Chapter 285: A Constant Feeling That Something’s Not Right
If the first person to know about this matter was Armand’s closest person, the old butler, then the second would be Rachel, who had recently grown close to Evelia.
When Rachel returned from her "Alchemy Workshop-Themed Cabin" all covered in soot and dust, she noticed something had changed about Evelia.
How to describe it…? Rachel wasn’t good at fancy or poetic words, but she had one clear thought.
—This is totally what a girl in love looks like!
Sometimes she would stare dreamily out the window, sometimes she’d smile sweetly while looking at the ring on her finger, and sometimes she’d wave happily at Armand when she saw him coming...
This was clearly the honeymoon phase of love!
Just by looking at the ring, it was obvious that Armand had succeeded.
Although Rachel didn’t know exactly how it happened, it was safe to say that by now, they were finally a real couple.
And after that, Evelia even told Rachel that Armand now knew her identity as the "Red Crow," so Rachel didn’t need to keep it a secret from him anymore.
…It all felt like it was heading straight toward a fairy tale-style happy ending—
—Or was it?
For some reason, even while seeing Evelia so deeply wrapped in this happiness, Rachel, who was technically Evelia’s “creator”, couldn’t fully relax. Of course, she was happy that Evelia had found where she truly belonged, and that she had begun to understand human emotions.
But maybe… the chaos from not long ago still lingered too strongly. This current peace almost felt unsettling.
Like the calm before a storm...
Because of that, Rachel felt like she needed to leave soon, before she got caught up in whatever was coming next.
Now that Evelia and Armand were together, her goal was more or less complete.
Even though, due to her current situation, she couldn’t openly publish a paper titled “Do human emotions change depending on the physical body?”, Rachel already had her own answer in her heart.
She was truly relieved that Evelia had met someone like Armand. This man, with his upright values, had slowly and surely helped correct the Red Crow’s way of thinking. If she had met some shady guy instead, Evelia might’ve been led even further astray.
After all, the “Red Crow” had always been someone who would use any means to achieve her goal. If she had tried her "beauty trap" on the wrong kind of man... ugh. Just thinking about it made Rachel feel disgusted.
She sighed again in her heart. Thank goodness it was Armand.
But still...
That feeling remained, as if things weren’t really over yet.
If they were just characters in some romantic novel, maybe it would be perfect to end here, with everyone enjoying their happy moment. But unfortunately, their time, their lives, were still moving forward.
Sure, Armand now knew Evelia was the "Red Crow." But even now, no one knew who Armand really was.
Rachel was a thousand percent sure that "Armand Systalia" was a fake name. And the reason he stood on the same side as the Crown Prince likely wasn’t as simple as “loyalty to the kingdom.”
Rachel still remembered that alchemy mark on Armand’s hand. If only she’d had enough time back then, despite her trembling little child-like hands, she might’ve been able to break the code in the mark and uncover what Armand was hiding about his origins.
But unfortunately, she had neither the time nor the chance.
Evelia might enter Armand’s room at any moment, and no one knew when Armand might suddenly wake up. Rachel didn’t want to get caught mid-way through unlocking the mark, with Evelia silently walking in or Armand opening his eyes. That wouldn’t be a simple “kid caught sneaking snacks” kind of situation.
Now, among the three of them, only Evelia had openly revealed her hidden identity, the “Red Crow.” But both Armand and Rachel still kept their own secrets from each other.
…She still felt a bit guilty toward Evelia.
And it wasn’t just Rachel who felt this way, Armand had been thinking about it too.
While he was walking toward Evelia’s place today, this very thought was weighing on his mind.
Evelia’s identity as the Red Crow was clearly her biggest secret. Since she had already shared that with him, there probably wasn’t anything else she was hiding.
But he wasn’t the same.
Leaving aside his real name and family background, even just his special role of “cleaning up the messes” for the Crown Prince was something Armand didn’t know how to explain.
Of course, he had fought with Evelia, or rather the Red Crow, many times before. They had always held back because it was just part of their missions. But from the way the Red Crow acted, he had a feeling she might already suspect that the black-armored man she fought had some connection to the House of Nightingales.
If Armand admitted to Evelia that he was the big black-armored guy she had faced before, she would likely realize right away that he had ties to the House of Nightingales.
And if that happened, all the dark parts of his past might be dragged into the light.
In this world, probably only the Crown Prince knew that Armand had escaped from the House of Nightingales. Even the old butler, Lug, who had stayed by his side the longest, only vaguely guessed that Armand had gone through something in his youth that made him act strangely, but he never asked. Lug knew his place and never crossed that line.
The truth was, back then, Armand really had done some terrible things. He still remembered exactly how many innocent people he had killed. At that time, he followed the former Second Queen’s orders and wiped out many innocent lives.
At his core, Armand was a kind and gentle person. That’s why he couldn’t help but hate the version of himself that had hurt others just to survive.
He didn’t want Evelia to know about that version of him. To him, it was like a dark chapter of his past, and he didn’t want anyone to know.
And besides… there was one more thing he still couldn’t get over.
Whenever he thought about marrying Evelia in the future, he still feared that someone he had once held dear might be watching from heaven, looking down on him with judgment as he now tried to enjoy happiness.
“…Haa…”
There were also some things that could never be told to anyone.
For example, the fact that the price he paid to earn the Crown Prince’s trust… was the life of the Second Prince’s mother.
Just thinking about it made Armand feel complicated inside.
Of course, the idea of killing the Second Queen hadn’t been Armand’s own. He wasn’t so much the one who decided as he was simply the one who carried it out. It was the Crown Prince who gave him that condition.
Back then, the Crown Prince told Armand that if he wanted help, if he wanted to use the prince’s power to reach his goals, then he had to prove he was someone the prince could rely on.
And then, the Crown Prince made his demand clear.
The prince had only been a teenager at the time, but to come up with such a cruel condition… it showed that he, too, was someone who could be just as ruthless.
…Honestly, maybe it really was better to stay far away from royalty.
The more Armand thought about it, the more he felt determined to retire as soon as possible.
He really just wanted to end everything, take Evelia, and go live a quiet, normal life somewhere far away.
But even as he thought that, Armand could only give a bitter smile.
Did he… really still have that kind of time left?
He shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. Let’s focus on something happy instead. After all, he had only just proposed not long ago.
Right now, what mattered was the engagement ceremony, right?
He should go find Evelia and take care of the important things first.