The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 80

“You mean, you’ve never been to Suzdal Castle before?”

Under her husband’s cold gaze, Evelyn corrected his title. Even though she was simply stating the truth, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was lying. Evelyn felt a twinge of self-depreciation at her situation, where she had to constantly tip-toe around the truth.

“Before I gave birth to Liber and came to the ducal palace, I only saw him twice. On our wedding day, and the day you left for the war. That’s all.”

It was the same when she came here with her newborn baby. Nasir had sent maids to carefully prepare a comfortable carriage and a hat for her, but he didn’t come to Suzdal Castle himself. It was enough for him, the Duke, to send these things for his half-brother’s wife and child. At that time, Ajauntice and Maddus were already at odds, so it was an overabundance of consideration.

Ilya stared at Evelyn for a long time with a troubled expression. He ruffled his hair roughly and muttered to himself.

“Damn it, who’s telling the truth? Everyone but you said that…”

His voice was low, but Evelyn heard what he said.

“Ilya, wait a minute. What do you mean?”

Evelyn asked, grabbing his shoulders. But Ilya didn’t say anything. Evelyn met his gaze, which he avoided. After a moment, he gently removed her hand from his shoulder and said.

“I think I know what that wicked woman wants.”

Evelyn wanted to ask more about what he said just now, but she gave up. When he diverted the conversation like that, it meant he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She asked in a somber tone.

“What is it?”

“She wants to make me…ruined like my father.”

Ilya’s father was a man who had gone mad with love, killed his wife, and eventually killed himself. Evelyn couldn’t help but snicker when she heard that.

“Ilya, you’re not like that.”

Ilya inherited the insomnia that ran in the Grand Ducal family’s blood. But crazy love wasn’t in his nature. Ilya looked at his wife’s face with a complex expression and said in a low voice.

“Tell Lady Glen, whatever she wants, tell her she can cast an illusion on me. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Evelyn thought for a moment and nodded. Ilya stood up and held out his hand.

“I think I have to go now.”

Evelyn hesitated for a moment and then said.

“I’ll stay here a little longer and then go in.”

“Suit yourself.”

Ilya beckoned to Louis and Arthur,, who were standing in the distance. After confirming that they were approaching, Ilya left.

Evelyn sat down, hugging her knees with both hands and thought about what he had said just now.

‘What does he mean by “everyone but me said that”?’

Evelyn had so much to ask him and so much to hear, but she swallowed it all down. She prayed to the moon in the night sky that they could be honest with each other and tell each other everything, just once before they parted ways.

From the moment Ilya stepped onto the rooftop that morning, René observed him with curious eyes. After she handed him a warm cup of herbal tea, she sat down opposite him. Ilya took a sip of his tea and asked,

“René, how far have you trusted people?”

René furrowed her brow at the out-of-the-blue question. After a moment of thought, René let out a deflating chuckle.

“I’m the one who got completely screwed over after trusting people to the end. As a child, I trusted my parents and was sold into slavery, and as an adult, I trusted a man… and as you know, Your Highness, it went to hell.”

Watching René pour liquor into her teacup, Ilya burst into laughter.

“So why are you asking that kind of thing first thing in the morning?”

René gulped down the liquor in her teacup in one go and shivered. Once Ilya finished his herbal tea, René poured some liquor into his cup as well.

“Because of Her Highness?”

Ilya silently drank the liquor in his cup. A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

“When I was in Tataria, I received a few magic balls.”

“Those are incredibly expensive. Who sent them?”

“I don’t know who sent them. There was no name.”

An unpleasant expression flashed across his face. René noticed his cue and asked,

“What was in them?”

“The first magic ball I received showed my brother. In Suzdal Castle…”

Ilya gritted his teeth as he recalled the image contained in the first magic ball he received.

Nasir stood like a statue at the entrance to the garden overlooking his study in Suzdal Castle. His back was turned, so his face was not visible, but it was clear what he was looking at. His wife, Evelyn, was chatting away with a maid.

René’s eyes widened.

“His Highness Nasir went to Suzdal Castle? Why there when you weren’t there?”

Ilya continued in a cold voice.

“I ignored it at first. There was no reason for my brother to go there.”

Ilya tried to erase the unpleasant incident from his memory and focus on the war. However, there was no shortage of people claiming to have seen Grand Duke Ajauntice in Suzdal Castle. The rumors that had spread among the people working at Suzdal Castle had reached Tataria in no time.

When he received another magic ball containing the same content, Ilya exploded. The only difference from the first image was that Evelyn’s belly was noticeably bulging.

Ilya eventually sent a confirmation letter to the chamberlain at Suzdal Castle. The chamberlain’s reply matched the content of the magic ball.

{ I humbly apologize. His Highness the Grand Duke stayed there for about half an hour, dismissing all the escort knights both times, before returning. }

“Have you asked Her Highness about this?”

“Evelyn says she never did. I guess it’s possible he went there without her knowing.”

Ilya said in a slightly relaxed tone. René, who had been observing Ilya’s reaction for a while, suddenly clapped her hands. When their eyes met, she laughed like a mischievous child.

“Your Highness, this is a family matter… maybe the magic ball was filled with an illusion.”

Ilya narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Is that possible? Well, I guess we’ll find out if we try it with Evelyn.”

After a moment, Ilya shook his head.

“All those people saw an illusion? Wouldn’t it make more sense that my brother went to Suzdal Castle to see Evelyn?”

“Your Highness, His Highness Nasir is not the kind of man who would covet his brother’s wife. Even if he did have feelings for Her Highness, I don’t think he would act in such a way.”

René looked Ilya straight in the eye and continued.

“And Her Highness too… she seems like a woman who is honest with her feelings. Naz said that before. She said that it’s rare to find someone who can be loved like you and that she envied you.”

“······.”

“A woman who can play with her husband’s brother while her husband is away at war is never a woman to be trifled with.”

René poured more liquor into her cup and Ilya’s cup. She said with a bright smile.

“Well, that’s enough life counseling for now. Drink up and get to work.”

The two of them emptied their cups of liquor in one gulp. Ilya stood up, his face much lighter than when he had come in.

****

Ilya did not visit the annex for several days after that. Whenever Evelyn recalled the conversation she had with him that night, she felt uneasy. Every time she did, she would visit the chapel to calm her mind and return. Today was such a day.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa! Over here!”

“Good job, human! Higher, higher!”

The high-pitched voice was Liber’s. The occasional encouraging voice was Zion’s.

“Oh, it’s dangerous! Please come down now!”

The voices that sounded like they were about to cry were Arthur’ and Louis’.

Evelyn and Bellina hurried towards the base of the large tree where the four were gathered. Evelyn, who was out of breath from walking quickly, asked.

“What’s going on?”

Louis pointed to the top of the tree with a troubled expression. Arthur, who was standing next to him, poured out his words in a rush.

“The young master was playing catch with the princess, and the ball got stuck in the branches… so he went up there.”

The words were disjointed, but Evelyn grasped the meaning at once. Who was the young master? Evelyn raised her head. Her eyes caught sight of a large bell-shaped skirt and dangling legs.

“Here I am!”

With a loud shout, something came whooshing down from the tree. Everyone’s eyes doubted the quick, squirrel-like movement. A moment later, a long shadow fell in front of Evelyn. Even looking up for a long time, Evelyn found it difficult to meet her eyes. There was a ‘poof’ sound, and the person in front of her bowed her head. A low, deep voice, unlike a woman’s, was heard.

“Are you Ilya’s wife?”

The straightforward and frank speech was not at all aristocratic. Evelyn was taken aback and looked at the woman in front of her. A woman as tall as Ilya looked down at Evelyn and grinned. She held out one hand with a ‘click’ sound and smiled brightly.

“I’m Yuri Ajauntice. You called me?”

The woman in front of her was a beauty. But she was closer to a handsome man than a beauty. Evelyn was tense at the appearance of the noble lady with thick features like a handsome man. Yuri grabbed Evelyn’s gloved hand without permission and shook it.

“Yes, I’m Evelyn Maddus… Nice to meet you.”

Evelyn greeted her half out of her mind.

“Yuri, Yuri.”

Liber ran towards the ball Yuri was holding. Liber grabbed Yuri’s skirt, which he had never seen before, and spun around in place. Zion jumped in to try to catch Liber, and a scene of chaos ensued with Yuri in the middle.

“Young master, let’s throw it now!”

As she threw the ball she was holding far away, Liber and Zion ran off at the same time.

They said that the Ajauntice bloodline was gloomy, but Yuri didn’t seem like that. There was no sign of insomnia or crazy love on her bright face.

While Evelyn was admiring her, Yuri lowered her head and whispered in Evelyn’s ear.

“I saw that eagle when I was young, in the Tower of Repentance. It was next to Ilya then, but why is it next to the baby now?”

Evelyn’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked at the eagle, which was perched on Liber’s shoulder as if she was seeing it for the first time. She had never noticed that the eagle had been following Liber around.

“I don’t know,” Evelyn whispered back. “Maybe it’s just attached to Liber.”

“Or maybe it’s a message from Ilya,” Yuri said with a mischievous grin.

Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat. The thought of Ilya sending her a message through the eagle made her feel both excited and nervous.

“What kind of message?” she asked.

Yuri shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m sure he has something to say to you.”

Evelyn’s mind raced. What could Ilya possibly want to say to her? Was he trying to warn her about something? Or was he simply missing her?

She couldn’t shake off the feeling that Yuri was right. The eagle had to be a message from Ilya. But what was it trying to tell her?