Chapter 28
“How?”
“That’s not something you need to know, Laria.”
I stared straight at him.
Who asks a question just to hear an answer like that?
Still, if Duke Icard—who was not the type to lie lightly—said that much, then there had to be some extraordinary method behind it.
I sighed inwardly. It was deeply regrettable that I had possessed this body without fully knowing the circumstances of the Icard ducal family.
I should’ve read the side stories too.
I actually knew far less about House Icard than I’d thought.
Everything I remembered in detail was just the male lead’s storyline….
“If… all of my plans go exactly as intended.”
“…”
“Then everything that’s gone wrong will return to its proper place. That’s why I can’t stop.”
I could tell what he meant by can’t stop.
Becoming the shadowy force that controls everything. In other words, if all those plans came to fruition—if Duke Icard completely swallowed both the noble houses and the imperial family—
Then he would be able to do whatever it was he truly wanted. And that probably meant even Evan’s unstable emotional state would be resolved. Not with a few comforting words, but in a far more fundamental way.
But is that even possible?
The more I thought about it, the deeper the maze became. Come to think of it, this time he hadn’t made any of his usual absurd jokes toward me. That alone showed how serious he was.
I was desperately curious about the duke’s true intentions, but the air made it clear I shouldn’t ask any further questions. So I stayed silent.
After all, I already knew that my death was included in that so‑called “plan” that would supposedly make Evan and Duke Icard fundamentally happy.
After that, Evan started acting… strange.
Wanting to get along with me was one thing—but it felt like he’d become a completely different person.
We went back to having breakfast together whenever nothing came up. Evan still read the newspaper with his usual indifferent expression, yet he kept subtly intervening in my meal.
Cutting my meat for me.
Peeling fruit.
Refilling my water before the glass was even empty.
I seriously reflected on this sudden and total change in Evan.
“W‑why are you doing this? I can do it myself, Evan.”
“I’m really sorry about everything until now.”
“What, all of a sudden…?”
Evan spoke without meeting my eyes.
“I wasn’t sincere before…”
Well, I’d noticed that much.
Still, there was no need for him to go this far.
“So I’ll treat you better—from now on.”
Was he doing this out of guilt for having ignored me all this time? Honestly, even I had to admit that my performance that night—crying myself to sleep—deserved an award.
I emptied my plate with a conflicted expression and rolled my eyes.
“Want to go for a walk?”
He was gentle, but somehow… unsettling.
“Um… aren’t you going to the training grounds?”
I’d heard Rudva was still imprisoned, and that the vice‑commander had temporarily taken over as knight commander.
Since then, Evan hadn’t been going to the training grounds at dawn anymore. His lessons as the duke’s heir had started, so he seemed busy—but he still came back without fail before I went to sleep.
“I have time to take a morning walk with you.”
“Well, I mean…”
“You said you like the back garden. Let’s go together.”
The back garden had the Oclasia tree fruit, after all.
As expected, that strange unease didn’t go away during our walk. He cleared even the smallest leaf from the path, hurried around to stay on the sunny side so he could cast shade over me, and never forgot to do so. Yet he didn’t say much, which made it awkward to ask outright why he was acting like this.
W‑what is going on? This isn’t his character.
I’d already destroyed the original storyline beyond repair, but I still firmly believed that people don’t really change. So for someone like me, who trusted the original character settings, this was deeply confusing.
This feels ominous.
Watching Evan smile gently as he fanned me with his hand and asked if I was hot, I couldn’t bring myself to simply enjoy it.
No—this is the guy who was described as not even crying when his wife died. So why…?
A character who wasn’t originally kind suddenly becoming kind was clearly abnormal. And Evan’s relationship with Duke Icard hadn’t improved either. The duke had tossed out that single statement and still hadn’t had a proper conversation with him.
You really shouldn’t raise a child like that…
I mean, telling your own son, in that situation, “Don’t let your subordinates treat you lightly”—how was that even appropriate?
Even if there was some fundamental solution, not knowing the details made everything frustrating for now. Evan was probably still trapped in the belief that he himself was the source of all the misfortune in the ducal household.
And in that twisted state, he’s treating me this kindly?
He was extremely gentle, yet something felt off, so I couldn’t help but remain suspicious.
Then—
“Oh? Are you two out for a walk?”
It was the servant I’d urgently entrusted Evan to before.
“Oh, Cobb. Good morning.”
Was his name Cobb? But servants didn’t usually come this way.
“I was just hoping to see the young master.”
Cobb approached us with a wide smile. And that’s when I felt it.
Actors recognize other actors—especially masters spotting amateurs at a glance.
“My sister serves someone whose relative is entering the academy this year—the same academy you attended, Young Master!”
“Oh?”
“I heard you graduated first in your class?”
“Well… yes, but—”
“And I heard you also placed first in the academy‑hosted youth fencing tournament! At just twelve years old—that’s incredible.”
“It was nothing.”
“Nothing at all? The competition allowed participants up to seventeen, so you were at a huge physical disadvantage!”
He certainly knew an awful lot about the academy his sister’s employer’s relative was supposedly attending.
I let out a small snort internally.
It’s obvious the two of them planned this.
I decided to play along.
“Oh my, Evan! That’s amazing. I had no idea.”
“Well. It’s all in the past.”
“Still, first place is incredible. There must’ve been so many students.”
At my exaggerated reaction, Evan smiled with quiet satisfaction.
Cobb excused himself, having shared all his unnecessary information, and left.
“I wasn’t living carelessly before, but I want to live more earnestly from now on.”
“Ah… really?”
“You said it yourself. That Mother would have wanted that too.”
Suddenly, a very plausible thought occurred to me.
Could Evan be projecting his mother onto me?
He was still young, after all. And emotionally, he was extremely unstable because of Rudva.
Come to think of it, everything I’ve done for Evan… those were all things he wished for from his mother.
Because I’d mentioned “if your mother were still alive,” maybe he was seeing me that way.
That makes the most sense.
After all, Evan wasn’t gentle to any woman—but he did occasionally show longing when it came to his mother.
That must be why he’d gone out of his way to tell me things he wanted to brag about to her.
And Evan wasn’t the only one who saw Matilda in me. Even Lisa had once said that when she looked at me, she was reminded of Lady Matilda.
“When I see you, Lady Laria… I think of Lady Matilda a lot. You have a similar aura.”
With that, it felt like all the mysteries finally fell into place, and I felt a bit relieved.
“Have you talked with your father at all since that day?”
“Mm, no.”
“Maybe you should try talking things out—”
“I’ll obey Father’s wishes regardless.”
Evan plucked a flower from the flowerbed and handed it to me as he spoke.
“So there’s no need to talk.”
I see.
Nothing had really changed after all.
Your father’s wish is to kill me and bring the princess in as his new daughter‑in‑law.
In any case, Evan and Duke Icard hadn’t grown any closer.
“And forget those ridiculous joke‑like remarks. You don’t say them in front of me anyway.”
On the surface, Evan looked perfectly fine.
He trained in swordsmanship, attended heir lessons, ate well, slept well—and Rudva was being thoroughly punished.
But no child subjected to even brief emotional abuse could possibly be normal. From spending time close to him, Evan seemed less indifferent and more… starved for affection.
Like he doesn’t know how to communicate with other people.
I gently stroked Evan’s hair. Watching his contented expression, I decided that at least until the wounds from Rudva healed, I would treat Evan like a mother would.
Because I had always been a little weak when it came to Evan.
I simply wanted him to be happy.
He’d lived far too sad a life up until now.
