The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 32.2

“He’s the most powerful figure in the grand fortress, so every day, we smiled ruefully and begged him to show us mercy. We did it so often that our faces would twitch with spasms,” she explained, her low voice blending with laughter.

“Shut up,” Ilya growled, and she rose up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. As she buried her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder, she felt his body go rigid. She could sense his rough breaths and the frenzied thudding of his heart.

It was so unexpected to see this cold man flustered like this.

“It tears us apart. Because that’s… our relationship,” she repeated, but Ilya yanked her away and glared at her. Evelyn trembled at the range of emotions that flitted across his restless eyes.

“You’re right, we’ve always had that kind of relationship,” he whispered before lowering his face to her neck. His lips were icy cold, but as they traced a path from her neck to her ear, they sent shivers down her spine.

She let out a gasp of pleasure, but it was short-lived. He stopped at a certain point and began to lick the vein on her neck. As he sucked on it strongly, she felt her body weakly falling back, but his strong arm wrapped around her waist and held her up.

Evelyn clung to his shoulders, her eyes fixated on the door leading outside that she could see past his shoulder. With a weak arm, she reached out towards it, but then felt a sudden pain above her collarbone. She closed her eyes, feeling like something was escaping from her body and the world around her slowly faded to black.

As she tried to reach out again towards the door, her arm fell limply to her side. The disappearing door made her feel a deep sadness.

***

The following day, Evelyn woke up as the sun reached its peak. As she looked over to the empty and cold bed beside her, she let out a sigh of relief. Her body was sore and she laid in bed feeling dazed. Her neck, collarbone, shoulders, and even her waist, which had been tightly held by the man’s strong arms, were all in pain. In reality, she wanted to grab and squeeze her own neck. Her head felt like a malfunctioning, old machine.

“This is all because of that brute!”
“He’s unbearable! Locking up Madam for no reason!”

“No wonder I’ve never gotten married.”

Evelyn snickered at the commotion outside her door.

Despite the endless amount of work, such as preparing meals for the child, she decided to take a day off.

“I’ve managed to hold on until now, so I just need to rest for one day,” she muttered.

Struggling to get up, Evelyn reached out towards the door that led outside, just like she had done in the man’s embrace the night before.

“There’s a secret passage in one of the detached houses here. I’ll show you since you’re also a member of the grand ducal family,” Evelyn chuckled as she remembered what Nasir had said.

Evelyn signaled for Sophie with the small bell beside her bed, and the maid promptly entered the room.

“Miss, are you up?”

Shortly after, Arthas, Belina, the eagle, and Liv barged in.

“Mom!”

“Human! Are you okay?”

“Madam! Have you woken up?”

Liv’s collar was caught by the eagle, who flew up and spun around in the air. Liv laughed and hopped around joyfully.

The bed, spacious enough for two grown-ups, was now full of people and creatures.

“Young human, let’s do something fun.”

Liv crawled onto the bed and leaped into Evelyn’s arms. He was in a good mood since the morning and hugged his mother tightly, warming her with his body temperature.

“Did my son have his milk?”

“Yes! Sophie gave me milk,” said Liv.

“Sophie gave him his milk?” Evelyn asked, surprised.

Liv’s smile was so lovely that it made her feel melancholy because he looked like the man who had treated her roughly the previous night.

“Young human, let’s practice walking.”

The eagle looked at Evelyn and then took Liv’s collar again and flew up. “Miss, the weather is great today. Do you want to have a picnic?” Sophie tried to uplift Evelyn’s spirits with a slightly higher-pitched tone.

Lost in thought, Evelyn stared at the ground, contemplating how to get to the secret passage Nasir had mentioned. She wondered if there was a natural way to get there. Her bruised and sore wrist caught her attention, prompting her to murmur weakly, “I need to soak in warm water.”

Sophie and Belina responded in unison, “When you’re tired, soaking in hot springs is the best!”

There were several open-air hot springs in the palace grounds, including one attached to the small building where Evelyn stayed.

“Miss, would you like to have breakfast at the Fairy Spring?” suggested Sophie.

Belina chuckled and added, “That name always makes me laugh. I wonder who came up with it?”

“The late Queen, who loved hot springs, was the one who inspired His Majesty, the King, to build it,” explained Belina.

That night, Evelyn thought about the woman with dark blue eyes and black hair she had seen at the Grand Corridor of Eternity, as well as the man who had caused her pain. She forced a smile to dispel the haunting images from her mind.