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A maid next to them bowed her head and whispered something, and the two men snapped their heads up.
A smile spread across their faces as they spotted Ayla approaching.
"Ayla!"
Piyo jumped up, his black hair flying as he ran over. He immediately threw himself into Ayla's arms.
"Piyo, how have you been?"
"Good! I missed you so much, Ayla."
Ayla hugged the child's small body tightly and smiled gently. Meanwhile, Felix pulled out a chair for them.
"Ayla, sit here. You must be tired from coming all this way?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."
Ayla took Piyo's hand and walked to the tea table, sitting down.
Felix immediately poured tea for her.
"You must be thirsty? I asked for a tea that's especially good for relieving fatigue."
Piyo, not wanting to be outdone, pushed a plate of refreshments towards her.
"This too! It's sweet and delicious. You have to try it!"
"Thank you both so much."
Peony watched her friends with a pleased expression. She sat down and opened her mouth in a bright voice.
"By the way, I went to Countess Norchel's charity party yesterday. And do you know what people said to me there?"
Ayla, who was holding Piyo on her lap and indulging his whims, looked up.
"What did they say?"
"They asked me to please let them meet you. They said they wanted to apologize for all the rudeness they've shown you."
Peony scoffed and continued.
"The most ridiculous one was Countess Rate. She said she was very sorry to part ways that day and wanted to meet up and talk again. Ugh, do you know how absurd I found that?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, 'misunderstanding' my foot. The moment you became a commoner, they abandoned you as if you were worthless."
Felix curled up his lips in a sneer and chimed in.
"I've also had many people contacting me personally. They want to rebuild their friendship with Ayla somehow. Of course, I politely refused them all."
Ayla shrugged and said calmly.
"Good job. After all, those people care more about my background than about me as a person. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing..."
Then Peony raised her teacup and let out a happy sigh.
"Still, it's satisfying. The people who used to ignore you are now on pins and needles. Even Lona's face stiffened when she heard about you, you know?"
"Speaking of which, where did Lona go?"
Ayla looked around and asked. Peony took a sip of her tea and replied leisurely.
"I gave her a short vacation. I don't want to have to worry about her even on a day like this."
"That's a relief. Has there been any suspicious activity since then?"
"No. She's been quiet lately, trying hard not to get caught by me."
Peony shrugged, then lowered her voice and asked seriously.
"By the way, how's Rosia doing these days? I wonder what kind of mess she's in."
Peony smiled brightly, as if enjoying herself, and added.
"If you steal someone else's life with lies, you have to pay the price."
"...Well, about that."
Ayla hesitated for a moment at her question. Peony's expression soon hardened at the unusual sign.
"Why? Did something bad happen?"
"No, well... it's not that. Actually..."
Ayla hesitated for a long time before finally opening her mouth.
"Actually, Rosia died two days ago."
"...What?"
The smile instantly disappeared from Peony's face. Ayla lowered her head and continued quietly.
"It's still under investigation whether it was suicide or homicide... An official report will be sent to the Imperial Palace soon."
"Wait, what happened? Rosia is dead?"
Peony asked, unable to hide her shock.
"You were there, weren't you? You were watching with your own eyes, so how could she have died?"
"That's right. Access was strictly controlled, and Magic was layered on top of each other. I sent people to watch her day and night, so how could this have happened..."
Ayla sighed deeply, as if she couldn't understand the situation at all.
Peony stared at her for a moment, then muttered as if she had realized something.
"So that's why you were able to come back so early. I thought it was earlier than expected."
"Yeah, that's right."
"What's the cause of death? How did she get past such tight security?"
"It hasn't been clearly revealed, but... they suspect that a Mage was involved. And someone with very high Magic abilities."
Ayla hesitated for a moment before carefully adding.
"I'm thinking that the Magic Tower might be involved in this."
At her words, everyone in the room, including Piyo, gasped.
"A Mage from the Magic Tower..."
"I expected the mastermind to be no ordinary person, but..."
Peony and Felix also trailed off, their faces filled with shock.
Then Piyo glanced at them and awkwardly fidgeted with Ayla's clothes. Ayla carefully patted Piyo's shoulder.
She looked at her friends with an embarrassed expression.
"I feel like I've only been talking about dark things when we've met after so long. Well, what can we do, it's already happened."
"Didn't you get anything else out of Rosia?"
"Her hostility towards me was so strong that I couldn't get any useful information."
"I see. To have animosity towards you even in that situation, I guess that's just like Rosia..."
To change the somber mood, Ayla changed the subject in a deliberately bright voice.
"By the way, Peony, you're having your coming-of-age ceremony in a few months, aren't you? Are you preparing well?"
"Huh? Oh, the coming-of-age ceremony."
Peony, who had been deep in thought, snapped her head up as if waking up from a dream.
"...I'm preparing for it. I'm a little worried because it overlaps with the academy exam period."
"You must be busy with so much to do. You've been diligently attending social events these days, haven't you?"
"That's right. I really need ten bodies. That's why..."
Peony looked back and forth between Felix and Ayla and said carefully.
"Could I ask you two a favor?"
"A favor?"
Ayla asked, and Peony nodded in response.
"Yes, originally, the birth mother is supposed to take care of the coming-of-age ceremony of the Imperial Family, but... as you know, my mother passed away early..."
Peony bit her lip and continued.
"So there's no one else to take charge of such an event. The Empress will help, but it will only be formal help."
"Peony..."
"Instead, I thought you could help with the minor things like the dress and the speech, so would it be okay to ask you?"
"Of course! Felix and I will help you with all our might."
Felix, who had been listening to the two of them, nodded solemnly.
"I was wondering what it was. We can definitely help you with that much. We're friends, after all."
Peony seemed touched by their words and teared up slightly.
"Thank you, really."
She wiped away her tears with her fingers and continued.
"Actually, when I was young, it was my dream to have a coming-of-age ceremony."
Ayla opened her eyes wide and asked in surprise.
"Really? The coming-of-age ceremony is something everyone in the Imperial Family does."
Peony nodded quietly.
"At the time, I wasn't sure if I would be alive until that day."
Soon, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"But now, thanks to you, Ayla, I'm alive and healthy. That's why I want to be congratulated by you and Felix more than anything else."
"Peony..."
"If it weren't for you, I might not be here."
Ayla's heart ached. She felt how precious she was to Peony.
She took Peony's hand and promised in a soft voice.
"I can't replace your mother, but I'll definitely attend and bless your future."
"Thank you, Ayla."
The atmosphere soon became warm again.
The three laughed and exchanged news about each other.
It had been so long since they had had such a leisurely time that the time flew by in the blink of an eye just drinking tea and chatting.
"Oh, we've been talking for too long. Let's go in and have dinner and rest."
Peony smiled and got up from her seat.
Ayla glanced around for a moment, then carefully grabbed the wrist of Felix, who had come to escort her.
His ears naturally turned red. Ayla lowered her voice and whispered softly.
"Felix, I have a favor to ask."
"Ahem, what kind of favor? Just name it."
"I want to see Debens for a moment before Peony's coming-of-age ceremony."
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