CH 84

The stern response didn’t seem like mere words.

Bang! Evan pushed Lucas against the wall, creating a violent sound. An irritated Riett shouted,

“Get off him!”

Even with Riett’s words, Evan continued to glare at Lucas with sharp eyes.

However, the grip on Lucas’ collar gradually loosened. Evan impulsively let go of his hand.

Confirming that Evan had released his grip, Riett touched her forehead wearily and added an explanation.

“Evan, I don’t know what strange thoughts you’re having, but I just happened to meet Lucas and told him to stay here to give him a task!”

Then, Lucas’ gloomy voice came from the side.

“What…?”

Oh no.

‘I spoke too honestly.’

Feeling sorry for Lucas, Riett confidently pointed to the door without showing any signs of regret.

“Anyway, if you’re going to fight, both of you can leave this house.”

Once Riett set the ultimatum, both of them fell silent. Evan withdrew his gaze from Lucas, and Lucas became sullen.

“I have a lot of work to do starting today, so my head is already complicated. So please, both of you, don’t fight.”

She doesn’t expect them to get along well. Sigh.

“Evan, let’s finish what we were talking about first…”

Sniff, Riett tried to speak with a serious expression, but her stomach rudely reminded her of hunger. Riett cleared her throat and addressed both of them.

“Let’s eat dinner first.”

* * *

Various conversations took place during dinner.

Since Evan acted as if he wouldn’t even spare a glance at Lucas unless he listened to the whole story, Lucas had to be honest about everything that had happened so far.

However, the conclusion Evan came up with while sipping his coffee was,

“What a pathetic excuse.”

It was an elegant criticism.

Riett, who had been silently listening to their conversation, made an incredulous expression without realizing it. 

She had thought the same when she heard Lucas’ story, but… It was a very straightforward and unadorned comment.

However, there was a fact that Evan was ignoring, and she had to correct it.

“I told you, Evan. It was me who asked Lucas to stay here.”

“I didn’t know it was to give him chores. I was completely unaware.”

Lucas pouted, sulking at Evan’s words.

Ahem. It was true that Riett felt a little sorry for Lucas when her true feelings were revealed.

“Moreover, today I was planning to hire some locals at the employment office.”

Since the knights were using the guest house, they urgently needed someone to clean up.

If she hadn’t gone for a walk today, she would have already found someone. But… well, she should be satisfied with meeting Evan by the riverbank.

As she looked quietly at Evan, he calmly put down his teacup and spoke.

“Riett. If there’s a shortage of people to work here, I’ll ask for assistance from my territory. The knights arrived in just a day, so the employees will come soon too.”

“No, it’s fine. Using knights as well as employees.”

She had that much conscience.

Riett stood up from her seat.

“Anyway, I’ll hire people from the employment office tomorrow and hear about the recent Haren Empire expedition from the townspeople.”

The Haren Empire expedition team might provide clues about real spies. Even the smallest things sometimes become important leads.

“You must all be tired today, so go rest quickly.”

Lucas hesitated at Riett’s farewell.

“Riett, can I stay here?”

“Yeah.”

She already told him to stay, so it would be strange to chase him away now. Since Lucas mostly just slept in this mansion, he wasn’t bothersome either.

“I’ll pay for the bread, Riett!”

Seeing Lucas’s gentle smile that reminded her of their student days wasn’t bad either.

* * *

Riett raised her hand to untie the tightly bound hairband when she returned to her room. However, her long hair, caught by the chilly wind, was hopelessly tangled and didn’t come loose easily.

‘This damn hair…’

Riett thought as she untangled her hair from the hairband. Someday, she would cut this long, unruly hair short.

When she was young, she once tried to cut her hair, but her mother hid all the scissors in the house. 

She managed to find one pair of scissors, but it turned out to be a dream where her mother almost cried and stopped her from cutting it neatly.

In truth, the Truto Empire was quite lenient when it came to women’s attire, but not so much when it came to hair length. Noblewomen adhering to such long hair was a long-standing tradition in the Truto Empire.

‘Women must have long hair, or so they say.’

And Riett had a dream of breaking that old tradition.

Who does something matters. When she visited the dressing room, she often heard that other young ladies frequently searched for the dresses and shoes she had worn on official occasions.

‘I’ll make short hair popular too.’

With this, she had one more reason to return to the capital.

As Riett was contemplating her firm determination, Natasha gracefully entered the room and helped her untangle her hair.

“I had a feeling you would have trouble untying your hair.”

Natasha’s magical touch quickly separated the hairband from the tangled hair. Having served Riett for a long time, Natasha knew that Riett’s hair always got tangled when she rode a horse.

Riett placed the hairband on the dressing table and thought to herself.

‘Hooray for Natasha!’

Amid her joy, Natasha delivered one more piece of good news.

“And, my lady, I’ve repaired the plumbing in the bathroom today.”

Finally…!

A spark of life flickered in Riett’s tired eyes.

Since coming here, she had only been able to take simple showers. The bathtub’s connecting pipe was broken. But today, it was finally fixed.

Riett joyfully headed towards the bathroom. The steam from the warm water, prepared in advance by Natasha, filled the bathroom space.

Quickly finishing her preparations, Riett immersed herself in the bathtub, causing the water to overflow.

“Did you enjoy riding after such a long time?”

As Natasha combed through Riett’s hair gently spreading it over the bathwater, she asked.

“Yes, the sunlight was quite warm today, wasn’t it?”

“But it’s still too cold to ride a horse.”

“Is that so…?”

“I wonder how strong the cold wind was. The tips of the lady’s ears are still red.”

Even if it’s a statue, what would happen if it catches a cold? Natasha expressed her gentle dissatisfaction.

“Well, on a day like this, the only people who ride horses are the lady and Duke Kreutz.”

When Evan was suddenly mentioned, Riett recalled a forgotten fact. Come to think of it, he said that he came here riding a horse.

‘Is he sane…?’

He just took a short walk on horseback, but Evan rode a horse from the harbor to here.

He must have ridden for at least ten hours… Moreover, from what she heard, it seemed like he arrived early in the morning.

“Evan arrived right after I left the mansion?”

“Yes. He arrived as soon as you left riding a horse.”

Then Natasha burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe it. I hurriedly opened the door because someone was knocking so urgently, and Duke Kreutz was standing in front of the door. I was so surprised.”

Riett became more curious about the situation when Evan arrived here.

“Did he knock on the door so urgently?”

“Don’t even mention it. I thought the door was going to break. What about his expression and demeanor?”

“How was it…?”

“You could tell how urgently he came by the dry leaves and snow stuck to his clothes, and his expression was so dark as if he had fought someone…”

Riett felt a strange feeling.

Evan rode a horse all the way here, abandoning the meeting with the saint. And he did it in a hurry.

Suddenly, the conversation they had earlier brushed through her mind.

“Have you ever had someone you liked?”

“It’s unrequited love.”

While pondering over the word “unrequited love,” Riett thought to herself.

‘Could it be that the person Evan has an unrequited love for is… me?’

Usually, Riett would immediately shake her head and deny it, but not today.

At least for today, Evan’s encounter with the female protagonist has completely changed.

‘And it’s because of me.’

The flow of the original story, which had been changing little by little, was now completely off track.

Although she vaguely speculated who Evan’s one-sided love interest might be, there wasn’t a single lady recently that Evan was getting close to.

The reason Riett knew this information was that Evan’s stories were heard from various people. Since he was a matter of interest to many ladies, he was a frequent topic of social parties. Therefore, even if she didn’t want to hear it, Evan’s stories would inevitably reach her ears wherever she went.

Riett, who had been motionless like a doll, suddenly raised her head and looked at Natasha.

“Natasha, has there been any recent progress between Evan and the second princess?”

“No. Duke Kreutz rejected her outright.”

Look at this. Even her maid, Natasha, immediately replied.

The second princess was shy, but she was a true beauty among the nobles.

She expressed her desire to marry Evan to her father, the emperor, but when the emperor objected, she even went on a hunger strike. So the fact that the emperor was sweating was a secret known only to herself, who had frequent conversations with the emperor.

‘Well, even the second princess, who recently had rumors about Evan, is not… really…’

“Shall we go out now?”

Lost in thought, Riett realized that her bath was over as Natasha’s touch guided her out of the tub. 

Riett moved gracefully, reaching her destination in front of the dressing table. Lost in her thoughts, she entrusted herself to Natasha’s gentle touch as she combed her hair.

“But why are you suddenly asking about the princess’ affairs?” 

“Um…?”

As Riett’s response was delayed, Natasha’s voice became subtle.

“Is there… something bothering you, by any chance?”

“It seems like it.”

Riett unintentionally blurted out her true feelings.

‘Or more accurately, I’m concerned about Evan’s secret crush.’

That’s when it happened. Suddenly, Natasha dropped the comb she was holding and exclaimed in astonishment. 

“What?!”

‘Why are you so shocked? Did a bug or something come out?’

Riett turned her head to scrutinize Natasha.

“Are you… Are you really okay, my lady?” 

Natasha’s expression was horrified as if she had seen a bug.

“Am I okay…? What’s wrong?”

“If it were a usual day, you would have said, ‘Why would I care about him?!’…” 

Natasha imitated Riett with an exaggerated expression.

‘Did I react that strongly…?’

Riett felt a pang of guilt for her unnecessary outburst.

“Just forget it…” 

Riett mumbled, and sensing something, Natasha smiled ominously.

“My Lady, I don’t know the reason behind it, but Duke Kreutz hurriedly came all the way here today for you. Wouldn’t it be nice to express your gratitude separately?”

“Um…” 

It occurred to Riett that she hadn’t even thanked Evan. Despite her dislike for him, he had sent knights to protect her and rushed here in haste.

‘Yes, this is not proper behavior.’ 

Regardless of her usual dislike for Evan, Riett believed in the principle of expressing gratitude and apologies promptly, regardless of the person. 

“That’s it, my lady.”

After finishing her hair, Natasha neatly clasped her hands and slightly bowed her head. 

“Thank you, Natasha.”

Natasha left the room, and Riett glanced briefly at the clock. It was quite late, but it hadn’t been long since Evan had gone up to his room. He was probably still awake.

Riett put on a coat over her nightgown and made her way to Evan’s room