Chapter 79: I Think… It’s Just for the Mission
“Ahhh~ Miss Evelia, you’re finally here~~~!”
As soon as Evelia pushed open the shop door, she was greeted by an excited-looking Anna.
Evelia had come by once before to ask Anna when the dress would be ready. Now that she had figured the time was about right, she came back just as promised.
“Did Mr. Armand not come with you?”
Anna looked behind Evelia but didn’t see Armand, who had come with her the last time.
“Mr. Armand has been really busy lately.”
The preparations for the celebration were in their final stages, so as the commander, Armand was extremely busy. While the other knights were excited and looking forward to the event, Armand and Carle had been working overtime for days in the knights’ headquarters, making final arrangements. Ever since, they hadn’t had much rest.
“That’s a shame… I thought he’d come with you to see the dress.”
Anna pouted, clearly disappointed. But before she could finish pouting, something seemed to pop into her head, her eyes lit up. “But then again, it’s actually better that he didn’t!”
“Better?” Evelia tilted her head in confusion.
“If he doesn’t see it now, the impression will be totally different when he sees it later. Sure, I don’t get to hear him praise my work right now, but if this can help you two get closer, then that’s even better!”
Anna looked very proud as she said this. The petite girl even stood on her tiptoes and lifted her chin really high, so high that she almost fell backward.
“I see…”
Evelia thought about it for a moment and felt like it kind of made sense. After all, things you haven’t seen before always feel fresher than things you’ve already seen a few times. But... what did that have to do with “the two of them” and their relationship? It was just a dress. Could there be some special meaning behind it?
The dress Anna made looked exactly like the design drawing. It also included the blue color Evelia had requested earlier. Along with the white and gold, the added blue was like a sea of stars. The satin fabric shimmered like waves, and the faint glowing dots made it truly look like a starry sky. Evelia hadn’t tried it on yet, but she trusted Anna’s skill. She was sure the size would be perfect.
As Evelia stared at the dazzling blue fabric in front of her, she unknowingly became lost in thought. Anna watched her for a long time before gently poking Evelia’s shoulder when it seemed like she wasn’t going to say anything.
“What’s wrong?”
Evelia turned to look at Anna, who was staring at her in disbelief.
“You’re not arguing back?”
“Hmm?” Evelia didn’t seem to understand what Anna meant.
“I mean Miss Evelia, you didn’t say, ‘He’s not mine!’ like you usually do!”
“Oh.” Evelia replied calmly, “Well then, I’ll add that now, he’s not mine.”
“I wasn’t reminding you to say it!”
Anna looked a little speechless, as if she was too frustrated to argue.
“Miss Evelia, you’re really too stubborn. If you keep acting like this, Mr. Armand might get snatched away by someone else!”
“Hmm?”
That one word from Evelia sounded sharper this time, though it was still just a slightly higher tone than before.
“Think about it, Miss Evelia. Mr. Armand, he’s seriously good-looking! Even if you looked with your knees, you’d still see how ridiculously handsome he is! There are so many pretty girls out there who stop in their tracks when they see a good-looking guy. We’re lucky Mr. Armand is a knight and spends most of his time surrounded by other men. But if he were in a different job where he met girls more often, he might’ve already been sweet-talked into leaving by someone else!”
“……”
Anna’s vivid description left Evelia deep in thought.
Anna’s words made Evelia think for a moment, and she realized Anna had a point.
Armand was the captain of the knight order. Most of the people he spent time with were other knights. His closest friend, the vice-captain, was already married. And even though there were some female knights, those strong, heroic women weren’t usually into sweet-talking or flirting. But what about the manor?
Armand was also the master of a manor. And even though Evelia was his personal maid, that didn’t mean Armand wouldn’t meet other women. Evelia knew that the reason she could interact with Armand so closely was because of her position as a maid. But what if another girl got close to him in the same way?
Suddenly, Evelia felt a strange sense of danger.
People said Armand wasn’t interested in women, but who knew if one day someone might appear, someone who matched his taste perfectly? What if that happened before Evelia had even done anything? What if he ended up with someone else?
Wouldn’t that mean she failed her mission?
And the worst part was she still didn’t even know what kind of girl Armand actually liked…
Right… it wasn’t just maids. Wasn’t there also a female—uh, a female being close to him? Like that white horse, Luna? Evelia had already turned from a man into a woman, what if Luna somehow turned into a human girl too?
That idea might sound completely impossible to most people, but in Evelia’s strange way of thinking, it left a real worry in her heart.
So now, her “rivals” weren’t just the maids in the manor, there was also a horse.
“I can’t let that happen.”
Evelia gritted her teeth and said those words out loud.
Armand had just given her an invitation.
He had just said she was “special.”
There was no way anyone else could be allowed to have that kind of treatment.
Even if it was just for the mission. Yes, that’s right, it was all for the mission.
Her mission was to win Armand’s heart. So she couldn’t let anyone else steal it.
Evelia didn’t know why she suddenly felt this way. She was still slowly learning how to understand normal human emotions. Every day, she faced new feelings she didn’t fully understand. Before, it was disappointment and relief. Now, what was this?
Why was she feeling this sudden sense of danger that she shouldn’t even be capable of?
She had completed all kinds of tough missions before without feeling like this. So why now?
It must be because this mission was special… yes, that had to be it.
Evelia kept telling herself in her heart that it was all just the mission, hoping to calm her nerves. But the more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Her understanding of emotions wasn’t strong enough to figure out what she was really feeling. She just knew this strange, frustrating feeling was spreading through her whole body.
Even Anna, standing nearby, could feel the pressure from Evelia. It was like she was giving off killing intent.
“Anna.”
“Ah—yes! I’m here! Miss Evelia, what do you need me to do?”
Hearing Evelia say her name in such a cold tone, Anna stood up straight, gulping nervously, waiting for instructions.
“What do you think of Mr. Armand?”
“Ah—?” Anna was confused and answered carefully, “Um… he’s a really handsome guy?”
As soon as Anna said that, she felt Evelia’s whole body give off a freezing aura. Evelia was still expressionless, but her eyes were sharp like knives, and Anna felt like everywhere she was being looked at started to hurt like she was being cut.
“Ah—ah—!” Anna quickly realized what she had done and panicked. “Yes, he’s handsome! But he’s totally the kind of guy you admire from far away and never touch! Guys like him are way out of my league! I swear I don’t have any interest! Not even a little! I only want to see Miss Evelia find happiness!”
“I see.”
Hearing that answer, Evelia relaxed a little. In her mind, she silently removed Liliana from her list of possible threats.
After that, Anna, still a bit nervous but also excited (because she felt like something juicy just happened), carefully wrapped the dress and handed it to Evelia. Evelia, like before, thanked her in a flat tone with no emotion and then left. It was almost like the tense moment earlier had been all in Anna’s imagination.
Watching Evelia walk away, Anna let out a sigh. She’d been a little scared, but also a little happy.
She secretly hoped that the next time Miss Evelia came to her to order a dress, it would be a wedding dress.