Kaiden laughed at Evelina’s provocation. And he replied as if nothing had happened.
“Then I should try to make Lina love me.”
She lost her words for a moment at his unexpected answer. If he had been angry at her or said something harsh, she would have thought his acting was worse than hers. If it’s acting anyway, he’d pretend to hold it in again if he comforted her even if it’s clumsy.
But it was clear that he wasn’t as clumsy as she thought he was.
“I’ll try. Tell me if you don’t think you can love me.”
She stared him in the eye. Like a well-polished carnelian, the shiny red eyes were shining like that as if they were sincere.
Kaiden smiled and laid her hand on the back of her hand as Evelina made a soft face without realizing it.
“There is some time left for Elsius and grandmother to come. Can I kiss you?”
When he asked her, Evelina lowered her gaze. Thinking her attitude was acceptable, he grabbed her chin and kissed her straight away.
Evelina didn’t have any feelings for this act, perhaps because they kissed in the dining room during the day.
It was just a kiss. Unlike the body’s reaction, the emotions were calm.
That’s what she was thinking, and she was breathing heavily and accepting his invasion. However, there was one other thing because it was daytime.
His kiss, which he used to press down on her body at night, was like a beast. But what he’s doing now is acting.
It was very friendly. It was so sweet that she was even mistaken.
“Well…”
Evelina was nervous for a moment and clenched his hand. Then he moved slowly. Her chin was numb, but as he moved slowly, it changed to stiffness. His act of attacking his mouth seemed to be changing quickly, affectionately, and violently.
She also thought it was as if he was trying to search her mouth.
“Oh, my God.”
Around the time Evelina was out of breath, an interrupting voice was heard.
“We should have come a little later.”
Kaiden’s lips refused to let go as he spoke while giving another kiss. Evelina’s eyes widened, the corners of her mouth turning downwards into a frown.
“Do I have to say it?”
“You just… ugh, forget it. It’s good to see you, brother.”
Princess Elsius smiled as she sat in the second seat on his right. Evelina grinned at her lace fan.
“I sent a gift to my sister.”
“What kind of present is it?”
As soon as Evelina spoke, Kaiden thumbed her lips. Her cheeks were hot because she felt instantaneously his saliva glistening over my burton lips.
“I hear…”
Princess Elsius looked at Kaiden. Then Kaiden felt his eyes and looked back at his sister annoyed.
“I heard that all of my sister’s birds have died.”
“What does that mean?”
Elsius opened her eyes wide at Kaiden’s voice. As if he didn’t know.
“Oh, I heard there was an accident.”
“Tell me in detail.”
“Brother, why don’t you know? It’s a story that even I, who was imprisoned, know.”
Elsius looked at Kaiden, pretending to be surprised. Evelina was surprised too because she didn’t think he didn’t know.
“Lina, what the hell does this mean?”
Evelina was embarrassed and speechless when he asked for the truth. She thought he was pretending not to know. Besides, there’s no way that his eyes around her didn’t report.
“It’s no big deal.”
The Dowager Empress appeared and said to Kaiden. He had a hunch that Evelina’s affair with the birds was related to his grandmother. Evelina’s cold expression gave her goosebumps and almost pulled her hand out of him.
But as she flinched her hand, he held her hand tightly and said to his grandmother.
“Don’t sit down. I need to hear an explanation first.”
Kaiden stared at the Dowager Empress’ maid and then at his grandmother. Then, the maid, who was trying to pull out the chair for his grandmother, stood on the side, solidified.
“My cats seem to have bothered the queen’s birds a little.”
“The birds were given to Lina by me. Isn’t that a big deal?”
“What can I do about animals like that? The Queen didn’t want to make it big either, so she didn’t tell you.”
Kaiden looked at Evelina with a confused look at the Queen’s words. She was usually able to think coldly, but she couldn’t calm down because the birds she had raised since childhood died like that.
Kayden, who saw Evelina, who was looking down as if she was depressed, said, clasping her hand tightly without realizing it.
“You have to pay for it with death. I’ll kill all my grandmother’s cats, too.”
“What?”
“Bason, bring me the gun.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kaiden said so to the attendant behind me, and then stormed out of his seat.
“Ka, Kaiden…!”
Evelina was surprised by his behavior and held hands urgently. He rose very strongly, but when he was caught in her slender hands, he instinctively realized that he should not give strength, so he relaxed his hand and held her.
“The cat is innocent!”
“But…”
“What is the cat guilty of? Just… ”
She couldn’t open her mouth because she thought he would kill them if it was her servants’ fault. Besides, she was a person who didn’t even like hunting contests. To the point where she wonder why he’d be so happy about killing innocent animals, but she couldn’t say that much. Because if she opposed the hunting contest, she would become a mad queen.
“I didn’t want anyone to be punished for this. That’s why I didn’t say it.”
“Why don’t you want me to punish them? The birds are dead. Don’t tell me…”
He recalled a moment ago. The day she came in at dawn. And the day she fainted as soon as she came in. And the day when she was covered in dirt.
But no one reported anything about the day to him. He called the doctor to check if she had fallen, but nothing happened. He thought she planted a bulb herself like a habit in the Marquis’ house.
“That day.”
“Kaiden.”
Before she knew it, Evelina saw a servant named Bason standing behind him. What the servant brought was a long rifle. She knew how good he was at shooting. He was a marksman on a running horse.
If he goes out with a gun like this, the cats will surely die.
Evelina didn’t want to kill the cats in exchange for their lives. It was not the cats that were to be punished, but the owners of the cats.
Beasts had no sense. Not only do they not know what is right or wrong, but they are just beasts because they move by instinct.
“Lina.”
“No, don’t do that.”
He looked bewildered when he saw her eyes moist.
“You promised to follow my will.”
His eyes drooped at Evelina’s pleading voice.
“Then what about the birds? Didn’t you grow them since you were young?”
“That’s…”
“What should I do if Lina is sad?”
He spoke in a friendly voice, and she almost forgot where she was for a moment. But to his last question, she said, recalling her situation.
“You can bring in another bird again.”
“But…”
“Kaiden picks the bird for me, yes?”
He seemed confused by what she said.
“The four of us are going to eat together today. I don’t want to make a fuss.”
His eyes dropped at her words. Then she pulled Kaiden back in his seat, who had become calm.
“Grandmother.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was such a big deal for the cats to make some mistakes.”
Kaiden looked at her grandmother with a cold look at the brazen words of the Dowager Empress.
“From now on, grandmother will eat without a chair.”
“What?”
“Remove the chair. Let her eat as she is.”
“Do you know how old I am? How can I eat without a chair!”
“Then don’t eat.”
“Kaiden.”
Evelina grabbed his hand again and tried to calm him down. She felt like he realized that he had to act when there was such physical contact.
The evidence was that he was becoming noticeably milder.
“Give her the chair again.”
At Evelina’s words, Kaiden looked into her eyes. Evelina looked at him without avoiding his eyes, and he beckoned first, avoiding her eyes. Then, the employees who were taking out the chairs placed the chairs again in the seat of the Dowager Empress.
“There’s no next time, grandmother. Grandmother has already crossed the line.”
“…yes, I’ll be careful.”
Dowager Empress was heated by his attitude, but she decided to hold it in. Seeing her current situation, Queen Evelina looked threatening.
Princess Elsius also closed her mouth as if she were a little surprised.
That’s how a terrible mealtime began.
The meal was done quietly, and Princess Elsius occasionally opened her mouth to change the atmosphere, but it was not easy.
After the meal, Evelina first returned to the bedroom of the Imperial Palace, and both Elsius and the Dowager Empress returned.
And Kaiden, who went to the office alone for work, looked at the aide with her head down as soon as she saw me.
“I’d like to add a beast to this hunting contest.”
“Yes, sir.”
He tried to continue, seeing his aide bowing his head.
“Send all the cats my grandmother raises to the hunting ground.”
“What?”
“Make it an accident. I’ll do the hunting myself.”
“But then….”
For a moment, he remembered Evelina looking at him and stopping him with an expression just before she cried.
“I’m only going to scare her, so do as you’re told. I’m not gonna kill them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He said so unconsciously and sighed.
~~~~
First, Evelina, who returned to the emperor’s bedroom, caught sight of the coat that Kaiden left behind. Maybe he stopped by the bedroom first before he came to the dining room.
The smell of peonies on his coat made her walk there. When she picked up the clothes that were hanging on the desk chair, she soon felt the touch of hard paper in the inside pocket. She checked it out.
Then, she opened the folded paper and read it.
「 Please grant me access to the Empress’ Palace. A father is incapable of not seeing her daughter. 」
The paper was a letter from the Marquis of Logias.
For a moment, she realized that it was planned by Kaiden to not let her and her adoptive parents meet.
