Chapter 154: A Fool for a Foolish Eve
To be honest, neither of them had any experience with love. So of course, they had no idea how to kiss someone properly either.
Even though Evelia had grabbed Armand by the collar and kissed him, all they really did was press their lips together.
Evelia left a kiss on Armand’s lips, one full of the smell of alcohol, but also full of inexperience. The softness of her lips and the wet feeling from the alcohol stayed on his lips for a moment.
“Whew…”
Evelia let out a hot breath. Her fingers slowly moved over the buttons of Armand’s shirt. She seemed to be trying to loosen his tie in her hazy, tipsy state.
But with her foggy brain and unsteady hands, she couldn’t manage it. In fact, the loose knot in his tie almost turned into a tight one that could’ve choked him.
“…Are you trying to kill me?”
Maybe Armand didn’t just mean being choked by the tie. He was probably also joking about the kiss that suddenly came out of nowhere.
Just like before, Armand was trying to keep the balance between them.
He was carefully enjoying this calm before the storm. If he did something reckless and the crown prince found out, the promise between them might fall apart.
“……”
Evelia didn’t respond. Her dazed eyes stared ahead as she leaned her forehead against Armand’s chest. Her breathing was deep and a little hot, and her chest gently rose and fell as she breathed.
“Haa…”
Even though Armand was still sober, he could feel himself getting pulled into this moment of intimacy.
He bit his lower lip, he could still taste the tomato sauce on it.
That strong taste… for some reason, it felt especially sweet tonight.
“This is so annoying…”
Faced with this unclear, confusing situation, Armand muttered his usual phrase. He was frustrated with the moment, and frustrated with the past too.
“Mr. Armand…”
Evelia mumbled his name in a soft voice. She rubbed her chin against his chest and looked up at him.
“Do you… not like me anymore?”
“Seriously, do you only hear what you want to hear?”
“I just don’t want you to hate me, Armand…”
Evelia completely melted into Armand’s arms, her soft body pressing against him. Even Armand didn’t realize when he had wrapped his arms around her waist.
The girl in his arms looked up at Armand as if she were silently begging. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wet and full of emotion. Maybe because she was trying to take in more fresh air, Evelia's lips parted slightly.
The mixture of alcohol and saliva made a faint, shiny string between her lips, and behind that soft shimmer, her tongue. Still untouched during their kiss, gently stirred, looking especially tempting.
“Do you realize how easy it is for someone to make a mistake when you’re like this?” Armand sighed.
This kind of physical closeness, paired with Evelia’s inviting expression, and the lingering effects of alcohol in the air, made it hard to think clearly. Even Armand, who was trying to stay calm, started to feel his self-control slipping.
“...?”
Evelia, still foggy-headed, didn’t seem to understand what Armand meant. She tilted her head slightly, as if a question mark had appeared over her head. It was like she hadn’t fully processed anything and was just barely holding on to consciousness. Her mind was trying to pick out keywords from his words, but everything was blurry.
“…You really only understand the parts you want to, huh.”
Armand took a deep breath. The short distance between them meant that if he leaned down just a little more, he could kiss her again. Her lips, flushed and slightly open, seemed to glow with warmth. They looked like a red carpet laid out before a door that said "Welcome."
Armand lowered his head. As the distance between them shrank, Evelia watched the growing shadow in front of her with hazy eyes. She slowly closed her eyes, whether out of expectation, confusion, or something else, it wasn’t clear.
The heat in the room rose. Their breathing grew heavier. With her eyes closed and her world darkened, Evelia found herself imagining what might come next.
Her thoughts, dulled by alcohol, started to anticipate more contact. Though she had no experience with love or intimacy, and her ideas were mostly from romance novels, she couldn’t help but imagine more than just hugging and kissing.
She had never really been in a relationship, never even experienced being a woman in that way. All she had were vague ideas from girly stories, with flowery descriptions of romance. But beyond that, she didn’t really know what else was supposed to happen.
...How pathetic, Red Crow.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her cloudy mind, mocking her.
Look at you now. Craving a man’s kiss.
Have I really fallen this far?
Am I seriously thinking about things like that right now?
She told herself it must be for the mission. That’s all this was.
It was just because... she needed to complete the Second Prince’s—
No.
Maybe because her mind was a mess, all hazy and dizzy from the alcohol, this time Evelia actually rejected that thought. That thought that had always bound her.
As if drunkenness gave her courage to go a little crazy, she began to reject everything. Even her own sense of duty.
The illusion brought by the alcohol blurred her thoughts, pulling her far away from logic.
And as her reason slowly faded away, her true feelings, hidden deep under layers of mud, finally started to come out.
—It’s not because of the Second Prince.
It’s me.
I want to have it.
Not because of any “assigned role.”
Not as “Red Crow.”
Not even as the created persona “Evelia.”
But me, the real me.
I want to be loved by him.
Of course... all of this was nothing more than drunken nonsense.
Once she sobered up, the splitting pain of a hangover would erase all the fuzzy memories of tonight.
But still…
Please...
Just for a few minutes.
Let me be myself.
But Armand… stopped.
If Evelia had lost control in the chaos of her drunkenness. Then Armand was someone who had always lived by clear-headed discipline.
Maybe that’s why people liked alcohol so much.
Because when drunk, they could feel free. Free from responsibilities, free from pressure.
But... Armand couldn’t.
He could only stay sober.
He couldn’t enjoy chaos. And he couldn’t throw everything away in a moment of madness.
He gently brushed Evelia’s bangs aside, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
It was light, very light. But he lingered there, not moving away for a long time.
Evelia opened her eyes. Her blurry vision reflected Armand’s figure.
She pressed her lips together. The dryness in her mouth made her feel a little irritated.
“Heh... just look at you.”
Armand cupped Evelia’s cheek. His voice sounded gentle, but his eyebrows were still slightly furrowed.
“You silly girl.”
—But... who exactly was he talking about?
“I’m not... silly-filly... or whatever...”
Armand’s sudden stop made Evelia frown in frustration. She puffed up her cheeks, scrunched her brows, and squinted her eyes at him.
“Mr. Armand, I—”
Evelia still wanted to say something, to struggle a bit and speak her mind.
But it was as if the alcohol had finally hit her all at once, her head felt heavy and sleepy. She opened her mouth, but even talking started to feel difficult.
“I…”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the expression on Armand’s face. And maybe because her thoughts were such a mess, she could clearly see that faint, helpless smile of his.
“……”
So that’s how it is. He is a little troubled, after all…
Why, though?
Is it because I’m still not good enough?
What should I do?
Evelia, slurring her words, kept softly calling Armand’s name again and again. But the question in her heart never made it out of her mouth.
“Mr. Armand…”
But at the moment, there was a more urgent problem. Still foggy from the alcohol, Evelia lifted her head and looked at Armand with a very unhappy expression.
“…What is it?”
“I... I—”
Her mouth, which clearly couldn’t keep up with her thinking, mumbled for a while before she finally managed to get out.
“—I need to go to the bathroom.”
Well, she had just downed forty bottles of alcohol, no wonder she couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Ah… um…” Armand responded awkwardly, “Then… go ahead?”
“…Mmm.” Evelia let out a small grumble, then weakly flopped forward onto Armand’s chest. “No need anymore.”
“…?”
Armand didn’t get it at first. But once he did, it was already too late.
“—Huh?!”
“…Also… Mr. Armand…”
“W-What now—?”
“I think I’m gonna throw up…”
“Wait—what—?! No—!”
“Blegh—!”
“Aaaahhhhhhh—Evelia!!!”