Chapter 97 – I Don’t Care If I’m Caught

Tap—

“Hm?”

When something tapped against the window, Evelyn tilted her head in curiosity.

Tap—

Another sound, and her tense eyes fluttered in surprise.

‘W-Who could be playing tricks at this hour?’

After the recent monster attack, a sense of unease still lingered in her heart. For a moment, she wondered if someone had sent an assassin. She clutched the curtain tightly, yet, unable to quell her curiosity, she carefully peeked out the window.

The moment she saw who it was, her eyes lost focus, wavering in disbelief.

 “Ax…ion?”

Why was he here, without so much as a word?

Realizing the visitor at this late hour was her own fiancé, she felt a rush of both shock and relief.

“I’d like to come inside, if you don’t mind.”

His request for permission struck her as oddly formal.

He had never had any trouble coming in before, so why the change now?

Still, she only shrugged and stepped away from the window. Then, with a light flick of his fingers, Axion slipped into her bedroom in an instant.

“Axion, what brings you here?”

Evelyn folded her arms, eyeing her unexpected visitor. Before she could say more, he closed the distance between them and pressed his hand to her forehead.

“You still have a fever.”

He murmured, then quietly wrapped her snugly in the blankets.

“What are you doing?”

When she protested, frowning at his sudden fussing, he replied with nonchalance.

“Obviously, I’m taking care of you.”

“This is your idea of care?”

Utterly exasperated, she couldn’t help but protest. Meanwhile, Axion, meeting her gaze steadily, tilted his head and asked.

“Are you really alright with being caught like this?”

“…What?”

He glanced toward the closed bedroom door, a sly smile tugging at his lips.

“I don’t care if I’m caught.”

“Hup—!”

Afraid that their whispers might carry beyond the door, she hurriedly clapped both hands over her mouth. Fortunately, it seemed no one had noticed the small commotion; the world beyond her bedroom remained perfectly quiet.

Axion sat her gently on the bed before taking the chair opposite.

‘Is he really planning to nurse me back to health?’

Watching him with narrowed eyes, Evelyn asked.

“What’s the real reason you came to see me?”

“I have something to give you.”

He handed her a small glass jar from inside his coat. Inside, tiny paper stars shimmered in a rainbow of colors.

“These… it’s been so long.”

She breathed, her mouth falling open in surprise at the unexpected gift.

As she held a star in her hand, memories of childhood came rushing back as vividly as if they’d happened just yesterday. Folding paper stars from long strips of colored paper had once been wildly popular among the children of the Baltian Empire. There was a legend that filling a jar with lucky stars would make one’s wish come true.

When she was young, Evelyn, too, had carefully filled a glass jar with paper stars, longing for her wish to be granted. All she’d ever wanted was to see her birth parents again.

‘Not that wishing ever helped…’

Returning the star to the jar, she offered a clear, gentle smile.

“Thank you, Axion.”

And yet, part of her couldn’t help but wonder why he had given her the paper stars. Setting the jar down on the table, she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“But what made you do this? Why give them all to me?”

The man glanced at the jar of paper stars, then replied quietly.

“Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

Uncertain of her fiancé’s intentions, Evelyn blinked slowly. Then Axion reached out and gently brushed the nape of her neck as he spoke.

“You gave me your wish, remember?”

As his words sank in, she let out a quiet, belated sigh.

‘He…still remembers that all this time?’

Once, in the innocence of childhood, she had given away her precious wish—her handmade paper stars—to a boy who had seemed to need it far more than she did. She offered a small, awkward smile, memories from long ago bittersweet in her heart.