Chapter 367: A Verbal Message
“……”
For the next few minutes, Rachel didn’t say a single word.
She admitted that at first, she really was intimidated by that man’s presence. But after a short moment to calm down, she was much more composed.
As for that man, Rachel’s only clue was connected to the “House of Nightingales.” Her impression of him came from the way he had clearly given Evelia a meaningful look.
Even though Rachel never actually saw his eyes, the man’s hood was far too long, she could still feel that gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
Evelia lowered her head and looked at the little one who had been silent for a long time. Seeing where Rachel’s eyes had been, she handed her a piece of dessert.
“Ah, n-no, it’s nothing, Mom.”
The sweet scent of strawberries filled her nose. That comforting flavor loosened the tension in Rachel’s nerves. She took the slice of cake and glanced cautiously toward the window, as if worried that man might suddenly turn back.
She had to admit, that man really was dangerous. Why he was dangerous, she couldn’t explain. It was just a feeling.
“Have you decided on the style you like? If there’s no problem, I’ll start drafting the design!”
Anna walked out of the small room after paying part of the bill. She sat next to Rachel with her drawing board and pulled out a stack of fashion reference sheets from a cardboard box under the tea table.
When she saw the children’s clothing catalogs Anna brought out, Evelia realized for the first time that Anna didn’t only make lingerie. Her collection of sketchbooks wasn’t just for that either.
“Hmm? Clothes, huh…”
Even though Rachel was still worried about that man, seeing that everyone else was gathering around her, she chose not to show that she had noticed anything strange. She swallowed her uneasiness and pretended to study the children’s clothing catalog with interest.
Evelia sat beside her, watching Rachel flip through the pages, but her real attention was on her peripheral vision.
Not only Rachel, Evelia had also noticed that man.
As a former top assassin of the House of Nightingales, she was extremely sensitive to small details. But this time, it wasn’t just that she noticed him. Rather, it was as if the man deliberately let himself appear within Evelia’s alert range.
“Anna, is there a bathroom here?” Evelia patted Rachel on the head and stood up.
“Of course. Go left and walk in. Do you want me to go with you?”
“No need. I’ll be right back.”
Evelia nodded, then went into the corridor on the left.
Naturally, Rachel’s eyes followed her. Going to the bathroom was an ordinary thing, yet a subtle feeling of unease lingered in her heart.
But she knew that feeling didn’t matter. When outsiders were present, she was just an ordinary little child.
Following Anna’s directions, Evelia entered the shop’s bathroom. Luckily, it was just as she expected. There was a small, low window without any bars, and since the bathroom was on the first floor, she easily slipped out through the window.
But because the shop was warm, Evelia had left her heavy coat on the sofa. When she suddenly flipped out of the window, the cold wind hit her, almost making her sneeze.
Even though the temperature was low and she didn’t have much warm clothing, this was nothing new for Evelia. To her, having a warm meal and thick clothes like she did at the manor was what felt “different from the past.” She had never kept any heavy clothes in her belongings because she never really needed them.
As an assassin, Evelia had received the proper training, so she wouldn’t fail because of winter cold.
To avoid leaving footprints, Evelia purposely chose a path full of stones and weeds. For an ordinary person, hopping on big stones in thin clothing in this icy weather would be difficult. But for Evelia, it was no problem at all.
She moved lightly over the stones and reached the alley on the other side. From a distance, she saw the “leaf” that served as a special signal.
“Red Crow.”
The moment she stepped into the shadows, a man’s voice came to her ears.
The voice was pleasant enough, but his lazy tone would surely make impatient people uncomfortable.
Evelia turned her gaze toward the voice and met the man’s orange-red eyes.
“White Dove.”
She had rarely interacted with this man, but she remembered his code name from the time she saw him beside the Second Prince.
“It’s truly an honor, Lord Red Crow, that you still remember my name.”
“You came to find me? What is it?”
She skipped the small talk because Evelia felt such politeness had no real meaning. She crushed the signal leaf under her heel and stared straight at the man who had just startled Rachel.
“It’s nothing. I just happened to have a spare leaf. It seems Lord Red Crow still remembers our way of signaling. I was worried that after being away from the organization for so long, you might have forgotten.”
White Dove chuckled, his lazy tone carrying a hint of mockery.
“……”
Even in the dim light, White Dove could clearly see Evelia frown. She wasn’t truly angry, but his words made her a bit unhappy.
“All right, I’ll stop joking. His Highness the Second Prince is busy with government affairs and doesn’t have time to see you in person, so I came to pass along a verbal message.”
“A message?”
Evelia tilted her head, feeling suspicious.
“Yes. His Highness asked me to ask you—”
White Dove took a few steps forward, leaned down, and whispered in Evelia’s ear.
“How far have you gone with the captain of the knight order? And your heart, can you still pull it back?”
“…!”
Evelia’s heart gave a loud thump. Even though she tried hard to hide the sudden chaos in her breathing, the faint “buzz” in her mind was still noticed by White Dove.
An ordinary person would have missed that brief moment of tension, but her opponent was also a well-known assassin from the House of Nightingales.
From an angle Evelia couldn’t see, the man smiled.
These words were not really from the Second Prince. But seeing Evelia react like this was exactly what Red Crow wanted.