Chapter 2

Evelyn's POV

With twenty-seven days left until the engagement, several vampire noblewomen invited me to help prepare a banquet.

This event wasn't hosted by the Prince's family. It was simply a gathering organized by a few aristocratic ladies.

They knew I had studied painting in the human world, and they proposed turning the banquet hall entrance into a gallery, asking me to create a series of new works for them.

One of the ladies held my hand and smiled warmly.

"The Princess always says you're so clever and capable. We'd love to see human art for ourselves."

I agreed almost immediately.

Since coming to vampire territory, I rarely had the chance to paint.

All anyone cared about was whether I had memorized the customs, whether I could keep up with Lucien, whether I could become a worthy wife to the Prince's heir.

Painting was the one thing I was truly good at.

I also hoped Lucien would see that even without a vampire's sharp hearing and speed, I wasn't entirely useless.

At first, the noblewomen only asked for six paintings.

I spent half a month painting the themes they had chosen. Just as the first batch was nearing completion, they suddenly changed their minds.

"The banquet hall has been redecorated. The original colors don't quite match."

I had no choice but to redo the palette.

A few days later, they decided six paintings weren't enough to fill the entire wall and asked me to increase it to ten.

I agreed.

As the banquet drew near, they said two of the paintings were too small and wanted me to paint them over from scratch.

On top of that, they had me revise the patterns on the invitations, select the flowers for the banquet, and even handed me several undecided seating charts to organize for them.

Each time I showed the slightest sign of exhaustion, they would smile and say, "You're going to be the Prince's heir's wife. Surely this isn't too much for you."

I didn't dare refuse.

I had already given too many people reason to question whether the Prince and Princess had chosen the wrong daughter-in-law.

If I couldn't even handle my one true talent, Lucien would only see me as more useless.

During that stretch, I painted until late into the night every day.

During the day, I still had to attend etiquette lessons and accompany Lucien to necessary functions.

Only after everyone else left could I return to the studio and continue the works that kept being changed.

My fingers trembled from holding the brush for too long, and my eyes ached constantly.

My maid urged me to take a night off, but I looked at the unfinished paintings on the wall and shook my head.

"The banquet is about to start."

"But they've already made you change things so many times."

"Maybe this will be the last time."

I knew I was pushing myself too hard.

But I was even more afraid of Lucien finding out that I couldn't handle even this.

He had told me before that I was always too foolish to see through people's real intentions.

I didn't want to hear those words again.

The night before the banquet, I finally finished every piece.

The noblewomen sent people to collect the paintings in the middle of the night, and even pressured me to hand over the last one that hadn't fully dried.

I looked at the empty studio and, for the first time, felt that perhaps I had actually accomplished something.

The next day, I arrived at the banquet hall early.

Walking through the front doors, I had already planned how I would introduce each piece to Lucien.

But the walls of the hall displayed only the original collections belonging to those aristocratic families.

Not a single one of the paintings I had spent a month creating was there.

I stood in the doorway, thinking I must have walked into the wrong place.

Several of the ladies in charge of the banquet were sitting inside, drinking. They saw me, gave a casual nod, and went back to discussing the evening's guests.

I walked over and asked quietly, "Excuse me, where were the paintings I sent over placed?"

One of the ladies paused, then laughed.

"Those paintings."

She raised a hand and pointed toward the end of the corridor.

"We decided in the end that human artwork didn't quite fit in here, so we put them away."

"But you had me finish the last one just last night."

"Plans change."

She picked up her glass, her tone light.

"You'd already finished them. We couldn't exactly tell you on the last day that they wouldn't be used. That would've been such a waste of your effort."

The others laughed.

That was when I finally understood.

They had decided long ago not to use the paintings, yet they still made me stay up all night finishing every last one.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

My voice came out tight.

The lady's smile faded slightly.

"Miss Evelyn, you were just helping out."

"Surely you don't expect us to explain how we choose to arrange our own banquet?"

Another woman looked at me and added lazily, "Besides, getting early exposure to how vampire noblewomen prepare a banquet is a rare learning opportunity. Most people don't get that kind of chance."

I stood there, unable to form a single word of protest.

This banquet had nothing to do with the Prince's family.

I was merely Lucien's not-yet-official fiancée. I had no standing to demand they use my work.

If I lost my temper here, the story that would spread would be of a human throwing her weight around with vampire noblewomen because of her connection to the Prince's family.

The only one who would lose face in the end was Lucien.

All I could do was answer quietly, "I understand."

After the banquet began, I stayed at Lucien's side.

The noblewomen wore exquisite gowns, chatting with guests as if the past month of dumping every task onto me had never happened.

I noticed the door to the corridor hadn't been closed all the way.

Several canvases were propped carelessly against the wall, one corner already smudged with dust.

I looked away and didn't look again.

Lucien noticed my silence quickly.

"What's wrong with you tonight?"

"Nothing."

"You haven't said a single word since we arrived."

"I'm just a little tired."

Lucien studied me for a moment, then led me directly to a quiet sitting room off to the side.

After the door closed, he tilted my chin up.

"You're going to be my wife."

"If something has upset you, there's nothing you can't tell me."

I looked at his face, and my eyes suddenly stung with heat.

For the entire month, I had been looking forward to the moment he would see those paintings at the banquet.

After all I had endured, all I truly wanted was for Lucien to acknowledge me, just once. To see him smile at me.

I wanted him to know that I had something I was good at, something that could make me shine.

I had been ready to swallow all of it. But he was being so attentive, so caring.

Looking at his handsome face, that slight furrow of concern between his brows, I suddenly couldn't keep it in.

I told him everything.

How they changed their demands again and again. How they pushed me to hand over the last painting the night before. How today, not a single piece had been displayed.

As Lucien listened, his expression grew colder and colder.

"Over something like this?"

I froze.

"They tricked me on purpose."

"The daughter of that family was once a candidate for my fiancée, too."

He frowned at me.

"They suddenly invite you to help, and you didn't suspect a thing?"

I had no answer.

Lucien let out a cold, derisive laugh.

"Evelyn, how can you be this stupid?"

"They played you for a fool, got a month of free labor out of you, and you actually thought they admired your paintings."

The color drained from my face.

"I just wanted to help."

"And what did it get you?"

He cut me off.

"Everything you did was for nothing."

"You're going to be my wife, and you let a few noblewomen push you around. Demeaning yourself like that doesn't just make you look bad. It makes me look bad."

I stood before him for a long time without speaking.

I had thought he noticed my sadness because he cared that I'd been hurt.

But what he cared about was still the same thing. That I was too stupid. That I had embarrassed him.

I looked at Lucien's face. I couldn't even cry. I just felt a crushing weight on my chest, like I couldn't breathe.

Those noblewomen would never stand up for me.

Neither would Lucien.

In this place, no one would ever be on my side.

Because I was just a useless human who couldn't hear what they could hear and couldn't keep up with their pace.

Lucien must have realized his tone was too harsh. He reached out and gripped my shoulders.

"Don't do anything like that again."

"After we're married and I turn you, your senses and judgment will sharpen."

"Then you won't be so easily taken advantage of."

He comforted me with the same words he had said countless times before.

But for the first time, the thought of that future turning filled me with fear.

All these years, he had always said that once I became a vampire, everything would be better.

But it seemed he had never liked who I was now.

I looked at him, and a question rose to my lips. What if the turning failed? What if I was destined to stay exactly as I was, nothing more than a human?

Would he still choose to marry me?

Had he ever truly liked me at all, all these years? Did he regret being saved by a mere human like me?

The words were right there, but I didn't have the courage to say them.

I was afraid of his answer.

And I was afraid that once I finally heard the truth, I would no longer be able to stay by his side.