<CHAPTER 09>
You Like Me, Don’t You?
As Evelyn’s green eyes sparkled with anticipation like jewels, the boy’s eyes curved slightly.
“No way.”
Startled, she frowned slightly and asked.
“Why? You don’t like me, do you?”
“This is family business. It has nothing to do with my feelings.”
At the unexpectedly mature response, Evelyn pouted.
“I don’t like it if it’s not someone I like. I guess you’re different.”
It might have been a foolish hope, but she dreamed of a love like that of her biological parents.
They had first met at a ship party, overcome the difference in status, and fallen in love.
That was why Evelyn had always secretly wished not only for an engagement but also to marry someone she truly loved.
Of course, her current parents seemed to want an alliance with the Valentino family for some reason.
As if finding her words interesting, Aksion lazily curled his lips.
Thinking he might be teasing her, Evelyn asked with guarded suspicion.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re more naive than I thought.”
Evelyn thought it was stranger that he could say something like that with such an innocent face.
Anyway, he’s definitely not normal.
She deeply regretted ever suggesting they become friends.
As she failed to hide her displeased expression, Aksion asked in an indifferent tone.
“Isn’t it enough as long as the conditions are right?”
Dumbfounded, Evelyn let out a small sigh and shook her head.
“You really are strange, you know that?”
At her remark, Aksion lightly shrugged and lifted one corner of his lips.
“You’re not much different.”
From that day on, Evelyn became certain that she could never become close to him.
***
The secluded alley was not a place a noble lady should visit, so she concealed her identity.
“Wait here.”
“Understood, my lady.”
With Gideon waiting outside, she felt reassured as she pushed the shop door wide open.
The doorbell chimed lightly, and the shop owner greeted her with a warm smile.
“Welcome.”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
Despite its fragile exterior, the inside of the shop was well maintained and comfortable.
Since it dealt in rare herbs and medicines that were not easy to obtain, Evelyn often visited this place.
Above all, since it was used by the original story’s female lead, its reliability was guaranteed.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked over the rare materials displayed in the wide showcase, but she quickly came back to her senses.
I shouldn’t forget why I came here!
Planning to buy only what she needed, she spoke in a voice low enough for only the shop owner to hear.
“I came to pick up the herbs I mentioned before.”
At that, the shop owner stepped away briefly before returning with a prepared box.
“These are the herbs you requested.”
Opening the box and checking the contents, Evelyn smiled in satisfaction.
After paying a fair price, she handed over a paper with a new list of orders.
“Please look into these as well.”
After scanning the paper, the shop owner nodded lightly as if it wouldn’t be difficult.
“Yes, I will prepare them.”
With a satisfied look, she adjusted her robe and was about to leave the shop.
Flutter—
“Ah!”
Evelyn bumped into something solid and rubbed her aching nose.
The moment she lifted her head, her green eyes trembled violently.
There was no way she wouldn’t recognize him.
The man standing before her was Aksion Valentino.
Even though his face was partially covered by a robe, his striking red eyes were unmistakable.
But it seemed she wasn’t the only one who recognized the other.
The man who stared at her intently murmured softly.
“What brings you all the way here?”
***
For that very reason, she planned to completely change the course of the original story.
With a determined gaze, Evelyn used her private space inside the greenhouse.
The laboratory, which contained records of the past three years, held her survival instincts and investments.
I want to prove that my efforts are not meaningless.
With eyes filled with resolve, Evelyn began organizing the medicines on the shelves.
As she busily wrote down the herbs she needed, her hand suddenly stopped.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Aksion lately.”
Her fiancé, who had been out of sight since the coming-of-age ceremony, suddenly came to mind.
Even if she didn’t want to know, she still heard updates about him through Rarie, who was in the same social circle.
Still, thinking about how he had been absent for nearly a week made her feel slightly uneasy.
No, why am I even thinking about him?
Shaking her head at her own absurdity, she dismissed the thought.
Only after finishing organizing the medicines did she stand up.
Since some herbs had shown promising results in her recent research, she planned to acquire more materials.
Together with her guard knight, she headed toward the plaza street not far from the greenhouse.
“My lady, we will only visit the shop and return immediately.”
Gideon, who had always been her guard, spoke with concern.
Even now that she had come of age, he remained overly protective.
Despite not being much older than her, he often treated her like a younger sister.
“You’re starting to sound more and more like my mother.”
At her narrowed-eyed remark, the knight looked baffled but did not respond.
Of course, she did understand his concern.
Their destination was a remote alley slightly away from the plaza street.
If they went a little further, it would lead toward the underworld.
He was clearly worried that something might happen to his master.
So Evelyn smiled brightly to reassure him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll head back as soon as I get the herbs.”
Arriving in front of an old and shabby building, Evelyn adjusted her magic robe so it wouldn’t slip.
