CHAPTER 90……………………………….
When Minerva hurried to the Grand Duke’s castle, it seemed the situation had already been resolved. Priscilla greeted her calmly.
“Your Highness, you’ve arrived.”
“Lady Priscilla, I heard Aslan was kidnapped…?”
Where was Aslan? Minerva anxiously looked around, but Priscilla calmly explained the situation.
“Lord Aslan is resting in his room. The kidnapper has already been imprisoned.”
“Ha…”
Only then did Minerva’s tension melt away — as if the tightly drawn string throughout her body had finally snapped.
Thanks to Lloyd supporting her, she barely managed not to collapse.
“I owe you a great debt.”
“It wasn’t me — Ayla reacted much faster.”
Priscilla… praising someone else?
Minerva and Lloyd both thought they’d misheard.
“Aslan’s safety is thanks to Ayla. She immediately ordered the gates closed and commanded a search.”
Next to Priscilla, Ayla fidgeted shyly.
Minerva turned to her in surprise.
She knew Ayla was intelligent, but she hadn’t expected such levelheaded judgment from her.
Minerva crouched down to meet Ayla’s eyes — and then suddenly pulled her into an embrace.
Ayla froze, startled by the unexpected hug.
“…!”
“Ayla, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Aslan might have…”
Minerva’s body trembled slightly.
Ayla realized Minerva must have been terrified too, and gently hugged her back.
“No, it was my responsibility to begin with…”
“Your responsibility?” Minerva drew back, puzzled.
Ayla lowered her head, trying to hide the guilt in her eyes.
“Aslan said he wanted to go to the annex. Even though Mom and Dad said no, he seemed sad, so… I begged the knights with him.”
It was hard to imagine Ayla being stubborn with the knights — but if both children had insisted, there was little the adults could’ve done.
It was Minerva’s fault, really. She hadn’t warned the children there might be an intruder, not wanting to frighten them.
Minerva shook her head with a heavy sigh.
“It wasn’t because of you, Ayla. Don’t hold that in your heart. You protected Aslan — thank you for that.”
She hugged Ayla again, tightly.
When she stood to go, Ayla tugged on her sleeve.
“Um… but I think Aslan’s really sick.”
“Aslan?”
Minerva’s face tightened with new worry.
Had Archibald given him something suspicious? She waited anxiously for Ayla’s next words.
“Yes. He had a fever. The doctor said he only inhaled a sleep-inducing scent, but I’m sure…”
Minerva touched her earring thoughtfully.
That strange power in the Thousand-Year Tree Forest — it had definitely come from Aslan.
Could that be the cause?
She rose to her feet.
“All right. I’ll go check on him. You must be tired too, Ayla — go rest.”
“Yes.”
Minerva turned to Priscilla.
“Thank you, Lady Priscilla. I’ll go see Aslan now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Duke, please take Ayla upstairs.”
“Yes. Please hurry, Your Highness.”
Once Minerva had entrusted Ayla to Lloyd, she left quickly.
The lobby, now empty except for Lloyd and Priscilla, fell into silence.
Lloyd, feeling uneasy, was about to leave as well.
“Ayla, let’s go too.”
“Yes, Dad.”
Just as Ayla took his hand—
“Lloyd. You and I need to have a little talk.”
Priscilla’s calm voice froze him in place.
And the look in her eyes — bright with amusement — made him even more uneasy.
Her gaze lingered on Ayla, unwavering.
Both Ayla and Lloyd tensed.
“Ayla is far more remarkable than I expected. I was planning to leave soon… but I’ve changed my mind.”
No…
Lloyd’s throat tightened as Priscilla’s lips curved into a knowing smile.
“I’d like to stay in this castle for a while… to teach Ayla.”
“Mother!”
Lloyd burst out.
“Not Ayla! I told you before — absolutely not!”
The veins in his fist bulged, though he was careful not to tighten the hand holding Ayla’s.
Priscilla’s eyes swept over them both — Lloyd and the girl clinging to him — with cold amusement.
Having something to care about was good… unless it defied her will. Then it needed to be cut out from the root.
Her eyes glimmered condescendingly.
The tension between them was so thick no one would dare step between — until, finally—
“Please wait, both of you!”
Unable to stand it any longer, Ayla slipped her hand free and stepped between them.
Their gazes dropped to the small figure below, and the suffocating air softened slightly.
Ayla looked up at both adults and pointed out what they’d misunderstood.
“Mom said if I want to take lessons, I can — and if I don’t, I don’t have to. Mom’s the highest authority here, so I’ll listen to her.”
“What?”
Priscilla and Lloyd’s expressions shifted in opposite directions.
But Ayla wasn’t finished.
“I do want to study. But first, I want to talk with Lady Priscilla. After that, I’ll decide.”
Her sky-blue eyes met Priscilla’s icy ones head-on.
Priscilla’s lips stiffened with displeasure.
“My teachings aren’t something you can receive so easily. And you think you can decide that?”
“My time isn’t something I give away easily either. I’m the Grand Duchess’s daughter — and now, the Princess’s daughter too.”
Ayla had long been curious.
Whispers of the former Grand Duchess’s arrival had quietly spread among the servants.
Yet neither Minerva nor Lloyd ever mentioned Priscilla in her presence — as if they didn’t want Ayla to meet her grandmother at all.
Her instincts told her something had happened between them.
So she wanted to talk — and if Priscilla turned out to be a villain who tormented Lloyd, Ayla would drive her out herself.
Priscilla examined her closely.
Despite standing up to her, Ayla’s gaze was steady, her small fists unshaking.
A spark of intrigue softened Priscilla’s lips.
“Far better than Lloyd ever was,” she thought.
The irritation she’d felt moments ago vanished.
She was quite pleased.
“Very well. Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk first — then decide.”
“Yes.”
Priscilla turned, and Ayla started to follow. But Lloyd snapped out of his daze and shouted—
“Ayla!”
At his desperate call, she stopped and looked back.
Ayla didn’t know what kind of person Priscilla truly was.
She didn’t know what Priscilla had done to him in the name of “education,” or that she was the one who’d hired the abusive tutor.
How much should he tell her?
He couldn’t even form the words — when Ayla looked at him knowingly.
“It’s okay, Dad.”
Her eyes said she already understood.
“Dad, I’ll see you soon. Please rest.”
And with that, Ayla followed Priscilla out.
Lloyd could do nothing.
Pathetic.
He lowered his head — the crimson carpet beneath his feet stirring up old memories.
The scene from that day replayed vividly in his mind.
But when he imagined Ayla in his place that day, his head snapped up.
They were already gone.
No. Not Ayla. Never Ayla.
He hadn’t brought her here to turn her into what he’d been.
Realizing too late, Lloyd broke into a run.
