***

It was a peaceful afternoon with the sun beaming down on their heads, and Alec and the princess were sitting across from each other at a table in the garden, where two cups with a fine pattern were placed.

“How was your recuperation? It’s a long way from here, so I was worried if anything would happen.”

“Thanks for your concern. I enjoyed it a lot. It was my first time dipping my feet in a stream.”

The princess’s voice was a little excited, as if she was remembering that moment. In contrast, Alec’s attitude was calm.

“Wasn’t it lonely?”

“Yes. It was fun to have a change of scenery.”

“That’s good to know.”

Evely stood behind Alec and listened quietly to their conversation. He seemed busy lately, but he still had time available to spend with the Princess.

The princess turned her head and took a long look around her. She observed every corner of the garden methodically as if she was putting each one in her eyes.

“When I was there, I missed the garden here. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. Would you show me around?”

There was no particular reply, but given Alec’s usual personality, it seemed to be affirmative. Rose laughed aloud, a small laugh of amusement.

Evely made a deliberate effort not to raise her head. She rubbed her shoes on the floor and looked at the flowers in the garden. But she glanced at them unconsciously.

She watched the edges of Alec’s lips rise up toward Rose.

Through her own experiences, she was able to recognize his expression, albeit dimly, but when he smiled like that, it was two things. It could be mockery or satisfaction. Now it was the latter.

Evely didn’t want to see it, but she kept looking at him. Somehow she wanted to confirm if Alec pretended not to know her or what.

‘Confirm? What the hell am I supposed to confirm?’

“It’s been a while since I’ve worn these shoes, I think it scratched my heels. Can you bring me a different pair, please?”

While sipping her tea, the princess turned her head toward the servants. Ever since the princess returned from the villa, Olivia had been serving her instead of Evely. Olivia immediately took a step forward, but Evely’s reply came first.

“I’ll go.”

Evely left the garden as if running without even looking back.

Maybe she wanted to ventilate a bit. Or maybe she just didn’t want to see him this way.

“What should I take?”

When Evely arrived at the Princess’s dressing room, she opened the shoe closet and found it crammed with shoes of various designs. However, she couldn’t find the shoes that Rose usually wore. They were soft blue shoes.

As Evely looked around, wondering if Rose had put them somewhere else, her eyes caught sight of something red that had fallen under the dresser. It was the hair ornament that Alec had given to Rose.

She bent over and picked up the ornament. Evely remembered the moment when Alec had given it to Rose and put it directly in her hair.

He complimented her on how beautiful her hair was.

She recalled the princess’s eyes shining brightly while playing dressed up. And just for that moment, she was like a princess, and so was her reflection in the mirror.

“I look beautiful in a dress, too.”

Evely placed the headdress on her head as if possessed.

It still didn’t look right with the dull servant’s clothes. It was a beautiful jewel, so it was only natural that it would look good with beautiful clothes. However, Evely couldn’t take her eyes off the headdress for a while.

“What would it have been like if I was a princess?”

“If I had a different identity, not a servant….”

“If I wore a beautiful dress…”

It was then that she murmured it again, as if hoping that someone would hear her wishes.

Suddenly, Rose’s voice passed by.

“You look beautiful, like a faded autumn leaf.”

Surprised, Evely dropped her headdress in her hand. She felt as if the princess’s gentle voice was reprimanding her.

“What an outrageous thing.”

“I can’t believe you dare to want something that belongs to my master.”

“To my master’s things….”

“It is my master’s property.”

“From the beginning, he was never mine, nor was he ever mine.”

There were times when Evely loved the princess’s kindness and wished she didn’t hate her, but she felt ridiculous in that past.

It was all just her own feelings.

“What did my master do to me…….?”

“The Princess treated me as a person and respected me. She touched my head and spoke to me in a gentle voice.”

Evely murmured in a determined voice.

“I don’t know my place. I can’t do that.”

Why was her heart so soft and fragile?

Evely placed the jewel inside the accessory box. Then she closed the lid tightly, as if it should not have been opened in the first place.

“Comfortable shoes… I’ll pick out the prettiest ones for you. Princess is like a doll, her feet are small and beautiful.”

Raising her voice deliberately, as if nothing had happened, Evely left the room, holding the shoes carefully to her chest. But her hurried feet were slowing down as she approached the garden. For the sight of Alec and the princess once again filled her vision.

The sight of the two of them together was familiar. Even before Rose went to recuperate, Alec had often talked with Rose over tea.

But, why was her heart in such turmoil?

Everything was the same.

She was the only one who had changed.

“I’ve brought your shoes.”

“Thank you.”

The princess smiled softly. After saying thank you to Evely and changed her shoes, the princess immediately stood up. Alec got up after her, and the two went for a walk.

The princess was a good person just by looking at her.

And the moment Evely followed them, Alec spoke with a determined voice.

“There is no need to follow.”

With no one besides them, they walked side by side through the garden. Evely could only watch them silently as they moved further and further away.

* * *

As Evely walked up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway, she saw the master bedroom. It was a path she traveled back and forth many times a day, but only today did her feet feel even heavier. The more steps she took, the more complicated her mind became.

The two of them had grown closer and closer since Rose returned from her convalescence. They didn’t have any servants or helpers with them when they walked around the garden, and no one was allowed in the perimeter when they drank tea.

“The two of them seemed to get along much better.”

And every time the maids talked in secret, it seemed to break her heart.

And it must have been from that moment on.

It was also the fact that Alec had been ignoring her.

Evely recalled when she was waiting for his bath earlier. He used to tease her, deliberately pretending not to know his manhood, which had swelled so much while he was in the bath, and let her touch him with her hands, eventually getting her whole body soaked before they made it to bed.

But today was different. He didn’t say a word until she turned away. What guts did he have to call her back now after all that?

No, how could it be natural? That was what a servant girl was for. In the dark of the night, Evely knocked quietly on the door of the master’s room.

“Come in.”

It was a low voice.

Evely slowly approached her owner.

“Evely.”

“Yes.”

Alec was sitting on a large bed by the window, and when he saw Evely flinching in fear at the gaze staring at him, he urged in a low, tight voice,

“Closer.”

As soon as Evely approached the bed with cautious steps, Alec swallowed her lips as if he had been waiting for her.

Evely’s eyelids slowly closed. She could feel the tangle of his tongue. Her whole body went numb from the force of his hands squeezing her neck and waist, but the mere mixing of his tongue made the tips of her ears red and her lower stomach tingle. It was an instinctive sensation.

He sent her away earlier, why did he call her back now?

Did he go see the Princess but she wasn’t there, and now he used her instead of the Princess?

All those questions were intricately intertwined in Evely’s head.

‘Could it be that your wife went out for a walk again today? Is that why you’re hugging me?’

There was a question in her throat that she wanted to ask, but Evely did not ask.

It wasn’t that Alec wouldn’t answer. It was because nothing would change.

And the only thing that would change was her feelings.

“Ah..”

When their lips parted, the saliva drooped lightly. Evely’s little lips wavered, catching for breath. While she was engrossed in the kiss, Alec took off her clothes. The natural and outspoken touch felt as if he was looking for water in a dry place. Evely too moved her hands and began to undress him. She wasn’t used to undressing men and stammered, but Alec watched her for a while to see if her aggressive appearance increased. However, his shallow patience soon bottomed out.

“‘Hmmm.”

Alec buried his lips in her thin neck as he laid Evely down on the bed.

He flicked his tongue down to bite the soft skin and sucked the collarbone and chest into his mouth.

“Master, please.”

Alec didn’t answer when Evely breathlessly called for him, instead concentrating on touching and sucking her breasts as if they were his own. Evely swallowed a groan and finally continued to speak.

“…Can you call my name?”

Evely. It was a name that everyone naturally called her, like the bowl and broom she used every day. But at this moment, it felt different. She wanted to hear her name through his lips.

“Evely.”

“Please keep calling me ……..”

She wanted to make it clear, even this way. Who was it that he was holding?

She wanted to confirm that Alec was holding her.

It was the first time she realized what it felt like to be someone’s substitute.

How uncomfortable and miserable it was…….

Sad and sorrowful…