Chapter 12

Evelyn felt complicated about this.

She hadn’t expected to hear about Fenris in such an unexpected place. 

As mentioned earlier, Fenris was a supporting male lead and one of the troublesome characters. While he didn’t outright despise or insult Evelyn like some other characters, he tormented her through underhanded methods like kidnapping and imprisonment. 

In any case, from Evelyn’s perspective, he was a madman she absolutely did not want to encounter. He was so good at deceiving people with a sly smile. 

And the biggest victim of that would be…

“Didn’t he have another clash with His Highness Nosellerton a few days ago?”

“Yes, it seems the commotion was quite significant this time.”

Like the ladies’ conversation suggested, Fenris, the illegitimate prince, had a poor relationship with his half-brother, the Crown Prince Nosellerton.

Although Fenris was an illegitimate child, he was exceptionally talented, and Nosellerton, despite being the legitimate heir, felt threatened by him. 

Their respective supporters clashed, escalating their rivalry into a fierce power struggle, which eventually turned into a bloody battle for the throne. 

However, it was natural for the illegitimate Fenris to be overshadowed by the legitimate Nosellerton, so Fenris had to overcome this obstacle in his own way.

The method he chose was to not hesitate to use schemes and tricks to attack Nosellerton. Nosellerton also actively listened to the advice of his close aide, Dyffrin, leading to quite a fierce battle between the two.

Given the state of the royal family, talks about Fenris and Nosellerton even reached the dress shop where the ladies gathered.

Of course, Evelyn had no interest in how much Fenris and Nosellerton fought. What mattered to her was that getting involved with Fenris would be extremely exhausting.

In the original story, the kind-hearted Evelyn got entangled with Fenris when she found him collapsed in an alley after being ambushed by Nosellerton. 

‘It was described as raining like this that day as well.’ 

Feeling a strange unease, Evelyn listened to the ladies’ conversation again.

“What was the cause of the commotion this time?”

“His Highness Nosellerton fell from his horse during the recent hunting competition. Prince Fenris apparently brought it up in front of many people.” 

“Oh dear…”

‘Hmm… ‘

On the day Evelyn found the collapsed Fenris in the original story, the topic the ladies were discussing now was similar to that day. 

Suddenly gripped by a sense of unease, Evelyn decided to simplify her outing plans for the day.

‘I’ll just get the dress fitted and then immediately get back on the carriage to return to the manor.’ 

It seemed like the best course of action.

Initially, she had planned to visit the tea shop that sold tea leaves and the store that sold embroidery threads since she was already in town. 

Evelyn waited impatiently for her turn. She wanted to get the dress fitted and return to the manor as soon as possible. 

As if sensing her wish, the shop clerk soon called her.

“Lady Evelyn.” 

Evelyn quickly selected a few fabrics in yellow shades that matched her auburn hair from the new collection and ordered her dress. She requested the design be the most popular one currently.

Merrilyn, who was holding an umbrella, looked at the hurrying Evelyn with a puzzled expression and asked, 

“My lady… Did you remember something you had forgotten?”

“I just think it’s better to return before the rain gets heavier.” 

Even if it was an unnecessary worry, it was never a bad idea to be cautious of Fenris. Getting involved with him would only complicate things again.

After having the dress fitting completed, Evelyn asked to have the shop send a letter to her mansion when the dress was complete and then left the dress shop. 

As she looked around for the carriage, Merrilyn said, 

“The carriage was parked in that alley. We couldn’t leave it on the road.” 

It was a short walk to where the carriage was. Evelyn shared an umbrella with Merrilyn as they went. 

Splash, splash, the puddles on the ground splattered, wetting the hem of Evelyn’s dress. 

Just as Evelyn lifted the wet hem slightly, 

“Oh my…!” 

Merrilyn suddenly stopped. She stared wide-eyed at something in the corner of the alley.

Following her gaze, Evelyn turned her head. A blood-soaked man collapsed on the garbage pile. 

“There’s someone collapsed over there!” 

Merrilyn exclaimed in shock. 

‘Of all times to find a fallen person…’

Evelyn felt a chill run down her spine. She had a feeling that the man would be exactly who she expected.

“My lady, what should we do…?”

“……”

“If we leave him like this, he might die…”

Part of her wanted to pretend she didn’t see, but Merrilyn was right – Evelyn didn’t want to read in the newspaper later that someone had died here.

Eventually Evelyn forced out a stiff voice.

“…Well, it’s best we take a look.”

Evelyn thought she should at least identify who the person was first.

With an anxious heart, she walked into the alley and looked at the fallen man.

‘…It’s Fenris.’

His face was covered in blood, but his distinct features were still visible. Amidst the disheveled black hair dampened by the rain, a noble, princely face could be seen.

There wouldn’t be many handsome men comparable to Dyffrin. To confirm, she looked at the back of his hand, and indeed, there was a long scar. It was a mark from when Fenris got injured during sword practice as a child.

Meanwhile, Merrilyn, unaware that the collapsed man was Fenris, covered her mouth in surprise and said,

“Oh dear, he looks quite seriously injured…”

Evelyn bit her lip.

‘This is troublesome.’

Having seen the collapsed person, she couldn’t just ignore him, regardless of who he was. If she left now, she didn’t know what would happen to Fenris. Just as Merrilyn said, he might actually die. She couldn’t let a person die just to avoid a troublesome future.

Evelyn thought deeply about how to resolve this situation.

In the original story, Evelyn found the collapsed Fenris, and had him brought to the manor by carriage to be treated. 

Once Fenris regained consciousness, he quietly slipped out of the manor without meeting Dyffrin who had returned in the evening. If Dyffrin had known an unknown man was brought in, he wouldn’t have taken it well.

After fleeing that day, Fenris wanted to meet Evelyn again, who had saved him. By the tricks of fate, they met again on the street, and Fenris approached her.

Recalling the original story, Evelyn’s eyes widened. There was a hint on how to prevent Fenris from falling for her.

“Merrilyn, there’s an infirmary nearby, right?”

“Yes, I know there’s one not far from here.”

“Then you go to that infirmary and get someone to come. I’ll stay here and look after this person.”

It was a very simple method. If she didn’t personally take care of Fenris, there would be no unnecessary chances for Fenris to fall for her.

“Oh! Understood.”

Merrilyn turned to walk away but then stopped and handed over the umbrella she was holding.

“My lady, I’ll be back soon, so please stay dry. You’ve been coughing lately too.”

Since they only had one umbrella, if Merrilyn gave it to her, she would have to go get the doctor in the rain.

Evelyn shook her head.

“You take it.”

“But…”

“I’ll wait down there.”

Evelyn pointed to the porch of a nearby building that jutted out beside the alley.

She could stay there without getting wet until Merrilyn returned.

Seeing Merrilyn hesitate with a reluctant expression, Evelyn spoke again.

“Go quickly. He looks to be in serious condition.”

Merrilyn glanced at the collapsed man, then nodded resolutely and walked off with the umbrella.

“…Yes! I’ll be quick.”

Once Merrilyn disappeared, Evelyn walked under the porch to take shelter from the rain. A puddle had formed below, soaking her shoes.

She thought about how it had been a long time since it had rained like this and looked up at the foggy sky. 

Through the raindrops, she heard a groan.

“Ugh…”

Evelyn’s gaze dropped to the ground.

Fenris seemed to have regained consciousness, as he was moaning in pain.

As the pained sounds continued to escape his lips, Evelyn carefully asked,

“…Are you awake?”

But there was no response. It was likely just an unconscious vocalization of his agony.

Seeing Fenris’ agonized expression, Evelyn felt the seriousness of his condition. She tried not to touch his body as much as possible, but she needed to get him out of the rain.

If he stayed out in the rain like this, he might suffer from hypothermia. Though Merrilyn had gone to get a doctor, she had no idea when they would return.

Since he was still unconscious, she could afford this small kindness.

Evelyn stepped away from the porch and approached Fenris. She gently placed a hand on his forehead, finding his skin ice-cold.

‘I need to move him quickly.’

Evelyn grabbed one of Fenris’s arms with both hands and dragged him. She wished she could just lift him, but his build was as large as Dyffrin’s, making it impossible for her slender frame. Even just dragging him was an immense struggle.

After slowly pulling Fenris, she finally managed to move him under the porch, out of the rain. Now that he was no longer getting wet, his body temperature might at least be maintained a bit.

As she breathed a sigh of relief, a pool of red liquid started to spread on the ground towards her feet.

‘What is this…?’

Following the trail of blood, Evelyn found its source – the spot where Fenris had been lying. A mix of rainwater and blood had pooled there. He must have been bleeding continuously.

Alarmed, Evelyn examined Fenris’s body more closely. There was a long vertical wound on his forearm, as if it had been stabbed by something.

If he had been bleeding this much since earlier, he had already lost a lot of blood. Evelyn felt a different kind of chill run down her spine. He might really die at this rate.

Evelyn took out a handkerchief she had embroidered with lavender from her pocket. She tightly wrapped it around Fenris’ bleeding arm.

It was clumsily done, but it should at least stem the bleeding to some degree.

Evelyn anxiously looked towards the entrance of the alley.

‘Why are they taking so long…?’