Chapter 115: Can’t Sleep?
“Hmm?”
When she heard Rachel’s words, Evelia slightly turned her head.
Even though the room was dark and Rachel couldn’t see her face, the sound of her pillow shifting told Rachel that Evelia was now looking her way.
Even though Rachel didn’t think she had said anything wrong, that unseen gaze in the dark still made her feel a lot of pressure.
“I mean… like, going to Dad’s place…”
Because of that pressure, her voice became timid and unsure.
“You mean, going to Mr. Armand’s room?”
“Ah—yes, that’s right. Going to him.”
Rachel gulped nervously as she answered.
Even though she was scared, even though she felt like her life was hanging by a thread, she was still scheming inside her head.
Sure, the “Red Crow” used to be a man, and yeah, the idea of her falling in love with the Knight Commander might sound a bit crazy. But to save her own life, Rachel figured she had to at least try to get them together.
Why not? They actually looked like a perfect match, smart and beautiful. Who cared about the past? What mattered was now. And it wasn’t like Rachel was going to try and change Evelia’s body back anyway.
Evelia’s transformation was very different from Rachel’s. Because the Second Prince had been in a huge rush, Rachel didn’t have time to build Evelia a brand-new body from scratch. So instead, she had simply modified Evelia’s original body.
Even though her appearance and inner structure had both changed, it was still faster to adapt to something old rather than something brand-new.
If she had transferred Evelia’s consciousness into a completely new body, it would’ve taken a long time, especially for someone not experienced. No matter how similar it looked, it still wouldn’t feel like “you.”
Rachel remembered the first time she switched bodies herself. After the transfer, she was unconscious for three days straight, and then spent almost a week in bed barely able to move. Even after that, she couldn’t do anything precise or delicate for a while.
And whether a person could adapt to a new body quickly also depended on their talent. If you were unlucky or had poor compatibility, you could even end up a vegetable.
Also, a human body that had already been transformed once couldn’t go through it again. The body simply couldn’t handle a second round of alchemy.
So unless the Red Crow wanted to risk becoming a vegetable, lying in bed for weeks and taking even longer to fully adapt, there was no going back. She could never return to how she was before.
“Mr. Armand is probably already asleep by now…”
Evelia muttered softly, as if thinking aloud. It sounded like she didn’t want to disturb him now that it was so late.
“Aww, Mom, how would you know unless you go and check?”
Rachel was both nervous and a little desperate.
Only if those two truly cared about each other would she have any chance of surviving under their protection. Only then could she live on as their “adopted daughter.”
Besides, wasn’t Evelia planning to use her beauty as a weapon anyway?
Rachel grumbled in her head.
If she wanted to charm the Knight Commander, she had to help create opportunities for that to happen. She figured she was doing Evelia a favor here, helping push things along a little. That way, if one day they ended up in a life-or-death fight, maybe Evelia would be kind enough to let her live.
But now that she thought about it… how far had they actually gotten?
Before she could fully carry out her “matchmaking mission,” she needed to figure out exactly what stage the two were at.
To Rachel, their relationship felt… odd. Like there was something between them.
Kind of romantic, but also kind of distant.
They were close enough that you could almost say they were touching. But emotionally, Armand seemed to be keeping his distance.
—Why?
Rachel couldn’t help but wonder.
Was it because the “Evelia” she had created wasn’t beautiful enough?
Impossible. Rachel was confident her sense of beauty was totally normal. That figure, those curves, that waist, those legs, and that face, what man could look at her and not be moved? There was no way Armand didn’t find her attractive, right?
Could it be he just didn’t like that type? That didn’t make sense either. Over the years, Rachel had met people with all kinds of tastes, but the Knight Commander didn’t seem like one of those more “unusual” cases.
Rachel hadn’t been around long, but even someone just arriving could see that there was something strange between Evelia and Armand.
Just in one day, she had figured it out, Evelia seemed to care a lot about Armand, probably because it was part of her mission as the “Red Crow.” She was very proactive with him.
And Armand? While he did sometimes take the initiative, it was like he had a limit. He was kind to Evelia, but never let himself get too close emotionally.
…Why?
Rachel couldn’t help but feel confused.
Was Armand just a jerk who liked playing hard to get?
But if he were really that kind of guy, then there’d be no need to treat a child he just “picked up” like Rachel with such care, or spend time playing pretend as a happy family.
Then… what was it?
Could it be…?
Rachel frowned. She felt like she might have a vague guess, but there wasn’t enough information yet. She hadn’t seen enough, didn’t have enough clues. This was the kind of situation where guessing wrong could mess up everything. And once things went off track, it might be impossible to fix.
So for now, what she needed to do was very simple, bring Evelia and Armand closer together.
She didn’t know what the two of them were really thinking deep down, but the goal was clear. She had to make them into a happy, loving family of three.
And honestly, now was the perfect time, wasn’t it?
The two of them were getting along fairly well. Even if they accidentally disturbed Armand by visiting him late at night, it probably wouldn’t lead to serious trouble. And if it did, Rachel could just jump in and take the blame, maybe even earn Evelia’s favor in the process. If they didn’t get kicked out, even better. Perfect timing, perfect setting, a great chance to raise both of their affection levels.
After all, when Rachel modified Evelia’s body, she made sure every part was perfect, down to the smallest detail. Everything worked as it should. And yes, that included the parts used for intimacy.
Rachel took pride in her craftsmanship. Sure, she didn’t have much personal experience in that area, so Evelia might not be at the level of a legendary courtesan or anything, but in her opinion, Evelia was the perfect creation, inside and out.
Whether it was on the battlefield, in love, or under the sheets, Evelia was the ultimate warrior!
Rachel even felt a little proud thinking about it.
But, she also knew charging straight ahead into “true harmony” might actually backfire, especially with a guy like Armand who clearly kept some emotional distance.
Still… just politely showing up at his room at night, maybe chatting a bit or spending the night there, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
She could just use the excuse, ‘The child wants to sleep with her dad.’ Easy!
And if Evelia went to him looking all pitiful, maybe, just maybe, it would spark the Knight Commander’s protective instincts.
A total win!
“Mom, I want to see Dad too. Let’s go find him now, okay?”
Rachel tossed out the “perfect excuse.” Evelia wasn’t stupid. She immediately caught the hint in Rachel’s words.
She sat up and lit the oil lamp by the bed.
To be honest, she did want to see Armand.
She didn’t know why… but in this moment of messy thoughts and inner turmoil, she really did want to be near him.
Because, just like Rachel had said…
Only by his side… could she truly feel at peace.