The Goal Is Alimony - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Fenris’ gaze slowly shifted towards where Evelyn was. Instinctively, she bowed her head slightly.
‘It had only been a day since he had fallen, covered in blood. How was he walking around the library so perfectly fine?’
Evelyn’s heart was pounding.
‘No, that’s not it.’
She had no real reason to avoid Fenris. She had helped him yesterday, but he hadn’t seen her anyway.
Evelyn straightened her posture. Then, she casually began to read the book she had intended to read.
Through the gaps between the pages, she could furtively feel Fenris’ gaze on her, but he quickly looked away.
He probably just glanced over when she made a sound.
When Evelyn stole another peek at him, he had lowered his fedora to further conceal his face. Now that someone was nearby, he seemed to be wary of being recognized.
Unperturbed by Fenris, she continued browsing the books she plans to borrow, hugging the ones in her arms.
She stood there for a while, choosing several more books.
The books she was holding precariously slipped from her hands.
‘Ah!’
Evelyn quickly crouched down to gather the fallen books. That’s when a large hand came into her field of vision. Looking up, she saw dark hair.
It was Fenris. Staring at his exposed face from up close, Evelyn blinked blankly.
He was focused on picking up the dropped books.
‘Fenris is generally quite kind to others…’
While he could sometimes become agitated and lash out like a madman, when he was not provoked, he tended to be polite and gentle – quite the contrast to the gruff Dyffrin.
Fenris neatly piled up the fallen books and handed them to Evelyn.
“There seem to be too many for you to carry alone, my lady”
Normally, Evelyn would have been delighted that he addressed her as “my lady,” but not this time.
Hiding her nervousness, Evelyn replied,
“It’s fine. I have a carriage waiting right in front of the library.”
Without another word, Fenris passed the books to her.
But for some reason, he didn’t go back to his spot. Instead, he stood still and stared at her intently.
After a while, he opened his mouth again.
“Excuse me…”
Fenris’ deep green eyes carefully scanned Evelyn’s face.
“Don’t you recognize me?”
Evelyn unconsciously hugged the book in her arms tighter.
“I’m not sure I don’t know what you mean.”
Fenris lightly glanced over her and spoke in a calm voice.
“I see. I must have been mistaken.”
“It’s okay. It happens.”
Fenris politely bowed his head.
“Forgive me. I’ll be on my way then.”
With that, he walked towards the door, taking one of the books with him.
‘Phew, that’s a relief.’
Just as Evelyn was inwardly sighing with relief,
“Ugh…”
Fenris suddenly bent over, groaning in pain. Alarmed, Evelyn quickly approached him.
His face had turned pale, his eyes tightly shut. Evelyn, with a worried expression, asked him,
“Are you alright?”
Fenris exhaled roughly, barely managing a nod. Fortunately, his breathing soon stabilized.
Belatedly, Fenris looked at Evelyn and spoke.
“Forgive me, my lady. I’ve caused you concern.”
“What happened…?”
“I recently treated an injury, but it seems to have reopened momentarily.”
Evelyn momentarily glanced at Fenris’ arm, where he had been injured before. Thankfully, there was no blood seeping through his white shirt.
Relieved, Evelyn turned her gaze back to Fenris, only to find him watching her intently.
His expression was peculiar.
‘…Did he notice that I unconsciously looked at his arm?’
But the glance had been fleeting. Though it made her a little uneasy, Evelyn maintained a calm demeanor.
Fenris’s voice broke the silence.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask a favor of you, my lady?”
Evelyn had a foreboding feeling, but she couldn’t outright refuse.
“What is it?”
“Since it seems the wound has reopened, I should hurry to the infirmary. If you don’t mind, could you please give me a ride to the one nearby?”
Evelyn hesitated.
Since she had mentioned having a carriage waiting outside the library, she couldn’t refuse without a good reason. As if sensing her dilemma, Fenris added,
“The infirmary is near the library. It will only take about 10 minutes.”
“…”
“And I will be sure to compensate you for your trouble.”
The word “compensate” was a frightening one.
With Dyffrin, she had to accept his generosity and then demand a hefty alimony when they divorced. But with Fenris, it was the opposite – she had to avoid accepting any favors from him and she had to make sure he felt no gratitude toward her. Otherwise, the gratitude might come back later as something terrifying, like kidnapping or confinement.
Warning signals were flashing in her mind.
But it was only 10 minutes, so she couldn’t be too harsh in refusing.
‘Well…it’s just 10 minutes.’
After much deliberation, Evelyn spoke up.
…Alright.”
Fenris gave her a gentle smile.
“Thank you.”
“But there’s no need for compensation. It’s not a big deal to give you a ride.”
Evelyn spoke firmly, then checked the time. It was almost time for her to meet Merrilyn again.
“Follow me.”
Grabbing the book she intended to borrow, Evelyn walked ahead.
As they approached the area where the carriage was waiting near the main entrance of the library, she saw Merrilyn waiting for her.
“Please wait here for a moment. Since it’s a hired carriage, I need to inform the coachman of the detour in advance.”
Fenris nodded.
As Evelyn pretended to head towards the coachman, she approached Merrilyn. Blinking in surprise, Merrilyn asked,
“My Lady, who’s the person behind you?”
“Merrilyn. That person is the one we rescued yesterday.”
It seemed that she needed to tell Merrilyn about this fact in advance, so that she wouldn’t be surprised or pretend not to know later on.
“What?!”
When Merrilyn let out a loud exclamation, Evelyn quickly shushed her, pressing a finger to her own lips.
“How on earth did you meet him again…?”
“I ran into him by chance, and he said his wound had reopened. So I need to give him a ride to the nearby infirmary, but you absolutely cannot let on that you know him from about what happened yesterday.”
“Why…”
“Even though we helped him, the fact remains that he was covered in blood just yesterday. He could be a dangerous person, and I really don’t want to get tangled up with him.”
Evelyn’s plausible excuse seemed to be understood by Merrilyn, who nodded in agreement.
“I understand…”
Evelyn swiftly turned around and gestured for Fenris to come closer.
Comprehending the cue, Fenris walked over.
Evelyn first helped Merrilyn into the carriage and then looked at Fenris. He seemed to be inspecting the carriage.
Since a few days ago, the family carriage had been sent for repairs, so they were using a hired carriage, which should look exactly like a regular one.
After Fenris had thoroughly examined the carriage, he climbed aboard. Evelyn followed, and the wheels began to roll.
The air inside the carriage with the three of them was awkward.
Merrilyn was finding it difficult to pretend she didn’t recognize Fenris from yesterday, so she kept looking elsewhere, and Evelyn was worried about her behavior.
Evelyn could only hope that Fenris would not notice the strange atmosphere inside the carriage.
Just then, Fenris spoke to Evelyn.
“If it’s okay, may I ask for your name?”
Without realizing it, Evelyn replied cautiously,
“Why do you ask for my name?”
“Since you have bestowed such kindness upon me, it would only be proper to know your name.”
Evelyn did not want to reveal her name, but refusing to do so would seem even more suspicious.
“…It’s Evelyn.”
“Lady Evelyn.”
Evelyn had deliberately omitted her family name, not wanting to reveal her identity. However, Fenris did not seem curious about which noble house she belonged to, and instead turned his gaze to Merrilyn.
“And what about you?”
“I, I am Merrilyn.”
Merrilyn couldn’t hide her flustered expression, seemingly surprised that Fenris had also addressed her.
“I am Fenris.”
Evelyn found it unexpected that Fenris would reveal his real name. Given that he had been attacked by someone hired by Nosellerton just yesterday, she thought he would be more cautious about his identity for the time being.
Merrilyn also murmured,
“His name is the same as the second prince’s…”
However, just knowing his name would not be enough for them to realize that the man sitting before them was indeed the second prince. How could they possibly imagine that this man was the prince?
Evelyn could only hope that the carriage would arrive at the infirmary soon.
The carriage fell silent once again.
As Evelyn awkwardly averted her gaze, she suddenly noticed the book Fenris had borrowed.
[Antidote Potion Recipe]
Evelyn realized that Fenris had not borrowed that book to make an antidote, but rather to find a suitable poison.
With his knowledge of alchemy, he could reverse-engineer the antidote recipe to discover how to create a deadly poison. Fenris likely intended to have the poison made by an unlawful apothecary in the back alleys, and then use it to take revenge on Nosellerton for what happened yesterday.
However, Evelyn decided to stay silent, indifferent to whether he sought revenge on Nosellerton or not.
‘He can do as he pleases.’
In the original story, Evelyn would have tried to stop Fenris from harming Nosellerton after learning of his intentions. Fenris reacts fiercely at first, but later becomes more enamored with Evelyn for her consideration, which leads him to fall for her even more.
This time, she had no intention of giving Fenris any warnings. Her relationship with him should end here, as a chance encounter where she simply gave him a ride.
Evelyn worried that something might happen during the carriage ride, but the 10-minute journey was short, and they soon arrived at the infirmary Fenris had mentioned.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“It was not a long distance.”
In response to Evelyn’s words, Fenris shook his head.
“Since I was able to hitch a ride, I have something I would like to give you as a gift.”
Before Evelyn could even respond, Fenris reached into his bag and pulled something out.
Seeing the object, Evelyn’s eyes widened.
“That’s…”
What Fenris took out was the handkerchief she had used to bandage his arm when he collapsed yesterday.
The handkerchief, once stained with blood, had been cleaned and was now quite clean.
“Since I borrowed it unintentionally, it’s only right to return it to the owner.”
Evelyn’s eyes wavered.
“Ah…”
‘How did he know that I was the one who helped him yesterday? He had been unconscious and couldn’t have seen my face.’
However, without any further explanation, Fenris got off the carriage. Standing in front of it, he gently took Evelyn’s hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.
“I am grateful for yesterday.”
With a smile, Fenris left a brief greeting and disappeared.