Chapter 37
Once Liet firmly made up her mind, she felt much lighter and stood up from her seat.
“I should go now.”
Her mother would be worried.
“Come down with me. I’ll see you off to the front gate.”
“No thanks. Coming to your place isn’t a one-time thing. Honestly, I could find my way to the front gate blindfolded from here.”
Liet waved her hand as if to firmly decline, but Evan had already passed her, opened the door, and stepped out first. Not wanting to argue, Liet silently followed him.
After walking a little, they reached the front gate. The waiting carriage was visible.
“I didn’t ask you to take me, so don’t expect any thanks.”
Liet waited for Evan’s response. Usually, he’d curl his lips and retort teasingly, but Evan just quietly stared at Liet.
“Are you still worried about me? If so, you’re worrying for nothing. Even if I have to lock down first, second, and third place, I will definitely be in the top three.”
“……”
“Did you hear what I said?”
Liet asked, but she briefly wondered why she, who should be the most troubled now, was the one trying to comfort Evan.
Still, she couldn’t help but be concerned about Evan’s unusual behavior.
“Liet.”
Feeling her unease, Evan finally spoke. She was briefly touched that his usually heavy lips moved.
“Have you recently made an enemy of someone?”
“Huh?”
Surprised by the sudden question, Liet blinked slowly.
“Well… I can’t recall anything. I haven’t done anything to earn grudges, but it’s a situation where crazy people are taking revenge for no reason.”
She thought carefully, but aside from Henry and Pierre, no other suspects came to mind.
“I mean, not someone at school. Have you made an enemy outside?”
“Definitely not. I usually study late in the library and then go home. When would I have time to meet outsiders?”
Liet crossed her arms and looked at Evan. She wondered if this was another setup for an argument, but seeing him deep in thought, she thought otherwise. He looked serious and concerned.
Sensing there was a reason behind his question, Liet uncrossed her arms and asked,
“Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.”
Evan briefly lowered his gaze but then looked back at Liet with a soft smile. Why stop talking halfway? It felt weird!
He always did this—teasing and making people curious, then shutting up when pressed.
Liet wanted to press further but eventually kept quiet. Pushing to find out the truth would only overwhelm her more today. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.
“I’m leaving.”
Liet got into the carriage without hesitation and waved her hand.
“Wait.”
Just as she was about to close the door, Evan grabbed it.
“What? Now you want to take me home?”
“If it’s okay.”
Evan said playfully, and relief and irritation surged simultaneously. She was glad to see Evan’s familiar cheekiness but annoyed at how irritating he was.
“Enough. Go inside quickly!”
Liet pushed Evan’s shoulder, but he didn’t move and quietly called her name.
“Liet.”
“What.”
Evan curled one side of his mouth at her annoyed tone.
“Like before—”
“……”
“Try suggesting we wash up together again. Just once more.”
Though Evan smiled, one eyebrow twitched slightly.
“I definitely won’t refuse that time.”
He stood there for a while, watching the carriage become a speck as it left.
‘She was cute.’
The confident way she boldly suggested washing together, then the way her face flushed when the favor was returned.
“Hah… nonsense!”
“That was your idea first, Liet. Was that nonsense too?”
“Move, I have to go!”
With a slam, the door closed in her face, and Liet—hair, eyes, and cheeks all flushed red—disappeared from sight.
Evan regretted not being able to look at her face longer.
He liked her when she was angry, annoyed, or confident, but her flustered face was rare and more precious.
The way her eyes reddened when angry was different from how her cheeks blushed in embarrassment.
Why couldn’t he etch her embarrassed face into his memory like a picture, even though he remembered everything else at a glance? Why did he want to see it over and over again?
He let out a laugh at his pointless regret.
Then, the memory of the ruined fountain came back vividly—such negative memories were like a painting in front of his eyes and spoiled his mood.
His previously pleasant smile quickly turned cold.
‘Who could have done it?’
Knowing Liet’s personality, she probably wouldn’t rush to find out who did it. She’d rather think about how to fix it.
That was smart. It was more productive to think about how to refill the spilled water than to find the culprit.
And Liet was a fundamentally generous person. Though she acted cold, Evan knew better than anyone that she wasn’t truly cold-hearted. Even if someone maliciously wronged her, if they sincerely apologized, Liet would forgive without much trouble.
Evan, on the other hand, was the opposite.
If someone aimed a blade at him, he’d make sure they could never do it again or lose the will to do so in the first place.
Even now, he wanted to know who dared to do such a brazen thing, no matter how much Liet said she didn’t care.
Liet seemed to suspect Henry and Pierre, but Evan knew well that they were not the culprits.
The reason was simple: he had met them just weeks ago.
Evan recalled that moment.
“Henry Leris, Pierre Carte.”
Startled by their names from behind, Henry and Pierre turned around.
“You’re… Evan?”
Henry raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“I wanted to see you both, and here you are together.”
Evan’s gaze passed Henry and stopped at Pierre. Questions flickered on their faces. Pierre spoke first.
“Why do you want to meet us?”
With a guarded tone, Evan smiled faintly. Anyone who knew him might have sensed a chill beneath that smile, but Henry and Pierre did not notice.
“I’ve heard strange rumors about Liet recently… and I think you’re the source.”
Evan’s confident words made Henry flare up.
“Who said that? Us?!”
“Everyone says so.”
Evan shrugged playfully, and Henry and Pierre exchanged uneasy glances. Then Pierre swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“Got proof it’s us? Even if it is, what’s it to you, Evan?”
“Hey, wait.”
“Why?”
Pierre’s boldness flustered Henry, who urgently whispered into Pierre’s ear,
‘The Duke of Meren and the Duke of Kroit have been old friends! Same with Liet and Evan!’
‘No, that’s not true. The Dukes are friends, but Liet and Evan are said to be bitter rivals.’
‘Do rivals dance together at a dance party?’
‘…Maybe? So Evan came to confront them for insulting his friend? Evan’s kind of scary…’
But their whispering was too loud, and Evan heard everything. He sighed shortly and said,
“I’m not here to warn you on Liet’s behalf.”
If Liet found out, there would be chaos. Evan could imagine her coming fussing. He gave a bitter smile and continued,
“I’m here because I’m worried about you.”
“What…? You’re worried about us?”
Henry was confused by the unexpected statement. Pierre was the same but still doubted Evan’s words.
“There’s something you don’t know.”
“…What?”
“Henry, do you know who the head of the Herman Guild your father belongs to is?”
“The head of the Herman Guild…?”
Pierre thought hard but came up empty.
No one knew. Herman was the largest guild in the Truto Empire, but its head was a complete mystery. From its founding, it was run by proxies, and nobody knew even the smallest detail about the head. Many suspected the guild for this.
But since it produced the largest revenue, supported many livelihoods, and paid taxes faithfully, even the emperor dared not interfere.
Herman Guild had immense influence and aroused much curiosity.
Evan, however, knew the identity of the guild head.
Because it was his father, Duke Kroit.
Duke Kroit had kept his position as Herman Guild’s head a secret—even from Evan.
‘It didn’t make sense. How could the Kroit family, managing only their domain, accumulate such wealth?’
Evan once secretly looked at the asset records managed by his father. The income from the land and the duke’s noble salary couldn’t possibly add up to that much.
From then, Evan suspected his father had a secret income source.
And when the incident nearly framing the duke’s younger brother Haart for murder revealed that Evan was not his biological son, Duke Kroit revealed the biggest secret to Evan—to show his affection and trust as his heir—that he was the head of the Herman Guild.
However, Evan’s reaction, which seemed to have been anticipated, surprised the duke.
Evan also roughly guessed why his father hid the business tightly. If the duke, known as the most reputable in high society, were revealed to be the head of the empire’s largest guild, nobles’ envy, jealousy, and royal suspicion would all fall on him.
The father Evan knew didn’t flaunt wealth or power to gain influence but acted humbly to avoid making enemies while gradually winning everyone over.
“You probably don’t know, but no one in this empire knows the true identity of the Herman Guild’s head. My father is quite high up there, so I know.”
Evan smiled satisfactorily as Pierre answered what he wanted to hear.
“You really don’t know. That’s why you can treat Liet the way you do.”
Evan never really appreciated what his father had, but this time, he was thankful—the secret head of the empire’s top guild, and coincidentally, Henry and Pierre’s father belonging to that guild.
Of course, Evan never intended to reveal the secret to these guys.
“What…? What do you mean?”
“Liet’s father is the head of that guild.”
He just used this fact cleverly.
