Chapter 480 - Night shift

Leon’s eyes had started to drift shut when his aura caught movement farther down the corridor.

He was awake at once.

A young woman rounded the corner. Auburn hair spilled across one side of her face in a tangled mess, but it didn’t hide the faint pallor of her skin — or the exhaustion dragging at her steps. She looked like someone who should have been in bed, not wandering the palace alone.

Leon pushed himself out of the chair as she approached and gave her a nod. “Lady Evelyne.”

“Sir Leon.” She managed a faint smile.

Her gaze dropped to the chair behind him. It was an absurdly ornate thing for the simple corridor they were in, with an upholstered leather seat, gilded arms, and a high back carved with the image of a rising sun. Leon had dragged it out of one of the nearby rooms after a long debate with himself about whether he should stay standing all night.

Typically, that was the job of palace attendants, but they had more important things to worry about than rearranging furniture just to make him slightly more comfortable.

“Should you be walking around?” he asked, studying Evelyne.

Her smile disappeared.

Despite both of their connections to Scarlett, he didn’t know her well. But he knew what someone looked like when they were forcing themselves to stay on their feet.

A flicker of something—embarrassment, perhaps, or self-derision—crossed her face.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Or I will be,” she added after a moment. “Father Abraham treated me. The worst of the mana exhaustion, at least. He told me that should pass as long as I don’t cast any spells for the next few days.”

Leon’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Father Abraham…?

That wasn’t the name he knew the man by, but he suspected she was referring to Deacon Abram of the Quorum. Leon had personally witnessed the man’s abilities and knew the priest was an extremely capable healer, but treating mana exhaustion was another matter. Leon hadn’t even known that was possible.

Evelyne studied him in return. “You could ask yourself the same question.”

“What question?”

“Whether you should be walking around.” Her eyes moved over him. “You don’t look much better than I do.”

“I’m fine.” Leon glanced down at his battered and dirty armour. “…At the very least, I’m in a better state than most other knights.”

“Still, should you be standing guard like this?” Evelyne asked.

Her gaze shifted past Leon to the door beside him.

His jaw tightened.

“I volunteered,” he said.

The captain had his duties to attend to, and this wasn’t a responsibility Loen wanted to push onto any other member of the Solar Knights.

Dame Iyana had offered to take his place, but with the Royal Guard in its current state, her place was at the Crown Prince’s side.

“I see…” Evelyne mumbled.

Her eyes lingered on the door.

“Are you keeping her prisoner?” she finally asked.

Leon frowned. “No.”

“Then are you here to protect her?”

“If it comes to that.”

Her gaze returned to him. “But that isn’t why you’re here.”

It wasn’t a question, and Leon didn’t answer.

Several seconds passed. Evelyne seemed to hesitate before speaking again.

“Do you hate Scarlett?”

Leon’s eyes narrowed. “Did she say I did?”

“No.”

“What did she say?”

“She…”

Evelyne bit her lip, brow drawing together as her words trailed off.

Leon waited, unable to guess what was going through her head.

The Evelyne Hartford Leon remembered was a young woman who had spent most of her life in the shadow of a sister seemingly determined to make everyone else forget she existed.

That had always been one of the things that bothered him most about the old Scarlett.

When Leon first met her at one of the many social galas his mother used to host, Scarlett had already gathered a small circle of young women from lesser noble houses around herself. She had carved out a place for herself among the social cliques of the empire’s western nobility, and while she had come across as cold and somewhat aloof, Leon hadn’t thought ill of her at the time.

Then his mother began pushing him to consider a betrothal.

Around the same time, Scarlett started conveniently running into him at various events. Leon had dismissed it as coincidence at first, but that became harder to believe the longer it continued.

Not that his suspicions stopped his mother from adding Scarlett’s name to the list of potential matches. Somehow, Leon ended up in far more arranged meetings with her than with any of the other women under consideration.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t cared enough to fight it.

He had already gone against his parents’ wishes by becoming a Solar Knight, and some part of him had resigned itself to following his mother’s wishes in this. He had thought letting her choose his future wife might simply be the price he had to pay.

And although Leon had his reservations about Scarlett, her reputation among the nobility wasn’t terrible. There had been nothing concrete enough for him to point to. Nothing that seemed worth another fight with his parents, especially when most of his attention was devoted to sword training and his duties.

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From what he recalled, the first time he truly began to question Scarlett’s character was when he learned she had a younger sister — a young girl, not even an adult yet, still dealing with the loss of her parents.

By then, Leon had known Scarlett for nearly two years. Yet Evelyne’s name had never come up. Not once in any of their conversations, nor in any of the information his mother had provided him.

It had rubbed him the wrong way.

When he asked Scarlett about her, she had grown noticeably colder. And while she did answer his questions, never saying anything openly cruel, she hadn’t needed to. The way she spoke made it clear how little regard she had for her own sister. As if Evelyne were nothing but an unimportant girl with no bearing on her house.

Leon couldn’t remember exactly what he did at the time.

He knew he’d approached his mother, but by then it was almost too late. His mother was already pushing hard for the betrothal, and his father, of all people, supported her. While Leon had suspicions, he hadn’t trusted them enough to face the consequences of opposing his parents over what might have amounted to nothing more than his own dislike of Scarlett.

He only came to regret that after the betrothal became official.

That was when he learned some of the lengths Scarlett had gone to undermine the other women who might have entered his mother’s consideration. Among them had been Leon’s own friend and fellow knight, Trista.

By then, there was little he could do. He had barely any proof of Scarlett’s actions, and bringing the matter into the open would only damage his own family. As for his mother, Leon doubted she would have cared regardless of what he told her.

Perhaps if it were today, he wouldn’t have minded rebelling. But back then, the best he could do was delay any serious talk of marriage by hiding behind his duties. Scarlett had seemed content enough with that arrangement, so long as she could continue enjoying the benefits that came with being connected to a marquis’ house.

But all of that was in the past.

Leon hadn’t forgotten any of it. He doubted he ever could. But much had changed over the last year, both in the empire and in Scarlett herself.

Sometimes, he wondered whether the Scarlett he knew now was truly the same woman he had known then.

Which version of her had been the mask? Had either of them been? Was the change genuine?

What could change a person that much?

He had wanted to ask Scarlett more than once, but she wouldn’t give him a real answer. She hadn’t before Beld Thylelion, and after everything that had happened there, he doubted she ever would.

Not unless she was forced to.

He wondered, though…could her sister give him answers instead?

The young woman standing before him looked nothing like the meek, inconsequential girl Scarlett had once led him to imagine. Evelyne looked exhausted and uncertain now, but Leon was well aware that she was very capable for her age. And her concern for her older sister seemed genuine.

Seeing that gave Leon some hope that Scarlett truly had become someone worthy of that concern.

But hope wasn’t enough.

Not anymore.

Scarlett had shown everyone what she was capable of. The moment she woke, she might have a dozen ways to flee, mislead them, or avoid answering their questions. She had connections and wielded more power in the empire than perhaps even Leon’s father, and with a potential succession crisis approaching, few would be willing to move against a woman who had only just been dubbed a hero of the empire.

“Sir Leon,” Evelyne finally said. “Can I be completely forthright with you?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m aware that you and my sister have had your differences. Personally, I think you’re justified in whatever resentment you still hold towards her, but I need to know…” She hesitated. “What do you intend to do when she wakes up?”

“I intend to question her.”

“About?”

Leon didn’t answer.

Evelyne watched him for a moment. Then she glanced in both directions along the corridor before moving closer and lowering her voice.

“Is it about…what happened in Beld Thylelion?”

Leon’s eyes widened slightly.

Evelyne knew about that?

He would have assumed Scarlett kept it secret and acted entirely on her own.

“Sir Leon?”

When he remained silent, Evelyne stepped back. Worry crept into her expression.

“I understand why you might hold what happened there against Scarlett,” she said, “but she had her reasons. I’m not asking you to trust her. I only think it would be dangerous for everyone if you tried to force answers out of her now and—”

“Do you know where Her Highness is?” Leon cut in.

Evelyne paused.

After a few seconds, she shook her head. “No. If you are talking about the First Princess, I did speak with her. She appeared at our estate, and she and Scarlett were working together on something.”

Leon’s brow drew tight.

“…What was Scarlett doing in Beld Thylelion?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

Evelyne’s lips pressed together. “Won’t. I am not the right person to ask about that. But if you promise not to act rashly, I’m sure Scarlett can explain.”

“That’s your word. Not hers.”

“I’ll speak to her.” Evelyne held his gaze. “She isn’t unreasonable, even if she sometimes appears that way.”

Leon wasn’t sure how much he believed that.

Even after all Scarlett’s changes, he had never seen her fail to get her way. Did she even know how to back down once she had decided on something?

Still…

He searched Evelyne’s face as she waited for his answer, and a thought occurred to him.

“Did you come here as soon as you woke up?”

An awkward look crossed her face, but she soon nodded. “Yes.”

“…And you’re certain Scarlett is as reasonable as you claim?”

Leon had assumed Evelyne came because she had somehow heard that he was guarding Scarlett and feared what he might do to her.

But perhaps that wasn’t what concerned her.

Perhaps she was worried about what Scarlett might do to him if he pressed her.

Or perhaps Leon was reading too much into it. It had long since become clear that he didn’t understand either sister nearly as well as he should.

“Scarlett is…” Evelyne began.

She stopped, brow furrowing as she considered her words.

“I simply don’t think it would be in the empire’s best interest if something bad happened now because of what passed between the two of you before.”

“Even if Scarlett committed high treason in Beld Thylelion?”

“She—” Evelyne caught herself and quickly looked along the corridor again. When she continued, her voice was barely above a whisper. “She didn’t. Or rather, it’s more complicated than that. She wasn’t acting alone, for one. Both the Shields Guild and the Followers have been working with her. That’s why you shouldn’t do anything drastic.”

Leon regarded her in silence. Then he folded his arms, his mouth tightening.

“I’m not standing here because of what happened in Beld Thylelion.”

Surprise crossed Evelyne’s face. “You’re not?”

“No.”

“Then what…?”

“I can’t discuss it with you.” Leon paused. “Sorry.”

“But—”

“Evelyne, leave him be.”

Leon tensed.

Evelyne looked past him, blinking. “Scarlett? You’re awake?”

She hurried past Leon towards the now-open door.

Scarlett stood in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame as she leaned heavily against it. Her face was pale, and exhaustion seemed to have stripped away much of her usual composure.

Still, Leon stared.

When had she woken up?

How had he not noticed?

A cold sensation settled in his stomach and slowly crept upward. He extended his aura, reaching towards the woman standing only a few steps away.

There was nothing.

He could see Scarlett in front of him, but to his aura, it was as if she wasn’t there at all.

Evelyne raised a hand towards Scarlett’s forehead. She stopped halfway, seemingly realising what she was doing, then shook her head and continued. Her palm brushed aside a loose strand of Scarlett’s red hair as she checked her temperature.

“You are hardly one to speak,” Scarlett said, frowning as she looked her sister over. “Why are you not recuperating?”

“Father Abraham treated me. As long as I don’t exert myself, I’ll be fine.” Evelyne’s expression tightened. “But what about you? I saw that woman stab a hand into you! Do you know how worried I—?”

She stopped.

Her hand fell away, and her gaze dropped to Scarlett’s abdomen. After a moment, she took a small step back.

“I was just worried,” she said quietly.

Scarlett studied her.

For those few seconds, she looked more human than Leon had ever seen her before. The sharpness in her expression eased, replaced by something he couldn’t quite identify.

“I am fine, Evelyne,” she eventually said. “Although your concern is noted.”

“You’re not fine.” Evelyne’s voice regained some of its firmness. “Whatever you did earlier made a mess of my mana channels, and I know yours can’t be in much better condition. Show me that you can use magic right now, and I’ll believe you.”

Scarlett’s expression darkened.

“I knew it,” Evelyne said.

Scarlett let out a tired sigh before turning towards Leon.

“Sir Leon. You wished to talk, I presume?”

Leon almost flinched when her amber eyes settled on him.

Only then did he realise that his hand had curled into a fist. A line of sweat ran down the back of his neck, and his pulse was pounding hard enough that he could feel it in his throat.

He was scared of his own betrothed.

What kind of twisted joke was that?

Leon slowly unclenched his hand and forced himself to breathe. It took another moment before his heartbeat began to settle.

“Yes,” he said. “I did.”