<CHAPTER 16>
A Different Choice From the Previous Life
The sword that had been pressed against the side of her neck slowly moved until it was directly in front of her.
Because the blade was now pressed tightly beneath her chin, Evelyn had no choice but to tilt her head upward.
“…Your Highness?”
Vane called out to Rexfail in a puzzled voice.
Evelyn felt the same confusion.
Why isn’t he stabbing me?
With that question in mind, Evelyn slowly lifted her lowered eyelids.
The man standing with the light behind him was difficult to see clearly.
Evelyn tried to read Rexfail’s expression, but failed because she could not see it.
All she could sense was that unreadable emotions were layered within his blazing eyes.
“How dare you cause a disturbance where His Highness is present!”
At that moment the noise outside grew louder.
It had started faintly, but as the commotion approached and could no longer be ignored, Vane burst open the door in anger.
Two nobles wearing elegant clothing hurried into the room.
“We greet the small sun of the Empire.”
“May the blessing of Remensias remain with the royal family forever.”
The people kneeling at Rexfail’s feet were figures Evelyn knew very well.
Every year on the anniversary of the Empress’s death, they would visit Rexfail.
They were Emery Marshall, the former chief lady-in-waiting of the Empress, and her husband, Marquis Herbert Marshall.
“I do not recall summoning you.”
“We did not realize you had come so far and thus our greeting was delayed.”
“It is an honor to serve under heaven.”
Even while her neck remained beneath the blade, Evelyn observed the situation.
Herbert Marshall greeted Rexfail calmly as though nothing unusual were happening.
It was as if Evelyn, who was facing death, did not exist at all.
In contrast, Emery Marshall looked visibly anxious.
Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Evelyn read resentment in Emery’s gaze.
It was not surprising.
The body Evelyn now possessed was likely Herbert Marshall’s illegitimate child.
To Emery Marshall, that meant proof of her husband’s betrayal.
Then why…?
That was why the pity and affection in her eyes made no sense.
Why is Herbert, who should be my biological father, pretending not to know me… while Emery feels sorry for me?
Is there some other circumstance I don’t know?
While Evelyn was lost in confusion, the conversation between Rexfail and the Marquis Marshall finally turned toward her.
“Is she your daughter?”
“What a strange thing to say.”
“You know that my only child was the late Gerard.”
Even though his hair had turned gray, Raven’s appearance closely resembled Marquis Herbert.
Evelyn herself was certain the body she possessed resembled him.
Yet he lied without hesitation.
Evelyn revised her evaluation of Marquis Herbert, who had been praised as an honest and upright man.
Regardless of her thoughts, the conversation continued.
“Then killing her should not matter.”
“Do as you wish. There is nothing more to say.”
“Herbert…”
The only one unsettled by the situation was Emery Marshall.
The man holding the sword, the person being threatened, and even the threatened woman’s father were calm.
Only Emery could not sit still.
“Your Highness, please forgive the child.”
“She knows nothing and was merely born.”
Evelyn sighed.
If those words were truly Emery’s feelings, then the noble reputation she was known for must have been real.
In that case, Emery should not have to endure something like this.
Begging for the life of her unfaithful husband’s illegitimate child.
“Well, she looks old enough to take responsibility for the words she spoke and the things she did.”
“…Ray… Raven was never in her right mind since birth.”
“That is why…”
That anxiety was genuine.
Evelyn suddenly became curious about the existence called Raven.
A child ignored by her biological father, yet defended by the wife who shared no blood with her.
And somehow connected to the Embrio family as well.
I don’t understand.
I don’t understand anything.
There was too little information to make any guesses.
She felt lost.
“Aren’t you going to kill her?”
“Herbert!”
As silence lingered, Herbert Marshall urged the Crown Prince.
Emery Marshall, her face pale, grabbed her husband’s arm.
“Did you not say you would kill her?”
“Please carry out your will, Your Highness.”
A strange silence filled the room.
Those who knew the circumstances, including Vane, wondered briefly if the information they knew had been wrong.
Yet anyone could see from Raven’s identical eyes, ear shape, and nose that she was Herbert’s blood.
Still, Herbert seemed completely indifferent to Raven’s death.
No, he seemed to want it.
“Ha.”
Evelyn knew Rexfail was looking at her strangely, but she could not stop the weak laughter escaping her.
Both in her previous life and this one, she had been abandoned by her father.
The situation felt absurd.
A fierce anger surged within her.
She herself did not know where such intense emotion had been hiding.
But the burning fury was clear and undeniable.
Maybe I was born because of you, but I am not a pawn you can use and discard whenever you please.
Do not try to control my life, my fate, and my death as you wish.
For the first time, a soul that had always endured quietly rebelled against the path laid out for it.
Refined anger piled up, turning the spark into flames.
“Your Highness.”
She reached out her hand.
As she had once done before, she placed her hand on Rexfail’s thigh.
She felt him flinch beneath her palm.
Back then I obeyed the situation.
I tried not to go against the flow.
I was afraid everything would fall apart, so I stayed quiet.
That had been when she secretly resisted while assisting in the efforts to pressure the Crown Prince according to the wishes of Duke Embrio.
But now it was different.
She had died once and returned.
And now she was once again standing before death.
How could things possibly become worse than this?
A bitter smile rose on Evelyn’s lips.
The eyes of a woman who had decided to stop being a quiet observer and instead become the one shaping her own fate shone coldly.
“Rexfail.”
At the familiar accent and tone with which she spoke his short name, everyone’s attention turned toward her.
Vane’s mouth fell open in shock.
Fenril’s face twisted.
Gail simply watched quietly.
Rexfail’s expression revealed nothing.
Although she could not see the Marshall couple behind her, she could hear their sharp intake of breath.
“If someone wishes another person to die, what could be the reason?”
From Evelyn’s lips came perfect Delpeo-style Perantor.
Although Perantor was the language used across most of the continent, Delpeo-style referred specifically to the refined pronunciation used by nobles centered around the capital, Serenia.
Because regional accents had gradually faded over time, even people born and raised in Serenia rarely spoke it perfectly anymore.
Perfect Delpeo-style Perantor remained only among those who had received imperial-level education since childhood.
And the deceased Crown Princess had been famous for speaking it better than anyone.
“I am a double-edged sword.”
Evelyn whispered softly.
Only Rexfail, who stood closest, could hear her.
His cold gaze pierced her.
She continued speaking.
“Your Highness has two kinds of enemies.”
At first glance the noble faction and the imperial faction appeared to oppose each other.
But in truth they were symbiotic.
They were nothing more than starving wolves fighting over how many pieces of candy they could steal from the enormous confection that was the imperial family.
Evelyn pointed out that her existence could pressure both the Embrio family, the center of the noble faction, and the Marshall family, the center of the imperial faction.
Understanding her words, Rexfail’s eyes lit with interest.
Studying her carefully, he leaned slightly closer and whispered into her ear.
“How can you be sure that sword will not thirst for its master’s blood?”
“As long as you do not let go, the blade will not cut you.”
As long as the sword’s hilt was held firmly, its blade would face the enemy.
If an ally seemed suspicious, tighten the leash of surveillance.
It was an old proverb.
One that had long fallen out of use.
Only those who had received special education would recognize it.
Rexfail bared his teeth like a beast and laughed.
“Your words are correct.”
Like a starving predator that had finally found prey after wandering for hundreds of days, he grabbed Evelyn’s arms with powerful hands.
The unexpected strength made Evelyn’s eyes twitch briefly.
“You will be useful.”
With different intentions, the two joined hands.
It was a different choice from their previous life, when they had shared the same goal yet walked separate paths.
Evelyn wondered what kind of future this choice would bring her.
Then she suddenly felt his gaze and looked up.
Her eyes met Rexfail’s.
His unreadable eyes looked like her own uncertain future.
And for the first time in a while, Evelyn felt a little afraid.
