Chapter 164: Chloe Stole Something Incredible (3)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: Chloe Stole Something Incredible (3)[R-18]
“Aaaah~ I miss Ian so much...”
Evelyn was reaching her limit.
To put it bluntly, she missed Ian.
She was already going crazy from missing him, but ever since that thief stole ‘That Thing,’ she had instantly blown past her breaking point.
At the Academy, she could at least see his face every day, so she could manage to endure it, however barely...
But now that vacation had started and she couldn't see him at all, she realized she was suffering from a severe case of ‘Ian Withdrawal’—so bad she felt she needed professional treatment.
Squeeze—
“...I fucking miss you, you bastard,” Evelyn whispered, hugging a teddy bear that looked suspiciously like Ian.
Rationally, she knew.
The Imperial Palace would have its own procedures, so even if Ian arrived as quickly as possible, it would still take a few more days.
But...
“Ugh! The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get!”
Evelyn bolted upright and suddenly threw a punch at the teddy bear.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Ian, you piece of shit! You bastard! Is the Imperial Palace really that great?! Is it?! What the hell are you even doing that you can’t even get in touch!! If you were sleeping with the Imperial Princess, I’d at least understand! But there’s no way you’re actually banging her in the palace, right, you prick!!! Then! Hey! Your beautiful childhood friend says she misses you! Fuck!! Did I ask for much?! I just told you to stay by my side!! Is that really so hard?!”
After beating the teddy bear for a good while, Evelyn let out a long sigh and pulled the covers over her head.
“...Ian, you jerk...”
When did it even start?
When did she start loving Ian this much?
...Well, obviously, she hadn't loved him since the moment she was born.
Then, was it love at first sight?
She could say with absolute certainty that it definitely wasn't.
Hard as it was to believe, her first impression of Ian was close to the worst.
“Haaa...”
The first time she met Ian was on a winter day when the snow was falling heavily.
Instead of the violin that was supposed to be her present, a boy was tucked in her Dad’s arms.
That boy was Ian.
‘...What is this?’
Naturally, I didn't like Ian.
Anyone would feel the same if a smelly, scruffy boy appeared instead of the gift they were expecting.
To make matters worse, Dad, who always gave me shoulder rides whenever he came back from a long trip, rushed off somewhere with Ian, so I didn't even get my ride.
Well, Ian was only scruffy back then; when I saw him again a few days later after he’d been properly washed, he looked decent enough.
“....”
I take that back.
He wasn't just decent; even back then, Ian was incredibly handsome.
It was just that my younger self didn't realize how good-looking he was.
...I couldn't help it.
I’m healthy enough now that it’s hard to find a single thing wrong with me, but back then, I was quite frail. I had never even stepped foot outside the residence or seen anyone my own age, so I thought someone like Ian was just ‘okay-looking.’
“Evelyn. This is Ian, he’ll be living here with us from today. Be nice to him.”
“...No.”
“Evelyn?”
“I hate him! He’s u-g-l-y!!”
Ignoring my parents' words to get along, I tried various ways to kick Ian out of the house.
Hiding his shoes, stealing his snacks, blaming him for the flowerpots I broke...
I bullied him every single day using every method a child could think of.
Why did I bully him like that?
I just didn't like the fact that Ian existed.
I didn't like that I didn't get my violin, and I hated sharing my parents' attention, which I used to have all to myself as an only daughter.
But more than anything, I hated those Empty Eyes of his—the way he looked like he was carrying all the world's misfortunes on his shoulders despite being much healthier than me.
‘Actually, thinking back now, I don't think that was the only reason.’
At the time, I thought I bullied him just because I hated him, but looking back, I think I also hated that he didn't give me any attention.
I was treated like a princess by everyone in the residence, but Ian was the only one who showed no emotion when he looked at me.
Anyway, no matter how much I bullied him every day, Ian never reacted.
If I hid his shoes, he just walked barefoot; if his snacks disappeared, he just didn't eat; and even when he was scolded for a flowerpot he didn't break, he didn't offer a single excuse.
...As if life had no meaning to him.
‘In that sense, he was like Estelle.’
No, actually, Estelle was much better than Ian.
People say Estelle is like a doll, but the Ian of those days was a child so devoid of words and emotions that you could have truly believed he was a doll.
A year passed since Ian came to our house.
In other words, it had been a year since I started bullying him.
That day was just like any other.
I spent the day from morning to night bullying Ian, and Ian took it with an indifferent face.
However, there was one thing that made it special...
The fact that a fire broke out in the residence?
The fire, which started in the middle of the night, swallowed the residence in an instant. By the time I realized something was wrong and woke up, my room was already engulfed in flames.
‘...I was so scared.’
What could my young self have possibly done while watching the flames draw closer?
I just burst into tears in the corner of the room, desperately praying for someone to save me, to help me.
“...Mom!! Dad!! Hic...! He... help me!”
But my voice was too small to pierce through the flames or reach anyone.
Whoosh—!
Just as I felt death approaching with the encroaching fire...
“Evelyn!”
Ian appeared.
To be honest, Ian didn't look like a prince from a fairy tale back then.
If anything, his clothes and body were scorched and torn from pushing through the fire, making him look just as scruffy as the day I first saw him.
But...
To me, he looked cooler than anyone else in the world.
‘I’m sure that was the first time I fell for him.’
Ian grabbed my hand as I stared at him blankly and said:
“Follow me. The stairs over there are still safe.”
“...O-okay.. hic...! Th... thank you... Ian...”
Whoosh—!
However, the fire must have spread further, because the stairs Ian said were safe were now engulfed in flames, making it impossible to go down.
Then, as if to reassure me, Ian looked me straight in the eyes and said:
“It’s okay. We can cross through that window.”
Words of reassurance with no basis in reality.
Yet, for some reason, I felt I could trust Ian’s words then.
Step—!
“Hi.. eek!... N... no..!.. I... I... c-can’t!... I can’t jump!”
“Don’t worry.”
Ian, who had already crossed over to the next room through the window, reached out his hand to me and said:
“No matter what happens, I’ll definitely catch you.”
Ian kept his promise.
He really did catch my hand.
Except...
I just couldn't keep my balance properly.
“...Huh?”
Slip—!
It wasn't as scary as I thought.
The moment I realized my feet were flailing in the air, Ian jumped toward me without hesitation and pulled me into an embrace.
...Even though he was shorter than me, he hugged me as tightly as he could, as if trying to protect me with all his might.
Thud—!
And then, I heard a horrific sound I never want to hear again.
“...Huh?... I... I.. Ian...? Ah...! Ah...! Uwaah...! N-no. Ian..! Ia... d-don’t die...! Ian..!!!”
“....Th... thank you.”
Those were the words Ian left me like a final testament before he lost consciousness.
I still don't know what Ian meant by "thank you" that day.
Even when I ask him, he just dodges the question, saying he doesn't remember.
...Well, maybe it’s not a lie that he doesn't remember.
Was it because I was desperate to save Ian?
“Ian..!... sob... Ian!! Because of that..!.. H-he... me...!!”
I don't remember it well, but they say that instead of just crying while holding Ian, I ran to the adults who were putting out the fire until my feet were bloody.
I could only think it was a miracle from heaven that Ian didn't die that day.
I found out much later that his internal organs were severely damaged and a broken rib had pierced his lung. If a high-ranking official from the Church had arrived even a little later, Ian would have died.
‘...What a fool, really.’
What was so great about a girl who bullied him every day that he’d risk his life to save her?
If he hadn't come looking for me and had just gone down alone, he could have escaped safely...
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand.
Yes, I couldn't understand it, but...
I did learn that Ian was that kind of man.
“...Hi. Ian.”
“Yeah, hi. Evelyn.”
After returning from being treated at the Church, Ian gradually began to change.
How should I put it...
Should I say life started to return to his eyes?
Ian, who had been like an empty doll, began to laugh like a person and even started playing pranks.
Of course, my attitude toward Ian changed a bit too.
“Here, eat.”
“...What is this?”
“Hmph! Have you never even eaten something like this? It’s a potato! A potato! Spring potatoes are delicious, you know.”
“...I know that... but why give it to me... Ah, did it fall on the ground?”
“Hey!! What did you say!! Fine, then don’t eat it!!”
...Of course, it took a lot more time for me to become honest.
But I thought it was okay.
Because we were family.
Even if it took a little longer for these feelings to be conveyed, Ian would always be by my side.
“Aaaaaaaah!!! What are you doing, you crazy bastard!!!”
“Surprise...?”
“Surprise, my ass!! Fuck!! You are so dead!!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, Evelyn... It’s just a ‘prank.’ There’s no need to get that mad!”
“You son of a bitch!! Who the hell cuts a girl’s hair as a prank!!!”
“A...? Girl...? Evelyn is?”
And I thought that someday, that dense idiot would eventually realize my feelings...
That’s what I thought.
“Take care. Evelyn.”
...Until five years ago, before Ian left this house.
Squeeze—
Even now, after Ian and I have confirmed our feelings for each other, I sometimes have nightmares about him leaving the house.
‘...Why did Ian leave?’
Even though we didn't say it, I thought we loved each other back then.
But it was a delusion.
Ian, who always used to give in whenever I was stubborn, rejected me for the first time.
“...I’m sorry.”
No matter how many times I cried and begged him to stay, Ian eventually left the residence.
...That’s why I’m still scared.
“...Ian.”
“Yeah, Evelyn.”
“...Do you love me?”
“Of course I love you.”
Even when I childishly confirm his feelings over and over and hear him say he loves me, I’m afraid he’ll leave me again like he did back then.
“Yeah. I love you so much too. ......Huh?”
Fling—!
Startled by Ian’s voice which she heard a moment too late, Evelyn kicked off her covers and screamed.
“Wh-wh-what!!! Why are you coming out from there!!”
