Chapter 44. No Matter How Much I Resent It
Originally, Evie Ariate had intended to sneak into Cassel Montera's room with earplugs in place.
She usually only listened to about one-third of what he said, as it was mostly haughty and teasing nonsense.
She had planned to observe his lip movements and expressions, play along, nod wisely, and come back.
However, upon entering his room, the atmosphere felt so tense that Evie couldn't bring herself to block out the sounds.
In the midst of this, Cassel, with a beaming smile, gestured for Evie to come closer.
With that urgent gesture, Evie, torn with indecision, eventually approached Cassel, holding the earplugs in her hand.
"Hello, marquis. I came by to see how you're feeling. Are you alright now?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just overworked. There's been a lot going on lately."
Cassel, oblivious to the fact that he had narrowly escaped death, spoke casually.
Then, looking to his side, he added.
"Besides, thanks to Lord Arco's swift response, I'm doing just fine."
Lord Arco?
At the unfamiliar title, Evie looked to her side following Cassel's gaze and belatedly noticed a woman standing by the edge of the bed.
'What is she doing here?'
There, again in her uniform as though it were another day, stood Morren Arco of the Arco family.
Upon making eye contact with Evie, Morren gave a slight nod, to which Evie, bewildered, responded in kind.
A great noble collapsed during a banquet.
Thus, it was only natural for the host to take great care and concern.
Therefore, it was no surprise to see people from the Tuha family, including Rio Tuha, coming out of this room.
However, it felt awkward for Morren Arco to be present here.
She was, after all, the one who had been butting heads with Cassel just the previous day.
'Could it be that Count Laurel sent her?'
Puzzled, Evie looked at Morren again and noticed that her expression was more rigid than yesterday.
As Evie's doubts deepened, Cassel spoke with a smile.
"Evie, you look too cute today as well."
Cassel looked at Evie with satisfaction, examining her appearance closely.
"You were really beautiful at yesterday's luncheon, too. Ah, you must have been even more beautiful during the evening banquet. It was a pity I missed it."
"I was disappointed that you weren't at the banquet, marquis!"
Evie replied.
"Sure, you only choose to say pretty things!"
Cassel said, gazing at her with a more intense look.
Evie felt increasingly uncomfortable in this situation.
Although Evie tolerated it well, as someone once said, most of Cassel's defining traits were things she despised.
She hated his sleazy voice pretending to be gentle, his intrusive hands, his blatant gaze wandering, and, most of all, that slick face wearing a look of appetite.
Evie suppressed her desire to shudder and managed a smile. Cassel then spoke more mischievously.
"Still, it feels like I missed out. Oh, maybe you could show me now."
"Pardon?"
"The dress you wore yesterday, go put it on now so I can see it."
At Cassel's cheerful words, Evie was left speechless.
Seeing her reaction, Cassel also grinned broadly and opened his mouth to speak further.
However, before he could say more, Morren interrupted.
"It was a white dress. The skirt looked like a tulip. It left an impression."
Morren spoke in her usual firm manner, and somehow gently shielded Evie.
"It was so impressive that I too would love to see it again, but we can't have today's event feel hollow by sending this lady back to yesterday's."
Morren's words cut off Cassel's insistence, making Evie feel relieved and worried at the same time.
If the two started growling at each other like they did yesterday, she would end up suffering between them.
"That makes sense. Then, I'll have to enjoy it twice as much tonight!"
Cassel surprisingly backed down easily, with an attitude completely different from yesterday.
"But if she's not pretty enough later, I'll have to scold Evie."
He added lightly as he glanced at her again.
At that moment, Evie felt the hairs on her body stand on end, but she laughed it off.
Cassel enjoyed toying with Evie this way.
He found it adorable when Evie behaved meekly like a puppy.
If Evie at any point failed to respond as he wished, Cassel would either get serious or whisper something like:
―Evie, you need to get along with me to become a saintess.
He knew that Evie wanted to become a saintess, and so he occasionally took pleasure in threatening her like this.
Cassel Montera being that kind of person was nothing new to Evie.
Thus, she merely had to endure the repulsiveness as always.
However, the problem was the persistent unease she felt.
Though Cassel was behaving as flippant and lewd as usual, something about the atmosphere was off.
It was too quiet, as if something was being hidden.
And if they were indeed hiding something, it was definitely about Evie.
"... I should try hard not to be scolded by the Marquis!"
Evie said, sensing something unusual but pretending she knew nothing.
Cassel responded with an offhand.
"I look forward to it."
The gazes of those around her who had been observing Evie intensified once more.
They looked down on her.
Pitying her.
Yet, no one offered to tell Evie the reason.
---
In the villa that Cassel Montera was using, the second-best room was on the fourth floor of the East Wing.
And the finest room used by Zion Laurel was just below on the third floor of the East Wing.
Thus, Evie could easily reach Cassel Montera's room through the secret passage.
Count Laurel had used this secret passage a few times to come and go from Evie's room, which was why only that path was free of dust.
However, traversing this narrow space wasn't exactly pleasant.
To navigate this steep ladder, Evie changed from her dress into the most casual gown, gritting her teeth as she climbed.
'What on earth is going on with this guy?'
Evie had experienced clear ostracism and teasing in Cassel Montera's room earlier.
Something was definitely up, and everyone seemed to have made a pact to hide it.
Yet they subtly hinted at it, like bystanders watching a disaster from afar.
Their deceit and exclusion unnerved Evie.
Even after leaving the marquis's room, she couldn't shake off a foreboding sensation.
Thus, she decided to find out for herself what they were hiding and headed toward his room using the secret passage.
'Is it around here?'
Upon climbing the ladder completely, a spacious area resembling an attic appeared.
It was a low-ceilinged space that required crawling, and there were traces of dust swept in that area too.
Guided by a small lamp, Evie tracked those marks.
The dusty trail ended in the middle of the space, and handprints surrounded the area instead of footprints.
It seemed Count Laurel had come up from below.
'So below is the Count's room, and above is the Marquis's room.'
Satisfied that she had found the right place, Evie quietly held her breath.
After waiting for a while, she heard raucous laughter above.
"What can you do? You have to know when to step up and when not to."
It was Cassel's voice.
Less smooth when addressing her, but it was undoubtedly Cassel Montera's voice that echoed above.
"I find it pitiful, though."
"Why pity when there are people around who'd take her just for being pretty?"
It was about her—Evie.
Though no name had been mentioned, Evie couldn't help but sense it intuitively.
"A commoner becoming a saintess was too much even to begin with, don't you think?"
Her intuition turned into certainty, and all her ominous premonitions came true.
Evie clamped her hands over her mouth to prevent groans or screams from escaping.
While Evie desperately held her breath, the conversation continued overhead.
"Then why have you been supporting Evie Ariate all along?"
"Just following the trend. Everyone expected her to become the saintess. Honestly, whoever becomes the saintess doesn't matter to me, and I do like her. But when she started getting above herself, I thought she wouldn't do."
Cassel Montera said in a complaining tone.
Despite her hands trembling, Evie managed to chuckle humorlessly.
'Above myself? When did I ever?'
"Ah, at Vis... You mentioned it was her hometown, didn't you?"
"Home or not, they say she thoroughly played the saintess role there, which isn't right. Those lower continent people are relentless once they latch on."
Cassel clicked his tongue.
"She's too uneducated to understand why taboos are forbidden. Imagine if she became the saintess. Those bugs from the southern continent would pester her constantly."
"My uncle and father were also worried about that. If we set a precedent, Vis might start demanding more and more. If Evie Ariate gets dragged around there and meets a mishap, who'll handle purification then?"
"I've heard. That's why I planned to make Rio Tuha the saintess like her sister and keep Evie safe in Thiendavis without bringing unnecessary Vis stench."
Cassel spoke with an airy, trivial tone.
Evie reflected on those words with a dazed feeling, as if she were dreaming.
In other words, Cassel would no longer propose Evie as a candidate for sainthood.
Instead, he decided to support Rio Tuha as the future saintess.
Because Evie had purified the poison that engulfed Vis village.
Because Vis's people must not get used to being saved by the saintess.
Because Evie Ariate will continue purification duties in Thienda.
Evie found it hard to believe her understanding of the situation.
Even amid all this, malicious talk about her continued overhead.
"Evie will still believe she's going to be a saintess."
"What kind of reaction will she make when she finds out she's not?"
"I don't know how would she react, but she'll certainly resent you to death."
Cassel laughed lowly at his friend's harsh words
That laughter sounded unnervingly sharp to Evie compared to the rest of the conversation.
"Even if she resents me, wouldn't it be cute? Now that I think about it, it's rather nice. Obedience can be boring."
At those words, Evie's mind went blank.
No other thoughts surfaced.
She was not even angry.
It just felt too surreal.
That a conversation deciding her fate was so trivial.
That even without her knowledge, her future had been decided so insignificantly.
Feeling a surge within her, Evie scratched the floor with her nails, needing to do so just to feel like she was holding herself together.
However, at that moment, the floor under Evie unexpectedly clicked open.
Without even time to be surprised, Evie fell.
She hardly realized she was falling until something caught her.
With a pale, blood-drained face, Evie looked at the man who held her.
It was Zion Laurel, who stood there having caught Evie as she had descended from the ceiling.
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