The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 78
Before they stretched a lake so blue that it seemed impossible to distinguish where the sky ended and the water began. Across the modest-sized lake lay a small forest, with picturesque snow-capped mountains looming in the distance. Ilya gazed at the scenery before him as if enchanted.
“I must admit, your skills are quite impressive.”
This was Lake Asina, near Suzdal Castle. On clear days, its crescent shape reflected the mountains, creating a breathtaking vista.
“You seem to like it here.”
“Just looking at the lake… It feels like the buzzing in my ears quiets down a bit.”
During their time at Suzdal Castle for the wedding, Ilya would occasionally slip away. Evelyn, curious about her husband’s comings and goings, would subtly inquire. His face, as he reluctantly revealed his secret spot, stayed with her.
“Wanna take a stroll?”
He reached out his hand towards Evelyn. She hesitated, looking at his hand silently, prompting a puzzled expression from Ilya.
“Why? Don’t you like walking?”
“I just… remembered something from before. I was really happy when you suggested coming here.”
A few days before leaving for Tartar, he had reached out his hand to Evelyn for the first time, asking her to join him on an outing. Seeing Evelyn fuss over her attire brought a smile to Sophia’s lips.
Ilya gently took his wife’s hand as she stood there, dazed. Together, they walked along the lakeside, listening to the gentle lapping of the water. Before long, they spotted a small boat tethered to a sturdy tree.
As Ilya suddenly stopped, Evelyn looked at him with curiosity. His gaze was fixed on the weathered boat; his expression was complex.
That old rowboat had been Ilya ‘s sanctuary. Whenever he came here, he would lie on the boat, closing his eyes tightly, until it was time to leave. He couldn’t quite fall asleep, but the buzzing in his ears would subside, drowned out by the soothing sound of the water.
Releasing Evelyn’s hand, Ilya climbed onto the boat. He reached out his hand towards Evelyn, who took it cautiously, stepping onto the boat. As the boat swayed, she lost her balance for a moment. Ilya burst into laughter.
“Evelyn, don’t be afraid. It’s a hallucination. Do you really think the boat will tip over?”
As if realizing a newfound truth, Evelyn looked at him and chuckled softly. Ilya couldn’t help but laugh again at her silly expression. As they sat facing each other, the boat rocked once more. Evelyn continued to look around anxiously. Ilya spoke abruptly.
“That scarf—why don’t you take it off now? It’s just us here anyway.”
Evelyn hesitated, disliking the thought of showing her awkward expression.
“You know I’m not interested in a woman’s face. It’s more uncomfortable to keep it on, so just take it off quickly.”
Evelyn reluctantly removed the scarf from her face. Ilya saw her unadorned face for the first time, her features softened by the gentle breeze. As he scrutinized his face intently, Evelyn wished she could disappear.
After a moment, she nervously fidgeted with her hands and spoke.
“Lady Glen requested that I come to the Duchess’s chamber once my work is done. So, I can’t take this off.”
Ilya murmured quietly after staring at his wife’s face for a while.
“She called her an ugly illusionist, but that’s not true, is it? So, that brat…”
Evelyn didn’t catch his muttered words as if to herself.
“My lord, what did you say just now?”
“My aunt promised to send an illusionist as a thank-you for letting her daughter meet yours. She seems very confident that it’ll help with insomnia.”
Ilya quickly changed the subject, and Evelyn soon forgot what he had said.
“It wasn’t to put you to sleep.”
“If she sent an illusionist to me with ill intentions, there’s only one thing she wants: to create nightmares.”
At the mention of nightmares, Evelyn lowered her head. Ilya felt like he knew what the woman before him was thinking. He blurted it out casually.
“The events at the Tartar Gorge were terrible, but there are two things I never want to see in my dreams.”
“More terrible than being betrayed at the Gorge?” Evelyn raised her head slightly at his unexpected words.
“Do you want to know what they are?”
“I don’t want to answer.”
As Ilya stubbornly kept his mouth shut, silence settled between them. Evelyn said nothing, allowing him time to gather his thoughts.
Evelyn focused on the scenery around them. The afternoon sun cast a brilliant light on the lake’s surface, while the gentle waves created a pleasant sound as they lapped against the boat.
Though she had created the illusion for Ilya, she hadn’t realized she would want to come back here. She reached her hand outside the boat. The clear water slipped through her fingers, creating ripples. Enjoying the sensation of the cold water, Evelyn smiled softly.
Evelyn looked across the lake and spotted a small cabin beneath the forest below the mountains. Memories of the time she had spent with the man in front of her in that old cabin came flooding back, causing her cheeks to flush with color.
“It’s just an illusion I created, but we’re spending time together now.”
Evelyn shyly smiled and turned her gaze back to the man in front of her. He was staring at her face as if transfixed. Anxiously, Evelyn asked him.
“Is there something on my face?”
Evelyn burst into laughter at her own words, feeling incredulous. Ilya couldn’t tear his gaze away from her face, as if he were entranced.
“Twenty-year-old Evelyn Maduse.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
Laughing at mundane things, muttering about unasked questions, stealing glances at her face… When the image of the twenty-year-old Evelyn Maduse, who used to dream of love, briefly crossed her face, he choked up. Something warm surged up in his chest.
He urgently rose and approached Evelyn. As his weight shifted, the boat swayed as if it would tip over at any moment. Startled, Evelyn screamed.
“Ilya, it’s dangerous!”
Ignoring her warning, Ilya kneeled and lay down in front of her. Just as the boat rocked precariously, it quickly regained its balance, and Evelyn sighed in relief.
Looking strangely vulnerable today, Evelyn muttered a small complaint as she watched him.
He quirked one side of his lips in response and closed his eyes. Gaining courage, Evelyn gently ran her fingers through his hair. He seemed to enjoy the sensation as he nestled his face against her hand. Without opening his eyes, he spoke.
“I never want to dream about my mother.
Her fingers paused momentarily at his words, whispering almost as if to himself.
“Lady Glen said… How could any woman hate her own child after carrying them for ten months?”
“If it’s her own daughter, she shouldn’t say such things.”
Evelyn retorted, and Ilya chuckled softly with his eyes closed. After a moment, his expression turned cold, and he spoke in a chilling tone.
“My mother… tried to strangle me. I was three years old, I think. I’m not exactly sure when.”
Evelyn had suspected it, but hearing it from his lips was shocking. Instead of shedding tears, she gently caressed his neck, where the marks had been.
“It must have hurt a lot…”
“Yeah, I was so young, I almost died for real.”
As Evelyn tenderly stroked his strong neck and soft hair, she lay down beside him in the cramped boat. When they lay side by side, they overlapped like one body. Evelyn caressed his sharp features as she lay halfway on top of him.
“Just as I was about to die, my mother was thrown against the wall as if something invisible had grabbed her and tossed her away.”
She gently pulled the back of his head against her chest. He didn’t resist, burying his face in her embrace.
“I heard the Ajauntice bloodline doesn’t die easily. They say at least once in a lifetime, the Duke’s guardian saves them.”
Evelyn muttered words she had heard from Nasser to herself. She continued to stroke his smooth hair, reassuring him. As his heartbeat gradually calmed down, Evelyn sighed in relief.
She lowered her head to his forehead and gently pressed her lips against it. He opened his eyes, dazed, and looked up at Evelyn. She stared into his bluer-than-the-lake eyes for a moment before lowering her face again. Her lips were lightly touched and retreated from his manly ones several times. Feeling the soft, tickling sensation, a smile crept onto his lips.
“I’m sleepy now…”
The man, who had been forcing himself to keep his eyes open, succumbed to the incoming drowsiness. Confirming his even breaths, Evelyn buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. He embraced her tightly, even in his doze. Listening to each other’s heartbeat, it felt like in this world, only the two of them existed.
“It’s time to return to reality.”
When Evelyn finally opened her eyes, they found themselves not on the narrow boat but lying in each other’s embrace on a spacious bed. After carefully removing his arms, Evelyn sat up. She gently placed a pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket.
Evelyn suddenly became curious. She remembered Ilya mentioning two things he never wanted to see in his dreams, one of which was his mother. So, what could the other one be?
“Stupid me, why am I even bothering with such thoughts.” Evelyn shook her head to dismiss the useless pondering. After carefully arranging the scattered scarf and robe on the floor, she whispered to the sleeping Ilya.
“Don’t dream of anything; just sleep peacefully.”
With determined steps, Evelyn headed out to meet the woman who intended to bring nightmares to him.
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