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Chapter 11
Thanks to the attendant opening the door for her, Ayla was able to step inside with the tray in her hands.
Paracel rose from his seat and took it from her. Inside were the iced tea he liked, and the herbal tea Helen preferred.
“I thought you might get thirsty since you started talking right away…”
Paracel looked at his younger sister, who was fumbling with her words.
Her short brown hair was awkward, yes—but her round forehead was rather cute, her blue eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were plump.
Wait a second… isn’t she actually pretty?
Because of Mother’s endless comments—“Poor Ayla, so plain and unattractive”—his image of her had always been that of a hopeless child.
Well, blood doesn’t lie, does it?
Finding his own thought amusing, Paracel chuckled, leaned down, and matched her eye level.
“Sorry I snapped at you earlier, Ayla. That was my fault.”
Ayla’s eyes grew wide.
“Surprised you, huh? You know… this haircut doesn’t look so bad the more I see it.”
He reached out and ruffled her hair. Short hair made it easier to pet, he thought.
His little sister gave a bashful laugh—“Ehehe.”
…Huh?
Something thudded hard in Paracel’s chest.
What the—she’s adorable.
Having always lived under the shadow of his domineering elder sister, Paracel felt as if a new world had opened before him at the sight of his younger sister’s smile.
Helen, as if reading his heart, spoke up.
“See? Cute, isn’t she?”
“Uh—yeah. She is cute.”
Helen turned to Ayla, whose face was full of bewilderment.
“I told him our little sister was cute. But he acted like he didn’t believe me.”
“No, really—I just realized it now. My sister’s actually adorable.”
Ayla didn’t know what to make of it all. Were they teasing her? Being serious? She fidgeted in confusion.
Paracel spoke again.
“You didn’t bring anything for yourself? Let’s have some together.”
“N-no, I’ll call for it!”
She tugged the bell rope to summon a maid and ordered a drink for herself. The three of them then sat down in Paracel’s drawing room and shared refreshments.
For Ayla, it was a first. She was nervous, but there was also something new and tender in the air.
I never knew brother and sister could get along like this.
They really looked like a proper family. And now, she was part of it too.
That alone made her heart flutter strangely, warm and fizzy, as though something bubbly were tickling her chest.
That day, Ayla heard the words “You’re so cute” more than she had in her entire life. Her face burned hot as she eventually excused herself from the room.
The Sage’s Lessons
The sage’s classes were held at a villa near the capital. By the time Ayla departed, her trunk of dresses had grown into an entire luggage load.
Helen regretted losing her precious “Encyclopedia Solarlune Ayla,” but satisfied herself by working Paracel to the bone instead.
It was Ayla’s first time being sent off with her family waving in farewell. She kept waving out the carriage window until they had long disappeared from sight.
Only after she settled into her seat did it hit her: in just a few days, she would see the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince…
In her memories, he wasn’t even that significant.
Well, sure, he killed me… but he hardly ever appeared in society. Everything was handled by the Crown Princess, so there was no real reason for us to cross paths.
If anything, she remembered hearing they got along well. Luca had once sighed: “The Crown Prince is nearly mad, and Her Highness suffers for it.”
So he was the reclusive type—gloomy and withdrawn.
Her last memory came rushing back: after discovering the Crown Princess was a demon, she had convinced herself—if only she killed that woman, it would all be over.
She had staked everything, using the only card left to her—the prestige of House Solarlune—to infiltrate the palace during a midnight ball.
All she needed was for the Crown Princess to be alone. That had taken time.
At last, when the ball ended, the Crown Prince and Princess took a walk together. Luca had told her: “Every night, the Princess takes the deranged Prince out for air.”
The memory burned bright and clear.
Thwack!
She had hurled the stone from her sling with all her strength, striking the Princess square in the head.
A sickening crack split the night air as the Princess’s body crumpled to the ground.
The Crown Prince stood frozen, as if too shocked—or too useless—to act.
Truthfully, Ayla hardly registered him at all.
Direct hit!
Holding her breath, she rushed toward the fallen Princess. This was her chance. The moment the truth was revealed, it would all be over.
The Crown Prince finally turned his gaze on her, eyes wide. The faint crescent moon gave too little light for her to read his expression.
She eyed the sword at his hip warily, but he didn’t move.
“Your Highness! Look at her eyes—she’s a demon! That woman is—”
“My, my.”
The Crown Princess stirred, staggering upright. She pressed her hand against her fractured skull and murmured,
“My brains are leaking out. A normal human would’ve died instantly. Horrid, isn’t it? Or rather—impressive! Lady Ayla, that was remarkable. A sling, was it?”
Ayla froze in place.
Blood streamed down her hair, but the Princess laughed as though it were nothing.
“Here to avenge Luca and Sada, are you? How touching. Unfortunately, this won’t kill me.”
She should have fled. She realized too late.
Black tendrils erupted from the ground, seizing her ankles and yanking her flat to the earth.
“Ugh!”
The Princess adjusted her silver hair, though blood matted it to her scalp. Her right eye glowed crimson—an unmistakable demon’s mark.
“Husband, my head’s a mess. Oh dear, can you see inside my brain?”
She looked at her prince with coy complaint.
He stared at her, unmoving, as though rooted to the spot.
“You see? You see it now! She’s a demon! Quickly—”
“Ahahaha!”
Her laughter rang out, pure and bell-like, yet unbearably sinister.
“Really, Lady Ayla. Between husband and wife, there are no secrets. His Highness knows everything about me.”
Ayla’s jaw dropped. Impossible. Unthinkable.
“How… how could you? Why?”
“Why? Because the truth is, the Crown Prince is—”
“Enough.”
The Prince’s voice cut her off, and the Princess covered her lips, though her eyes curved in sly delight.
“So gallant, keeping secrets even now. Admirable. Well then, darling—this naughty child tried to kill me. Do be a dear and dispose of her.”
She pointed at Ayla, even feigning sobs.
“Come to think of it, didn’t Sada Ult die recently too? Wouldn’t it be fitting to send their childhood friend after them? Though perhaps they’d recoil instead. Did you know, Ayla? They told me you clung to them desperately. They found you insufferable.”
The words pierced Ayla’s heart like knives.
She clawed at the ground, struggling against the black tendrils binding her ankles.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, you witch!”
“But you failed, didn’t you? Ah… I wondered if I’d ever manage to kill a Solarlune. This is thrilling.”
Her eyes gleamed as she bit her nails, trembling in excitement.
The Crown Prince stepped forward, sword drawn.
“…Can’t we just let her go? No one will believe her anyway.”
Ayla looked up at him in despair. From where she lay, his face was shadowed.
“Honor the contract, Alsariel. Now, bark.”
“…Woof.”
The sound of him barking froze her blood.
The Princess laughed, clear and cruel, as Ayla saw the sword trembling in his hand.
“Embarrassed to bark? More like ashamed you made a contract with a demon, isn’t it? You coward! Bastard!”
Ignoring her cries, the Princess tilted her head, musing.
“Maybe we shouldn’t kill her right away. Imagine the screams we could wring from her… Darling?”
The Prince’s blade flashed suddenly, slicing forward from back to front, piercing her heart clean through.
“Guh…!”
Her death rattle escaped her lips as her strength ebbed.
“I told you not to kill her!”
The Princess’s furious shriek was followed by the sharp crack of a slap.
Then everything faded into silence.
