Chapter 82: CH 82

The man and Riett locked eyes.

Although she couldn’t see his face clearly, there was something familiar about his silhouette. Tall stature, plump build, and even jet-black hair.

‘No way.…’

As if confirming Riett’s thoughts, the man gradually approached her.

And when he finally came right up to her, Riett’s expression contorted.

‘Evan.’

The person she encountered in this quiet lake with no one else around was none other than Evan.

“…”

“…”

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment.

As if representing Riett’s restless heart, a breeze brushed past them.

Riett was the first to break the silence.

“Why are you… here?”

“Here you are, Riett.”

Without answering her question, Evan said something unrelated.

“Why are you here?”

“It was the way back to the capital.”

What? The way back to the capital?

So, does that mean he happened to come here on his way back from the temple and just coincidentally ran into her?

Ha, a burst of hollow laughter escaped Riett’s lips. If Evan standing in front of her right now was the result of that, then it truly was a cruel fate. Riett found the situation of encountering Evan too absurd and thought it would be better to consider it a dream.

Riett looked at Evan with a desolate gaze.

“Our fate is truly stubborn, isn’t it, Evan?”

“It is.”

Evan glanced up at the sky before speaking.

Riett thought she would lash out at Evan when they faced each other. When she saw Evan’s name on the list of petitioners, her hands trembled with a sense of betrayal.

However, her intense anger gradually diluted.

Even now, it was the same. In reality, her heart became calm when they faced each other.

Riett lifted her head and stared at Evan intently. It felt like seeing Evan’s face up close after a long time.

They had practically grown up together.

‘And we used to fight often.’

At first, he didn’t like the idea of Evan being the leading man handing him a transit farewell. Moreover, he had a timid personality, stumbling over his words and easily tearing up. His behavior annoyed and frustrated her, but for some reason, she couldn’t help but care.

Fortunately, as Evan grew up, his timid nature completely disappeared, replaced by a cheerful personality, as if he had swallowed a hundred earthworms.

He became so cheerful that, despite knowing it was a provocation, she would readily engage in fights with him.

‘It was really over nothing.’

Bitter laughter escaped Riett’s lips as she reminisced.

“All that growling at each other, you must have been fed up too.”

“Yeah, it was tiresome.”

Evan’s immediate response was more disheartening than Riett had expected. It seemed like she had hoped for a different answer while asking.

‘I’m so two-faced.’

At least she believed she could look back on the memories of fighting with Evan and laugh. But it didn’t seem the same for Evan.

Or maybe it was because there was already a close relationship established between their families, so it might have been difficult to easily sever their connection.

‘Still, if you thought it was a bad fate, you would have ended it sooner.’

Evan’s unpredictable attitude only ended up causing more pain. Riett thought that she needed to bring their relationship to a close in this place.

“…So let’s end this fate, just like that. That’s what you want, too, isn’t it?”

“No.”

Once again, Evan responded with an expressionless face, defying Riett’s expectations.

“What…?”

“I said no.”

Riett thought that Evan’s pupils, which met hers, looked sorrowful for some reason.

“You…”

“…”

“Do you really think we coincidentally met today?”

Perplexed by the question with an ambiguous meaning, Riett furrowed her brows.

“You said you were on your way back to the capital.”

“I won’t be going back alone.”

What? Riett asked with her eyes.

“I’ll go back with you.”

Riett needed time to understand Evan’s words.

‘He came here to go back with me…?’

Come to think of it, Evan was already at the Aplen Temple when the incident occurred, so he didn’t know that she had come here as an exile. Normally, he would have thought that she had come here with Perante to find the Spirit Stone.

‘But why does he want to go back with me?’

Confused, Riett’s expression gave away her bewilderment. As if reading her mind, Evan took out a neatly folded envelope from his pocket.

“That’s…”

“A letter you wrote to me.”

To be exact, it was the letter she intended to tear into shreds but had left in the room.

‘It seems that the butler actually sent the letter without permission.’

Ah, Riett realized that things could turn out like this and let out a deep sigh.

“…Since you saw the letter, you must know that I came here as an exile.”

Evan nodded. Riett calmly spoke the truth.

“Yes, I fled here to escape impeachment, just as I wrote in the letter.”

And the words she had wanted to say for a long time slipped out. For a moment, a sad light flickered in Riett’s eyes.

“You contributed to the impeachment.”

The pent-up resentment turned into an arrow and flew toward Evan. Riett pointed at him with a trembling finger.

“Not someone else, but you.”

Evan held Riett’s hand, which was pointing at him. In an instant, warmth spread through her cold hand.

“Are you cold?”

Only after hearing Evan’s words did Riett realize that her hand and face were cold. It was fine as long as she kept moving, but while having a conversation for a short while, her body had grown cold.

“Let’s talk inside the mansion.”

Riett didn’t want to take Evan to the mansion, but his gaze seemed desperate.

“Please do that for me.”

* * *

“Oh, you’re back again.”

Natasha greeted Evan as they entered the mansion together. Riett, who had taken off her robe, glanced at Natasha.

“He came back?”

“Didn’t you hear on your way in? As soon as you left for the village, Duke Kreutz arrived at the mansion.”

Riett had no idea. They must have crossed paths. Anyway, this guy keeps more horses than necessary.

“And he didn’t take a carriage, but rode a horse…”

Upon Natasha’s words, Riett, who was stepping inside, paused.

‘He didn’t take a carriage?’

To come from the Aplen Temple to here, they had to take a boat to the port and then travel quite a distance. The weather was cold as they got closer, making it difficult to ride a horse.

“…”

Riett looked at Evan as if asking for an explanation, but he casually brushed the snow off his shoes.

Natasha, who noticed the awkwardness between them, hurriedly took Riett’s robe.

“Don’t just stand there, please come inside the drawing room. It’s clean because I cleaned it during the day.”

“Thank you, Natasha.”

Whether Evan came riding a horse or by carriage, it wasn’t that important. They needed to continue the conversation they were having earlier.

“I will prepare tea. Please continue your conversation.”

With a soft click, Natasha closed the door and left, leaving an awkward atmosphere in the drawing room.

No, maybe only Riett felt awkward because Evan seemed unaffected.

Evan glanced downward for a moment before lifting his head and staring at Riett. The boundaries of his black irises seemed sharper today.

“You’re right. I also wrote a petition to impeach you, Riett.”

Earlier, he was avoiding the subject and barely speaking, but now he was admitting it so easily. It felt as if her heart sank like a stone as if she had been shot by an arrow.

“But, Riett, there’s something you don’t know.”

“Tell me.”

Before Evan could speak, he ran his hand through his hair. His black hair scattered in different directions. With a faint sigh, he slowly opened his mouth.

“The spy wasn’t you, it was me.”

For a moment, Riett wondered if he was joking in such a serious situation. However, Evan’s expression was unwaveringly serious.

“What are you talking about?”

“As soon as I became a member of the council, His Majesty the Emperor asked me to become a spy for the conservatives.”

All the actions that didn’t make sense to her before now flashed through her mind like wildfire.

“Then…”

Supporting the conservatives, being close to Count Terrator, it was all a lie…?

“All those strange actions you thought I was taking were all an act.”

Evan’s voice resonated solemnly as if confessing. In Riett’s mind, the truth she had learned after almost four years became a whirlpool of shock.

“That can’t be true.”

“I had to act meticulously. If I got caught, it would be fatal even to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“…”

“…Naturally, I couldn’t tell even you, Riett.”

Riett could only understand the reasons Evan had so cunningly concealed from her until now.

But there was one thing that bothered her.

“But there was no need to go as far as writing a petition!”

“Riett.”

When the low voice called her name again, anxiety engulfed Riett.

‘What else could it be…?’

“Count Terrator was preparing to kill you from behind.”

Caught off guard by the shocking conspiracy, Riett could only widen her eyes for a moment. Then, she managed to speak.

“…Is that true?”

“You asked me why I went to the back alleys of Hemsworth. The Count had been gathering information about you there. I needed to know what the Count was planning.”

The secrets unraveled one by one.

‘Is it because of me that Evan, someone so thorough, got caught going to the back alleys of Hemsworth…?’

“Before hiring an assassin, Count Terrator was checking if you had any hidden guards or escorts.”

“After confirming that I didn’t have any of it, he intended to hire an assassin?”

If he was going to kill her anyway, why did he bother with the impeachment?

“If the impeachment failed, he would have. Hiring an assassin is a risky move for him too, so it was a last resort.”

Evan’s expression grew darker.

“That’s why I had to make the impeachment happen by any means necessary—to ensure your safety first.”

“What about the knights…?”

“I explained the situation and asked Father for help. I was worried when I found out that the Count was scheming in the background.”

The immense truth that had been concealed all this time crashed over Riett like a tidal wave. It felt as if she were drowning in the sea, struggling to stay afloat.

“The reason why the Emperor requested you to join the searching for the Spirit stone was also because of that.”

“…”

“It’s also why he sent you into exile before the impeachment, to ensure that you found refuge in a safer place.”

Why hadn’t she realized the peculiar actions around her until now?

“I’m sorry for being late, Riett.”

Evan tightly clenched a letter in his hand.