Chapter 41 – Always Guard Your Tongue

“…Pardon? Lady Lorenheim wishes to visit?”

A look of surprise and confusion swept across Evelyn’s face. Aside from her family and Axion, no one else had ever set foot in her conservatory.

‘It’s not that I dislike Dahlia…’

But she preferred to reserve that place for those she’d known for years.

Evelyn hesitated, lips parting as if to speak, then finally answered with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, my lady. I’m not very comfortable letting others into my private space.”

Her polite but firm refusal brought a flush of embarrassment to Dahlia’s violet eyes. She looked genuinely mortified, as if the thought of being turned down had never occurred to her.

‘I hope she doesn’t take it personally…’

Evelyn was still gauging her reaction when Dahlia suddenly reached out, gently clasping both of her hands as she offered an apology.

“I truly didn’t mean to trouble you, Lady Inevasel. That was thoughtless of me.”

“It’s quite alright, Lady Lorenheim.”

“To be honest, I simply hoped we might become good friends.”

“Pardon? With me?”

Evelyn blinked rapidly in surprise, staring at the woman before her. This was something she never could have imagined happening in the original story.

“If it’s all right with you, Lady Inevasel, would you call me by my name from now on?”

Faced with the woman’s seemingly innocent smile, she hesitated.

After all, the idea of becoming close with Dahlia was never part of the original story, and it left her feeling genuinely unsettled. Still, she thought, perhaps things turning out differently from the story wasn’t such a terrible thing. She now bore a sigil like Axion’s, and had somehow ended up forming an imprint, yet so far, nothing seemed drastically changed.

‘On the contrary, maybe befriending the female lead could help me avoid death.’

Evelyn gave a slight nod, a gentle smile touching her lips as she replied.

“Then please, call me Evelyn as well. I look forward to it, Dahlia.”

Dahlia’s face brightened at her words, a radiant smile blooming. Then, glancing at her pocket watch, she quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I would’ve liked to chat a bit longer, but I have a prior engagement.”

“Don’t worry about me, please go ahead.”

As she answered as though it were nothing, and the woman responded with a soft, smiling gaze.

“Then, until next time, Evelyn!”

As Evelyn watched Dahlia’s retreating figure, lost in thought, her escort knight came up beside her, head tilted in curiosity.

“Sir Gideon, is something the matter?”

Noticing her questioning gaze, Gideon scratched the back of his neck before answering.

“It’s nothing. I must have been mistaken.”

At the knight’s cryptic reply, she simply gave a small shrug of her shoulders.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Back at the marquis’s estate, Evelyn was sulking at the dining table. An uninvited guest had turned up at the manor, and she couldn’t hide her displeasure.

Casting a sideways glance at the man seated beside her, she furrowed her brow and muttered under her breath.

“You seem to visit our house quite often these days, don’t you?”

Axion arched an eyebrow, completely unfazed, and replied smoothly.

“And what’s so strange about visiting my fiancée’s house?”

It seemed that saying, ‘always guard your tongue,’ had been coined just for him.

Flustered by her fiancé’s brazen remark, Evelyn wasted no time in stomping down hard on his foot. Yet although it must have hurt, Axion’s only reaction was the barest twitch of his eyebrows.

‘Ugh, he’s infuriating!’

Just as she was wondering how to deal with that shameless man, he gave her a sly smile and whispered.

“If you’d like, I could clutch my foot and collapse right here.”

“Oh, just keep still, will you.”

The Marchioness, who had been watching their bickering fondly, spoke up in a gentle voice.

“Seeing you two like this, it’s as if nothing has changed since you were children.”

“Mother, how could you say such a—”

“Thank you for thinking so well of us, but I believe things are a little different now.”

Axion smoothly cut off her protest, then turned to her with a gaze unexpectedly warm and tender. Suddenly, a turbulent thought flickered across her mind, making Evelyn’s green eyes tremble in alarm.

‘No, don’t say anything…!’

Yet, as if her wish had gone unheard, he took her hand in his and continued.