Ch.110Blood and Iron Rejects You (6)

Evan’s body stiffened suddenly.

Not only was Irene’s expression unusual, but the fact that Irene and Scarlet had met face-to-face already gave him a bad feeling. These were two people he had hoped would avoid meeting each other. Now that they had met, all Evan could do was silently observe their conversation.

“Um… hello?”

“Miss Scarlet Terazein?”

“Yes, yes. That’s me…”

Scarlet flinched when she saw Irene’s face. Even after briefly making eye contact, she couldn’t help but withdraw at the cold something in that gaze. She wondered if she had done something wrong, but all she had done was meet the knight she’d heard about in rumors.

It was just admiration and curiosity. People around her often said Evan Fried was a bad person, but she couldn’t help being curious. After all, he was the protagonist of rumors constantly circulating in the imperial capital.

With that pure curiosity and admiration, she had only wanted to shake his hand once, but Irene seemed to read even that intention and shot Scarlet an even sharper look. She was like a fox. On the outside, she pretended to be innocent, blinking her eyes as if she knew nothing. But once she turned her back, she was the type to mutter her sinister thoughts to herself.

As someone who had recently been putting effort into socializing, Irene made this judgment about Scarlet immediately upon seeing her. In truth, whether she was actually fox-like wasn’t important. The problem was simply that the woman approaching Evan happened to be Scarlet Terazein.

As Irene’s eyes narrowed, Scarlet trembled and bowed her head deeply. Her face had turned so pale that she looked genuinely frightened, which made Irene withdraw her gaze with a strange smile.

“Evan, no. Please don’t approach him carelessly.”

“…Him?”

“Yes, him. What rumors might spread if a man who already has someone meets with another woman? If you really want to talk to him, I’ll permit it if it’s where I can see you.”

Irene’s cheeks were flushed as she said “him.” It was quite embarrassing to use a term of endearment she wouldn’t normally use. Evan felt the same way, ignoring the heat rising to his face while his mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

‘Him?’

They had always called each other by name, but being referred to with such an endearment felt quite different. Having completely forgotten that Scarlet was standing in front of them, Evan stood behind Irene and swallowed dryly.

“Now please go. He’s a busy person.”

“……”

“Oh my, has our young lady caused any offense? I apologize.”

For a brief moment, while Evan was distracted, an elderly butler appeared, causing Evan to frown. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sense the presence at all, but the movements were too stealthy for a mere butler. Moreover, the fact that this person belonged to the Terazein family drew Evan’s attention.

“…No offense was caused. It seemed like she just came to exchange greetings. However.”

The elderly butler’s eyes curved gently. As if showing no hostility, sunlight reflected in his dark eyes, making them sparkle. Evan slowly withdrew his gaze and smiled.

“I didn’t realize you were standing there. You startled me a bit.”

“I’m just an old man with little presence. Hehe. Young lady, we should return now. His Majesty is waiting.”

“Ah, right.”

Nodding at the butler’s words, Scarlet gave a small bow to Irene. As she repeatedly bowed her head apologetically, Irene let out a faint sigh and looked at Scarlet’s face. Red hair, and eyes even redder than her hair.

After taking in her innocent-looking face, Irene withdrew her hand, and Scarlet finally retreated hesitantly, disappearing from Irene’s sight.

After Scarlet disappeared, Irene, who had been staring blankly into space, turned her gaze toward Evan.

“Evan.”

“…Yes.”

Evan unconsciously straightened his posture at Irene’s voice. Though he hadn’t done anything wrong, something in Irene’s tone gave him the instinct that he should act this way. Irene looked at Evan for a moment, then finally smiled bitterly and leaned her forehead against his chest.

How… if she let her guard down even a little, another woman would approach him in that moment.

“No. How could Evan be at fault?”

It must be her own fault for having someone too outstanding as her lover. After briefly looking at the spot where Scarlet had disappeared, Irene took Evan’s hand and continued walking.

“But were you outside?”

“……”

Irene couldn’t answer that question until they returned to the palace. When she actually bought something, she found it impossible to tell Evan what it was.

#

Back in the room, Evan explained everything he had discussed with the Emperor to Irene. From the fact that the black mages were aiming for the resurrection of the ancient dragon Mavet, to the revelation that the “red moon” they spoke of actually referred to a total lunar eclipse.

After hearing that the Terazein, Fried, and Hatan families were connected to the Annihilation, Irene looked at Evan with a somewhat cautious expression.

“Will you be alright?”

“I’m not sure.”

The Fried family. Others might see it as him having to deal with his own family. But Evan didn’t have much thought about it. It wasn’t really his family to begin with, was it? And even if he truly was Evan Fried, he clearly wouldn’t have had much attachment to the family.

“But it’s not an immediate concern anyway.”

The Emperor had dismissed the Fried and Terazein matters as something to deal with later. If there was something that needed to be handled more quickly, it would probably be the Hatan family, but more important than that was the matter of the ancient dragon Mavet.

The best outcome would be to prevent the summoning itself, but would that even be possible? The ancient dragon Mavet, the dragon that the founding Emperor Alar himself had slain with Ascalon. Its power was said to have enveloped the entire continent, capable of destroying mountains and darkening the sky single-handedly—a being of legend.

It was ridiculous enough that there was a group trying to bring such a being into reality, but the thought that such a being might actually manifest made his head throb. However, there was something strange.

‘…Why didn’t this happen in the original story?’

This was still long before the original story was supposed to begin. Or rather, perhaps the original story was just about to start now. Since “You with Rose Thorns” began with Scarlet coming to the imperial capital from the countryside, it would be more accurate to say that the original story had started earlier than he had known.

But many things were different.

Roman was gone, and he now knew that the Hatan, Fried, and Terazein families had some connection to the Annihilation. This was completely different from the original story, where no families connected to the Annihilation were found, and instead the Yuris family was accused of treason and executed.

If the Annihilation could summon the ancient dragon Mavet, the original story should have depicted the empire being destroyed by Mavet. But the Annihilation was slaughtered by the Crown Prince, their “Master,” yet they survived and continued to resist endlessly.

But was the Annihilation he knew really so weak that they would be so helplessly defeated by the Crown Prince as their Master?

‘It feels off.’

Almost like a scripted play, the Annihilation was defeated so helplessly that it felt strange. Despite being strong enough to defeat a Master like the Crown Prince, they were continuously and helplessly defeated by him. Even high-ranking officials were killed by the Crown Prince, and stupidly, they were caught targeting Scarlet and suffered a crushing defeat.

They lost a significant portion of their forces, and by the time the Yuris family was destroyed on charges of treason, they were preparing for a final battle with the Annihilation.

‘…If there really is a script.’

If the Annihilation deliberately allowed themselves to be defeated by the Crown Prince, what benefit could they gain from it? Perhaps it was because of the variable that was himself, Evan Fried? But thinking about such things made everything too complicated.

What was Evan Fried doing in the original story? If he had joined the Annihilation, why didn’t he appear prominently? What about Roman? What about Hatan? Why did they maintain silence?

“Evan?”

Evan’s contemplation was broken by Irene’s voice. Having finally escaped from his uncontrollable thoughts, Evan smiled faintly at Irene. Trying to consider the original story made the situation too complex and tangled to find answers. But one thing was clear: he was Irene’s knight.

No matter how complicated the situation, one thing was certain—all he needed to do was protect Irene.

“You suddenly seemed lost in thought. Do you have something on your mind?”

“If you’re asking about worries… yes, I do.”

Sitting on the bed, Evan moved closer to Irene and naturally took her hand. His sly smile was something she hadn’t seen in a while, and Irene blushed and shrank back slightly at his expression. She wondered what he was going to say this time. As Irene glanced sideways at Evan, he, who had been smiling all along, moved his lips.

“Why don’t you call me ‘him’ like you did earlier in normal situations?”

“…Ah.”

“You usually call me by name, but will you only call me that in front of others?”

“Ah, no, that’s…”

Trying to explain her reason, Irene recalled why she had called him that and firmly closed her mouth. How could she admit that she had called him that out of jealousy right in front of him? Using that term of endearment in front of Scarlet was meant to warn her not to make advances on him while she was watching.

She was the young mistress of the Yuris family, symbolizing iron and blood. It was a rather explicit way for someone of iron and blood to reject a woman like Scarlet. But trying to say this in front of Evan, Irene kept moving her lips while glancing at him. She wouldn’t mind calling him that if he asked, but somehow she just couldn’t bring herself to say it right now.

“Hmm, what should I call you, Irene? ‘Darling’? Or perhaps… like earlier.”

Playfully, with his characteristically sly smile, Evan grabbed Irene’s hand and pulled her closer, slowly opening his mouth.

“Him?”

As Irene’s face turned completely red, Evan chuckled and gently released her hand. She had said it so easily earlier, but now she couldn’t. He knew she was jealous of Scarlet, but teasing her like this had its own charm. Of course, “him” was a term women used for their lovers, so he couldn’t call her that.

As Evan laughed playfully, Irene slapped his arm and brushed her reddened cheeks. He was teasing her again… despite telling him not to do that so many times, his attitude never changed. But she couldn’t help but smile slightly because she didn’t really mind it. She shouldn’t keep reacting to this.

As her insides heated up, she took a sip of the cold lemon tea, which made her feel a bit better and softened her expression.

Lemon tea? Evan stared at the teacup Irene was drinking from. Did Irene like lemon tea? Since she usually only drank Darjeeling, it seemed quite unexpected that she would like this.

“Do you like lemon tea?”

“No, not particularly.”

Still feeling a bit parched, Irene smacked her lips and picked up the teacup again. Lately, she couldn’t taste food properly and often craved sour things. Strangely, she had been craving sourness, and as she inhaled the scent of the lemon tea, she moved her lips.

“I’ve just been craving sour flavors lately.”

Craving sour flavors? At those words, Evan simply thought it was natural. Isn’t it normal to eventually get tired of always drinking the same thing? That aside, Evan’s gaze shifted to the package Irene had brought.

It seemed like she had bought quite a lot, but she hadn’t mentioned anything about it to him.

Realizing that Evan’s gaze had turned to the package, Irene’s shoulders flinched. She wanted to say, “Ta-da, it’s a headband!” and show it to him, but her last remaining bit of shame was preventing her from doing so.

As Irene desperately racked her brain, she remembered what the maid had told her, and she grabbed Evan’s shoulders and blurted out loudly without thinking.

“Evan!”

“…Yes, Irene.”

Ahem. Irene cleared her throat and looked at Evan. She hoped he hadn’t noticed that she didn’t want to talk about the package. With that in mind, she carefully began to speak again.

“His Majesty said he’s holding a banquet. It seems he wants to celebrate your arrival before you leave.”

“A banquet, you say.”

Evan’s expression was quite ambiguous. He was always fine with attending banquets with Irene, but a banquet right when Scarlet was here? He wasn’t keen on it, but he couldn’t refuse a banquet held by the Emperor. As Evan reluctantly nodded, Irene seized the opportunity to start talking about various aspects of the banquet.

Evan was slightly surprised, knowing that Irene usually had almost no interest in social gatherings, and he inwardly smiled at her behavior.

It seemed she didn’t want to talk about what she had bought. Though he didn’t know what it was, he guessed she might be planning to celebrate his birthday, which wasn’t far off. Knowing his birthday was approaching, Evan found Irene’s behavior simply adorable.

‘You don’t have to get me anything.’

She gave him birthday presents every year, and by now, just her thoughtfulness was enough. Unlike before, he no longer disliked his birthday; now he actually looked forward to it. With that feeling, he gently stroked the back of Irene’s head, and she nestled into his embrace, sitting on his lap.

“About this banquet. If… never mind. It’ll be fine.”

Holding Irene from behind, Evan was about to suggest avoiding Scarlet but closed his mouth. At a banquet held by the Emperor, which most nobles would attend, how likely was it that Irene and Scarlet would encounter each other?

Surely, there was no way they would meet and fight.

Surely not.

Deliberately ignoring the anxiety rising within him, Evan held Irene tightly and simply smiled faintly.