Chapter 352: The Past and the Present
“Ah, Eve, you’re back.”
It was around dusk when Evelia finally returned to the manor. The first thing she did after getting back, of course, was to check on Armand.
Even though she didn’t officially live in Armand’s bedroom, everyone around them had already accepted it.
Whether it was because she was his personal maid and needed to take care of him, or because of the not-yet-announced, but clearly ambiguous, relationship between them, no matter how you looked at it, it was normal for Evelia to come and go freely from Armand’s room.
“Yes, Mr. Armand, are you feeling okay today?”
Seeing Armand, Evelia’s first concern was naturally his health. She wasn’t even sure when it started, but checking on Armand’s condition every day had become a habit for her.
Thinking back, ever since winter began, quite some time had already passed. And now, the New Year was just around the corner.
Evelia suddenly felt a bit dazed. Without even realizing it, she had spent nearly a whole year by Armand’s side...
“Of course. My health is getting better now,”
Armand replied with a cheerful smile that looked no different from the way he used to smile in the past.
But ever since Armand had problems with his mind, Evelia rarely saw him smile like that anymore.
“That’s good to hear. I'm glad your health is holding up.”
“……”
Armand’s response was a brief, bitter smile. If Evelia had truly been paying close attention, she might’ve noticed how forced that smile looked.
After Carle left, Armand had been deep in thought. He wasn’t nearly as optimistic as he used to be.
Even though he was still doing his best to live each day, his thoughts had started to drift toward what would happen after he died.
Maybe the topic itself was too heavy, Armand felt even his breathing grow heavy.
Evelia wasn’t the only one in the room. There was also Rachel, curled up in his arms, fast asleep.
Of course Evelia noticed the girl. Even if Rachel hadn’t grown quite a bit recently, getting a little taller and with her long, silvery-blonde hair becoming more noticeable, Evelia would still have seen her lying next to Armand.
If it had been the old Evelia, she definitely would’ve frowned and pulled Rachel away, looking dark and unhappy. Just like a cat guarding its spot, curling up and pushing Rachel out.
But now, Evelia also saw Rachel as part of the family.
So even though Rachel was resting against the man she loved, Evelia didn’t say anything. Unless Rachel did something really jealousy-worthy.
Rachel felt the same. Even though her attitude toward Evelia still held a bit of fear, leftover from their “killer” and “victim” past, she had come a long way.
Back when they first met, Rachel was so scared she barely dared to breathe. Now, she felt much closer to Evelia.
To be honest, Rachel did love her creation.
Even though they had their “little disagreements,” Rachel still cared about Evelia.
And especially after slowly learning more about her, learning that Evelia was someone who had grown up lacking love and always needing companionship, Rachel knew that she needed to stay by Evelia’s side for a little longer.
She hadn’t quite reached the level of “motherly love,” but at the very least, Rachel’s feelings were real, she truly loved Evelia.
And right now, she was doing everything she could to save them both.
For Armand, and also for Evelia, for the sake of Evelia, who had finally walked out of the shadows and was on her way to finding her own happiness, Rachel was now giving it her all.
She came to Armand’s side again, naturally to help the two of them. But because she had been so tired lately, and because Armand didn’t seem to be in a great mood, it wasn’t long before Rachel started feeling sleepy. After chatting a little, she slowly drifted off to sleep in Armand’s arms.
Actually, she did think about it for a moment, was it strange for someone like her, who was over a hundred years old, to pretend to be a child and curl up in the arms of a young man more than a hundred years younger than her?
But after thinking about it briefly, she just let the thought go.
Not because she was too embarrassed to keep thinking, but simply because, there was no point.
It didn’t matter.
Rachel liked being held like this.
She liked the feeling of being in Armand’s arms. His strong body always gave her a deep sense of comfort and safety.
It was just… now, he had become thinner due to his illness. Even his face looked clearly pale.
There had been a time when, thanks to Evelia’s careful care, the dark circles under Armand’s eyes had faded quite a bit. But now, who knows how many sleepless nights he had gone through again. The shadows under his eyes had returned. Not too obvious, but still there if you looked closely.
He looked worn out.
That was the first thing Rachel felt when she saw Armand.
Even someone like Armand, who was so good at hiding his feelings, couldn’t cover up how tired he looked. Just how bad must things be for him now?
With those heavy thoughts in her mind, Rachel fell into a restless and short sleep. Maybe in her dream, this little girl with a child’s appearance, who often heard people say “Sweet dreams”, was dreaming of saving everyone.
Of course, she couldn’t actually do that much.
She was just an alchemist, and that was all.
Maybe only a dream born from total exhaustion could give her a perfect fairytale-like ending.
The world of adults was cruel... and that was one of the reasons she still felt guilty toward Saranah.
Because of her, that child might have to face the harshness of the world much earlier than she should have.
“……”
Evelia took off her coat and quietly sat down beside Armand, opposite from Rachel.
Maybe they were quiet because they didn’t want to wake Rachel, or maybe because each of them had their own thoughts and didn’t know what to say, or didn’t even feel like talking.
The Second Prince hadn’t told Evelia much. In the end, he didn’t even say exactly what she needed to do at the ballroom.
He just told her to show up, that was enough. Once she was there, she only needed to follow orders and adapt to the situation as it unfolded.
Rachel, Armand, and Evelia, the three of them looked, to the outside world, like a warm and happy family.
A “family of three” cuddled close together.
But deep inside, each of them was carrying their own heavy burden. And they each told themselves the same thing.
‘I must not let the other two know about the choice I have to make.’
The last time they had rested like this together, the leaves were still on the trees. The air was filled with the noisy sound of cicadas, but none of them felt annoyed. They had just sat under the shade, enjoying the rare coolness of a summer day.
Now, the leaves were all gone, and the wind no longer carried the unbearable heat. The cicadas were long gone.
They were still the same three people. But somehow, they no longer felt like who they used to be.