Chapter 198: Please Praise Me
“……”
Armand could feel Evelia rubbing her head gently against his chest. It seemed like she was mumbling something, but her voice was muffled, and he couldn’t hear clearly.
“……”
She was still murmuring, but he had no idea what she was saying.
Although the weather had already turned chilly, Armand was still wearing only light clothes. He could feel the warm breath Evelia let out against his chest, it made him feel slightly ticklish. And somehow, that warmth was also making his own body temperature rise.
Maybe… this was actually a pretty good way to keep warm.
If the day ever got unbearably cold, hugging Evelia might really help him feel better.
She was like a giant, warm heating stone. A perfect must-have for home and travel.
And the best part? She was way softer than any stone and had a light, pleasant fragrance…
Cough—what was he thinking?
Armand, oh Armand, you need to stay clear-headed.
“Eve,” he called softly.
Evelia had been lying on him for quite a while. The spot where she was breathing into had started to feel damp through the fabric of his shirt.
“What are you mumbling about over there?”
“I said… the horse…”
Evelia still had her face buried in his chest. Armand managed to catch a few words, but not enough to understand what she meant.
“The horse?” Armand tilted his head, glancing at Luna, who had already gone back to the stable. “You mean Luna? What about her? Do you want me to take you for a ride?”
“No. Don’t go to Luna.”
The moment she heard the word “Luna,” Evelia tightened her grip on Armand as if panicking. Armand didn’t understand why, but he gently patted her and said with a helpless smile, “Okay, okay, we won’t go.”
Did the horse do something to her? Why such a big reaction just from hearing Luna’s name?
—Ah!
Did Evelia get kicked by Luna while he wasn’t around?!
Worried, Armand quickly looked down at the girl in his arms, trying to check through the gaps in her clothes to see if she had any bruises.
He even lifted her maid skirt a little and took a quick glance at her thigh. While making a mental note of the unexpected discovery, ‘So she’s wearing white thigh-high stockings with straps…’
He confirmed there were no signs of injury. There was no smell of ointment either. Relieved, Armand let out a small breath.
Then… maybe she received some kind of new order?
Even though their relationship looked pretty good on the surface, Armand hadn’t forgotten that, technically, he and Evelia were still on opposing sides.
He knew he hadn’t fully convinced her to switch loyalties yet, so in theory, he should stay alert around her.
But somehow… he didn’t know where the courage or confidence came from. He just didn’t want to let go of the Evelia in his arms.
…He really couldn’t bear to.
This feeling of holding her close… it’s really not bad at all…
The Armand who just a minute ago was telling himself to stay alert, had already sunk deeply into the moment.
“Mr. Armand…”
Just as Armand’s thoughts had wandered far off, mostly circling around Evelia’s white stockings, her quiet voice sounded again.
“Please… don’t… with… Lu…”
“Hm?”
But Evelia’s broken, muffled words still didn’t make much sense to Armand. One thing was clear though, this definitely had something to do with Luna.
“I can’t really hear you, Eve. What are you trying to say?”
“The horse…”
“Luna? Did something happen between you and Luna?” Armand asked, glancing toward the stable where Luna had gone. “Luna’s usually really understanding. She’s always been good to me. She’s an old friend of mine, not some wild or impatient horse. She’s—ouch! Why did you pinch me?”
Right in the middle of praising Luna, Armand suddenly felt a sharp pain at his waist. Evelia had pinched the soft part of his side. That grip of hers was strong enough to knock him out with a single punch. He gasped in pain, completely caught off guard.
“Mr. Armand… why… do you always…”
Evelia, still resting her chin on his chest, looked up at him with her big eyes. Since she was shorter than him and lying down, Armand could only see her face from the nose up. Her soft lips were hidden due to how closely she pressed against him.
“…Why do you always praise that horse?”
“…What?”
Armand was stunned by the strange question. He didn’t quite catch what she meant at first.
“Can’t you praise me instead?”
“—Ah? Huh? Ah—ah—uh—”
Her sudden, adorable request completely caught Armand off guard.
Just that simple sentence, "Can’t you praise me?”, hit harder than any of her punches ever could. His brain turned to mush as he desperately searched for the right words to praise a girl… but nothing fancy came to mind.
So he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.
“C-Cute!”
That was his first instinct, “Cute.”
Just like how he always thought about Evelia deep down. This girl really was…
“So damn cute!!”
The moment he let those words out, he couldn’t stop himself and even swore in excitement.
“Your hair is cute! Your eyes are cute! Your nose is cute! Your mouth is cute! Everything about you is cute! I’ve never met anyone in my whole life who’s more adorable than you, Eve!!!”
He shut his eyes and went all in, throwing out every clumsy, unpolished compliment he could think of.
“Eve! You’re the kind of girl who’s just my type! Just seeing you makes me eat half a bowl more! Just thinking of you during training makes me run twice as far! Every night before bed I—”
He stopped mid-sentence. His brain slamming on the brakes before he could say something inappropriate.
“A-Anyway, Eve! You’re super cute!!”
And that was Armand’s very straightforward, very “manly” way of complimenting someone.
He never liked reading romance books, and the novels he did read never taught him how to sweet-talk girls.
So the only thing he could do now was say whatever came straight from the heart, even if it wasn’t very elegant or refined.
But—
“Thank you, Mr. Armand…”
—Evelia wasn’t like “other girls.”
In fact, when it came to expressing feelings or saying sweet words, she was even worse than Armand.
After all, Evelia used to be a man. She was never someone who knew how to flatter girls with pretty, flowery language.
So the kind of praise she loved most was exactly this kind, honest, emotional, and completely unfiltered.
Armand’s heartfelt words hit Evelia like a critical hit.
And since Evelia wanted to be a “cute and lovely girl,” Armand’s compliments gave her an extra boost of confidence, making her feel like she really was achieving her goal.
But actually, all of Evelia’s outward appearance didn’t matter that much when it came to her “cuteness score.” The most important thing was that Evelia herself was just really cute.
Just like Armand kept saying again and again, ‘Damn it, she’s just too cute.’
“Ahem, you’re welcome.”
Armand gave a small cough, feeling a little shy. He opened one eye to peek at Evelia, and when he saw that her face had turned slightly red without her even noticing, he swallowed hard and quickly turned his face to the side, embarrassed.
Evelia was the same. Even though she didn’t really understand this strange feeling of happiness and a racing heartbeat, she still instinctively turned her face away too. Even while still tightly hugging him. Her cheeks were also pink.
The two of them stayed like that for a while, heads turned in opposite directions, quietly calming down. But just as Evelia sneaked a glance to look at Armand’s face, she met his gaze at the exact same time.
“Mm.”
“Phew…”
They both quickly looked away again, awkward as ever. Yet neither of them seemed willing to let go of the hug.
“Um… Eve.”
As always, it was Armand who spoke up first.
“…What is it, Mr. Armand?”
Even though they were talking, neither of them dared to look at the other.
“Eve, did you… have something you wanted to say?”
“……"
Hearing that the conversation had gone back to the main topic, Evelia paused. Her fingers, like the paws of a kitten that had been keeping its claws hidden, started gently scratching Armand’s back.
“Mr. Armand…”
She thought for a moment and decided she had to say what was on her mind. Yes, she needed to say it.
“Mr. Armand.”
She repeated his name again, but this time she gathered her courage and looked toward him.
Hearing her call his name, Armand also turned his head to look at Evelia. He quietly waited, waited for the girl who had been gloomy lately to finally speak her heart.
“Mr. Armand, please don’t marry Luna.”
Even though Evelia’s cheeks were still a bit red as she said this, her eyes and expression were completely serious.
“…?”
But Armand’s expression was the opposite, completely confused.
He looked at Evelia, puzzled, and then turned to glance at Luna, the horse, who was already sound asleep in the stable.
“But… Luna’s a horse?”
Armand’s face showed complete disbelief. He truly didn’t understand why he would marry Luna, or why Evelia thought that was even a possibility.
“Yes, Mr. Armand, I know Luna is a horse.”
But Evelia didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about it. Because she knew about alchemy, and with alchemy, anything was possible.
“Because Luna is a horse, Mr. Armand, if you have children with her, they definitely won’t be normal human children.”
“Huh?!”
“So Mr. Armand, please don’t have children with Luna either! If you’re going to—”
—If you’re going to have children… then please have them with me!
Of course, Evelia didn’t say that last part out loud.
Just as she was about to say it, Armand’s voice suddenly cut her off.
“Who the heck would have children with a horse?!”