I Became the Villain’s Lost Daughter - Chapter 72

“Thane?”

 

When I saw the familiar gray hair, I jumped in surprise.

 

“How did you get here…?”

 

It was nice to see you, but I felt more surprised than that.

 

Why are you here? No, more than that…

 

“Wait, wait…”

 

Raising my hand to Thane, who licked his lips, I hurriedly looked around and under the balcony.

 

Erita was well aware of Thane’s skill, but her heart raced, wondering if anyone had ever seen him climb onto the balcony.

 

“I didn’t meet anyone, nobody saw me. There is no one there, so you don’t have to worry.”

 

Seeing me like that, Thane smiled softly and stopped me from worrying.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. At least there’s nobody caught me.”

 

Thane was a pure-blooded wolf, and his physical abilities were truly a blessing. It must be true that there is no one around here because Thane guaranteed it.

 

“Everyone must be in the banquet hall. That’s a relief.”

 

Only then, I was relieved, I sighed and put magic around us.

 

It would be strange if he didn’t show up at all, it was magic that erases his presence and the magic of silence.

 

No one would find out unless they recognized and saw that we were here.

 

“Long time no see, Thane.”

 

As usual, when I raised my hand to stroke his hair, Thane naturally lowered my body.

 

It seemed that his jawline had become sharper than the last time I saw it.

 

“Thane, you seem to have lost some weight… Are you having a hard time these days?”

 

“No, I guess it was just because I trained a little harder.”

 

Thane shook his head in denial, at the question I was worried about.

 

“Take a break in training, too. I think Thane can be a little lazy sometimes.”

 

“I will, Erita.”

 

As I rubbed under his roughened eyes, Thane smiled languidly and rested his cheeks against my hand. It was a touch familiar to us.

 

“Ah. Come to think of it, your voice doesn’t tremble anymore?”

 

A few days ago, when we were talking to each other, his voice, which was still awkward and hoarse, was now smoother.

 

He said he was trying to speak a lot on purpose, and I thought that it was true.

 

“I practiced a lot.”

 

Thane smiled, blinking as if he were embarrassed. If his tail is visible, it’d swing around pleasantly.

 

“More than that, what’s going on here?”

 

I wonder if I was patting Thane a little more than I should. It was only then that I remembered the main point.

 

We would have talked for a long time if this were our home, but this was the Imperial Palace, and the debut banquet was in full swing. There’s no way that Thane would have come all the way here without a purpose.

 

“Oh, Yurgen said there’s something he needs to tell Erita urgently.”

 

Thane, who stood up straight regretfully, took a paper envelope out of his arms.

 

“What do you have to tell me in a hurry?”

 

Now he knows that I’m in a debutante banquet, I think it’s very important to think twice and send Thane, but when I contacted him yesterday, he said there was nothing special fo me to worry about.

 

“What’s the matter, why did Yurgen send you here? Can I read this later at home?” I mumbled as Thane handed the envelope.

 

If it wasn’t so urgent, I was going to put it in space for a while and see it after the party.

 

Aaron could have thought it strange if I had been here for too long. Of course, as long as Aaron doesn’t pay attention to this place, magic will overshadow us.

 

“Yurgen says it’s about her, so Erita will take care of it.”

 

I opened the envelope right away at the word ‘she’ from Thane’s mouth. It was a report that came out of a small envelope.

 

“…!”

 

And after reading the content, I had no choice but to be shocked.

 

[Ayla Dien doesn’t exist]

 

Baron Dien and his wife had no other children other than their son Elly Dien. I read it again and again, and the content was the same.

 

Below it was the details of Baron Dien, but those words were deeply embedded in my eyes.

 

The fact that Ayla Dien, the heroine of the original story, became a person who didn’t exist.

 

Ayla’s parents, Baron Dien, and her brother, Elly Dien, exist, but Ayla doesn’t.

 

‘…This is ridiculous. This can’t be possible.’

 

There was no way I could believe that the person who had existed for a long time disappeared overnight.

 

I certainly asked for an investigation into Ayla a few years ago, and documents on the results were also kept in my drawer.

 

“Erita?”

 

Thane called out in a puzzled voice at my reaction, but I couldn’t answer the call and muttered, “What in the world happened?”

 

Somehow, I lost all strength because of something unbelievable.

 

“Master!”

 

As I staggered to the railing, Thane supported me with a startled look. The title that I told him not to call came out of his lips again, but I didn’t have the spirit to point it out.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“…No.”

 

Is this what it feels like when someone hits the back of the head with a hammer? It’s a world that has erased the existence of the female protagonist.

 

“Does that make any sense? Thane, didn’t Yurgen say anything else?”

 

“No, he didn’t say anything else.”

 

When asked with a pale, tired face, Thane shook his head with a restless expression. I bit my lip at his reaction.

 

“Thane, can you go back and tell Yurgen I’ll call him later?” Erita said as she sent Thane bak to Yurgen.

 

“Yes, I’ll tell him so.”

 

Thane couldn’t walk easily because he was worried about me but eventually disappeared under the night sky.

 

‘…What the hell is going on?’

 

After Thane disappeared with a light movement, I couldn’t come to my senses for a while. The piece of emotion that I saw in front of Thane wasn’t half what I’m feeling now.

 

“…I can’t believe Ayla’s disappeared suddenly.”

 

No matter how much the original was written and the development was different, this was a problem with a different outcome.

 

It was understandable if Baron Dien had not been found. Since the original work was made, he may have moved to another province, and although it was unlikely, he may have defected to another country.

 

‘But the rest of Baron Dien’s people are alive.’

 

Ayla’s family is alive and well, but only one of them has been erased. The main character can also be said to be the center of this original work.

 

“…Does it make sense to say that a person who once existed in a distant place disappears overnight?”

 

It was unbelievable even if I told anyone, and it was a question that no one in this world could answer.

 

“Ha…”

 

My head throbbed, perhaps because I accepted too much information in a short moment.

 

“Whoa… Calm down, Erita Krovachatz.”

 

The voice that came out was trembling, but I tried to calm down. It was not a problem that could be solved by letting it sit like this now. The most important thing right now was to finish the banquet safely and go home.

 

“Okay, I’ll ask Yurgen later when I get home.”

 

She never easily forgot what she had heard.

 

Because Yurgen remembers the light words I said four years ago. However, contrary to my willingness to pull myself together, anxiety poured in.

 

What if even Yurgen doesn’t remember Ayla? What if I’m the only one who remembers her existence?

 

Her family alone made it far from home. If that’s the case, what the hell am I supposed to do?

 

‘…No, I’m sure he’ll remember.’

 

I tried to push the idea that distracts my thoughts into a corner and reiterate my hopes. I struggled to contain the thoughts that continued to corrode me and rekindle my hopes.

 

You sent me the information about Ayla today, too. If Yurgen had forgotten too, he wouldn’t have sent this information to me.

 

As I struggled to suppress the evident anxiety, I kept repeating to myself that it wasn’t going to happen. Otherwise, I thought I’d be swallowed up by this fear.

 

✿

 

Callian thought that the people standing in front of him were pathetic.

 

“I know. The rumors are too modest!”

 

“Your growth is not less than one time the rumor has it!”

 

A few nobles around him giggled and agreed with the words of the Count with a mustache with a big smile.

 

It was funny to say this and that he accepted a few words. Four years ago, Callian, who went to the battlefield, quickly emerged as a war hero in just half a year.

 

—When Prince Second Prince appeared, the enemy army fled with their tails on.

 

—They say that even the monsters recognize the Second Prince and flee to the mountains, never to be seen again. It was a wild rumor.

 

It was only a year after he had won ten victories that rumors of staying at the border spread throughout the Empire.

 

Those who are now standing in front of him will also pretend to know him because of such rumors. Callian remembered the cynical glances he had received when he first left the palace.

 

—I didn’t hear the Emperor abandoning the Second Prince.

 

—Otherwise, the noble blood of the Imperial Family cant be sent to the battlefield! Even at the border.

 

—Then it must be only a matter of time for the First Prince to sit on the throne.

 

—How much heartache has his Majesty been? Now it’s time to find his place.

 

Some of those who chattered while looking at me was now fluttering giving praises in front of me.

 

‘My brother must be feeling pretty uncomfortable.’

 

Callian was cynical on the inside but did not lose the smile that seemed drawn on the outside.

 

“It’s just embarrassing because the rumor is so exaggerated.”

 

“I can’t believe you’re so humble! It’s a rumor that doesn’t contain half the image of His Majesty the Second Prince!”

 

“That’s right. It’s just a rumor made by soldiers, so it can’t be helped that their description is dissatisfying.”

 

The words were spat out in a low voice, but it was heard in Callian’s ears.

 

“…If you go on the battlefield and can’t last a day, you won’t be able to talk that way.”

 

It resembled a sparkling visage grinning at being a worse person than those troops. It made sense to see them discussing it in front of me as I had spent four years sharing both their joys and sorrows with men who regarded me with such contempt.

 

“If you do, we’ll leave now.”

 

“Yeah. I hope you have fun.”