Evan’s self-praising chatter showed no signs of stopping.
“When I was young, the Crown Prince once caused a huge commotion in the imperial palace because he wanted to marry me. Can you believe it? He thought I was a woman! Even now, whenever we meet, he teases me by saying I was his first love. You have no idea how hilarious it is.”
We had moved to a table on the first floor instead of the second.
It was a secluded spot where the sunlight couldn’t reach us, but my eyesight wasn’t so poor that I couldn’t see through the window on the opposite side.
That was why I could say with certainty that someone was watching us.
And whoever it was, they were persistent.
“Another time, the princess made a huge fuss because I was her ideal type… Are you even listening to me?”
“Of course! It seems Her Highness the Princess fell in love with you at first sight, too, Lord Evan.”
“But I rejected her. She wasn’t my type.”
At this point, I was genuinely curious about what exactly his supposedly extraordinary taste was.
“Anyway, even if you were astonished by my beauty, it’s hardly strange. In fact, it’s perfectly natural.”
“I see. Well, I imagine you’re still quite popular even now…”
As I forced a smile and played along, his previously triumphant expression gradually began to fade.
Fiddling with his teacup, Evan remarked casually,
“Popular? Hardly. The number of people I can actually meet and talk to properly is limited.”
“…Pardon?”
“My father is overprotective. I think I was twenty-one when I went out for a while, clutched my chest, and collapsed. Ever since then, all my outings have been restricted.”
I cautiously asked him,
“Has your health… been poor since you were young?”
“Since I was nineteen, I think. Before that, I just had to avoid excessive exercise. These days, even a light jog is dangerous.”
I’d noticed this before, but Evan seemed to have a habit of speaking rather casually about his own illness.
Perhaps it was better than hiding it and becoming depressed… but hearing him talk about it this way was just as painful.
“Thank you for… coming out today.”
“To be honest, it’s not as though I disliked the idea. It’s a chance to go outside for the first time in a while.”
“Is… that so?”
“My father can’t easily refuse when Rashak asks him for something. And I insisted that I wanted to go out, too, so the old man finally gave in for once.”
“Um, I… I haven’t made an enemy of the Duke, have I?”
“Hm? Of course you have. You dared to ask me out on a date.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not like that…!”
Evan chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
“Don’t worry. I wanted to go out, too. Didn’t you notice? I came here of my own free will, even though I thought you were up to something.”
Bringing the teacup to his lips, he added quietly,
“So… I’m grateful to you. Just a tiny bit.”
He even avoided my gaze, as though he wasn’t used to saying things like that.
At that moment, the arrogant nobleman image I’d built up in my mind shattered completely.
…Should I replace it with the image of a sensitive young master who’s been sheltered in a greenhouse and has a tsundere personality?
“Then what do you usually do at the mansion?”
“Mostly read books. I do talk to the servants, but… they all find me intimidating. Besides, my father has a policy of keeping the servants at a distance.”
“……”
“In that respect, I find Rashak’s organization comfortable, too. There’s a clear hierarchy, of course, but people don’t constantly worry about every little thing they say. Just look at Pierce, for example.”
“Even I sometimes get surprised by the things Mr. Pierce says.”
“You, too.”
Evan pointed at me casually with his chin, narrowed his eyes, and flashed a wide grin.
“Daring to ask me out on a date.”
“I’m telling you, I didn’t…!”
Unable to contain my indignation, I raised my voice slightly, making Evan burst out laughing.
…I could understand exactly how the Crown Prince felt about being teased by him.
“Anyway, my father isn’t exactly the type to keep me company with a long conversation, either… So I usually just sit around, bored out of my mind.”
There was nothing false about what he’d said.
It wasn’t that I was certain because I’d learned everything from the original novel. Didn’t I keep telling myself that Evan didn’t even appear in the original story?
It was just his lonely expression… the unrestrained honesty in his voice… everything about him made it painfully clear that this was his genuine reality, without any pretense.
Besides, what would Evan gain by lying to me?
He’s being so honest with me…
I didn’t want to hide anything from him, either.
Moreover, from what I’d observed so far, Evan was a proud man.
If something concerned him personally, he’d surely want to know everything about it.
“Um, Lord Evan. Could you hear me out without getting too startled?”
“…What is it?”
“I just realized something.”
Having finished thinking it over, I lowered my voice slightly.
“Someone is watching us.”
A flicker of agitation crossed Evan’s green eyes.
But he soon asked in a composed voice,
“…From where?”
“Two o’clock, relative to your position.”
“Two o’clock… That would be near the brown wall.”
“You noticed?”
“I don’t have that kind of instinct. …But before going anywhere, I make a point of memorizing the surrounding terrain and layout. It’s just a simple talent of mine.”
Rashak’s remark about how much he liked filling up the space around him came to mind.
Perhaps it was something the brothers had in common.
“You wouldn’t have brought this up if you thought the person was simply admiring my beauty like you do, would you?”
“Y-yes. The gaze feels… ominous.”
“…Rashak told me that you’d caught a spy.”
He toyed with his teacup and spoke with a cynical smile.
“Then are they targeting you? What do you think?”
“…They weren’t there when I was alone.”
“So they followed me here.”
His voice was calm.
“Someone who’s deliberately targeting a man who’s practically on his deathbed. I’m curious what kind of pathetic reason brought them here.”
“Wouldn’t it be best to let the Boss know somehow…?”
“In this situation? We have a long-distance communication magic tool, but… if we take it out, they’ll turn tail and run immediately.”
“I suppose… you’re right.”
“And having you run after them to catch them would be unreasonable, since we don’t know how many there are.”
Evan running after them was even more out of the question.
I was biting the tender flesh inside my lip, feeling utterly at a loss after saying it aloud, when—
“Perhaps…”
“Pardon?”
“…Perhaps Rashak will arrive soon.”
“Y-you mean the Boss?”
“Something about that guy was… a little strange when he told me about today’s meeting.”
“Strange?”
“Anyway, if Rashak shows up, one of two things will happen.”
He leaned his upper body slightly toward me and explained,
“First, the person immediately turns tail and runs. In that case, there’s a good chance they were planning to assassinate me and decided to flee. They’ll think their attempt is doomed now that Rashak has appeared.”
His gaze was remarkably composed, even as he discussed the possibility of his own assassination.
“Second, they continue watching us. That would suggest they’re more likely gathering information than preparing for an assassination. Of course, they could be collecting information before attempting to kill me… but there’s no need to jump to that conclusion yet.”
“…We can tell the Boss and have them captured, right?”
“Exactly. Whenever he goes out, he always brings Fidel with him. If you give Fidel a heads-up, that shadow of a man will find a way to catch them and bring them in.”
He leaned back away from me and added,
“Then we’ll find out what they’re really after.”
“So you think the second possibility is more likely, Lord Evan…?”
“That, too. But more importantly, there’s not much the two of us can do in this situation anyway.”
Despite the sudden turn of events, he showed no signs of confusion.
His assessment of the situation was coolheaded and perceptive.
He considered the available options realistically and knew when not to take unnecessary risks.
Perhaps Evan… was an extremely active person before he fell ill.
The way he acted reminded me of the knights I’d met when I was training to become one myself.
Of course, as the eldest son of a ducal family, he probably hadn’t aspired to become a knight.
Still, many of the people who had taught him or spent time with him must have undergone knight training.
Perhaps Evan had tried to learn all their best qualities.
As the heir to the ducal house, for the sake of his family…
“You seem… accustomed to this sort of thing.”
“Threats of assassination are part of everyday life for nobles. Especially for a complicated family like ours, which has plenty of enemies.”
Then he must have trained hard in his own way, too.
I glanced at his painfully thin shoulders before lowering my gaze.
If I kept looking at him, I was afraid I’d unconsciously give him a look of pity.
“Anyway, for now, we wait. And order another one of these.”
“…I-is there a reason for that, too?”
“Of course there is.”
When I cautiously raised my eyes, he leaned toward me again and whispered in a low voice.
“It suits my taste tremendously.”
Then he leaned back, flashing a grin. His expression was just as confident as it had been all along.
His eyes seemed to be telling me, Don’t worry.
I’m supposed to be the one who came here to protect him, yet Evan is the one comforting me.
I was almost embarrassed by how caught up I’d become in feeling sorry for him.
Right. There was someone nearby who might be an assassin, or something along those lines. This wasn’t the time to get lost in sentiment.
I smiled and nodded.
“Understood. I’ll go order another cake.”
“Order something you want, too. With your own money.”
“Understood. With my own money!”
After giving him an indignant retort, I strode confidently toward the counter.
I ordered the item Evan had said he liked, then pretended to consider the next item on the menu as I tried to sneak a glance at the brown wall.
Just then, the bell above the door jingled, and a man entered the café.
He was broad-shouldered and built like a door, with neatly slicked-back silver hair.
“Boss!”
A smile spread across my face before I could stop it.
Wasn’t this the arrival of our absolute savior in the middle of a hopeless situation? A wave of relief washed over me.
He really came!
But for some reason, Rashak’s gaze was even colder and more subdued than usual.
On top of that, the smell of cigars clinging to him was stronger than normal.
Before I could take even a small step back at the inexplicable sense of unease, he strode straight toward me.
He looked me over, then glanced at Evan, who had also been smiling in relief.
“You’re smiling.”
“…Pardon?”
“…Looks like you two had fun together.”
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