Chapter 66

Axion took out an invitation from his jacket, black paper adorned with gold-inked lettering. After checking their invitation, the doorman bowed respectfully and swung open the doors to the banquet hall.

“Welcome to the midnight revel!”

As the two of them stepped inside, a lively trumpet fanfare sounded, announcing their arrival. Moments later, bursts of magic fireworks filled the air, showering the banquet hall with a cascade of vibrant paper petals.

‘Is this really what this place is usually like?’

Startled by the unexpected display of hospitality, Evelyn hesitated and took a step back. Then, as if to steady her, Axion slipped an arm around her slender waist.

“I told you, didn’t I? You’d better stay by my side tonight.”

His crimson lips curved into a graceful smile.

“Dressed like this, I imagine everyone will keep their distance from me anyway.”

Who exactly does he think is going to approach me when he won’t even let me take off his jacket?

At her remark, the man only gave the faintest hint of a smirk without saying anything.

Regardless, Evelyn was determined to seek out Dr. Fabian herself tonight. She remembered how the original story described the mask Fabian would be wearing, so she was confident she could find him. Besides, she had no desire to interfere with Axion’s undercover investigation.

‘Maybe he’ll uncover the drug case before Khalid even does.’

Tonight, she had the feeling that, for once, everything would go smoothly. At the thought, Evelyn took a step away from her fiancé and spoke up, her tone bright and slightly teasing.

“I’ll stay here. You’re busy tonight anyway, aren’t you?”

At her words, Axion raised one eyebrow, then asked in a dry voice.

“Are you telling me to just leave you here?”

For some reason, an ominous air seemed to settle around him. She felt as though a cold sweat was trickling down her spine. She hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did she feel so tense?

Evelyn licked her dry lips and shook her head firmly.

“There’s someone I need to meet tonight.”

“Here?”

His question made it clear he expected an explanation, so she kept her answer brief.

“Yeah, I need to get an important research sample.”

Only then did the man’s expression soften a little. No doubt, in his eyes, his fiancée must have seemed utterly obsessed with plants.

‘Well, he isn’t exactly wrong.’

Evelyn let out a subtle sigh of relief and gave a small shrug.

“It’s dangerous outside the banquet hall, so try not to—”

“Oh, do you really think I’m a child? I’ll have you know I’m a fully grown adult.”

Cutting her fiancé off mid-sentence, she cast him a teasing, sidelong glance

Axion let out a lazy, almost amused chuckle, then pulled a necklace from his jacket. Moving slowly, he stepped closer and reached out toward her neck. As his hand lightly brushed the nape of her pale neck, a subtle shiver raced through her.

‘What… is this?’

The unfamiliar sensation made her neck burn as if flushed with heat. The amethyst-colored pendant was clearly not an ordinary trinket, even at a glance.

“Axion, what’s this?”

Struggling to sound calm despite her panic, Evelyn watched as he bowed his head and murmured:

“It’s enchanted with a tracking spell.”

“…What?”

He only gave a casual shrug, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

“So you don’t get caught up in anything unnecessary.”

Since when does he worry about me like this?

Maybe he was feeling a sense of responsibility for having brought his fiancée here to serve his own purposes.

‘Not that anything like that is likely to happen anyway.’

In the original story, nothing else happened at the soirée except for the drug incident. Even then, the male lead, Khalid, resolved the situation swiftly, and the night continued without further trouble. Even so, Evelyn was curious. What exactly had Axion been thinking, giving her a necklace enchanted with a tracking spell?

“For example?”

When she finally voiced the question that had lingered on her lips, a strange gleam flickered in the man’s crimson eyes. A moment later, he replied languidly, as if it were nothing.

“I might need to chase off any bothersome pests who try to approach you.”

‘I probably shouldn’t say this…’

But you seem like the most dangerous one here.