Episode 25
Layla slowly opened her eyes.
She wished everything had just been a dream.
But the strange ceiling above her told her it was real.
“How did you come up with that idea?”
She turned her head.
Duke La Rose was there, smiling as if he was having the best time of his life.
“Wearing a black dress and saying your first love died….”
He couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
“And you didn’t even know that your first love was the Emperor!”
Hearing his nasty laugh, Layla felt her mind go dizzy.
So… he had known. From the very beginning.
She didn’t know exactly when, but this was clearly his plan all along.
“…When did you start interfering?”
Tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
“From the very start…?”
“No.”
He shrugged like it was nothing important.
“It’s true I always planned to give you to the Emperor.
But how could I have known you and the crown prince met by chance? Of course I didn’t know.”
“Then…?”
“When Mavelyn died, there was no one left to watch you. So I sent someone secretly to follow you.”
He looked so amused just thinking about it.
He even said it right in front of her—like it was no shame at all.
“And then I hear you’re friendly with some man.
And his name was… ‘Easton.’”
The name ‘Easton’ wasn’t rare, but the description of his unusual looks made him suspicious.
So he ordered more secret investigations.
In the end, he found out Easton was actually the crown prince.
From then on, he made a new plan.
“What about… the carriage accident?”
“Oh, that? Of course I arranged it.”
He wanted their first love to stay incomplete, like fruit left to ripen until it was bursting.
“That way, you showed a truly genuine expression.
Would you have fainted like that otherwise?”
His lips trembled with excitement.
“It was so real—both yours and the Emperor’s!”
Layla’s fists trembled.
This man was beyond disgusting.
Calling him human would be an insult to all humans.
“Now it depends on your acting.
You must say you knew nothing. Understand?”
“Why… why go this far?!”
Her face was white as snow.
“You even trick your own blood…”
She thought her heart had been torn so much that she couldn’t feel pain anymore.
But right now—she wanted to lose control, grab a knife, and stab that ugly smile.
“Tsk, tsk…”
But he only looked at her with a face that said, You’re so foolish.
“I thought you were smart.”
He shook his head.
“This is why children are no good. Think about it.”
Just because they shared blood didn’t mean they were alike.
He truly sounded annoyed as he continued:
“If you have the Emperor’s child, and the Emperor dies…”
His mouth curved slowly into a crooked smile.
“Then I’ll be the Emperor’s grandfather.
Neither you nor the child will know anything,
and of course, I’ll rule as regent.”
Layla shivered.
She had already guessed this,
but hearing it again made goosebumps cover her skin.
His plan assumed the Emperor would die.
Easton would be killed too.
Her eyes shook with rage and horror.
How could he be so confident—
as if killing the Emperor was easy?
“Of course, the one who will kill him…”
He turned his head slowly to meet her eyes.
“…is you.”
Layla bit the inside of her mouth to hide her reaction.
But he already seemed to know what she would ask.
He chuckled.
“You’re a good girl, Layla.
Just like Prinnel was a good son.”
Her throat tightened at the name.
“In the end, he even put poison in his dear friend’s sister’s cake.”
At the mention of Prinnel, her heart dropped.
Her whole body trembled.
She slowly lifted her head.
Prinnel had poisoned his childhood friend’s sister,
then taken his own life.
So Duke La Rose planned to give his last remaining child—the same fate.
“…Of course, Father.”
Her lips were dry.
But she forced a calm smile.
“How could I go against your wishes? I was just… a little surprised.”
“That’s right. That’s my child.”
Satisfied, he nodded and put his hands on her shoulders.
“You knew nothing.”
Her pink eyes trembled.
“I’ll be the villain.”
She almost laughed.
It was true—she had known nothing,
and he was the real villain.
“Cry to the Emperor.
Tell him I deceived and tormented you all this time.
Easton will never be able to turn you away.”
He looked straight at her and laughed low.
A first love left incomplete always burned deeper in the heart.
So Easton would never reject her.
“Easton will come soon. Act well, alright?”
“…Yes.”
He patted her shoulder like encouragement,
then left the room.
The moment the door shut,
Layla let out a sharp breath.
How could he…!
Her lips had turned blue.
She was trembling with fear of the man who was supposed to be her father.
But she had already been ready to die today.
She clenched her fists.
Even knowing Easton was the Emperor,
her promise to herself hadn’t changed.
No—
it was stronger than ever.
I will protect Easton.
She thought of Easton’s sister,
who must have died from the poison she herself had given.
To repay my sin to him…
Her tears slowly dried.
Her face hardened.
For her own revenge,
for Prinnel,
for Easton—
there was only one way.
I must kill Duke La Rose.
She knew killing him wouldn’t bring anyone back.
But she could never allow him to live happily.
She would kill him at his happiest moment.
Her dead eyes of the last three years
finally began to shine again.
The clock inside her,
stopped since the heavy summer rain,
finally began to tick again—
just as autumn was starting.
