Chapter 56

For this expedition, the paladin led by Khalid would be joining forces with Dahlia and her fellow priests. After all, in the chaos of battle, there could be no greater reassurance than a healer possessing such divine power. It struck her how carefully crafted the plot of the original story must have been, going to such lengths to create encounters between the female lead and the male lead.

“Yes, I’ve heard the two of them make a rather striking pair.”

Evelyn gave a small, faint nod of agreement. With their exceptional looks and poise, they must have been a delight to behold together.

“I even heard that they’ve been seen enjoying weekday dates together!”

My, things seem to be progressing faster than I’d expected. If only I had some caramel popcorn for this sort of scene.

‘Of course, other people’s romances are always more entertaining.’

Feigning disinterest, Evelyn nevertheless pricked up her ears to catch every word of the young ladies’ conversation.

“Is that true? Where did they meet?”

“I heard it was at the Imperial Library and some bakery or other.”

‘Hmm? Why does this all feel so familiar…?’

Evelyn blinked slowly, then casually asked the young lady who had brought up the rumor.

“By any chance, was it at Maron Bakery?”

“Oh my, yes! That’s exactly the place!”

“And they also went to see the cat living behind the library together?”

The young lady clapped her hands together, nodding eagerly as if she’d just received a fortune from a most gifted oracle.

“Lady Inevasel, it seems you’ve heard the rumors too!”

At that moment, a cold sweat began to bead on Evelyn’s brow.

‘Surely, the witness who started these rumors must have mistaken me for Dahlia…’

There could be no other explanation for how their movements aligned so perfectly. Why on earth the mix-up happened, she couldn’t guess, but the person must have confused her with Dahlia. It was true that, when out and about, she often wore a wide-brimmed hat, making her harder to recognize.

As she discreetly dabbed her brow with a handkerchief, hoping to avoid being caught up in yet another rumor, Chloe, who had been watching her intently, leaned in to whisper, her voice just low enough for her alone to hear,

“Evelyn, how do you know all this?”

Anyone else might have let it pass, but years of friendship made Chloe impossible to fool.

“I-I just happened to overhear it somewhere.”

“You? When you never even come to society gatherings?”

Chloe had softened her words out of consideration for her friend, but her meaning was clear: ‘Come on, you don’t have any friends besides me and your fiancé.’

Unable to refute such a pointed question, Evelyn pressed her lips together and fell silent.

‘Why is she… Why does she always have to hit the nail on the head at times like this?’

Fortunately, Chloe seemed to have no intention of pressing further. Sensing her discomfort, she smoothly changed the subject.

“So, how is the Young Lord these days?”

Chloe was still quite satisfied by the memory of Axion humbling her own brother at the recent magi-engineering symposium. After all, in a contest for succession, any slip on the rival’s part was considered a stroke of luck.

Evelyn, lost in thought for a moment, shrugged her shoulders lightly and replied.

“Axion? He’s as steady as ever. Or rather… actually, he’s been acting a bit strange lately.”

As she murmured this, a faint crease appeared between her brows, and Chloe’s gaze sharpened with interest.

“Oh? In what way is he acting strange?”

“It’s hard to explain… He keeps doing things he never used to do.”

Granted, Axion had always been a bit odd, but lately, he had been closing the distance between them more than ever. Evelyn was slightly unsettled by these sudden gestures of warmth, especially when they seemed so out of character for him. Of course, she suspected her fiancé had his reasons for acting this way. After all, he was always after something.

“But isn’t it a good thing if the Young Lord is being sweet?”

Chloe tilted her head to the side, wearing a look that seemed to say, ‘Listen to you, complaining about nothing.’

“Well, yes, but…”

‘It’s not as if we aren’t going to break off the engagement anyway.’

Evelyn barely swallowed the words she couldn’t admit to her closest friend. Instead, she forced an awkward smile and gave a vague, evasive reply.

“It’s just… a bit awkward, that’s all.”

Trying to clear her mind of Axion, she took a small sip of her tea. But Chloe, flashing a sly grin, leaned in and whispered again,

“Are you sure he doesn’t actually like you?”