“Your Majesty?”
“Kaiden.”
Evelina began to feel relieved to see Kaiden correcting his title with a serious look on his face. It seemed like he only looked at her properly when she dressed up. His eyes were now looking elsewhere, but his expression was too serious.
Evelina handed the bouquet she was holding to the maid Rien and looked up at Kaiden.
She was confident in how she looked today. The makeup was perfect, and even considering that she was a pregnant woman, it was a dress that emphasized a large chest and a narrow waist. On top of that, it was made of a thin material that showed off its angular beauty as it went down.
Her hair was pretty, too. It was just the bottom part of the hair with waves. In addition, the necklaces and earrings were gifts from Kaiden. She even found the wedding ring that she had left behind and wore it.
“Kaiden.”
“Who said that?”
Evelina was excited when he finally looked at her. But he was still frowning. She felt like she was going to cry again because of it.
“Your Majesty. How am I today?”
“We were talking about something else. And tell me who said that. The useless mouth deserves to disappear.”
She wondered why he was so angry, but wondered if the rumors she heard were not true. Even so, she didn’t want any more employees to die.
“I went to the Empress’ Palace the other day and thought about it when I saw the inside of the palace had changed. It was decorated in preparation for the arrival of a new person… And the other day… Lady Verdeen too… So.”
“Never mind that crazy woman. If you want, I can bring you her neck right now.”
“Oh, no! I don’t like that!”
Evelina involuntarily grabbed the stomach and stepped back.
Kaiden, who was afraid of her falling, pulled Evelina’s arm and hugged her.
“Ah…”
Evelina shed tears again because she was relieved that he hugged her naturally.
“The palace belongs to Lina.”
“But I didn’t have my palace.”
“Well…for a moment… Ugh…”
“Kaiden…”
“Didn’t Lina go far for a while, Lina?”
“Ah…”
The Queen was still dead. Kaiden intended to make her the adoptive daughter of Ruskun Weimar.
Even if they took her first name, her last name had to be changed. Rather, Evelina Logias Abelard was legally dead and he intended to create Evelina Ruskun Abelard as if he were greeting a new Empress.
“I’m sorry, Kaiden. At the time, I…”
“Yes, I know. You didn’t remember. I’m sorry, too. Because I’m narrow-minded.”
Kaiden clasped her body and rubbed his face against her hair.
“Then my hair will be ruined.”
“I like the ruined look better. It’s much better if you let your hair down and don’t wear any clothes.”
“Then should I just do that and put on makeup?”
“Why do you need to put on makeup?”
He pulled away and looked her in the eyes, wondering if the time she had kept her waiting was because of the grooming.
“But these days, I… My body swells up and I get ugly…”
“What… What nonsense…”
Kaiden felt very embarrassed. He was wondering what Evelina was saying right now.
“Don’t you think so…? My stomach comes out like this… My face is swollen… It’s black under my eyes…”
As Evelina began to cry as she spoke, Kaiden’s mind went blank.
“No, never. Not at all. Never.”
He was embarrassed and said the same thing, but soon he completely forgot what he had organized in his head and began to spit it out.
“I don’t care if Lina dresses up or not. Actually, even now… I don’t know. I don’t even know where you got that… And I swear I never once thought Lina was outwardly lacking. I’ll risk my life on that.”
“Then why were you so close to Lady Verdeen? The lady is prettier than me, and her belly doesn’t come out… So…”
“That crazy woman is pretty?”
Kaiden held Evelina’s shoulder tightly and looked her in the eye.
“Evelina is the only beautiful person in my life. Forever and ever.”
“Heuk…”
“I like it when Lina cries but, I like it better when you laugh, and I like you even if you have three eyes or ten arms.”
“What if I get more swollen? Pregnancy makes your body swell… There, were, changes.”
“I still don’t know. What do you think has changed? Oh, you do have a lot of hair.”
He quickly tried to find out where she had changed. However, he knew that her hair had become thicker because it was obvious. In his eyes, the purple eyes were still as pretty as jewels, the tall nose, raised eyebrows, and thick lips were visible in his eyes.
“Why are you laughing?”
Evelina became sadder when he suddenly relaxed his expression and laughed.
“I told you. I’m narrow-minded. That Lina cared about that because of me… I’m glad. Actually, I still wash up every day. Since Lina said you don’t like the smell of sweat.”
“When did I say that?”
She remembered shouting like that, but kicking him out into the bathroom the first time she almost had a night with him.
“If you don’t remember, you don’t have to. But that’s fine.”
“Heuk, uk… he…”
As Evelina broke into his arms with relief and cried, he began to apologize as if breathing out in her ear.
“I apologize for being mean. I’ll do my best from now on.”
“You don’t know.”
Evelina felt more upset when he apologized.
“If I don’t know, I will try to find out.”
“You don’t love me, you don’t…”
“It was a lie. Until the end of my life, all those words will be lies.”
“Heueu…”
“I won’t say that from now on. I swear.”
He vowed not to say such a thing even if she ran away from him again pretending to be dead.
~~~~
“It doesn’t have to be my child. I still love Lina.”
Kaiden has been really good to Evelina since that day. He washed Evelina and soon loosened her muscles in bed and said,
“Ugh… My calves…”
“If you press here, it’ll come undone.”
He pressed his fingers against the split of her calf behind her. Evelina seemed to be getting better as he pressed her swollen leg.
She said, holding her breath for a moment.
“It’s your child.”
“Then why…”
“I went there because I didn’t remember. Until I left, I didn’t know that my father, no, the Marquis of Logias was that kind of person.”
“What is Usher Fronen?”
Evelina involuntarily exclaimed as Kaiden pressed her thighs with his fingers.
“Ah… Eut!”
“If you want to sound nice… You can do that. But if it’s too provocative, it’s a little hard for me.”
“No… It… Eut… It’s really cool inside there.”
Evelina felt really cool when her muscles relaxed to the inside of her thighs. Because every time she sat down, her thighs pulled.
“You know Usher is a Tenesi royal, right?”
“It’s far from being an abandoned illegitimate son or a member of the royal family.”
“Usher needed money. So the mine I have… Hold on. Hold on… Ha… Uh…”
As Kaiden finished pressing her thighs, Evelina involuntarily uttered another nasally sound.
“That’s why the stake in the mine was transferred and returned. I understand.”
When Evelina recalled Usher, she felt guilty again.
“Oh, there was a Marquis who was going to do business with Lina’s blood. Hecate.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Usher Fronen and Hecate were partners.”
“What?”
“They’re both dead. I heard the testimony through Hecate’s ex-wife.”
“Lady Ross…”
“I paid her and sent her away.”
Kaiden pressed down on Evelina’s hip and soon pressed his palm over her backbone.
“Ah…”
“Usher Fronen also designed a business using Lina’s blood. They have also collected quite a few investors to return to the capital and make money from the waterway cleanup project.”
“Oh, yes… eut.”
Her back was really cool. She couldn’t completely lie face down, so she fell on her knees and laid as if leaning on a full pillow in front of her. He was pressing down on her waist like that.
“Kai, den.”
“Yes.”
He stopped immediately, wondering if she was in pain.
“I purified the waterway with my blood.”
“…we’ll have a clean-up system back in 10 years. So we don’t have to use Lina’s blood for that purpose.”
“What about revealing my ability now?”
“Then you don’t know how someone will target Lina. I don’t think I can stand it.”
Kaiden said anxiously, examining her condition again, and touching her waist. Evelina trembled when the cool muscle-relieving touch returned.
“Ah… still… I want to do that. yes?”
He didn’t want to answer, but it seemed inevitable.
“Let’s think about it after we have a child. I don’t want Lina to be sick or suffer.”
“Kaiden.”
“It makes me feel shameless to say this.”
He felt like he would hate himself when he remembered that most of Evelina’s hardships were because of him.
“Puh… Kaid.”
However, Evelina, who lost such an expression, rose up and hugged his neck.
“Why are you laughing?”
She asked without realizing it because he laughed so happily.
“I can’t stop laughing because I know it’s my child.”
“What if it wasn’t?”
“Even if not, it is my child. If it’s Lina’s child, I can raise it as my own. And I believe that Lina has never had a deep relationship with anyone but me.”
When he said that, Evelina got a little grumpy.
“Don’t laugh. I want to bully you because you’re laughing.”
“Please bully me. I’d be very happy about that, too.”
She laughed, pressing his lips together like a duck, and he laughed too.
~~~~
That night.
Prince Ashes, who led the entire army of Tenesi, and the bought mercenary soldiers by forcibly stealing the property of the Marquis of Logias were advancing toward Abelard’s palace.
To drive out Kaiden and make Prince Ashes Emperor.
Where to find this man irl (minus the obsessive part)?? 😭😭😭
They talked it out !!!! Thank the heavens
Hmm this seems rushed, it would’ve been better if he’d actually grovelled a bit for what he did and said to her in bed when he dragged her back 😑 bcs they’ve just glossed right over it, like he hasn’t even apologised…