Chapter 297: A Question About the Soul
Unfortunately, the "weird thing" Armand was thinking about didn’t happen.
After Evelia slowly wriggled out from inside his clothes, although she paused in some strange positions and even made a soft breathing sound, in the end, she obediently climbed out from under Armand’s clothes.
At that moment, she sat directly at the base of his thighs, her hands lingering around his waist as if she didn’t want to let go. It felt like her hands had enjoyed the warmth of his body enough before she finally pulled them out of his sweater, still carrying the heat with them. Armand had to use one arm to cover half of his face, and when he tried to cover other parts with his free hand, Evelia gently bumped it away with her knee.
But after that, Evelia didn’t take things any further. She seemed to notice that Armand was feeling a bit awkward and wasn’t in great shape. He had been looking tired and low in energy all this time. Considering his condition, Evelia simply helped take off the two heavy coats he was wearing and let him lie down quietly on the bed.
Why two coats? Because one of them was still the large coat from Carle that he had been wearing.
When the two of them lay together on Evelia’s bed, the only sounds left were the creaking of the wooden bed and the sound of their breathing and heartbeats.
Armand remembered how, one night, Evelia had come to find him after hearing something from Rachel. She had said that only with him by her side could she sleep peacefully. But now, their roles had switched.
Now it was Armand staying by Evelia’s side, holding him in her arms.
Armand curled up next to her on the bed, instinctively tucking his legs in close. His body, which once looked so strong, now seemed small and fragile. Dressed all in black and curled up like that, he looked like a dark stain slowly spreading out.
Evelia gently patted Armand’s back, as if she were trying to lull him to sleep in the softest way possible. After all, this method had worked once before in the office.
Armand felt like Evelia wasn’t just becoming a gentler person after becoming his lover. She was also starting to give off a warm, motherly feeling.
That was the strange part.
Evelia used to be a man. That much was confirmed. A young boy had become a girl, had calmly accepted becoming someone’s wife, and now she was even showing signs of motherly love...
Wasn’t that just too strange?
Or... was it just that he was acting like a child?
“What’s wrong, Mr. Armand?”
Evelia seemed to sense the brief stiffness in Armand’s body caused by his odd thoughts. She patted his shoulder and gently asked if something was bothering him.
“Ah, no... nothing.”
Armand still instinctively hid what he was really thinking. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to talk about it, but more that he didn’t want to trouble anyone with it.
It was the kind of thing that would make people uncomfortable just hearing about it. Armand felt like he shouldn’t keep bringing up Evelia’s past as a man. Even if she was now a girl, she still deserved respect and dignity.
“Tell me, okay? I feel like you’ve been holding something inside for a while now… You should talk to me. After all, I am your wife,” Evelia said, gently stroking his head. Her voice sounded a little pitiful. “Or... do you still not trust me? Even though I’ve already become your wife... even though I’ve already given myself to you, you still don’t trust me...?”
That soft, hurt tone of Evelia’s always worked on Armand. The moment her voice began to drop like that, Armand knew exactly what she was doing, but still…
“Ah—! No, not at all! Of course I trust you! I’ll take full responsibility for you too!”
...he fell for it every time. Evelia’s move never failed.
Whenever she acted like that, Armand’s heart would soften. He’d rush to explain his real thoughts, hoping she wouldn’t misunderstand him.
They had only ever had one serious misunderstanding, and that was during the Blue Rose incident.
At that time, Armand thought Evelia had received flowers from someone else. He believed she had someone she liked, and because of that, he had doubts for a long while. He even fell into a gloomy mood and kept a certain distance from her.
Evelia, on the other hand, thought that Armand had abandoned her, and that was why he was acting distant. This misunderstanding between them created a very strange and tense atmosphere. It felt like even the air they breathed when they met was twisted and uncomfortable.
Thankfully, that situation didn’t last too long. After they talked things through, they realized where the misunderstanding came from, and quickly cleared it up. Things went back to normal between them.
Even though that misunderstanding didn’t last very long, and both of them are good at talking and expressing themselves. Once they communicated properly, the problem was solved quickly.
But still, after that experience, they both agreed that if something came up, they had to talk face-to-face and make things clear. They didn’t want any more silly misunderstandings like that again.
So now, whenever Evelia showed signs of “maybe starting to misunderstand something again,” Armand would quickly stop her. He was afraid she might start overthinking things again, especially during this engagement honeymoon period, leading to more pointless confusion.
“…So, Mr. Armand, are you thinking about something I’m not allowed to know?”
Evelia looked at Armand with a pitiful and disappointed face. Armand felt that if she had cat ears and a cat tail, they’d definitely be drooping right now.
“No, of course not. It’s not something you can’t know. I’m just wondering if it’s appropriate for me to say it to you.”
Even though Armand was starting to lose the battle against Evelia’s charm, he still cared about how she might feel. After all, what he wanted to say was connected to personal identity, it came from deep inside his soul.
“Is there really anything I shouldn’t hear? If it makes you uncomfortable, then I won’t ask…”
Even though Evelia said that, it was clear from the way she looked that she didn’t really mean to drop the topic. She definitely wanted to know.
“…Alright,” Armand finally gave in. “But once I ask, you’re not allowed to get mad.”
“Of course not, Mr. Armand. No matter what you do to me, I won’t be angry. Because… you’re my lover.”
“…Haaah. You really don’t sound like a lover at all when you say that. You sound more like… a servant talking to their master…”
Hearing Evelia speak so politely, Armand sighed helplessly.
Even though the two of them were already secretly engaged, Evelia still acted overly respectful. It didn’t feel like how a couple was supposed to behave...
But then again, Armand figured maybe Evelia was just polite in her words. When it came to her actions...
Thinking of that, Armand remembered Evelia’s “night combat skills,” and his expression turned even more helpless.
“Master?” Evelia tilted her head slightly, then gently rubbed her cheek against Armand. “If you like being called that, I don’t mind. You’ve already been my master for a long time…”
“Huh? N-no, that’s not what I meant—”
“Master…❤”
Armand was about to stop Evelia from continuing, but before he could, she had already whispered it near his ear. She leaned in so close that Armand could clearly hear the soft sound of her licking her lips.
Armand wasn’t someone who was into that kind of roleplay. But hearing Evelia call him “Master” like that made him strangely happy.
No—that wasn’t just “happy.” He was totally enjoying it.
After all, Evelia’s former “master,” or rather, the only one she had ever called “Master” before, was the Second Prince, the one in charge of the House of Nightingales.
Only the Second Prince had been able to control Evelia, to make her call him “Master,” and to treat her like a servant.
But now, the name written on that master-servant contract was no longer the Second Prince.
The only one Evelia would now call “Master”… was no longer that Second Prince.
Phew, that felt really good.
Armand let out a deep, satisfied breath in his heart.
He hadn’t paid much attention to this kind of "relationship" issue before, but now that he thought about it… didn’t he basically take Evelia away and keep her by his side?
She was originally a capable agent sent to act as a spy under his command, and now she had become like “spilled water”. There was no taking her back. If the Second Prince ever found out, he'd probably be so angry his nose would go crooked.
Just imagining that the Second Prince could end up like this gave Armand a sense of revenge, like half his grudge had already been repaid.
But unfortunately, to protect Evelia, he couldn’t make their relationship public. And he definitely couldn’t let this reach the Second Prince’s ears.
Even though that was a bit of a shame, the result itself hadn’t changed. Evelia was now his wife.
She was his Eve, not the "Red Crow" of the House of Nightingales anymore. Right now, she truly belonged to him.
But... had his heart truly changed too?
That question brought him back to the issue he had been pondering all along. What exactly was Evelia thinking now that she had chosen to stay with him?
Was she truly okay with becoming a woman?
He had casually asked something similar back when he proposed, but it had always been hard to tell if her answer at the time came from a genuine place, or just a moment of emotion.
So, as Evelia looked into his eyes, Armand decided to finally ask what was on his mind.
He took a deep breath and said,
“Eve… are you okay with who you are now?”
“Hm?” Evelia tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean… being my wife… do you really feel comfortable with it? With this identity?”
“Of course I’m okay with it, Mr. Armand. This has always been my wish. I’ve always wanted to be your wife. I used to wonder, with the identity I had, could I really stand by your side? I was scared that once you found out I used to be a man, you’d feel disgusted...”
“...But you didn’t leave me. You embraced me. You gave me a new life. The person I am now, this Evelia you see, is someone you brought into the world. And I belong only to you. Now that my wish has come true, I feel very happy. And very lucky.”
That honest, heartfelt response washed away the last of Armand’s doubts.
He hadn’t expected Evelia to say so much in one go. It felt like ever since they officially became a couple, Evelia had slowly grown, step by step, into someone who truly knew how to express her feelings.
“Ah… I see.”
Hearing those words made Armand feel like all his worries had been a bit silly.
“To be chosen by you is an honor, Eve.”
He smiled and kissed the back of Evelia’s hand.
“And I feel the same, Mr. Armand.”
In that brief exchange, in the way they looked at each other, Armand felt the happiness that love could bring.
But because of that happiness, he also felt more pressure.
He wanted to live.
He wanted to stay by Evelia’s side.
He wanted to do so many things with her.
He wanted to grow old with her like in a fairy tale, watching the sunset together as they aged.
But… could he really make that happen?
He hoped so.
I’ll try my best to live. Even if not for myself, then for Evelia. I have to live.