<CHAPTER 08>
You Know Nothing
Because it was a place where his lord was present, Fenril did not draw his sword.
He merely kicked away the dog that had lunged forward with a growl.
“No!”
Evelyn sprang to her feet and tried to throw herself toward the dog.
But her thigh caught on the table in front of her, and she stumbled, nearly falling onto the still-set dishes.
“Careful.”
A firm and strong arm wrapped around Evelyn’s waist to support her.
Then it slowly pulled her unstable body toward him.
“Ra…!”
Evelyn barely stopped herself from saying Rexfail’s name or title.
Rexfail had not yet introduced himself to her.
She knew that revealing she recognized him would only make her seem suspicious.
It was when she managed to swallow the words that had almost escaped.
She realized she was half seated on Rexfail’s thigh.
The simple clothing of a commoner lacked a petticoat, and beneath the thin fabric there was only a single layer of undergarment.
She could clearly feel the firm muscle of the man’s thigh beneath her.
Rexfail felt it as well.
The modest clothing without a corset revealed the softness of her body, and it left him dizzy.
“Let me go!”
Her face flushed bright red as she struggled.
It would have been better if she had not.
The faint scent of her skin, unmasked by perfume, stirred Rexfail, and the movement of her hips against his thigh startled him.
“Stay still….”
Rexfail restrained the woman who was trying to pull away.
With both arms pinned, Evelyn twisted halfway at the waist and found herself face to face with him at a dangerously close distance.
Their breaths touched.
Her uneven breathing brushed past the open collar of his shirt and reached below his collarbone.
He exhaled deeply, and that breath left a faint warmth on her forehead.
Suddenly, Evelyn remembered the last day she had looked at Rexfail this closely.
She had stood before him in nothing but a thin chemise, pleading with him while her body burned from the scheme of Duke Embrio.
The memory made her feel as though she had returned to that half-naked state before him.
*In a place this bright, with people around!*
Overcome with an unexplainable shame, she bit her lip and lowered her gaze.
His eyes cast a shadow as they followed the curve of her lowered lashes.
*Maybe not.*
*But somehow, I feel like I would know if I touched her.*
*Like that last day she was alive, if I pull her close and share her breath, perhaps I can be certain.*
*Perhaps I could be sure….*
Just as their lips were about to meet.
He closed his lowered eyes to breathe in her sweetness, but she pushed him away.
Rexfail looked at her with the helpless and pitiful expression of a child who had his toy taken.
“Why…?”
At that word, something flared inside Evelyn.
*Why? You’re asking why?*
He had declared he would not even touch her, yet he approached another woman first.
They had been husband and wife, even if only in name.
As her emotions churned, her exterior turned cold.
“Step away from me.”
Still holding her arms, Rexfail asked.
“Why?”
“Why, you ask?”
There were dozens, hundreds of reasons why he should not touch her.
But she could not say a single one aloud.
In the end, this was all she could say.
“You know nothing about me.”
It was a sentence heavy with meaning.
It referred to the Evelyn who had died.
And to the self now living in Raven’s body.
Either way, she believed Rexfail did not truly know her.
“Why would I not know you?”
A gentle hand lifted her chin.
Her eyes rose naturally and tangled with his.
Under the cloudy sky, his jewel-like red eyes gazed at her.
They were eyes she had never seen before.
There was no resentment, hatred, vigilance, or rejection.
There was only something soft and unfamiliar.
She could not even imagine what that emotion was.
*Why is he looking at me like that? What does he mean?*
Unable to endure it, she pushed him away.
This time, he let her go, and she slipped free from his arms.
At that moment, Coco ran toward her, barking.
Evelyn finally remembered that Coco had been kicked earlier.
She crouched down with a worried expression.
“Does it hurt? Are you okay? Can I check?”
But Coco still disliked being touched, and she could not properly examine him.
As if displeased by the sight, Rexfail stood and picked up the small puppy.
The dog, smaller than his palm, was easily lifted.
“What are you doing!”
Evelyn rose onto her toes to take Coco back, but Rexfail simply raised his hand higher.
“Is this your dog?”
“Put Coco down!”
“I did not know you liked dogs.”
Evelyn remembered that day as well.
The nameless puppy had eventually been sent to the Crown Prince’s palace by order.
She had later heard that the dog received a name there.
“The dog’s name is Shuya. As you know.”
*He is certain I am Evelyn. Why?*
“Why would I know that?”
“Did you like Shu?”
Rexfail glanced at the dog biting at his hand.
“This one bites quite a bit.”
Evelyn hurriedly took Coco from him.
“You are not his owner, so of course he bites.”
Coco immediately bit her as well.
“A temperamental dog.”
Rexfail handed the struggling puppy to Fenril, who carried him outside.
The barking echoed loudly.
“You said he bit because I am not his owner?”
Rexfail tried to examine her bitten hand, but she pulled away.
“Coco does not like being touched carelessly….”
He sat down again and leaned forward, staring at her face.
“Why?”
She felt afraid of what he might say next.
“Is the dog’s name Coco?”
“Yes.”
“And you are ‘Ivy’?”
