Looking at Luna drinking tea with a relaxed expression, Ayla somehow felt a little irritated.
She couldn’t explain why. Was it because she got caught up in Luna’s words and, at some point, became completely engrossed in the conversation without realizing it?
Luna, who had talked about a first love that never came to be, was now drinking tea with an utterly indifferent expression. It was enough to make Ayla doubt whether the story was even true.
If she really wanted to know, Ayla had the ability to find out.
“Tell me if it’s true or not. That’s an order.”
One sentence would be enough.
“……”
Of course, there was no way Ayla would issue such a command during an ordinary tea time.
As she picked up her teacup like Luna, Ayla suddenly realized what that feeling stirring inside her was.
It was probably jealousy.
Feeling jealous over a woman—no, over a woman talking about a man she once liked—was a strange thing.
If she told someone about it, they would probably ask if she had lost her mind.
But if she had to find a reason, she could think of one.
Luna was one of the very few people who had gotten close to Ayla.
When Ayla acted sharp and cold, most nobles would give up on talking to her altogether.
After all, wasn’t Ayla just the daughter of Baron Reedbury?
There weren’t many nobles who would keep trying to talk to someone they couldn’t gain anything from by befriending.
If someone approached her first, trying to flatter her, there might be nobles who would tolerate their presence for the sake of vanity.
But Ayla was not the type to do such things.
That meant Luna had approached Ayla on her own accord, endured her sharp demeanor, and stubbornly stayed by her side.
And then, those eyes.
Because of the rare color of Luna’s eyes, which coincidentally matched someone else’s, Ayla couldn’t help but recall a certain person every time she looked at Luna.
“Ayla-nim.”
“……Yes?”
Lost in thought, Ayla snapped back to reality at Luna’s words.
“Do you have something on your mind?”
“No, not really.”
Ayla quickly collected her dazed expression and returned to her usual composed demeanor.
That made sense.
Wasn’t it that age?
Just as Ayla had experienced her first love, Luna might have had hers around the same time.
The stories overlapped in strange ways.
Ayla, too, had enjoyed sparring with that person using swords, just like Luna had.
“…Huh?”
And as Ayla recalled that much, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Luna. The person you loved… was a man, right?”
“……Ayla-nim. If you fell in love with someone, what would you do? Wouldn’t you imagine spending your whole life with them? Even if that possibility was nearly impossible?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Ayla hadn’t completely avoided such thoughts before.
She couldn’t quite remember how deeply she had yearned for it.
But she had definitely thought that being with him would be fun.
On the last day, when he asked her to run away together.
Even though she knew it would end in misfortune, Ayla always believed that at least for that brief moment, they would have been happy.
And he must have thought the same.
That must be why he had asked her.
“Ayla-nim, is there any way for a woman to marry another woman?”
“No, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Would it be possible?
If it were, surely there would have been cases of women getting married.
Or even men marrying other men.
Not simply for love.
After all, the main reason male and female nobles married was for power and wealth.
If that were the case, same-sex marriages could have been an extension of that.
But since such cases had never been heard of, it was probably impossible in this country.
“There was a time when I faintly hoped I could marry my first love.
Of course, there was a difference in social status, so I didn’t hold onto that thought for long.
But maybe that’s why I trained so hard in swordsmanship.”
“Is that so?”
Ayla let out a small sigh.
That made sense.
There was no real basis to assume they were related or knew each other.
It was just that the story felt too similar for it to be a coincidence.
But still…
Or maybe it was Ayla herself who wanted to believe it was similar.
Perhaps Luna had once been in a similar position to Ayla.
If she knew about the existence of a count, then Luna might have been the illegitimate daughter of a noble, too.
Maybe, until the last moment, she had been considered as a marriage candidate,
But in the end, Ayla had taken that position first.
Yes. Ayla had taken it.
And that was the end of that story.
Meeting the mysterious Luna had allowed the Count’s family to return to normal,
So maybe they wouldn’t have to deal with interference from other nobles in the future.
But that relationship had ended long ago.
But he was gone.
If he saw Ayla now, what would he say?
He would definitely not have anything good to say.
After all, she had ignored his final emotions, his resolve, and left.
In the end, Ayla married the Count.
She had used the excuse that she was pushed into it, over and over.
“……”
Ayla drank the rest of her tea.
The tea was bitter.
Outside the window, the sun was slowly setting.
Since then, I had spent several more moments like this with Ayla.
I had considered bringing dolls or seating a few other maids with us in case more people joined.
—The shadow refused, and the other maids knew too many of my weaknesses.
If I talked about my past, they would surely smile warmly and stare at me.
I didn’t really want that kind of atmosphere.
As a result, that time became something just for the two of us.
Even aside from sword training, I was grateful to have such a peaceful time.
We didn’t only talk about personal matters.
No matter what, I couldn’t reveal too much about myself.
Instead, we talked about other things.
Stories about the creatures in the Witch’s Forest.
A few light secrets I had heard from the shadow.
And stories about the Empress.
Perhaps Ayla’s heart had softened a little as I gradually shared bits of my past.
As she listened, her expression slowly became gentler.
“Ayla-nim.”
It had been three days since then.
There was still no word that the Empress was coming.
I didn’t know if it was because the storm hadn’t yet arrived or if she had withdrawn for some reason.
I hadn’t bothered asking the shadow, and since he didn’t think it was serious, he hadn’t brought me any information either.
That meant I still had a little more time to peacefully resolve certain matters.
“Are you interested in dolls, by any chance?”
“Dolls? Luna, are you seriously asking me that?”
“Yes. I am serious.”
“Do I look like someone who would play with dolls? After all the time we spent swinging swords together?”
“Even if you didn’t play with dolls as a child, I thought you might still have some interest.”
“Luna, then what about you?”
“I have no interest.”
“Neither do I.”
“I see.”
As I hesitated, looking slightly troubled, Ayla stared at me.
“Is there a reason I should like dolls?”
“It’s not about playing with dolls. I was considering how to help you and Lady Saila have a conversation.”
“…Ah.”
This time, I stared at Ayla.
“Ayla-nim, I assume you haven’t forgotten the deal we made.”
“O-Of course not. I just didn’t think you were taking it this seriously.”
“I always strive to maintain a serious attitude toward you, Ayla-nim.”
“…That’s what you call being serious?”
I didn’t respond to Ayla’s last remark and fell back into thought.
Then, she asked again.
“Are you trying to gain Saila’s attention?”
“Yes. Lady Saila enjoys attention directed at her.”
She was still just a child.
Not particularly mature for her age.
Having lived almost alone in a mansion where no one paid attention to her, she was suddenly surrounded by people who cared.
“Lady Saila is still at the villa.”
“…”
“Even if you can’t become very close, at least reaching a point where staying in the same building isn’t uncomfortable would be a good start.”
“I see.”
Ayla nodded seriously.
“Alright then. I’ll try to take an interest in dolls.”
“Yes. But pretending to be interested too forcefully might have the opposite effect.”
“I’ll be careful about that.”
“Understood.”
I stood up from my seat.
“Shall we go to the villa now?”
“Now?”
“Of course. If you don’t act when you’ve made up your mind, you might never be able to.”
That was how it had been for me.
When Ayla refused, I hadn’t asked again if she truly didn’t need help.
In the end, she became a noble and got married.
Though that marriage ended before it even began.
Ayla thought for a moment, then stood up to follow me.
“Alright. Let’s go now. The sun hasn’t set yet, after all.”
“There’s no guarantee we’ll succeed on the first try.”
“I’m prepared for that. Besides, things can’t really get much worse than they already are.”
Ayla lifted her chin.
I nodded.
“That’s the spirit, Ayla-nim.”
“…Hearing that from you feels strangely odd, Luna.”
With a conversation that felt somewhat like a joke, we left the room.