Chapter 36: CH 36

Episode 36.

Evan responded to Riett’s question.

“I just had a feeling that you would be there.”

Riett turned her gaze outside the window at Evan’s nonsensical remark. Then, she squinted her eyes and looked at Evan.

“What kind of fortune teller are you?”

“How would I know?”

Evan’s mouth slightly curled up. It was the first smile he made since they met at the fountain.

Riett didn’t care about Evan’s answer. Saying that wouldn’t matter. It would probably be a coincidence. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to appear at that time.

“Why don’t you ask what it’s about?”

Even though Riett was curious about the whole story while picking up scraps of paper at the fountain, Evan didn’t say a word and just helped her.

“There’s no need to ask what I already know.”

Well, during the busy exam period, it’s unlikely that he would think of it as volunteering while going around the fountain picking up trash. He probably guessed the situation based on what he could see. He’s a quick-witted guy.

After that, the two remained silent.

The carriage stopped, and Riett and Evan entered Kreutz’s mansion. The evening air felt damp, making their damp clothes feel cold. Riett wanted to immerse herself in hot water as soon as possible.

“Is the duke also here?”

Riett glanced slightly upward at the stairs and asked. Evan shook his head.

“He’s been busy these days, so he’s coming home late.”

“Thank goodness.”

Riett breathed a sigh of relief at the answer she wanted.

“What’s so relieving?”

“Just… I didn’t want to show him this state.”

Riett’s shirt had water stains here and there, and her damp hair was tangled messily.

When she was young, she used to roll around on the dirt floor and proudly show her achievements in front of the duke with a dirty face. But now, things were different from back then.

She turned sixteen, and in two years, she would have her debutante ball and become an adult. She wasn’t a child playing in the dirt anymore, and at her age, she had to take care of her appearance herself. That’s why she didn’t want to show herself in this state anymore. There’s no need to worry.

“You care too much about my father.”

Evan said, looking away. Unlike before, his tone was firm.

“Because you seem worried. Do you think he thinks of me more like a son than you?”

Riett retorted cheekily.

Evan must have thought it wasn’t worth arguing, so he turned around and started walking first. His departing figure felt oddly cold.

Riett couldn’t understand why Evan didn’t understand, but she decided not to pay much attention to it. Right now, it was more important to remove the sleeves that were sticking to her body.

Evan, who had been walking in front, stopped in front of her room and opened the door.

“Wash up in my bathroom. I’ll call Emma.”

She unintentionally looked like she was taking the landlord’s bathroom. Anyway, even though this mansion was large, there was only one bathroom…

“Where will you wash?”

Riett, feeling guilty, asked customarily.

“Anywhere.”

Just as she felt from his back earlier, it was true. Evan had been in a low mood since their short conversation earlier. She could tell from his indifferent response.

She didn’t know why he was like that, but regardless, she owed him a favor today, so she wanted to lighten his mood.

Riett deliberately smiled mischievously and looked at Evan.

“If you don’t have a place to wash, want to wash with me?”

With a shrug of her shoulders, she added,

“I don’t mind though.'”

At that point, Riett could already anticipate the disdainful look that seemed to say, “What are you talking about?” She looked at Evan with an expression that conveyed her understanding of his reaction.

But Evan, after staring blankly at Riett for a moment, lowered his head and wiped his face. Puzzled by his strange reaction, Riett asked,

“Evan…?”

Even in response to Riett’s question, Evan remained unresponsive for a while. Riett tilted her head, thinking,

‘He doesn’t seem angry… Did my suggestion to wash together catch him off guard?’

Thinking that it could be a joke that friends could make, she didn’t expect it to be such an uncomfortable topic for today. Riett reached out her palm and gently touched Evan’s cheek to make eye contact. Evan’s skin felt warm. He already had a higher body temperature than most people, but now it seemed to be even higher than usual.

“Hey… Lift your head.”

But at that moment, Evan brushed away Riett’s hand that was touching his face. Riett withdrew her hand with a bewildered expression.

Upon closer inspection, not only Evan’s neck but also his ears were turning red.

‘This makes me look like a bully who picked on an innocent child.’

In the awkward situation, Riett’s mouth began to dry up.

“Um… It was just a joke, you know, Evan?”

“…”

“Thanks for letting me use your bathroom. I’ll go wash up now. You should hurry and… The air doesn’t seem good today. It’s better to wash up quickly, right…?”

As Riett rambled on, making excuses, she gradually entered Evan’s room and closed the door. She felt a bit bothered by Evan not lifting his head, but it was already spilled water.

‘Why is he so sensitive to a joke between friends?’

Maybe it would have been different in the past, but now he probably doesn’t have any emotional attachment to her. Riett pouted her lips and crossed her arms, reminding herself of her age.

As Evan said, her father seemed to be more concerned about maintaining a dignified appearance, but in contrast, she couldn’t help but show her naive side to Evan. Maybe after her debutante ball, getting married, and having children, she would still want to play these innocent pranks on Evan.

But it seemed that Evan wasn’t like that.

Has Evan already become an adult by himself? He doesn’t seem interested in these silly jokes. Riett felt inexplicable down.

“Miss Riett, shall I assist you with your bath?”

Just as Riett was lost in thought, Emma’s voice calling her snapped her back to reality.

While Riett sat down and waited, Emma prepared the bathwater and helped Riett prepare for her bath.

Riett slowly dipped her feet into the warm water that emitted heat. The warm water gently embraced her chilled skin. It felt completely different from when she dipped her hand in the cold water at the fountain.

‘Ah, the fountain…’

As she thought about the fountain, she also remembered the scraps of paper floating on the water.

Remembering the forgotten fact for a moment, Riett felt as if cold water was pouring over her head, contrasting with her body submerged in the hot bathwater. For some reason, she felt a tingling sensation, so she lowered her body even further into the bathtub.

Someone intentionally caused this. In her mind, the two people who had trouble with her immediately came to mind.

“Could it be Henry…? Or Pierre?”

In simple terms, it seemed that way, but they had been unusually quiet lately.

For the past few days, Riett and those two hadn’t even made eye contact. Seeing them like that, she didn’t think they would do something as audacious as secretly discarding a book from behind.

Or maybe, people are unpredictable. Could this be the reason for putting on an act?

Riett’s mind was in complete disarray.

But soon, one thing became clear. In the current situation, it didn’t matter who did it, and it wasn’t important to find out the culprit’s identity.

‘Even if I know who did it, the fact remains that the exams are next week and the textbooks are torn to shreds.’

Instead, Riett had to admit her fault.

She knew she had enemies at school, yet she didn’t take proper care of her books. It was equivalent to not properly managing a gun on a battlefield.

Lost in thought, as the heat rose to her face and her eyes closed, Riett called for Emma to prepare for washing up.

* * *

After finishing her bath and stepping outside, the lukewarm night air pleasantly touched her warm body. And in the moment of contemplating what to wear, Emma brought Riett’s clothes that were hung on the rack.

“I’ve removed the stains and dried them briefly.”

“Thank you.”

The clothes were much cleaner than before.

Riett admired Emma’s thoughtful actions and accepted the clothes. Emma also skillfully dried Riett’s slightly damp hair.

“Duke Evan asked me to call you when you’re done washing up. Can I bring you to him now?”

Satisfied with her improved appearance in the neat mirror, Riett nodded her head. Soon, with a smart sound, Evan appeared.

“You used the bath well. It’s the first time I’ve been in here, and it’s nice and spacious.”

As she said that, Riett sneakily glanced at Evan.

His expression was the same as usual, unlike when they parted in front of the bath earlier. It seemed like he had relaxed. Riett inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.

“Here.”

Evan placed a book he was holding in front of Riett. The cover was familiar to Riett’s eyes. When Riett looked up at him with a questioning expression, Evan casually answered,

“It’s my textbook.”

“I know that too.”

The design on the cover was so familiar that she had seen it countless times and had even retrieved a torn piece of that book just now.

“There’s not much time left until the exams. Use this to study.”

Riett narrowed her eyebrows at Evan’s calm words.

“What about you?”

Without saying a word, Evan tapped her head lightly. Riett soon realized what that meant.

‘Oh… He remembers everything he sees.’

Riett recalled Evan’s monstrous ability once again.

The condition of the brand-new textbook was further proof of that ability. The pages were clean even though the midterms had passed. It was only natural since he hadn’t looked at a page more than once.

Riett stared fixedly at the pristine book in her hands, then pushed it firmly towards Evan.

“I don’t need it.”

“Why? Do you have the ability to remember everything you see?”

Evan leaned on the table with his hand, his body slightly tilted. He met Riett’s gaze, mirroring her sitting posture.

“If I had that ability, I wouldn’t have suffered so much at the fountain earlier.”

“Then why won’t you accept it?”

Evan’s lips tightened as he asked.

Riett found it strange that Evan seemed displeased. She was the one feeling upset.

Expected to receive gratitude as if offering a victory to the enemy by extending the book, huh? Handing a weapon to the enemy on the battlefield was no different from ignoring them.

“I don’t need it.”

“Now is not the time to be prideful, is it? If you can’t study properly and take the exam, Riett will be the one at a loss.”

Riett knew that fact better than anyone else. However, the reason for not needing it wasn’t solely due to pride.

“Your book wouldn’t be of much help to me anyway.”

When Evan gave him a questioning look, Riett reached out and opened the book, flipping through the pages. The rapidly turning pages were, as expected, clean without a single line of notes.

“Look at this. There’s nothing written here.”

“I don’t need to write anything.”

Evan looked at her as if asking what the problem was. After Riett closed the book with a thud and placed it on the table, she continued.

“Yeah, you probably remember everything the teacher says after hearing it once. But I don’t have that talent, so I wrote down everything the teachers said.”

Studying for exams wasn’t just about memorizing the content written in textbooks. If that were the case, getting good grades would be easy. Unfortunately, many exam questions were based on the explanations given by the subject teachers, which contained their experiences.

And Evan’s clean textbook didn’t have a single word of the explanations given by the teachers during class.

Evan understood Riett’s intention and had a realization on his face. Then he plopped down on the chair next to Riett.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know either. It’s only been a few hours since the textbook turned out like this. I haven’t had time to come up with a plan.”

Sigh. Evan’s dark pupils looked particularly intense when he frowned. Evan spoke.

“But… why are you so calm?”

Of course, it wasn’t that she was calm. She was drifting away from the dream of becoming a duke. But she couldn’t just sit there indefinitely.

“There’s only so much I can do without losing my composure.”

Even if she couldn’t do anything about this exam, there was still one and a half years left. During that time, she had to find a way, no matter what.