Chapter 338: The End of the Nightmare
“Haa... haa…”
Armand was pulling at his collar, gasping for air in a panic. There was a metallic taste rising in his throat, and even his stomach felt nauseous.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead as his brows furrowed, he was clearly trying hard to figure out what had just happened.
But instead of asking right away, he reached out a hand toward Evelia.
When his hand appeared in front of her, Evelia’s heart trembled a little. For a moment, she was even afraid.
After all, she had just attacked him. If she struck back now, it would be understandable.
“…It’s okay now…”
But the fingers that touched her cheek were gentle, just lightly wiping away her tears.
“Don’t cry yet, okay?”
Armand’s voice was still hoarse, and she could hear his deep breathing as if he were trying to hold back a cough just so he wouldn’t worry her. Evelia could clearly feel that he wanted to cough twice but forced himself not to.
“Uu… M-Mr. Armand…”
He had only meant to comfort her, but once he spoke those words, the little bit of calm Evelia had gained vanished. Her tears came pouring out again, even harder than before.
“Aah…”
With a bitter smile, Armand moved closer and gently held Evelia in his arms. Even though he hadn’t figured out what was going on, seeing her cry like that made one thing clear in his mind, he needed to comfort her.
After all, as a knight, how could he let his wife cry?
“…You're too unfair…”
Evelia mumbled under her breath, yet she still leaned into Armand’s arms and quietly enjoyed the warmth.
That’s why she said Armand was unfair. This was the man she had hunted for years. The man she had hated for so long.
There was a time when Evelia didn’t live just because the Second Prince ordered her to. She lived because she truly wanted to find and kill the man who had abandoned her.
And now, after finally finding him, this man she had hated for half her life… She realized…
…There’s no way I can actually go through with it…
With that thought, Evelia hugged Armand even tighter.
If Armand had been a little more cold-hearted, if what he had done had been even slightly more unforgivable, maybe she could have found a reason to strike.
But…
Mr. Armand… you’re just too unfair.
He made it impossible for her to raise her hand against him. Impossible to kill this man, the one who was holding her so gently now… was her husband.
“Feeling better?”
Armand patted her back softly, just like he had when they confessed their feelings to each other.
He was always this gentle. So gentle that Evelia felt like his warmth could melt her heart.
“Mr. Armand… Aren’t you going to question me…?”
Evelia leaned against his chest, listening to the sound of his still-unsteady heartbeat.
“Question you? I don’t think we need to use such a harsh word.”
Armand gently rocked her back and forth in his arms like he was soothing a child. There was nothing about him that matched the word “interrogate.”
“I read your records once. Weren’t you the one in charge of interrogating important criminals before…?”
“Oh—that.” Armand’s expression turned a little awkward when he heard that. “That was only because people said I looked scary back then, so I handled it for a while. Later on, Carle took over. Doesn’t he look way scarier than me?”
Evelia looked up at him when she heard that, blinking at his forced, awkward smile.
He did seem very kind now…
But when she remembered the version of “Armand” she had seen not long ago, with a very different personality. She couldn’t help but look at him differently.
“You really were scary.”
She was probably talking about the Armand of the past.
“Ugh…”
Those words were like an invisible sword, stabbing straight into Armand’s heart. Being told by his own wife that he was “scary” really hurt. He almost felt like he was about to cough up blood from emotional damage.
“But… compared to how you were a long time ago, you really do seem much gentler now. So gentle… I almost didn’t recognize you…”
Evelia spoke softly as she reached out and cupped Armand’s face in her hands.
She leaned her body back slightly, lifting her head to look up at the man who had once been just a “friend.” It was like the first time she saw his face when she was still “Furst.” That delicate, beautiful face still reminded her of the statues of gods in the temple.
And those blue eyes…
Yes, how did I not see it before? They were the same eyes.
Even though the blue that should’ve been bright and clear was now dull from exhaustion. The look in those eyes had completely changed.
Back then, his eyes were filled with pity when he looked at her. But now, they were filled with love.
He was still that same person, someone like an “angel.”
“…Aeg.”
“—”
Hearing that name made Armand’s pupils shrink. His heart skipped a beat.
That name… had finally come out of Evelia’s mouth. A name he hadn’t heard in so many years, and now, it had been spoken by someone he never expected.
“…What did you just call me?”
Just moments ago, Armand had still been trying to figure out what had happened. Why had Evelia suddenly grabbed him by the neck like that? He hadn’t figured it out at all. He thought he’d ask her about it once she calmed down.
But now, the moment that name left her lips, everything suddenly made sense, even if it was hard to believe.
If she knew that name… then…
“Ah…”
His lips trembled as he spoke. His voice was full of disbelief. He said the name that matched hers, the name of the nightmare from his past.
“—Furst?”
That name was burned into his soul like a brand. So many sleepless nights had come from that scar. Years of insomnia had made his life exhausting.
But even so, that “brand” was the reason he kept going. For the sake of the friend he once had, he had kept on living. He wanted to stay alive at least until he saw the Second Prince die with his own eyes.
And now, today, that nightmare had returned…
But this time, as his wife.
“You… you’re really…”
When he saw Evelia quietly nod her head, Armand was too shocked to speak clearly.
He didn’t know how to put his feelings into words. The friend he had thought was long dead… had become his wife.
Ha—what kind of joke was this?
Furst… Red Crow… Evelia—
They were all the same person.
Wasn’t this story getting a little too crazy?
The people most important to him… were all the same person.
But…
“…Thank goodness…”
Armand looked at Evelia in front of him, and his mind filled with the nightmare he had carried for ten years. Every step he took in life had been to atone for his sins.
“Thank goodness—”
This time, it was Armand’s turn to be overwhelmed with emotion. He had just told her “don’t cry yet.” But now, his own eyes were welling up with tears.
The part of his soul he had kept locked away for so long finally felt lighter. The heavy burden that had rested on his heart for years… finally lifted.
It didn’t matter what happened anymore. It didn’t matter what she did to him.
“…I’m just so glad you’re still alive…”
Only at this very moment, today. Did Armand, the man who always said he had “moved on from the past,” truly reach the end of his long dream.