YWPWYLFDM 45

Chapter 45

For the first time in a long while, Roderick had been laughing heartily. But when he turned to look at Alexia after hearing her words, her expression was heavy.

It was clear whatever she had to say was something serious.

Could it be about that incident…?

The one everyone had been talking about—the incident where Byron was caught at a checkpoint but made a miraculous escape.

The rumors never mentioned Aila, but it wasn’t impossible she might be involved somehow.

“Roderick, where are you going?”

When he suddenly stood up, Ophelia tilted her head in puzzlement.

“I’ll be back soon, Ophelia.”

He purposely avoided bringing up anything about Aila.

It wasn’t certain yet. Better to hear Alexia’s account first than to blurt things out and leave Ophelia disappointed.

“All right, take care.”

Since it wasn’t unusual for Roderick and Alexia to talk privately, Ophelia didn’t suspect a thing and nodded.

Once they moved to Roderick’s study, Alexia glanced around anxiously, as if worried someone might be listening in.

“Don’t worry. There’s no one nearby.”

Only then did Alexia let out a sigh of relief and sit down. Roderick’s senses were razor-sharp; if he said no one was around, then no one was.

“…Is this about Aila?”

The moment she sat, Roderick opened the conversation himself.

“Yes, it is. A survivor from the checkpoint incident testified to seeing a girl who looked very much like Lady Aila.”

As he had suspected. From the moment Alexia insisted she had something urgent to say.

But hearing someone had actually seen his daughter made his composure waver.

“Ha…” He buried his face in his hands and let out a long sigh.

“Tell me everything.”

“Well… it’s complicated.”

Scratching the back of her head, Alexia began recounting what she’d gathered.

She was simply passing along the survivors’ testimonies, so it should have been straightforward. But it wasn’t.

Their accounts were so chaotic, even she had trouble making sense of it.

And besides, many survivors spoke as though they were praising some mythical hero, embellishing the tale with all sorts of flowery exaggerations. Repeating their words exactly would only strip the story of credibility.

“So you’re saying that child fought on Byron’s side?”

When Alexia finished, Roderick frowned, baffled.

“Yes. They say she wielded a dagger. It seems she may have learned swordsmanship from Cloud Air.”

The story made no sense at all.

Why would his daughter fight alongside Byron, against imperial soldiers?

And why on earth would Byron teach swordsmanship to the daughter of his enemy?

“But… apparently, the girl tried desperately to save the soldiers’ lives.”

Alexia continued.

This was what made it even harder to understand.

Though she had fought on Byron’s side, she had done everything she could to spare as many lives as possible.

“Byron wanted to kill them all to silence them.”

The irony was maddening.

“Oh, and… several witnesses claimed Byron’s men addressed the girl as ‘young lady.’ One even swore they heard her call Byron ‘father.’”

Young lady? Father?

Things grew only murkier. Byron having a daughter Aila’s age was unheard of.

“Perhaps that silver-haired girl isn’t Lady Aila at all, but rather his daughter…”

“No. That’s impossible.”

Roderick knew Byron too well.

Before meeting Ophelia, Byron had lived a debauched life, accepting any woman who came his way. But once he’d become obsessed with Ophelia, there was no chance he fathered a child with another.

That girl could only be Aila.

There couldn’t possibly be two rare silver-haired girls at Byron’s side.

Call it a father’s intuition if nothing else.

“That child is Aila.”

“If that girl truly is Lady Aila, then… Your Excellency…”

Alexia’s voice faltered, her eyes wide. She realized what it meant—that Aila called the man who had abducted her father.

Roderick realized it too.

Aila’s father was him. And yet his daughter was calling Byron “father.”

It made his blood boil.

But he had to endure.

She had promised she would return. That she would come back to him and Ophelia.

“So, in summary… Byron kidnapped Aila, raised her as his own daughter, and even taught her swordsmanship.”

“Yes. That seems to be the case.”

What on earth was Byron plotting?

Though his thoughts tangled, one thing was clear.

Byron was raising Aila as his daughter for some hidden purpose. Aila knew her true identity, yet kept it secret from Byron and his men.

That’s dangerous.

For now she was hiding it well. But if Byron ever found out… he might silence her permanently.

If she truly had the skill to fight soldiers without delivering fatal wounds, then wouldn’t it be better for her to escape and return to Roderick’s protection?

So he thought.

No.

Roderick shook his head.

If Aila chose to remain by Byron’s side of her own will, there must be a reason. One he couldn’t understand now, but a reason nonetheless.

Countless questions swirled in his mind.

What was Byron scheming?

Why did Aila, knowing the truth, remain with him while only leaving the promise that she would one day return?

It made no sense. Rage and frustration pressed in on him until he could hardly breathe.

He wanted to seize Byron by the collar right now and demand: What are you doing to my daughter?

But he couldn’t.

“Are you… all right, Your Excellency?”

Alexia asked gently, reading the storm on his face.

She understood him well—they’d trained together since childhood. Other than Ophelia, no one knew Roderick better than she did.

“…Yes.”

But he wasn’t fine. His head was a mess of anger, frustration, and unanswered questions.

And there was no one he could confide in.

Ophelia was pregnant. Worse, they still didn’t know why she had collapsed unconscious not long ago.

With nothing resolved, he couldn’t possibly tell her such troubling news.

He remembered how she had fallen apart when Aila first disappeared. For her sake, and the baby’s, he had to remain steady now more than ever.

To hide something from Ophelia… Can I really do it?

Even if it was for her sake, the thought of keeping such an important truth from her tore at him.

He wouldn’t even be lying—just keeping silent. Yet that alone felt unbearable.

“Alexia. It’s been a while… care for a sparring match?”

Roderick looked at her with intent.

When his head grew clouded, the best remedy was always to move his body until it dripped with sweat.

And there were few in the Empire who could match him with a sword. Alexia was one of them. And she happened to be here. It was a perfect chance.

“Eh? Oh, yes, of course.”

It wasn’t a bad proposal for her either. Crossing swords with Roderick was a rare opportunity for growth.

Still, she had a sinking feeling.

That the spar wouldn’t end until she was utterly exhausted.

And her premonition proved exactly right.

“One more round.”

Barely catching her breath, Alexia looked up to see Roderick already holding his sword again, fully recovered.

Knowing why he was pressing her so relentlessly, she sighed and forced herself to rise. She had to save her strength for swinging the blade.

Roderick struck with ferocity, and Alexia clenched her teeth to block his blows.

Only after deflecting his storm of strikes several times did he finally let her go.

“…Hah…”

Wiping the sweat streaming down his jaw, Roderick stood deep in thought.

“For now… keep this from Ophelia. At least until she delivers safely.”

“Yes, understood.”

Alexia nodded at his order. She had expected as much. Sharing such distressing news with a pregnant woman carried too much risk.

“And… we’ll need to expand the search.”

Roderick muttered under his breath.