Chapter 06
Raynard asked again.
Evelyn moved her stiff gaze, frozen by extreme tension, and looked at Raynard.
His unreadable eyes met Evelyn’s directly.
There was no expression on Raynard’s face.
Even Evelyn, who had spent her life reading the moods of countless people as a maid, could not tell what Raynard was thinking.
Evelyn’s eyes continued to tremble.
She was facing the worst situation of her life.
“About that…”
She could not say it.
I was trying to run away from you.
I am not Ophelia, the princess of Hesta. I am only Evelyn, a maid. The King of Hesta, who did not want to hand over his daughter, tried to deceive you by using me.
That was why Hesta tried to kill me before I met you, and you saved me.
I was afraid that if you found out the truth, you would become angry and kill me, so I tried to escape.
She could not say any of that.
If she told the truth and something happened to her, there was no way to know what would happen.
The sword hanging at Raynard’s waist looked as though it could reveal its sharp blade and cut her throat at any moment.
“Why can’t you answer? Is there something bothering you?”
Raynard took a step toward Evelyn.
He was already a tall man, but from her position sitting on the ground and looking up at him, he seemed even larger and more threatening.
Her trembling fingertips became stained with dirt.
Evelyn could do nothing but look up at Raynard without being able to give a proper answer.
This is bad.
There was no excuse she could make.
She could say she had gone for a walk and gotten lost in the dark night, but this was not a place where she could cover things up with such a simple excuse.
Evelyn had run straight here from the camp.
Even considering her injured condition and slow pace, there was no denying that she had traveled a considerable distance.
As proof, the only light around them was the faint moonlight leaking through the leaves.
There was not even a trace of the lights from the camp nearby.
As she thought that far, Evelyn suddenly realized something.
As she had thought before, this was not a distance one would casually come out for a walk.
It was a forest far away from the road, and it was also the middle of the night with darkness covering everything.
Then how did Raynard come here…?
“Were you trying to run away?”
Raynard finally reached Evelyn and bent down on one knee to meet her eyes.
Evelyn had tried to look away because she could not face him, but instead she clenched her fists and looked directly at him.
“You were following me.”
Even though she tried to appear calm, she could not hide the trembling in her voice.
Something was definitely strange.
Evelyn had been trying to escape, but why had Raynard come all the way here at such a late hour?
There was no reason for them to meet in a place like this unless he had been following her from the beginning.
“Do you want to know?”
At Raynard’s words, which did not deny it, Evelyn bit her tongue.
Whether it was because of curiosity or because he already knew everything, it meant that Raynard had been following her the entire time.
“When did you start following me?”
“From the beginning.”
Raynard answered without hesitation.
Evelyn had been certain that she had not been noticed by anyone when leaving the camp, so Raynard’s words that he had followed her from the very beginning felt terrifying.
Had he known everything from the start and followed her?
Or had it simply been curiosity?
Avoiding Raynard’s eyes, which seemed to see right through her, Evelyn turned her head away.
She had never imagined that Raynard knew her true identity.
“How?”
“Your speech has become rather short.”
Raynard avoided giving a direct answer. He raised his hand, lifted Evelyn’s chin, and brought his face close to hers.
Just as Evelyn was about to lower her eyes because his face had come uncomfortably close—
“What are you dissatisfied with?”
Raynard’s breath brushed against Evelyn’s face.
Evelyn blinked repeatedly at the quiet whisper.
She tried to move backward to get away from Raynard, but it was useless.
“I saved you from the bandits, brought you somewhere safe, and even treated your wounds. Was there something lacking in what I did for you?”
Raynard’s relaxed eyes slowly scanned Evelyn’s face.
Beneath platinum-colored eyelashes matching her hair, her turquoise eyes filled with fear trembled.
Her tightly closed lips shook slightly, unable to overcome her terror.
“Are you afraid of me?”
There was no intention to threaten her.
Raynard genuinely wanted to know why Evelyn was afraid of him.
“Why are you afraid of me?”
From Raynard’s memory, he had done nothing that could have harmed Evelyn.
If anything, he had helped her and treated her wounds.
That was why he found it even more puzzling.
He waited for an answer, but she still said nothing.
The reason Evelyn feared Raynard was obvious.
Because Raynard was someone powerful enough to take her life at any moment.
On top of that, although she never wanted to, she was also deceiving him.
Thinking that they would remain like this forever if nothing changed, Raynard removed his hand from Evelyn’s chin.
“Tell me your name.”
Unlike before, when he had asked as if speaking to himself, his tone was clearly an order.
Evelyn hesitated before opening her mouth.
“Ophelia… Fleurret Fabian.”
Even while afraid, she gave the name of Princess Ophelia.
Since it was not the answer Raynard expected, his brows furrowed.
“Name.”
Raynard spoke briefly again, urging her.
Evelyn shook her head slightly, unable to understand his intention.
“Ophelia—”
“No. I’m asking for your real name.”
At Raynard’s unexpected words, Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock.
“That’s impossible…”
It truly was impossible.
From Evelyn’s perspective, Raynard should not have known that she was the fake Princess Ophelia.
Evelyn felt completely dizzy.
Raynard, however, calmly watched her panic.
Just as he had been certain, the person before him was not Princess Ophelia.
“If you thought I was that foolish, you were mistaken. If I couldn’t even recognize something like this, I would never have been able to place Bight beneath my feet in the first place.”
Raynard’s words were not entirely wrong.
The moment he first saw Evelyn, he had realized she was not Princess Ophelia.
Evelyn’s lips trembled.
This was exactly the worst situation she had feared.
“…Are you going to kill me?”
Raynard realized that the thing Evelyn feared was death.
He had already suspected it, but knowing it for certain did not make him feel good.
“Is there a reason I should kill you?”
Evelyn was left speechless, separate from the fear that had prevented her from speaking before.
There were more than enough reasons to kill her.
For daring to deceive him and pretend to be Princess Ophelia, she should not have been able to preserve her life.
Yet Raynard spoke as if there was no reason.
That was even more unbelievable.
“Then what are you going to do with me? Since I’m not Princess Ophelia.”
Now that her vague fears had become reality, Evelyn was calmer than she expected.
“For the time being, remain as Princess Ophelia.”
“What?”
Raynard simply shrugged as if there was nothing wrong.
Evelyn frowned in shock.
It was not that simple.
“Do you have anywhere to go if you escape from here?”
Of course she did not.
That was the very problem Evelyn had been worrying about.
When Evelyn shook her head, Raynard let out a small laugh as if he had expected that answer.
“You don’t seem like someone who volunteered to become a substitute out of some great sense of sacrifice. Don’t you want revenge against those who forced you into this?”
“Can I really say that I want it?”
It would be a lie to say she did not want revenge.
Hesta had intended to kill Evelyn from the beginning.
It meant that, just as Glena had said, they had never intended to let her live a life of luxury.
They simply planned to kill her as if she had been murdered by bandits before the Bight Emperor discovered the truth.
It would be a lie to say she did not want to repay the fear and despair she had experienced.
But she could not blindly follow Raynard either.
Because she had no idea why he was showing her such kindness.
Raynard looked down at the confused Evelyn and raised the corner of his mouth into a smile.
“For the next one year. During that time, I intend to conquer Hesta.”
It was not an agreement between them.
It was only a plan Raynard had tentatively formed in his mind.
Of course, Bight’s soldiers were ready to conquer Hesta whenever Raynard wished.
“If you stay by my side, you will have more than enough opportunity for revenge.”
