudge, trudge.

Theon, who had been climbing the stairs powerlessly, felt strange and slowly lifted his head.

As soon as their eyes met, Theon, who had been showing signs of exhaustion until just now, softly raised the corners of his lips, drawing an arc.

“When did you come?”

“Just now. I was going to clean up the place before you came back… Are you back now? You’re not leaving again, are you?”

In response to Ayla’s urgent question, Theon gave a slight nod and climbed up the last remaining stairs.

As if to confirm each other’s well-being, the two looked into each other’s eyes without saying a word.

Theon, who was feeling strange because of Ayla’s wet hair, turned his eyes downwards little by little.

Her blouse, which had gotten wet from the sudden rain, was exuding a strange atmosphere.

His gray eyes fluttered slightly as Ayla’s collarbone, which stretched straight under her blouse, was subtly exposed.

“You’re all wet.”

His short words seemed to contain many words that he could not bring up.

Theon, who was continuously scanning the wet Ayla with his eyes, frowned slightly.

‘It’s difficult if you look like this.’

Trying to turn away his gaze that was fixed on Ayla, he shook his head and took a small deep breath.

The person concerned did not seem to realize it, but her soaked wet appearance was quite immoral.

Theon, who clenched his fists in order to grab hold of his lost self-control, pointed upstairs with his chin towards Ayla, as if telling her to go up.

Contrary to his efforts, Ayla’s blue eyes, which had not yet completely lost the effect of delusion, were slowly turning hazy.

***

The eyes of the two people who came upstairs were unusual.

As if they didn’t care about their wet clothes, they kept their eyes full of each other’s faces while keeping silent.

“I missed you.”

Thump.

Theon’s heart began to pound non-stop at her shy whispering voice.

After the kiss they exchanged by the window, the longing for her grew stronger and stronger.

He quietly urged Orhan, who was accompanying him, to finish the work quickly.

Orhan, who usually does not complain, said it was difficult, so it was worth knowing how difficult it was.