Chapter 64: Choosing Love Over Friends
Evelia stood in front of the full-length mirror she had brought, trying to copy the poses shown in the book.
She was in the ballroom of the manor, and right now, she was the only one there. Even though Armand didn’t know how to dance and didn’t even like dancing, the manor still had an overly large ballroom, as expected of a noble estate.
Nobles always had all kinds of strange reasons to throw balls. Any day now, Armand might suddenly have to host one at his manor and invite a bunch of those annoying nobles who'd gather to talk nonsense. He’d even have to spend money on the fancy food and drinks they liked. Just thinking about it made Armand feel sick.
Back then, Carle had even joked with Armand, saying that if he ever got married and had a daughter, he’d need to prepare this ballroom for her debut party in high society. But all he got in return was Armand's reply, ‘You really think way too far ahead. Hell nah! That kind of thing’s never gonna happen.’
At that time, he wasn't planning on anything like that at all.
“One-two-three-four, two-two-three-four…”
To follow the rhythm better, Evelia had bought the record that came with the book and even borrowed a phonograph from the old butler. She was now counting the beats marked in the book and trying to match her movements with the rhythm of the music, doing her best to understand how the steps and timing worked together.
Maybe it was because she used to be a man, even though she had a woman’s body now, she didn’t really know how to move her hips or lift her legs in a graceful way. So, she simply treated the dance like a practice battle.
She imagined herself dodging attacks or throwing hidden weapons and ropes using different poses. That way, her movements would look more precise. Thanks to this method, and her own insights and practice, Evelia was finally starting to move in a more fluid and graceful way.
But because she wasn’t using proper techniques, she now felt completely worn out every time she went back to her room. She just wanted to lie down and rest for a bit. It was even more tiring than completing assassination missions back when she was still at the House of Nightingales.
Her amazing assassin-level stamina… was being defeated by dance practice.
“Three-two-three-four, four-two-three-four…”
There was still some time before the celebration began. Even though Evelia hadn’t fully mastered the dance yet, as the "Red Crow," she couldn’t let her name be disgraced. She was a well-known elite, there was no way she’d let something like dancing beat her.
After some time of practice, Evelia had become familiar with both the dance moves and the rhythm. Although her performance couldn't be compared to those dance masters who were trained from birth, it was still presentable.
Evelia thought to herself, since she had invited Armand, she couldn’t let her awkward dancing skills make him feel embarrassed. If that happened, all the hard-earned favor she had built up with him might disappear in an instant.
Well, even if that did happen, given Armand’s current level of affection, this small issue would probably be enough to ruin things a dozen times over.
“Whew…”
As the music came to an end, Evelia let out a long breath. She didn’t know if she was doing well, she just knew she was trying her best to follow the instructions in the book.
But if she kept practicing alone, with no one to compare herself to or watch her, it was hard to tell whether she was doing things right or wrong, or what needed improvement.
But Armand told her this was a secret between them. That meant she couldn’t go ask someone else for feedback...
What if she asked Armand? Could he come and give her some advice?
She thought about it briefly, but quickly shook the idea away.
After all, the whole reason she was practicing like this was to avoid embarrassing herself in front of Armand. Inviting him to come and watch now would just end up with her making a fool of herself.
Evelia stopped dancing and sat in the corner of the room for a break. She pulled out a packet of ketchup as her “reward.”
Every time she completed a dance session she was happy with, she would reward herself with one packet. She had even brought a big cardboard box filled with all kinds of ketchup flavors. That way, while rewarding herself, she could also learn about different tastes and use them to make even better ketchup-based dishes.
Mr. Armand should be able to see how serious she was about this… right?
Evelia mumbled to herself in her heart.
She had never thought like this before, but maybe spending so much time with someone like Armand, whose personality was so out of the ordinary, had started to affect her. She was thinking more and more like him. And seeing how Armand’s attitude toward her was slowly softening, Evelia actually felt… proud.
Evelia had never been like this before. No matter how much she did or what she achieved, no matter how much the Second Prince praised her for a successful mission, Evelia had always just thought she was doing what she was supposed to do. She had never felt any sense of accomplishment.
As she sucked on the ketchup packet in her mouth, Evelia glanced at the old clock in the other corner of the ballroom.
In the quiet room, the only sounds were the soft slurping of ketchup and the steady tick-tock of the clock's pendulum.
After she received her last mission, the Second Prince’s informant contacted her again. This time, she learned that the target had changed hiding spots, most likely heading to the bell tower in the capital city. That place would be very crowded during the celebration.
If she had to kill the target then, she’d need to be extremely careful about witnesses. If anyone saw what she was doing, she'd probably have to kill them too to silence them.
The killing itself might be simple, but cleaning up afterward would be a huge headache. The place she used to cremate or bury people was probably almost full by now.
So this time, the key was to force the target into a place with no people around. There were a few narrow alleys near the bell tower, but even those might have passersby. That made the bell tower itself the safest option. If she could lure the target up there, the single staircase would make escape nearly impossible, and it would be much easier to deal with the aftermath.
Click.
Just as Evelia was seriously thinking through the plan and timing, she heard the ballroom door’s lock turning.
She stayed silent in the corner, eyes fixed on the slowly opening door, already trying to think of what kind of excuse she should use.
“Eve?”
It was Armand.
Even though Evelia had hidden herself in the corner, Armand immediately spotted the pink-haired girl quietly sucking on a ketchup packet.
“Mr. Armand.”
Evelia stood and gave a polite bow, but she clearly didn’t want to let go of the ketchup. She still had the packet in her mouth while talking, so her words came out muffled.
“What are you doing here?”
Armand seemed surprised to see her. He froze for a second, then quickly realized something and turned to shout out the door.
“Carle, you don’t need to come in!”
“Huh?” From the hallway, Carle’s voice came through the door crack. “You made me take the day off from the Knights just to mess around with me?”
“No, no! I just suddenly didn’t need your help, so you don’t have to come in now,” Armand said quickly, sticking his head out the door, trying to explain it vaguely.
“What are you even talking about?”
Carle’s annoyed voice came from the other side. But then he paused, and his tone changed.
“Wait a sec—I get it. Is that girl you wanted to invite in there? Let me take a look!”
This guy is way too sharp!
Armand cursed in his heart.
“…What’s there to look at?!”
From his tone, it was clear Armand was serious. It seemed Carle was determined to force his way in and see who could possibly capture the interest of a man like Armand, who usually paid no mind to any of the many women around him.
“Come on, what’s the big deal? Everyone’s gonna see her at the ballroom later anyway!”
“Then they can see her later! That’s enough, Carle! You can leave now—!”
Bang! Click.
The next moment, there was the sound of the door being slammed shut, followed by a sharp click as Armand locked it.
“You little punk! We’ll see how you run away from me at the ballroom!” Carle’s muffled voice came through the door again.
“Then let’s talk about it at the ballroom! Consider this a paid day off, go spend time with your wife and kid!” Armand yelled back.
“…Now that’s more like it. Fine, I’ll let you off this time.”
The moment he heard the words paid day off, Carle, like any overworked office worker, instantly cooled down. A few moments later, Armand, with his ear pressed to the door, seemed to hear Carle’s footsteps walking away and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He glanced at the corner and saw Evelia still sitting quietly there, calmly watching him, having witnessed that entire chaotic scene from start to finish.