<Episode 70>

 

Eveline was startled by how Elkais’ kiss grew more urgent, so she pulled away.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I think it’s better if you head back downstairs now.”

“Alright…”

Elkais nodded in agreement, accepting her words.

Eveline said this because she felt that if they continued, she wouldn’t be able to control herself either.

“Elkais.”

“Yes?”

He turned back to look at her. Eveline gently held his hand as she spoke.

“Good night.”

“I hope you have good dreams. Or rather, no dreams at all, since dreams might make it harder to sleep.”

“Haha.”

Eveline laughed at his words. Elkais froze for a moment, staring at her, before he smiled back in the same way.

“If you have a nightmare, scream. I’ll hear you even in my sleep if you call my name.”

“How would you do that?”

“Training.”

“You’ve gone through some strange training.”

Eveline recalled her own training days when she’d react to the blaring morning alarm. Just the sound of it was enough to wake her up, even now.

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

“If you dream, I hope you dream of me.”

“You can say things like that?”

“I don’t know. But lately, I find it hard to hold back what I want to say.”

Elkais lingered until she let go of his hand. When she did, he clenched his fist as if reluctant to leave and glanced back several times before descending the stairs.

Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, Eveline felt a sense of peace.

Soon, she was alone in the attic.

The sound of the rain hitting the roof was strangely muted, just as Abellard had said. It was as if the roof had been covered with leaves, but the rain didn’t leak through at all.

Eveline sat on the floor, lost in thought.

The flashlight she had placed down cast a soft, dim light.

At that moment, a note appeared in her hand.

[Leave before noon tomorrow.]

Eveline sighed involuntarily as she read it. First, they were supposed to kill each other, and now she was being told to run away?

Could the gods really be playing some kind of game?

She suddenly remembered how Elkais had crumpled up the note and thrown it away in front of her. Mimicking his action, she folded the paper into a small piece, opened the flashlight’s cover, and burned the note.

The paper crackled and disappeared completely, leaving only a faint scent of burnt paper behind.

Eveline pulled Elkais’ jacket around her. The familiar scent, soaked in his pheromones, gave her the same sense of security she felt when he held her.

With the sound of the rain in the background, Eveline slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

She started to dream.

In her dream, she was reliving the nightmare of her past, from when she first arrived in this place.

“Did you steal Abellard’s sedatives again?”

“It wasn’t me, Father! I swear… Ugh!”

*Slap!*

Eveline felt wronged after being struck, but her sense of injustice meant nothing to Duke Wilden. His bloodshot eyes glared at her, disgusted, as she clutched her cheek, staring up at him.

“It wasn’t me. Why would I do that?”

“Do you think this will make you Crown Princess? Stay locked up inside the house like the Beta you are! No one welcomes someone like you!”

“Father!”

“From now on, don’t even think about attending any social events.”

Eveline realized that this memory was from the time she had been forbidden from leaving the estate.

“For a month, don’t even step outside your room.”

“Where’s the justice in that? I didn’t do it! You know I’ve been in the estate all day! How could I have possibly gone to the Marquis of Ecklyn’s and stolen my brother’s sedatives?”

“Shut that mouth of yours!”

“Please investigate properly, Father. I—Ugh!”

*Thud, thud! Slap!*

Eveline raised her hands to shield herself as Duke Wilden struck her head mercilessly, trying to protect herself from his blows.

But the more she resisted, the more brutal his violence became.

“Say you won’t go out.”

“…Father.”

“Just do as you’re told, Beta!”

“…”

“I’ve already been punished enough for having given birth to someone like you! Stop making my life miserable!”

Eveline felt a deep injustice at being born a Beta. She hadn’t chosen to be born that way.

In this cursed, class-driven society, a Beta could become nothing.

Had she not been reincarnated as a noble, she would have lived a much more wretched life, like an untouchable at the bottom of society.

“Be grateful that I didn’t kill you the moment you were born! You should live in constant thanks for that alone. Just be grateful!”

Those words stuck in her like thorns.

“Damn it.”

She awoke to the sound of the Duke’s shouting still echoing in her head.

* * *

“What a damned dream.”

She muttered under her breath, curling up on her side. She didn’t want to think about it, but the dream had brought back a flood of memories, stirring her mind.

Abellard had been the one who got rid of his sedatives.

<It’s unfair, isn’t it? You hate me. You must truly despise me.>

<Brother, why did you do it?>

<I don’t know. But I felt that, by doing it, you’d finally understand me.>

Eveline could guess why he had acted that way.

Before she had reincarnated as Eveline Wilden, the original Eveline must have tormented him terribly.

Even if she no longer treated him that way, he still had reason to resent her.

So, despite the unfairness of it all, she had resigned herself to accept it.

Sigh.

She rolled over in her sleep.

The flashlight she had left on still glowed softly, illuminating the attic. She stared at the light, lost in thought.

The rain had lessened, and the sound of the drops was faint. Through the small attic window, the outside world appeared pitch dark.

The darkest hour is just before dawn. This must be that hour, she thought.

Eveline curled up again, trying to steady her breathing.

* * *

Eveline felt strangely dazed. She knew she was close to waking up, but she was too comfortable to fully come to her senses.

It was a cozy, familiar feeling, yet also foreign at the same time.

The scent of sun-dried linens was truly pleasant.

Eveline felt as though she had returned to a peaceful world, sinking back into a soft bed before her death.

Her heart was beating calmly, the rhythm steady, and she could feel it in her fingertips, under her ears, and in her chest with every breath she took.

“Ah.”

In her drowsiness, Eveline let out a small sigh. The hard sensation pressing against her forehead didn’t feel like a wall.

She tried to move her head away from whatever was pressing against her, but her body wouldn’t budge, as if she were restrained.

It felt like she was still dreaming, so she didn’t bother trying to escape.

As she opened her eyes slightly, all she could see was white, filling her entire field of vision.

Thinking she still needed more sleep, she closed her eyes again.

As Eveline’s breathing steadied and she began drifting back to sleep, the man holding her pulled her even closer.

“Mmm…”

Though she let out a small sound, she didn’t wake up.

Crown Prince Ferite, expecting her to open her eyes, couldn’t help but smile when she fell back asleep.

He found it fascinating that she had fallen asleep on his arm.

The scent of her Omega pheromones was overwhelming.

That’s the reason he was acting like this.

In the early hours of the morning, he had come up to check on her. But hearing her toss and turn like someone in distress, he couldn’t ignore her.

At first, he thought she might be having a nightmare and tried to wake her. However, when she grabbed onto his sleeve and refused to let go, he decided to stay until she woke up.

He waited for her to release him.

But when she finally did, he didn’t want to leave. So, here he was, using the excuse of offering her his arm as a pillow while lying beside her.

Ferite was not usually the type to act without thinking of the consequences, but at that moment, he didn’t care about what might come next.

He had never smelled pheromones as intoxicating as hers before.

Now, he understood why lower-ranked Alphas and Omegas always seemed to surrender so helplessly to his presence.

It was as though her pheromones carried a powerful command, one that made his own will irrelevant, leaving him dazed and responding to the desires bubbling inside him.

A part of him wanted to shower her with his own Alpha pheromones. If he did, she might be overwhelmed by the scent and want to bond with him.

Her neck was completely exposed.

Even when she had been a Beta, she was stunningly beautiful, enough to blind anyone with her looks. Now, he felt like a starving man with a steak placed in front of him.

But despite his desire, Ferite had no intention of forcing her into anything.

He restrained himself, burying his face into her hair to take in her scent as he slowly relaxed his grip and drifted off to sleep alongside her.

Morning came, and the sound of birds chirping filled the air.

Eveline woke up abruptly, sensing the strong presence of Alpha pheromones nearby.

When she opened her eyes, what she saw was…

“Eve.”

“Eveline.”

“Huh?”

“Would you care to explain what’s going on here?”

Abellard was crying, while Elkais stood nearby, frowning with a look of clear displeasure.

“And why, Your Highness, are you here?” Elkais asked, his tone edged with irritation.