Chapter 162
Originally, Eve’s hair was about the same length as Evi’s—reaching between her shoulders and waist.
Now, it had been cut so short that her scalp was almost visible.
If it were uniform, one might think it was just a simple haircut, but some parts were left at their old length, making it look utterly messy.
Eve rolled on the floor, shivering, glancing around in panic. Then, in a desperate rush, she clutched at Evi.
“Sa… save me…”
It wasn’t just her hair that was a mess. She must have cried a lot. Her eyes were swollen, and the pretty clothes she had worn were not only crumpled but also dirtied with dust.
Evi, almost instinctively, pulled the disheveled Eve toward herself and held her.
Eve burrowed into Evi’s arms in a panic.
“E-Evi… those people…!”
Even though they were both seven, and Evi was smaller, making it difficult to hold Eve properly, Eve clung to her like a lost little bird crying for its mother.
The man who had thrown Eve glanced around at the children.
Seeing the loosened ropes, he seemed to consider retying them for a moment, but then he simply closed the door and left.
Apparently, he judged it useless since he would just have to untie them again.
Arcel and Lusca immediately got up and tried pulling the door, but, as expected, it couldn’t be opened from inside.
Soon, footsteps approached again, and the man tossed in a cloth bag.
“Where is this?”
When Arcel asked, the man gave a look of disbelief, spat, and went back outside.
Once he was gone, Lusca examined the bag.
“It’s food.”
Inside were some stale-looking bread and three water flasks.
After taking a sip to make sure the water was okay, Lusca handed the flasks to Arcel and Evi.
The two of them drank hastily.
Evi offered her water flask to Eve, but Eve only shook her head while crying.
Then she began sobbing again.
“Dad…”
Eve cried herself to sleep, missing her father.
Even while asleep, she refused to let go of Evi, clutching at her clothes with one hand while resting her head on Arcel’s leg.
Originally, she had been lying on Evi’s leg, but since Arcel was heavier, Evi had shifted her over.
After finishing her bread, Evi looked at the sleeping Eve.
“Why did they cut her hair like that?”
At the orphanage, most children kept their hair short for easier washing.
Even so, children who wanted to grow it long were allowed to.
Here, they probably wouldn’t care about that, so why did they ruin Eve’s hair so badly?
“They probably sent it as a threat.”
“A threat?”
“Yeah. Usually they start with the hair.”
Evi shivered at Lusca’s answer.
“Start with the hair…? Then what will they send next?”
Arcel glared at Lusca as Evi’s face went pale.
“I’m just answering because she asked…”
“Forget it. Just clean up what’s left.”
“Hey, don’t you have hands… or feet…?”
Lusca’s protest died when she saw Eve sleeping on Arcel’s leg, her wrist still bearing a deep, unhealed scar.
Meanwhile, Evi moved closer to Arcel and looked at Eve.
“Dad…”
Was she dreaming of Clois?
Eve muttered “Dad” over and over while hiccupping.
Seeing this, Evi removed the coat Arcel had given her and covered Eve with it.
For the first time, Evi felt pity for Eve.
It was presumptuous of her; how could she pity a royal child?
But seeing Eve crying while looking for her father tugged at her heart.
If Evi had a father, she too would have cried, missing him just like Eve.
Evi rested her head lightly on Arcel’s arm and looked at the window on the ceiling.
“Do you think we can get out of here?”
“Don’t worry. Our brothers, father, and even the royal knights are all looking for us. They’ll find us soon.”
Lusca said confidently, though inwardly she knew:
‘It won’t be easy.’
The adversary was Siren.
Someone who had evaded capture for seven years despite Clois searching frantically.
If he had orchestrated this, he must have prepared thoroughly.
Lusca didn’t mention this and leaned against the wall.
They needed to regain their strength and wait for the right moment.
Eve slept deeply the whole day and finally woke up.
“This isn’t a dream…?”
At first, she was surprised to see Evi, Arcel, and Lusca, then began to sob again, realizing what had happened wasn’t a dream.
“Eve.”
Arcel called her softly, not using her formal title.
If they were in the palace, she would have questioned it, but Eve had no mind to argue.
“Who gave you the candy we got?”
“Th-that… Noma… said it would make my friends happy… It was very precious…”
Eve stammered in reply, but Arcel was truly curious about something else.
“When did you meet this Noma?”
“Well…”
“Answer properly. The part about living with Sabina was a lie, right?”
Eve shut her lips, sobbing, and Arcel looked away.
“If you don’t tell us, we’ll leave on our own.”
Of course, there was no way to leave; otherwise, they already would have.
But the idea of being left behind terrified Eve, and she began sobbing again.
“Y-yes… It’s true we met and lived together briefly… But Noma told me to do it…”
Then Eve started explaining when she met Noma and what she was told to do.
“He really said I was his daughter. That’s why the emblem appeared… He said if I said I was with Sabina, Dad would believe faster…”
Arcel and Lusca exchanged uneasy looks.
It was now clear that Sabina had not raised Eve from childhood—she had lied.
The problem was Eve’s true identity.
‘The emblem proves she’s royal; she must be a direct descendant, so…’
They had said Siren came for her. So he must have known about her existence from the start.
‘She must be the daughter of the former emperor.’
Arcel kept this to himself. If he spoke, a shocked Eve would throw a tantrum.
There was no need to make things noisier right now.
‘However…’
Arcel looked at Evi.
It must have been hard for her to understand fully, but she seemed stunned that Eve had lied.
‘I wish we had a bit more time.’
Otherwise, even if they had escaped Siren with Irene, it would have been better.
Arcel wanted to tell Evi that it was highly likely Eve was a princess, but that would have shocked her further.
Plus, Eve clinging to Evi would undoubtedly cause a scene.
‘If Siren finds out…’
That was the situation Arcel feared most.
Right now, protecting Evi was his top priority, even if she wasn’t a princess.
Lusca, sensing this, also stayed quiet.
Two more days passed.
During that time, Arcel and Lusca studied Siren’s group’s pattern.
It wasn’t much of a pattern—just once a day, they threw food as if in charity.
Otherwise, they didn’t respond when called, nor did they come to the basement.
Every time they came, Eve trembled and hid behind the other children.
After having her hair cut, she seemed terribly afraid of them.
‘How much longer will we have to stay like this?’
Arcel and Lusca estimated they’d be trapped like this for at least another week.
But on the third day, Siren’s men acted differently.
Instead of their usual smirking entrance, they came in flustered and shouted at the children:
“Get up!”
They opened their mouths and tried to feed Eve the same candy she had been given before.
“No! Noooo!”
Eve struggled and then went limp.
Evi collapsed beside her.
“They were trained to force-feed, apparently.”
“Damn, they’re making a fuss when we’re so busy.”
“Hurry. They said to give twice as much as before. That way, the medicine works better.”
The two boys immediately noticed something was wrong.
There was a problem with their plan, which explained the sudden rush.
‘This must be a long-prepared confinement, but moving them like this means the place was discovered.’
The emperor had started pursuing faster than expected.
Before they could think how, the men roughly forced Arcel and Lusca’s mouths open.
No matter how much they resisted, it was hard to overcome the medicine.
Soon, Arcel’s body became paralyzed, and his consciousness dimmed.
Collapsing to the ground, he desperately turned his head to see Eve and Evi being dragged away.
Both seemed completely unconscious, but…
He noticed Evi quietly opening her eyes.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Even a slight glimpse showed Evi’s focus was clear.
Seeing this, Arcel smiled inwardly despite his fading consciousness.
‘Good thing I taught Evi how to resist taking the medicine.’
He had only roughly taught her and hadn’t practiced properly, but she had learned better than expected.
