âWhat?â
Contrary to her plan, Evelina did not expect Princess Elsius to betray the Dowager Empress shortly. Even if the two were bitter enemies. She never knew sheâd hate it this much.
Evelina looked at Princess Elsius with slight embarrassment.
âHer scheme involves killing sister in this hunting contest.â
âIs that true?â
âYes, indeed.â
Princess Elsius said with a dejected expression. Evelina couldnât believe everything she said, but she thought she could refer to it to some extent.
âItâs sad. Thank you for letting me know. Iâll have to prepare myself.â
âLet me help you, sister.â
âIâd appreciate it if you did.â
Evelina replied like that, saying something she didnât mean.
The hunting contest will occur in a week. And itâll be in a week before the envoys come as well. My death was two weeks away.
Even if things donât work out, it would be better to die from a heart attack than die from a beheading like in the original novel.
She laughed while musing so.
~~~~
ã Yesterday, the Dowager Empress and the Princess met closely again. I didnât hear the details. ã
Evelina burned a note from Armen Lubbs, the spy of the Dowager Empress. After Princess Elsius was released, she came to greet her immediately. Pertinent to tell her about the Dowager Empress.
She wondered what the purpose of the two was.
From the original, the two had a great desire for power. So every time Serena Verdeen appeared to Kaiden and turned him into a human, he tried to interfere.
Because Kaiden was the crown prince.
The King did not like Kaiden. He was afraid of him. A warmonger that brought victory in a war where he was abandoned to die.
On top of that, he never lost while carrying the name of the Abelard royal family. He was a monster with an absolute achievement in the shortest time.
As a warrior, there was no one to match and no one to follow in strategy. The method was unique and eccentric, so the soldiersâ morale hit the sky in the war he went out in person.
But he had lost his emotions by gaining that ability. Serena, the original heroine, taught him how to feel and returned it.
The revolution happened faster than the original one. It was different from the original as well. Then Kaiden, the second prince, became the emperor, not Ashes. Perhaps thatâs why his relationship with Serena, who appeared near the death of his fiancée Evelina, and Kaiden, who deepened their relationship, tried to marry her.
Princess Elsius and Dowager Empress Isabella were wary of her at the time.
Their purpose was power.
But Princess Elsius would be the power to avoid marriage, and the Dowager Empress Isabella would be the power for authority.
âYour Majesty?â
It is unknown whether the Countess of Elbain helped Princess Elsius. But there was something significant going on. Hence, I recommended a tea with contraceptive effects.
âI am grateful for Princess Elsius.â
Evelina laughed and stopped tapping her finger on the desk in the office.
âI thought the Princess would be happy to marry a good person like me.â
âYou are very generous in your vision.â
Evelina said so, smiling at Countess Elbain.
âI thought it would be nice if Princess Elsius could choose and marry like me.â
Evelina said her choice was a decision when she walked the crossroads of life and death, but she deliberately omitted it. As if he loved and chose Kaiden.
So, Evelina decided to check if the message would be delivered to Princess Elsius.
She and Countess Elbain were the only ones in the office.
It was not known whether she would take this risk and speak to Princess Elsius. But if she told her, it will come back in obvious form.
Evelina thought so and saw to her duties again.
~~~~
âWhy did you calculate it wrong?â
Evelina found it strange to see that the documents that she had approved were given differently. She had a habit of checking everything out of the blue after making an approval. It was a habit she learned from the Marquis of LogÃas.
âWhat? No way. We would have checked everything againâ¦â
The chief aide to the Empressâ Palace looked at the papers that Evelina handed him in bewilderment. Inside, the cost of entertaining the envoy was erroneously priced. As if some item was omitted and calculated. The initial calculated value and the bottom calculated value were different.
âIâll have to do it again.â
Evelina wondered if there was a mistake in the low-cost calculation. But she was always thorough about money if anything else. That way, even after she died, she wouldnât be a burden to her parents.
âLord, Iâve sinned to deathâ¦!â
âThatâs enough. We can make a mistake again.â
It was somehow strange. She would have checked it several times, so she couldnât have made a mistake.
In addition, it was strange to say that it was a mistake made by a senior aide. The chief aide was the first person to be questioned if this goes wrong.
In addition, the chief aide who came this time was a person sent by the emperor himself. He said he was competent enough to push the previous person to the next seat.
But did anyone have access to the documents?
Evelina was almost tired of being suspicious again without realizing it.
It may just be a miscalculation.
Evelina was tired of having a habit of doubting continuously since she entered the palace. Maybe itâs because of it, she was stressed enough to be prescribed sleeping pills.
She wanted to spend the rest of the two weeks well if possible.
âI wonât make a mistake this time!â
âI wonât, too.â
Evelina grinned at the senior aide. Then he looked at him with a panicked expression and lowered his head. It was too stupid to look suspicious.
She had to suffer from overtime thinking so.
~~~~
âThe envoys of the Kingdom of Tenesi will come, too.â
âYes, I heard it.â
Evelina was talking to Ianathas quietly, pretending to be looking around. She kept her and Ianathas within sight of other servants. But she left her voice at a distance that they couldnât hear.
âPrince Tenesi said so. If the amount you offered, I can give you a marquis, not a baron.â
Evelina wanted her adoptive parents to go abroad. If she went to another country and became a person there, the property in Abelard would freeze, but Kaidenâs eyes and the anger of the Abelard Empire could be avoided.
She knew the emperor wouldnât let her adoptive parents live after her death.
âI donât think itâs good to stand out too much.â
âBut it will be difficult for you to live as a baron. Letâs get a marquis.â
Evelina nodded as if she agreed.
âAsk Prince Tenesi for a deal with the kingâs seal.â
âIâve already asked for it.â
âThe transfer of propertyâ¦â
âI told him to do everything he could change into money.â
Evelina said, relieved that Ianathas was helping her parents.
âIâm so glad youâre here, Ian.â
Then Ianathas said, lowering the corners of his eyes, which had already fallen.
âDo you put your parents before you?â
Evelina couldnât understand his question, so she looked at him for a moment and realized. He doesnât know that her lifespan is just over two weeks.
Therefore, he couldnât understand her position. From his point of view, she had a bright future, but she will do something that will displease the emperor. The person who couldnât leave the palace.
âYes.â
So thatâs what she said.
âSo I think Iâll feel comfortable if my parents go far away.â
Ianathasâ eyes were strangely wet with her words.
âIâve never seen a fool like you. Itâs frustrating and annoying when I see you.â
She was surprised that it was the first time he had spoken so harshly to her. However, when she saw him wipe away the tears in his eyes, she realized that it was not in his heart.
âThank you for your help, Ian. Iâm really glad youâre my friend.â
Evelina left him like that. Because he kept crying. She thought she would want to comfort him as a friend if they were close.
But the palaceâs eyes would not leave her alone if she soothed him.
* * *
Evelina was worried about leaving Ianathas crying. If something went around the mouth of the palace servants, his help could be overshadowed.
âLina?â
So she came to Kaidenâs office this time.
âCan you let anyone goâ¦â
âEveryone out.â
Even before she finished speaking, he kicked out the ministers and aides in the office. Evelina smiled reflexively when her eyes met him.
Feeling strangely similar to his office and her office, she approached with a fresh smile.
His chair was against the window. This was the third floor.
Sunlight was coming through a large window. Behind him was a large window, almost entirely of glass.
âI came because I missed you. Am I in the way of work?â
âThe work prevented Lina from coming. Lina canât get in the way of work.â
She approached him with a hearty laugh at his pun.
Then She gently pressed his shoulder as She did yesterday as he tried to get up. Evelina couldnât sit him down with her strength, but he sat down in the chair himself when he felt her strength.
âDo you want to sit this way?â
He turned his chair halfway around at her words. Then Evelina tried to sit on the floor as he did to her.
âThe floor is dirty.â
He grabbed Evelinaâs elbow as if embarrassed. As a result, Evelina put her knees on his chair and slipped on him as if to attack.
âUghâ¦â
She screamed in surprise and he let go of his arm.
âAm I dirty?â
âNo, the floor⦠Wait a minute.â
He untied his cloak and soon laid it on the floor. Evelina sat on the floor laughing at his hasty action. Then he looked up, his face on his thigh, as he did yesterday.
âCan you pat me?â
She said what he did to her. Her eyes gradually fell from his eyes and saw his chest and abs. His breathing was disturbed. And the image of his iliac bone that she could see right from the front of her eyes.
âOr do you want me to pat you?â
Her hand touched the top of his iliac. As if her work with Ianathas was nothing as if she had completely forgotten.
She was pretending to be an immature young girl, tempted to approach her lover. At the same time, she had to endure the fear of the size felt under her finger.