Chapter – 79
A chill ran down Asily’s neck, and her shoulders twitched slightly.
Ludwig pressed his hand slowly along the line from her head to her neck and whispered,
“Just lean back.”
The languid voice rolled into her ears, and immediately, Asily’s shoulders went limp.
At the same time, Ludwig subtly moved her out of the Crown Prince’s line of sight.
As Asily melted softly in Ludwig’s arms,
“So that’s the method.”
The Crown Prince, half in admiration, half in exasperation, looked around for Asily, who had already disappeared from view.
Just before summoning everyone from the two families involved in this incident to deliver a judgment,
‘I have a method,’ Asily’s mother of the child raised her pale, slender hand amidst the heated argument between Heidel and the Crown Prince about the question of the child’s mother.
‘Asily? Could it be that her foster mother…?’
‘No, Asily must have been born…’
The temporary lull caused by Asily’s gesture was quickly reignited when Lamia suddenly shouted,
“Quiet! The judgment has to come from that person! ”
Her chin pointed toward Ludwig, who covered Asily’s hand with his own.
“What she says will become my word.”
In the end, they left without knowing what method she intended or what judgment she would render.
When she was told to split the child, what had gone through her mind?
No, not even her mind—it had gone completely blank; she couldn’t think at all.
Who in the world would give such a command in front of the child’s mother?
For a moment, the clear blue of Asily’s eyes, as she stared directly at the child, seemed almost inhumanly transparent.
Surely she wasn’t the only one to think so.
And then came the sequence of events that followed.
Who could have guessed it?
Who could have imagined it?
To decide the fate of the child—a point of contention between two fiercely opposed families—so cleanly and indisputably…
“Split the child in half,”
The Crown Prince muttered repeatedly, recalling the moment, while Asily exhaled a long sigh with her eyes closed.
“Can I just faint now?”
“If that’s what you want, gladly.”
The dry voice sounded so sweet it made Asily’s tongue tingle, and she pouted playfully.
“You always say I can have whatever I want.”
Ludwig furrowed his brows, stifled a laugh, and kissed the crown of her head.
“Because it’s true.”
Asily opened her eyes and turned toward him.
Just as she was about to speak—
Bang!
The door swung open violently, as if it would fall off its hinges, and Heidel appeared, carrying all sorts of bottles of alcohol in both hands.
“To a toast! Asily? Asily, where are you!”
Asily scowled but couldn’t help laughing, waving her hand lightly as she slipped out of Ludwig’s arms.
“Brother, over here.”
Heidel dropped the bottles carelessly and rushed toward her.
“Well, well, isn’t this my little sister! It’s my sister!”
He exaggeratedly examined her from head to toe and then, as always, hugged her tightly as if he were going to crush her.
“Ah, brother! Stop! I can’t breathe!”
Ludwig pulled Heidel away by the back of his neck, stopping him from overwhelming her.
The Crown Prince, witnessing Heidel’s intense affection for Asily for the first time, evaluated the scene with a hint of reluctance.
“The Duke seems to really care for Asily.”
“It’s not that he cares; he cherishes her immensely. She’s my sister, after all.”
The Crown Prince took this as a warning not to pry further into Asily’s affairs.
“Hmm… Bolsheike, huh.”
Of course, Heidel’s words wouldn’t stop him from investigating further, but at least the thought that Asily was a Bolsheike vanished.
And a new question arose instantly.
The Asily Bolsheike who appeared overnight like a cliff—everyone knew she had appeared, but no one knew where she came from.
No, perhaps not no one.
There was one person who must know.
The one who held her hand, embraced her, and kissed her cheek.
Ludwig Callient.
At that moment, the Crown Prince felt a gnawing, monstrous jealousy.
The fact that Ludwig knew while he didn’t made him furious.
Whether it was envy at what he could not have, inferiority, or—like he had admitted—a love for Asily, all these emotions churned inside him like a tidal wave.
When the Crown Prince fell silent, Heidel raised both arms toward Asily and shouted,
“The whole empire, no—the whole continent—should know about my sister who drove away the warlike aura from the North!”
“No, it doesn’t have to be known by everyone…”
Heidel, ready to snuggle Asily again, raised his palms in surrender.
Ludwig’s pale sky-blue eyes were calmly fixed on him.
“Alright, alright. Don’t throw me to the ground like that guy earlier. That one deserved it, though.”
After teasing the person who had rushed at Asily and been thoroughly punished by Ludwig, Heidel asked,
“Seriously, does this mean the North will stabilize now?”
“It’s too soon to conclude that, but at least the first step has been taken.”
The conflict began over which family would take the child. Now that the decision was made, there should be no further dispute—but worldly affairs rarely fit neatly like knife-cutting butter.
“We’ll have to watch the situation, but with the immediate cause gone, the chance of war is slim.”
“That’s not trivial. Trade routes will reopen too.”
“There are still pretexts left, so it won’t recover so easily.”
“How long can the North block the Empire, its largest market?”
At this point, the Crown Prince might have intervened, but instead, he remained silent.
Picking up the most expensive bottle Heidel had brought, his eyes followed the tired Asily, her lips tinged purple, as she drank the refreshingly crisp wine Ludwig had passed her.
Suddenly, Asily smiled.
A smile with no particular reason.
Not dazzling like the sun, nor blindingly bright, nor crystal-clear.
Not even directed at him.
Simply peaceful, perfectly warm, and her eyes—as always—were on Ludwig.
But in that instant, the Crown Prince clutched his chest.
He realized where his hand had been, rubbing his chest unconsciously as he gazed at her.
“Hah…”
A bitter laugh escaped.
A woman who makes the heart race.
If not such a woman, he would not keep her by his side.
The Crown Prince choked back a grimace, drinking directly from the bottle, but could not tear his eyes from Asily.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Asily was too tired to notice his burning gaze, as she sipped the wine Ludwig had casually offered.
“You know…”
“Huh?”
Lamia suddenly appeared right in front of her, eyes sparkling.
“How did you come up with that idea?”
Lamia leaned forward eagerly, curiosity and excitement impossible to hide.
Reflexively, Asily brushed Lamia’s forehead, then quickly pulled her hand back in surprise.
“I didn’t do it.”
Lamia pressed her little head closer and said,
“Well then, tell me! If it wasn’t you, who was it? Did something like this happen before? Or something similar?”
With the torrent of questions and the little head poking forward, Lamia seemed as excited as a child.
Almost reflexively, Asily smoothed Lamia’s soft hair and began to speak.
“In a book I read before, there was someone named Solomon…”
After recounting everything she knew about Solomon, Lamia finally smiled, thoroughly satisfied.
“That was so much fun!”
Her small shoulders bounced like a cat ready to purr, then suddenly she exclaimed,
“I have to write it all down! Let’s see… Sol-om-on, Sol-om-on!”
No one stopped Lamia from humming a tune about Solomon as she left the room.
No one even thought to.
A quiet settled over the remaining four. Heidel, mouth agape, finally exhaled and said,
“In my life, that old man enjoying himself like that? This is only the second time I’ve seen it.”
“The first time was… never mind.”
Asily shook her head at the question, noticing Heidel’s expression subtly shift.
“Strange…”
The Crown Prince, watching where Lamia had disappeared, muttered,
“Writing it down? Wasn’t what Asily told you already a record in the Bolsheike family?”
Heidel answered immediately, as if to clarify,
“The records of the Bolsheike family cannot be handed to anyone else.”
“Ah… I see.”
The Crown Prince nodded without suspicion, but Asily had to swallow hard to steady her racing heart.
