Chapter 30: Obedient Evelia
"This is too much... Just hurry up and put that thing on."
Armand shut his eyes awkwardly, trying to take a deep breath, only to be surrounded by the sweet scent from Evelia's body.
It was the first time he had ever closed his eyes so carelessly in front of someone from the enemy's side. His heart was beating wildly, even faster than when he was poisoned before.
"You don’t want it anymore?"
"Why would I need that thing…?!"
"I see..."
Evelia didn’t say anything more. She quietly took off her shoes and lifted one leg, planning to lean back so she could stretch her leg out and get dressed. But as soon as she raised her leg, because the space inside the carriage was so small, her bare foot ended up stepping right onto Armand’s knee. To steady herself, her toes even gently scratched at his knee.
Armand’s pants couldn’t block the warmth and softness of her foot. Evelia’s body had been remade through alchemy, so her skin was much softer and more delicate than most girls her age. Even though she had a few calluses from walking recently, the sole of her foot was still unbelievably soft and warm.
And maybe because the carriage was shaking, the bottom of her foot rubbed against Armand’s knee a few times. He was trying hard to stay calm, but that made his throat tighten, and a muffled groan escaped him.
Armand wanted to open his eyes to see what on earth she was doing, but the moment he did, he caught a full view from her raised leg… much more than just underwear. It was far more intense than seeing just lingerie.
"…Could you please not step on my leg?"
"Oh, okay."
Evelia turned her body to face sideways instead of directly facing Armand. She stretched her long legs out onto the seat next to her.
But instead of putting on socks or shoes, she was putting on the underwear under her long white dress. Since she was turned sideways, when she pulled up the underwear, her arms lifted the skirt as well. So now, not just the front view, even the side view, was completely visible to Armand.
"......"
This is sinful…
He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Armand’s emotions went from flustered and panicked to quietly helpless.
“Mr. Armand, I’m done changing.”
“Ah… yeah, I know.”
Of course he knew, he saw every important part of the whole scene.
Click.
It didn’t actually take long to get from the street to the estate by carriage. But when the wheels finally stopped and they arrived, Armand felt like he had just lived through an entire emotional rollercoaster.
“We’re here, Eve.” Armand let out a silent sigh as he saw the familiar gates of the estate. “Time to get off.”
“Alright. Thank you for bringing me back, Mr. Armand.”
Evelia, as if she had done nothing strange at all, spoke in the same calm voice as always and politely said goodbye.
Armand helped unlock the door of the carriage. As it opened with a crisp click, the outside wind blew in. It wasn’t as strong as the wind from earlier on the street, but Armand still quickly reached out and placed the coat he had taken off earlier over Evelia’s shoulders. The large coat wrapped her up tightly.
With the height difference between them and the fact it was a long coat, the bottom of the coat hung even lower than her skirt. If Evelia had been any shorter, the coat would have made her look like a walking white barrel.
“Make sure no one sees… any of those things you were wearing.”
Armand spoke while helping Evelia button up the jacket of her knight uniform.
“What?” Evelia looked at Armand, puzzled by his expression and the way his hands hurried to fasten the buttons.
“I mean, your... those things…” Armand paused. “The stuff in the black bag.”
“You mean my black lace underwear and maid costume?”
Actually, there was also a lingerie catalog inside the bag. Since Armand didn’t ask for it, Evelia didn’t take it out. That catalog was one of the real problems.
“Yes, that.”
Armand had no idea how she could say those words so seriously and calmly.
“Alright, Mr. Armand. I won’t show them to anyone.”
“And… that includes what you're wearing now.”
Armand even kindly rolled up the oversized sleeves of the jacket for her. When his fingers touched the back of her hand, his mind suddenly brought back the memory of her foot rubbing against his knee earlier.
Ugh—damn it. Even holding hands before had never made him feel like this.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He even messed up the last few buttons and had to redo them.
“Okay, I understand.” Evelia nodded.
“……”
Armand looked at her blank expression, calmly following every instruction. He hesitated for a moment, then asked,
“Don’t you ever ask why?”
Even though Armand didn’t like how sharp and observant Evelia could be sometimes, he still asked this question as he stared at her face, which never seemed to change.
“Why? What do you mean, why?”
She didn’t seem to understand what he was asking.
“I mean, when I tell you to do something, don’t you ever wonder why I’m telling you to do it?”
Armand looked up at her golden eyes, still as calm as ever. Both of them had been trying to read something meaningful behind each other’s guarded expressions.
“There’s no need to ask, Mr. Armand.” Evelia shook her head. “Because you’re my master, and I am your maid. A master’s command means everything. So I don’t need to ask why.”
Her answer sounded stiff and mechanical, but Armand wasn’t surprised. It was exactly the kind of thing someone like Evelia would say.
She really did seem like the type who would stay loyal, even at the cost of her own will.
But—
Who was she really loyal to?
Without realizing it, Armand had grabbed her wrist and was holding it tightly. Evelia didn’t react to the pressure. They simply stared at each other in silence.
“You really do listen well to your master, huh, Eve.”
He let out a short laugh and lowered his head.
“Yes. If my master needs something, I’ll do it.”
A lie. Even Armand could feel the sarcasm in this conversation.
Because the “master” they were both talking about… wasn’t the same person at all.
“All right, get off now.”
Armand let go of her hand and gently helped Evelia down from the carriage. Her wrist was a little red, but she didn’t complain. Then he gave her a small nod and told the driver to take him to the street where his office was.
Evelia watched the carriage slowly disappear into the distance. Once it was gone from sight, she quietly rubbed her wrist, then walked through the estate gates.
Because Armand was the commander of the knight order, his uniform was very different from the other knights, easy to recognize at a glance. Just then, the old butler walked by and saw Evelia all wrapped up tightly in Armand’s coat. He looked her up and down with curiosity and asked.
“Miss Evelia, where have you been? Why are you dressed so heavily?”
“……”
Evelia glanced at the old butler. She remembered Armand’s words, ‘Don’t let anyone else see this.’ After thinking for a moment, she pulled Armand’s coat even tighter around herself.
“Mr. Armand said… only he is allowed to see this.”
“…?”
The old butler was left standing there, completely confused, as Evelia calmly walked past him without another word.