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She could see a myriad of thoughts flashing across his face. But as if steeling himself, he opened his mouth heavily.
"Do you remember what I said when we first met? I told you to treat me like a comfortable older brother."
Ayla slowly nodded.
She vaguely remembered having that conversation at the Cultural Festival ball.
But at the time, she had just thought it was a polite remark.
"The reason I said that was because I sincerely cherish Peony. The reason I'm bringing this up today is all for her sake."
"I see."
"In other words, I don't want to see her in danger."
Listening to his earnest voice, she could feel his desperation.
"So I hope you won't doubt my sincerity."
Ayla stared at him blankly.
His eyes shone desperately, as if there wasn't a shred of falsehood in what he had just said. Could that really be acting?
'Could there have been a really big misunderstanding in my past life?'
The thought that maybe she hadn't been abandoned after all crossed her mind.
Looking back, Darian had always been consistent until he betrayed her and left.
When she was selling Magical potions in the back alleys to make a living, and when he fell in love with her.
Even when she became an obstacle to his claim to the throne, he never once changed his attitude.
He was always kind, and he always cherished her very much.
That's why Ayla had trusted him until the very last moment.
Ayla slowly blinked her eyes.
Then, instead of the memories from the original story, the sweet words he had given her long ago came to mind one by one.
"Don't worry, Ayla. I will never give up on you."
"But my existence will continue to be an obstacle to you, Your Highness. Empress Christina will use me as an excuse to attack you."
"That doesn't matter. What matters more is that we love each other."
Darian had told her about their future together countless times, even though she never dreamed of marriage because of their difference in status.
"If the people around us continue to oppose our marriage, I'm prepared to give up the throne. When that time comes, let's go somewhere where no one can interfere."
"Somewhere where no one can interfere?"
"Yeah, somewhere no one knows us. Then there won't be any more hardships."
"Darian..."
"I'm serious, Ayla. If I just have you by my side, I don't need the throne."
Soon, Darian's affectionate gaze turned to her.
"I wonder what I have to do for you to know my true feelings. I wish I could erase all your anxieties."
"...Thank you for saying that, but Empress Christina won't stand still."
"My mother will understand if she wants my happiness."
Whenever he said those words, Ayla would just smile. Because she knew that things wouldn't turn out the way he said.
'Darian will eventually not be able to go against the Empress's wishes.'
But wasn't she free to have happy fantasies?
Certainly, whenever she thought about a future with him, Ayla would fall into an incredibly sweet mood. Enough to want to believe all his words.
'So without realizing it, I gradually started to have expectations.'
Thinking about it now, if he really had no intention of marrying her, there was no reason for him to shake her up with those words.
There was no need to plant false hope in her, who never dreamed of marriage.
'At the time, Darian might have been sincere about everything.'
At that moment, what Peony had said suddenly came to mind.
"Watching that, my mind gradually changed. Maybe it was the Empress who poisoned me on her own."
If Peony's words were true, then it was the Empress who had separated her and Darian after all.
Looking back, Darian's face when he told her to break up that day looked more pained than relieved.
'If Darian didn't really betray me...'
Were the two of them just unluckily at odds in their past life?
Ayla let out a soft sigh as her chest tightened.
'Even so, it doesn't matter anymore. The past is just the past.'
Unlike in her past life, she and Darian were now enemies.
No matter how pitiful he looked in front of her, she shouldn't feel any pity for him.
'And I don't love Darian anymore.'
There was no time to indulge in useless sentimentality. Peony was more important to her now than Darian.
"...Yes, I will keep that in mind."
Ayla answered simply and immediately tried to turn away.
But as she was about to move, a small suspicion flashed through her mind.
'Wait. If all of this was really the Empress's plan... why did the Empress have to go so far? What was the reason for not only taking everything from me but also deceiving me until the end?'
What was so special about the Dragon's power that she was so obsessed with it? Just because she wanted her son to inherit the throne?
In the first place, the Duke Argenta Noble house was not an easy Noble house to mess with.
'Turning them into enemies could have been a major threat to Darian's ascension to the throne.'
Yet the Empress took that risk and sent Rosia into the Noble house, disguised as a fake Princess Consort.
'...In other words, the Empress also knew how to manipulate the Paternity test magic tool from the start.'
In the Imperial family, when a child is born, they must check their bloodline with a Magical Tool.
But that was just a formality.
Most members of the Imperial family were born with the Dragon's power, and that power itself proved that they were Imperial family.
But Darian was different. He had almost no Dragon's power.
Nevertheless, there was no controversy because the Magical Tool clearly proved that he was of Imperial blood.
'And yet the Empress desperately wants the Dragon's power.'
Ayla's lips hardened coldly. A chilling hypothesis pierced her mind.
'Could it be... that Darian is not of the Emperor's blood? So she targeted me, who had the Blessing of the Gold Dragon, to avoid being caught?'
Ayla's eyes widened at the sudden realization.
At the same time, the scattered puzzle pieces began to fall into place.
'To inherit the throne, you have to enter the Tomb of the First Emperor.'
And that tomb is guarded by a Black Dragon who has lived for a long time, like the Duke Argenta Noble house.
A person with no Dragon's power, that is, a person who is not of Imperial blood, cannot come out of that place alive.
'To put Darian, who is not the Emperor's son, on the throne... the Empress is trying to steal another Dragon's power.'
Ayla stopped and turned back. Darian tilted his head with a puzzled look.
Looking at his innocent expression, Ayla hesitated for a moment.
She wasn't sure whether or not it was okay to tell him the truth she had just found out.
But she soon came to a conclusion.
'Even if it's cruel, Darian needs to know the truth. That will eventually help him.'
He had told her everything for her sake, so now it was her turn to be honest.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"...Your Highness. Did you happen to know that the Paternity test magic tool can be manipulated?"
Darian frowned at the unexpected topic.
"What do you mean? ...Ah, are you talking about the unfortunate incident that happened at the Duke Blanche Noble house recently?"
At his question, Ayla calmly nodded.
"Yes. Thanks to that, I recently found out too. That the test isn't always absolute."
Darian slowly blinked his eyes at the unexpected words.
He couldn't understand why Ayla was saying this.
"Is there a reason why you're suddenly bringing this up?"
At his question, Ayla hesitated and carefully opened her mouth.
"I realized it while going through a series of events. That things that I believed to be true without a doubt may actually be false."
"...What does that mean?"
Confusion flashed across Darian's eyes.
Ayla gave a faint smile and added her last words.
"It doesn't mean anything. I'm just saying it in the hope that you won't make the same mistake."
With that, she left without hesitation.
Darian, left alone, stared blankly at the spot where Ayla had disappeared for a while.
'Hoping I don't make the same mistake...?'
He fell into deep confusion, unable to find an answer.
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