Chapter 168
At the knight’s words, everyone rushed toward Eve.
“Evi Alden?”
The knight, recalling the child’s clothes he had seen before, thought this child must be Evi and approached.
But the child stumbling down the mountain in a hurry was not Evi.
“Lady Eve!”
Realizing that this child was indeed Eve, the knight dismounted in shock and shouted,
“She’s here! Lady Eve is here!”
At the knight’s cry, the surrounding knights relayed the news back to their comrades.
Chlois, who had been scanning the other side, heard this and immediately ran madly.
“Eve!”
Like Ruska, whom they had found earlier, Eve’s appearance was dreadful.
If it weren’t for the tear streaks covering her face, it would have been impossible to tell whether this was a child or a clump of dirt.
Her condition was no different from the vagrants they had seen during wartime, and the knights swallowed their groans.
What could have possibly happened that every child they found was in such a state?
Chlois took the child from the knight.
The moment Eve confirmed that it was truly Chlois, she began to sob uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Hilde, who had rushed over, checked Eve’s condition.
“She’s weakened but has no serious injuries. We need to move her to a safe place immediately and let her rest while being examined.”
At Hilde’s words, the knights nearby visibly relaxed.
The most important person in this pursuit was Eve.
Having rescued her safely, at least half the mission had succeeded.
The remaining children were Arcel Kellan and Evi Alden.
One was the duke Kellan’s son, and the other was a child cherished by the Emperor.
Of course, both children needed to be found quickly, but honestly, after finding Eve, most of the knights exhaled in relief internally.
“Since Lady Eve is unharmed…”
“That’s really fortunate…”
The nearby knights brought Chlois into the discussion, starting to talk about who would escort the Emperor’s return to the palace.
Meanwhile, other knights offered water to Eve.
After drinking and catching her breath, Chlois immediately asked about the whereabouts of the other children.
“Eve, where’s Evi? And Arcel?”
“B-both of them…”
Eve wiped her tears and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
With a trembling voice, she recounted what had happened.
“Evi… just ran off. I tried to chase her, but… I came alone…”
She tried to explain that she had changed clothes with Evi, but Evi had gone somewhere else alone—before breaking down into tears again.
“Evi… Evi… Evi…”
Before the kidnapping, Eve had acted like she hated Evi more than anyone in the world.
Now, she was crying more pitifully than anyone.
“Your Majesty.”
Sir Rommel approached Chlois.
“Sir, there are still Siren and his remnants nearby. You must return quickly. We will pursue the remaining ones.”
Telling someone to leave immediately after finding Eve could sound cold to others.
But it was the right decision.
Chlois knew this. Under normal circumstances, regardless of his feelings, he would return to the palace with Eve according to protocol and leave the pursuit of the remaining children to the others.
Yet why…
Chlois lifted his head and gazed into the forest.
The child he considered his daughter was in his arms, but his eyes kept drifting toward the mountain forest.
He should return to the palace, to a safe place.
He needed to return, check on Eve’s condition, and wait for loyal knights to bring back the other children.
But his mind was entirely focused beyond his arms.
The rough dawn wind brushed past him.
At that moment, Chlois recalled the letter he had seen.
Lilian—her final words to him.
She had asked him to recognize their child.
Chlois handed Eve to Sir Rommel beside him.
“Papa?”
Eve looked at him with a surprised expression, as if asking why he was doing this.
Chlois smiled sadly and patted her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Then he immediately turned and ran toward the forest.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, where are you going?!”
Ignoring the voices calling after him, Chlois headed deep into the forest.
Even he didn’t know why he was doing this.
But there was no hesitation or wavering in his steps.
A child was hiding alone in the depths.
He had to find Evi.
“Gasp… gasp…”
Evi felt her breath reach the brink.
‘So heavy…’
Her wet clothes clung to her as she crossed the valley, making movement difficult.
On top of that, the mountain’s cool weather made her shiver no matter how frantically she moved.
Unconsciously, she pressed the back of her hand to her cheek.
Her whole body was growing cold, but her hand felt like it was on fire.
Normally, she would have wondered about it, worried, but now she couldn’t spare a thought for her hand.
‘This is too hard.’
She wanted to stop, curl up, and sleep right there.
Just falling asleep forever here… maybe it would make things less painful…
At that thought, her foot caught on an exposed tree root, and Evi’s small body tumbled to the ground.
She panicked. She had tripped over rocks before, but never over a tree root like this.
At that moment—
Thak!
A sound sliced through the wind, and a dagger flew into the tree next to her.
If she hadn’t fallen, it would have struck her head directly.
“…!”
Trembling in fear, she stared at the dagger lodged in the tree.
Then she heard footsteps pushing through the bushes.
‘What do I do…’
She wanted to run, but her body wouldn’t move.
Holding her breath, she silently wished that whoever was coming wouldn’t notice her and would just pass by.
‘Please… just let me go… please…’
But contrary to her prayers, the footsteps approached her directly.
Moments later, a figure appeared beyond the bushes.
It was Siren.
Seeing Evi crouched there, he frowned.
“Damn it, that’s not the brat!”
Siren gritted his teeth at the sight of Evi.
He realized there was only one child he had been chasing. Just as he was deciding whether to pursue the other child, he caught sight of a figure in brown moving in the faintly brightening sky.
‘That’s Eve.’
Siren set his sights on Eve.
No matter how much Chlois cherished her, the shock of harming the child he considered his own would be greater.
He had already decided what to do once he caught Eve.
He had no intention of taking her as a hostage to escape.
With Eve’s recognition as the princess delayed, he had already decided his next move.
He would kill Eve in a truly gruesome way.
When he had read Lilian’s letter again, Chlois had been so shocked that he had barely functioned for a week.
Even though he had recovered somewhat, a mind once shaken would surely remain fragile.
What if the child he awkwardly treated as a daughter were to die exactly as before?
Just imagining it made Siren’s lips curl into a smile.
How entertaining it would be to see a father who believed he had killed his daughter twice by his own foolishness crumble.
Siren thought about why he so desired Chlois’s downfall.
Everyone believed he would endure until the end out of loyalty to the former emperor and threaten Chlois.
‘No way.’
Siren knew better than anyone how foolish the former emperor had been.
A fool who only pursued luxury and pleasure.
A man who wanted everything to fall into his hands merely because he was born first.
Someone who harbored deep inferiority toward Chlois.
Before serving the former emperor, Siren had approached Chlois.
Wasn’t it natural to want to serve a talented royal on the verge of being named Crown Prince?
And he believed Chlois would immediately recognize his abilities.
Indeed, Chlois acknowledged his talent—but not in the way he expected.
“Your abilities are acknowledged, but your methods are not what I desire.”
Chlois returned the report he had submitted with a look of pity. Duke Kellan stood behind, giving a wry smile.
Chlois had chosen Duke Kellan as his aide, not Siren.
‘How impressive could your dream of the future be?’
Siren ground his teeth as he left. His methods weren’t wrong. Sacrificing a few people for maximum efficiency—what’s wrong with that?
Sacrifice a few for the benefit of many. How could Chlois not understand that?
Siren thought Chlois, as royalty, was unfit for the empire he dreamed of and sought out the former emperor.
At that time, the royal was far behind Chlois in every regard, wasting days on wine and women.
If he could manipulate such a person to place the former emperor on the throne…
If he could do that, it would prove his abilities more than anything.
Siren remembered Chlois and Duke Kellan’s faces.
He wanted to see them contort in frustration.
That twisted hatred grew ever deeper.
Events moved as Siren wanted.
In the end, the former emperor became Crown Prince instead of Chlois.
But Siren was not pleased. It wasn’t because he had guided him well.
Chlois had left the palace to marry the daughter of a rural lord, so the former emperor had, in anger, given the position to his firstborn.
He hadn’t won it by defeating Chlois; he had merely picked up what Chlois had discarded.
Although the former emperor rejoiced, Siren felt no happiness.
‘Chlois… Chlois…!’
The one he respected most was making the dumbest choices.
Is this the future you wanted? Did Duke Kellan, your supposed right-hand, support this decision?
‘Foolish.’
Even thinking so, Siren kept his senses alert to Chlois’s movements.
So much so that it was as if he didn’t even know whom he served.
