Chapter 158: A Troubling Feeling
Armand placed a shirt that looked loose enough for Evelia to wear on the table beside her. After that, he didn’t say much, just let her continue eating the breakfast.
Though to be honest, that breakfast was actually meant for him.
But even if Armand wasn’t suffering from a hangover like Evelia, he was still dealing with stomach pain from drinking strong liquor the night before.
Even if he hadn’t eaten anything yet, just drinking water with all the stomach medicine had already filled him up. As for the nutrients his body needed, he had plenty of nutrient supplements on hand.
His body had built up a strong resistance to medicine over time, so many drugs were becoming less effective. Fortunately, the nutrient-type supplements still worked fine. Although those potions were expensive, the Crown Prince had never been stingy with Armand. He had boxes of those costly alchemy supplements stored in his alchemy seal.
To avoid worrying the kitchen staff or wasting their effort, Armand would usually accept the meals. In the past, he secretly gave them to the old butler. But now, he just gave it all to Evelia instead, since she hadn't eaten anything anyway.
“Does your head still hurt?”
Armand’s bedroom had a bed, sofa, desk, and wardrobe, big enough to feel like a small living room. He dragged a chair over and sat on it backward, resting his chin on the chair back, looking at Evelia from the side. At least from that angle, things looked more… proper.
“It’s okay now, Mr. Armand.”
“Then it looks like this stuff still works,” Armand said, leaning forward slightly in his chair. With a small clack, he placed a bottle of hangover medicine from his pocket next to Evelia’s plate.
Evelia paused for a moment when she saw the bottle labeled “Hangover Remedy”, then moved it closer and said, “Thank you, Mr. Armand.”
“No need to thank me. I just didn’t expect you to be able to drink so much. You really surprised me. You used to say you didn’t like alcohol, so I thought you couldn’t hold your liquor at all.”
“I just don’t like getting drunk.”
“Ha—” Armand chuckled. “Then I guess you rarely ever get drunk, huh? What a bold claim. But last night you were definitely super drunk.”
“Did I… cause you trouble, Mr. Armand?”
Evelia held the small bottle and looked back at Armand. Her words, and even the way she turned and moved, reminded Armand of the subtle, strange mood from last night. Especially that moment when Evelia got really close to him…
“No.”
Even though his face flushed and he awkwardly turned away while rubbing his ear, Armand still answered, ‘No.’
After all, things that happen when you're drunk... don’t really count.
“I see...”
Hearing that, Evelia's expression faltered slightly. That simple word—“no”—was meant to mean no trouble, but to her, it felt more like rejection.
Did nothing actually happen between them?
But she even changed clothes…
“Then… Mr. Armand, this outfit I’m wearing...”
“Ah—Eve, don’t get the wrong idea,” Armand quickly explained. “You threw up all over yourself later. Your clothes got messy, so I gave you something clean to wear. I didn’t have any women’s clothes, so I let you wear mine.”
“I… I see.”
Learning the truth, Evelia suddenly felt disappointed. It was like the reality clashed completely with what she had imagined.
She stared at the bottle of hangover medicine in her hand and even thought, maybe it’d be better if she stayed drunk forever.
...What is this?
Evelia wondered to herself.
This feeling… why did she feel like this?
Was it because the mission didn’t go the way she had hoped?
But didn’t she just tell herself not to complete the mission so quickly…?
What was going on with her? She didn’t understand this feeling at all. What… was it?
On the other side, Armand also chose to stay quiet.
Even though he could still remember the taste of the ketchup from last night, Armand didn’t want him or Evelia to get trapped in the strange tension caused by alcohol.
After all, their positions were too complicated.
Just like he had said before, Armand didn’t want to break the delicate balance between them.
Even though he had started to struggle inside, and some dangerous thoughts had crept into his mind, like maybe using some force to push things forward, Armand was not just any regular soldier. He was the captain of the Royal Knights. He had already crossed a dangerous line just by getting emotionally involved with Evelia. He couldn't afford to take another step off the cliff.
Some things had to be done slowly. Like the saying goes, ‘You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry.’
He would eat the tofu, just on a safer path.
He couldn’t let a moment of greed or jealousy drag the people around him into danger.
——Wait a second, jealousy?
Why did that word suddenly pop into his head?
He’d lived over 20 years, almost 30, and now he was using words like jealousy?
God… he was sounding like a bitter woman. That wasn’t okay.
How could he be jealous? He clearly—
He...
"Haaah..."
Armand couldn’t help letting out a deep sigh.
He really wanted to just throw everything aside and do what his heart wanted, to be a real man and keep the person he liked by his side forever. But… he couldn’t.
He couldn’t let go of the responsibilities that came with being the Royal Knights' captain. Ever since he realized he had started to like Evelia, he’d been blaming himself for it every day.
He was exhausted... and he didn’t know when this would end.
“Mr. Armand, you look tired.”
Evelia clearly heard his long sigh. She had no appetite left. After finishing her milk and taking the hangover medicine, she followed Armand’s earlier instructions and didn’t hesitate to take off the loose robe she was wearing, ready to change into the shirt Armand had given her.
When Armand saw that, he didn’t dare look her way anymore. He turned his chair back around and leaned against the chair back, listening to the soft rustling sounds of clothes brushing against skin behind him.
“I’m not really tired, it’s just work. Who isn’t tired from work?”
He said it like a joke to distract himself and keep his imagination from going wild after hearing those sounds. But no matter what, his focus still kept going back to them.
Damn it, had he lost all his self-control?
Even though he had managed to hold back this long, he still felt like he wasn’t doing a good enough job.
Meanwhile, on Evelia’s side, after being rejected by Armand, she didn’t try to understand his inner conflict anymore.
She had wanted to explore normal feelings like love, but now she decided to set that aside for the time being.
Because she had a strange feeling, something told her that if she kept thinking too deeply about her emotions, something would happen that couldn’t be undone.
“Mr. Armand, if you're tired, you need to rest. Please lie down and get some sleep,” Evelia said politely after changing clothes. She walked around the chair and stood in front of Armand.
Compared to the robe from earlier, the shirt looked more modest because it had buttons. But the stiff fabric actually made her chest look even more prominent, and the front of the shirt sloped down like a waterfall.
Even though the shirt was loose and didn’t show her waistline, the space between her stomach and the fabric, caused by how firmly her body pushed the shirt outward, only made it more alluring because of the mystery it created.
"......"
Ugh. Damn it.
Armand quickly looked away again, feeling guilty.
Why did Evelia look good in everything she wore?
Maybe next time he should just give her a potato sack instead.