She could see the child’s face again in her dream. Perfect features that go well with black hair and red eyes that attracted attention. He had an impeccably perfect appearance, perhaps like a work of life by a genius sculptor. It used to look blurry, but now it looked clear. It was the image of Kaiden as a child.
“Who the hell are you? How do you know this when you’re ten years old?”
Although the boy was young, he was showing extraordinary growth, unlike the body of a fourteen-year-old.
“There are many injured people in the poorhouse. So I found out.”
Evelina was only ten years old. But there were a lot of really hurt children in the poorhouse. Everyone couldn’t overcome hunger and had to go to the streets to beg or get odd jobs to make money. Some of them ran dangerous errands.
“Aren’t you sick?”
Evelina tried not to show a painful look even though she must be sick, covering the burn marks on her shoulder with a cloth, but the cold sweat and frown were evident.
“Uh.”
At her lies, he thought she was better than the other children.
“You.”
Kaiden said, glaring at her.
“When you get older, cover your face.”
“Why?”
“Girls who look like you should cover their faces.”
“Do you mean I’m ugly?”
“No.”
At Kaiden’s words, Evelina understood what he meant. At this time, Evelina knew that her young body was so beautiful that it was unusual.
However, it was also notable that such adult words came out of the mouth of Kaiden, who was only 14 years old.
“Do the mercenaries know such things well?”
Evelina asked, looking back at the mercenary armor he had peeled off.
“Yes.”
Then it suddenly came to mind.
“Why don’t you have a dog tag when you’re a mercenary?”
The deaths of mercenaries unidentified on the battlefield were numerous. Therefore, to identify the dead mercenary, he wore a name and appearance written on his necklace. Mercenaries and knights killed in battle recovered it and selected the dead.
“I hung it on someone else.”
“Why?”
“There’s someone who’s trying to kill me.”
Evelina understood everything at the moment and told him.
“The man who wants to kill you must be from the Abelard Empire. That’s why you do as I say.”
“…Uh.”
Evelina knew that the poorhouse was not the capital but it was close to the capital. That’s why it was a place where a large number of mercenaries were.
If someone hurts him after returning from the battlefield, it’s the same mercenary group or higher up. It could be a knight or an aristocrat who employs mercenaries.
“Who is it?”
“The man who killed my mother.”
When Evelina heard his answer, she decided not to ask any more questions. She didn’t think it would be good to be deeply involved.
He was dazzling even though he was wounded and pale, and his eyes were red and shiny, so beautiful that she could not forget once she saw them.
“Go when you’re all better.”
With that said, she went out of the barn behind the poorhouse.
At that moment, Evelina came to her senses.
The dream she had, when she became conscious, seemed to feel more clear.
“Lena!”
Evelina suddenly raised her head, wondering if it was Kaiden who was running to me. My heart was pounding strangely.
“Kaiden?”
“It’s Usher.”
“Ah…”
She stood up, holding his hand.
“Oh… What should I do?”
Evelina frowned and felt dizzy, feeling like this was a dream. She realized that it was reality, not a dream.
“The clothes you lent me are all dirty.”
Evelina sighed as she saw her clothes covered in blood from the blood she vomited. Then, she was embarrassed to call him Kaiden, so she intentionally tried to focus on another topic.
“I have to look good, but it must only look weird.”
Usher frowned at Evelina’s words. Then, he tapped his lips as if to say something, sighed, and closed his mouth.
“Did you do this often?”
“Didn’t we decide to talk comfortably?”
“…was it often like this?”
As he lowered his voice immediately, Evelina nodded, wiping the nosebleed still flowing from her nose with the back of her hand.
“It’s because I quit taking the medicine I was taking.”
“Are you talking about heart medicine?”
“Yes, that one. But it wasn’t heart medicine.”
“What are you talking about?”
Evelina looked at Usher. It would take her time to transfer the mine. That’s why, he would stick to her like this and watch her as if they were close.
Could she tell him everything? But he came all the way there because of her.
Evelina was somehow so dazed.
It was clearly a dream earlier, but now she couldn’t feel any reluctance. As if it’s a memory.
“The imperial family was giving poison.”
That’s all she decided to say. She didn’t say that she saw strange hallucinations and dreams about Kaiden all because of the medicine.
“Did the Emperor feed it to you?”
“Yes.”
As Evelina answered dryly, Usher opened his mouth as if surprised.
“That’s why you wanted to run away?”
“No. I wanted to run away…”
Evelina sighed and blurted her words.
Her goal was actually to die at the appointed time. Now she ran away because she felt so sorry for the child.
“I want this child to be happy.”
She didn’t feel good because she felt like she had found a trace of Kaiden in a child while saying that.
“Is the emperor’s child who tried to kill you so precious?”
“Half would look like me.”
Usher became rather emotional at her dry words. He couldn’t just look at Evelina’s situation coldly, probably because of his mother.
“I’m actually from a poor house.”
Evelina decided to confide in him, thinking it was over anyway.
The Marquis of Logias, who protected her, also died. All she had left was for the child in the womb to be born safe and live an everyday life.
Ianathas will forget her more and more and more. He was a royal family member, so he could marry a decent young lover. That’s how she’d live her life and live happily.
“What the…”
“My adoptive parents adopted me. Because I look just like the dead Evelina Logias.”
She said so and stood straight. Then, she breathed out as if somehow relieved and went inside.
~~~~
“Are you okay being sick?”
Lady Ross said anxiously about Evelina. Then Evelina smiled falsely and thanked her.
The four were eating, and Evelina was embarrassed to see the water-filled glass. The fact that she couldn’t think of any water properly.
“It seems that Miss Lena is bringing good luck.”
“What?”
Lady Ross spoke amicably to Evelina, who was disheartened.
“The well is a little old. Originally, I had to boil water several times.”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, Evelina remembered the well when she was about to draw water. It wasn’t that clean.
“But when I went there earlier, the water became very clean, right?”
“What?”
“I drank it, and there was nothing wrong with it. So I only boiled it once.”
Evelina grinned, grateful for the words.
Maybe because she forced herself to laugh, Kaiden came to mind. She often laughed like this in front of him.
She suddenly remembered that he was sad at her death, and she fell again.
Because she didn’t want to understand him, she couldn’t understand.
“Is there no waterway in Veron? Why are you drawing water from the well?”
Evelina recalled the Marquis of Logias managing the waterways in the empire. The Abelard Empire was the most skilled of all empires in water purification. So one could get clean water at a low price wherever they went.
“Oh, I guess Miss Lena doesn’t know much.”
Then Lady Ross smiled kindly and said,
“The water has become like this since Marquis Logias took his hands off managing the waterways.”
“Then the successor…”
“I heard there’s no successor. Aren’t you curious how the Marquis family managed to purify the water so well?”
Then Usher took the plate in front of Evelina and cut the meat.
“I’m curious.”
“It would be nice if the Marquis family would take care of the water again like before. That way, clean water will be used without problems, even in a periphery like this.”
Evelina was well aware that her adoptive parents ran a business with water. She thought it was because the facilities were well-managed.
If the water was clean because of good facility management, there could not have been such a difference even when other managers came. She was sure there was a slight difference, but all of a sudden.
It was only a little over a month before leaving the palace.
How can this happen in a month? Evelina thought so and said.
“Can I go to the dam by chance?”
“It takes a long time to get to the dam. Lena, when you feel better, let’s go out together. Hecate will like it, too.”
Then Hecate nodded.
She was able to have such a neat and warm meal.
~~~~
Evelina hated being alone.
“I’m going to help Hecate.”
“Go ahead.”
But she couldn’t express it. She couldn’t stop Usher from patrolling the village along Hecate.
The village had a population of about twenty people.
Evelina was amazed that there was such a small village, but she wondered if they were close to each other because the town was small.
So she tried to fall asleep, erasing her thoughts about Kaiden, reading a book set aside for guests.
~~~~
“Are you here again?”
Ruskun was looking for the Emperor, who suddenly disappeared from the palace.
This place was the tomb of the royal family, but not all the royal family members were buried here. If one got married or had a title, even a former imperial woman could not be buried in the tomb of the royal family. When a prince is given a title, he is born as a prince, but he is right to go with that title. Therefore, only previous emperors and empresses could be buried in this royal tomb.
Evelina was the first person to be recorded and buried as an Empress.
“Your Majesty.”
Ruskun called out to Kaiden staring blankly at Evelina’s tombstone.
– Swoosh!
Despite the heavy rain, Kaiden stood upright as if nothing had happened while touching Evelina’s tombstone.
With empty eyes like a man who lost everything.
oh so they used her blood to purify the water 😰 so that’s why the palace lake became so clear after she fell
Omg I think you’re onto something (•△•)