The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 20.1

Evelyn’s chest pounded again in pain; she bit down on her lip.

“Aren’t the women from the central area crafty?” Selice asked. “I don’t like the people in the main building.” After a while, Evelyn opened her mouth.

“Of course I’ll help,” she said, “I will send her to the main building tomorrow morning.” A smirk crossed Selice’s face for a moment. As an experienced noblewoman, she soon regained her usual arrogant face.

“I’ll be heading back now.”

After getting what she came here for, Selice stood up from her seat. Evelyn stood up to see her off and said, “Oh, Aunt Selice. Can I get some of the tea leaves?” Selice narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly.

“Of course. I’ll give you a handful.”

Evelyn’s smiling eyes gleamed coldly.

***

That night, Ilya drank alone, half lying on the sofa in his bedroom. At the sound of a careful knock on the door, he looked towards the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened and a knight guarding his bedroom entered. He was a man with impressionable flaming red hair.

“Countess Glenn has sent you a present. Shall I place it inside?”

“A gift this deep in the night sent to my bedroom… I’m looking forward to it.”

Ilya glanced out the door. Two servants with a sturdy build could be seen carrying something on their shoulders. Ilya nodded, and two servants waiting outside came inside. They were carrying rugs with exotic patterns on their shoulders. Ilya said as he turned the glass in his hand, “Everyone out. I think it’s a present meant to be opened when I’m alone.”

The servants carefully set the rug down on the floor and left. The knight with red hair also tried to leave the room with the servants.

“You stay. I want to talk to you.” At the coldness in his tone, the knight turned around with a trembling expression on his face. “It seems that you did not participate in the Tatar expedition,” said Ilya. As if falsely accused, he shouted out loud.

“That’s not true! I also fought barbarians in Tatar.”

Ilya slammed down his glass on the table.

“And yet, you still allowed this to be brought in? Do you not even know the basic rules of guarding?” The knight froze.

“It is a time of peace now,” he answered cautiously, “and it is a gift from Your Majesty’s aunt.”

Pointing at the rug, Ilya ordered, “Stab it.”

The knight asked again, so surprised that he even stuttered his words.

“W-with my sword?”

Ilya shrugged as if he didn’t know what the problem was.

“Are you afraid that vipers might jump out at you? If you can’t do it, I will.”

Ilya stood up and grabbed his sword. He crossed the room in an instant and reached the rug. The knight looked at Ilya with a pale face. He stabbed the carpet with his sword, scabbard and all. Wriggling, the rug on the floor began to move around. A few curly red hairs protruded from both ends of the rug.

It’s… the woman I saw at my brother’s funeral.

A pair of blue-grey eyes gleamed at the sound of a cat growling. The knight standing stiff knelt on the floor and bowed his head.

“Your Majesty!” he exclaimed. “I wasn’t thinking straight. Please forgive me.” Ilya stared at the knight with sharp eyes.

“Is that Lady Luten in there?” he asked. “I don’t think she’s dressed the part.” The rug squirmed again, and Ilya cocked his head at the sight. “What should we do? Should I call the head of the maids for a dress?”

The knight raised his head and hurriedly shook it. “Your Majesty, I’ll carry her out, so please don’t call anyone else,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“You’re right, you can’t show a naked woman from a noble house to anyone.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

The knight got up and bowed politely. He carried the rug off the floor and threw it over his shoulders and quickly left the room. Ilya shouted to the knight’s back,

“Tell Countess Glenn and Count Luten that I didn’t like the gift and am really angry.”

When he was alone again, he picked up a bottle of sparkling green liquid. The inside of the bottle was just like a small sea, he thought, and chuckled and broke into laughter. He imagined a cheeky whale staring at him after squirting water at him. Seeing his drenched self, the innocent face of a smiling woman appeared and disappeared just as quickly.

He let out a deep sigh. He took the glass of wine to his mouth as if trying to shake off the face that filled his head.