Chapter 328: A Strange Tone
Under Rachel’s nervous gaze, Armand sat up on the bed.
Maybe it was because of the big height difference between the two of them, and also because of the height of the bed frame, but when Armand sat up, Rachel felt like all the light in front of her had been blocked by his tall figure. A shadow fell over her, and all she could see were his blue eyes staring straight at her.
She had originally planned to greet him, but just one look from Armand scared the words right back down her throat. Even though he didn’t seem to mean any harm right now, his deep gaze made it hard for Rachel to even breathe. She was already trying to figure out how to escape from here.
That look in his eyes... it was so familiar. It was exactly like the young man she had seen back then at the House of Nightingales. And judging by the years that had passed, the age also matched.
So that means, Evelia and Armand... they were acquaintances from ten years ago?
That slightly skinny boy with short brown hair, and the man in all black, could they really have been Evelia and Armand?
Oh my god...
These two people were, in a way, old friends. But now they were reunited in such a strange way. Friends from ten years ago, now a married couple... isn’t that kind of a weird development?
Also, it made sense that Evelia became part of the Red Ravens and worked for the Second Prince. After all, she was from the House of Nightingales. But how did Armand end up here, working under the Crown Prince as the commander of the Royal Knights? And besides, “Armand” probably isn’t even his real name.
They both came from the same place, so why did they end up on completely different paths?
But speaking of Armand... it’s not like he was truly “free” either. Even though no one knew how he left the House of Nightingales, it’s clear that he didn’t gain real freedom. At most, he just moved from the Second Prince’s cage to the Crown Prince’s cage.
Sure, the Crown Prince seemed to treat him pretty well, offering privileges others could only dream of. But honestly, it was still just “using him,” only with money as the bait.
No matter how far he’d gone, in the end, he was still just a dog of the royal family.
Rachel was completely overwhelmed by Armand’s presence. She didn’t dare to speak and could only try to avoid his eyes. Meanwhile, Armand kept silently staring at her. He seemed like a totally different person.
No... it wasn’t that he became someone else. It felt more like Evelia’s soul had entered Armand’s body. That quiet, focused stare of his... it was so similar to Evelia’s. The only difference was that Armand’s eyes didn’t have that same fierce killing intent. He actually looked kind of... calm.
No... maybe it was just that he didn’t need killing intent right now. Back then, the way that young man stared at her had scared Rachel so badly she couldn’t sleep for days, always afraid he’d come back for revenge.
Right now, he seemed to just be watching her, waiting for her to say something. It was just like how Evelia used to silently stare at Armand, until Armand would eventually blurt out some random nonsense just to start a conversation. And now, Armand looked like he was waiting for her to say something.
But Rachel didn’t have that kind of silver tongue.
She had fought through countless hardships just to survive this far, and the last thing she wanted was to get killed by her supposed “partner”, who was now also her “dad”, just for saying the wrong thing.
"...?"
Just as Rachel was lowering her head even more, almost burying her face in her own chest, a hand suddenly reached out toward her, making her freeze in surprise. She quickly looked up.
“If it’s okay... please give that back to me.”
The voice was familiar, but the tone wasn’t.
Armand’s eyes were still full of pressure, but his voice was unexpectedly polite.
His words were polite, but his tone was so flat, it sounded almost mechanical, like he was just saying things he was supposed to say.
“Ah...? Ah, yeah.”
It was only then that Rachel realized she was still holding Armand’s pocket watch. And just now, when he had been staring at her, he had probably spent most of that time looking at the watch instead.
Carefully, she reached out and handed the pocket watch to Armand. He also took it gently. Not snatching it away, but accepting it with care. He stared at the dented surface of the watch, as if lost in thought.
Then, his gaze shifted to the window, where everything outside was covered in white snow.
The view clearly didn’t match the memory he had in his mind. He seemed to spend a few seconds trying to figure out what was going on, then turned his head back to look at the only person in the room he could talk to.
“Excuse me, are you a doctor?”
Armand’s tone was still very respectful, so respectful that it made Rachel feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Huh? N–No! How could someone as young as me be a doctor?”
Hearing those words, Rachel quickly shook her head. While she could be considered a “doctor” in a certain sense, given the situation right now, she definitely wasn’t the kind of doctor Armand needed.
That response made sense. After all, Rachel looked like just a little kid. Even if she seemed much more mature than others her age, it still didn’t really make sense to ask her if she was a doctor.
But Armand didn’t see it that way. For some reason, he kept feeling like Rachel smelled a bit like medicine. He didn’t know what kind it was, but he had definitely smelled it somewhere before.
Still, since she was just a child, Armand didn’t press her further. He didn’t continue the topic, but instead turned his body and got out of bed. Even though the room was well-heated, stepping out of the warm covers in just a thin pajama shirt made him feel a bit chilly.
He rubbed his arms and walked over to what looked like a wardrobe. He looked at the clothes, which all seemed expensive, and picked one up to see how it would look on him. Then, as if he needed to double-check something, he walked over to the full-length mirror nearby.
“......”
Armand stood silently, staring at his reflection. His appearance didn’t quite match what he remembered. He looked more mature now… but also more tired and worn out. It was like the “cost of growing up” that people in storybooks always talked about.
But what really bothered him was how much he had changed in just a few years. If he hadn’t somehow traveled through time, then it meant there were memories he had forgotten.
“Little girl.”
“Hmm? A-Are you talking to me?”
That unfamiliar way of addressing her made Rachel feel a bit awkward. Actually, everything about Armand right now felt unfamiliar from head to toe.
“Can you tell me where I am?”
“Ah… um—”
Rachel had mentally prepared herself for the possibility that Armand’s memory might have gaps, or that he had forgotten some important things. But now that he was actually asking her such a direct question, it still made her feel uncomfortable.
But that’s okay. As long as she was here, things would get better.
“You’re in your bedroom.”
“My bedroom?” Armand repeated, looking around the room carefully. Then his eyes returned to Rachel. “And if you’re in my bedroom, that means you are...?”
“—Rachel.”
At this point, Rachel could only reintroduce herself once again.
“My name is Rachel... I’m your daughter.”
The truth behind that relationship was complicated, but right now, that was the only answer Rachel could give.
“...?”
Armand was clearly surprised. His eyes widened a little. This was the first time Rachel had seen him show any kind of expression in the past few minutes.
“Mr. Armand, are you awake?”
Just then, Evelia’s voice came from outside the room. She was holding a kettle and a cup as she slowly walked in.
“Ah, Mom—”
Rachel wanted to explain Armand’s current condition to Evelia right away, but before she could say anything, Evelia quickly walked up to them. She grabbed a jacket from the closet and gently draped it over Armand, who was still wearing thin sleepwear.
“Mr. Armand, why are you out of bed? It’s cold in here, you need to wear more clothes.”
“......”
Armand didn’t respond. He just silently stared at the pink-haired young woman in front of him, thinking about what Rachel had just told him.
“Mr. Armand?”
Just by looking into his eyes, Evelia could tell something was wrong. That unfamiliar gaze made her heart skip a beat, and anxiety instantly rushed into her mind.
“Are you okay? Mr. Armand?”
She asked again and again, trying to understand what was going on with him.
Armand looked past her to Rachel, then back at Evelia, the woman Rachel had just called “Mom,” who seemed to be very close to him despite being a complete stranger.
Finally, he came to a conclusion in his mind.
“Excuse me, Miss... I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… are you my wife?”