Chapter 174: Grudge
Although Rachel always acted like she was sacrificing herself “for the happiness of all mankind, so that Armand and Evelia can have a good relationship!”, the truth was, deep down, she was just an alchemist who wanted to stay alive.
Even if she hadn’t said anything that would completely break their relationship, what she said last night, without thinking, clearly had an effect on them.
In the morning, when Rachel slowly woke up and lazily rolled around in bed, she saw someone she normally would never see at that hour.
Even if it were raining knives from the sky, Evelia was the type who worked hard all year without missing a day. But today, she didn’t go to work.
She just sat quietly on her bed, holding the “Tragic Side Story” of The Maid’s Knight, but not even flipping the pages. She was simply spacing out.
‘Ugh… was my one sentence really that powerful?’
Rachel felt a weird sense of guilt as she saw the scene.
She was just saying the truth, okay?! Blame Armand, that jerk! Refusing to eat food a woman made for him, huge red flag! Like, major thunderstorm-level red flag! She fully support Evelia in calling him out!
But still, when she thought about it, she had only been complaining a little.
From Rachel’s point of view, it wasn’t like Armand and Evelia were truly in love yet. So, calling someone a “jerk boyfriend” might be too much.
Right now, it wasn’t even a mutual relationship. Honestly, it felt more like Evelia was chasing after Armand because of a mission, like she was forcing herself on him.
Poor girl… And what was that Second Prince even thinking? Making a man turn into a woman just to chase after another man, did he have some kind of weird fetish?
As for Armand, ever since he found out who Evelia really was, he had been keeping his distance. He seemed to have some feelings for her, but he was hesitant because of their identities. To put it simply, they were in a tug-of-war.
Even if they weren’t in love yet, this “tugging” back and forth between them was very real. Evelia wanted to pull, and Armand wasn’t exactly letting go. It was like a strange, tense balance between them.
Ahhh—seriously—
Rachel screamed internally.
Could that stupid Second Prince just drop dead already?! He was ruining the perfect love story between a charming man and a beautiful woman!
Sure, Rachel knew Evelia used to be male, she even helped with the transformation herself. But maybe because Rachel had lived in many different body forms over her long life, she didn’t really care about things like original form, current form, or gender. You could say she was pretty open-minded for someone her age.
As someone who, in a way, created Evelia, Rachel did want to study Evelia’s emotional development. But more than that, she really wanted to see Evelia find happiness. Whether as her creator… or as a “mother.”
Well, that was getting off-topic.
Even though Rachel wanted to survive, and didn’t want either Evelia or Armand to die, the idea of “happiness” still felt way too far away for them.
Especially right now. This low-pressure, gloomy atmosphere definitely didn’t feel anything like happiness.
Evelia sat silently on the bed. It seemed like this was the first time she had ever looked this sad.
Her fingers slowly rubbed the book cover. Her fingertips kept brushing over the title The Maid’s Knight, as if she was lost in thought.
Having something you made with care get passed to someone else without a second thought… for Evelia, it felt the same as someone tossing her gift into the trash.
If something like that had happened to someone else, she might’ve thrown that person’s body into the trash herself. Though to be fair… Evelia had never actually given anyone a gift before.
Thinking that, she scratched at the word “Knight” on the book cover.
—Yep, Evelia really did want to stuff Armand into a trash can.
Even someone like Evelia, who normally had little emotion, was now feeling a powerful, deep, and very real urge. It came straight from her soul, like a natural instinct.
“Or maybe… cut Mr. Armand into pieces… stuff him into a sack… and throw it into an abandoned factory to feed stray dogs…”
That dark anger, impossible to hold back, slipped out quietly from Evelia’s mouth.
If those words had shown up in a speech bubble, Rachel would have seen a cloud of black, shapeless resentment swirling around the text. Just hearing that whisper gave Rachel the feeling that the Grim Reaper was walking nearby.
Even so, Rachel still had time to complain in her heart, ‘Even in this situation, Evelia still calls him ‘Mr. Armand’... she’s surprisingly polite…’
“...Hoo…”
Evelia let out a long breath of black, smoky resentment. The thick anger and killing intent surrounded her like a dark fog. Rachel only glanced at her for a second and already felt a chill down her spine, like some vengeful ghost had possessed her.
At first, Rachel thought Armand should have come over to check on Evelia, since she hadn’t gone to work today. Of course, normally a master wouldn’t visit a servant just because they skipped a day. But come on, their relationship was clearly not normal. Evelia was such a cute girl, well, kind of a girl. She didn’t show up to prepare Armand’s breakfast like she usually did. Shouldn’t he be worried and rush over to check on her?
Then, just like in a romance novel, he’d kiss her gently on the cheek, pull her into his arms, and shower her with sweet words like a storm. Problem solved, right?
But clearly… Armand wasn’t the male lead of a romance novel, and Evelia wasn’t the gentle heroine either. The two of them didn’t have a fluffy, lovey-dovey relationship. What they did have was the tension between a royal knight captain and an enemy assassin.
Rather than calling Armand over, Rachel thought maybe she should go to the church first and find an exorcist to read Evelia some holy scriptures. Evelia looked like she was being completely consumed by hatred.
And honestly, seeing Evelia like this, Rachel definitely didn’t want Armand to come over right now. With Evelia in this state, him showing up was basically asking for death.
Rachel wasn’t sure how strong Armand was, but she definitely knew what Evelia, also known as “Red Crow”, was capable of. When it came to breaking necks, she was fast, clean, and scary.
Let’s just hope Evelia could hold back her murderous rage...
Creak—
In the creepy silence, there was a loud tearing sound.
Just as Rachel was wondering how to calm Evelia down, Evelia suddenly ripped the novel in her hands completely in half, with her bare hands.
With her BARE HANDS! She just tore a whole book in two, like it was nothing!
Rachel stared with her mouth wide open in shock.
What kind of strength did someone need to rip an entire book apart like that so easily?
Armand… for the love of everything… do NOT come here. Run. Run far away and stay safe—
Knock knock knock.
And just as Rachel thought that… there was a knock at the door.
“Eve? Are you in there? I noticed you didn’t go out today. Is something wrong?”
Armand’s voice came from the other side of the door, just as expected.
And Evelia, with a face full of darkness, slowly and stiffly turned her head toward the door. Her hair fell messily over her face, and she looked exactly like a ghost from a horror movie.
—YEP, something’s definitely wrong!
Rachel screamed internally, breaking into a cold sweat.
RUN! CAPTAIN ARMAND, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!