Cabel swiftly moved around the crowded street to get to where the disguised Evelyn is.

He stopped for a while as he saw her laugh alongside Gab who he knew as one of the people that Evelyn is closest with.

​​

Ringing bells and sirens are making noises inside his head, his thoughts are going wild and all of his memories about her are flashing to his eyes.

In his back of his head, he knew why he was hesitating. He knew that another disappointment may come if his guess was wrong.

He has been doing this for the past four years and he's reaching the point where he's finding everything that he's done to be fruitless.

'Why am I hesitating? She's the only person that has given me this much information and I don't know why but everything about her resembles Evelyn.' Cabel thought.

He unconsciously took a black tassel with a red ruby as it's jewellry. Cabel looked at it and remembered the day that Evelyn popped like a bubble and vanished into the thin air as he watched the red flames swallow the storage house.

The black tassel that he got from Evelyn is the only thing that she left behind for him.

He clutched the black tassel that reminded him everyday about the smile, the smell, the look, her soft hair, her white skin, everything about Evelyn reminded him of her whenever he looked at the tassel that he got from the hunting event.

Cabel looked at the two people who are having fun while his mind is bugged with anxiety and uneasiness.

He walked to them and called.

"Commander Gabriel…"

Gab turned around when he heard his name.

The voice was familiar and Evelyn flinched but her back was facing Cabel. She heard footsteps coming near them and Gab look down to see Evelyn's eyes that looked like she was surprised.

Gab immediately walked past Evelyn for her to be behind him, he stopped when he came face to face with Cabel.

"Duke, what are you doing in the Emsworth Duchy?"

Gab cannot contain his unpleasant feeling and his words contain it. He was having a good time with Evelyn and he was starting to feel like they were having a date but then someone called him and his brows furrowed into a frown.

"I just saw you and wanted to greet you for old times sake…"

"Is that so… then you made your purpose, we have greeted each other. You can go on your way now."

"But I see that you have a company."

Gab scowled at Cabel when he heard him. Cabel didn't even glance at Gab and just walked past him.

He has a different purpose and greeting Gab was just an excuse.

Cabel stopped in front of the lady whose back is still facing him. Evelyn didn't move even an inched as her mind went blank at the sudden intrusion of Cabel in her little tour downtown.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady…" Cabel greeted her.

Evelyn flinched again and shut her eyes.

'I can't escape huh….!' she thought.

Gab butt in when he saw that Evelyn was delaying herself to turn around.

"Duke Cabel, how about we talk somewhere and let the lady be?"

Cabel heard Gab but he ignored him. Now that he looked at the situation and saw that the lady in front of him is stalling to greet him back, his guts are telling him that something is going on that the lady seems to be avoiding him on purpose.

"Duke Cabel, can't you hear me? Hey!"

Gab put his hand on Cabel's shoulder but he didn't move and only stared in front of him, he was waiting. He's waiting for the lady in front of him to face him.

'I've waited for four years, a few minutes is shorter than that…' he thought.

Evelyn gulped the nonexistent lump in her throat and felt that her mouth was too dry. She never has been this nervous to see and talk with someone.

She has done everything to not cross paths with him but really… he's always there when she decided to forget about him and avoid him.

Evelyn slowly turned around, her face stoic as she didn't want to let him know about her panicked feelings.

She looked down and saw that Cabel has been extending his hand to her. Evelyn looked up and saw that Cabel have that cold expression pasted in his face.

'I can't run or I'll be dead.' She concluded and sighs inwardly.

Extending her arms slowly, and glancing at Gab who seems to be clicking his tongue and is annoyed about what was happening mirrored in Evelyn's view.

Cabel held his hand and leaned closely to her back of the hand and slowly the tip of his lips reached the porcelain skin of Evelyn's hand.

He looked up and saw it. Her eyes that always have that shine whenever her eyes reflect his silhouette.

"Can I talk to you for a while? lady …?"

He didn't say what he wants, Cabel wants to learn it from her lips. He needed to confirm that she is Evelyn but he also wanted to hear it from her.

Evelyn sighs in the back of her mind and casually replies when she regains her composure.

"Adelyn, my name is Adelyn Dashton."

Cabel paused for a while and he looked down as angered sipped through his red eyes.

Evelyn didn't notice this and thought that he was only disappointed, she knew that Cabel must have thoughts about her resemblance to Lady Evelyn Emsworth but she thought that she didn't even have the time for him to suspect her.

The hand that was still resting in his palm slowly tried to pull it in a manner that he wouldn't notice but amidst her expectation Cabel squeezed it and he stood up straight and their eyes locked.

"I won't stand for this… come with me!"

Cabel pulled Evelyn forcefully but Gab intervened.

"What the hell are you doing, Duke?" Gab's voice became lower than it is as he threateningly glared at Cabel.

"Don't you dare stand in my way!"

Evelyn was confused about why these two men suddenly gave a murderous vibe, as she observed, Evelyn saw that the other people that were also shopping were looking at them.

'This is not good…!' she thought.

She started to form silly thoughts about the newspaper headlines and sighs.

'I knew there was something… the weather is too sunny to make everything seem perfect!'

Evelyn can't even snatched her hand back because Cabel have been helding it tightly.

Cabel pulled Evelyn again and pushed Gab's shoulder.

"I have things that this lady needed to explain to me!" Cabel said and Evelyn flinched.

'How…?' she was yet again flustered about how the people that she wanted to avoid seems to know that it was her when they saw her.

'Am I not doing enough disguise?' she thought as her eyes went wide.

Cabel then beckoned his shadow knights that had been disguised as merchants. Four men form a barricade in front of Gab.

"Hey! What the hell!"

Gab can't do anything to harm the people in front of him because he is a citizen and a commander of a different Kingdom. If he attacked or even slightly pushed them in this crowd, it will form a conflict when the higher ups heard about it and might say that he was wishing for a war.

He clicked his tongue and brushed his red hair in frustration.

"Damnit!"

Evelyn looked back and mouth words in her lips.

'I'll be fine, don't worry.' she said before Cabel pulled her hand again and Gab saw them vanish in the crowd.

***

Erick is watching everything unfold through the window of the three storey restaurant that his disciple and him meet.

He swirled the red wine in the wine glass and looked at the piercing eyes of Cabel who's watching the back of Adelyn.

"Hmmm"

He never saw the "princess" of their guild act like this. His thoughts circled in his mind.

"I knew that she was hiding something but I never knew that it was this big…"

He silently watched the scene again and saw that Cabel held her hand and looked down on the floor.

"Oh… he's angry. That's a first…"

Erick is finding what was happening to be amusing. Cabel always has a frown in his face but never ever really becomes angry at someone. He only saw it once, four years ago.

"When his eyes become devoid of emotions, that's when he gets really angry. Hahaha! I wonder what you will do, princess?"

***

"Where are you taking me, Duke?" she asked as they were still walking and watched that a few people were passing by.

"..."

Cabel kept quiet, angry and thought that the masked lady would reveal herself to him.

'But it was another guy that knew it first! I knew there was something when I saw her at the banquet and it's suspicious when Silvester has a female knight that covered half of her face and now! She was with Gab! That bastard only has eyes for Evelyn ever since the Academy, it's suspicious that both of them have interest in the same person!'

He thought as he was still leading Evelyn to a place where no one can disturb them, his guild.