Chapter 287: The First Attempt at Sending an Invitation
“So you’re writing an invitation letter?”
Evelia walked over to Armand’s side and saw him take out a piece of fancy stationery.
But Armand clearly didn’t know how to start, he was just turning the pen in his hand and hadn’t even taken off the cap yet.
Evelia recognized that paper. She’d seen it before.
It was the same kind of paper used for the invitation he sent her to attend the ballroom, the one she still kept safely in her drawer to this day. She had preserved it so carefully that not even the corners were bent.
Now, seeing Armand take out the exact same kind of stationery, envelope, and even the rare wax seal engraved with his family crest. It showed just how seriously he took this.
“Yeah,” Armand said, still spinning his pen, unsure how to begin.
“Is it for the engagement ceremony you mentioned before?”
“Yes, that’s right. I thought we should at least write proper invitations for them. After all, it’s our engagement ceremony, and for you, it’s a really important occasion too, right?”
“I see.”
Evelia spoke softly, then slowly stepped closer to Armand. She looked thoughtfully at the blank page on the desk, then casually slid onto his lap, squeezing into the chair with him.
She still smelled like that familiar, comforting perfume. Maybe because the one sitting beside him was the person he loved, the scent helped Armand feel calm and at peace. Just like how Evelia used to feel around him, now it was Armand’s turn to feel that same comfort. It felt like, for however many days he had left, he wouldn’t be alone.
“You can just write it using a formal format. After all, for someone like Mr. Carle, your invitation is more of a formality. I think what he really cares about is sending you his blessings,” Evelia said.
“...!”
Hearing that, Armand blinked slightly in surprise. In his mind, Evelia never seemed like the kind of person who would think about such things. Did she suddenly become more thoughtful?
“What is it, Mr. Armand?”
Evelia tilted her head slightly, noticing that Armand had stopped moving and was now staring at her.
“No, it’s nothing,” Armand said with a smile, shaking his head. “I just didn’t expect you to think about things like that.”
“I didn’t think that much, Mr. Armand,” Evelia replied calmly. “I just feel that if I gave Anna a formal invitation, she would of course accept it. But more than that, she’d probably get really excited and start asking me a bunch of questions. That so-called ‘formality’ is just a bunch of complicated stuff. What really matters to them isn’t the letter, it’s us. Mr. Carle is your close friend, just like Anna is mine. I think the bond you have with him is like the one I share with Anna.”
As always, Evelia spoke plainly and directly from the heart. Her tone hadn’t changed, but what she said showed a different level of understanding than before. She had clearly come to recognize Anna as a real friend, she was no longer that lonely “Red Crow” who thought she was always alone in the world.
“And you said it’s really important to me… Yes, it’s important to everyone. But what makes it important… is that now, I have you in my life.”
Armand was at a loss for words.
He felt happy because Evelia thought he was important. He felt comforted because Evelia had discovered friendship. And he felt truly glad because Evelia was gradually leaving the darkness of the House of Nightingales behind, learning how to live like an ordinary person.
In the end, maybe it wasn’t that Evelia had started thinking more, it was that Armand had been stuck in “proper etiquette” for too long. He and Carle… never needed anything fancy between them.
“Then let’s just write something simple. Carle and Anna won’t care about how perfect our wording is,” Armand said.
And so, Armand began to write the invitation with a mix of formal phrases and the tone of an old friend writing a heartfelt letter. Meanwhile, Evelia also picked up a pen and began writing a personal invitation to Anna herself.
For Evelia, writing a letter was something completely new. Back when she was in the House of Nightingales, she never had a chance to learn things like that.
Armand knew the truth, he knew that Evelia wasn’t very good with formal writing. But since Anna didn’t know about Evelia’s special background, Armand had no choice but to teach Evelia how to write a proper letter from the very beginning, so she wouldn’t come across as suspicious.
He held Evelia in his arms, letting her sit between his legs, giving her half of the chair so she could sit comfortably and write more easily.
Armand pointed to each part of the letter where she needed to write, guiding her word by word through the structure of a formal invitation. Sometimes, when Evelia forgot how to write a certain character, he would gently take her hand in his and write it with her, stroke by stroke.
His large hand wrapped around her pale, delicate one. They were sitting so close that she could clearly feel his warmth and hear his voice. It was just a simple letter-writing task, but the atmosphere between them felt very intimate.
They both quietly enjoyed this peaceful moment, like a normal couple sharing a quiet day together.
And just like that, time passed quickly.
No one knew how long it took, but Evelia finally finished writing her very first invitation letter in her life.
Although it was something they completed together, with Armand guiding her hand through many parts, their writing was steady and matched well, so unless someone looked closely, they would never guess it was written by two people together.
Evelia carefully copied Armand’s movements as she folded the letter and gently slid it into the envelope. It was such a simple action, but for her, it felt like a whole new challenge.
She took a deep breath and focused on her hands. The same assassin who could stay calm even while holding her breath during a deadly mission… was now nervously worried about creasing her first invitation letter.
She even held her breath as she worked, and Armand, sitting right beside her, could only hear the sound of her heartbeat.
“Phew...”
Finally, when Armand pressed his wax seal onto the envelope, Evelia let out a long breath. She looked down at the finished letter on Armand’s desk, the one she had written, and her heart was still beating fast.
It was the kind of excitement you’d expect from a child trying something new for the first time. She was filled with curiosity and pride, pride from doing something she’d never done before.
Even when she completed the most dangerous missions before, she had never felt this kind of satisfaction.
“How does it feel?” Armand had clearly noticed how excited she was.
He wrapped his arms gently around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. His legs stayed around hers, holding her close. Not tightly, but just enough to keep her in his arms comfortably.
“I feel… happy.” Evelia nodded and placed her hands over his arms. “I think this feeling is happiness... I actually wrote an invitation letter to my friend. This is the first time I’ve done something like this.”
Back when Evelia was still “Red Crow,” she never did anything like this. The Second Prince only ordered her to carry out missions, whether she wanted to or not.
Of course, back then, Evelia didn’t really have a “self” at all. It didn’t matter how the prince used her, she didn’t care.
But now… things were different.
Armand gave her freedom. He gave her support. He let her try out all kinds of new things she had never experienced before, slowly filling the emptiness in her heart. An emptiness like that of a newborn.
“Mr. Armand… you’ll stay with me like this from now on too, right?”
She tilted her head, rubbing her cheek gently against his. Her skin brushed against the short hair at his temple, it tickled a little.
“You’ll stay by my side, and try all the things I’ve never done before? I want to explore the world again with you.”
But when she said that, Armand hesitated for a few seconds.
“From now on”…
For Armand, the future was uncertain. He didn’t know what would happen to him… or how much time he had left.
Of course, he wanted to stay by Evelia’s side forever.
“…Yeah. Okay.”
In the end, he still answered softly, turning his head to place a kiss on the side of Evelia’s neck.
“I will, Evelia. I'll give my all… to always stay by your side.”