IGCHPM 51

CHAPTER 51………………

Evangeline—the one who possessed the body—had read the original story in advance.

Naturally, she knew a few very important secrets, but the most secretive and dangerous of them all was this:

“The outbreak of the late Empress’s madness was connected to the current Empress.”

That fact alone.

The cause of the imperial family’s hereditary madness had never been revealed.
All that was known was that the purer the imperial bloodline, the higher the chance of suffering from it.

The late Empress, cousin to the Emperor, was a noblewoman of very pure imperial blood.
Thus, no one found it strange when she died of madness.
Even her son, Arpad, had shown faint signs of the illness in childhood.

In contrast, the Emperor himself had never suffered greatly from it.
Ludwig showed no signs of madness at all.
That was one of the reasons the Emperor kept his eye on Ludwig for a time.

On the surface, the outbreaks in the imperial family appeared to be nothing more than misfortune.

But Evangeline knew it was not mere coincidence.

“The Empress knows how to trigger or worsen the imperial madness.”

If that was true… then perhaps there was also a way to suppress it.

The possessor had never really considered that possibility.
Partly because she disliked thinking too deeply, and more importantly—

“If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve read the novel to the end!”

She hadn’t even liked the story much, and had skimmed through carelessly.
Her lack of complete knowledge restricted her actions in many ways.

That was why, even though she liked Arpad and despised Ludwig, she still chose Ludwig.
Because Ludwig was the male lead of the original story.
She wanted to act within the bounds of what she knew.

“But Ludwig isn’t it.”

And seeing Hilia at Arpad’s side nearly drove her mad with jealousy.

If things ended as in the original—Arpad dying alone, raving in madness—she could accept it.
But watching another woman by his side made her stomach churn.

“Of all people, that idiot Hilia!”

Absolutely, under no circumstances, could she allow it.

That was why she asked the Empress a question she would never normally dare to ask.

The Empress was a difficult character to read, harboring many secrets.
Evangeline usually avoided provoking her.

But now, she was far too agitated to hold back.
So she took the risk of asking directly.

“…Mother, you know how to worsen—or lessen—the imperial madness, don’t you?”

The Empress’s expression, always filled with resentment, jealousy, and madness, froze solid.
Like a mannequin, Isabelle stared at her daughter and asked:

“…Why would you ask that?”

“……”

The possessor inside Evangeline tensed.
Had she made a fatal mistake, asking the Empress such a thing out of sheer impatience?

“Who put such absurd nonsense in your head?”

Isabelle’s nails dug into Evangeline’s hand as she clutched it—her nails cracked and broken from an earlier fit.
The jagged edge pricked her skin sharply.

Evangeline tried to act unaffected as she replied:

“I’m your daughter, Mother. I just… came to know it naturally.”

“……”

Isabelle studied her with a shadowed expression, offering nothing of the information Evangeline so desperately wanted.

She only said this:

“Yes. You are my daughter. My only blood.”

“Yes, Mother. I’m the only child you can trust.”

Evangeline clasped her mother’s thin hands between her own.

“Please tell me. So I can help you.”

But in that moment, Isabelle pulled her hands away.

“I don’t know why you’d think such a thing, but forget it.”

“Mother!”

“If it were truly possible, do you think the imperial family would have stood by while so many royals died? Don’t indulge in delusions.”

The Empress had fully regained her composure.
She calmly summoned the maids to clean the wrecked room and adjusted her attire.

Then, in an unusually cold voice, she said to her daughter:

“That will be enough for today. Go home, and give your grandfather my regards.”

“…Yes.”

It was an order not to stay the night in her Empress’s chambers.
She was to return to her own rooms at House Ruth.

Evangeline despised her chamber at the Ruth estate.
Her favorite place was her room in the imperial palace; second was her room at the Delphins’.

But having observed the Empress for years since her possession, she knew this much:
The Empress was deeply displeased, and for the first time, regarded her with wariness.

Evangeline swallowed her humiliation and bowed her head.

“Yes, I’ll take my leave.”

“For a mere story character, she acts far too much like my real mother…”

But for now, there was nothing she could do.

Lady Solene did not immediately give me a firm answer that she would take my hand.
I did not pressure her.
I simply explained how she could discreetly contact me without others knowing, and she listened in silence.

But once I saw the desire flickering in her eyes…

“It’s only a matter of time.”

Fortunately, my contact with Lady Solene raised no suspicion.
Her disappearance during the Empress’s banquet was taken only as her retreat after suffering the humiliation of having tea spilled on her.

With such a huge and shocking incident happening at the same time, no one paid much attention.

And of course, that ridiculous man congratulated himself:

“All thanks to my sacrifice. Isn’t that so?”

Arpad’s flawless face bore not a single blemish.
It was only natural—no one could forcibly drag him out even when he caused chaos in the Empress’s palace.

But his skin seemed unusually smooth and radiant.

“Somehow… it looks like he relieved a lot of stress. Is it just my imagination?”

When Arpad began to hum cheerfully, my suspicion was confirmed.

“Ah, that was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“…I didn’t find it fun at all.”

Arpad widened his eyes.

“Why? Didn’t everything go well with Lady Solene? No one interrupted, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“And whose effort made that possible? Do you know how hard I worked? I made sure no one’s attention would fall on you!”

He had worked hard.
Too hard, in fact—he left me with all the shame, while enjoying himself freely.

In the end, I couldn’t help blurting it out.

“Did you really have to use that word?”

“What word?”

The way he pretended to be innocent was insufferable.

“You know! That animal word!”

“I honestly don’t recall saying anything of the sort.”

Arpad smiled slyly.

“Maybe I’d remember if you said it yourself.”

He definitely knew. Two hundred percent.

My face burned as I finally shouted it out.

“That… that squirrel remark!”

Arpad burst into laughter and, to my horror, repeated it loudly enough for all in the Empress’s garden to hear:

“Ah, my little baby squirrel.”

He’d emphasized only “baby squirrel”!

It was on purpose—no doubt about it!

Arpad still smiled gently as he replied with a straight face:

“What’s wrong? It worked perfectly, didn’t it?”

Too perfectly. That was the problem.

“I’m certain—by tomorrow morning, every soul in the palace will think of me as the baby squirrel.”

Rumors in high society spread fast.
Especially ones like this.

Just imagining the looks people would give me tomorrow made me want to curl up and disappear.

“You didn’t have to use that phrase! You didn’t even need to mention me at all!”

All I had asked of Arpad was to draw attention away from me.
He had absolutely no reason to coin such an embarrassing nickname and spread it everywhere.

When I screamed in frustration again, Arpad doubled over with laughter.

“Ahaha! Do you know? Your expression right now is adorable.”

Laughing as he spoke, he looked unbearably handsome—and unbearably infuriating.

Rolling around on the ivory bed, he was so smug I wanted to pinch his side.

But Arpad moved first.

His muscular arm shot out, wrapped around my waist, and yanked me in.

“Ugh!”

I was pulled straight into his embrace.

I thumped against his broad, firm chest. It didn’t hurt—his chest muscles cushioned the blow.
In fact, it felt surprisingly comfortable.

And perhaps his dragon blood affected his body heat, because his entire body radiated warmth.

For someone like me, always cold-handed and cold-footed, it was the perfect kind of warmth.

With the steady heartbeat thudding against my ear, it was—comfort, heat, sound—all at once, like the best pillow…

“No, no, that’s not the point!”

I shook myself back to reality, determined to continue interrogating him.

“This time, you’re not going to smooth things over with that handsome face of yours!”