79
“Welcome, you two. I’ve been waiting for you.”
The place Rohan took Arpel to was in front of Evelyn. Her graceful action of sipping a cup of tea was no different from when they met with Lexia. Arpel’s gaze, sitting across from her, turned to her attire.
Unlike the dress he had expected, she wore comfortable riding clothes, looking neither more nor less than that. It wasn’t the kind of outfit one would typically wear in the palace.
“Is there anyone following us?”
“I’ve done this quite a few times, you know.”
Evelyn’s face looked quite proud as she patted her riding clothes.
She added that she had a lot of experience jumping down to the lower floor, precisely timing the knights’ patrol schedule. She also included information about tying cloth to the window and climbing down, details they didn’t particularly want to know.
“Did everything go well earlier?”
The question was directed at Arpel, who was sitting quietly with an uninterested face. Sensing the inquiring gaze, she awkwardly cleared her throat.
“Well, I wasn’t trying to peek, but I happened to see you with the Crown Prince in the garden.”
“…Yes. It was resolved well.”
“He didn’t do anything terrible, did he?”
Arpel silently nodded. Only after realizing that he was truly fine did Evelyn breathe a sigh of relief. She had been alarmed, wondering why he was unexpectedly in the rose garden with Arpel, and if he might have made a preemptive move after learning of their plan.
‘The atmosphere seemed strange, but…’
Well, if he says nothing happened, then it’s fine.
“I suppose that scream earlier was from Her Highness the Princess.”
“You caught me. I happened to meet Rohan and suddenly jumped out of the window. It startled me.”
“From the window…?”
“Please don’t say unnecessary things.”
“That’s harsh. Oh, and when it’s just us, you don’t have to be so formal. I don’t like formalities, and we’re close enough, aren’t we?”
Before Arpel could express his doubt, her eyes, sparkling especially bright with makeup, gave a light wink.
Rohan was looking at her with disapproval, but Arpel wasn’t. Perhaps concerned about the story of jumping from the window earlier, his gaze remained fixed on Rohan. Although he seemed to be trying hard to ignore it, Rohan eventually gave in.
“But, I’m so worried…”
“Hehehe.”
“…”
Fidgeting and holding Arpel’s hand, with his eyes downcast like a rain-soaked puppy, it was a face that would evoke sympathy from anyone who saw it.
In fact, Arpel felt the same, but the lewd laughter that cut between them shattered the atmosphere. Rohan’s head turned sharply towards the culprit.
“Oops, my mistake. Please continue.”
“That’s enough.”
The tone was quite cold. Evelyn eventually had to change the subject with a regretful face. As an added bonus, she received Rohan’s fierce gaze while observing Arpel’s expression, which seemed to harbor some strange emotion unlike before.
“I’ve heard the gist of it. You’re trying to find evidence inside the palace, right?”
“Do you have any suspicions?”
“Hmm, suspicions…”
Compared to the two who had just entered the palace for the first time, Evelyn, who had lived in this palace for almost her entire life, would naturally know much more. She showed a contemplative expression for a moment.
“First of all, it seems very likely that there’s something under this palace. Although I haven’t found any suspicious circumstances… if His Majesty is really managing something related to the Salvation Church, he would have placed it not too far away.”
Evelyn could be certain of this fact. It was possible because she had observed him very closely as he reigned as Emperor for a long time.
“He doesn’t trust others well, so if there’s really something important, he manages it himself within arm’s reach. So if there is something, it should be accessible within this palace. His Majesty rarely goes outside the palace, after all.”
“…I see.”
“The Crown Prince might know… but I don’t know anything for now. Still, I personally wouldn’t recommend searching the palace directly.”
“Why not?”
“It’s highly likely that it’s structured so that only the royal family can access it. Since I can’t go around searching the palace, it might be faster to find another entrance?”
Rohan’s face crumpled. He realized that the nearly half-day he spent wandering around the palace, trying hard not to even encounter servants, had been in vain. Perhaps reading this obvious expression, Evelyn playfully added a comment.
“But it seems you didn’t come away empty-handed, did you?”
“Put away those lewd eyes.”
“Your expression is quite scathing.”
She said this while glancing at Arpel, but Rohan seemed to find it unpleasant. Although he complained with a pout, his gaze was so intense that Evelyn had to quietly avert her eyes.
“How is that guy doing?”
This natural change of subject was the same. After taking a sip of tea, she spoke softly, and Arpel, who had been silent all along, began to speak.
“He asked me to send his regards. He seems to be doing fine.”
“That guy would float even if he fell in water. He’d probably survive well wherever he ends up.”
“Don’t you contact him separately?”
“No, it would just attract unnecessary attention. I have someone deliver only important matters once a month.”
After that, Evelyn shared various stories. She spoke quite a bit about Lexia, including unnecessary information like their first meeting being in a pub.
Besides that, she talked about the inconveniences of living as a princess in the palace, the Crown Prince’s nasty personality, the unsettling Emperor, and so on… She seemed to be pouring out all the stories she wanted to tell. It was understandable, as she probably didn’t have anyone to talk to so openly and express her emotions vividly like this while staying in the palace.
That’s why Rohan remained seated, and Arpel stayed in his seat out of consideration for Rohan, who was concerned about Evelyn.
Arpel, who had been listening to Evelyn’s stories without any change in expression, suddenly let out a short sigh as if he had just remembered something. Immediately, the attention of the other two focused on him.
“May I ask for a favor?”
“Hmm, since you’ve kept me company, I’ll do it if it’s not too difficult.”
What Arpel handed over was information from someone who would now be writhing in agony in the shadows. As he asked for her to handle this, Evelyn, who had been quietly listening, let out a short groan.
“I thought it was strange when your stay was decided to be in the palace… so this was the scheme behind it.”
She had found it odd when she heard that the Emperor, who was unlikely to welcome them, had given them a room in the palace during the festival period. She had predicted that he wouldn’t make such a decision without meaning, and she was right.
Even if this matter comes to light, the palace probably won’t take any responsibility. They’ll just declare it as the act of malicious heretics and express regret to the temple. That’s all. It would be enough to announce their ambition to eradicate them on a large scale.
“Alright. I’ll take care of that.”
Evelyn nodded readily and smiled brightly. Her voice was quite confident and trustworthy, but somehow, the two didn’t seem to be focusing on that. This was because Rohan had completely turned towards Arpel and was staring at him intently. Of course, Arpel’s attention was also focused on him.
“I should have stayed with you after all…”
It was a voice dripping with intense emotion. Evelyn doubted her ears for a moment.
Did we hear the same story just now?
Arpel had clearly said that he had successfully restrained that man on his own. Evelyn was curious about the method, but remembering Lexia’s advice not to pry too much into Arpel, she didn’t ask.
The conclusion was that Arpel looked perfectly fine from any angle. Shouldn’t they be more worried about the well-being of the person who was caught? This was Evelyn’s logic, but Rohan, sitting next to Arpel, didn’t seem to think so.
“…I’m sorry. I won’t leave you next time.”
Somehow, it was an eyesore.
***
“Phew, thanks for listening to me for so long.”
He didn’t expect the conversation to last this long. Rohan sighed deeply, looking at the scenery outside the window where the sunset was already setting in.
“See you again later! It was fun!”
She left the same way she came, hanging a thick cloth on the window frame and climbing up. She kept a sharp eye out for any knights patrolling outside. As Evelyn’s figure completely disappeared, Arpel felt mental fatigue for the first time in a while. It was an extremely rare occurrence for him.
The two decided to leave the room and return to their original quarters. Throughout this, they held hands tightly.
As they walked down the long corridor where not a single servant passed by, Rohan spoke in a small voice. Even though there was clearly no one around to hear, he whispered, causing Arpel to think that his breath touching his ear was ticklish and… somehow hot.
“Shall we go see the festival tomorrow?”
“…Yes, let’s do that.”
“We’ll make wishes, watch the fireworks together. And eat lots of delicious food too.”
His face, imagining the events of tomorrow, looked somehow joyful. Arpel thought his expression looked exactly like when he was younger, excited about going to the village festival during their two-year excursion.
‘Why… is it different?’
Clearly, his appearance hadn’t changed much, so why did it feel different looking at him now?
Unlike then, when he always carried him in his arms because he was such a small child, Rohan had grown taller than Arpel. To touch his cheeks like back then, he now had to lift his head and reach up with his hand.
Carefully retracing that action, he placed his hand on the still soft cheek. It hadn’t been long since the warm body temperature had heated his hand when Rohan slightly tilted his head and gently pressed his lips against Arpel’s palm.
The soft sensation seemed to leave a deep impression on the inside of his palm.
“So… you must never leave me.”
Was it because of the lips murmuring against his palm? The inside of his hand tickled too much. He also felt like heat was spreading from that spot.
