"You slutty lady, open your eyes!" Evelyn said in an irritated voice. Lilia opened her eyes slowly. She's been up even before the doctor leaves. She frowned immediately; her complexion was still pale but better than a few hours before.
"How can you kick a weak girl that's been drinking poison and lay in bed with no strength? I almost think that you're the real villainess in this world," Lilia said, her voice hoarse.
"Wait stop! I know what you want to say, but it's not entirely my mistake, you see."
"Do you want to blame me now? How cunning you are."
"You deliberately gave me the same color vial, at least you can differentiate the color you know, don't blame me if I mistakenly snatch the poison rather than the sauce you prepared."
"Seriously, you're too defenseless, Lilia,
Evelyn clicked her tongue and gave her a glass of water.
"You were never this clumsy before, Lilia, or did you deliberately want to drink that damn poison?"
"No, I said no, okay. Didn't I tell you that it was just a con act…ack-"Lilia bit her tongue.
"You're even unable to speak clearly now."
"I'm barely awake, but you so fiercely put me in a quarrel."
"You just don't know how you messed up with my-"
"I got it, I got it... Sit down first, won't you? You look like a walking corpse, Evelyn... Come here first..."
Lilia urges Evelyn to join her in bed. Evelyn sits on the edge with her aggravated looks.
"Seriously… You have become dull and careless with everything related to the Duke."
"No, I'm not!"
"….."
"I'm not Eve... It's not like I'm always caught up in serious trouble." Lilia shrugs away Evelyn's remark.
"You are," Evelyn says, giving Lilia sarcastic looks and reminding her about the recent incident.
"Look, if it's about the poison, we're done right. Human error is forgivable."
"You almost lost your life and said that was forgivable human error?'
"Eve…"
"It's not happened just once, Lilia, you were also very defenseless during the Oldenburg harvest festival, right?"
"Wait… I don't recall telling you that part, Eve." Lilia felt a bit off about Evelyn's response because she didn't mention the part where she was robbed or about her almost being the center of the crowd.
"I know everything," the ginger girl said nonchalantly.
"What?? How?? Wait, no way…" Lilia's face suddenly went horrified, too shocked for the possibilities she was thinking about.
"What?"
"Don't tell me Raphael handed that to you."
"I am…" Evelyn spoke calmly. She was initially a little taken aback by Lilia's response, but then the girl smirked.
"Crazy Raphael! How can he?" Lilia sat down with the information she just got. She wanted to curse Raphael right then and there because she felt that the thing Raphael handed over to Evelyn was too dangerous.
"Despite being poisoned, you look very vengeful right now."
"I want to curse Raphael."
"Why?"
"Why? That was my question, Evelyn, how can he hand you that dangerous thing without discussing it with me?"
"Calm down, okay. It's not that bad."
Lilia snorted; she doubted Evelyn's words. Raphael handed over the responsibility of the kingdom's information traffic, the largest in the capital and bigger than the information guild, to a little girl who was still underage.
Lilia wanted to keep Evelyn as far away from the dark side of the royal family and the throne as possible, but with herself being the crown prince's aide since two years ago, surely those things would be unavoidable. Lilia laid her body back down, feeling weak from the earlier rush. She looked at the girl sitting beside her. Despite her cute face, it is very clear that her best friend is fatigued. Lilia thinks her mistake that caused Evelyn's plans to fall apart is totally one of the reasons for the crumpled face.
Lilia knew that Evelyn's decision to help Raphael become his aide came from her own. Still, seeing the amount of work Evelyn did and the various other responsibilities she held, Lilia was truly heavy-hearted. She knew Evelyn's dream, but she didn't expect that Evelyn would start realizing it so early. From the moment she got the news that Evelyn had started working as Raphael's aide, her feelings were mixed. She was happy that her cousin had a very reliable ally, but on the other hand, she didn't want Evelyn's youth to be wasted.
Lilia sighed deeply, Evelyn's life was her decision, and she had no right to interfere. Instead of continuing to argue about Evelyn, who was now a noble lady with the fastest access and most accurate information in the entire empire, it was better for her to use the time available to rest well. She almost forgot that she was still in the recovery process after a life-and-death experience.
Evelyn noticed her best friend's pale face, although her face looked calm, the incident some time ago was still in her mind. The look of worry was still thick. Lilia felt Evelyn's intense gaze, and she nudged Evelyn's hand to make the girl stop her sharp gaze.
"Quite the gaze, Evelyn..."
"If I think that gray hair might appear on my head tomorrow, it wouldn't be any strange about that."
"Oh no, Evelyn, don't be like that. Come here. lie beside me…"
Evelyn was still pouting at how easygoing Lilia was, but she could no longer argue with Lilia, so she decided to lie down next to her best friend. She looked straight into Lilia's eyes. Evelyn remembered how much she adored Lilia's looks—her forest green eyes and the golden sparkle of her blonde hair. She chuckled.
"Your acting was marvelous, you should've become an opera actress rather than a knight."
"You almost killed me, I can't forgive you that easily."
"You ruined my plan first, you gave me no justice," Evelyn said flatly.
"But you give me a poison that makes me have seizures and choke on blood."
"Lily of the Valley's root is not a lethal poison, you should be grateful I didn't give you something more dangerous or give you that poison with a different dosage, after all, I'm not preparing it for you to drink it in the first place," Evelyn said viciously, pouting in advance.
"Further, I give you lily of the valley, hoping that both of you will realize the meaning of the flower itself," Evelyn said while loosening the scarf around her neck and lying down more comfortably.
"The meaning… What is… but wait. Seriously, Evelyn, my body's trembling non-stop; I'll keep this in mind: you can murder me easily even if you cannot wield a sword with your fragile hand."
"As if you're not the same, you can strangle me with a bare hand." Evelyn makes a funny gesture that makes both her and Lilia burst into laughter.
Evelyn closes her amethyst eyes. The girl feels exhausted, fortunately, the rude Crown Prince gives her a week of days off. After this, she would give herself a good night's sleep. Lilia directed her gaze toward the ceiling.
"My heart fluttered so much seeing how the duke worried about me and went frantic just for me," Lilia said in a cheerful tone, voicing her happiness.
"Excuse me, it's not just 'THE DUKE' that's worried and frantic about 'YOU." Evelyn protested with a frown on her face, her eyes still closed. It's cute.
"Poor Evelyn, oh, by the way, are you the one that thinks about it? I forgot to tell you about the place after all."
"Promise me you won't scream, and I will tell you."
"I promise"
"Okay, it was the Duke," she said with closed eyes.
Evelyn opened her eyes and saw Lilia's face frozen, her mouth gaping like a fish gasping for air. Her face turned red in the process.
"Evelyn, don't you dare lie to me!" She reacted, pouting and reaching for Evelyn's chubby cheeks to squeeze and stretch them.
"My God, no, Lilia, I'm dead serious, he is the one that comes up with the idea of you at Flümén Sanctum and then asks me about the possibility. I know it's hard to believe, but even the Crown Prince cannot ask how the duke knows about Flümén Sanctum because he is too astonished by that fact alone."
"Evelyn... how can I give up on someone so precious like that, my heart unfairly being captured by him every second I breathe," Lilia hugged Evelyn tightly while sobbing. She is overwhelmed by this fact alone; the young lady's heart flutters full of butterflies.
"Evelyn, I love him more and more."
"Gosh, I'm pathetic, hiks," Lilia said with tearful eyes.
"Yes, you are the biggest pathetic girl ever." Evelyn, with her mocking tone and her little protest about the hug.
"Eve... Oh my... My duke..."
Lilia's mumbling between her tears She can't even convey her warm feelings in words and continues to hug the poor lady tightly. Evelyn kept silent the whole time, patting her back dearly. They stay like that for some hours before they fall asleep in that position.