Dear my lovely Lady Eva,

Ever since I laid my eyes on you, my heart has been so restless that it aches. I thought many times during the past few days that if this pain keeps up, I might simply perish. Every second that passed, every second that excruciatingly continued on without you, reminds me of how precious my time with you was, and thus I have come to a realization. I no longer have ownership of my heart as your delicate hands firmly hold onto it to this moment, and I ask of you to let my suffering end as soon as possible.

Eternally yours,

Nikitas

Eva crumpled the letter in her hands and thought of lighting it on fire. Had Minos always been this frivolous? She couldn’t believe his younger self would differ from the man she knew so much. She gulped the tea in front of her down and slammed it on the saucer with a clang.

“My lady, are you alright?” asked Sofia, refilling the cup.

“I am.”

“But… my lady… Your face is red.”

Eva looked away. “It is not.”

“B-but I can see that it clearly is—“

“It. Is. Not.”

“Y-yes, my lady. I must have seen wrongly.” The teacup started to overflow. “Ah! I apologize, my lady!”

Eva didn’t look back as she could still feel the hotness on her cheeks. While Sofia cleaned up the mess, Eva also calmed down and composed herself. What was Minos thinking? They had already agreed on the details of their plan a week ago, so there was no need to exchange letters. Had the letter contained a cryptic message? Eva looked over the content again and could feel her cheeks burning once more. She put it back down, debating where to burn it.

“My lady, what about these gifts?”

Eva glanced at the mountain of presents to her left. The guildmasters were quick to adapt, and all of them either apologized via letters or visited her in the manor to do so. After all, Guildmaster Marcus’s firm did have explosive growth in revenue after receiving her information of what products would be in high demand, making his firm one of the most profitable in Vallou overnight.

“Store them for now.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Eva stood. “I’ll go meet my father. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” And she continued her way from the garden to the right wing of the manor, going past the guards and the servants around the estate. She reached the study where the two maids were standing by and knocked.

“Come in,” came her father’s voice.

She entered and bowed. “I greet my lord.”

“Come sit first,” he said, taking his eyes off the paperwork to look at her. He seemed to be in a good mood.

“Excuse me,” Eva said, walking toward the chair and sitting down. “What do you request of me, my lord?”

“Always right to the business, huh?” he said, smiling, though it was a smile without any affection. “I simply want to praise you and distribute some rewards.”

“I am not worthy, my lord.”

“Do not be modest. I am quite satisfied with your work.” He laced his fingers together on the table. “It’s been quite a while now since those greedy bunches know their place. I won’t ask how you did it, but I will certainly reward you for it.” He reached into a desk cabinet and came back with a sealing stamp in the shape of a fox with three tails—the Vallou’s emblem. “This will be yours from now on. Of course, it is a replica, and I still have mine, but you will have authority only second to me.”

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Eva had been in high society for decades, so she naturally knew what her father meant. He was willing to give over his authority since he judged her capable, but he was also giving a clear warning not to vie for his position. ‘Be content with what I’m willing to give you. Do not be too ambitious.’

Eva smiled and received the stamp. “Thank you, my lord.”

“Now go complete the contract with the guildmasters. I talked to a few of them already, so I believe I can expect good news soon.”

“Of course, my lord.” Eva got up and bowed. “You can expect good news very soon.”

Dear my lovely Lady Eva,

My heart has been longing for its rightful owner, and I cry thinking of its eventual reunion with you—

Eva threw the letter away without reading further.

“My lady, you have been acting strange these days,” said Sofia, picking up the letter and tossing it into the hearth of the hotel room. Eva had once again visited the hotel opposite Lady’s Opal, ready for whatever Minos called her for. “And you wouldn’t even let me read them…”

“Sofia?” Eva smiled.

The maid trembled. “Y-yes, my lady?”

“Do not even think of reading them.”

“I-I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Now then,” Eva said as she put on her hat. “I’ll get going now. Don’t panic if I don’t come back in time.”

She left the hotel and entered the underground arena with the same procedure as before, though this time finding herself in the golden booth where Minos was already present. She sat and waited for the servant to leave, but Minos had something to say first.

“Oh how my heart weeps from joy,” he said, gesturing like he was in a theater play, “to be able to witness your beauty once more.”

“If you are here to joke around, then I’m leaving.”

“Please wait, my lady.” Minos coughed, sliding a piece of paper toward Eva. “Please do have a look at this.”

Eva picked it up and read. It was an underground contract confirming the duel date of their slaves in seven days. Everything was proceeding smoothly, and soon, they would be able to meet Kalis Vascatos, the duke’s kidnapped son.

“Is this all?” Eva said, handing the paper back. “You could have used your letters to convey this instead of… whatever you have been sending.”

“Those pieces of paper contain my heart and soul, my lady. Compared to sending my feelings across, overthrowing an illegal underground arena pales in comparison.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Please wait, my lady, I have a piece of information you might want to hear.”

She glanced at him with a tired look and sat back down. “Please be quick. I have a group of merchants I need to attend to.”

Minos straightened up, and the air around him changed. Eva could see glimpses of the battle-hardened marquis she knew. “My lady, I shall be frank: Please let me help you.”

“With the situation in my family?” Eva frowned. “I can handle it by myself. You can keep your information to yourself.”

Minos reached his hand out, but Eva retreated her hand first. He looked hurt but continued on. “My lady, I believe you might already have a good idea what kind of a person I am from your investigation, and I think every one of you men can testify that I have no ill intent, so please let me help you.”

Eva looked down at her hand where her ring used to be. She had sworn to not let Minos into her life more than necessary, but she knew a part of her wanted to be with him no matter what, and, as much as she didn’t like it, that part was growing with every passing day. She averted her eyes from her ring finger. “I refuse,” she said. “I don’t need anyone’s help.”

He paused for a second. “Then please at least tell me your plan. I can help you troubleshoot and give you an outsider’s perspective.”

“That is no different from helping me—“ Eva sighed. She didn’t have all day to argue with him. “Fine. Ask what you want, give me the information, and we can leave.”

Minos nodded. “I’m assuming you have a plan to deal with the slaves your sister is keeping, correct?”

“I do. As soon as the duke hears of his son’s kidnapping, he will launch a thorough investigation, and Lena won’t be able to hide her trails for long. My name will be cleared naturally.”

“Well, this is where my information comes in. What you might not realize is that your sister has already transferred the slaves somewhere unknown and bribed your men, so they will say the same thing when the slaves are found. Clearing your name won’t be that easy, even with the evidence collected on my part.”

Eva grabbed her chin. She didn’t know exactly what time Lena would move, but she thought her sister would wait for a bit longer. Had her coming back to the past changed the actions of those around her?

“I appreciate your information. Now then, I will get going.” Eva stood and turned around.

“Please wait, my lady! Will you not tell me how you will deal with your sister?”

Eva glanced back at him. “I haven’t thought of it yet.”

“Then, shouldn’t we think of it together?”

Eva turned her head back and strode away. “No need. I shall take care of it myself.” She left the underground without looking back once.

It would be two days later when she received Minos’s letter, and she would regret not staying with him that day.