I Became My Son's First Love - Chapter 53

The always confident and vibrant face now had a pale shadow cast over it. The man clenched his teeth, forcing strength into his trembling legs. He tightly gripped the box he was holding and left the place silently. Now that Azazel had arrived at the shop, the man who had once hidden him here would remember nothing. Only Azazel knew the truth.

***

As soon as Eve saw Lina rushing towards her, she smiled apologetically. Though Lina began scolding her with a stream of words, Eve barely responded. The turquoise eyes from earlier kept flashing in her mind.

Those eyes, so familiar to her. Eve, who had often gazed closely into Azazel’s eyes, knew that they were a clear blue without a trace of impurity and that they glowed even more vividly at night. But could a person’s eye color suddenly change like that?

And what exactly was going on earlier? Why had Azazel threatened that man? He must have sent Eve away so he could finish what he had started. As she half-listened to Lina’s words, Eve stole a glance back at the shop. Lina called out to her again.

“My lady!”

“Oh, right?”

Lina looked up at her with a slightly worried expression and asked carefully, “Did something happen?”

“Nothing much. So, did you get the flowers?”

“…Yes, they were beautifully wrapped, and the flowers were lovely. Since you mentioned visiting the patient tomorrow, I arranged for them to be delivered early in the morning.”

“Good.”

Lina’s gaze then fell on Eve’s empty hands. “Didn’t you find anything you liked?”

“No, I guess I’ll just buy the item you recommended. Nothing really caught my eye.”

In truth, the scene she had witnessed before leaving had made it impossible to recall any of the items in the store. Eve pointed to something suitable, and the clerk quickly completed the transaction. Lina, now holding the package, glanced at Eve, who remained still.

“Would you like to continue browsing?”

After a brief hesitation, Eve confided in her, “…I ran into the young Duke Seratine inside. I feel like I should say goodbye before leaving. I was looking for him, which is why I’m late.”

Normally, she would have left without a second thought, but Eve felt the need to check on him. His strange turquoise eyes were troubling, as was the paleness of his face.

Lina’s eyes widened. “The young duke?”

“He mentioned he was running an errand…”

“Then perhaps it’s best to wait a little longer—oh, there he is!”

Following Lina’s gaze, Eve saw Azazel emerging from the shop, carrying a small box in one hand. Naturally, his eyes were their usual blue. When their eyes met, he smiled and offered her the box.

“To commemorate our unexpected encounter, I bought you a gift.”

This time, he was wearing black leather gloves. Though the dark color of his vest made it difficult to tell, it looked as though his chest was slightly damp. Azazel, ignoring the questioning look in Eve’s eyes, gestured toward the box with his fingers.

“Aren’t you going to open your gift?”

“Oh, right.”

Conscious of Lina standing behind her, Eve opened the box slightly. Inside was the music box she had seen earlier and a small note.

“The note would embarrass me if you read it now, so please look at it when you’re alone.”

Eve glanced between Azazel and the music box before nodding. “…Thank you for the gift.”

“I noticed you looking at it closely. I hope I didn’t overstep.”

“No, thank you. Both you and Aeshath are always so considerate. I really appreciate it.”

Their conversation was polite and proper. It seemed Azazel intended to continue playing the role of the thoughtful young duke, as he observed Eve’s expression.

“You look a bit pale…”

It was an innocuous remark, but after what she had seen earlier, it sounded as if he were probing her. Eve narrowed her eyes and looked at Azazel.

“You’re the one who looks pale.”

“Ah.”

Azazel, seemingly surprised, rubbed his cheek and then bowed awkwardly.

“It seems we’re both a bit worn out today. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to take my leave.”

With that, he gracefully took Eve’s hand in his gloved one and pressed a light kiss on the back of it.

“I’ll see you again soon.”

He clearly knew that she had noticed something.

Eve swallowed a sigh and replied, “Yes, I suppose we will.”

Azazel would likely come to visit her tonight.

***

Before even opening the box, Aeshath sighed, to which Azazel merely shrugged. Aeshath, her face filled with irritation, asked, “Where’s the real one?”

“With the person who originally had it.”

“What?”

Aeshath glared at Azazel, who stood silently, then buried her face in her hands. As Azazel turned to leave, Aeshath, still covering her face, called out to him.

“Where are you going?”

Azazel said nothing as he turned the door handle, prompting Aeshath to look up.

“Azazel.”

Aeshath appeared weary.

“Do you have to do things this way?”

Azazel looked at her impassively for a moment before opening the door and leaving the office. Aeshath knew she couldn’t stop him. Staring at the closed door, she glanced back and forth between Dane’s letter on her desk and the half-written reply she had yet to finish.

After much deliberation, Aeshath quickly completed her response. Sealing the letter, she leaned back in her chair and gazed at the ceiling. She had no idea if she had made the right choice. But, as always, Aeshath was determined to do her best, and this time was no exception.

***

As Eve was winding down for the evening, she wrote short letters to Aeshath and Dane. Since the letters were to accompany the bouquets, she kept them brief. After sealing them, she handed the letters to Gina, who was waiting by her side.

“When the flowers arrive tomorrow, send them off immediately.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You may leave now.”

Once Gina had left and Eve was finally alone in her room, she looked again at Azazel’s note.

“I’ll be visiting you tonight.”

The handwriting was elegant, even though it slanted slightly to the left. Ever since reading the note in the carriage on the way back, Eve had been lost in thought.

What would Azazel say? What should she say to him? And what about his turquoise eyes? At first, the change had just been shocking and made her worry, but the longer she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt about those eyes.

‘He looked like him.’

The man with black hair and turquoise eyes from her dream.

It was a ridiculous thought, but once it had taken root in her mind, it wouldn’t go away. How could she link Azazel to the man in her dreams based solely on eye color? But people’s eyes don’t just change color either. At this point, Eve was starting to think she must have imagined it.

She grimaced. No matter how much she thought about it, it was all just speculation. In the first place, she had too little information. The only way to push away the absurd thoughts creeping in was to confront the man at the center of them.

Azazel entered her room through the secret passage, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He seemed more formally dressed than when they usually had their clandestine meetings. Fortunately, it didn’t look like he intended to try anything with her tonight. As Azazel pulled out a chair and sat across from her, Eve spoke first.

“So, you said you had something to say?”

Azazel, his expression calm, responded with a question of his own. “Don’t you have something you’d like to ask me?”

“You go first.”

Eve glared at him, and Azazel smiled before speaking, “Shall we start by talking about my eyes?”

Eve hadn’t expected him to address the issue so directly. But now that he had brought it up, she quickly nodded. “Alright, go ahead. Did your eye color really change?”

With a composed face, Azazel nodded. “If that’s what you saw, then that’s what happened.”

“Your eyes changed color?” Eve asked in disbelief, but Azazel’s expression remained unchanged.

“Yes.”

“How?”

Azazel suddenly gave her a playful smile. “That’s something I don’t want to tell you.”

Eve couldn’t believe her ears. “You don’t want to tell me, not that you can’t?”

“Yes.”

Was he joking? Did he really want to joke in this situation? Eve was at a loss for words, staring at him in disbelief.

His laid-back demeanor almost made her think the situation wasn’t as serious as she had initially thought.

Cautiously, she asked, “Did you take some sort of drug, or is it something unusual about your body?”

Azazel burst out laughing, clearly amused. The sound of his deep laughter was pleasant to hear, but Eve had no idea how to react. After laughing for a while, Azazel rested his chin in his hand and gazed at her intently.

“Eve, you’re adorable when you try to escape reality.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“No, I’m not. But you can sense it too, can’t you? That something’s off.”

Just as he said, her instincts were screaming that this was no small matter, and that her suspicions were correct.

“…Were you really the one in my dreams?”

When no answer came, Eve, growing anxious, asked again, “Was it really you?”

Azazel finally removed his hand from his chin and responded.