Chapter 139: To Steal From A Kingdom
Eve’s eyes burned so fiercely that even Ivan didn’t dare intervene. He knew she must have been frustrated all those years being powerless, especially hearing just one incident of how that queen had treated her as a kid, and he thought perhaps it was finally time for her to show everyone who had ever underestimated her.
Eve felt a surge of power thrumming through her veins, as if she could reduce the world to ashes in her wake. And yet, she was also painfully aware of the innocent souls around her, those she would never want to harm. Because she remembered that with great power comes great responsibility.
All of her life, she had been treated like a lifeless doll, forced to survive on scraps of mercy while silently wishing that one day they would turn around and love her for who she was. Give her respect as a living, breathing being. But instead, she had been shunned, abused, restricted, and abandoned. But not anymore!
She could feel it; something inside her was beginning to shift, igniting a fire that demanded respect and submission from those who were supposed to serve her. She didn’t know when it had started, but it was as if her very soul screamed that she would never bend again, but make others bend their knees before her. The thought scorched her with liberation and terror in equal measure, for Evelyn’s kindness still lingered beneath the storm.
And then there was him, the man sitting next to her. She turned her gaze to Ivan and asked, "Are you going to be by my side?"
"Always," Ivan replied in a heartbeat, without a shadow of a doubt on his face, as he gently gazed at her.
She looked at him for a moment longer before a small smile curved her lips, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had returned to their clear blue. Ivan then took her hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss to it, making her blush like a shy girl once more.
Damien, Cece, and Edward, who had witnessed Evelyn’s shifting moods, were left utterly flabbergasted by how she could change one-eighty degrees in a matter of seconds. But her commanding presence just a moment ago was something none of them could erase from their mind. Looking at her now, blushing like an innocent, shy girl under Ivan’s loving gaze, left them speechless as they all thought in unison, ’So deceiving.’
Letting out a collective sigh of relief that nothing major happened, Damien asked, "So...what’s the plan? I’m sure you are already finding out about that prince."
Eve remained calm as Ivan continued to rub gentle circles on her hand under the table and answered, "Hm, I’ve already put my best men on it. With all the missing women in that kingdom, I can smell from here that something sinister is at play."
Damine quibbed, "Oh, that’s for sure. And if we don’t find anything, we can always have our Evelyn make him confess."
Ivan frowned, "She’s not going anywhere near him," he said possessively.
"But dear brother, we are going near him," Damien said in a serious tone. "If the ruling monarch of her kingdom is going as far as spreading words about their impending union, I’m sure they have their own plans when Evelyn gets to Dartmouth."
Edward added, "There’s a rule that both partners must agree to marriage before it can take place, especially for royals."
Cece sneered, "So they think Evelyn will just accept whatever they decide for her."
"That’s never going to happen," Eve replied firmly.
Damien looked at her and said, "Even so, it’s going to complicate things here as well, should the royal court of Versailles get a whiff of your betrothal. They’re like vipers waiting to pounce on any opportunity to oppose your relationship with Ivan so that they can push their daughters at him."
As he said that, Cece, Edward, and Ivan all shot him sharp looks, silently warning him to watch his words in front of Eve, lest he trigger her again.
Eve looked at Damien and then shifted her gaze to Ivan. Feeling her gaze on him, he met her stare. "Would you marry any of their daughters?" she asked in a deceptively calm voice. Ivan, however, could sense that one wrong word might make the entire dining hall crumble.
He sighed softly, "No, Eve. I wouldn’t."
"Then that settles it," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If I’m not going to agree to marry that prince, whatever his name is, and you’re not going to cave in to the court officials, then we don’t really have a problem."
Her tone shifted suddenly, sharp and cold. "Unless..." Her eyes flickered golden as she looked at Ivan. "Unless someone changes their mind."
And for the very first time, Ivan felt a cold sweat break through his skin because of a woman, "I won’t, Eve," he said evenly, "but I could say the same about you."
Every head snapped towards him, disbelief flashing across their faces.
’Had he lost his mind?’
Eve’s eyes narrowed dangerously, "You think I’d cave in to marry that prince?"
Ivan met her glare with one of his own, "I don’t know. Would you?"
"You’ve got some nerve asking me that when you’ve got half the academy’s women buzzing around you," Eve retorted.
"I don’t see any fewer flies around you either," he shot back. "Besides, currently you’re the one being forced into this situation, not me."
"Oh? And how exactly is that my fault?" Eve demanded.
"I never said it was," Ivan countered, his voice low and deliberate. "I only asked if, under pressure, you’d give in." His crimson eyes glinted dangerously as he leaned closer to her, daring her to answer.
Eve didn’t back down. She leaned in just as close and said through gritted teeth, "Was I talking to the wall, Ivan? Didn’t I make myself clear that I. Would. Never. Marry. Anyone. By. Force."
They fiercely stared at each other, merely inches apart, until both of their eyes inevitably trailed to each other’s lips, igniting desires for each other again.
Just as they inched closer, that’s when Damien loudly cleared his throat. "Alright, lovebirds, hate to break the moment, but do look around, you’ve got an audience."
That’s when Eve and Ivan tore their eyes away from each other to see what Damien was talking about. Eve felt her soul almost leave her body as she realized every single eye in the dining hall was on them, watching in anticipation as if they were about to witness something scandalous.
Unlike her, who wanted to disappear that instant, Ivan shot a cold glare around the room, making everyone instantly avert their gaze. Still, whispers erupted moments later with the air buzzing with excitement over what they thought they’d almost witness...a kiss of the century.
Cece, who was also blushing faintly, sighed and muttered under her breath, "I don’t think they’re going to get over this any time soon."
"Mhm," Edward nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," Damien said, breaking the tension, "since you’ve both made it evident that neither of you is going to succumb under pressure, we need to understand your reason for agreeing to go to Dartmouth in the first place, Ivan?"
Ivan looked at them calmly and said, "I need to access the Vault of Ages in Dartmouth."
Eve stayed silent while others exchanged surprised looks.
"Vault of Ages? Why would you need to go there?" Cece asked.
"I need to find some things. Things I cannot explain right now." Ivan replied flatly.
Damien and Cece exchanged a look; they both knew it had to be something of great importance for Ivan to go to such lengths, even if it meant letting Evelyn get entangled in her father’s schemes.
Giving Ivan a silent nod in understanding, Damien said, "I don’t know much about that place, but I do know that the key to access the vault lies only with the royals, and they would never hand it over to anybody. The Vault is heavily protected, not just from the inside, but also from the outside. So...how do you plan to-"
His voice trailed off as his eyes grew wide with realization, and he stared at Ivan. "Wait...are you planning to stea-" He clamped a hand over his mouth, cutting himself off as he continued to stare at Ivan in disbelief.
Ivan’s lips curled slightly as Damien pieced together his plan. Eve, Cece, and Edward, however, grew visibly tense at the realization of the risk involved. Should Ivan get caught in the act, it would immediately be considered an act of war.
Not wanting him to get in trouble, Eve spoke up, "That’s going to be very risky, Ivan. How about I speak to them instead and have them show me around in the guise of a tour?"
"No! You are not going anywhere near that prince." Ivan shot down the idea instantly.
