Chapter 160: The Position
"Mr. Armand, you're really not?" Evelia's tone actually sounded a little confused and disbelieving.
"—Why would I be?!"
When did this whole “foot fetish” thing get assigned to him?!
Armand himself didn’t even know why someone like him, who had always been decent and proper, would be mistaken as having a foot fetish. Even if he were into something, with how amazing Evelia’s figure was, why would he be staring at her feet all the time?
...Okay, sure, he did think her feet were pretty.
And when wrapped in white stockings, they had this soft, glowing look, like holding a warm, delicate treasure. The smooth silk-like texture made it feel like—
Ah—damn it, what am I thinking…?!
Armand quickly stopped his own runaway thoughts.
Even though he’d mentally called for a stop, Evelia was still stepping on his back. The warmth of her bare feet pressed through the shirt he was wearing and spread across his skin.
“Eve... that’s enough, come down now.”
If this kept going, he really would end up with a foot fetish.
Taking advantage of the moment when Evelia switched feet, Armand rolled to his side. Instinctively, he lay on his back and ended up looking up at Evelia from below, only to be shocked by the very revealing view. He quickly rolled again in panic. From Evelia’s point of view, it looked like he just randomly started tumbling around the bed.
“Is it uncomfortable, Mr. Armand?” Seeing him rolling around like he was in pain, Evelia's mood sank.
“No... it’s just, how should I explain…” For a moment, Armand honestly didn’t know what to say.
“I read books about massage, Mr. Armand. I studied this for you.”
“Ah… well, about that…”
“Mr. Armand, you don’t like it...?”
That familiar tone, that familiar way of speaking… and that familiar expression from Evelia, like she was wronged.
Evelia always looked cold and unreadable, like she didn’t really understand human emotions. But whenever she looked like this, hurt or guilty, her face suddenly became expressive. Just one look, and Armand's heart would ache, as if she were some kind of “pitiful girl who makes people fall in love.”
But—
No! He couldn’t!
This time, Armand chose to resist. He couldn’t keep letting Evelia take advantage of his soft heart like this!
He was the captain of the royal knights, for heaven’s sake!
How could he let a woman mess with him like this?!
I—must—resist—!
“I see… then I misunderstood. I’m sorry, Mr. Armand. It was all my fault…”
“No—it’s not! It’s my fault… Eve!”
—But in the end, it turned out the same.
Faced with Evelia’s guilty and self-blaming expression, Armand couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.
Even when listening to criminals confess their tragic pasts before execution, Armand had never felt sympathy. Even when the knights were forced to adopt a “no killing” rule due to public pressure, Armand had always been the exception, someone the rule didn’t apply to.
But with Evelia... He softened. He let down his guard for the one person he shouldn’t have.
“Anyway—um, Eve, just sit down first, okay? Don’t keep standing like that.”
“…Alright.”
Evelia clearly wanted to keep trying this weird massage idea, but after thinking for a moment, she didn’t go against Armand’s words. She sat down quietly, just as he asked.
But the way Evelia sat down didn’t look very proper.
To give Armand more space, she chose to curl up her legs. She sat there neatly in Armand’s shirt, pulling her knees up to her chest, pressing her chest against her knees, and wrapping her arms around her legs. She looked very obedient and calm, not caring at all that she was sitting right in front of Armand, who was lying down.
"......"
And so, from where Armand was lying, he could see everything clearly. He suddenly realized that Evelia’s hair wasn’t the only thing that was pink.
“Mr. Armand?”
“Wah—!”
Evelia’s voice startled him. His body jolted, and he quickly sat up, but the scene he had just seen wouldn’t leave his mind.
Ugh… how annoying…!
Armand rubbed his head, trying to force the memory out, but in his mind, he kept seeing that untouched secret garden.
“Um, Eve.”
“Yes, I’m here, Mr. Armand.”
Seeing Evelia sit there so sweetly, waiting for his orders, made Armand feel oddly guilty.
And then a terrible thought crossed his mind, if he asked her to do something… would she actually do it?
Of course, it was just a passing thought.
After all, as the captain of the Royal Knights, he still had his principles.
“Could you, um… maybe sit in a different position, Eve?”
In this strange atmosphere, even that one sentence felt awkward.
Armand’s voice sounded uncomfortable as he turned his head away to avoid looking at her. He stared at his wardrobe, wondering if he should ask her to wear a pair of his pants.
He seemed to have completely forgotten that he was the one who had brought her his clothes in the first place.
“Ah, okay. I understand, Mr. Armand.”
Evelia didn’t really get what he meant, but she did as he said. However, the pose she picked next was even worse, she went from hugging her knees to sitting cross-legged with her legs wide apart.
"......"
...It was like saying, ‘My door is always open.’
Armand wasn’t just flustered. He was mentally exhausted too.
“It might be better… if you sit on your knees instead.”
In the end, that was the most appropriate position he could think of.
“Alright, Mr. Armand.”
To Evelia, the sitting position didn’t really matter. She tucked both legs beneath her in a kneeling position, respectfully sitting in front of Armand. Her thighs looked even fuller than usual because of the way they were pressed together by her posture.
Her fair skin looked so soft, like pillows, and although Armand’s shirt covered her chest, it made her lower body stand out even more.
“I remember the last time I sat like this… it was when I helped Mr. Armand fall asleep.”
Evelia, kneeling in front of him, remembered that night. That might have been the first time they broke through their initial wall. That night, Armand told her, "I've never been mad at you," which had finally lifted the heavy burden in Evelia’s heart.
Now, even though it wasn’t nighttime, the scene looked almost the same.
She gently patted her lap and looked at Armand, who still refused to meet her gaze.
“Mr. Armand, would you… like to come over and rest for a bit?”