Chapter 25

Chapter 25

***

“Princess, are you all right?”

The servant named Cobb came up to Laria. Cobb quickly helped Evan, but he quickly got up even though he was falling in front of Laria.

To the point where Cobb’s worry was overshadowed, he quickly stood up as well and politely waited.

Evan casually brushed the dirt off his body and patted his hair.

Cobb, who had even prepared to carry Evan on his back, became embarrassed by himself because Laria asked him to do so.

Laria and Evan seemed to be whispering something between themselves, but because they were too far away to hear anything, Cobb was having difficulty figuring out the situation.

“It’s all right.”

Evan picked up the wooden sword lying on the floor, walked towards Cobb, and spoke.

“What’s your name?”

“Cobb Johansson, my lord.”

“Are you married?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then, go. You’re not the one who can give advice.”

“Well, I had a long relationship, though. We broke up not too long ago.”

Evan’s forehead slightly frowned after hearing that Cobb had just broken up.

Cobb quickly continued.

“H-however, it seems that she is doing well these days.”

He added. “Anyway, I’ve met her only twice…”

Evan was lost in thought for a moment and asked with a cold voice resembling Kalaudin.

“Am I cute?”

Cobb was in great conflict for a moment.

For now, even though he does not think that Evan was relatively ‘cute,’ he knew from his long experience that honesty is not the only virtue.

Evan stared at him while frowning as Cobb hesitated. So, Cobb answered frankly, even with orders.

“You’re not cute at all.”

“Really? Actually, that’s what I think as well.”

Cobb thought that maybe honesty was a virtue for Evan. An employer who is so self-objectifying had no reason to lie.

“I don’t have any cuteness at all, right?”

“Yes, to be honest with you, the young master has a rather mean impression than being cute.”

“…That’s very straightforward.” Evan rolled his eyes and asked again.

“Then, why would she call someone cute when they’re not cute at all?”

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t really use the word cute myself…”

“I’m especially curious about what it means when a woman writes about a man.”

With the loyalty that just occurred, Cobb, who looked like a mountain thief, recalled when his last lover said ‘cute’ to him. His ex-girlfriend was really nice when he once wore strange clothes and said, ‘You know, you look cute, but…’

“Well, if she’s a straightforward woman…”

“She’s very nice.”

That was an unquestionable fact. Usually, if she weren’t kind, Laria wouldn’t laugh at Kalaudin’s ridiculous jokes.

Cobb answered quickly to Evan’s firm words.

“One had to say good things, but I think it’s when one doesn’t have much to compliment.”

“…Oh.”

Evan has been surrounded by people grieving over Matilda since he was born. Kalaudin was angry because Evan was swayed by his subordinates, and not to mention Ludva’s words towards him. He even said, ‘in exchange of Matilda,’ which was the most tremendous hate Evan has ever received in his whole life.

They wanted Matilda, not him. So, he never thought what Ludva said was wrong.

Especially with Kalaudin sending him to the Academy. From an early age, he thought that because Matilda meant everything to Kalaudin, he became a completely different person after her death and thought he should live atoning his sin unconditionally. So, even if he had married a girl he had never seen in his entire life at the age of thirteen, Evan accepted it without his father ever asking for his opinion.

It was a marriage with no expectations…

However, strangely, when he saw Laria’s purple eyes, he felt like he had become an ordinary boy. There are things he wanted to do and things he likes.

For example, it felt good hugging her as she snuggled up to him while she was asleep or hugging her when she had collapsed earlier.

At first, he wanted to live up to Laria’s desire to get along together. Evan wanted to do so. In his eyes, Laria is a bright, cheerful, and lucky child.

“So, I took what you explained at the racetrack seriously and won first place because of that.”

He’s been bringing misfortune to his father since he was born.

Therefore, he had been saying things he didn’t mean because of Ludva’s words of how he shouldn’t get along with her and thought about Kalaudin.

To some extent, still, he thought that he did not fit in with an angel like Laria. But at this moment, Evan finally realized.

She is the very first person to embrace him and comfort him warmly when he was most miserable, saying, “It’s not your fault.”

She is also the person who hugged him warmly, saying no matter how much he pushed her away, in the end, everything will be alright.

The only one by his side in this place.

And maybe… she might be the only person who does not see him as Matilda’s shadow but as Evan Linaire Icard.

Pushing her away like that, I feel like a fool.’

In the meantime, he will try harder if Laria had lost affection for him because of his actions.

That’s what Ludva did to Evan. If someone tells him that he can’t do it, he will do it and try his best to succeed. Even if Laria’s a sunshine that does not match someone like him…

Evan knew he was wrong, so he will need to go back from the very beginning. When he first saw her, he thought he should get along well with her.

Evan’s reddened eyes flashed. “Cobb.”

“Yessir.”

“What do men do when they have a girl they want to get along with?”

The idea of following all the wishes of Kalaudin, who became unhappy because of him, remained unchanged.

Nevertheless, before all that, Laria comes first because she told him that it is all right between them even though he does not think so.

After making that decision, he felt impatient with the fact he had hurt his first precious person.

Cobb slightly tilted his head at the face of the thirteen-year-old young master, who looked serious. ‘Thirteen… you’re still too young to open your eyes to such a thing’. So, Cobb is at a loss where to start and how to talk about it.

“Explain it quickly.”

“First, you have to take care of yourself.”

Evan nodded sincerely.

“Because you have to look attractive to her, too.”

“I see.”

“And when you two are getting closer, you need to eat together and spend time together.”

“If our relationship deepens, we’ll get married. That’s when we live in the same house and share bed.”

“Well.”

Then, they will have a child and Evan realized again that his relationship with Laria was usually quite far from normal. They are already married. They ate together and already lived in the same house.

‘I think we should give birth to a baby after we become adults.’

In the end, if they get rid of what they have already accomplished from Cobb’s words and pick out what they have not done, it would just be management in the end.

Still…

“Because you’re cute.”

According to Laria’s short answer…

“She always says nice things, but I don’t have much to say in return.”

Her eyes conveyed the feeling that said, ‘I can’t believe he is a husband who had nothing to be praised.’ I expected it, but I still felt relieved.

Even though he pretended not to know that she was crying alone, he acted annoyed, like he didn’t need a sincere gift.

‘I’ve been acting recklessly, and I’m a man of no charm.’

At this rate, Laria couldn’t have wanted to get along with him.

“How stupid are you listening to all that crap?”

Kalaudin also called him stupid in front of her…

“Don’t you think it’s better for you to live your life to the fullest?”

Laria does not even seem like she was living her life to the fullest.

He got a little upset.

When he was at the academy, the other kids told him, “You are always studying without playing.”

‘Look at him. Isn’t that boring?‘ They used to say the same thing behind his back. However, he seemed to have become a pathetic child who just played and ate in front of Laria.

“Why did you get beaten up like a fool… you said you were good at swordsmanship.”

He said he liked the sword and showed it to Ludva unilaterally. Actually, there is so much difference between physique and weaponry, but Evan is really good at handling swords.

For now, he must recover his image, which seemed to have driven into the abyss because of this incident.

“Cobb.”

“What is it, sir?”

“I have something to order you.”

Evan ordered Cobb to do something discreetly. Cobb listened with his eyes wide open and nodded as if he knew what to do.