Thiendavis – For The Perfect Salvation

Chapter 32: Don't Run Away!

Zion, upon hearing footsteps, lifted his head like a lion.

This made Evie's heart sink unexpectedly.

Zion sat in a chair placed in the middle of the tent, using its original owner as a footrest.

Resting his feet on a fallen person was quite an act of tyranny, yet somehow, Zion Laurel seemed to suit that image extraordinarily well.

As if he had been born to behave exactly that way.

With his fierce demeanor and sharp, raised eyes, when his gaze met Evie's, he was startled and had to swallow his breath.

Likely, anyone other than Evie would have reacted the same way.

"What brings you here?"

Zion, who had instinctively tensed, softened his gaze upon seeing Evie.

Her voice, questioning and curious, caused Evie, who had been frozen unintentionally, to finally breathe quietly.

Due to some tangled dealings with the count, Evie had completely forgotten what kind of person Zion was.

Or rather, she had never truly realized it before.

The reality of a man who single-handedly thwarted disasters.

Seeing Zion Laurel who had subdued the army like this, Evie suddenly felt who he truly was.

Though she was quite surprised, Evie managed to respond without showing it.

"I heard from Mrs. Marso that you were big trouble, so I came here."

Evie said, glancing at his footrest.

Zion then pushed away the unconscious survey leader with his foot, and spoke.

"As you can see, nothing happened."

"To my eyes, it looks like something happened... How are you planning to return home after making such a ruckus?"

When Evie spoke with concern, Zion, with an unexpectedly bright expression, replied with a rather carefree face.

"It's fine. I'm moving tonight."

"Moving?"

"I didn't like the new neighbors."

Zion said this with a mischievous nonchalance.

He seemed to have already tidied up everything.

His life in this village, and Evie's suggestion too.

Evie wasn't disappointed by the firm rejection since she had anticipated this reaction from the start.

Never had she expected that this arrogant and unruly count would gently take her hand.

With the army from Bayen interfering and causing a nuisance, he seemed to have made up his mind to leave.

Though Evie thought she shouldn't be surprised, she spoke as if she were extremely astonished.

"So you're planning to leave suddenly in the middle of the night?"

Zion seemed to take pleasure in Evie's reaction.

Evie continued, furrowing her brow and speaking even more perplexedly.

"It's hard to believe. To think the count was this irresponsible."

Evie's blatant reprimand disrupted Zion's satisfaction.

Startled by her words, Zion's eyes narrowed, but Evie ignored it and spoke even more dramatically.

"If you leave like this, everyone will think something terrible happened to you, won't they? How can you leave without considering the hurt it might cause the children... And what about Mrs. Marso, who ran around in the middle of the night? Their hearts will burn with despair, cursing the world that took you away... How terrible..."

Evie lamented as though faced with the world's greatest tragedy.

Zion, unable to listen any longer, murmured.

"Is that something the one making threats should say?"

"Threats?"

Evie, widening her eyes in response, questioned back.

Then, with an expression of feigned innocence, murmured.

"I thought you'd understand by now what a real threat is..."

The small voice made Zion feel a surge of emotion, thinking back on the real threats he had faced from Evie.

Regardless, Evie continued her words deliberately and clearly.

"What I proposed in the morning wasn't a threat, but a promise. A promise to protect what's precious to you, Count."

Evie spoke deliberately, as if teaching a child, and Zion, finding her words and demeanor unsettling, frowned.

Inside, Evie laughed.

With mutual understanding, Evie shared the same thought as Diez.

Zion Laurel's temperament was reminiscent of a wild horse from the western mountains.

These proud and noble beasts roamed the plains, rejecting all constraints.

Zion Laurel seemed similar, utterly ignoring all things surrounding him, including Thienda.

But here lay a trap.

Wild horses in the western mountains live in herds among themselves.

"I thought this proposal was beneficial for both parties, but it seems burdensome for you, Count. To the point where you give up your precious daily life because of me..."

Evie, pretending to speak kindly, continued to provoke Zion, who once again responded diligently.

For Evie Ariate, whose life's goal was to become a difficult person, Zion Laurel—who was already exuberantly difficult—was truly an intriguing subject.

In Evie's eyes, Zion could achieve anything he desired, yet he desired nothing and settled in this secluded village.

Yet, he didn't quite fit into this humble world either.

Seeing him idling in the village was as awkward as seeing a lion perched in a chicken coop.

So, belonging neither here nor there, what did he truly want to do?

Evie had been genuinely curious from the moment she discovered him in the village.

"I never knew your past and memories were this cheap and light, Count."

Evie continued to test the limits, almost crossing the line.

For Zion, it was an unfamiliar and challenging situation.

"Think as you please."

Zion, not wanting to quibble, stood up.

He seemed intent on leaving at once, and Evie grabbed Zion's coat as he passed her by, causing him no small amount of surprise.

It was the fourth time already that Evie Ariate had intruded into his space without permission.

At Manyanya Tower, she had covered his mouth with her hand, hid behind his back to avoid Mrs. Marso, and earlier, had curiously shown interest in his glasses.

Every time Evie did such things, Zion felt a similar discomfort to when a not-so-friendly cat unexpectedly rested its head on him—too light to brush off, yet too bothersome to ignore.

When Zion stopped and turned around, Evie reprimanded him firmly.

"I never said you could go."

"Is this something that requires permission?"

"Of course it does. You've done this and that without permission from me until now, so you need to diligently seek approval from now on."

Doing this and that without permission—such words were easily misunderstood as intentional provocation.

Meanwhile, Evie's expression was exceedingly confident, leaving Zion at a loss for words.

Evie directed a brighter smile at him.

Having observed Zion Laurel closely, Evie Ariate concluded that this young lamb wandered alone because he lacked a shepherd.

Zion would surely snort in disdain if he knew, but Evie believed his situation was similar to her own childhood.

Once, Evie was a child no one held onto, and now the count was someone who couldn't hold onto anyone.

Though the circumstances were vastly different, the result was amusingly the same.

Alone and solitary.

Thus, she decided to treat the count lightly.

Only then would he realize, with his forced arrogance brought low, that he was human, not a deity.

Whether they were wild horses or humans, both needed their own kind.

"Don't run away. I'll protect you so that you can continue living like this."

Evie spoke again while holding onto him.

Consequently, Zion began to feel that perhaps she was toying with him.

Evie seemed to choose words and phrases intentionally to disturb him: irresponsible, burdensome, giving up, cheap, light, seek permission, don't escape, and further promised to protect him.

All terms Zion had neither heard nor needed to hear before.

Stunned by the series of accusations, Zion asked icily.

"Do you have the capability for that?"

"Indeed, I'm only able to threaten you because of my incapability."

However, Evie Ariate retorted skillfully.

Even so, when the count seemed on the brink of genuine anger, she quickly changed her tone and added.

"But Count, I believe that determination is more important than capability."

What's she going to say now...?

Zion looked at her incredulously, but Evie ignored it, as usual.

Instead, she fiddled with the hem of Zion's shirt she still held, speaking.

"For the past few days, I've pondered why you, Count, stayed here of all places. You mentioned having a debt to my uncle, but I don't believe that's the sole reason for visiting the house where he lived."

Evie spoke while searching Zion's eyes for answers.

Zion inadvertently averted his gaze, prompting Evie to whisper more softly.

"I don't know exactly what it is, but I think, just as the upstairs house is special to me, it holds significant meaning for you too. So I don't want to let you leave. It would just be too lonely, for both you and the people of this village."

Evie's whisper was so tender, and Zion found himself tangled in conflicting feelings.

He wasn't accustomed to such tenacity.

Everything would fly away if he shook it off and drift away if he let it be.

Kids, naive to his true nature, would eagerly approach him only when he wore the flimsy mask of a teacher.

Yet, even knowing who he was, Evie approached boldly and wormed her way in skillfully, shaking his resolve and forcing him to reconsider, to finally admit.

Honestly—and if he were to be exceptionally honest in his life—Zion wanted to continue this life.

However, he didn't want to compromise to achieve that.

His pride, never before broken, rejected it outright.

However, Evie defined it as running away, placing Zion's pride at a new crossroads.

Due to Evie's wordplay, leaving without hesitation became an escape, and what Zion thought as compromise was now an act of indomitable spirit.

Thus, it didn't matter which he chose anymore.

It was about how he chose to accept it.

Having been pleaded with so emotionally, caught tenderly, Zion felt he might just succumb.

In truth, he was already halfway there.

Despite this, he held his ground because Evie Ariate's earnest expression unnerved him.

Zion, knowing from experience that Evie could slyly smile and strike from behind, strongly suspected her intentions.

He then realized he could simply ask and began to inquire.

"Are you sincere about what you're saying now?"

"Quite a portion of it, yes."

"Do you have ulterior motives?"

"I won't deny that."

As expected.

Zion's face broke into a smile—a terrifyingly cold smirk.

Evie, seeing the count stubbornly insisting when he was nearly convinced, shook her head in exasperation.

"Now, Count. Is there really a need to respond this way...?"

"So, what's your ulterior motive?"

Zion asked lightly.

It was intended to expose Evie Ariate's hypocrisy and criticize her for her smooth-tongued reasoning.

However, Evie's response was surprising.

"I'm curious about your curse, Count."

With those words, Zion's expression immediately froze.

---