<CHAPTER 35>
Madness Rushed In
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me.”
Rexfail’s fingers traced along Evelyn’s sleeping face as if trying to memorize every contour.
Feeling the warmth at his fingertips, he smiled in satisfaction.
“The only reason I could even pretend to stay sane must have been thanks to you, Ibi.”
Vane had already lost the strength to speak.
Without even sparing a glance at his subordinate, whose face had collapsed in despair, Rexfail continued.
“So you’d better hope Evelyn wakes up.”
“Because if she doesn’t… I think I might really destroy everything.”
Pulling her hair close and kissing it as if in worship, the Crown Prince wore a face Vane had never seen before.
***
Evelyn felt as though she had been dreaming for a long time.
The reason she could not be sure was because she remembered nothing at all.
She feared that everything—being reborn in another’s body, meeting Rexfail, entering the palace, and meeting her father—might have all been nothing but a delusion.
She was afraid it might have been nothing more than a long dream of the dead.
But when she opened her eyes and saw Rexfail looking down at her, Evelyn felt relieved.
“Would you like to eat something?”
Seeing how haggard he looked, Evelyn realized she must have been asleep for a long time.
Yet instead of scolding her, Rexfail worried about her condition.
“No, rather than that… I’d like to move a little.”
A man second only to the Emperor in nobility knelt on the ground for a single woman.
As if handling something both the most precious and fragile, he braced himself on one knee and supported her body carefully from below with both hands.
“Did something happen outside?”
“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
However, seeing the deep furrow between Rexfail’s brows as he spoke, Evelyn decided she needed to find out.
“What is Gail doing?”
“Taking care of Shuya.”
Evelyn let out a small laugh as if something had just come to mind.
Noticing her sudden laughter, Rexfail gazed at her intently as if asking for the reason.
Evelyn willingly explained.
“Do you know how to fry an egg?”
It was an unexpected question.
Startled, Rexfail let out a short laugh before answering.
“Of course not. Just like how you don’t know how to wash dishes.”
“But I do know how to light a stove. I’ve even put a pan on it and cracked an egg before.”
“No way.”
Though he denied it, Evelyn flared up and insisted that she was actually quite good at cooking.
“Even Gail praised me. It’s not easy to crack an egg without getting shell pieces in it. And it’s even harder not to break the yolk.”
“Now I’m curious. You, cooking.”
At that, Evelyn smiled softly again to herself.
This time, Rexfail smiled along without even asking why, then belatedly spoke.
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was imagining Your Highness cooking.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Right?”
After saying that, Evelyn let her gaze drift into the air as if she were dreaming.
“It would be an impossible wish… to taste something cooked by Your Highness, wouldn’t it?”
“Not at all.”
Rexfail smirked, then grabbed her chin to stop her from pulling away and pressed a short kiss to her lips.
“I should call Gail.”
“Are you really going to cook?”
“I just hope you won’t be too disappointed when you realize I’m better than you.”
He promised her a perfectly round fried egg with the yolk centered, then left.
Without knowing just how difficult that was for a beginner.
“Lady Raven.”
Camilla, her eyes shining with relief beneath furrowed brows, and Silayan, who could not stop herself from crying, entered the room.
“Shall I bring hot water? You should bathe in scented water. Or would you like fresh flowers picked? Please tell me whatever you wish.”
Unlike her usual self, Camilla had become talkative, while Silayan could only nod through her tears in agreement.
“They’re good suggestions, but I don’t think there’s time for that right now.”
“W-Why?”
Sniffling, Silayan blinked in confusion, unable to understand why there was no time.
Camilla draped a robe suitable for going outside over Evelyn and asked,
“Shall I call Sir Acrain?”
“No. If it’s him, he would have already moved the moment he heard that His Highness did.”
Her guess was correct.
As soon as she was barely presentable, word came that Vane Acrain was requesting an audience.
“That’s an unpleasant face.”
“…It seems that person does not like you, Lady Raven.”
Camilla, who had never shown displeasure even toward Ivy, seemed particularly bothered by Vane.
Evelyn guessed that while she had been unconscious, Vane had lost much of his composure in front of those who were worried about her.
At the same time, she thought she should check on Ivy.
“Excuse me.”
Half-resigned, Vane had almost come to accept that Raven was Evelyn.
He believed that if she were truly the ‘Crown Princess’ he knew, she would have already anticipated his visit and grasped the situation to some extent.
So, confident that she would not show him an unprepared side, he boldly opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.
“Sir Acrain! How dare you!”
Camilla Berzac trembled in anger.
Entering a lady’s bedroom without permission was both rude and insulting.
Remembering how Vane had muttered that it might be better if Raven never woke up, Camilla stepped in front of him as if ready to strike him.
“Lady Berzac.”
At that, she turned back with a somewhat deflated, almost kitten-like expression.
After a brief hesitation, Evelyn changed how she addressed her.
“…Camilla?”
“Yes, Lady Raven.”
Smiling, Evelyn pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
It was an impulsive act.
Then, while Camilla stood flustered and Silayan looked on in envy, Evelyn pulled Vane outside.
“Where is Lady Ibiton?”
“Damn it! Finally, someone I can communicate with!”
He looked as though he had received salvation from the heavens.
He was genuinely moved and relieved.
As he began guiding Evelyn, Vane grumbled.
“Why did you only wake up now?”
“I expected you would start with criticism. But that’s not what matters right now, is it?”
“That’s… true.”
Vane nodded while clutching his head.
Evelyn briefly wondered if his famed looks among the maids might fade because of this habit.
“The carriage is ready.”
“Inside the Imperial Palace?”
Only members of the imperial family could use a carriage within the inner palace.
A woman without a title could not ride one without permission.
When she pointed this out, Vane grimaced as if he had not thought of it, then shook his head as if it didn’t matter.
“I’m more worried about what happens after making you walk all the way there.”
“Because we might be late?”
“Surprisingly, that’s part of it too.”
He waited for the coachman to open the carriage door and helped her in.
At Vane’s urging, Evelyn stepped inside.
Camilla, who came running out late, insisted she could not allow Evelyn to move without a maid and forcibly climbed into the carriage.
It was a small carriage, barely enough for two people.
Vane, who had intended to ride with them, stepped back neatly and closed the door.
“I’ve already informed them, so it will head straight there.”
“Shouldn’t you explain the situation, Sir Acrain?”
“If it’s you, Your Highness, you’ll know what to do.”
As soon as he stepped away, the carriage began to move.
‘Just now…?’
Evelyn was not certain what Vane had just called her.
Meanwhile, the carriage left the inner palace and arrived at the outer palace square.
“Lady Raven, I think it would be better if you don’t get down.”
The number of gathered people was overwhelming.
Camilla hoped Evelyn would not go outside, but the moment Evelyn saw the execution platform set up in the center of the square, she knew she had no choice.
“Tell them to open the door.”
At her command, Camilla opened the small window toward the coachman and relayed that she wished to get down.
The coachman opened the door and extended his hand to escort her, and Evelyn and Camilla stepped down one after the other.
Those who recognized Camilla soon realized that the mistress of the Winter Palace had arrived.
The murmuring grew before gradually dying down completely.
Following the path that opened for her, Evelyn walked slowly through the crowd toward the execution platform.
Ivy, dressed only in a light indoor dress with no outerwear, looked extremely haggard.
Her arms were bound behind her back, a sign of the severity of her crime.
Binding a woman that way emphasized her chest, so it was rarely done unless the offense was grave.
As Evelyn examined the guards holding rusted and dull blades, Ivy noticed her arrival.
Madness filled her once lifeless eyes, and with a forceful push off the ground, she charged at Evelyn.
