Chapter 148: So She Finally Figured It Out
When it came to the topic of "how to make Mr. Armand fall in love with Evelia", the two girls, both technically still girls, sat face to face.
Evelia kept her usual emotionless face, while Anna frowned and pursed her lips, looking extremely serious.
But what really bothered Anna wasn’t how to make Mr. Armand like Miss Evelia. It was the fact that, judging by how they interacted now, they didn’t even need to figure out how to fall in love. Anyone with eyes could see that Armand already really liked Evelia!
—Ugh! It’s so frustrating! So, so frustrating!
Aren’t they already into each other? Aren’t they in mutual love? Aren’t they?!
Miss Evelia, you really don’t know how lucky you are...
"Anna."
"Ah—Yes!"
Startled by Evelia’s voice, Anna quickly snapped back to reality. She realized she’d been daydreaming for a while.
"Have you thought of any ideas?"
To Evelia, Anna was something like her strategist. Evelia knew she wasn’t good at understanding emotions, so she relied on this lively girl to give her advice.
"Umm... hmm..."
Faced with the question, Anna looked troubled.
Mr. Armand already seemed to like her enough... so how could they move it forward even more?
"Miss Evelia, I’m just curious, what exactly does Mr. Armand mean to you?"
"He’s the Commander of the Royal Knights."
He was also her mission target.
She still remembered the day Armand asked her, “What if I weren’t the Commander?” And she had replied, “Then we probably wouldn’t have met.” That had been the truth from her heart.
If he hadn’t been the Commander, she wouldn’t have tried to get close to him like this. And the same was true in reverse, if she hadn’t been "Red Crow," she wouldn’t have been assigned to stay by Armand’s side.
Maybe it was fate. Or maybe just some kind of twisted destiny.
But no matter what, there was no “what if” in either of their lives.
"No, no! That’s not what I meant. I’m not asking for information about him. I mean, what do you think about Mr. Armand? Do you have any feelings for him?"
"I want him to like me."
"That’s not what I meant either!"
Anna felt like she was going crazy from how clueless Evelia was.
"Okay, let me ask in a different way. When you’re with Mr. Armand… how do you feel?"
"……"
That question made Evelia pause and think deeply.
How did she feel when she was with Armand?
As a trained assassin who had lost all emotion, she should feel the same no matter where she was.
But—
"…Safe."
When she was with Armand, she felt peace and safety.
It was almost funny. If Evelia had to recall the last time she felt something like that, she would probably say it was when she was a child.
When she was first kidnapped and brought to the House of Nightingales, she met a boy. Back then, she had felt the same kind of calm and comfort.
That tall boy didn’t talk much, but he always quietly helped the small, often-bullied young Evelia. He had once been her anchor, her closest friend.
But now, she saw all of that as a lie. She believed that weak version of herself should be erased from her mind.
And yet, was she really not weak anymore?
She had the courage to grip the blade and strike down her targets, and the determination to seek revenge driven by hatred. But still, she was trapped here. Only Armand’s presence allowed her to feel even a moment of sunlight’s warm touch on her skin.
“So, Miss Evelia, that means… you don’t dislike Mr. Armand, right?”
It wasn’t quite “like,” but it wasn’t “dislike” either. Anna carefully chose her words to avoid pushing Evelia too hard.
“Mm.” Evelia didn’t deny it. She simply nodded.
“Sigh…” Anna let out a long breath after hearing that.
Evelia and Armand’s relationship was really just one clear conversation away from being obvious. So why were they both making things so awkward?
Could it be… some kind of outside pressure?
Or maybe...
“Miss Evelia, if you don’t mind me asking, can I make a guess?”
Anna lowered her voice slightly, as if sharing a secret, and leaned in a little.
“Is someone making you do all this?”
“……”
This time, Evelia didn’t answer directly, because Anna had hit the mark. Everything she had done, everything she had, and everything she was about to do, was all part of the Second Prince’s plan.
Seeing Evelia’s silence, which seemed like silent confirmation, Anna got a bit bolder and continued.
“So that means… someone wants you and Mr. Armand to get close. But for some reason, you two can’t really be together?”
Even though Anna’s guess wasn’t totally accurate, she wasn’t too far off. To be precise, the Second Prince’s original order was only for Evelia to get close to Armand and gather information.
But now, she was trying to gain his trust, and even thinking about becoming someone close to him, even romantically, that part was all Evelia’s own “method.”
The Second Prince only wanted to place Evelia near Armand, not in his bed. But clearly, Evelia had already strayed down a path she couldn’t turn back from. And the scary part was that she still thought everything was going just fine.
“……”
After Anna’s guess, Evelia still didn’t speak. She simply looked at Anna quietly, using her eyes to tell her, ‘Don’t keep asking.’
“Don’t worry, Miss Evelia. I’ll keep your secret.”
Anna knew if she kept going, she might dig into things that Evelia couldn’t share. So she wisely closed her mouth and didn’t say any more of her thoughts.
Even though she had pieced together Evelia’s general intentions, Anna had no way of knowing that what looked like some complicated family drama… was actually connected to the royal family and the future power of the entire kingdom.
“Hmm… so that means Miss Evelia and Mr. Armand… are on different sides…”
Mumbling to herself, Anna finally figured out why Evelia acted the way she did around Armand. It wasn’t just that she didn’t understand love. It was because of her own mission.
—Ah, wait.
Suddenly, Anna thought of something.
If Evelia and Armand are on opposite sides… And the person who sent Evelia is actually Armand’s enemy…
But now, if Evelia is starting to like someone from the enemy side because of what he’s done…
Hmm—
Wouldn’t that be a kind of “falling to the enemy’s side”?
At that moment, Anna felt like she had figured everything out.