Chapter 57 ….
Ayla dropped to her knees and looked at Shayrun, who was smiling brightly.
‘An adult male civil official is valuable. He’s not even someone I should have been given in the first place.’
I’ll accept him gratefully!
“Thank you, Sister. I’ll make good use of him and return him to you.”
“No, that’s alright.”
Helen gently patted Ayla’s head, and Ayla quickly added,
“Then I’ll give you Madam Poppy instead.”
“Hm? That’s not necessary.”
“No, it is. If you lose even one civil official, your burden will increase. I already have Lea and Pia—and Shayrun too. For a minor who isn’t even the heir, that’s more than enough.”
She widened her eyes and spoke sternly, making Helen smile.
“Then shall I accept her with thanks? We were short on people anyway.”
“Yes, of course.”
Ayla nodded.
As she stepped out of the room, she let out a sigh.
“I think my sister is handling far too much work. Why is that?”
“It’s largely because you’re still a minor,” Shayrun replied with a pleasant smile as he followed behind her.
Ayla looked at him.
“But she’s already received the ring, hasn’t she?”
“You haven’t entered the Spirit Cave yet. To Solarun, that symbolic difference is significant.”
“That’s true. But that won’t be for much longer. Once Sister fills all her close aide positions with her own people, things will improve.”
Or… had they improved?
Ayla tilted her head, then corrected herself.
“No. They will improve.”
At her determined words, Shayrun bared his teeth in a grin.
“Of course, of course. Now then—what do you require a civil official for, Lady Ayla?”
He rubbed his hands together in a sycophantic manner. Ayla’s expression turned a little strange, but she clenched her fists.
‘Ugh, he’s someone Sister assigned to me! I’ll trust him!’
“I’ll explain inside.”
“Yes, milady.”
Beaming, Shayrun followed behind her.
The Second of the Eclipse.
Wolsik was happy.
Ever since Ilsik told him that Lady Ayla could speak with spirits, how much had he begged to talk to her?
He had sprawled flat at Head Lady Helen’s feet, flailing his arms and legs like a child, even getting kicked and stepped on by Ilsik—but he never lost his fighting spirit.
Because they were spirits!
Spirits!
The symbol of Solarun!
The origin of Solarun!
If she could communicate with such beings, shouldn’t the Eclipse unit be forming an ironclad defense around her and providing close protection?
Ilsik had said, “Your ulterior motives are leaking everywhere.” But so what?
In the end, when Wolsik even investigated what Ayla was planning through Lea and Pia, Helen made a face like she’d bitten into an unripe persimmon and agreed to assign him to her.
‘She says it like that, but she’s really worried about her younger sister. Heh heh… Well, with a younger sister this cute and lovable…’
“Are you listening?”
Ayla paused mid-explanation and held out a sheet of paper. Shayrun nodded.
“Of course I am. You intend to create a new newsletter, correct? Very wise indeed.”
Ayla replied cautiously,
“Yes, but unlike existing newsletters, I want to use higher-quality paper and make it more refined. It’ll target the wealthy class and noblewomen… But I don’t want it known that I’m the one running it.”
Shayrun answered smoothly,
“You wish to operate anonymously? In that case, it would be best to appoint a proxy. Purchasing an existing publishing house would also work. We could find a small publisher struggling financially and simply change the representative on record.”
Ayla tilted her head.
“Can you do that?”
“If you give the order.”
“Then look into it first.”
She began counting on her fingers as she added,
“If possible, the older the company, the better. Infrastructure is important. The fewer employees, the better—though if they’re in financial trouble, they’ll naturally have fewer staff. Avoid anywhere that has already legally declared bankruptcy. And most importantly—”
Her expression grew serious.
“How much it will cost to buy. I need to secure the funds.”
“That much could be handled by the Solarun family—”
“No.”
Ayla folded the paper.
“I’ll secure the funds myself. I want to run this with my personal money.”
“Your personal money?”
At Shayrun’s puzzled tone, Ayla glanced at Lea and Pia standing beside her and lowered her voice even further.
“I need private funds that I can manage myself. That’s why I’m doing this. Not money from the family—my own money.”
Shayrun blinked. Lea and Pia looked equally confused.
Pia asked,
“Is there something you need money for?”
“Yes. I’ve realized that more things than I thought require money…”
Thanks to the stable incident, her eyes had been opened.
“So I need money that isn’t the family’s. I need my own.”
At that, Shayrun suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her and seized her hand.
‘Are his knees okay?’ Ayla wondered.
With sparkling eyes, Shayrun declared,
“To recognize the importance of finances—truly, you are remarkable, Lady Ayla! I, Shayrun, will devote my entire being to advancing this matter in the shadows without fail. Please entrust it to me!”
“Uh… y-yes, thank you, Shayrun.”
Well, help is help, Ayla thought with a small smile.
Lea and Pia, not wanting to let that strange man monopolize their lady’s affairs, quickly chimed in as well.
“We’ll help too.”
“That’s right, milady. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you, everyone.”
At Ayla’s shy gratitude, all her aides smiled warmly.
Fish Ornament
“My goodness.”
Lea covered her mouth as she spoke.
Ayla stared wide-eyed at the carriage before her.
There were no horses pulling it, yet it glided smoothly forward and stopped in front of the entrance.
It was a light, roofless racing carriage—and Desawa was seated inside.
“Good day, Lady Ayla.”
“Sage, hello. I didn’t expect you to come in person.”
Desawa smiled.
“If I didn’t come myself, there would be no one to send. Now then, climb aboard.”
The door opened on its own, and Ayla stepped into the carriage.
Behind her, Pia asked,
“Where should the rest of us ride?”
“I’m sorry, but only Lady Ayla was invited. I cannot take anyone else.”
“But—!”
They couldn’t possibly send their lady off alone without even a maid.
Before Ayla could finish saying, “It’s alright,” the door shut on its own with a firm click, the latch locking.
Without a sound of urging, the carriage began to move smoothly.
Ayla turned and waved behind her.
“Don’t worry!”
At that moment, the carriage gently lifted into the air. Startled, Ayla grabbed the edge tightly.
Desawa laughed.
“We’ll arrive soon. Relax and enjoy the aerial stroll.”
Ayla sat stiffly at first, unable even to scream, but she soon adjusted and looked down.
Below, she could see the river dividing the capital into a Y-shape and the imperial palace.
She had never seen it from such a height before. Her heart pounded—both in fear and excitement.
“If the people below see this, they’ll be shocked.”
“To them, it will only appear as a slightly fast-moving cloud. It’s fine.”
“I see.”
Brushing back her wind-tossed hair, Ayla glanced at Desawa.
‘The Sages of the Forest possess incredible abilities. To fly in the sky… my goodness.’
The carriage left the capital and safely descended into a forest on the outskirts.
It was the Black Raspberry Forest.
As the name suggested, it was full of black raspberries. It belonged to the imperial palace and was opened to the public during the season.
People could pick as many berries as they liked, but twenty percent of what they gathered had to be offered back.
The carriage landed in a clearing. Desawa stepped down first, then opened the carriage door for Ayla.
Ayla carefully climbed down.
Desawa still wore her ornate headband decorated with patterns and feathers, along with her loose outer robe.
“Now then, come out, all of you.”
At her words, two more figures appeared.
“That bear-like giant is Sorinun, and that tall stick over there is Shironti.”
The large man in brown clothes bowed deeply, and the tall, gaunt man nodded in greeting.
Ayla also bent slightly at the waist and said, “Hello.”
At that very moment, a white hand emerged from thin air and wrapped around her neck.
Startled, she turned—it was Nairien.
“Nairien??”
She called out in surprise, but Nairien didn’t even look at her. Instead, gazing at the sages, she spoke in a languid yet faintly sharp voice.
[Why has the Blue Deer summoned our child?]
