Edited…

<Episode 12>

“…”

He must have thought that I was actually afraid of thunder, so I had to pretend to be really trembling.

In reality, I intentionally breathed oddly to make it seem like I was trembling forcefully. Breathing irregularly, then breathing properly, alternating.

“It’s okay.”

I was surprised when he started stroking my hair, but I just endured it.

Besides, with the musty smell lingering in this cabin, it didn’t seem to come from me because I was close to Elkais. Being with him gave me a refreshing feeling like entering a pleasant forest.

I wondered where such a pleasant scent was coming from, only to realize it was coming from Elkais.

How could such a pleasant scent emanate from him when he hadn’t even washed?

“Your Grace.”

“You can call me by my name.”

“What?”

“Call me Elkais.”

It seemed that Elkais had gained quite a bit of camaraderie due to Abellard’s appearance.

He didn’t allow many people to call him by his name.

Of course, even so, in the original work, Abellard was allowed to use the nickname “El.” Abellard’s nickname was “Bel.”

Urgh!

The damn thunder had been roaring loudly since earlier but there was still no sign of rain. So, I had to pretend to be relieved when he continued to pat my back amidst the mixed sighs.

* * *

It was about 10 minutes after that when the rain finally came.

Seeing that the rain was falling, and the thunder seemed to have stopped, he loosened his arm.

He looked somewhat warm, and bandages, tweezers, and cotton were scattered messily nearby.

“I guess I need to wrap it again.”

“Alright.”

In response to his affectionate reply, I picked up the bandages.

Having done it once already, it was easier this time. However, considering that he was limbless, I wrapped his arm tighter when he moved to ensure it wouldn’t come loose, and I tightened the chest part even more securely than before.

“Eve.”

“Please call me by my name…yes, I like it.”

It seemed like he called me by name without me explicitly asking, but he did it naturally. Well, he allowed me to call him by name, so if I didn’t like it, I should have said something.

Unconsciously, I stroked the piece of cloth hanging on my thigh when he called me.

“It seems Eve would prefer this.”

It was the unidentified grilled meat he had prepared yesterday. However, the amount wasn’t that much.

“What about you, Your Grace?”

“Elkais.”

“Then, Duke Elkais, what about you?”

“…”

It felt somewhat odd to call both his name and title together. But that wasn’t important.

“I think it’s better for Eve to eat than me.”

“But Elkais is the patient here.”

“But Lady Eve is a civilian.”

“…”

It was a bit uncomfortable because I had probably hated him until recently, almost to the point of killing him. Yet, now that he was being kind, it felt both grateful and awkward.

“Then, let’s split it and eat together.”

“…”

“I don’t want to eat alone.”

“Fine.”

Concerned that he might refuse to eat, I brought the food and sat in front of him.

“My arm is uncomfortable.”

“The right hand seems fine.”

“Oddly enough, my right hand hurts too.”

“That can’t be right. It’s not common sense for the pain in the left hand to extend to the right.”

“…”

Elkais’ expression didn’t seem pleasant, and I wondered if I had made a mistake.

“It’s not a lie. My right hand really hurts.”

“Let me see your hand.”

He slowly extended his right hand. I went to take it, but realized I shouldn’t, so I just grabbed his pinky and lifted it up.

“Why are you holding it like that?”

“Your Grace, you haven’t held hands with anyone yet… Ah…”

I realized that I had just touched the finger he wanted to preserve because of Abellard.

I must escape alone.

Even though he might be kind to me now, if he finds out that Abellard becomes the one he loves endlessly, it will undoubtedly not be of any help to me.

And I don’t want to be close with him.

Elkais treats me kindly only for Abellard’s sake.

He had a personality so remarkable that it made him cautious even in the Hwang Clan.

Now, he might be doing this because he’s injured.

Even if that’s not the case, I have no reason to have affection for him. There’s only an unpayable debt in my heart.

“May I touch it?”

“Sure.”

As he agreed willingly, I pressed on his right palm firmly and then squeezed each finger.

Strangely, he didn’t seem to feel any pain no matter where I pressed.

“Your Grace, are you exaggerating the pain?”

“…No.”

“Then why is there no response no matter where I press?”

“I’m enduring it.”

“Ah.”

Is it really painful? But to feel pain in the right hand because the left arm is injured…

That’s unheard of. Well, if you think about it that way, it’s absurd that I’ve possessed Eveline Wilden’s body.

“My hand seems to be hurting a lot, so it would be nice if Eveline could feed me.”

“Sure.”

It wasn’t such a difficult task. So, I scooped it up with the only spoon available and handed it to him.

“Thank you.”

He accepted it eagerly, like a baby bird accepting food from its mother, without any hesitation.

“Eveline.”

The voice calling was half-muted. When I turned around, Abellard seemed to be awake and twisting his body.

“Eveline!”

“Yes.”

“Eveline!”

As his eyes were covered and he couldn’t see ahead, he was crawling in the direction of the voice, but unknowingly, I found myself putting down the plate and touching the gun.

“There, don’t move.”

“Eveline, untie me.”

“…”

“Elkais!”

The voice didn’t sound like my brother’s no matter how much I listened.

“Is it really Abellard?”

“Yeah.”

Elkais said with confusion, and Abellard, still bound, was wriggling around like a caterpillar to get up.

Elkais was holding a kitchen knife, which he must have found in the kitchen at some point.

“What about the tiger in the attic?”

There was a way to the attic through the kitchen gap, so I asked.

“I went up to check earlier, but it seems to have disappeared.”

“What?”

He said that and then, as if indicating that the tiger wasn’t important right now, he gestured towards Abellard.

“Is it really Abellard?”

“Yeah. Don’t you remember me? You even proposed to me.”

“It’s because of pheromones.”

I didn’t know about this behind-the-scenes story, and I didn’t want to know. Can’t they just go out and live together?

“At that time, you said you’d die if I didn’t marry you.”

“That was because it was the first time I was affected by pheromones.”

Elkais was both confused and deeply angry. I wasn’t curious about what happened, but from what I gathered, it seemed to be a story about proposing due to my father’s pheromones.

Regardless, they proposed just like in the original work, and it would be nice if they could go out and live together. I only had a gun, and I didn’t have the only beta on the island, neither a sword master nor a sacred rank exorcist.

Being with them wasn’t the best choice for me. It would be best to endure for about a year and then be rescued.

“Abellard is really Abellard.”

“Really?”

“How on earth did he become an alpha?”

“I don’t know.”

Abellard seemed to have no intention of speaking anymore. His body was facing this way, but he turned his head in the other direction.

I approached him and untied the cravat that caught my eye. Then, his eyes were moist as if he was crying.

“Eve.”

“…”

“Eve, I’m in so much pain.”

“Yes.”

Even though it seemed like his mouth was blocked… I searched for the waistband that had been tied around his mouth, and somehow it was scattered on the floor.

Abellard made a pained expression again. When I first possessed Eveline Wilden, I always received this expression. Abellard in the original was a pitiful protagonist who kept getting hit by Eveline.

Before experiencing it, I thought that was the case.

“Caress me. Hmm?”

On the surface, it looked like I was trying my best, but in reality, I didn’t know he was a lunatic.

The reason I completely gave up social life and never came out of the duke’s residence was that my brother Abellard turned out to be a formidable opponent, and no matter what I did, I was a beta villainess compared to him.

“I’m glad to see my brother here too.”

“Yeah, I’m glad too.”

“It’s really terrible.”

“Eve…”

He made a wounded expression, but now I wasn’t foolish enough to be deceived by such an expression.

The reason I wanted to become a police officer was that I wanted to be someone who protected the weak. I believed that I should protect good citizens and help them not have their rights violated.

But Abellard wasn’t like that.

He wasn’t kind, and he wasn’t weak either.

Especially now that he has changed so much.

“Why did you try to mark me?”

“…”

“There’s no way to bond with a beta.”

After hearing that, Elkais came forward and stood between me and Abellard.

If I continue to question my brother, Elkais will undoubtedly take Abellard’s side.

“I can’t tell you that right now.”

“Then when can you tell me?”

“I’ll tell you if you agree to go with me to my hiding place.”

Abellard was looking at me with a blissful expression, and Elkais was the same.