<Episode 78>

“Eve!”

At the sound of someone calling her from afar, Eveline turned around. A figure with pink hair wearing a black fur hat. Hearing the excited voice calling her by a nickname…

Bang!

“Do not come any closer.”

“Eve? Why…?”

Eveline deliberately fired a shot anywhere to keep him from approaching. Abellard stopped in his tracks.

She was relieved, knowing that her clothes wouldn’t disappear at this distance, and she slowly took a few steps back.

To Eveline, Abellard now looked only as big as the palm of her hand.

“Eve! Why! Are you doing this!”

Abellard shouted from afar, and Eveline shouted back.

“Do not! Follow me!”

“Why!”

“For a week! Do not! Follow me!”

As soon as Eveline finished speaking, Abellard tried to approach, but seeing her aiming the gun, he decided against it.

If he followed her now, she would certainly dislike it.

He didn’t know why she was so opposed, but there must be a reason she didn’t want him close.

“Ah! Eve!”

She disappeared from his sight in an instant. Abellard tried to chase after her, but suddenly, a note appeared in his hand.

[If you leave Eveline Wilden alone like this, she will kill Elkais de Robein.]

“But that’s too dangerous. What if something happens to her after letting her go like this?”

[The most dangerous being to an unarmed Eveline Wilden is none other than you.]

“Wow, that’s harsh. Elkais is way more dangerous than I am!”

[What Elkais de Robein possesses: reason.

What you lack: reason.]

“Oh, come on! That’s too much! Seriously! Aren’t you supposed to be on my side? Why are you being so blunt?”

[Bitter advice often tastes the best.]

Pouting, Abellard looked in the direction Eveline had disappeared.

No matter the reasoning, he couldn’t just let Eveline wander around alone. So, he decided he would watch over her from a distance.

Above all, the cold was unbearable, and the snow could fall at any moment. Losing a finger or toe to frostbite would be a real problem.

“But I’m still worried,” he murmured tearfully, and another note appeared.

[Permissible distance: 200 meters]

Abellard wiped his tears as he read the note. The weather was so bitterly cold that the spots where his tears had fallen immediately froze.

“Sniff… Eve…”

Feeling strangely sorrowful, he shed more tears.

“Eve…”

Still, he kept walking.

Following the trail of footprints Eveline had left behind.

* * *

Eveline knew that Abellard was following her. However, her clothes remained intact, and he seemed unwilling to come closer than a certain distance, so she ignored him and continued walking.

A week. A week where food was a problem, but so was finding shelter from the snow.

Abellard was at least less dangerous than Elkais.

Eveline had no idea that Abellard could summon weapons.

Clerics typically didn’t attack using divine powers unless they were holy knights wielding sacred swords.

From what she knew, Abellard was one to heal with divine power, so she hadn’t imagined he could use it as a weapon.

For that reason, she considered Abellard to be less threatening than Elkais.

And if his earlier actions meant he would stay away, then once she found a suitable hiding place, Abellard would likely back off.

She had told him a week. For a week, he would keep his distance.

“And surely, Abellard and Elkais will get along well.”

If Elkais has lost his memories of this place, it would be like before he and I grew close.

In that case, he’d likely be more favorable toward Abellard than to me.

As the thought crossed her mind, Eveline felt a sharp pang in her chest.

“Don’t expect anything. It’s a relationship that’s bound to end anyway.”

Reality was finally sinking in for her.

If they were destined to kill each other, she couldn’t allow herself to grow close. Regardless of how he felt about her, if the gods had decreed this fate…

The closer they got, the more they’d end up hurting each other.

She couldn’t bring herself to kill either Elkais or Abellard.

If anyone were to be shot, she’d rather it be herself.

If it came down to shooting Elkais, she’d turn the gun on herself. But if she died, what would happen to the foolish Abellard? Would Elkais remain unscathed?

Even so, Elkais might handle it better than Abellard. He’d been through numerous wars, had lost comrades before.

She felt grateful that her connection with Elkais hadn’t yet taken a defined form.

Blaming it on pheromones, she’d successfully ignored her feelings for him.

“Damn it.”

Her feet sank deep into the snow, and heat surged through her. Walking was exhausting, her breath hitched, and her face felt hot.

Though a cold wind blew, tears streamed ceaselessly down her face.

“Damn it…”

She clenched her fists so tightly that her gloves strained against the friction.

“This is all because of those pheromones.”

As if casting a spell on herself, she murmured the words and continued to walk.

She walked on for quite a while, and as evening approached, the snow made everything appear bright despite the time.

“Hah…”

Without a place to rest, Eveline kept walking.

There were no huts here. And there were no caves in sight either. The heavy snowfall made it difficult to recognize the terrain, and her feet kept sinking deeper.

She couldn’t even tell where a cliff edge might be lurking.

[300 meters east (→)]

Seeing the red letters etched onto the snow, Eveline regained her senses.

Her legs felt like they were about to give out, but she turned her body toward the red arrow and trudged in that direction.

When she turned back to check the letters, there was nothing left—only snow.

After walking 300 meters east, she finally spotted a small cave.

“Hah…”

Eveline entered the cave.

In that instant—

Rumble!

An avalanche began.

“Abellard.”

She thought of him instantly. He had been following her.

“Abellard!”

Pale with fear, Eveline cried out, but her voice was swallowed up by the cascade of snow.

“Abellard!”

No matter how loudly she shouted, no sound emerged. Her voice was lost, as if a tiny sound swallowed by a tremendous roar had become mute.

“Ugh…!”

Just as Eveline stepped toward the cave entrance, a large chunk of snow ricocheted toward her, striking her head.

“Abell…”

She tried to hold onto her senses, worrying about Abellard. But then she fainted.

* * *

“Nn…”

When Eveline opened her eyes, she felt warmth around her. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.

But the pain in her head where she’d been hit by the ice was far too real, as if her head had been split open by a stone.

“Are you awake, my lady?”

At the voice calling her, Eveline’s eyes shot open. The first person she saw was Crown Prince Ferite.

“My lady, are you alright?”

She instinctively checked her clothes. She was still wearing the same fur coat as before. Relieved, Eveline sighed softly and looked at the Crown Prince.

“How are you here?”

“I was here first, but then you arrived, my lady. You shouted, then fainted.”

“Abellard!”

At his words, Eveline thought of Abellard and tried to head outside.

“Haha. Now, what should we do…?”

“Ah…”

Eveline saw that the entrance of the cave she had entered was blocked by an ice wall. The ice was clear, and beyond it lay a heavy accumulation of snow.

“It seems the avalanche hasn’t stopped yet. The moment the barrier is lifted, snow will likely rush in.”

“Then my brother…”

“We’ll look for him once the avalanche stops.”

As she watched him conjure a flame on a stone, tears began to fall from Eveline’s eyes.

“My brother…he’s not that strong.”

“If you go out now, you will die too, my lady.”

“Please, let me out.”

“If you go out now, you will certainly die.”

The rumble of the avalanche echoed loudly through the cave.

“If I must let my brother die, I’d rather be swept away by the snow.”

Eveline gripped the gun that had appeared in her hand tightly.

“Why go to such lengths? Wasn’t young Lord Abellard the one who used to scorn you?”

“My brother and I aren’t bound by something so simple.”

Eveline knew well that Abellard had tormented her at first. But she also remembered the man who seemed lost when she stopped leaving the estate.

“Why don’t you go outside these days?”

“I just… don’t want to anymore.”

“Is it because of me?”

“No.”

She recalled his anxious look, like a remorseful puppy, as he came to her every day.

“Eve, it’s the embroidery you liked.”

“It’s fine.”

“Eve, it’s the teacup you wanted.”

“It’s fine.”

“Eve, it’s the dress you wanted.”

“It’s fine.”

“Eve, Eve, Eve…”

Before coming here, he had behaved as if he’d realized, if only a little, his mistakes toward her.

“Eve, I’m hurting so much.”

Here, he had been following her around like a fool.

It was true that she had resented him, but she couldn’t live with herself if she left him to die.

“When I step out, raise the ice barrier. That way, Your Highness will be safe.”

Eveline fastened her gun securely to her garter belt and glared at the cascading snow.

Then the Crown Prince sighed, looking resigned.

“If I help you, what will you offer me, my lady?”

“Anything.”

“What if what I desire is to be bonded with the Royal Omega?”

TL/N: my reaction of these 5 chaps… This one was worst of all…