Chapter 278: A Question That Shouldn't Be Asked (Part 2)
Dinner was over, it was time to leave the space to them. After all, what kind of child stays behind to wash the dishes?
“Ah, alright. Make sure to wear something warm when you go out—”
“Got it, Dad!”
With that short reply, Rachel quickly put on her coat and rushed out. Maybe at that moment, going outside and feeling the cold wind would help clear her thoughts. Only then could she figure out the road ahead of her.
The room soon became quiet, with only Evelia and Armand left.
Evelia wasn’t surprised by this. After all, she was used to being alone with Armand, especially when she was helping him. But for Armand, who came with a special goal today, things weren’t so simple. He couldn’t act as naturally.
Stories often say that proposals need to be full of romance. With flowers, fireworks, long speeches, and touching music. But the old butler had told him, with their identities, something so grand wouldn’t be a good idea. And in his eyes, Evelia wasn’t the kind of girl who cared about fancy appearances anyway.
So Armand had simply dressed up nicely, brought the ring with him, and came here. On the way, he had thought about bringing flowers too, but just like he said earlier, it was too cold, and the flowers had all wilted.
Armand and Evelia carried the dishes over to the sink. Even though he was wearing formal clothes, Armand rolled up his sleeves and turned on the faucet without hesitation.
Washing dishes might seem too simple and not romantic enough for a proposal, but to Evelia, this kind of moment, filled with a sense of home, actually made things better.
What she liked about Armand was his ability to make her feel safe and close. If Armand were someone who only did unrealistic or showy things, maybe Evelia would never have fallen for him.
There weren’t many dishes, so they finished washing quickly. Evelia told Armand to dry his hands while she took care of putting everything away.
She carefully placed all the kitchen tools back on the rack and sorted the knives properly.
To Armand, Evelia seemed a little like someone with obsessive habits. She didn’t organize tools based on how often she used them, but by size, neatly placing them from largest to smallest…
“...?”
Suddenly, a strange image flashed in Armand’s mind.
He looked around the room without thinking. Everything in Evelia’s place had been arranged neatly, as if she had moved and adjusted every piece of furniture herself.
—Had he seen this scene somewhere before?
He kept looking around. It felt oddly familiar. But no matter how hard his mind tried to find the answer, he couldn’t flip to the “page” he needed.
Clack.
Maybe because he was so focused, the sound of Evelia lightly setting down a plate felt loud to Armand.
He looked back at her, then narrowed his eyes at how she arranged the clean dishes.
She didn’t sort them by type. Not in the usual way of "forks together, plates together, bowls together." Instead, she placed each full set of dishes together. Three full sets, neatly arranged by the sink. And beside them sat a bottle of tomato ketchup.
It had once just been a random detail he joked about, but at this moment, that small memory overlapped with another image in his mind.
“......”
Back when he went to rescue Rachel, when he entered that gray little house, the dishes there had been arranged in exactly the same way.
Because the setup was so unusual, Armand had remembered it.
…He had forgotten many things, so why did he remember this one?
A bad feeling rose in his heart. From this moment, countless suspicions exploded in Armand’s mind.
Just like he had told Evelia when they first met: he wasn’t good at remembering names. So he had trained himself to remember people by their habits. That way, most of the time, he wouldn’t mistake one person for another.
And now… he kind of wanted to curse himself for relying on that habit.
The ring he had planned to pull out while Evelia was turned around? He quietly slipped it back into his pocket and sat down, hands empty.
Why was Evelia taken away back then, was she really taken?
Why did she come back afterward completely safe and sound?
After Evelia came back… why didn’t any organization try to follow up on what happened?
And what’s going on with that “Red Crow,” who suddenly turned into a woman?
Rachel, whom that person had wanted so badly, was taken away by Armand. But… after that, nothing else happened?
Everything just ended like that? Doesn’t that seem too strange?
Was the mission completed? Or did someone decide that the mission target was no longer a problem?
“Eve.”
“Yes, Mr. Armand?”
Hearing his voice, Evelia turned around, not sensing anything wrong. She saw Armand opening his arms toward her. He was smiling, but he also looked a lot more tired than before.
“You look tired, Mr. Armand.”
She walked over, a bit of concern in her voice.
“Give me a hug, Eve.”
Armand didn’t answer her question directly. He just smiled and asked for a hug.
“Alright, Mr. Armand.”
To Evelia, this felt like a “reward.” She didn’t hesitate at all as she stepped into his arms and let Armand hug her tightly.
After pulling her into his arms, Armand lifted her slightly so she sat on his lap. Then he leaned back in his chair, slouching down a bit, which caused Evelia’s position to shift. She ended up sitting on his stomach.
“......”
Only now did Armand finally understand why, that night after they escaped from the ballroom, Evelia had looked so shocked when he said he wanted to take her to the clock tower to watch fireworks.
He had thought that place might be related to “The House of Nightingales.” He had even done some investigating afterward. But now… it seemed like the answer was much simpler than he’d imagined.
He held Evelia tightly, more tightly than ever before. The hug almost felt suffocating. He listened to her heartbeat and slowly spoke.
“Eve.”
“Yes, I’m here, Mr. Armand.”
Her reply was the same as always. Whenever Armand called her, she would always respond.
At first, it had been Armand hugging Evelia. But now, it felt more like he was a lost and lonely soul, curling up in her embrace.
Maybe… there was still hope?
Maybe he was just overthinking things? There’s no way he could be right about something this huge just based on a feeling, right? It’s not like a blind guess could really hit the mark so easily, right?
“Evelia Croyelle… that’s your name, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Armand. You remembered my full name.”
Back then, he had said dozens of names, none of them matching her full name.
“...Is there anything else?”
His voice was getting smaller and softer, like he didn’t even want to ask the question anymore.
“Anything else?” Evelia repeated with confusion. “What do you mean? You can just call me Eve. I’m your—”
“How about if I call you Red Crow?”
“——”
In that instant, Evelia’s heartbeat skipped a beat. Her whole body froze.
Ah… so that’s how it is…
At first, Armand had only said it as a test, hoping maybe it was all just a misunderstanding.
But when he heard that off-rhythm heartbeat from Evelia…
He understood.
Damn it.
He had guessed right.