Chapter 264: A Sweet Trap
“Mr. Armand, are you alright? Did that scare you?”
After the incident, Evelia still stayed by Armand’s side.
The little accident had frightened all the knights nearby.
In battles, bumps and scrapes are common. But this time, the one nearly hurt was the captain himself and, as some jokingly called her in private, the “future captain’s wife.” So the knight who accidentally lost control of his weapon was especially terrified. He was even starting to think about how to explain that he “has an old parent at home, a child to raise, and really can’t die yet.”
Although Armand was a gentle person and usually it was Carle who handled punishment for mistakes, with Armand just playing the role of the good guy nearby, Armand was still the captain of the knight order. He had to show authority when needed.
So after sighing, Armand gave that knight a punishment that was heavier than usual. Of course, it was just physical training, not anything too harsh.
Things like accidentally hurting someone or letting go of your weapon are things a knight must never do. If a knight were to accidentally injure a civilian, he could even lose his job on the spot. And Armand, as captain, had the authority to enforce punishment immediately. In fact, if he had killed the knight in a fit of rage, it would have been completely within the rules.
So the physical punishment, even if it was tough, was already a sign of mercy.
“Hmm? Ah... I’m fine.”
Back to the present, Armand sat on a bench in the garden, staring blankly at the flowers that were slowly withering from the cold. He only responded weakly after Evelia called his name for who knows how many times.
He still felt uneasy. What if that sword had actually hurt Evelia?
But once he thought about how skilled she was, his thoughts shifted.
Evelia had sharp reflexes. Her grip on the sword was perfect. Her movements were quick and clean. For a moment, Armand even thought about recruiting her into the knight order.
But...
Who was she, really?
At first, Armand thought Evelia was just a minor spy, someone doing small-time spying for the Second Prince, maybe even a planted informant. After all, that sort of thing wasn’t surprising anymore, even the knight order had its fair share of people loyal to the Second Prince.
Even though Armand and Carle had cleaned up a lot of the mess with help from the Crown Prince, where there are people, there are always divided loyalties.
The biggest flaw in human nature is how easily emotions can be swayed. One minute you’re friends, the next minute you’re enemies. Just because of something someone said.
The knight order was huge, and even if they wanted to, Armand and Carle couldn’t possibly control everything. The best they could do was keep the dangers as low as possible while they were still in charge.
But everyone has weaknesses, including both of them.
Carle had his family to think about, and Armand’s body wasn’t in great shape. Neither of them could guarantee they’d always hold their positions securely. All they could do was try to match the Crown Prince’s pace and complete their assigned tasks.
“Eve…”
“I’m here, Mr. Armand.”
Armand quietly said Evelia’s name with a complicated expression, and as usual, she replied immediately.
“...No, it’s nothing.”
In the end, Armand didn’t say anything else. It was unclear whether he was backing out of something or if he simply wanted to say her name and hear her voice.
Armand had always known that Evelia had been sent by the Second Prince. From her aura and behavior, he could even guess she was from the House of Nightingales. Judging by the important role the Second Prince had given her, she was likely one of his close and trusted agents.
But now, things seemed different from what Armand had expected.
At first, Armand thought Evelia was just a spy, maybe a bit more skilled than the usual ones, but still just someone who might secretly leak information without anyone noticing. That’s why he never kept anything important at his estate and never allowed Evelia anywhere near the knight order headquarters. He also tried everything he could to keep his distance from her.
But over time, without realizing it, Armand found himself drawn to Evelia. If someone asked him why, he couldn’t explain it himself. It was as if from the very first moment he laid eyes on her, fate had whispered that this girl would one day hold a special place in his heart.
It was that cursed thing people always describe in romantic stories, love at first sight.
Armand didn’t even know when his feelings for Evelia had started. When he finally realized it, he was already used to having her by his side.
Now, this Royal Knight Captain was knowingly walking into the very trap made just for him. All those responsibilities and duties he once held dear were slowly crumbling in the presence of Evelia.
Armand wanted to save her. In his heart, he believed it was a kind of rescue.
He knew how inhuman the treatment was in the House of Nightingales. He wanted to pull Evelia out of that hell. It was also his way of making up for a mistake he made in the past, failing to save a friend back then.
He wanted to reach out and lift her up… but now, he realized it was Evelia who was pulling him down.
He had thought Evelia, even though she seemed trusted by the Second Prince, was just a “small-time spy.”
After all, the House of Nightingales did train some “intel agents.” These agents weren’t like the top-tier assassins. They didn’t learn advanced skills. They just had the ability to gather and pass along information and were sent to hide in different corners of the kingdom.
If exposed, they would be eliminated immediately. To the Second Prince, these people were just expendable tools.
He wouldn’t waste too much effort on such tools. Whether they succeeded or failed in their missions, the Second Prince would get rid of them to keep his secrets buried forever.
Armand had assumed Evelia was one of those.
In fact, when that “corpse” had appeared, he truly believed Evelia had either completed her task or failed and been killed off. But now, it was clear that Evelia was not one of them.
She had strong combat abilities. And judging by her decisive actions, there was no way she was just some throwaway spy. Evelia was very likely someone carefully trained by the House of Nightingales, a true trusted agent of the Second Prince.
And that’s what worried Armand the most.
If Evelia had just been a disposable spy, someone the Second Prince didn’t care much about, he might’ve still had a chance. If he acted fast, maybe he could save her, before the “black mud” of corruption fully swallowed her, before her mind was fully brainwashed.
Even if it meant risking everything, he might’ve been able to pull her out.
But… that wasn’t the case.
Evelia really was one of the Second Prince’s most trusted people.
And a “trusted person” meant someone fully controlled. For Evelia, the Second Prince might be someone she couldn’t possibly turn her back on.
Sigh...
Armand gave a bitter smile in his heart.
So this is how it is… In the end, it really was all an act, huh?
That was his biggest fear all along.
He was afraid that everything Evelia had done for him up to now… was all just part of a performance.
And now, that suspicion was slowly eating away at his heart.
If things were really like he imagined, then Evelia’s loyalty to the Second Prince could never be shaken. Armand felt that even if he gave up his life, even if he actually died for some reason…
Evelia… probably still wouldn’t look back.
In the end… had he just been completely played?
Armand had truly seen Evelia as someone special. But maybe, to Evelia, this was all just an act, a role she played for the sake of a mission.
Once, he was someone who could calmly face the thought of death. But now, this kind of sadness was slowly taking over his heart.
Maybe he could act like the characters in some novels and say something like, 'If I can’t have your heart, I’ll at least keep your body.'
Maybe he could use his power as captain to lock Evelia up forever in the knight order’s dungeon, even if her heart belonged to the Second Prince.
But he would never do that.
He knew very well how painful the “cage” of the House of Nightingales had been for Evelia. So he wouldn’t create another prison for her.
Sigh... just ridiculous.
From the very beginning, from the moment his heart skipped a beat because of her long white dress, he had a feeling.
He felt back then that the “master” Evelia spoke of… was probably not him.
Back then, he could still face that fact with some calmness. But now, he could only smile bitterly.
“...Do I still have a chance to make you stay?”
Without thinking, Armand said those words out loud. It was only after he spoke that he realized how serious that question was.
“Ah—no... what I meant was—”
“Haven’t I always been by your side?”
Before Armand could explain, Evelia responded first.
“Is that so...”
Even though Armand was feeling so many emotions inside, that answer still softened his heart a little.
“I’ll always stay by your side, so don’t worry.”
As Evelia said this, she moved closer to him and held his cold hand tightly, sharing her warmth through her palms.
“I’ll stay with you like this, until you’re tired of me or annoyed with me. Then I’ll back away for a while. And whenever you need me again, I’ll come right back.”
Evelia gently breathed warm air onto his cold hand as she cupped it in hers.
Her words were completely opposite of the dark thoughts swirling in Armand’s mind just moments before. But even so, those feelings didn’t fully go away.
He looked at Evelia warming his hand, and when their eyes met, her golden eyes reflected the winter sunlight, lighting up the cloudy blue in his own.
“Yeah...”
In the end, he could only force himself to smile.
He didn’t know if it was just a comfort to his heart, or if he was just lying to himself… but he felt there was real sincerity in Evelia’s eyes.
Even if this really was just a performance, he had to admit, he liked this feeling.
Just like he thought before, he was willingly walking into this sweet trap.