Aya Ran Away - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29
Nahal’s voice trembled at its end.
‘Last time, and now again.’
Whenever he heard that familiar song, that woman was invariably there.
Coincidence?
His decision to come here had been somewhat impulsive.
He wanted to see her condition with his own eyes, so he’d set out at once.
Since the fever and severe illness were the last thing they’d witnessed together, he thought that if the princess’s state remained unchanged, he might need to postpone the procedures he’d planned.
With such thoughts, he walked through the corridor.
“…!”
The attendant standing guard before the door quickly bowed.
Nahal gestured for the attendant to announce him, but then—through the slightly ajar door—he heard the familiar notes of that song.
His heart plummeted.
Why did it feel so unsettling?
It was like someone pressing a blade to his throat.
Just moments before, it hadn’t felt this way.
But the faint song was cut short the moment the attendant knocked on the door.
When the door opened, all that greeted him was a small figure.
The instant he saw the silhouette of the small woman sitting with her back to the window, bathed in the light of the setting sun, Nahal felt a strange premonition rise all the way to his throat.
He stopped her from rising, thinking perhaps what he’d heard was an illusion, yet unable to be certain, he pressed on to confirm.
“Have you ever stayed at the Temple?”
Nahal forced open his lips, which seemed stuck together, and asked.
Aya could offer no answer.
Long ago, her Nurse had told her that she’d been very ill shortly after her birth and had stayed at the Temple for some time.
The palace attendants in Aya’s household had spoken of her as “the princess who appeared suddenly,” so it was possible she’d spent quite a long period at the Temple.
But Aya had no memory of it.
Everything before her fifteenth year was vague.
So she couldn’t give a clear answer.
After deliberating for a moment, Aya slowly nodded her head.
“Were you ever educated as a Priest?”
Another question followed, one whose purpose she couldn’t discern.
Aya’s brow furrowed.
‘Priest education?’
And immediately, she shook her head firmly.
She’d never heard from either her Nurse or Yesili that she’d received such training.
Nahal nodded with a composed expression.
“I see.”
The face of Nahal as he spoke seemed both disappointed and relieved.
‘Why would he ask such a thing?’
Aya watched his expression carefully.
‘Ah, my Benefactor.’
Only then did Aya recall that Nahal was searching for the person who had helped him—his Benefactor.
If he was asking her too, it must mean he was truly desperate.
‘So it wasn’t Yesili.’
Aya added her own conjecture quietly as she looked up at him.
His eyes held considerable depth.
‘Should I have said I’d been trained as a Priest?’
What would have changed?
Imagining something worse, Aya let out a small sigh.
“I ask because I am searching for my Benefactor.”
Looking out at the darkening window, Nahal spoke almost as if to himself.
“Long ago, when I visited the Northern Region as a child, I was saved by a young Priest and owe him my life.”
Aya stared at him with surprised eyes at how remarkably flat his tone was as he confided his circumstances.
She had never imagined he would speak of his past in such a way.
“From that day until now, I have sworn to find him and repay my debt.”
Aya gazed quietly at his face.
A faint light seemed to shimmer across his features, weary and worn with ennui.
‘Is this man confessing an old love right now?’
Since he had already given his heart to someone else, was he speaking—as he had before—of how their marriage would be merely ceremonial?
And yet, strangely, Aya felt no sadness.
That didn’t mean she intended to abandon herself.
Yet to her surprise, Nahal said something entirely different from what she’d expected.
“I have devoted myself to meeting that person for a lifetime, but this is something of a different nature than the affection between spouses.”
He turned to look at her as he spoke.
Aya didn’t immediately understand what Nahal was trying to tell her.
Not because his words were difficult or because her comprehension was lacking, but because no one had ever spoken to her this way before.
“During our marriage, I will be faithful to you, and I will never shirk my responsibilities.”
Aya realized he wasn’t confessing an old love or reminiscing about the past—he was making her a promise.
He was telling her that during this marriage, he would never betray her.
He was a king.
Now he could do whatever he pleased.
He had no need to concern himself with what she or Chipor thought.
And yet……
“This is a promise between us. I will conduct myself with propriety as your wife and remain faithful to you, and you must do the same for me.”
Nahal abruptly extended his hand.
Aya grasped it without thinking and nodded.
‘Did he make the same promise to Chipor?’
Who could say.
She couldn’t know.
“And…… regarding the attendants who served you……”
Nahal broached the subject with rare hesitation.
He said that during her illness, he had stripped them of their positions and was awaiting her judgment on what to do with them.
“Since they are your people, I thought it only right that you decide their punishment.”
Aya nodded slowly.
She knew better than anyone the careless manner of the Nurse, or the subtle contempt those servants had shown her over time.
But she needed Yesili.
There was no one else who understood her intentions as well as Yesili did.
And to keep Yesili at her side, she would have to bring the Nurse along as well.
“There is no hurry. Take your time deciding.”
Seeing Aya troubled and uncertain, Nahal offered her this comfort.
His expressionless face appeared as blank as always, but the content of his words was remarkably tender.
“Then I shall take my leave. And should you need anything you used before, or require anything else, do not hesitate to ask for it.”
Nahal concluded his words as if preparing to leave, and stood.
Seized by a sudden urgency, Aya caught hold of his sleeve without thinking.
“…… Is there something you wish to say?”
At Nahal’s question, Aya nodded quickly.
She wanted to tell him thank you.
She wanted to tell him how much comfort his words had brought her.
She was grateful for everything—for sharing his difficult past, for promising to honor this marriage even though it was certainly not what he wanted.
But now that she had seized his sleeve, she felt a small pang of regret.
Yet she couldn’t let go.
After a moment’s deliberation, Aya met his gaze.
Then, slowly, she moved her lips.
Very slowly, so he could understand.
‘Thank you.’
Nahal, who had been watching Aya intently, could not tear his eyes away even after her lips ceased moving.
His gaze lingered on her face for a long moment.
Rarely, a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“It is only natural.”
A faint smile crossed his features and vanished.
‘Did he just smile?’
Aya’s eyes widened.
Having finished his farewell, Nahal rose and offered her a brief parting bow before he departed.
Aya gazed quietly at the place where he had been, then let her body sink back onto the bed.
The room fell silent.
The faint sound of insects drifted through the window, and a fresh breeze carried the scent of grass.
Aya closed her eyes quietly.
The faint smile on his face kept surfacing in her mind, disappearing, and surfacing again.
* * *
“Fragrant Oil.”
So saying, the attendant smoothed fragrant oil through Aya’s hair with a gentle brush.
Though she had not yet been formally inscribed into the court, everyone treated her as the king’s wife.
Chipor still grumbled from time to time, but even she could not deny that Nahal lavished considerable attention on them both.
If Chipor could see as much, what of Aya herself?
Aya’s circumstances had transformed utterly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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