Chapter 27: The Wind Is Rising
“Mr. Armand, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?”
Compared to Armand, who looked slightly surprised, Evelia’s face stayed calm as always. She walked toward him, and with each step, a light breeze carried a faint floral scent in the air.
“Ah, I’m doing a bit of investigation,” Armand rubbed his nose, as if the scent had already filled his nostrils. “This is one of the more chaotic areas in the royal city. I was thinking about arranging for some knights to patrol here.”
“……”
Evelia didn’t answer. Her eyes dimmed slightly.
Compared to the busy front street full of people, this quiet, shady path did feel a bit eerie.
The body of the man whose neck she had just snapped was still hidden in a trash bin in that alley. Although she hadn’t looked closely to see if there were any other "residents" in the bin, the strong smell of rotting flesh deep inside was something she knew all too well.
Luckily, the shop assistant had sprayed a bit of perfume on her dress. Otherwise, who knew if the hem of her skirt would carry the stench of the corpse.
“Eve, don’t take small alleys like this in the future, okay? It’s not safe. By the way, you didn’t run into any trouble on your way here, did you?”
Evelia’s silence made Armand feel uneasy. As a knight, he instinctively worried for her safety. Maybe it was because of how eye-catching her outfit was today, but he couldn’t help wondering if she had drawn the attention of some shady guys.
But… she should be fine, right?
After all, Evelia clearly looked like someone who could handle herself. Those street thugs from the old district wouldn’t be able to mess with her.
Probably… Anyway, to Armand, Evelia seemed like someone not to be messed with.
“No.”
Her voice was as calm as ever, but it did ease Armand’s worries a bit. He didn’t even realize it himself, but he quietly let out a breath of relief upon hearing she was okay.
“Ah, good. I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Mm.”
It should’ve been a simple exchange, but somehow, a strange awkwardness hung between them.
They both fell silent, neither one saying anything.
Armand just stood there, thinking, as he looked at the Evelia before him, dressed differently than usual. He tried to figure out some clues from her new outfit.
Evelia, on the other hand, was wondering if Armand would compliment how much effort she had put into dressing up today. After all, countless men had turned their heads to look at her on the way here. Armand should say something, right?
“……”
But Armand stayed silent. He rubbed his ear, lost in thought, and quietly looked away.
He turned his eyes toward the people walking by, looking anywhere except at Evelia standing right in front of him.
“Does it not look good?”
After nearly a full minute of silence, Evelia, who had carefully chosen her outfit today, finally couldn’t hold back.
She stepped to the side, moving into the direction where Armand had shifted his gaze. She watched as he instinctively looked at her, and in his blue eyes, he saw her, dressed in pure white.
“…Huh?”
Armand froze for a second and leaned back slightly.
“I’m asking about my new clothes. Do they not look good?”
When Evelia asked that question, she wasn’t trying to be flirty or hint at anything. She just honestly wanted to know if Armand liked the way she looked. If he said no, she’d just go back to the store and try a different style.
“…It’s, uh, kind of refreshing.”
Armand opened his mouth, and in the end, gave a vague answer.
He was so used to seeing Evelia in her maid outfit that this really did feel… different.
If Evelia had been a typical girl, she might have said, “How can you say that to a lady?” But she wasn’t, so she really did stop and think about what Armand meant by “refreshing.”
Refreshing? Did that mean she looked like something tasty? No, probably not.
Does he mean it’s something new? Surprising? Like something that catches the eye?
Anyway, it should count as a compliment.
"Thank you."
That’s what Evelia thought, so she politely said thanks. She gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers brushing down along her smooth, pale neck.
Armand quickly looked away again. Because of the shadow of his bangs, it was hard to tell what kind of look he had in his eyes.
“Are you not willing to look at me?” Evelia noticed where his eyes went and asked, pressing the question.
“Not exactly.”
As if caught in the act and having no choice, Armand glanced at Evelia again, taking in her appearance, and couldn’t help but let the corner of his mouth lift into a slight smile.
“Alright. You look really pretty, Eve.”
This time, it was a direct compliment. Arman smiled as he spoke, his ears turning a bit red. But from Evelia’s point of view, it just looked like his ears were red because he had been rubbing them earlier.
She probably didn’t know that Armand had been rubbing his ears to hide how red they’d gotten.
“Mm, that’s good.”
Hearing such a simple compliment, Evelia felt surprisingly happy.
Was it because her plan had worked, and that gave her a bit of satisfaction?
“Are you going somewhere?”
“No, I just went out to buy some clothes. I’m heading back to the estate now.”
Now that she was sure Armand seemed to like this style, Evelia decided she didn’t need to visit other clothing shops. If she needed more clothes in the future, she’d just go back to that same store.
Although the shop assistant’s words were kind of weird… she actually seemed to understand quite a lot.
“Ah, alright then. Be careful. There’s a main road if you go out from the next corner, don’t take these creepy little paths. I still have some places to check. Please tell the old butler I’ll be back later.”
Hearing that Evelia wasn’t dressed up like this to meet some other guy, Armand felt a strange bit of relief in his heart.
But he didn’t want to admit that kind of feeling, even to himself. That’s why he avoided looking at Evelia again, afraid that he might feel something more.
…Ugh. So annoying.
…This kind of trick is way too obvious. He can’t fall for that…
Armand muttered in his mind, then quickly found something to do and turned around, not letting the conversation continue.
“Okay. I understand, Mr. Armand.”
Evelia gave a simple bow to say goodbye, but it felt like she still had something left unsaid.
Was that it?
As she watched Armand’s back as he turned to leave, a hint of disappointment rose in her heart.
Was that really it? Just a single “You look pretty,” and that’s all?
After all, Evelia hadn’t dressed like this just for a simple compliment.
She needs to make Armand fall for her.
The first appearance is always the most memorable. Even if she dressed like this again later, it wouldn’t leave the same impact as the first time.
So, she had to make the most of this moment.
Right now, while Armand was seeing this side of her for the first time, she needed to carve her beauty into his memory.
Evelia took a step forward. She looked at the tree branches swaying in the distance and realized the wind was about to reach her.
This is how it should be, facing the spring breeze.
Let her soft, beautiful hair flutter in the wind, let her long skirt sway gently with it, like a painting in the heart of spring.
“Mr. Armand—!”
The moment the wind blew her way, Evelia called out his name. Hearing her, Armand turned around.
But things didn’t go quite as she imagined. Nature wasn’t exactly on her side today.
Although, it did match something the store assistant had muttered as a joke before.
‘If the wind picks up, it’s fine too. That’s when the underwear really shows its charm.’
And yes, just like that, when Armand turned to look at Evelia, what he saw wasn’t the graceful, lovely girl he was expecting.
“…?!”
Instead, he saw her long skirt blown high into the air, completely covering her face, and under that skirt, an eye-catching pair of low-rise, lacy white panties she had carefully chosen.
The underwear’s “charm” was, indeed, on full display.
Evelia didn’t seem bothered at all by her skirt flying up. Unlike other girls who might scream and rush to hold it down, she just thought the wind at noon felt a bit chilly.
The “message” she had carefully prepared had been delivered to Armand.
It’s just that… the scene didn’t quite match what she had in mind.