CH 64.1

At those words, Daniel felt his tears welling up. It felt like the castle he built alone collapsed, and the times he had endured alone burst out uncontrollably. It has been a long time ago during his younger days he ever felt that way.

How could he call her Eve?

And now I didn’t even want to call her by that name anymore.

It’s the truth that he hid so that she didn’t suffer, so that she didn’t feel intimidated, and not struggle… but maybe it was related to the Bureau of Investigation, so he thought it would be best to hide it. Even in this situation, he could help but say nothing.

‘Affection is inertia, innocence is self-deception, lust is illusion.’

Because to him, his love is only her, his true self is only for her, and his lust is only her. Nothing could replace it, just her.

So he began talking of all the stories that he wanted to tell her.

***

Lucas and Daniel had a strange relationship. They recognized each other’s expertise and abilities, but they also never trusted each other. It was the assassination of Rihan Kadmin that brought distrust to the surface.

Even after that, they did not bump into each other directly, but they were constantly conscious of each other with Iveca in between, so it was the same as continuing an invisible war of nerves.

So they met on the way to the Queen’s Palace and were awkwardly courteous to each other. It was almost the first time the two met on the street rather somewhere with an audience.

“Are you invited for a teatime, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah, maybe we’re the ones who were invited to the first-ever teatime that Iveca’s hosted.”

This was the first time Iveca officially sent an invitation to hold a tea session. They walked side by side at a reasonable distance.

It was Lucas who broke the awkward silence first.

“The staff that I had attached to you seemed to have made inappropriate remarks and actions. Both were suspended for three months and placed on probation for exposing secrets under the influence of personal feelings. We’re discussing an additional six-month pay cut.”

“Isn’t it contradictory to punish Iveca for having her close colleagues attached to her from the beginning and being swayed by her personal feelings?” asked Daniel.

“But they wanted it so badly…”

“In my personal opinion, there’s no need to cut salary by six months,” Daniel said with a gentle smile, “anyways, they also need to be credited for protecting Iveca from the threat of assassination.”

“I will consider it.”

“And one more.”

Lucas knew that when Daniel showed his gentle smile like that, he would express his tough opinion. With the Queen’s Palace already in front of them, Daniel spoke kindly.

“Now, stop telling lies in front of Iveca. After all, Iveca would dig In through the cracks and eventually find out the truth.”

“Hmm.”

“No matter what the Bureau of Investigation has in mind, let’s not make Iveca suffer any longer. It’s really hard to fool Iveca, and whether it’s good or not, it seems she is the one getting hurt in the process.”

“I will obey the King’s command.”

The two, who had properly agreed upon entering, walked in side by side after that in silence.

***

“Oh, you two came together,” Iveca said as she stood up with a smile on her face. She had been nervously waiting for the two of them.

“We met earlier on the way here.”

“Please, sit over here.”

Looking at the two men sitting next to each other in front of her, Iveca placed down her tea and gave her a brief overview. However, the awkward atmosphere did not dissipate.

Lucas and Daniel have worked together on numerous issues and fully respected their respective areas. Yet now, they look quite uncomfortable with each other, so Iveca was a little embarrassed.

In the end, she sighed a little and said calmly, deciding to get the point quickly.

“We’re here because I think I need to clear up some misunderstanding.”

She paused for a moment and explained quietly.

“Honestly, I don’t remember anything… But if I put together the stories I heard from His Majesty and the Bureau of Investigation staff, I get a picture to some extent. But if there is a misunderstanding, it inevitably creates discomfort. It seems to me that between me and His Majesty, also I and the Bureau of Investigation were all having a different story in mind.”

“Iveca.” Daniel spoke with an elegant smile. “To be honest, I want to be careful of anyone when it comes to your safety. How do you trust the Bureau of Investigation? They might get rid of you because they are afraid that you will reveal secrets or maybe because you are trying to reduce the authority of the Bureau of Investigation.”