Chapter 4 – Part 2

“Anne, wake up. Hurry and get the doctor”

Evan, straddling the feverish Anne, pressed on her shoulders and shouted.

“Oh, yes. Yes!”

He was wondering why it was taking so long for the doctor to arrive.

As he wondered why it was taking so long for a doctor to arrive, Anne’s faint voice reached Evan’s ears.

“Ain….”

“Ain?”

Evan frowned at the stranger’s name.

“…….”

But when he saw the tears in Anne’s eyes, he couldn’t help but suppress his momentary jealousy.

Carly, who had been watching the moment from the sidelines, caught Evan’s glance with a frown.

She knew, from her investigations, how cold-hearted he could be, no matter how gentlemanly he pretended to be.

Carly stroked Anne’s hand and whispered in her ear, trying to get her to calm down.

“Anne, are you alright? Please, get a hold of yourself.”

Watching the strange jealousy in his eyes…

Carly smirked, becoming more certain that the relationship between these two was more than just a one-night fling.

Carly was pleased with herself.

After endless days of racking her brain for a way to influence Evan Davis, luck had struck.

Evan Davis was in love.

“Duke Davis?”

Despite Carly’s call, Evan was too engrossed in Anne to respond.

The tenderness he showed towards the frail Anne Riley was something that could only be driven by deep feelings.

“Duke, the doctor is here.”

Evan finally turned his gaze towards Carly, noticing the doctor standing nervously beside him as she had mentioned.

Annoyed, Evan asked in a low, deep voice.

“What are you doing when the patient is right in front of you?”

“W-well, I was assessing the patient’s condition.”

Evan frowned at the doctor’s excuse for standing idly in front of the patient.

It was a lame excuse, but considering how hard it was to find doctors in this war zone, he scooped her up in his arms and ordered.

“Proceed with the treatment immediately.”

“…Yes, yes!”

The doctor, examining the languishing Anne, frowned and glanced at Evan.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a name for the ailment, so he took off his hat and knelt down to speak up.

“Sir, I-I don’t know. She only seems to be asleep…”

“Have you ever seen someone in such agony while asleep?”

“No, sir, I-I just mean I can’t tell what’s wrong from my examination. If we wait and care for her…”

“Carly. Is there no one better than this man?”

Carly sighed inwardly, and said.

“In this war, it’s unlikely. Let’s observe a bit longer.”

“…Fine. Dismiss the doctor.”

“Yes. Then…”

“Carly, stay for a moment.”

The mere mention of the word sent goosebumps down Carly’s arms.

He looked up, his eyes cold and fierce.

“What is your motive?”

Carly craned her stiff neck at his words and forced a smile.

“Motive? What do you mean?”

“I asked you why you wanted to marry me.”

“What do you mean, a reason? Isn’t that just the sort of thing that happens between nobles, and besides, you were quite flirtatious with me at the ball.”

“Even so, no woman could be indifferent to seeing me hold another. If I were foolish, I might think this situation was someone’s scheme.”

Carly bit her dry lips in embarrassment.

He was right.

Remaining composed in front of an unbetrothed man, especially when his lover was ill, put Carly at a disadvantage.

It could easily lead to suspicion of a poisoning attempt.

Evan shrugged his shoulders and squeezed Carly.

“Carly, if you’re lying to me, we can leave right here. It’s a good castle, and a strategic one at that, but there are plenty of places to replace it, I’m sure you understand.”

“..What should I do if you ask me that?”

Evan smiled lazily.

“House Dehart, beloved by the late emperor. Although it has fallen, you could be a great asset to me and Anne Riley. It’s a distant matter for now. What will you do?”

‘It doesn’t mean anything.’

Tucking a strand of wavy hair behind her ear, Carly smiled.

“Are you trying to blackmail me or something?”

“Aren’t you the one who needs help right now?”

Evan’s words made Carly dry her face and self-help.

Trapped in this castle, all she could do was find the soldier who had been with her lover and scream at him, asking if he was really dead and how they could be sure he was dead when they couldn’t find his body.

Getting answers from the former commander, Megan Hale, was nearly impossible.

No matter how much she cried, begged, or fevered, the devilish man who stared at her coldly only laughed at her.

Carly had longed for her lover, Ferrell Klein, and wished she knew the way to his final resting place.

Then Evan Davis arrives, an unexpected stroke of luck and hope.

Evan Davis had fallen in love with a woman.

Rumor had it that he didn’t turn down women.

But contrary to the rumors, Carly felt that Evan kept a certain distance and walled himself off from everyone.

It was surprising at first to see him focus all his attention on a commoner girl he’d never met before.

And she felt her solitary situation all the more keenly..

But Carly didn’t give up, and she had a plan.

Her plan was to get close to Anne, using her to approach Evan.

What she ultimately hoped to gain from this was to find out what his lover, Ferrell Klein, had died for and for what.

Now that her plan was somewhat exposed.

Carly sank to the floor, devastated, and sobbed.

“I also had a man who worried over me…”

“…I don’t have time to listen to your lamentations.”

Carly changed the lukewarm washcloth on Anne’s forehead, hoping to lower Evan Davis’s guard a little.

Then her cautious voice echoed through the room.

“Alright. I originally planned to befriend Anne and ask her about what I wanted to know. That way, I thought you wouldn’t lie…”

‘In the end, I was completely stopped by this man… .’

Evan replied with a cold look.

“That was a foolish move.”

“Very well, Duke Davis, very well, I’ll tell you all about it, so just hear me out.”

Evan said nothing to that. He just continued to gaze at Anne.

Carly watched Evan’s reaction, confused as to whether she had his permission or not, but she spoke anyway.

“Did you know that before you became Commander, the Vorenia region was guarded by a most distinguished person?”

Evan looked surprised at her words.

The Vorenia region.

Although it is now inaccessible due to numerous mines, it was once a barren land with many mineral deposits.

The Emperor of the Terran Empire couldn’t give up on the region, and quickly sent the Crown Prince to war.

The people of the empire, who did not know the reality of the situation, were relieved by the departure of the crown prince, Ailon Terossa, who was almost driven out despite being the only heir to the throne.

However, among the nobles, it was ridiculed as the abandonment of the Crown Prince.

“Are you talking about His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Evan’s eyes gleamed sharply. Carly suddenly realized.

No matter how the Crown Prince was treated, the Davis family was clearly loyal to the Emperor.

Even Evan Davis himself.

Indeed, history has shown this to be true.

“All sorts of political reasons conspired to prevent the Emperor from relinquishing Vorenia.”

“…Political reasons.”

“No one could stop His Highness the Crown Prince from entering the fiercest battlefields, as the Empress’s faction would not accept anyone not of her blood.”

“Why do you bring that up?”

Evan recalled the report of the Battle of Vorenia.

It was the thinnest of reports, listing troops and plans, but not a single line of battle detail.

“Wasn’t that battle a humiliating defeat?”

Evan put his hand to his forehead, cooling his thoughts.

Strictly speaking, the catastrophe wasn’t entirely due to the Crown Prince’s mistakes.

He was the only survivor.

However, how he survived the battle was still a mystery, as he never spoke of it.

“Shall I tell you what I know?”

“Go ahead.”

“There was a gentleman that His Highness was very fond of. It seemed fortunate that he had someone to lean on during such a dire time.”

“Where did you see this attendant?”

Evan questioned Carly, his expression unchanged.

“My… lover and the Crown Prince’s attendant. And just before His Highness’s deployment, they came to this castle.”

Carly continued, her expression somber.

“It took less than a week for that battle to end in defeat. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? There must be something I don’t know!”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Jump to conclusions? It’s a reasonable assumption. I intended to uncover the source of this disaster and seek revenge. I needed your intelligence for this, so I planned to win over Anne Riley, who you favor. After all, she is also involved with the military and should be well-informed.”

Evan had also carefully studied the operational reports on the Battle of Vorenia.

A man disguised as a crown prince with no public face, walking into enemy territory on his own feet.

That was the first step.

The plan was to negotiate, buy time, and then launch a surprise attack once the enemy was complacent.

But the plan was absurd. There was no way the enemy wouldn’t recognize the face of the Crown Prince.

In the end, while the idea was plausible, the longer the discussion went on, the more likely it was that the crown prince himself would have to go.

It was an unethical plan, requiring the sacrifice of one man.

And it was the Empress’s own squadron commander, Megan Hale, who organized the plan.

The Empress’s influence must have played a role in implementing the plan. Evan’s expression grew grave.

There were many strange things about this war. There was a strong sense that this war was a series of flawed strategies wrapped up in plausible pretenses of success, only to fail.

It was almost as if someone wanted the Terran Empire to lose.

“Let me tell you this. One of those three was definitely bait. Someone meant to die.”

“Bait?”

Carly’s fingertips trembled violently. If Ferrell had been the bait…

She would bitterly regret urging him to leave quickly, not knowing.

Evan turned serious and asked.

“The night before the operation, there was a banquet in this castle, right? What were their conditions then?”

It was important to know, for a man’s troubles were not hidden by hiding them.

Carly thought for a long moment, then spoke up, as if something had occurred to her.

“Only that little attendant was smiling. I couldn’t see his face well, but his eyes always crinkled into crescents. But my lover and His Highness looked occasionally gloomy. No matter who the bait was, wouldn’t all three have been troubled?”

“Perhaps.”

The attendant was likely the bait. Especially if he was a child, he wouldn’t have experienced the horrors of war yet.

Desperate for words to come out of his mouth, Carly slammed her palms on the table.

“So you don’t know exactly who the bait was!”

“Correct.”

Carly braced her hands on the shelf to her right, righting her swaying body. It was something she’d wondered over and over again.

If Ferrell had been bait, and he had come for a last meal with her, the ignorance of that fact made her furious.

“I can’t tell you any more.”

Why would the crown prince want to keep the details of Ferrell Klein’s death a secret?

That remained to be seen.

“Commander Evan Davis, do you know the structure of the battles in this castle?”

“…….”

Evan looked away from Carly’s gaze to the sleeping Anne. Whatever the truth was, it was not good for the young lady of a mere count to be so deeply involved in this case.

Carly spoke up at Evan’s evasive response.

“Megan Hale commanded this place before you came. You know he’s with the Empress’s faction. Doesn’t that make you uneasy? He could have planted something!”

“…….”

“Anne Riley, who you seem to like, has been busy plotting to change this place, and just in case, it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens.”

Evan’s expression turned cold at that.

“Carly, watch your words.”

Evan shouted at Carly, his eyes narrowing.

“Please, just think about it.”

“What do you want to know about someone who’s already dead, and how they died?”

“If there’s any injustice, I want to resolve it! I’ll make sure those people pay!”

With those words, Carly stormed out of the room.

Evan’s head was pounding as he contemplated the war that seemed to have no end in sight, and the problems that had yet to be solved.

Evan sighed as he stroked Anne’s hair, who seemed to be at peace.

To his relief, Anne was breathing peacefully now.

Evan walked over to his desk, picked up a quill, and began to write.

The reports from the Battle of Vorenia indicated that it was an ineffective operation, but not a total loss.

Despite having a decoy with them, they failed. If they had won that battle, the war wouldn’t have reached such a dire situation, and Evan had become interested in this matter.

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