PRKE 23

Chapter 23……………………………….

When Karina opened the drawing-room door, Karina—who had been waiting—snapped around.

“I looked into it briefly. They were young men using drugs, so handling it was easy. They even had drugs on them. Since hallucinations are the main symptom, I had it processed as drug-induced psychosis. From the looks of it, it won’t be easy to treat.”

“Thank you.”

Karina let out a deep sigh and dropped heavily into a chair.

Arsene sat across from her, his expression grave as he spoke.

“Someone summoned Evelina to the patron’s lounge, lying that it was me who called for her.”

“What?”

“When I arrived at the lounge later, just as I told you, the three young men were already showing symptoms. It seems they planned to drug Evelina. I found an empty vial in the lounge. It might have been what they drank, but the reaction was different from normal, so I could tell they hadn’t taken it. Which means they intended to give it to Evelina.”

“…So that vial was that vial. What despicable creatures. It would have been better if they’d just died.”

Karina clicked her tongue, her words icy.

She, too, had found the empty vial and thought it strange—if they’d really drunk it, why were they screaming for her to leave and swinging their fists?

When she said she wished they’d died, she meant it. The deep furrow in her brow showed no sign of easing.

“I was searching for Evelina inside the ballroom when a young lady approached me and told me,” Arsene continued.

“Who?”

“A young lady I’d never seen before. I only remember that her dress was rather shabby and that she had brown hair braided into one plait.”

At those words, a person flashed through Karina’s mind like lightning.

“…That sounds like the young lady who spilled a drink on my dress.”

“A drink?”

“Yes. Because she spilled a drink on my dress, I had no choice but to leave Evelina alone.”

“……”

“It seems… she deliberately separated me from Evelina.”

Karina folded her arms and fell into thought.

“She must be an accomplice, but she still told you the truth… Did she act on her own?”

“…In any case, after hearing her words I went straight to the lounge, and that’s when everything happened. Just now, Evelina suffered a mana rampage due to extreme stress, and Marquis Veloche helped her. They say that when mana runs wild, it touches the mind of the person who harbors malice toward the owner, causing hallucinations. That’s probably why they saw what they did.”

“We should repay him properly soon. One must repay a debt of gratitude.”

Arsene’s expression hardened.

“Evelina will regain consciousness in two days. We need to settle everything within that time.”

“One day will be enough. Coincidentally, all three families do business with us.”

The Rockfeld Grand Duchy owned several mines—enormous in scale and excellent in quality. Regardless of rumors, everyone was eager to trade with them.

They planned to cut off the families’ financial lifelines as an example.

They had dared to lay hands on Evelina, whom they should have cherished. They would pay the price.

“It feels a bit insufficient, but it can’t be helped.”

In truth, Karina wanted to bring their houses to ruin, but there was no concrete evidence.

“And tomorrow, we should summon that young lady.”

“I’ll leave that to Mother.”

Karina nodded and stood.

“I should check on Evelina for a moment. I won’t sleep well tonight unless I see her with my own eyes.”

“Please be careful not to wake her. She’s only just fallen asleep.”

“Of course.”

She headed toward the room at a measured pace.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, Karina went straight to Evelina’s room.

Berry was standing outside the door.

“Oh, Madam. You’re here?”

“How is Evelina?”

“She’s sleeping.”

Berry bowed and stepped aside.

Karina opened the door silently.

With only a small lamp lit, the room was dim.

She approached the bed without a sound.

Evelina looked far more comfortable and neat than she had at the imperial palace.

Slowly, Karina lifted her hand and carefully smoothed Evelina’s disheveled hair.

“Sleep well. When you wake up, everything that tormented you will be gone.”

In a whisper so soft Evelina wouldn’t wake, Karina pressed a kiss to her smooth forehead.

After staying in the room a while longer, Karina quietly left.

Three days passed after Evelina collapsed.

During those three days, Karina and Arsene pushed the families of the three young men—and the Pellus family as well—into severe financial hardship.

When they summoned and questioned the young lady, they realized that the beginning of everything traced back to Arvella Pellus.

Of course, they never restored things to how they were, nor did they explain why.

Letters full of complaints arrived day after day, but Karina and Arsene ignored them lightly.

When they replied that if they didn’t want to end up destitute, they’d better keep their mouths shut, things finally quieted down—amusingly so.

The three young men had gone completely mad and now lived confined within their mansion.

They reportedly screamed at hallucinations day and night, shouting for them to disappear, wetting themselves in terror.

Thinking it might be a punishment worse than death, Karina and Arsene smiled in satisfaction.

Everything had been resolved, yet the most important thing—Evelina waking up—showed no sign of happening.

While Evelina lay unconscious, the mansion felt gloomy.

Arsene and Karina were so icy in demeanor that Noah could only wait anxiously for Evelina to awaken.

“Arsene, didn’t you say she’d wake up in two days?”

“…It seems I’ll need to send a letter to Marquis Veloche.”

He had been certain she would wake in two days, but Evelina’s closed eyes showed no sign of opening.

With a stiff expression, Arsene sprang to his feet.

He decided it was faster to go directly to the marquis’s estate and bring Leonard back than to wait for a reply.

Just then, Evelina’s eyelids twitched slightly.

Arsene immediately sat back down and called to her carefully.

“Evelina, can you hear my voice?”

Her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.

Perhaps because she’d just awakened, her red eyes were a little unfocused.

After blinking slowly, she turned her head and looked at Arsene.

“Arsene…?”

Her voice was hoarse and cracked.

When she coughed softly, Karina hurriedly lifted a cup of water and carefully poured small sips into her mouth.

Only after wetting her throat did Evelina release a shallow sigh.

The raw, stinging sensation finally eased.

As Evelina tried to move to sit up, Arsene quickly supported her with a pillow behind her back.

“My dear, take it slow. Are you dizzy? Does anything hurt?”

“I—I’m fine.”

Evelina smiled awkwardly.

Worried she might be lying to avoid causing concern, they looked her over carefully, but thankfully it didn’t seem to be a lie.

She glanced between them and spoke cautiously.

“Um… what happened?”

Arsene and Karina exchanged a look.

He answered quickly.

“Do you not remember?”

“No… I remember attending the founding anniversary ball and even dancing, but after that, it’s blank.”

At that moment, Karina felt relieved.

She’d been worried Evelina might develop trauma from such a nightmare. Thankfully, she remembered nothing.

“No, nothing happened. You were very tense and fainted, so we rushed back to the mansion.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I heard you went for a walk in the lounge with Arsene and collapsed. Nothing serious.”

Evelina fidgeted, then bowed her head deeply.

“I’m really sorry… I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble…”

“It’s fine. The schedule was already over, so you didn’t inconvenience us at all.”

“Still, you had to come back without enjoying yourselves properly because of me…”

“My mother and I don’t like crowded places to begin with, so you needn’t feel sorry.”

Something felt off to Evelina.

She’d woken up to find her mind completely blank.

It felt like something had definitely happened, yet that part alone had been cleanly cut away.

At least not all her memories were gone—but she wasn’t sure whether that was something to be grateful for.

Suddenly, she felt an odd sense of emptiness.

Tilting her head, Evelina felt her heart drop.

She quickly covered her eyes with her hands, and Arsene looked startled.

“Evelina, do your eyes hurt? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“No, not that—my eyes, I need to cover my eyes…”

She worried she might have lost the cloth she always used to hide them.

The thought that Karina and Arsene might have seen her ominous red eyes frightened her.

Her hands trembled as she covered them.

It was probably already too late, but she desperately wanted to hide them anyway.

Everyone who saw those eyes had shuddered and cursed them.

When she was little, one maid had even spat behind her back, saying they were unlucky just to look at.

She couldn’t bring herself to face them.

Seeing her shake uncontrollably, Karina stood up, retrieved a neatly folded cloth from the vanity, and returned.

In a gentle voice, Karina spoke.

“My dear, it’s right here. We’ll turn around, so take your time.”

She placed the cloth on Evelina’s knees.

Karina signaled to Arsene, and they turned their backs.

Only after several seconds did Evelina slowly lower her hands.

She wished they hadn’t seen her eyes—but realizing that Karina and Arsene didn’t want to see them made her feel strangely sad.

It was a contradictory feeling that made her loathe herself.

As if sensing her thoughts, Karina spoke softly.

“My dear, we don’t think your eyes are dreadful.”

“……”

“I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes in my life. I wish I had eyes as lovely and red as yours.”

Karina added with a small laugh,

“I won’t force you. When you no longer want to hide them, you can take the cloth off. Whether it takes months or years, we’ll wait. We’ll do everything just the way you want.”

Evelina always felt nothing but gratitude toward them.

She could show her eyes to Berry easily, almost in resignation, but not to Karina and Arsene.

She feared that even the slightest hint of rejection on their faces would wound her deeply.

She’d seen such expressions before, yet she especially didn’t want to see them from these two.

“…Yes.”

Without realizing it, Karina and Arsene had become precious, important people in her heart.

After hesitating, Evelina slowly covered her eyes again.

“Evelina, may we turn around now?”

“Ah, yes.”

Arsene turned to look at her.

For the briefest instant, a trace of regret crossed his face—but it lasted less than a second, and Evelina didn’t notice.

Karina then asked if Evelina felt uncomfortable anywhere, if she was hungry, and so on.

The moment Evelina said she felt a little hungry, Karina immediately called for Berry.

Berry came in, beaming when she realized Evelina was awake.

Saying she’d bring a light meal right away, she hurried off to the kitchen.

It was time to let everyone in the mansion know that Evelina had finally woken up.