Chapter 105: The Heroine Knows (IV).
The House token has been given and now the Alarie house power grows even more with the newfound alliance.
But... Lord Ein's sins still have not been completely forgiven.
Lady Evelyn's breath caught. "You best think of an explanation why you decided to leave the crown's side both to your father and to Dereck. I'm sure he's still not happy with what you did at the festival."
"Let him be angry, he won't understand the reason why even if I explained it over a thousand times to his face." He rose again, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. "We never did get along before, did we? Not at parties, not at balls, not even in the classroom. We were always at odds because of our political standing."
His gaze softened.
"The one thing we have in common is that we both care for her now." He gave a quiet laugh. "I have seen sides of you I never knew existed- sides I never expected to see. My days at the academy have become far more interesting with her in them."
"I... feel the same, I know Losimer as well. He's gotten attached to the girl. I think he likes her more than me. (Lady Evelyn) admitted. She shifted her weight to one leg, tapping a finger lightly against her arm as she looked him over. "We have both changed, I'm just not sure whether I should be impressed..."
Her lips curved. "Or concerned."
That drew a fuller smile from him, softer and more boyish than the ones he normally wore.
"How about grateful?"
A quiet laugh slipped from Lady Evelyn before she could stop it.
She turned her face slightly, as though hiding the fact that she had laughed at all.
"I suppose you're right. I'm grateful she came into both our lives."
Lord Ein's expression was gentle. He glanced down at the floor between them, and when he spoke again, his voice had lost its edge. "I hope you'll get to properly convey your feelings, Lady Alarie."
That caught Evelyn's full attention. Her posture straightened, and she lowered her arms entirely. A girl like her wouldn't know how to properly confess her feelings bare to the person she liked. She has just earned the title of friend and now she's hoping for the 'impossible'.
"When we first met," he said, his gaze distant now, fixed on some memory only he could see, "I remember what she told me." A faint smile touched his lips. "She said she would save me."
Lord Ein still.
His brows lifted, and for the first time in a while, he looked genuinely caught off guard. So the blonde girl already told her about the whole saving thing.
"She told you that?"
The villainess gave a small nod.
"She did. Her eyes were so determined back then- I didn't understand her words or why she wanted to save me. Even now I don't understand her completely but I want to." She let out a quiet breath through her nose, half amused by the memory. "At first, I thought it was nonsense. Some absurd line meant to lower my guard. I doubted her."
A soft chuckle slipped from Ein as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Funny," he murmured. "She said something similar to me."
That made Lady Evelyn look up at once. "She did?"
"Mnhmm." His lips curved faintly, the cat might as well be out of the bag if she already knows that Analissa is doing her best to save her.
"She said she wanted to become stronger. Strong enough to protect the people she cared about." His gaze flicked back to Evelyn, knowing now, a little amused. "I did not realize just how serious she was."
Lady Evelyn rested a hand on her hip, her shoulders relaxing despite herself.
"On the first day we were bound by the pact spell, she told me she wanted to train her body so she could save you." Her expression turned wry as Lord Ein continued to tell more of his tale. "I told her I would help her train. In exchange, she would help me with my family matters."
"She's... been doing all of that despite her studies. I can't believe she really is serious about saving me." Then something warm and entertained passed across her face, as though a final piece had fallen neatly into place.
"I didn't know that," she said.
For a moment, Lord Ein simply stared at her before getting into teasing. "Oh~ well, you know."
The villainess noticed the shift in his voice and expression and she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at once. "Why are you smiling like that?"
He looked away, but not before she caught the teasing glint in his eyes.
"No reason."
"Lord Ein."
That only widened his smile even more.
He folded his arms loosely across his chest, tilting his head as he studied her.
"So," he said lightly, "are you falling for her even more after hearing all the effort our dearest Analissa did for the one and only Evelyn Alarie?"
The question struck like an arrow.
Lady Evelyn froze.
Her shoulders went stiff, and all the composure she had carefully gathered threatened to crack.
"W-What sort of question is that?" she snapped, too quickly to sound convincing.
Lord Ein's smile deepened, amused now in earnest. "An honest one. I thought Alarie's prided themselves in being honest. Where's that now?"
Lady Evelyn looked away at once, jaw tightening. Heat crept up her neck despite her efforts to suppress it. "I... I am falling for her even more. I cannot lie, I want to tell her that when she wakes up but now is not the time. I want Analissa Blanchet to know of my feelings once I break my engagement with Dereck then..."
The villainess' fingers curled against her sleeve. For a moment, she said nothing. Then her expression softened- small, unwilling, but undeniably real.
She wants nothing more to tell the heroine of her feelings but the tied burdens of her responsibility of the engagement with the crown prince and the duty of being the future queen... divorce is still an option but it wouldn't be easily given.
Lord Ein blinked. His teasing face faded, replaced by something gentler. For once, Ein did not interrupt.
Lady Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
"I truly want to be with her, I thought about it and I want to break my engagement with the crown prince. She deserves to be with someone with no problems or burdens to worry about." she said softly. "It terrifies me how she'll do anything to save me even with the cost of her own life."
"She is foolish," (Lady Evelyn) murmured, though there was no heat in it.
"Stubborn. Reckless. Always throwing herself into danger as if she can somehow protect everyone with sheer will alone." Her fingers loosened at her side.
"And yet... when she looks at me, it feels as though I am not someone to be feared, or used, or endured." Her voice thinned. "Just... someone worth saving."
The villainess let out a quiet, embarrassed breath and turned her face away, though after a moment, she gave the faintest nod.
Terrifying indeed.
And cruel, too.
For what place did this kingdom have for a love like theirs?
A bitter thought flickered across her mind, but before she could dwell on it, Lord Ein's expression shifted. The teasing warmth left his features, replaced by something sharper- something calculating. His fingers tapped once against his arm, the habit of a man already several moves ahead in a game no one else realized had begun.
'It is a shame, he thought, that this kingdom has no place for such love to bloom.'
But laws were made by those who sat above everyone else.
And laws could be changed.
His gaze settled on Evelyn Alarie, no longer merely as the crown prince's enemy, nor as the feared heiress of a troublesome house, but as a piece on the board that could overturn the entire game. The Alarie family's name was stained, yes- but their influence was undeniable, and their military might eclipsed every noble house across the four kingdoms.
To waste power like that would be foolish.
If one wished to create a world where love could survive unscathed, then one first needed power enough to protect it.
A throne.
A kingdom bent to a new rule.
Lord Ein folded his hands behind his back and inclined his head, though the glint in his eyes remained dangerously bright.
However, their military prowess is truly number one in the four kingdoms!
'With that kind of power it would be a waste not to use it. To make a world you like first, you'll have to be on top of the throne with nothing standing in your way.' He saw the woman in front of her as a mere pawn but if Evelyn Alarie listens to his advice everything will go according to plan and they can build a world where their love can be safe.
"I have a suggestion, my lady," he said. "Will you hear it?"
Evelyn's brow arched at once, sensing the shift in him. There was curiosity in her gaze now, but also caution. She had seen that look before- in strategists, in generals, in nobles who smiled as they moved entire lives like pieces across a board.
"Go on," she said.
A grin tugged at his mouth, subtle and controlled, the smile of someone who enjoyed having pieces in his hands.
"Of course," he said lightly, "it is only a suggestion."
He took a step closer, lowering his voice as though speaking of something that should not yet be heard by the walls.
"You already possess my house token. With it, you hold the beginnings of leverage. If you play your cards well, the other influential circles may begin to turn in your favor." His eyes held hers. "Evelyn Alarie... you could become Queen without ever needing a King at your side."
For the first time in several minutes, Lady Evelyn's composure faltered.
Her eyes widened, and her fingers twitched against the fabric at her sleeve.
"You mean..." she said slowly, the word leaving her like disbelief itself, "a revolution?"
Lord Ein's smile deepened, but he gave a small tilt of his head, as though amused by how crude the word sounded.
"I was thinking," he said smoothly, "that the kingdom might simply come under new management. Before he is to be crowned king, we'll gather all the house tokens and favors of the most powerful noble families by our side! So that they... will not need him anymore."
Lady Evelyn's gaze narrowed, it simply won't be enough. "That is not how succession works."
"Not ordinarily," (Lord Ein) said. "The royal line is protected by tradition, and the crown passes as it always has. But there is one exception."
He lowered his hand and stepped closer, his voice dropping.
"The royal election."
The villainess went still.
It was an old law.
Ancient, nearly forgotten, buried beneath centuries of peaceful succession. A measure not meant for ordinary disputes, but for extraordinary failure. The royal election could only be invoked when the heir to the throne- or the king himself- was deemed a danger to the kingdom: a tyrant in the making, a ruler consumed by cruelty, madness, or incompetence, someone whose reign would bring ruin upon the realm.
In such a case, the great noble houses had the right to convene and cast judgment.
Not to rebel.
To preserve the kingdom.
"The election is only called in times of grave crisis," (Lord Ein) continued. "When the next ruler is no longer seen as a protector of the realm, but as a threat to it. If enough of the highest houses agree that the crown prince would lead the kingdom into suffering, the line of succession may be challenged. Meaning you can be Queen without even needing to kill him!"
The words hung heavily in the air.
Then he smiled again, far too casually for the weight of what he had just suggested.
"Isn't it a wonderful idea?"
Lady Evelyn stared at him. For a moment, she could only stare.
Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her sleeve, her mind reeling as his words settled into place. On one hand, it was true: the royal election existed. It was old law, ancient and nearly forgotten, but not entirely dead. On the other hand...
No royal election had been called in centuries.
And to speak of invoking it now- against the crown prince, no less-
"This is treason," The villainess said at last, her voice low and sharp.
Lord Ein merely rolled his eyes, as though she had said something obvious.
"This is a suggestion," he corrected, lifting one shoulder in an easy shrug.
"A treasonous one, yes, but a suggestion nonetheless." His gaze sharpened. "And we both know Crown Prince Dereck is not fit to be king."
Lady Evelyn's brows drew together, but she said nothing, so he continued.
"He lacks restraint, foresight, and discipline. You know as much." (Lord Ein) spread his hands slightly. "He cannot even manage something as simple as a budget. He wasted the entire student council fund on a pointless whim."
That caught her off guard.
Her eyes widened, and her grip on her sleeve loosened.
"...I didn't know about that."
"Of course you didn't." His tone turned dry, he didn't have the heart to tell her that he used that same student council budget to pay for the painting commission of Analissa Blanchet's portraits. "He ordered us to keep it from you."
"..." Her gaze drifted downward, her thoughts churning. The very idea was madness. Dangerous madness. To move against the crown was to wager not only her own life, but the future of her house, her people, and perhaps the entire kingdom.
And yet...
If the crown prince truly became king, would the kingdom survive him?
Would Analissa?
Would any of them?
Lord Ein watched her carefully, but for once he did not press. He let the silence do its work. At length, Lady Evelyn lifted her head, her expression troubled but composed once more.
"I'll think about it."
For the first time since he began speaking of the royal election, the confidence in Lord Ein's face faltered. The dangerous ease he had worn so well faded, replaced by something quieter- something almost regretful. He looked away for a brief moment, as if only now realizing how far he had gone.
"...Take your time," he said, his voice no longer carrying that playful sharpness from before. "My apologies. I may have pushed too much."
His fingers twitched lightly at his side before curling into his palm.
"You should prioritize your health first. Both of your health," he corrected, a little more softly this time.
A faint, awkward smile crossed his lips, but it lacked its usual confidence.
"I suppose I should get going then."
For a moment, he remained where he stood, as though reluctant to leave things as they were. Guilt settled uncomfortably in his chest. He had meant to offer a path forward, a possibility, a future where neither Evelyn nor Analissa would have to bow their heads before a world that denied them- but perhaps he had gone too far, too quickly.
So instead of saying more, instead of trying to justify himself, he simply inclined his head and went to the door.
...
Clack!
The doors closed and the villainess soaks all of their conversation.
"To take over the throne..."She narrowed her eyes, already feeling a headache bloom at the thought of reaching for the very top of the food chain. Her fingers tightened around House Loucrat's token before she lowered her gaze to it, frowning. "Do I even deserve to be the Queen?"
A queen was not simply someone who sat on a throne and wore a crown.
A queen was meant to carry the kingdom on her shoulders.
To protect her people. To listen when they suffered. To make sure the hungry were fed and that no child was left to starve in the streets. To keep order within her land and peace beyond it. To watch over diplomacy, to maintain ties with neighboring countries, and to ensure that war did not come knocking at her people's door through pride or neglect.
A queen was meant to rule not for herself, but for everyone who placed their lives in her hands.
Lady Evelyn stared at the token in silence, her grip slowly loosening.
Could someone like her- someone feared, someone misunderstood, someone who had spent most of her life surviving rather than leading truly become that kind of ruler?
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