Chapter 30: Obedient Evelia
“Damn it… hurry up and put this on.”
Alman awkwardly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath filled with Evelia’s fragrance.
It was the first time he had closed his eyes so defenselessly in front of someone from the opposing camp, and his heart was pounding, faster than it had when he had been poisoned before.
“Do you not need it anymore?”
“What would I do with that…!”
“…I see.”
Evelia didn’t say much more, silently taking off her shoes and lifting her leg. She intended to lean back and stretch out her leg, but as soon as she raised her leg, due to the limited space of the carriage, her bare foot stepped directly onto Alman’s knee. To secure her position, her toes lightly scratched at his knee.
Alman’s pants could hardly block the warmth and softness of Evelia’s foot. The body born from alchemy was far more tender than an ordinary person growing up normally to this age. Even though her feet had developed some calluses from walking lately, the softness of her soles remained largely unaffected.
Moreover, it seemed the bumps of the carriage caused Evelia’s foot to rub a few times against Alman’s knee, prompting a low, muffled groan from him as he struggled to control the sensations rising in his throat.
He wanted to open his eyes to see what Evelia was doing, but as soon as he opened them, because of Evelia’s angle, he got an eye-full of a live show that was much more stimulating than just looking at underwear.
“…Could you please not step on my leg?”
“Ah, okay.”
Evelia said this as she shifted her body, turning from facing Alman to sideways, placing her long legs on the seat beside her.
But instead of putting on socks or shoes, she was putting on the underwear beneath that white long dress. This caused her to inadvertently lift the long dress as she pulled up her panties, blocking the way her arms should have allowed it to fall, giving Alman a clear view not just from the front but also from the side.
“…”
This is too much.
He frustratedly slapped his forehead.
Alman’s mood transitioned from being flustered and restless to a kind of indescribable helplessness.
“Mr. Alman, I’m done putting it on.”
“Ah, yes, I know.”
How could he not know? He had seen the most important parts of the entire process.
Click.
It didn’t take long to return to the manor by carriage, but as the carriage came to a stop at their destination, Alman felt that he had experienced far too much today.
“We’re here, Evelia.” Looking at the familiar gates of the manor, Alman sighed in relief internally. “Get out.”
“Alright, thank you for bringing me back, Mr. Alman.”
Evelia seemed completely unaware of the gravity of what she had done and said goodbye to Alman in her usual calm tone.
Alman helped her unlock the carriage door, and as it swung open with a crisp sound, the wind blew in again. Although the wind was nowhere near as fierce as when it had blown toward Evelia at the street corner, Alman quickly covered her with his coat that he had taken off earlier, wrapping her up snugly.
With Alman’s height and the style of the long coat, the coat’s hem was longer than Evelia’s dress, and if she was any shorter, she would probably have been wrapped up like a white barrel.
“Make sure no one sees those things of yours.”
While giving his instructions, Alman helped Evelia button up her knight’s coat.
“What?” Evelia looked at Alman with a strange expression and observed his hurried hands.
“Just those…” Alman paused. “The ones in that black bag.”
“My black lace underwear and maid’s outfit?”
Actually, there was also a booklet about underwear inside, which Alman hadn’t asked for, so she hadn’t taken it out. That item was one of the sources of all evil.
“Right, that’s it.”
Alman truly didn’t understand how she could so matter-of-factly say the name of that thing.
“Okay, Mr. Alman, I won’t show it to anyone.”
“And… the one you’re wearing is the same.”
Alman kindly rolled up her overly long coat sleeves, and when his fingers brushed against Evelia’s wrist, his mind couldn’t help but replay the sensation of her sole rubbing against his knee just moments before.
Ah—damn it, he hadn’t even felt this way when they held hands before.
The more he thought, the more irritated he became, and he even fumbled with the last few buttons, having to hurriedly redo them.
“Mm, I understand.” Evelia nodded.
“…”
Seeing Evelia’s expressionless acceptance of all commands, Alman hesitated and opened his mouth:
“Do you never ask why?”
Although Alman didn’t like it when Evelia was too perceptive, inexplicably, he found himself asking this question as he looked at her ever-stable golden eyes, trying to read something useful between their masked gazes.
“Why? What do you mean ‘why’?”
She seemed not to fully grasp Alman’s words.
“I mean—when I tell you to do something, you don’t ask me why I want you to do it?”
Alman raised his head to meet Evelia’s still calm golden gaze, both of them attempting to read something valuable from each other’s facade.
“I don’t need to ask, Mr. Alman.”
Evelia shook her head.
“Because you are my master, and I am your maid. The master’s command is everything, so I do not need to ask why.”
This answer felt rather stiff, but Alman was not surprised; it was completely something a person like Evelia would say.
Evelia indeed seemed like someone who was loyal enough to abandon her will.
But—
Whose loyalty is this?
Alman didn’t even realize that his fingers were gripping Evelia’s wrist tightly, and she showed no discomfort from this tight hold, as they stared at each other in silence.
“It seems you’re very obedient to your master, Evelia.”
He let out a chuckle, lowering his head.
“Yes, whatever the master needs me to do, I will do.”
—A lie.
Even Alman felt that this conversation was filled with irony.
In their eyes, the “master” was clearly not the same person.
“Alright, let’s get out.”
Alman released his grip, smiling as he helped Evelia down from the carriage. He then simply nodded, signaling the coachman to take him to the street where he needed to work.
Evelia watched Alman’s carriage recede into the distance, and, until he disappeared from her view, she casually twisted her wrist before stepping through the manor’s entrance.
Since Alman was the captain of the Knight Order, his uniform was markedly different from ordinary knights, easily recognizable. The old butler happened to walk up to her, being curious as he took a good look at the snugly wrapped Evelia, he came up to her and asked:
“Miss Evelia, where have you been? Why are you wrapped up so tightly?”
“…”
Evelia glanced at the old butler, recalling Alman’s words, “just don’t let others see.” After thinking for a moment, she extended her hand and tightened the coat belonging to Alman around her.
“Mr. Alman said, only he can see this.”
“…?”
Watching Evelia say this and then walk away, the old butler stood there, left with a head full of questions.
