CHAPTER 157……………………………………..
“Do you trust Lloyd?”
That question reminded me of the one Aslan had asked me before.
“Mom, do you love Uncle Lloyd?”
“Then… does Uncle Lloyd love you, Mom?”
I wondered why Aslan had asked such a question—it was because of Gabriel.
Gabriel, with her back turned, didn’t notice the expression on my face as she babbled on.
“Minerva, you must have thought it through and decided to keep the Duke by your side, right? But you know…”
Gabriel spun around with a sly smile.
Her hair fluttered in the wind, and with that beautiful smile, she planted seeds of doubt in me relentlessly.
“Minerva… can you really trust the Duke? Can you really entrust Aslan to him?”
“…….”
Hearing that, I felt calmer than I expected.
Because I had asked myself the same question as Gabriel once before.
“You’re too late.”
“Huh?”
“This is already settled in my heart.”
I had long since concluded that the Lloyd from the original story and the Lloyd now were different.
And I had already discussed it directly with him.
No matter how clever the attempt to sow discord, it couldn’t work when the parties involved had already talked it through.
“Really?”
Yet Gabriel seemed to find my answer amusing.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she approached me.
I couldn’t figure out what was so amusing about my response, so I instinctively stepped back.
A pillar pressed against my back with a soft thud.
There was no more room to retreat.
Gabriel pressed me against the pillar and whispered in my ear.
“What if the Duke discovers Aslan’s true identity?”
Boom. My heart skipped a beat, and I tensed my stomach and fists.
Gabriel’s chuckle lingered as her face slowly moved away from my ear.
Realizing how shaken I was, I shoved her away sharply.
“What exactly are you trying to say? Aslan is my daughter, no matter what anyone says.”
“Yes, I won’t deny she’s your daughter. But that’s not what I mean.”
Gabriel circled me slowly, a displeasing smile on her lips.
“Strange things tend to happen around Aslan. Impossible things? Aslan does them without batting an eye. You know that, don’t you?”
Her voice was calm, almost unnervingly so.
But the more I heard it, the more my mind became a mess.
“Does she know Aslan can use magic? How…? Aslan has never even used magic since coming here!”
On the day of the party, she had muttered some spell at me.
But it was nothing compared to the miracles she had shown in the Duchy or Mente Marquisate.
Then, silently, Gabriel approached behind me again.
Her melodious voice brushed against my ear once more.
“Did you know? Aslan can now turn into a cat at will. She can change into a cat or a human whenever she wants.”
Every hair on my body stood on end as I tried to put some distance between us.
Gabriel kept giggling, and I felt like a mouse cornered by a cat.
“She even knows that Aslan is a cat?”
How…? Just because Aslan often acted like a cat, no one had ever suspected she really was one.
She had only been regarded as an unusual child.
But what if that was due to magic? And what if Gabriel was unaffected by magic?
“I’ve heard some crazy things in my life, but this takes the cake.”
“The world is full of crazier things.”
I tried to deny it one last time, but Gabriel already knew every secret about Aslan.
How…?
The original Gabriel didn’t know that Leona was a cat.
It was never mentioned.
So the Gabriel in front of me shouldn’t have known either.
After all, the original story never mentioned a cat turning into a human or using magic.
Gabriel didn’t seem willing to explain how she had found out.
Instead, she pressed her finger to her red lips and whispered as if sharing a secret.
“I gave Aslan a hint. If the Duke doesn’t accept her in her cat form, it would be better for you and your daughter to somehow break off this marriage.”
“…Then you called me here for that purpose.”
“I also sent your subordinate to tell Aslan. If you leave, try testing it.”
Gabriel gestured with her chin toward the faint outline of the Princess Palace behind me and laughed.
“Aslan is with the Duke now, right? By now, he might have seen it.”
After that, I could no longer maintain my composure.
I kicked off my shoes and ran toward the Princess Palace, where Lloyd must be.
Gabriel’s laughter echoed behind me, sharp and clear like a crow’s caw.
At that moment, Lloyd was being thoroughly pestered while taking care of the children.
“Dad, is it much longer?”
“Longer than it takes Mom.”
The children were already exhausted from watching Minerva go through the entire dressing process.
Even the groom’s formal wear wasn’t nearly as pretty as the bride’s dress.
They quickly grew bored and complained of fatigue.
The tailor’s hands moved faster as the young royals voiced their dissatisfaction.
“No need to rush. Take your time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Unlike the joyful tailor, the children pouted.
They just wanted Lloyd to finish his tedious work and play with them.
Lloyd sent servants to bring sweets to the children, asking for their patience.
“Sorry, kids. The fitting took longer than expected.”
“It’s okay, Dad.”
Ayla, who had suffered recently from eating too many sweets, couldn’t resist these treats.
Her mood brightened immediately thanks to Lloyd’s bribe.
Aslan, however, had been indifferent ever since we arrived.
Ever since she had asked whether we could skip the wedding, Lloyd had been worried that he might have done something seriously wrong.
Even as she ate the treats, her glare told him that he had definitely made some mistake.
“Why? Where did I go wrong?”
With Minerva or Ayla, Aslan behaved as usual.
But when alone with Lloyd, she glared at him with that fierce look.
If he tried to approach to talk, she would run to Minerva and cling to her.
Until recently, things had been going smoothly. She seemed to accept him as a father, but now she acted like this, and Lloyd was at his wits’ end.
Unable to withstand her piercing gaze, he spoke to the tailor again.
“Um… sorry, but could you finish as quickly as possible?”
“Eh?”
“Sorry… please hurry.”
He needed to finish quickly and go find Minerva.
The tailor, oblivious, worked even faster.
Fortunately, the sizes fit well and didn’t need much alteration, so this fitting ended quicker than Minerva’s.
“See you at the next fitting.”
“Yes, thank you for your work.”
Lloyd sent the tailor and assistants away and turned around.
But Ayla, who had been here moments ago, was gone.
“Ay… Ayla?”
Without Ayla, Aslan would surely glare at Lloyd as if she were going to devour him.
The answer came from just below.
“Ayla went to the bathroom.”
“Oh… okay?”
When had she gotten so close without making a sound?
Lloyd’s heart skipped as he realized.
Aslan glared at him with sharp, piercing eyes.
Although she was looking up at him, he felt as though he were being looked down upon.
He briefly panicked, wondering if he had to wait for Ayla, but saw an opportunity.
He wanted to ask Aslan what he had done wrong and apologize.
Aslan, seemingly impatient as well, grabbed his sleeve.
“Sir, I need to say something.”
Lloyd nodded, meeting her eyes, ready to listen to anything.
Then his vision blurred.
