Zion gently set Evie on the sofa. Then, without sitting down next to her or standing up again, he leaned on the sofa and watched Evie’s complexion.

It was then that Evie looked up at Zion. Evie looked at him for a long time with a blank face, then whispered.

“You already know.”

“I heard from the lieutenant earlier.”

Zion said calmly. So Evie’s face became even paler.

Zion was totally unaware that his answer had once again trampled on Evie’s already tattered heart.

But he noticed that Evie’s eyes were trembling precariously and asked.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright.”

Evie answered in a small voice. Then she seemed surprised by what she herself had said and furrowed her brows.

“……Not alright at all.”

Evie only realized how painful she was after speaking.

And that realization eventually pushed Evie off the cliff.

Evie was gasping for breath and muttered. No, she moaned.

“I, until now, not even once…….”

I wasn’t alright.

Evie couldn’t finish speaking. The successive breaths she took darkened her vision.

Evie could not exhale but only kept inhaling. Zion, realizing that Evie was having trouble breathing, grabbed her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me…….”

But Evie shook her head and brushed off his hand, then leaned forward to refuse his interference.

This made her already faint breath even fainter, and Zion eventually stood up, lifting Evie who was vainly resisting.

Along with that, Evie, who had been feebly struggling, collapsed.

Evie dropped her forehead onto Zion’s shoulder in front of her, and Zion briefly lifted Evie’s cheek, then immediately sought his lieutenant.

.

.

.

Moren quickly summoned a military doctor.

And the military doctor, dressed in the uniform of a watcher, carefully examined the girl lying on the commander’s bed.

After a while, he cautiously concluded that it was exhaustion due to overwork. He also said that as she was still young and healthy, she would get better if she rested for a few days.

So Zion’s anger was misdirected.

‘What has this steward been doing that he didn’t even take care of this?’

He had been with her all day, yet he neglected her until she collapsed.

Zion clenched his teeth, thinking of Evie’s annoying steward.

Evie was still lying in Zion’s bed. She seemed to be sleeping deeply, judging by her faint breathing.

Zion sat by the bed and looked down at Evie quietly.

Overwork, it wasn’t surprising.

Evie Ariate’s recent life had been very turbulent.

Starting from being cursed, she got entangled with Zion, and went back and forth busily between Tienda and Biss.

She almost got punished, used Manyanaya’s protection consecutively, and was in a constant state of tension after participating in the Flower Festival.

She was betrayed in between all of this, so it was reasonable that she collapsed from exhaustion.

The military doctor said that she would be fine with a few days’ rest, but Zion found this situation very frustrating.
Whether it was compassion, blame, or the legacy of the man deeply embedded within, Zion could not tell. Perhaps it was all of them.

The cause didn’t matter, Zion was deeply uncomfortable.

Zion must protect Evie. So he had told Evie that he would do anything if she would only give up becoming a saint.

But Evie chose the well rather than Zion, and Zion had been suffering from this frustrating situation.

Of course, it was Zion’s fault.

Although the curse played a stumbling block role, Zion did not persuade Evie enough before proposing.

It was impossible to explain the situation with the concealment curse on himself, and with the curse of revelation on Evie, Zion thought Evie was a fool. So he simply tried to convince her with the result.

If persuasion was difficult, he should have built trust, but he even avoided that.

Evie Ariate repeatedly muttered that she was just a debt to be cleared, deliberately distancing herself because she felt like she would be eroded in an instant if she did not draw a line like this.

Thanks to that, the situation was turning into a mess.

Evie Ariate was falling and getting hurt in front of his eyes, and he was just watching like a fool.

It seemed like he could hear the man scolding him wildly.

So Zion stared at Evie, who had fallen sound asleep, feeling his mood hit rock bottom.

.

.

.

Evie woke up when the night was almost over.

Evie, who opened her eyes, was alone in the large bedroom, and the surroundings were dark.

As Evie got out of bed, a knock was heard from outside.

“Are you awake?”

It was the Count’s voice. When Evie answered quietly, the Count spoke again.

“Come out if you want to eat. If you are tired, you can sleep more.”

He was still unkindly polite.

Evie neither wanted to eat nor wanted to sleep more.

Still, she opened the door and came out. Then she saw the Count standing by the door, and behind him, the large reception room.

The reception room only had the Count. Originally, Zion used the bedroom, and the guards stood in the reception room, but everyone was pushed one room out because Evie took over the bedroom.

But Evie, who did not know this fact, sat at the table first, as directed by the Count. On the table were a small brazier and hot soup and bread being heated above it.

“It’s said to be overwork.”

“I see.”

“No one will know that you are here.”

“I’m glad.”

Evie responded calmly to Zion’s explanation. She seemed to still be halfasleep, and the shock of fainting seemed to linger.

So Zion looked at Evie’s complexion, and Evie turned her head to look out the window.

“Has the banquet started?”

“Yes, about two hours ago.”

If it’s two hours ago, even if she prepares now, it’s too late.

Evie thought with disappointment, then suddenly Cassel’s voice rang in her ear.

―I’ll scold Evie if she doesn’t look pretty later.

When she recalled that voice, an indescribable feeling overcame Evie once more.

“Heuk…….”

With the rough emotion rushing in, Evie reflexively covered her face and then sobbed quietly.

Hearing that sound, Zion froze on the spot. So he looked incredulously, thinking it couldn’t be, and Evie started to cry with her face buried in her hands.

“Heuk, heug…….”

Seeing Evie’s shoulders shaking, Zion immediately went around the table to Evie’s side.

But he remembered Evie’s words not to touch her and could not do anything, so he froze again.

As he hesitated, Evie’s shoulders shook more pitifully.

Zion was horrified and finally reached out.

But just before his hand touched Evie, Evie’s sobbing suddenly turned eerie.

“Heuk, heuheuheuk, hufufuhut…….”

‘……What?’

Zion, who was confused thinking Evie was crying, felt creepy as the sound began to sound like laughter.

Evie bowed her head and shook her shoulders like that for a long time. Then she suddenly called Zion with a cheerful voice.

“Count.”

Evie, who lifted her head, had a face completely devoid of moisture. Moreover, there was a pretty smile on her lips.
Zion was unable to keep up with Evie’s condition and became stiff, when Evie spoke in a delicate voice.

“Could I borrow some paper and a pen?”

Of course, the prettiness and fineness were only in the revealed smile and voice; at that time, Evie’s eyes were burning colder than ever before.