Chapter 40: The Desire to Win
Armand was still confused about why Evelia was holding him in her arms. His brain, which had frozen a moment ago, slowly started working again. His thoughts went from “What does she mean by this?” to “Wow, how the heck did she manage to pick me up like this?” It took him a whole ten seconds to get to that point.
The scary part was, Evelia held him steadily without even shaking. Her arms didn’t tremble, her legs stood straight, and she didn’t even seem out of breath. It was like lifting him up had been no trouble at all.
At that moment, Armand's thoughts changed again, ‘Wait, is she trying to show off how strong she is…?!’
For Evelia, this action was her way of showing love and saying ‘You can trust me.’ But in Armand's eyes, it felt more like a “challenge,” like she was warning him how strong she was. It was as if she were saying, ‘Don’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you, or these strong arms that lifted you so easily could just as easily snap your neck.’
And just like that, Armand suddenly felt fired up and ready to compete.
“—!”
Evelia was not even 1.7 meters tall, so Armand easily pushed down on her arms. Then he stepped firmly onto the ground with one leg, using his body’s strength to shift Evelia’s balance. With both feet now stable, he placed one hand on her back and the other under her stomach. In just a few seconds, their positions flipped, from “Evelia holding Armand in a princess carry” to “Armand carrying Evelia on his shoulder.” The roles had completely reversed.
Evelia now lay over Armand's shoulder. His arm was tightly holding her around the waist. Her face was against his back, and her legs were hanging down the front of his body.
She pushed herself up and looked back over her shoulder. Just in time to see Armand smiling proudly, like someone who had just pulled off a clever trick.
Evelia frowned. She wasn’t happy about being treated like a sack of rice. All she had wanted was to show she was strong. But now, because Armand chose to fight back, a strange competitive energy had sparked between them, like a challenge between two men.
Evelia took a deep breath. Before Armand could ask if she was okay, she had already lifted one of her legs. She used to be an agile assassin, and now, as a woman, her body was even more flexible. These moves came even more easily to her.
She originally planned to hook her leg around Armand's neck and flip him over backward, slamming him to the ground. But the moment she lifted her leg, her maid dress moved slightly, and when Armand instinctively turned his head, he saw everything under her skirt clearly.
And that wasn’t all.
Just as Armand was about to look away, Evelia’s leg had already locked around his neck. Normally, this move would shift a person’s balance. But Armand was standing too steadily, so Evelia had to adjust and use more strength. Instead of just wrapping around his neck, her leg ended up wrapping fully around his entire head, with both legs.
Yes, she trapped his whole head between her thighs.
Front to back. Completely covered.
And the position… was quite awkward.
Armand felt a soft sensation suddenly envelop his vision, as if something tender had wrapped around his eyes. Immediately after, a damp breath seemed to cling to the tip of his nose. From beneath the white cotton of her underwear, he could hear sticky sounds close to his ear. The place where his lips touched something warmer than he expected.
Technically, Armand could have stayed standing. But the sheer awkwardness of the situation made him give up. He simply let himself fall backward with the direction of Evelia’s move.
Thud! Armand crashed to the ground with a loud sound. He was going to groan in pain, but before he could even say a word, Evelia hadn’t moved away, she fell right down on top of him, sitting fully on his stomach. The weight hit him so hard he couldn’t even make a sound.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Armand. Are you okay?” Evelia asked sweetly, looking down at him.
Evelia still asked about Armand's condition with that same stiff tone. But Armand couldn’t answer, his mouth was completely “blocked.” You could say he was “doing better than ever”… or maybe “in the worst possible situation.”
“Mmmph—!”
Maybe because of the way Armand was breathing or the small movements of his lips, Evelia suddenly felt something strange. Her body trembled a little. Only then did she realize that this position might be a bit rude, especially since Armand wasn’t an enemy right now.
“Ah, sorry, Mr. Armand.”
But she didn’t seem to think much more about it. Her face didn’t blush or change much, and she just moved slightly.
“……”
After hearing Armand make a muffled sound beneath her, Evelia finally leaned back a little to give him some space to breathe. But she didn’t stand up. It was like she still wanted to win. She simply moved back and sat on Armand's chest, placing her hands on his shoulders, as if she were ready to wrestle him into submission if he tried to do anything again.
“……”
“Mr. Armand?”
Since Evelia was sitting right on Armand's chest, she could feel his breathing and heartbeat. Even though his heart was beating faster and he was breathing heavily, Evelia just thought it was a normal reaction after physical activity. At least she was sure he was still alive. He wasn’t weak enough to die just from being thrown to the ground.
In battle, physical contact couldn’t be avoided. That’s what Evelia was taught from a young age. In a fight, all that mattered was winning, not how you or others felt. No matter what kind of move or action it was, as long as you won, it was fine.
Evelia didn’t think this position was a big deal. To her, even touching fingers was just normal physical contact. In a real fight, grabbing someone’s most private parts could also be a valid tactic. Sure, people might call it “dirty,” but even dirty tricks were worth it if they led to victory.
Her way of fighting matched her view of life. Win the battle, complete the mission, and make the Second Prince happy. She was willing to do anything for that.
That was her purpose in life.
But Armand was different. He wasn’t like Evelia. He hadn’t been trained by the “House of Nightingales” and didn’t lose his emotions because of it.
He didn’t say much back to her. He just crossed his arms over his face in an X shape to completely cover it, leaving only his nose exposed so he could breathe some much-needed fresh air.
“Mr. Armand…?”
“I’m fine…” he cut off Evelia’s emotionless concern and covered his face even tighter with his arms. “Could you please get off me?”
“…Alright.”
Since Armand said that, Evelia figured he was giving up and admitting defeat. So, she got off him without arguing and reached out her hand to help him up.
But Armand didn’t take her hand. He got up super fast on his own, didn’t look back, and didn’t say a single word. He just turned around and left, leaving Evelia standing there, her hand still stretched out in the air, holding nothing but silence.
“…Ah.”
She looked at her empty hand, then at Armand walking quickly away. She didn’t know why, but she felt… a little disappointed.
On the other side, Armand hurried down a hallway, only to realize when he got to the door that he had gone the wrong way in his panic. He had meant to go back to his bedroom but got so flustered that he walked in the opposite direction. After taking a big detour to avoid crossing paths with Evelia again, he finally made it back to his room.
The moment he stepped inside, he locked the door with a click, then leaned against it with a loud thud, breathing heavily like he’d just run a marathon.
His face and neck were as red as Evelia’s favorite tomato ketchup.