Chapter 26: Evening’s Calculated Apology

Erich, caught off guard, felt as though he had stumbled into a trap. It was a far stranger sensation than simply hearing a typical oath of loyalty.

“I’m serious,” she insisted.

“So suddenly?” he questioned.

“I’m naturally a loyal person, you see. I unconditionally cherish, love, and protect my friends and comrades. From now on, Erich, your enemies are my enemies.”

“It sounds like a passionate declaration of love,” he mused.

“Loyalty is a deeper, purer emotion than love. I am your devoted loyal subject, Lich.”

“Just a moment ago, you were a treacherous minister,” he retorted.

From a treacherous minister to a loyal subject, she was utterly chaotic. Her ability to flip her own words like a sheet of paper was truly artistic.

Yet, there was something alluring in the way she demurely clasped her hands and acted charming.

It was difficult to coldly dismiss someone who, like a naughty puppy, wagged their tail so desperately only in front of him. Regardless of whether he liked her, she certainly kept providing him with fresh shocks.

At that moment, a sense of betrayal flashed through Erich’s mind.

He suddenly recalled, like a bolt of lightning, why Evening had turned the surroundings into a field of sharp ice.

“What about Greg?” he asked.

“Greg?” she echoed.

As Erich deliberately referred to Duke Elpata as Greg, Evening eagerly took the bait.

“If someone prepared barrels of gunpowder and attacked the Duke, they must have been targeting him. I’d like to speak with him.”

“Greg went home,” she explained. “He was planning to go home anyway, so I sent him off right after a quick treatment. He said he was busy with wedding preparations.”

‘Wedding preparations,’ Erich scoffed, hearing the flimsy excuse.

“Why?” he pressed.

“Well, there’s a lot to prepare for the ceremony, and the bride is traveling from afar, so there are many things to consider. The interrogation of prisoners will be handled by the Royal Guard, not Greg, so I told him to return if he was busy. All his statements regarding the incident have been recorded.”

It was a meticulous yet half-hearted excuse. Erich heartily scoffed at the Duke, who wasn’t present.

“Your excuses need more effort, Eve. You know the Duke would never prepare for a marriage with such sincerity.”

“Huh?” she stammered.

“Would the Duke welcome such a low-status marriage?”

“Ms. Lucia is from a collateral branch of the imperial family,” Evening countered.

Lucia’s grandfather, who was to marry the Duke, was the second prince three generations ago. By bloodline, Lucia and Erich were second cousins.

However, the Rondo family, though ancient, was far removed from central politics.

Lucia’s grandfather had quietly maintained a low profile since marrying into the Rondo family as a son-in-law, ensuring he posed no threat to the imperial authority.

“But she possesses no magic,” Erich pointed out.

Furthermore, the problem was Lucia Rondo herself: she was a non-magician.

Without the Emperor’s pressure, she would never, even in death, have been able to become the wife of the Duke who governed half the North.

Greg, having acquired such a useless wife, had not even bothered to hide his displeasure in front of the Emperor.

There was no way he would have returned to his territory with the commendable intention of preparing for a wedding. Since when had he become so kind-hearted?

“The Duke would have preferred to marry you,” Erich stated. “You clearly heard him say so himself.”

Indeed. They had gotten into trouble precisely because of that conversation.

His lips twisted into a sneer as he recalled Greg’s lament about Evening right in front of him, and Evening’s earnest defense of the impure Duke.

“Well, to be precise, Greg didn’t say he was busy with wedding preparations and would return. *I* sent him away to prepare for his wedding.”

“Why did you do that? Is there something you’re hiding?” Erich’s voice sharpened.

“It was my consideration, to ensure he puts his best effort into his wedding preparations. I genuinely wish them both well. They suit each other perfectly, don’t they?”

“In what way do they suit each other?” he challenged.

“In what way! That’s an excellent question. First, their faces match. Their height difference and build difference are also perfect, you know? Greg can wrap his arm entirely around Lucia’s waist with one hand. He’s also strong enough to lift Lucia by sitting her on his forearm.”

Evening, who had begun talking about Greg and Lucia, was clearly enjoying herself, even swinging her fist through the air.

“And their black hair and silver hair are just insane! When they wear similar-colored clothes and stand together, the black-and-white combination is so striking. Doesn’t it remind you of a panda or a penguin? It’s adorable! It’s destiny, truly. And then—”

“That’s enough,” Erich interrupted.

Erich, who had been listening with a degree of interest, soon showed signs of being utterly fed up.

It was peculiar that she spoke of appearances first, rather than family, magic, or talent. By the time she brought up pandas and penguins, it was nothing short of nonsense.

Moreover, watching Evening delight in the topic of Greg and Lucia was not particularly entertaining for him.

“The more I listen, the more it seems you’re as interested in him as you are devoted to me,” Erich observed, a hint of accusation in his tone. “Are you already straying before our official marriage?”

“How could that be? Still, if you’ve misunderstood, I apologize. It was my fault for being kind to another man in front of you, Lich.”

“Am I misunderstanding? Eve, I’m a normal person with a normal amount of jealousy. No one wants to see their fiancée showing interest in someone else. Bowing your head won’t simply make this issue disappear.”

“You are absolutely right,” she conceded.

Evening, who had been bowing her head, looked up and offered him a regretful expression.

Yet, merely bowing her head could not resolve the ‘misunderstanding’ that had taken root in Erich’s heart.

What had truly taken root in Erich’s heart was not misunderstanding or jealousy, but an illogical irritation.

Though she didn’t know the specifics, Evening clearly understood that ‘bowing her head’ would not change his disposition.

“I apologize!”

Evening promptly dropped to her knees and performed a deep bow before Erich.

If merely bowing her head wasn’t enough, then she would throw her entire body into expressing her apology.

Evening lay prostrate on the floor, like a minister submitting a petition to the emperor. Erich stared in utter bewilderment at Evening, who had bowed her head, knees, and entire body.

Even for him, who had been born a prince and lived every day as royalty, this was an unprecedented sight.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

In Wythern, there was no custom of performing a full prostration as a form of respect. Throwing one’s entire body onto the floor and pressing one’s head against it was an act reserved for criminals begging for their lives.

“You must have been upset by my actions, which were open to misunderstanding. I’m sorry. I acted too familiarly with the Duke, when we aren’t even close.”

Evening, still prostrate like a criminal, begged for forgiveness without lifting her head.

“I dared to doubt Your Majesty’s feelings.”

“Doubt my feelings?” Erich echoed, his voice laced with disbelief.

His neck stiffened from looking down at Evening, who was practically glued to the floor.

Evening cautiously raised her head.

“Given that you claim to like me, despite our differing political affiliations and never having properly met, I wondered if you might be deceiving me.”

Silence.

It was an accurate and honest observation.

“I harbored a childish suspicion about your affection, Lich, and I wanted to see if you would get jealous. So, I pretended to regard the Duke with special interest. I apologize for such a foolish act.”

Silence again.

“It was obvious such an act would hurt you, Erich, but I was foolish not to realize it. I’m sorry. I won’t ever upset you again.”

Her delicate shoulders and eyes drooped, creating a pitiful, dejected appearance. Her cautious gaze, like a scolded puppy, tugged at his heart.

She seemed genuinely distressed.

Since she showed no regret that he hadn’t died, it created the illusion that she was truly concerned for him.

It was a clean apology, difficult to fault. Moreover, it was cunning.

Her skill at turning him into the ‘injured party’ with just a few words was remarkable. Erich, momentarily speechless at her apology for upsetting him, bit his lower lip.

“I wasn’t upset,” he insisted.

“I was wrong,” she murmured.

“I wasn’t angry,” he reiterated.

“I was wrong. I won’t childishly provoke jealousy again. If you dislike it, Lich, I won’t speak more than three sentences to any other man.”

“I wasn’t even jealous,” he snapped.

Erich’s voice, which had been so coldly subdued, now flared. Receiving such an unpleasant misunderstanding made his tone sharp.

He momentarily forgot that he himself had just claimed to be a jealous person. He could say it himself, but he certainly didn’t want to hear it from someone else.

Evening, without pointing out Erich’s earlier statement, bowed her head even lower.

“Yes, I understand. In any case, I am truly sorry. I will reflect on my actions. I now know for certain that you care for me, Lich. I won’t doubt it again.”

But it was already too late.

Erich had already fallen victim to Evening’s subtly prodding, pitiful, and syrupy voice.

Since she had prostrated herself in apology while firmly stating, ‘You like me, don’t you?’, there was no way out for him.

At this point, claiming he wasn’t jealous would only sound like an insincere protest. Evening was already applying such a delusion to Erich.

‘What if he’s a man who likes me but denies it?’ she thought.

If she believed that, then her time with Erich would become as comfortable as playing house, and interacting with him would be much easier.

“I’m sorry for presumptuously complaining, not realizing how well you treat me, Lich.”

Evening recited her delusion like a mantra.

She wasn’t entirely sure what the real Erich was like.

Unless one possessed mind-reading abilities, it was impossible to know what thoughts a person truly harbored.

But what did it matter? Everyone lived by acting a part.

Anyone who believed only in speaking the absolute truth was a third-rate player. Didn’t successful social interaction depend on how well one packaged the same words?

“I sent the Duke back because I didn’t want to create any awkwardness between you and him, Lich. He should be your trustworthy vassal, and if your relationship soured because of my foolish actions, I would feel terribly sorry for you.”

If Erich pretended to like Evening, and Evening smiled as if delighted by Erich’s feelings, they would appear, outwardly, to be a perfect couple.

“What a cute trick,” Erich muttered to himself.

Erich, who had shrewdly caught on to Evening’s intentions, pressed his fingers against his furrowed brow, smoothing out the wrinkles with two fingers.