The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 55

If it had been someone else, Ilya might not have taken it so seriously, but coming from the lips of Nikolas Lauren, this was no casual remark. He was currently residing in the ducal palace as Lauren’s deputy heir.

Illya pulled his posture upright, challenging in his tone as he asked, “Are you trying to say he was poisoned or something?”

Nikolas let out a heavy sigh. “Everything is strange, from the blood-stained silk we found to the Countess Glen’s attitude.”

Nikolas had always had a keen sense from a young age. Since he arrived at the ducal palace, his instincts had relentlessly screamed that there was something about Nasir’s death.

“Are they investigating those pieces of silk from the tower? Have they found anything?” Ilya asked.

“Not yet,” Ilya replied with bitterness in his voice. “I’ve said it before, but there’s no family that can match the Laurens when it comes to poisons and medicines. It would be wise for us to participate in the investigation.”

Illya pondered for a moment before nodding. He might dislike Nikolas, but work was work. If the word “poison” had been mentioned, leaving things as they were wouldn’t benefit him.

“Make sure to inform René,” Nikolas said.

With the conclusion of his purpose for being here, Nikolas had regained some of his usual composure. He had been hesitating, but now he finally asked the question that had been on his mind since earlier.

“Has Lady Glen said anything to Pia separately?”

Illya, who had been tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair, suddenly stopped. When he bit his lip, his jaw trembled slightly.

“Last night… didn’t you hear it for yourself? Why are you asking again?”

Nikolas looked at Ilya and let out a faint laugh. “Last night, I didn’t get a chance to talk because she was crying.”

Ilya stood up as if he could spring from his chair at any moment.

“Nikolas Lauren, aren’t you overly interested in my wife?” Ilya asked, his back against the chair’s backrest, legs crossed as he leaned in. The handsome man with delicate features seemed like an actor on stage, delivering a soliloquy.

“The most pitiable woman in the world…” Nikolas echoed the words that Nasir had once said about Evelyn.

Ilya flinched at those words. “But also the strongest woman in the world, Evelyn Maduse.”

She may have appeared frail, but in reality, she was stronger than anyone. Surviving in this hostile environment with a child, taking small steps to move forward each day—watching her struggle filled him with awe.

“Oh, Nasir, I think I’m starting to understand your heart a little now.”

“I don’t know when that will be, but Evelyn will definitely leave you. I guarantee it,” Nikolas declared, breaking the deathly silence.

“After she leaves, all the regret will be yours.”

Nikolas rose gracefully from his seat and made an elegant exit.

Illya remained frozen in his place for a long time.

****

“Human, why have you been cooped up inside lately? You used to roam around all the time.”

“When did I ever do that?”

Evelyn and the eagle took a picnic at the pond in the auxiliary garden. While Libe was taking his afternoon nap, the two of them enjoyed some freedom.

Evelyn gazed absentmindedly at the fish in the pond, swimming back and forth. Since the day the portrait of Nasir triggered her hallucinations, Evelyn has been holed up in the auxiliary building. She was afraid to meet Ilya and Nicholas.

Thinking back to that night, Evelyn’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The man who had held her that night had been Nikolas Lauren. She had merely thought of him as a Nasir look-alike, but he had walked into her world with a stranger’s face.

She knew she would soon divorce Illya, but still, how could she… Evelyn had firmly resolved to avoid Nikolas at all costs. And there was the man who had once been drawn to her, now glaring at her with fierce eyes.

That day, Evelyn trembled at the thought of her husband coming to her room. He had been so terrifying that she had been unable to sleep, fearing that he would return to confront her about their relationship. Thankfully, since that day, he has never sought her out again.

Evelyn’s ever-changing complexion caught the eagle’s suspicious eye. When Evelyn continued to be lost in thought, the bored eagle began to look around restlessly. Spotting a neatly folded white handkerchief on the ground, it picked it up in its beak and, with a flap of its wings, dropped it into the air.

Startled by the sound of flapping wings, Evelyn snapped back to attention and turned her gaze to the side. The eagle had dropped the handkerchief from its beak. Evelyn instinctively caught the falling handkerchief.

“I heard this came from your family’s place,” the eagle remarked as it dropped the handkerchief.

The handkerchief had been sent by Sophie’s sister, who hadn’t been in contact for a while. Embroidered on the handkerchief was a golden fox with a blue crown on its head, lying weakly on the ground, its face distinctly marked by sickness.

“Why does the fox look so feeble?” the eagle asked with curiosity in its eyes.

“It’s probably because of the staff,” Evelyn replied calmly.

As she had mentioned, the handkerchief vividly depicted a sturdy crystal staff soaring toward the golden fox. The golden fox represented Odin, and the crystal staff belonged to their father, the limping king, Count Maduse.

“Father must have given him quite a beating. I wonder if it was because of me.”

Thinking of Odin, Evelyn remembered the forgotten Thousand-Day Red Necklace and Ring. The ring Ilya had stolen from Odin was no ordinary item; it was the key to the Black Forest.

“Human, there’s something on the end of the staff,” the eagle said, tilting its head while examining the handkerchief.

“What?” Evelyn picked up the handkerchief and scrutinized it carefully.

“Oh?”

There was a small golden ring-like object attached to the end of the crystal staff. It was so tiny that even upon close inspection, it was hard to discern.

“I can’t see it,” Evelyn said with a frustrated expression.

The eagle nudged its head under her chin. “There’s a red gem in the middle, and the outer part is gold.”

“Can you see it?” Evelyn asked with a weary face, and the eagle looked at her enthusiastically.

“Human, there’s no way you could match the eagle’s vision.”

Encircling a ruby nestled among golden petals made of gold was the Thousand-Day Red Ring. Evelyn’s mind raced with thoughts.

“If the crystal staff belongs to my father, does that mean my father also has the Thousand-Day Red Ring? What is the significance of this?”

Once the questions started, they continued to multiply.

“If the ring is so important, why did they give me the necklace that matches it? What could it all mean?”

The identical necklace and ring clearly held something that Evelyn was unaware of. The thought that Count Maduse might be plotting something sent shivers down her spine.

“Where did I put the ring and necklace?”

Since returning from the Black Forest, René has been keeping the Thousand-Day Red Necklace and Ring.

“If by any chance I run into Ilya or Nikolas while going there…”

Evelyn’s face paled. She looked at the eagle beside her with an imploring gaze.

“Eagle, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it? Speak up.”

“Could you go to René and ask her to bring the necklace and ring for me?”

The eagle squinted its eyes.

“Why don’t you go yourself? It’s been a while since she’s seen her owner.”

“That’s… there’s a reason for that. Please don’t ask.”

With a gentle flap of its wings, the eagle took off.

A while later, the eagle returned with a small pouch in its beak.

“Human, your owner…”

“Eagle, you mustn’t tell me now!”

Splash!

The pouch the eagle had been carrying fell into the pond.

“What can we do?”

Evelyn, who had been sitting by the pond, jumped to her feet and kicked at the water.

“I have wings, but I don’t have flippers.”

The annoying eagle circled above the pond, soaring in the sky.

Splash!

A pretty fish with yellow scales rose to the surface of the water. Perhaps the pouch had hit its body when it fell, as its scales seemed to be slightly torn. The fish shed drops of blood into the pond as it swam away.

Evelyn frowned as she watched the fish disappear back into the pond. She sat by the pond, dipped her hand into the water, and muttered to herself.

“How do I find this now? Should I drain the entire pond?”

She sighed and mumbled to herself again, looking at the gathering fish.

“Can any of you help me find the necklace and ring?”

Seeing Evelyn’s frustrated expression, the eagle scoffed.

“Human, have you finally lost your mind? What are you saying to the fish?”

That’s when it happened. A yellow fish swam slowly towards them—the same fish that had leaped out of the water earlier. As it approached, the other fish made way for it.

“W-what’s this…?”

The fish gently bumped its mouth against Evelyn’s hand, which was submerged in the water. Evelyn watched in a daze as bubbles rose from the fish’s mouth.

The fish slowly wagged its tail, and something was wrapped around the tip of its tail.

“A necklace?”

It was the Thousand-Day Red Necklace that Evelyn had desperately been searching for.

Evelyn lightly touched the fish’s tail with her fingers. The fish moved its tail in different directions, assisting Evelyn in easily removing the necklace. Finally, the Thousand-Day Red Necklace was in Evelyn’s hand.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I found the necklace.”

As if understanding Evelyn’s words, the fish raised its head and made a faint noise with its mouth. Bubbles continued to rise from its mouth as it swam in the water.

Evelyn, now in conversation with the fish, noticed the eagle’s bewildered head shaking in the background.

“Human, are you really going insane?”

Evelyn paid no heed to the eagle’s comments and continued to talk to the fish.

“By any chance, do you know where the ring is? It looks just like this one.”

Evelyn chuckled to herself, thinking, I can’t believe I’m talking to a fish right now.

The fish, which had been making mouth movements, swam slowly towards the center of the pond. After a while, it returned to the water’s edge, where Evelyn was. Just like before, something was attached to its tail.

Evelyn gasped in amazement as she saw a small ring glistening in gold.

“Unbelievable! Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The yellow fish wagged its tail gently in response.