On the contrary, hearing that eased my tension.

‘…I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.’

Feeling mischievous, I stood up and slightly lowered my head towards him.

“You know, Cassius.”

I opened my mouth slowly.

“Yes.”

“Even if we go back… are you okay?”

“That’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He nodded.

“But, when we go back…”

…You’re going to receive the death penalty.

I swallowed the afterthought. Of course, it was something he would have understood without having to say it out loud.

“A lot has happened while you were gone.”

“Please explain it to me.”

Hearing those words, I raised myself up. I was no longer in the mood to lie down anymore. I had to find out what had happened while I was being dragged around by Gabriel.

“After escaping from prison… the first thing I did was to take back control of the Aisle. Everyone was confused, thinking that you seemed possessed by Cesare though I knew it wasn’t like that. Still, he’s a very capricious person.”

I nodded silently.

Would the day ever come when I tell Cassius about Cesare’s true identity? However, confessing those words meant that I had to reveal my true identity as well…

‘…Now, I don’t want to do that.’

I’m Evelyn Garneid.

And the real Evelyn Ganid must be living in the body of my former self. As I thought so, I listened to Cassus’s explanation, hoping that she would be able to adjust well.

“Has the Aisle been exonerated?”

“No.”

Cassius shook his head.

“It’s complicated to explain, but I’ve gotten my hands on His Highness the Crown Prince’s weakness.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

Stunned, I asked again.

When he said it was okay to go back, of course, I assumed the false accusation of murdering his father had been cleared though he had gotten his hands on the crown prince’s weakness…?

“What the hell…”

“Hmm.”

He made a strange expression.

“His Highness the Crown Prince… In fact, he’s not the resurrection of Her Majesty the previous Empress.”

…What kind of soap opera was this?

“He’s the son of the current Empress.”

That was even more absurd. Still stunned, I raised my voice at Cassius in disbelief.

“Then, the emperor is…!”

“His Majesty the Emperor.”

Cassius corrected me.

Ah, yes. It was a strict caste society here.

“His Majesty the Emperor… really doesn’t know that?”

At those words, he smirked.

“I thought you would say so.”

“Huu, you took that as a weakness anyway?”

“Yes.”

He nodded.

“If that fact were known, it would be a problem for legitimacy, so we made a deal.”

Wasn’t it a threat, not a deal…?

Regardless, since I was on Cassius’s side, I just listened to his words without saying anything.

“Commencing that there’s another culprit who framed me, we reinstate them as soon as possible.”

“Who would be responsible for that?”

I asked, puzzled.

It must have been difficult to overwrite those who had already died. If Cassius and the Crown Prince have framed an innocent man…

“Oh, it’s Cesare.”

He replied in a tone that said it was nothing.

“So, I had to kill him and burn his body until there was no trace of him left.”

“That’s how you get out forever?”

“Yes.”

Cassius then nodded at my question.

I could barely keep my mouth shut in disbelief.

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get him out of prison. Even though I’ve tried all sorts of tricks, my thoughts were basically to find the ‘real evidence’ and exonerate Cassius.

However, this man…

“Don’t you like it?”

Cassius’s voice had a little uneasiness in it.

“I’ll go back to prison if you want me to.”

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

Saying that, I put my arm around his back. I could feel his muscles tense up.

“I’m glad you were safely reinstated, and for Cesare…”

I shrugged my shoulders before finishing my words.

“It’s a face I never want to see again.”

Besides, technically, Gabriel, who occupied Cesare’s body, was obviously the one who framed Cassius.

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“That’s a relief .”

He sighed in relief.

“Somehow, I’m afraid it might bother you…”

“Are you thinking of going back to jail if I thought it was a nuisance?”

As I was stunned and asked Cassius, the answer that came back was unexpected.

“…I want to be liked by you, Evelyn.”

When he slowly turned his head, the golden eye shone faintly in the darkness, causing me to catch my breath. It wasn’t because Cassius was looking at me with his usual devouring gaze.

Rather…

The look in his eyes was like he was looking at the most precious thing in the world.

The moment I realized that fact, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I raised my arms and wrapped my arms around his neck, and Cassius naturally leaned against me. The sound of the heartbeats that I couldn’t tell whom it belonged to combined and orbited loudly.

I closed my eyes.

As it was, I figured it wouldn’t be bad to fall asleep while feeling his warmth.

“E-Evelyn…”

And I would have, had Cassius not suddenly stuttered and pulled away from me.

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that…”

“Then, what is it?”

“That’s…”

He was unable to finish his words properly at the end.

“I’ll just stay outside guarding the door.”

“Such a thing…!”

I protested loudly, but it wasn’t enough to convince Cassius.

“Good night, Evelyn.”

“….”

I glared at him.

One minute he was sleeping soundly in the bed, but the next moment, he just wanted to go out there guarding the door all night suddenly? No matter how close Cassius Brudenell was close to being a superhuman, it would be impossible.

Moreover, in a situation where there was also a perfectly good double bed!

I poked him with my finger.

“Be honest with me.”

“….”

Judging by the way he averted his gaze, he must have anticipated my question.

“Is it because you feel pressured to be with me?”

“…Evelyn.”

I raised my hand and covered Cassius’s mouth. It was because I wasn’t in the mood to listen to his excuses right now.

“Listen, Cassius. If you’re avoiding me because you feel burdened because you feel like you have to take responsibility for sleeping in the same room as me…”

“Listen, Cassus, if you’re avoiding me because you feel like you’re going to be responsible for me sleeping in the same room as you…”

He muttered something through my hand, but I ignored it.

“You have to marry me anyway, did you forget? I’m the woman who’s pregnant with your child.”

“….!”

It wasn’t until his face lit up that I suddenly realized what I had said.

“Really… Do you want to marry me?”

He sounded incredulous. I nodded, trying to look nonchalant as if I was saying something obvious.

“Who do you think I’m going to marry now?”

In retrospect, it was a terrible proposal.

But at the time, I was in a state of shock when I realized that I really wanted to be Cassius Brudenell’s wife. Perhaps, it all started when I decided that I was going to save Cassius Brudenell at all costs… ever since I had the ridiculous idea of faking a pregnancy.

“To be honest, I’ve always thought you’d never belong to anyone.”

“Well, I thought so too at one time, but… I don’t think it would be bad to marry you.”

“Is that so?”

When Cassius held me gently and kissed my forehead, that alone made my whole face heat up.

“Wouldn’t be bad… I’ll work hard until you say that it’s very good and happy.”

At those words, I quietly called him.

“Cassius?”

“Yes.”

“Me too… I’ll try to do the same thing to make sure Cassius says that.”

However, his reaction was unexpected.

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes?”

“Because I’m already happy.”

Indeed, as he said, only ecstasy shone in Cassius’ golden eyes. I was surprised by this because it felt slightly different from the warm emotions I had seen earlier, but I decided not to mind.

“Evelyn.”

As he grabbed my chin and lifted it slightly before kissing me, I gasped and accepted him.

Cassius’s movements became more and more proficient as time went by, and it felt as if my entire body melted away with just the mere flick of his tongue. Naturally, I flopped down onto the bed and laid back while he ended up on top of me.

I gazed up at him.

The golden eyes were engulfed with heat and flashed.

At that moment, I was overcome by a strange impulse.

“Speaking of pregnancy… wouldn’t it be better to make it true?”

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