Chapter 299: The Person I Want to Become
As expected, since Armand had been caught by Evelia first thing in the morning, he had no choice but to go along with her and let her happily enjoy her “breakfast.”
It wasn’t until Evelia finally showed a satisfied expression that Armand was able to relax a bit. He got dressed and freshened up together with Evelia.
Since they were in Evelia’s room, breakfast was, of course, something she insisted on making herself.
Apparently, Armand’s “performance” had pleased this little glutton of his, so breakfast today was extra generous.
Evelia quickly came over with several plates in her hands, and just as expected, every dish looked bright red at first glance.
…Yep, today’s breakfast was once again Evelia’s specialty: tomato dishes.
But Armand had gotten used to it by now. Even though he hoped his stomach could hold out for at least two more years, he still wouldn’t refuse a meal that Evelia had made just for him.
Because this was love!
That’s what Armand, whose brain was now full of romantic thoughts thanks to their upcoming wedding, believed.
Breakfast went by at a steady pace, not too fast nor too slow, because both of them were already trained in that area. No matter what they were eating or what the situation was, they always finished their meals on time.
This was something they had been taught at the House of Nightingales, too. As assassins, they couldn’t afford to waste time on things that didn’t really matter.
In fact, when Armand was being trained for this, they once strapped a dog muzzle on him and locked him in a bathroom stall. Anyone who didn’t eat “properly” wasn’t seen as worthy of a human meal.
The people in charge at the House of Nightingales truly treated them like animals, like dogs, because that was the only way to make them understand what was really “important.”
—And the only thing that truly mattered… was the Master’s orders.
Everyone knew that. Even Armand had that phrase burned into his mind.
They were raised to obey the Master’s commands without question. Otherwise, Evelia wouldn’t have ended up the way she did.
But luckily… all of that was in the past now.
Even though some of those dark memories still affected them, like how they still followed their old habits even while eating. Compared to the days when they were trapped and controlled by everything around them, just being able to eat breakfast together in the sunlight like this was already a huge blessing.
“By the way, Eve…”
“Hm? What is it, Mr. Armand?”
After cleaning up the dishes, Evelia, still wearing her cute cat-themed apron, looked over at Armand, who had called her. She shook the water off her hands, then rubbed her palms together like she was wiping off blood, an old habit. After that, she walked over to Armand and sat beside him on the bed.
“You once said that your dream for the future was just to be with me… Now that dream has come true. So, have you thought about anything else you want to do?”
“Something else?”
Evelia leaned in closer to Armand as she repeated his words. She rested against his arm, and since she was a bit shorter than him, she straightened her back so she could lean both into his shoulder and wrap herself around his arm.
“Yeah, like something more specific.”
As he said that, Armand pulled out a form he had taken from his coat earlier, while Evelia had been washing the dishes.
It looked like something he had prepared a while ago, though he hadn’t noticed it until just now while going through his clothes. There were a few blank application forms tucked inside.
He couldn’t remember when he had prepared them, but the forms already had an official stamp on them. The parts that needed Knight Order approval were already signed with his name. Judging by the handwriting, they were clearly filled out by him. But he had no memory of doing it.
It seemed like he had reached the point where… he didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep anymore.
If this had been in the past, even when his mind was fuzzy from poison or fatigue, Armand would still remember bits and pieces of things he had forgotten. But now, he couldn’t remember anything.
His head always felt cloudy, like he was trapped in a hazy dream. And when he woke up from that dream, he couldn’t remember any of it. He only had the feeling that, at least in the dream, things weren’t too bad.
But this made him notice just how different reality was from those dreams.
The “him” inside the dream, even though it wasn’t clear what he was going through, seemed to live in peace. But the waking Armand had to deal with a body that was growing weaker and memories that could disappear at any moment.
Even so, getting lost in dreams was no good.
Armand had struggled with drowsiness before, and he knew exactly how dangerous it could be.
After all, he hated troubling others more than anything. So he wouldn’t selfishly keep living inside empty dreams while making those around him worry.
“What’s this…?”
Evelia took the form from Armand’s hand, looking a little lost.
Ever since she had entered the House of Nightingales, all of her documents had been prepared by the Second Prince. Her name, her identity, her job, everything was arranged by him. Even her current body wasn’t something she had chosen for herself.
But the paper Armand handed her was a personal information form.
“You want me to fill in my own details…?”
Evelia looked at the form in her hands, her expression a bit troubled.
It wasn’t that she had any secrets she didn’t want to share with Armand. It was just that too much time had passed, so much that even she herself had forgotten the details of who she once was.
Her real name, her age, her birthday, and things about her family… Evelia couldn’t remember any of it anymore.
Because back then, the only thing she needed to remember was that she belonged to the Second Prince. Everything else was meaningless. As long as he gave the order, she could become anyone. She could even throw away her past like she had now, and become a woman called Evelia.
And her real name from before…
Ah… her name…
Suddenly, a memory flashed in her mind. A moment from the past, someone she had once thought of as the most important person in her life.
That tall young man…
The name he used to call her…
“F—”
“—Eve?”
“…Mm?”
For a moment, two voices overlapped with the same sound, and Evelia felt a little dazed.
But when she looked at Armand beside her, she didn’t let her thoughts go any further. Because to her, what really mattered now was this rare and hard-earned happiness.
“What’s wrong, Eve?”
Armand looked at her with concern as she spaced out.
“It’s nothing, Mr. Armand.” Evelia shook her head. “It’s just… I don’t really know how to fill this out. I don’t remember a lot of things.”
“Haha, I’m not asking you to write your past information, Eve.”
“Huh?” Evelia tilted her head, looking at Armand. “Then you mean…”
“This form already has my signature and the official stamp on it. You just have to fill in whatever you want. Once you write it down, you become the person you wrote. I’m not giving you this so you can tell me who you used to be. I’m giving it to you for one simple reason. So you can become whoever you want to be.”