CHAPTER 26…………………………
“Brother…?”
Evelina murmured in a trembling voice.
Adrian was staring at her with a rigid expression.
Their eyes met only for a moment before he turned his head away and brushed past her.
Then, Evelina suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Brother.”
“…”
“I have something to ask—”
Before she could even finish her sentence, he shook her hand off as if brushing away something filthy.
Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe his hand.
Evelina’s lips parted soundlessly.
To be honest, she could count on one hand how many times she had spoken with Adrian.
They had exchanged a few words as children, but once they grew older, they had never truly talked again.
Usually, it ended with Evelina secretly stealing glances at him from afar.
She had tried countless times to talk to him, but whenever she so much as appeared in his line of sight, the maid would drag her away somewhere else.
Every year during his birthday party, she had to stay in the attic as quietly as a mouse, and Adrian seemed to think that was perfectly natural.
Still, Evelina had believed that Adrian didn’t hate her.
He was, after all, her only family aside from their father—how could he possibly hate her?
But that too had been nothing more than her delusion.
“…Brother.”
Her chest rose and fell sharply.
She felt as though she might collapse at any moment.
Adrian, however, didn’t seem the least bit concerned with her state.
Expressionless, he silently wiped the hand she had touched, thoroughly and precisely, then dropped the handkerchief onto the floor.
Evelina stared blankly at the fallen handkerchief.
A cold voice struck her ears like lightning.
“How dare you set foot in this place?”
“…”
“Leave. Now.”
Adrian’s eyes were filled with unmistakable contempt.
Evelina clenched her fists, unable to say anything.
It felt as though the last, fragile thread that had barely been holding her together snapped apart.
‘…Ah.’
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
When she suddenly let out a small chuckle, Adrian’s face twisted as if he’d just seen something grotesque.
‘So, from the very beginning… there was never anyone who cared about me.’
The realization came too late, and the emptiness hit her like a wave.
When she said nothing, Adrian turned on his heel.
As he began to walk away, Evelina’s trembling voice called out from behind him.
“Brother.”
His steps halted.
“Have you ever… thought of me as family?”
Adrian paused briefly before replying coldly.
“My family is only Father and my late mother.”
That was all.
He said nothing more and walked away again.
Left standing alone, Evelina’s gaze lingered on the handkerchief lying on the floor.
A crushing sense of misery filled her.
They had never once considered her family—only she had been foolish enough to think they were.
She had no idea how she left the mansion or got into the carriage.
When she finally came to her senses, the carriage was rattling toward the Grand Duke’s estate.
As she stared blankly out the window, the words that had pierced her heart earlier resurfaced.
[If I had known you would be born with red eyes, I would have erased you long ago.]
She couldn’t understand how anyone could say something so cruel to the person themselves.
Tears that had stopped began to flow again.
“Sob… hic…”
Drops of tears fell onto the back of her hand.
She needed to stop crying before they arrived at the Grand Duke’s mansion, but it wasn’t so easy.
The carriage slowed to a stop.
There was a knock from outside, but Evelina couldn’t bring herself to answer.
Still, she had to say something, so she tried to steady her voice.
“J-just… give me a moment, please.”
She tried to sound calm, but she couldn’t completely hide the quiver in her tone.
Anyone perceptive would know she had been crying.
‘If I cover my eyes, they won’t notice as much.’
The cloth that covered her eyes was enchanted, so it didn’t get wet—but she loosened the ribbon to fix it.
As she sniffled softly while wiping her tears, the carriage door suddenly swung open.
Startled, Evelina instinctively turned her head away instead of covering her eyes again.
She saw Arsen standing there, his expression grave.
“Arsen…?”
At first, his face showed concern—but when he noticed her tear-streaked cheeks, his expression hardened.
“Evelina, have you been crying?”
“Oh, I… um, no. Something just got in my eye.”
Evelina forced an awkward smile, lowering her gaze.
As she reached to adjust her blindfold again, Arsen climbed into the carriage, closed the door behind him, and knelt before her.
“Arsen? W-wait, what are you—”
“You don’t have to cover them.”
His voice was gentle as he took her hand, and she froze.
His grip was so light that she could have pulled away—but his warmth was so comforting that she didn’t want to.
“May I ask… why you were crying?”
“Well…”
Her lips trembled as she fought back another wave of tears.
Arsen’s fingers softly brushed the back of her hand, a soothing gesture that made her stammer out her words.
“M-my father… said he never once thought of me as his daughter.”
“…”
“I… was never family to them… from the very beginning.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I realized it… far too late…”
Her heart ached unbearably.
The pain of being completely rejected by her own blood pierced her like needles.
Arsen’s expression turned pained as well, and he gently pulled her into his arms.
Evelina clung to him, burying her face against his chest.
He patted her back softly.
“Don’t hold it in. Cry as much as you need. I’ll never leave your side—for as long as I live.”
Her body trembled faintly.
“No words can truly comfort you… but please remember, Evelina—you’re not alone.”
Arsen held her for a long time, until her tears finally subsided.
Evelina sniffled and finally pulled away.
She felt embarrassed for crying so hard in his arms.
When she glanced at his chest, she saw the wet marks her tears had left behind and gasped.
“Oh no—I’m so sorry. It’s all wet now.”
“It’s fine. Clothes can be changed. Are you feeling any better now?”
Evelina averted her gaze and nodded slightly.
After crying so much, she did feel a little lighter.
Arsen looked at her and said quietly,
“I like everything about you, Evelina.”
“W-what…?”
“Your soft hair, your clear, beautiful eyes, your voice—I like them all.”
Her cheeks flushed red, like ink bleeding into paper.
“So you don’t have to hide your eyes anymore. There’s no one here who would hate them. I promise you that.”
Evelina slowly turned her gaze toward him.
His blue eyes met hers without a trace of hesitation.
She stared into them, dazed, before whispering,
“Do you really… not find my eyes repulsive?”
“They’re beautiful. I only wish I had the same eyes as you—it’s a shame I don’t.”
He answered without the slightest pause.
“How could I ever despise the person I love?”
“…Thank you.”
Evelina replied softly.
Arsen smiled gently, stood up, opened the carriage door, and stepped out.
Evelina stared down at the blindfold still in her hands.
His words echoed in her ears again and again.
After hesitating a moment, she finally chose not to put it on and reached for his hand instead.
Her heart trembling, she followed him out.
As she walked to her room, none of the servants avoided her gaze.
No one made a fuss about her uncovered eyes—they acted completely normal.
And that, somehow, felt even more comforting.
They didn’t treat her uncovered eyes as something extraordinary, and she appreciated that.
“I’ll come fetch you for dinner later,” Arsen said.
“Okay. And… thank you, for earlier.”
“I only spoke the truth. Please rest well.”
Evelina carefully closed the door behind her.
She lifted her hand and brushed her bare eyelids—it felt strange to touch skin instead of fabric.
Then she folded the blindfold neatly and tucked it into a drawer.
Just then, a knock sounded and a familiar voice called out.
“Your Grace, may I come in?”
“Oh—yes, come in.”
The door opened, and Berry stepped inside.
Their eyes met, and Berry’s widened before she beamed brightly.
“As expected, Your Grace’s eyes are truly beautiful!”
“T-thank you…” Evelina answered awkwardly.
Berry cheerfully chattered as she helped Evelina change clothes.
“Please wait just a moment, Your Grace!”
“Hm?”
Once she’d finished dressing, Berry hurried out of the room, returning a few minutes later with a small ice pouch.
“Place this over your eyes and rest. The swelling will go down before dinner.”
“Oh… thank you for taking care of me.”
“Please rest well, Your Grace!”
Berry bowed politely and left the room.
Evelina silently ran her fingers over the cool pouch.
Lying down carefully on the bed, she placed it over her eyelids, and the warmth of her skin quickly gave way to soothing coolness.
Just as Berry had said, the swelling would probably fade if she stayed like this for a while.
Berry must have noticed she had been crying—but she hadn’t said a word about it.
That, too, made Evelina grateful.
At dinner later, she planned to tell Karina what had happened—and ask her not to invite them to the wedding.
After all, they were the ones who had let go of her hand first. She no longer intended to keep holding on.
“This is… truly the end,” Evelina whispered softly, biting her lip.
