67 Chapter 66 – Comparable Situation

Leia's voice became a bit livelier, and she said, "Laila is my little sister, and she cannot see with her eyes. But she is smart and knows a lot of things. She always protects me and knows if bad things happen."

Aile asked curiously, "Really!"

Leia nodded, "If father was mad Laila always told me, and we would hide, once I did not listen to her... and he hit me." She started to tear up, and her voice broke a little.

Aile realized that the current topic was not a good memory for her, so he asked, "She is a good sister then?"

Leia nodded, "The best."

"What about you? What do you like?"

She was thinking and then said, "I like drawing and looking at the stars with Laila."

The more she talked, the less depressed she looked. Aile felt like he had achieved his goal of cheering her up. He smiled and said, "You should be happy like this more often, it makes you look charming."

She smiled and said, "Ok, I will. Laila was right again, you are much better than other people, and you did not ask about cultivation. You are charming too." She had a bright smile while saying this.

At this moment Sara arrived. She looked at how Leia was happily talking to Aile and gave her and Laila a glance starting at their heads to their feet.

She then looked at Aile with a lot of complex emotions. She did not say anything for a few seconds and just looked at him. Then she went close and gave him a tight hug. A few seconds passed when Aile heard Sara say in a bitter tone, "Princess!" She then let go of Aile.

Aile turned around and saw Princess Alice. Aile and Sara quickly did a little bow to her.

The princess gave Aile a cold look, she then took Sara's hand, and they turned around to leave. Before leaving, she said in an icy tone to Aile, "Congratulations on your union." Giving both Laila and Leia a stare.

She turned around and looked back while saying, "Make sure my gift is excellent tonight or do not come!"

Aile was left a little dumbfounded at the whole situation.

Soon the princess and Sara were gone, and the crowds of nobles scattered. Different conversations were happening at each gathering point.

Aile was thinking of his next step when he noticed a hand held his and pulled him. He looked to the side and saw it was Laila. So, he let her pull him a bit further away as Leia followed them. Aile noticed that they were far away from any group that could easily listen to their conversation. But not too far away to make it seem suspicious.

Laila's sweet voice then came, "You can ask me anything now."

Aile thought about it and in the end, did not know where to start, so he said, "You should tell me what you know, and I will ask more."

Laila was quiet for a few seconds then started talking, "Earlier, when I tried to provoke you, it was not unintentional. This morning my father, Duke Noland, came and told me to make contact with you and try to get you angry. He said that someone would be watching to see your reaction. If I can get you to fight or lash out, I would get a reward.

The second thing he told me was that I would have to marry you and send him information about your daily activity, location and anything suspicious." She then quieted down, waiting for Aile's response.

Aile already had a feeling that something was wrong from the events that happened, so he asked, "You do not seem to like your father, why is that? And why did you agree to marry someone you did not know?"

Aile knew from his inherited memories that the best way to find out if a person is lying to ask questions that are not expected. This way, the faults in the story could be easily seen.

He also heightened his sense of hearing and sight to notice her reaction and heartbeat for lies. He knew that when people lie, there will be inconsistency with how the body functions. Thus, he had already analyzed how she behaved normally and was planning to compare how she responded to it, to find out possible inaccuracies.

Aile also looked at Leia who had a surprised face at what Laila said. This made Aile a little more suspicious.

Before responding, she shifted her body slightly towards Leia and then she said, "If I agreed, we could join an academy."

At this time, Leia asked in a confused tone, "But you are already accepted in the academy, and you do not need to pay. So why did you need to agree to such a harsh term."

The academy interested Aile to probe further but that was something for later.

From her body language, Aile understood the situation a bit. She was doing this so that Leia can attend the academy too. Leia was not known for her talent, so this was understandable.

Aile did not answer Leia's question, and Laila was genuinely panicked trying to answer her. From this, Aile also got an understanding of how she reacted when she lied. He was not concerned about how she would lie to Leia, so he asked her, "Why the change of heart now then?"

Leia was still there looking at her sister in a daze. While Laila was visibly more comfortable after Aile diverted the topic.

Laila said, "Initially I wanted to continue with the plan even though I did not believe that he will keep his end of the deal. The nobles have never been considerate to us, and he keeps on using us to please them. I am afraid that now that we are growing up, things would not be too good. If now he is making me marry what will happen in a few years and what will happen to Leia.

When I first noticed you, I expected you to be the same as them. But you were not rude to me even though I provoked you by questioning your authority when you were dominating the nobles. I wanted to say sorry and let you know that I was not like the others.

I became scared after I talked to you, I was actually turning in to them. I really wanted to come and apologize and explain the situation to you. But I was frightened of what will happen to us if we did not listen and follow his plan.

I am really grateful to you, perhaps if you were not here today, to wake me up, I could have regretted my decision for the rest of my life. After I thought about it, I decided to devote my life to you. I know it might seem rash, but I find you the only delightful person and I had a good feeling about you. If I do not take my own fate in my hand, then I will be used again by him and sold off for a better deal.

I noticed that you took care of Sara there very well and I was envious too. You were kind and helpful, I was just hoping to feel that, even if you do not like me at least you will not use me.

Even, if you use me like him, at least.... this will be as a result of my doing."

Aile sighed, he knew that this body's faith would be comparable to hers if he had not taken over. In a sense, their circumstances were similar, and he felt sorry for her. But he also knew that her case was not unique, many lives get traded for much less. In fact, her situation could be considered quite-well, at least she had experienced a noble's lifestyle. He also wanted to continue probing her. Aile had already planned to take her and Leia in. But he needed to make his safety the priority, so he questioned her further, "You have put me in a horrible situation. Now I am enemies with a Noble Duke due to your selfish reason. I may be nice in some occasions, but why should I make an enemy of a Duke for your sake. As a matter of fact, when I compare having both of you and making the Duke as my enemy, it would not be worth it." Aile wanted to see her resolve. He wanted to make sure that if a better option came, would she abandon him.

Laila's face immediately contracted, then she put up a false bravado, while she was clearly sad. Her face had a sense of melancholy, as she firmly said, "You are right, we are not valuable to you. I know, not only have we caused a misunderstanding with a Duke for you but we have also created some distance between you and the princess and Sara. I cannot apologize enough. I am certainly not good enough to be standing next to you. So, I am willing to do anything for you, whether it is now or in the future. I only hope that you can be charitable and take care of Leia." She said this with a lot of emotions as tears formed in her crystalline eyes.

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