CHAPTER 23
Inside the carriage returning to the Mente estate, Lloyd asked Ayla, who was sitting upright with perfect posture.
“How was today’s lesson, Ayla?”
“It was a valuable experience, Father.”
Ayla answered with a doll-like smile.
The contrast between her and Aslan from earlier only highlighted how unnatural her demeanor was for a child.
It wasn’t as though she had been raised under strict discipline like he had been. So why was Ayla always so cautious?
It had been quite some time since he had brought her from that place and raised her with care. Yet, Ayla still seemed uneasy around him.
‘…It must be because I lack something as a father.’
The way she had already opened her heart to Minerva and Aslan, whom she had only just met, was proof of that.
Still, Lloyd never asked Ayla why she was like this.
He worried that forcing closeness on her would only burden her further.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the Mente estate.
As soon as they got off, Ayla lifted the hem of her dress and said to Lloyd,
“Then, I’ll go up first, Father. I want to tell Miss Deborah about today.”
Lloyd was often away from home.
So it was always the tutor, Deborah, who stayed by Ayla’s side, and perhaps because of that, Ayla was particularly attached to her.
He wanted to dine with her first, but Lloyd simply nodded.
“Very well. Go on.”
“Yes, Father.”
Ayla suppressed her urge to run and instead walked briskly up the stairs.
“Where is Miss Deborah?”
“She’s in her room, Miss.”
Ayla couldn’t wait to brag.
She had gotten a perfect score on the test Lady Mine had given—and it was all thanks to Deborah’s teaching.
“Miss Deborah!”
“You’re back, Miss.”
Deborah greeted her with a gentle smile.
“How was your lesson, Miss?”
“It was fun. And thanks to your teaching, I answered all the questions on the lady’s test correctly.”
Ayla’s cheeks flushed as she spoke, as if seeking praise.
But Deborah showed no reaction, as if it were only natural, and asked,
“What did you think of this new instructor, the lady?”
“She was very kind. And the other student, too…”
“…Another student?”
It happened in that moment.
Deborah’s expression turned cold.
Had she said something wrong? Ayla hesitated.
As Ayla stepped back slightly, Deborah stepped forward just as quickly, looking like she had just been struck.
“Don’t tell me you not only learned from someone else besides me, but also associated with some country noble child?”
Ayla was taken aback.
Why was Deborah suddenly acting like this?
Her elegant face, usually the epitome of nobility, was now twisted in anger.
And the reason for her outburst didn’t make sense.
Wasn’t Ayla also technically a country noble?
Ayla timidly defended Aslan.
“I—I’m a country noble too, and Aslan is a good kid…”
“No. You are different, Miss. People should associate with others who are on their level.”
On her level? What did that even mean?
Before Ayla could ask, Deborah gripped her shoulders tightly.
Ayla winced instinctively.
“Ow—That hurts, Miss Deborah!”
“Miss. You must be more perfect than any other noble. I thought you understood that, but it seems we need to revisit your education.”
“W-Wait a second, what do you—!”
“Come with me.”
Deborah grabbed Ayla’s wrist and led her into the small study connected to her room.
“Wait! Miss Deborah!”
Ayla’s cries were cut off with a sharp click as the door shut behind them.
It was late in the evening when Ayla finally returned to her room in a dazed state.
Even after returning, she couldn’t collect her thoughts.
She only snapped out of it when her maid, Sasha, spoke to her.
“Miss?”
Ayla flinched when Sasha’s hand touched her shoulder.
Realizing it wasn’t Deborah but Sasha, she relaxed slightly and asked in a quiet voice,
“Ah, yeah, Sasha. What is it?”
Her reaction might have seemed odd, but Sasha didn’t appear to care, as if she was used to this.
“The master asked if you’d like to join him for dinner.”
“Oh…”
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
Strangely though, she didn’t feel hungry.
Ayla shook her head.
“I’m not very hungry today. I’ll skip it.”
“Alright, then I’ll help you with your bath first.”
Normally, someone might insist that a growing child eat something, but Sasha didn’t.
Sasha began undressing Ayla.
As her dress slipped off, faint cane marks were revealed on her arms.
Sasha’s eyes widened.
Only then did Ayla notice the marks and hurriedly spoke.
“Ah… uh, Sasha, this is…”
“Excuse me, Miss.”
Sasha quickly removed Ayla’s socks as well.
There were cane marks on her thighs and calves, hidden under the socks.
Sasha asked sharply,
“Did Miss Deborah do this to you?”
“Uh… that is…”
Ayla hesitated.
When she had first come here, Lloyd had said:
“If anyone ever treats you badly, tell me right away.”
But what would happen if she told him?
Would she never see Deborah again?
It was always Deborah who looked after her in Lloyd’s absence.
To Ayla, Deborah was like a mother.
At the thought of never seeing her again, her heart wavered.
“You should have listened to her better.”
“…Huh?”
Sasha’s scolding felt like a bucket of cold water.
Ayla was stunned.
Without paying attention to Ayla’s reaction, Sasha led her to the bathtub.
Gently placing her into the warm water, Sasha sighed and defended Deborah.
“I’m sure Miss Deborah didn’t do it out of malice. She probably had no choice but to discipline you for your own good.”
That…
Ayla had thought the same.
If even someone like Deborah—who was like a mother to her—had resorted to using the cane, it must’ve been serious.
But hearing someone else say it made it feel worse.
As Sasha lathered bubbles over Ayla’s wounds, she emphasized,
“Next time, you must listen to her properly. It must’ve broken her heart to do this to you. Don’t you think?”
“Y-Yes… I suppose so…”
Ayla nodded hesitantly, unable to resist Sasha’s oddly forceful gaze.
Only then did Sasha ease her expression and gently comfort her.
“You’re a smart girl, Miss. You’ll do better from now on.”
“Mm…”
“And if the master saw this, he’d be worried, so let’s keep this between us. I’ll bring some ointment that’ll help the marks fade quickly.”
“Okay… thank you…”
As Sasha continued to speak, Ayla’s responses grew more lifeless.
Deborah, Sasha…
They didn’t feel like the people she used to know.
She wasn’t even sure if this situation was right.
But Ayla was used to being punished.
She quickly convinced herself that it was her own fault.
‘Father assigned them to look after me. People like that wouldn’t hurt me without a reason.’
Because Father cared for her.
He said to always speak up if someone mistreated her.
And he was the one who appointed Deborah and Sasha.
No one knew better than Ayla how kind they were to her most of the time.
Even now, Sasha’s hands as she washed her were so gentle.
‘Then why…’
Ayla curled up further inside the tub.
‘Then why did Father want me to learn from Lady Mine?’
Deborah clearly disliked Ayla receiving lessons from Minerva and getting close to Aslan.
But Lloyd seemed to want her to learn from them.
‘Whose side am I supposed to be on?’
Ayla was confused but couldn’t voice her questions to anyone.
She had learned the hard way that asking questions often led to punishment.
So she had to figure things out on her own, carefully reading the room.
In front of Lloyd, she would act the way he wanted. In front of Deborah, she would act the way she wanted.
‘Then… in front of the lady and Aslan?’
Ayla asked herself.
The answer was simple.
She would act the way they wanted.
After all, the ideal child that adults dreamed of was always the same.
