# 12
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Evelin felt complicated about this matter.
She had not expected to hear news of Fenris in such an unexpected place.
As mentioned earlier, Fenris was a secondary hero and one of the annoying characters. While he did not despise or openly insult Evelyn like some of the other characters, he did torture her with devious methods such as kidnapping and imprisonment.
Anyway, from Evelin's point of view, he was a madman who she didn't want to face at all. He was very good at fooling people with a sly smile.
The biggest victim of this will be...
“Didn’t he have another fight with His Highness Noserton a few days ago?”
“Yes, it seems that the problem was very big this time.”
As the ladies' conversation indicated, Fenris, the bastard prince, had a bad relationship with his half-brother, Crown Prince Noerton.
Although Fenris was an illegitimate child, he was exceptionally gifted, and Noserton, despite being the rightful heir, felt threatened by him.
Their supporters clashed, escalating their rivalry into a violent power struggle, which eventually turned into a bloody battle for the throne.
However, it was natural for the legitimate Noserton to overshadow the illegitimate Fenris, so Fenris had to overcome this obstacle in his own way.
The method he chose was to not hesitate to use schemes and tricks to attack Noston. Noston was also actively listening to the advice of his close aide, Dyffryn, which led to a fierce battle between the two.
Given the state of the royal family, conversations about Fenris and Noserton even reached the clothing store where the ladies gathered.
Of course, Evelyn didn't care how much Fenris and Noserton fought. What mattered to her was that getting involved with Fenris would be too stressful.
In the original story, the kind-hearted Evelyn became involved with Fenris when she found him collapsed in an alley after being ambushed by Noston.
'The scene was described as being a rainy day that day as well.'
Feeling strangely anxious, Evelin listened to the ladies' conversation again.
“What's the fuss about this time?”
“His Highness Noserton fell from his horse during the last hunting competition. It appears that Prince Fenris brought it up in front of several people.”
“Oh my God...”
“Hmm...”
On the day Evelyn found Fenris collapsed in the original story, the topic the ladies were talking about now was similar to that day.
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Evelin decided to simplify her going out plans for the day.
'I will prepare the dress and then immediately return to the carriage to return to the palace.'
It seemed like the best course of action.
At first, she was planning to visit the tea shop that sold tea leaves and the shop that sold embroidery threads because she was already in town.
Evelyn waited impatiently for her turn. She wanted to prepare the dress and return to the palace as soon as possible.
As if sensing her desire, the store clerk immediately called her.
“Lady Evelyn.”
Evelyn quickly ected some fabric in shades of yellow that matched her auburn hair from the new collection and ordered her dress. You asked that the design be the most popular currently.
Merlin, who was holding an umbrella, looked at the speeding Evelin with a puzzled expression and asked,
“Ma’am...did you remember something I forgot?”
“I just think it's best to get back before the rain gets too bad.”
Even if it was unnecessary worry, it was never a bad thing to be careful of Fenris. Getting involved with him will only complicate matters again.
After the dress was finished, Evelin asked the store to send a letter to her palace when the dress was completed and then left the dress store.
As she looked around for the carriage, Merlin said
“The vehicle is parked in that alley. We couldn’t leave it on the road.”
It was a short walk to where the carriage was. Evelyn shared the umbrella with Merlin as they walked.
The water splashed, and because of the puddles on the floor, the hem of Evelin's dress was wet.
And when Evelyn lifted the slightly wet edge,
“Oh my God...!”
Merlin stopped suddenly. She stared wide-eyed at something in the corner of the alley.
After following her gaze, Evelin turned her head. There was a collapsed, bloodied man on the pile of trash.
“There's someone collapsed over there!”
Merlin exclaimed in shock.
'Of all times, finding someone broken down here…'
Evelyn felt a shiver run down her spine. She had a feeling that this man would be exactly as she expected.
“Ma’am, what should we do…?”
“If we leave him like this, he might die...”
Part of her wanted to pretend she hadn't seen him, but Merlin was right – Evelyn didn't want to read in the newspaper later that someone had died here.
In the end, Evelin forced out a stiff voice.
“…Well, we'd better take a look.”
Evelin thought that she should at least determine who the person was first.
With an anxious heart, she entered the alley and looked at the fallen man.
'...It's Fenris.'
His face was covered in blood, but his distinctive features were still visible. Amidst the shaggy black hair wet with the rain, a prince with a noble face could be seen.
There won't be many handsome men who can compare to Devrin.
To be sure, she looked at the back of his hand, and indeed there was a long scar. It was a sign that Fenris was injured during sword training when he was a child.
At the same time, Merlin did not know that the collapsed man was Fenris, so she covered her mouth in astonishment and said,
“Oh my God, he looks seriously injured...”
Evelin bit her lips.
'This is annoying'
After seeing the collapsed person, she couldn't ignore him, no matter who he was.
If she left now, she didn't know what would happen to Fenris. Just like Merlin said he might actually die. She couldn't let someone die just to avoid an unpleasant future.
Evelin thought deeply about how to solve this situation.
In the original story, Evelyn finds a collapsed Fenris, and takes him to the palace in a carriage in order to be treated.
As soon as Fenris regained consciousness, he quietly sneaked out of the palace without meeting Dyffryn who returned in the evening. If Devrin had known that an unknown man had been brought in, he would not have taken it well.
After escaping that day, Fenris wanted to meet Evelyn, who had saved him again.
With his dirty tricks, they met again in the street and Fenris approached her.
Remembering the original story, Evelin's eyes widened. There was a hint about how to stop Fenris from falling in love with her.
"Merlin, there's an infirmary nearby, isn't there?"
“Yes, I know there's one not far from here.”
“Then go to that infirmary and ask someone to come in. I will stay here and take care of this person.”
It was a very simple method. If she didn't take care of Fenris personally, there wouldn't be unnecessary chances of him falling in love with her.
"Oh! Understood."
Merlin turned to walk away but stopped and then handed over the umbrella she was carrying.
“Ma’am, I will be back soon, so please don’t get wet. You have been coughing lately.”
Since they only had one umbrella, if Merlin gave it to her, she would have to go get the doctor in the rain.
Evelyn shook her head.
“Take it.”
“But...”
“I will wait for you there.”
Evelyn pointed to the balcony of a nearby building jutting out from the side of the alley.
She could stay there without getting wet until Merlin returned.
Seeing Merlin hesitate, Evelyn spoke again.
“Go quickly. He seems to be in serious condition.”
Merlin glanced at the collapsed man, then nodded firmly and walked away with the umbrella.
“…Yes! I’ll be quick.”
Once Merlin was gone Evelyn walked under the balcony to take cover from the rain. A puddle of water formed below her, soaking her shoes.
It's been a long time since it rained like this, she thought and looked up at the misty sky.
Through the raindrops, I heard a groan.
“Ah…”
Evelin's gaze dropped to the ground.
Fenris seemed to regain consciousness, as he groaned in pain.
As painful sounds continued to escape his lips, Evelin carefully asked,
“...Are you awake?”
But there was no response. It was probably just an unconscious vocalization of his pain.
When she saw Fenris's pained expression, Evelin sensed the seriousness of his condition. She tried not to touch his body as much as possible, but she needed to get him out of the rain.
If he stays out in the rain like this, he may suffer from hypothermia. Although Merlin had gone to call a doctor, she had no idea when she would come.
Since he was still unconscious, she could accept giving this small amount of kindness
Evelyn moved away from the balcony and approached Fenris. She gently placed her hand on his forehead, finding his skin as cold as ice.
“I need to move it quickly.”
Evelyn grabbed Fenris' arm with both hands and pulled him up. She wished she could lift him, but his build was as large as Dyffrin's, making it impossible for her slender body to do so. Even just pulling it off was a massive struggle.
After slowly pulling Fenris, I was finally able to move him under the balcony away from the rain. Now that he was out of the rain, his body temperature could be maintained at least a little.
As she breathed a sigh of relief, a pool of red liquid began to spread across the floor towards her feet.
"What is this…?"
Following the trail of blood, Evelyn found its source – the place where Fenris was lying. There was a mixture of rainwater and blood pooling there. He must have been bleeding constantly.
Horrified, Evelyn examined Fenris' body cloy. There was a long vertical gash on his forearm, as if he had been stabbed by something.
If he had been bleeding this much since earlier, he had lost a lot of blood already. Evelyn felt a different kind of chill run down her spine. He might really die at this rate.
Evelyn took out a handkerchief she had embroidered with lavender from her pocket. Then she wrapped it tightly around Fenris' bleeding arm.
It was clumsily done, but it should at least stop the bleeding somewhat.
Evelin looked anxiously towards the entrance of the alley.
'Why are they taking so long...?'