’She wants to meet me? No, how did she come here, anyway?’

Was she here to figure out if he was a reincarnate or not? If so, that would mean she was getting desperate. Well, he had been desperate too, so he could understand her somewhat.

Normal children would probably feel uncomfortable due to his attitude, and Adrian was well aware of that fact. Although it wasn’t outright suspicious, it was strange that she had visited specifically to meet him, considering how their first interaction went.

His mother, too, seemed slightly taken aback by the news. But moments later, her lips stretched into a soft smile as she spoke to the servant.

"Bring her here. Also, ask her if she has had breakfast yet. If she didn’t, then serve her the food, but if she already had her breakfast, then bring something light for her to drink."

The servant bowed deeply once again as he left.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed further.

***

’When is he coming back?’

Sitting in a guest room within House Ravenshade’s castle (mansion), Evangeline continued to fidget in her seat.

’Maybe I was too impulsive?’

After the engagement, Evangeline didn’t return to the Florivelle territory. Instead, she and her mother moved to a mansion not too far away from this place. And that mansion was also significantly larger than her own.

According to her parents, this was also a gift for her from House Ravenshade, which made her wonder if this noble family had the ability to print money or something. Still, she had nothing to complain about since she was the one benefiting.

So now that she had a clear goal to work towards, she simply couldn’t sit still and pass the time. She felt as though every passing moment was being wasted.

So, after somehow convincing her mother, she asked the driver, who was also gifted to her by the Ravenshades alongside a luxurious carriage, to bring her here.

But her mind was completely blank now that she was here. She knew that she needed to somehow get close to that boy, but she had no plans as to how she was going to accomplish that.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the servant she had been waiting for stepped inside and smiled at her politely.

"Young Lady, everyone is having breakfast in the dining hall, which includes Young Master Adrian, so the Lady of the house has ordered me to bring you there."

’Huh? Aren’t they supposed to ask me to wait until they finish eating? Why are they inviting me there instead?’

"Young Lady, would you please allow me to guide you?"

"Huh? Oh, um, sure?" she said in confusion, as she didn’t quite have the time to process his words.

Guided by the servant, she moved through the hallway and reached her destination as she stood in front of the door of the dining hall.

The servant turned to her.

"Young Lady, before you enter, could you tell me if you had breakfast yet or not?"

Evangeline opened her mouth to answer, but paused.

’Does this question have some deeper meaning?’

Her mother had asked her to have breakfast before leaving, but she had fooled her mother into thinking she did and left since she was feeling overly motivated back then. So, no, she hadn’t had her breakfast yet.

But maybe that question had a deeper meaning, and her answer would determine, like her manners or something. Her mother always taught her these kinds of things.

But she hadn’t taught her anything specifically about this situation, so she was clueless. What should she answer, that she did, or that she didn’t?

’Ugh, it’s too complicated.’

In the end, she chose to simply stop thinking as she replied.

"No, I haven’t had breakfast yet."

The servant smiled politely and pushed open the door as the dining hall came into her view.

Her attention was drawn to the four people sitting at the long dining table.

One was a beautiful girl who looked about seventeen, with long, deep, jet-black hair tied neatly behind her back into a ponytail, as her grey eyes remained focused on the food on her plate.

The other was a young boy with short golden hair and clear green eyes who smiled innocently as their eyes met. She remembered seeing him through the window on the day of the engagement.

On the head of the table sat the woman with shining golden hair and glass-like, clear green eyes, looking at her while smiling softly.

And right beside the golden-haired boy sat a boy with deep, jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes that were narrowed slightly as he continued to stare at her expressionlessly.

"Um, well, I..." she stuttered.

This sudden change of atmosphere was too much for her; it felt like she had suddenly barged into a meeting of high-class people and disturbed them.

Well, technically, she had indeed disturbed a high-class family during their family breakfast.

"First," the golden-haired woman addressed her. "You should take a seat. We will talk after that. The seat beside my daughter should be good."

Her body complied before her mind could process those words as she pulled the chair beside the black-haired girl and sat stiffly. Moments later, the door opened once again, and a few servants entered, serving her delicious-looking food.

The woman spoke once again.

"So, I heard that you wished to meet my son, and that was the reason for your visit, am I correct, Evangeline?"

She nodded meekly.

"Um, yes. My mama—I mean, my mother said that I should get closer to him since we are engaged now. So I thought I should try, which is, um, why I am here."

She offered an internal prayer to her mother.

’Mama, I’m sorry for using you as a shield. Still, I couldn’t think of anything better, so it’s not my fault and... um, please forgive me?’

Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation, prompting her to turn to her front, where her fiancé sat. She felt that his gaze became more intense, and even though his face remained expressionless, she was getting a strong feeling that he was giving her a look of suspicion.

"I see," the woman replied. "You wish to get closer to him since your mother asked you to."

"N-no, it’s not like that." She hurriedly explained. "I also wanted to get close to him. I just used my mother’s name so that you won’t write me off as childish."

The woman’s smile widened.

"So your mother never said those things. Little girl, lying is a bad habit."

’Ugh, I got caught.’

"So?" The woman rested her chin on her hand. "How are you planning to get close to him, exactly?"

Evangeline paused as she heard that question.

How was she going to get close to him? She didn’t really think about it. But now that she was asked that question, she needed to answer.

’I have to think carefully, a way to get close to him.’

She drove into her mind, trying to search for a way she could get close to him, a way the two of them could bond together. Just then, her mind paused at a single memory that was rather recent.

The memory of her sneak-out adventure.

’Yes! That’s it!’

Even though things had turned tense and dangerous by the end, she would say that she enjoyed the time she had spent. Exploring the city was a rather fun experience for her, especially because she hadn’t been able to experience that properly before.

And from what her father had told her, the boy in front of her had it way worse. He had never gone outside the mansion and had barely interacted with people who weren’t from the mansion. He would probably enjoy such an experience even more than she had.

So it was clear what answer she needed to give as she opened her mouth with a confident expression.

"I want the two of us to regularly go out and spend time in the city. I think sharing the same experiences will help us bond quickly."

As she finished speaking, Evangeline secretly glanced at the woman. The woman seemed to be contemplating something, as if she were unsure. But it was hard to tell since the woman always seemed to keep her expression somewhat vague.

After a few moments of silence, the woman smiled at her.

"Sure, I see no problem with that. I believe one knight should be enough protection, so I will assign someone."

’Huh? No, wait a minute.’

"Knight? You mean we will have someone following us around all the time? That’s a bit..."

That wasn’t the kind of experience she was hoping for. It would feel strange if a tall figure constantly followed behind them. It just wouldn’t give the sense of freedom she was hoping for.

"Little girl," the woman spoke sternly. "Taking a knight with you is the very basic protection; it is not negotiable. I can’t allow you to go outside, otherwise."

Evangeline paused and thought for a bit. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Then," she replied with some hesitation. "What if that knight protects us in secret? They can protect us while staying hidden from sight."

The woman once again fell into thought. Every passing moment made her nervousness grow.

But just when her nervousness was about to reach its peak, the woman smiled at her once again.

"I believe that can be arranged."