<Episode 29>
Rubellite Croppers accepted the coconut given to him by Abellard.
However, inside it were finely crushed Belladonna leaves that Abellard had taken when he went out with Eveline.
Since it was a poisonous leaf, consuming it would be detrimental.
Abellard thought it was annoying, recalling that the date written on the note was the 7th.
It would have been better if he had discovered Rubellite himself.
Then he would have removed it upon seeing it.
“KUCK…!”
Eveline suddenly choked as if momentarily possessed. She had been enduring it, but the smell emanating from Duke Croppers was making it difficult for her too.
“Are you okay, Lady?”
“Ugh…”
Rubellite noticed Eveline’s peculiar animosity towards him despite the kindness shown towards Abellard and Elkais, so he suppressed any subtle hostility towards her and handed her the coconut he received from Abellard.
“Have some of this.”
“Ugh, th-thank…”
“No!”
Abellard snatched the coconut Rubellite offered in one swift motion.
“B- brother?”
Eveline looked at him in surprise, pounding her chest. Elkais had approached and was patting her back.
Abellard, feeling embarrassed by Rubellite’s astonished gaze, spoke.
“I think I’ll drink this one.”
“Ugh…”
Elkais scooped up purified water onto a leaf and handed it to Eveline. She took the water he offered and drank, calming herself.
Annoyed, Abellard reluctantly gulped down all the juice from the coconut. If he didn’t drink it now, Rubellite might become suspicious of him.
“Abellard?”
He felt relieved that the effects didn’t immediately show after drinking it. However, his sympathetic nervous system was suppressed, his pupils slowly constricting, and his muscles starting to disobey him. This was due to the considerable amount of leaf powder and fruit Abellard had put in the coconut.
“I-I think I’m going to vomit because of the putrid juice!”
He said this and dashed outside immediately.
“Urrggh!”
“Eveline.”
Elkais tightly embraced the now calm Eveline.
She tried to follow Abellard outside but couldn’t.
Rubellite, observing Elkais’s actions, vaguely understood that his courteous yet defensive attitude was because of Eveline.
“Ugh… Duke Elkais. Abellard is in need.”
“It’s okay.”
Elkais, seeing Eveline coughing and trembling, gently comforted her as if telling her to calm down.
Boom! Crash!
Abellard started to worry as lightning struck nearby.
“Ugh…!”
Seeing him retch nearby, Abellard thought he was alright.
“It seems like it’s going to rain…”
Eveline said tensely, but Elkais didn’t let go of her. When he looked at Rubellite, who shrugged his shoulders, Elkais reminded him that this wasn’t the Croppers Empire.
“I’ll go and check.”
Saying so, Rubellite tried to head towards where Abellard was.
“You don’t need to.”
Abellard returned completely fine. However, because he used his divine power to expel the poison, even the minor cuts on his fingertips were healed.
When Abellard entered, Rubellite closed the door.
“Hey, I ran outside because of my smell, but when are you sending the source of the smell away?”
“Quiet.”
Elkais warned Abellard to quiet down so Eveline could calm down.
“Stay away from my Eve.”
“Keep quiet so Eveline can calm down.”
“Calm down? Is Eve angry?”
Abellard sat next to Eveline looking bewildered. He was worried that perhaps she had noticed his plan to use Belladonna poison to kill Rubellite.
Anxiously, he grabbed Eveline’s hand and saw a hint of confusion on her face.
“What’s Eve supposed to calm down from?”
“Don’t you know even though you’ve lived together? Lady Eveline is afraid of thunder.”
“Huh?”
Abellard was utterly dumbfounded.
Moreover, when we climbed the mountain together, wasn’t she unaffected by thunder, even if lightning struck?
Moreover, she was the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a jaguar. And now she’s afraid of lightning?
He somehow felt that if he said this, he might incur Eveline’s displeasure, so he kept his mouth shut.
“Of course, I knew. But your way of doing things doesn’t help at all.”
But really, he just couldn’t stand the thought of Eveline receiving comfort from Elkais.
“Come here, Eve.”
Eveline knew that Abellard had seen through her lie. However, she didn’t take any action because it was difficult to tell Elkais the truth.
“…What why?”
“My Eve gets calmer if I give her a kiss… Uh…”
“Are you still joking around in this situation?”
“It’s a joke. I just said it to cheer her up.”
He pulled Eveline’s chin, but Elkais blocked him from getting too close.
“Just tell me the method and stay away. It seems like she’s getting more agitated with you coming closer.”
Eveline was actually fine. She just trembled lightly from suppressing a cough due to the scratchiness in her throat.
“I don’t know. Do you want me to teach you?”
Abellard glared at Elkais and sat back in his original place.
He didn’t want anything to eat, but he picked up what Eveline had been eating. Then he picked up a large leaf with her lip marks on it and used it to drink some water.
“What should we do, Eveline?”
“You can just stay like this. Abellard is just kidding around.”
“…”
Shhhhh.
The inside of the cabin was filled with the sound of pouring rain.
Eveline felt uneasy that she couldn’t truthfully tell Elkais about thunder.
Rubellite smiled and ate the meal that had been given him with great effort, and Abellard, although he didn’t want to eat, ate because Eveline told him to.
Ultimately, the meal continued until it was completely dark and new firewood had to be put into the fireplace.
* * *
Abellard was extremely uncomfortable with Elkais and Eveline being close due to the thunder.
Normally, he would have gone behind the sleeping Eveline and hugged her. However, he couldn’t do that because Rubellite was lying in another corner.
Even now, Abellard quietly rose, intending to kill him.
As the early dawn broke, the rain stopped. Outside, birds could be heard chirping.
He gazed coldly down at the sleeping Rubellite Croppers, Duke of Croppers. His silver hair and eyelashes came to mind. And within them, he imagined his golden eyes.
A twisted smile appeared on Abellard’s lips.
“Hey.”
Abellard called Rubellite very quietly, shaking his shoulder.
Rubellite groggily opened his eyes and looked at Abellard.
“Do you want to go outside with me?”
Abellard began emitting pheromones, starting to seduce the omega. Rubellite smiled, looking at him as if he were enchanted.
“Duke Elkais.”
“Yes.”
“We are going alone.”
“Yes.”
Elkais answered immediately, as if he hadn’t been asleep.
“Never mind. I don’t want to go out after all.”
“…”
Abellard lay back down and hugged Eveline’s waist, closing his eyes.
Elkais felt suspicious of Abellard’s behavior, wondering if he had been hit by the rain. So, he pulled Eveline’s body closer to himself.
“Ugh…”
In the process, Eveline made a discomforted sound, and Elkais unintentionally loosened his grip.
Abellard, with a triumphant expression, pulled her closer to himself and closed his eyes.
* * *
“So, you want the Duke and me to go together?”
“Yeah. Don’t you think the Lady considers me less dangerous than alphas?”
Eveline hesitated to go hunting with Rubellite Croppers, Duke of Croppers, alone.But Abellard was the one who had bitten my neck twice, and Elkias was an Alpha whose rut cycle could trigger at any moment.
All four of them had taken suppressants while in the cabin, but they didn’t know what would happen if they got caught in the rain.
Eveline was very concerned about choosing between two men with a criminal record and one with ‘still’ no criminal record.
Plus, Rubellite had said his arm was uncomfortable because of an injury.
In that case, it would mean she was less at risk than two alphas.
Besides, she had a gun.
“Okay.”
“Yeah. I guess it’s time to clear up yesterday’s misunderstanding. It’s true that the Lady saved my life.”
He spoke kindly and smiled at Eveline.
Elkais thought Rubellite Croppers, who had fought in wars, was quite trustworthy.
“Then Eveline can look at the island from above. We’ll go get food.”
Abellard seemed very displeased, though.
“Then we’ll be back at the hut before noon.”
“Yes.”
Eveline and Rubellite went up, while Abellard and Elkais went down.
Eveline’s group planned to explore the island, while Elkais’s group planned to gather food.
Thus, Eveline and Rubellite Croppers spent a very long time trekking through the jungle.
After over two hours of panting, Rubellite reached out his hand as if to support her, and Eveline silently took it.
“Whew… Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
That gave him the opportunity to speak.
“Which of the two men will the Lady choose?”
