Chapter 280: The Answer to the Voice in Her Heart
“What… did you say?”
Evelia was so shocked by Armand’s sudden words that she couldn’t react. That word, more precious than “like”, went straight into her ears.
Even though she wasn’t good with emotions, her heart still began to beat faster from hearing his sincere feelings.
“I said I love you.”
Armand repeated the words Evelia had longed to hear. He spoke every word slowly and clearly, like each one was falling straight into her heart.
Just moments ago, his voice had been shaking when he was questioning her. But now, his gaze was steady and sure.
“Love…”
That word felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Evelia lowered her head.
She had only recently begun to understand what liking someone meant. So how could she possibly understand something as deep as love?
Maybe deep down, she had always longed for love. Maybe, she had already found someone she needed in her heart. But because of who she was, she hadn’t realized that this feeling… was called love.
“But I don’t know… if this is all just one-sided, Evelia.”
Even after saying his feelings, Armand still had doubts.
He could give up his knightly honor and let “Red Crow”, a name that had been on wanted posters for who knows how long, escape freely.
But what he couldn’t let go of was his heart. He couldn’t bear to see Evelia walk away without looking back.
“I know about the House of Nightingales. And I know how important that guy, your Second Prince, is to you. But…”
Armand furrowed his brows. It wasn’t anger. It was pain and confusion.
Even now, that was the one thing he couldn’t let go of. That the woman he loved was Red Crow?
Whatever. That part didn’t matter.
The only part that mattered was she was the woman he loved.
Even if the woman he loved had once been a man? So what?
Wait a second.
Wasn’t Red Crow originally a man? That’s what people said, right?
Then… how…?
Never mind, whatever!
The person Armand loved was the Evelia who had been living beside him all this time. What she was before didn’t matter at all.
But what he wasn’t sure of… was Evelia’s heart.
If she still belonged completely to the Second Prince…
Armand didn’t want to think about it anymore. Just imagining it felt like putting together every horrible thing in the world.
“……”
His silence made Evelia’s face even harder to read. She lowered her head, her bangs covering her expression like she was shrinking away.
She was the loyal Red Crow. Her whole reason for living was to carry out the Second Prince’s orders.
So why… Why did her heart feel this way right now?
“Eve.”
Armand’s voice had lost its firmness. Now it was softer… almost pleading.
“Which side will you choose?”
At last, Armand asked the question that had been weighing on his heart. It was the question Evelia had been avoiding all along.
But he didn’t ask it to push her. He just wanted to know.
Right now, Evelia stood leaning against the door.
On the inside of the door was Armand, the man who had learned her true identity.
On the outside of the door was the place she was supposed to return to, the House of Nightingales.
Now, both “homes” were in front of her, and both identities stood on different sides of her.
Would she continue to be the Second Prince’s “Red Crow”?
Or would she become Armand’s “Evelia”?
“……”
The question was right there, but Evelia hesitated.
The Second Prince, the man who made it hard for her to breathe… the man she was supposed to give her life to…
That was supposed to be her true self. She was meant to be “Red Crow.” That’s what she had always been, right?
All these years, she never doubted her path, never questioned whether what she was doing was right. She had simply lived for the Second Prince, but was that really the right thing to do?
This was the self-doubt rising inside Evelia. It was Evelia asking Red Crow.
‘Is this truly right?’
‘Is this really the path I chose?’
Yes, she was supposed to be loyal to the Second Prince…
But—
‘Is this what I truly want?’
Were these her real feelings, or were they feelings the Second Prince had forced on her?
For a moment, Evelia began to wonder… Had her loyalty always been something forced?
She had been trained, conditioned, so that her brain would only respond to the voice of the Second Prince. But ever since Armand came into her life, she started to think, ‘Is this really me?’
“Eve… can you tell me your answer?”
Armand’s voice rang out again. Just like Evelia, he was waiting for the final answer from her lips.
“……”
Evelia bit her lip. Two voices in her heart were fighting with each other. She felt like she was about to go crazy.
“Red Crow” kept pushing her. The shadows of her past whispered warnings in her mind.
The pressure was unbearable. Her thoughts were a mess.
And yet—
She wanted to reach out for that light. The light that could pull her out of this personal hell.
The Second Prince’s words echoed again and again in her mind, spoken through the voice of “Red Crow.” She clutched her head in pain, struggling against the flood of mental torment with the last of her strength.
“Mr. Armand—!”
She called out his name, the name of that light.
“M-Mr. Armand… please… save me… I’m begging you… I don’t want to leave you. Please, Mr. Armand… don’t leave me…”
Evelia trembled, leaning against the door in fear.
The Second Prince had already become her personal demon. Whenever she tried to rebel, even just a little, terrifying fear would crush her like a wave.
That was why she had once thrown herself into loyalty without hesitation. Not because he was right, but because obeying him meant she wouldn’t feel pain.
But now, she was finally fighting back.
Because she knew, Armand was right here.
Armand was her support. He was the courage to face her past. He was the hope to face the future.
“Eve!”
He called her name, and he came to her without a second thought.
Armand didn’t stop to wonder if this might be a trap. He didn’t think about whether it could be an enemy’s trick. The moment he heard Evelia cry out, he stepped forward, and pulled the almost-collapsing Evelia into his arms.
“Mr... A-Armand…”
“I’m right here, Eve.”
No matter who she was, Armand would still be there. If she needed him, he would hold her.
“Mr. Armand… I…”
Evelia lifted her head. So many emotions were building up inside her.
The woman who always seemed calm and cold. Now, her tears were flowing without end.
She cried in Armand’s arms like her heart had broken. Her sobs were so strong that she couldn’t even breathe properly.
She had never cried like this before.
She had never cried in someone else’s arms like this before.
If this trust was love,
If this feeling of safety was love,
If this reliance on someone was love—
Then…
“Mr. Armand… I… I love you too… I don’t want to leave you…”
—So please… save me. Take me away from that hell.