Chapter 332.2: Recognition and Effort (Part 2)
“That’s not hard to guess.”
Compared to Evelia’s tension, Armand clearly seemed much more relaxed.
He just lowered his head slightly, and this time, she finally saw her reflection in his eyes. But in his eyes, she looked full of fear.
“Is that something worth being scared of?” Armand asked softly. “Weren’t you already planning to tell me this secret? So why are you the one who’s afraid now?”
“I… I…”
Armand wasn’t wrong. Evelia had told Armand many times before that she was the Red Crow from the House of Nightingales. Each time, she had done it more calmly than the last. By now, she’d gone through this “test” countless times.
Every time, she “completed the task” perfectly.
But now, facing this version of Armand. His unfamiliar attitude really did make her feel nervous.
“—Aren’t you my wife? So, there’s nothing for you to be afraid of.”
But Armand, on the other hand, was even more at ease when Evelia was scared. Maybe it was because he could tell that the Evelia in front of him was not a threat.
“Yes, I am your wife… but…”
“Do I look scary to you?”
Armand reached out and gently held her hand, the hand that had been rubbing nervously.
The engagement ring was still on her finger. The pink diamond matched her hair color perfectly.
“……”
Evelia didn’t answer his question, or rather her silence was the answer.
“I see. Then that means the ‘me’ you knew must have been a gentle person.”
Just from Evelia’s reaction, Armand could already guess what kind of person his future self was.
He never wanted to become a bad person. Even now, that was still true.
Along the way, although he’d been watching Evelia closely, he hadn’t shown any hostility toward her.
In fact, he hadn’t shown hostility to anyone in the whole manor. Not even to Rachel, who was clearly hiding something. Armand hadn’t tried to dig into her secrets either.
Just like he’d thought before, everything exists for a reason.
If his 28-year-old self had chosen to keep these people by his side, then that must mean they had some kind of value or purpose.
After all, there’s no way his 28-year-old self would’ve already gone senile, unable to judge people or situations properly, right?
To be honest, just like all the past versions of himself, the current Armand still had a place in his heart for Evelia, even if he had forgotten who she was.
When she changed the way she called herself from “Madam” to “Eve,” a feeling like “Ah, that’s the name she’s supposed to have” naturally came from deep inside him. After all, his memory was only mixed up because of his head injury, not like his brain was emptied and replaced with a new one.
As long as he had once experienced something, as long as he was still him, then that feeling in his heart, that sense of familiarity, would always stay. Even if it was locked away in a corner of his heart, one sentence or one event could act like a key and unlock that box.
—"Evelia really is my wife."
That was the message his heart gave him the moment he instinctively held her hand.
He liked the feeling of holding her hand. He also liked getting a little closer to her, and finding a chance to reach out his arm and pull her into a hug.
But he hadn’t done that yet. After losing some memories, he found it hard to act so freely. Each version of himself had its own thoughts, and the current Armand wasn’t someone who could just casually hug another woman. Not that he had ever been the kind of person to be that rude anyway.
Evelia had learned how to be cold from the Second Prince. Under his guidance, she had stopped caring about everything. She didn’t care about the old or the young, life or death, or any consequences. In her eyes, the only one she saw was the Second Prince. Everything else didn’t matter to her at all.
And Armand? He had learned obedience from the Second Queen.
The Second Queen was an old-fashioned noblewoman, with way more rules than the Second Prince. That woman didn’t just control the young prince at the time, she also controlled her trusted followers, and Armand was one of them.
So compared to Evelia, Armand’s behavior was even more proper and traditional. Just like the way he had spoken to Rachel earlier. No matter what he did, he was always respectful. He really looked like a polite young nobleman.
Of course, he had been a nobleman before and had studied noble etiquette.
“Mr. Armand from before... really was a gentle person.”
Hearing Armand's reflections, Evelia nodded.
She couldn’t deny it, Armand was gentle. That’s exactly why she found it so hard to leave his arms.
“Mm, that’s a good thing.” Armand nodded too. “Looks like I became the kind of person I wanted to be.”
“Mr. Armand… the kind of person you wanted to be?”
“Yes. It might sound childish, but I really wanted to be that kind of person. Whether it’s to follow my heart or to make up for my past, I really… hope I can do better.”
“You’ve already done enough, Mr. Armand. You’ve worked so hard. All this time... you’ve really worked very hard.”
Maybe it was Armand’s words, “hope I can do better”, that touched Evelia. She had always stayed by his side, holding on through everything. And now, her nose suddenly felt a little sore.
She had never met the past version of Armand, and didn’t know how he used to think. But now, for the first time, Evelia truly felt how much pressure he had been under all along.
—The words “do better” are much harder to live up to than to say.
At first, Evelia didn’t understand why this version of Armand had such a personality. But now, she seemed to get it.
Because this was the kind of person Armand wanted to be.
Just like herself, he had once wanted to become someone who shined. And he really had done it.
“It feels good to be recognized by someone. Too bad my smile still looks kind of weird. If it were the me you know, I definitely would’ve smiled.”
“It’s not weird at all.” Evelia said as she reached out her finger and gently lifted the corners of his mouth. “Your smile is the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you.”
With his lips pushed up by her fingers, Armand showed a slightly awkward smile, and his words came out a little unclear.
Compared to the earlier, tense atmosphere, things now felt much lighter. Evelia also felt brave enough to get closer to this version of Armand, who still felt a little unfamiliar.
No matter what, Evelia knew that he was still Armand. Even if he seemed a bit unfamiliar now, he was still himself. He was still working hard for the future, just like how she was working hard to keep the promise they had made.
“By the way, I want to ask... Have I ever told you anything about the House of Nightingales?”
The topic shifted again, returning to the House of Nightingales. Evelia picked up the thread of their earlier conversation and followed up on Armand’s question.
“You mean information about the House of Nightingales?” she asked.
“No, not about you. About me.”
“About you?” Evelia tilted her head, looking a little confused. “Do you have any connection with the House of Nightingales?”
“……”
Armand fell silent again when he heard that question.
It was clear now, he had never told Evelia that he came from the House of Nightingales.
But he could understand why. The fewer people who knew the truth about his background, the better. If he had always believed in keeping things simple, then probably only the First Prince knew about his true origins.
He had already let go of that identity a long time ago, and it wasn’t something worth bringing up again. Even if he said it out loud, it wouldn’t really change anything. Adding one more layer to his identity would only bring more trouble.
The way he saw it, there must have been a reason why he never told Evelia about his past. And since he hadn’t said anything until now, there was probably no need to explain it any further.
“…Hoo.”
While Armand was thinking, a cold wind suddenly blew past him. At first, he didn’t think it was a big deal, but his current body clearly wasn’t in the same condition as what he remembered. The breeze made him shiver, and he sneezed silently, his throat itching.
“Mr. Armand, it’s getting cold again. Let’s go back inside.”
“Okay.”
Armand didn’t turn down Evelia’s kind suggestion. The weather really wasn’t good for staying outside too long. He had originally said he wanted to take a short walk, but in truth, it was just an excuse to find a quiet place where he could ask Evelia some questions.
Now that he had gotten the answers he wanted, there was nothing more to stay for. He stood up, planning to return to the bedroom with Evelia and warm up a bit.
“Ugh…”
But it turned out that his body was in worse shape than he thought.
Ever since he fainted in the snow, he’d had a fever. And even though he was awake now, the fever hadn’t fully gone away. It wasn’t obvious, but it was still there. When he stood up too quickly after sitting for too long, he felt dizzy and his vision blurred.
“Mr. Armand, are you okay?”
Seeing this, Evelia quickly supported him. For her, helping Armand like this was completely normal, but for Armand, who was now being held up by a woman who looked smaller and weaker than him, it felt a bit embarrassing. So he forced himself to stand straight and tried to recover.
But when he moved, the "old, broken pocket watch" he always kept in his coat slipped out and fell to the ground with a soft clink, landing right next to Evelia’s feet.
“You’re still carrying that thing?”
Evelia reached out instinctively, about to pick it up for him. But for this version of Armand, whose memories only went back a short while, that pocket watch was extremely important. Before Evelia could bend down to grab it, Armand stretched out his hand and grabbed it first.
“That piece of metal is—”
“It’s nothing.”
Armand clearly valued the item a lot. In his hurry, he opened his alchemy seal right in front of Evelia and stuffed the pocket watch into it.
“……”
But when Evelia saw the seal on Armand’s palm and the glowing patterns, she suddenly paused while holding onto him.
That mark… Could it be…?