Chapter 43……..
“Ugh, this is driving me crazy…”
Night had fallen, and after being practically locked in my room all day, I lay face-down on the bed, groaning.
The reason for this went all the way back to breakfast that morning.
After breakfast, I saw that Ayla was spending her time as usual—playing dolls with Aslan.
Although Ayla looked a little tired, she didn’t seem gloomy.
Since it wouldn’t be very mature of me to dump everything on Aslan, I decided to join in and help cheer Ayla up.
“Hey, you two playing dolls? I’ll—”
“M-Madam.”
But the moment I tried to join them, something went wrong.
As soon as Ayla saw me, she couldn’t even maintain the faint smile she’d been forcing. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Could I be the reason Ayla was crying? I had to ask.
“A-Ayla? Did I do something wrong?”
“N-no, it’s not that…”
Even though she denied it, tears streamed down her face even more.
When she finally calmed down a bit, I tried again.
“Um… Ayla. Could you tell me why you’re crying?”
“T-that’s… well… sniff.”
And just like that, her tear ducts burst open again.
That’s when I finally knew for sure—Ayla was crying because of me!
I wanted to ask properly and apologize if I’d done something wrong, but every time she saw me, she would burst into tears.
“Mom, I think Ayla cries even more when she sees you. Just stay in your room for now!”
In the end, I was forcibly separated from Ayla by Aslan’s “special measures.”
By the time afternoon snack rolled around, I decided to send Ayla a peace offering through food—an apology and a request to make up—without actually showing my face.
But the news I heard was…
“Miss Ayla didn’t touch the snack you sent. She just sat there, crying.”
At that, I felt like crying myself.
And now, at bedtime, here I was, unwashed, flopping around on my bed in silent agony.
‘How am I supposed to fix this if I don’t even know the cause…?’
Why was Ayla suddenly crying just from looking at me?
We were getting along fine before!
If I did something wrong, she could at least tell me!
Is it because she’s scared of me? But I’ve been acting like a friendly adult toward her!
Frustrated with the lack of answers, I kicked my arms and legs while lying on my stomach.
Then I heard Aslan’s voice. I hadn’t even noticed him come in.
“Mom, this is really weird…”
“Aslan?”
I jumped up and saw Aslan’s sour expression peeking out from under my messy hair.
I quickly smoothed it back with my hands and asked,
“How’s Ayla? What’s she doing?”
“She’s asleep now. I came to say goodnight to you first.”
But then Aslan’s face suddenly turned grumpy, and he stared at me for a long moment.
When I was starting to feel awkward under his gaze, he narrowed his eyes and asked,
“Mom, did you secretly do something bad to Ayla?”
I almost reflexively protested.
“I’d really like to know that myself! I have no idea what I supposedly did wrong to her!”
Being avoided without knowing why was incredibly unsettling.
But neither Aslan nor I could think of anything.
After some back-and-forth, Aslan sighed tiredly.
“Fine. I’ll ask her for you.”
“Really?”
I lit up. If Aslan asked, maybe Ayla would actually answer.
But then he planted his hands on his hips, looking stern.
“If I find out, you two have to make up. I had a really rough time today stuck between you and Ayla!”
“…Sorry.”
I really had no excuse.
Aslan must’ve been completely drained from playing mediator between us all day.
I apologized and thanked him about ten times, gave him a goodnight kiss, and sent him off to Ayla’s room.
While he was gone, I washed up, got ready for bed, and lay down.
‘Tomorrow morning, I’ll hear what Aslan found out and make up with Ayla.’
Please, tomorrow, let Ayla forgive me.
I still didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but if that sweet girl cried every time she saw me, it had to be my fault somehow.
Unable to shake the guilt, I couldn’t fall asleep easily.
Suddenly—bang—the door opened, and someone came in.
The only person who would enter my room without knocking was Aslan.
Sure enough, when I sat up to check, it was him.
“Aslan? Why are you back so—”
I got out of bed and approached him, but in the darkness, I could barely make out his tear-filled eyes.
Why was he crying?
Alarmed, I crouched down and grabbed his shoulders.
“A-Aslan! What’s wrong?”
At my touch, it was like his grief exploded. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sniffled out,
“I-I think Ayla hates me now too…!”
Even my reliable Aslan had returned in tears, leaving my mind blank and dizzy.
But as his mother, I couldn’t just lose it. I forced myself to stay composed, wiped away his tears, and said,
“No way! You and Ayla are such good friends! What did she say to make you think that?”
Sniffling, Aslan spoke haltingly.
“Sniff… When I asked if Mom had done anything wrong, she said no. But then… then… she suddenly said from today until she goes home, she’s going to sleep alone… and that neither you nor I need to pay her any attention…”
“Don’t pay her any attention until she goes home?”
It took me a long time to fully process what that meant.
By the time I understood, Aslan was already blaming himself, looking deeply hurt.
“Mom, did I do something bad to Ayla? Was it because I was feeling a bit sick earlier? Or because I groomed myself when she wasn’t looking? Or scratched my nails on a tree? Is that why she hates me?”
His eyes were wide and teary, and I hurried to reassure him.
“O-of course not! Why would you think that?”
“You said people don’t like those kinds of things. So I only did them in secret. But what if Ayla saw? Otherwise, she wouldn’t suddenly hate me like this…”
“Well…”
I honestly didn’t know, so I couldn’t answer.
Then Aslan started crying again.
“Waaah…”
Aslan was usually shameless and never blamed himself, so what on earth had happened to make him feel like this?
It must have been a huge shock to suddenly be shut out by Ayla after only a few hours.
‘Well, everyone who’s come to this mansion has always been kind to Aslan…’
For the first time, someone in his territory had rejected him.
At a loss for words, I simply picked him up and patted his back.
“There, there. It’s not your fault! Hush now.”
“Huaaah…”
“Sorry. I must’ve taught you wrong. Ayla would never dislike you for something so small, okay?”
“Hngh…”
Aslan rested his small head on my shoulder.
My arm eventually went numb and felt like it was going to fall off, but I kept holding him and comforting him until he finally fell asleep.
By the time he did, it was dawn.
Two more days until Id returns.
With Ayla in this state, I couldn’t confidently tell Id that I’d taken good care of her.
I never should’ve left this to Aslan in the first place—it was my problem to solve.
‘Alright. I’ll figure out why Ayla suddenly started acting like this and get us back to being close again.’
And I’ll get Aslan back to his cheerful self too.
In the quiet of the sleeping house, I burned with determination.
