Crown of Thorns

CHAPTER 57

Translator : Cuties ––– Editor : WilsonWilson

Evan calmly adapted to life in the Imperial Palace.

The emperor ignored Evan almost to the point of neglect. But Evan took care of his own life. The meals that the maids brought were not too bad, and the clothes they prepared were well fitted. They offered to prepare everything he needed, and all the clothes he wore were luxurious and elegant. Evan, dressed in such clothes, looked princely. As if he had literally jumped out from a fairy tale. With an angelic face, manly body, and fancy clothes added, it was not too unreasonable to mistake him for one.

It may have been uncomfortable to wear a uniform for the first time, but Evan didn’t utter a single word of protest. He wore such clothes and wielded a sword to train. The clothes were comfortable enough not to restrain his movement. His figure was so wonderful that maids often secretly watched him or blushed when they saw him while he was training.

But the most surprising thing was that he did not refuse to let them help him bathe.

Of course, at first, his face got all red, and he was very shy, but unexpectedly, he left himself to their hands. I couldn’t get out of it until Evan had undressed because it came as a little shock to me. It wasn’t until his coat fell over my shadow that I could come out of the bathroom after pulling out of my stupor. But no one came out except me. I could only hear the occasional rustling of water.

There was no woman in the training camp, so I had no idea, but Evan was definitely a man. The boy, who was small and innocent, grew up like this and became a manly warrior. I had forgotten that fact for a moment. His interest in the opposite sex was only natural, and he was attractive enough to be able to seduce any woman he fancied.

I recalled the words of the man who guided Evan all the way here.

“It doesn’t matter what you do. You don’t have to do anything, or you can do anything you want. Whatever works, since you have full authority here. Everyone who has come to this palace has done the same so far.”

I thought that it meant freedom, but now that I think about it, it was quite a straightforward invitation. To send maids to wait on Evan and say that it was okay for him to do anything, and to say that other people who came to this palace before him have done the same does not leave much for the imagination.

Neriano was busy building his knowledge in the Central Palace. Yohan went back to the Knights’ Order and continued his struggle. In other words, Evan was the only one here. And there were young and charming women beside him who were clearly very interested.

I thought for a moment. Can I stay with Evan like this? He didn’t know that I was following him. And so far, I didn’t follow him to the bathroom to protect his minimum privacy. But I didn’t even consider that there might be a place even more secretive than a bathroom.

While I was still looking at Evan practicing sorcery with his eyes closed, I thought I should put off thinking of what had not yet happened. If that were to happen, then I could just stray away from him for a while.

Yeah, that would work.

I kept holding back my desire to run away. Not wanting to witness such things in person, I bit down on my trembling heart. What do I care about that? I’m only in a position to appreciate that I can look at him from afar, that I can die earlier and not miss him as much as I did before in that dreadful first premonitory dream.

But not long after, my worries became a reality and appeared before my eyes. Evan led a maid into his room. Not shrugging off his leading hand, the maid followed Evan into his room with an unmistakable look of joy that I had spotted at first glance. Then, Evan sat on the bed. He stayed still while she began to unwrap her dress of her own volition.

I ran out of the room because I couldn’t watch any further. But just because I can’t see it doesn’t mean I can’t hear it. Behind the closed door was the sound of rustling cloth, pitter-patter of footsteps, and before long, the squeaking of the bed. There was no way to know if Evan was the one lying down or if the maid was the one lying down, but I didn’t want to know more.

“Pretty. Long eyelashes, red lips, and white skin.”

I couldn’t stand the voice and finally opened my eyes. Instead of the grayish-colored palace, the inside of the black Tower unfolded.

His voice turned into a hot fire, and I felt his heart burning as if it had turned ablaze. I swallowed hurriedly. His words seemed to touch me. Unlike the witches, he seemed to say that he was satisfied with the soft, clean, and pretty maid.

Thanks to Evan’s Light, his goodness and kindness cleared my wounds, but that doesn’t mean that my hideous face was gone. I covered my face with my trembling hands.

“For just this kind of thing… What does this even weigh against…”

What kind of indecent thought is this? How do I even dare compare myself with her? How could I envy her? A witch would never dare to cross over a warrior in the first place. All I have to do is wish him happiness. Wasn’t it wrong to get hurt by this? No, isn’t it greedy just to think of it?

When was I even a woman? How dare I want to be a woman?

Even if the young man in my memory saw the woman in me, I could not reach Evan as a woman now. That’s just pathetic and nasty. To be remembered as a witch, or to be a woman, even though I was already a witch.

I lay down on the floor with my chest, not easily calmed. As the day had dawned, I couldn’t even go to Evan until the birds sang. Not counting the day that I had lost my consciousness; it was the first time I hadn’t seen him for so long.

*

Ever since that time, Evan has drawn the maid into his bedroom every night. For some reason, he insisted on the same maid. She seemed very pleased.

I still couldn’t handle it and used to come back running to the tower like a haunted game. But my heart didn’t burn as it did at first. It was a little calmer. In the first place, it was ridiculous for me to react like that. I was nothing more than Evan’s shadow. I had to do nothing except chasing him, looking at him, and protecting him.

I became a little worried. The warrior was not supposed to give his heart to a maid. No, it didn’t matter if he gave his heart, but it would be a little difficult if a love child were to be born in between them. Evan had to drive out the Darkness and wear a crown. In order to do so, the emperor’s blood was necessary.

But I couldn’t separate Evan from the maid, so I was just a little nervous. I hoped Neriano or Yohan would find out soon. Then they would probably put a stop to it. They must already know. The fact that not only Evan’s power but also the Son of Heaven’s authority must be added to reenact the glory era. The best thing was for Evan to marry the princess and have a son.

Aside from his interest in his maid, Evan didn’t make much difference in his routine. He still practiced in his spare time and often went to the Imperial Palace library, where Neriano was locked up to read books. Evan was initially interested in building his knowledge. He had many questions and was eager to learn more as though there were at least a few things that I had not taught him before.

It was only natural that he liked the place where there were many books. There were so many books about sorcery that it had become very helpful for Evan, Neriano, and all the other sorcerer’s studies. Evan took a book and went around the main palace hall to interpret the spells. The more he did so, the more adept he became in handling Light.

Rather than to satisfy his curiosity, Neriano thought it more important to develop Evan’s skills. And so he had also read almost all the books related to divine sorcery. What was a little unusual though, was that instead of divine sorcery, Neriano was more interested in the powerful imperial sorcerer. Maybe he’s trying to find Evan’s roots.

However, little has been revealed about the palace sorcerer, and it was probably hard to find any personal information. Still, he scrutinized books that recorded the time when the divine sorcerer stayed in the palace, what he had been doing, and the spell he had created. Either way, his ability to interpret spells was so great that it was sure to be of great help to Evan.

It was one day when Evan was maturing by the second. For some reason, Evan didn’t wait in his room. I thought it was a little strange since he was putting the maid on his bed every single night. As far as I know, Evan was quite strong, but I was worried that he might be sick.

The reason remains unknown. However, when all the maids returned to their respective rooms, a white Light gathered around Evan, soon disappearing a moment later. He used a teleportation spell, and it was the first time I had seen it. I froze and soon looked around in a flurry. I couldn’t find him when he disappeared like this.

Maybe he went to Yohan. He had never seen him ever since he entered the palace, so I thought maybe he went to him. I tried to teleport into the place where Yohan stayed, but then a tickle spread on my cheek. I inadvertently tried to touch my cheek but then remembered that I was materializing as a Shadow. The Shadow used nothing but sight and hearing. Then what I’m feeling right now…

“What, are you awake already?”

When I opened my eyes, someone who should never have come here talked to me. Even inside the dark tower, I could know that he was none other than Evan, with his striking white hair and piercing red eyes. Amid the unexpected situation, I stared at him without uttering a sound. And with a slight frown, he smiled—still the same twisted smile.

He briefly glanced at me, standing from a distance close enough for me to touch him if only I stretched my hand a little. He looked around and then said, facing me again.

“Nyx, I’m here.”

The place where his gaze touched felt ticklish. His fingers seemed to be fiddling with my cheek. The tickling that I felt through my cheeks spread throughout my whole body. At the same time, I had to feel the exact opposite, as my heart was overflowing and falling into a deep abyss.

I was so happy to see Evan again that my eyes twinkled. But it was also suffocatingly frustrating and sad that the warrior came to visit the witch. I felt fear.

It was the fear that the warrior might be caught coming here, and at the same time, the fear that the witch might not be able to expel him a second time.

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