His Highness’ Secret Accountant

Ayla, standing in front of the laundry room, was in deep trouble.

Seeing that she was asked to come to the detached palace discreetly, it seemed that she was not going to leave the palace in a legal way.

In order to be as inconspicuous as possible, she would have to change the clothes that reveal her status as a low-rank maid, but…

All the clothes Ayla had were the gorgeous green dress she wore when she entered the palace, a nightgown, and a thin outerwear.

"Ah… This won't do."

Ayla grabbed her head and let out a short wail.

At this moment, she wanted to blame herself for having no desire for worldly possessions.

Someone was behind Ayla, staring at her as if her behavior were interesting.

"Are you trying to steal some clothes? I didn't know you had such a hobby."

"Ah… Miss Diane!"

"I told you to treat me like an older sister, didn't you hear?"

As she turned her head, she saw Diane, holding a basket full of laundry and giving her a strange look.

"That's not it…"

"Are you trying to sneak out?"

‘Isn't that older sister doing mind reading?'

Diane walked past Ayla, who was dumbfounded, with a relaxed smile, and entered the laundry room.

As Diane put down the laundry she was holding and waved her finger at Ayla as if telling her to come closer, Ayla unconsciously stepped forward.

Rustle.

Diane took out a sealed box from a secluded place in the laundry room.

Smiling at Ayla, who was staring at her blankly, Diane dusted off the box and opened the lid.

There were clothes inside the small box.

Diane rummaged through the box and handed her a dark-brown hooded robe and a neat black dress.

As Ayla picked up the pile of clothes and gave her a curious look, Diane spoke with a bitter smile.

"I left them here to use them… I will lend them to you."

"Why are you giving this to me…"

"Well, it looked like you needed them."

***

She hid the clothes she received from Diane under the bed and waited impatiently for time to pass.

She went to the office to prepare the last tea of the day, but Theon must have gone somewhere as he was absent.

‘Did he say he was stepping out…'

In a somehow unknown tension, Ayla bit her lips, left the office, and headed towards the staircase.

Ayla looked around carefully before going down the stairs.

As it is said to look before you leap, it was one of the habits she picked up after going through incidents on the stairs a couple of times.

Soon, she felt pity for herself for living like a coward and let out a small sigh.

‘As expected, this guy's stairs must clearly be jinxed.'

By the time she went down all the stairs, she could see a completely unwelcome figure.

She covered her face with one hand and turned to the right in a hurry but, hopelessly, her hiding seemed to be a complete failure. Without fail, a sharp voice struck her ears.

"Aren't you a normal girl, too?"

"The… The west palace maid, Ayla, greets the Grand Duke."

Ayla bowed down 90 degrees at Kyle's voice and greeted him.

Eden, who was standing behind Kyle, raised his hand silently towards Ayla as she raised her body.

"One thing I like is courage."

"?"

She was preparing herself, expecting for a slap, if not a fist, to come flying towards her cheek; but contrary to expectations, Kyle walked past Ayla with a cynical smile, without doing anything.

As if perplexed by his unexpected attitude, Ayla stood there blankly and stared at Kyle's back, moving away, for a while.

***

In the pitch-black darkness, the moonlight shining brightly through the window by itself marked the end of a long day.

Ayla, who was lying in bed, carefully got up.

Moving silently towards Lily, Ayla waved her hand in front of her face to make sure that she had fallen asleep.

"Phew… She's finally asleep."

Lily had so much to say today that she didn't go to bed, talking about this and that until it was midnight.

Rustle.

As she pulled the clothes from under the bed, Ayla looked around, wondering if Lily would wake up at the small noise.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong, she slowly changed clothes and covered herself with the robe's hood.

As Ayla approached the door, holding her breath, and went outside, Lily's closed eyes carefully opened.

***