Transmigrated as the Crown Prince's Mate
Chapter 118: A Wildcard?...

Chapter 118: A Wildcard?...

"If by the end of these days you cannot clearly prove your innocence, he will personally carry out your execution."

"Welp," Relia muttered. "So much for celebrating."

Evelina forced herself to stand tall. "I understand, Your Majesty."

"Good news, we’re not getting executed today," Relia said dryly. "Bad news, we’re still on a countdown to death."

Not if I find out who really did it.

Relia sighed dramatically. "No pressure or anything."

The King held her gaze for another long, heavy moment before turning back to the council. "This meeting is adjourned."

And just like that, it was over.

Evelina was free from one accusation.

But the real fight had only just begun.

Evelina took a deep breath as the council started to disperse, with nobles quietly talking to each other while leaving the grand chamber.

Even though the atmosphere felt tense, she was dismissed.

It was over.

For now.

She turned toward the massive double doors, ready to leave, but before she could take more than a few steps, she felt a familiar presence beside her.

Damian.

She glanced up at him, meeting those piercing silver eyes. He didn’t say anything at first, just studied her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"Don’t go too far." His voice was quieter than usual. "I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done here."

Evelina’s fingers curled slightly at her sides.

For a split second, she considered asking him—Would you really do it?

Would you really kill me if I don’t find the person responsible?

But she didn’t even want to think about it

So instead, she simply nodded. "I’ll be around."

Damian didn’t move immediately. His gaze lingered on her for just a moment longer, like he wanted to say more, but then he turned back toward his father.

Evelina didn’t stay to watch. She pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into the hall.

Relia’s voice filled her mind almost immediately. "So... let’s talk about the huge, deadly elephant in the room."

Evelina sighed. "Which one?"

"Oh, you know. The part where our mate still technically has permission to kill us."

Evelina pressed her lips together as she walked through the dim corridors.

The words of the King replayed in her head. "Ten days. If you do not prove your innocence, my son will carry out your execution himself."

"Do you think he’d actually do it?" Relia asked, uncharacteristically serious.

Evelina hesitated.

Would he?

Damian had changed since the night he stopped her execution. He had gone from being her captor to her... What?

Something.

She trusted him more than she should, and she knew it. But trust didn’t mean he wouldn’t follow through with his word.

"I don’t know," Evelina admitted. "But I do know one thing."

"Oh? What’s that?"

"I’m not giving him the chance to find out."

****************

"Well, well," a young woman drawled, leaning lazily against a marble pillar. She was dressed in fitted riding leathers with a royal-blue cloak draped over her shoulders.

She looked effortlessly regal—yet the sharp amusement in her golden eyes betrayed her mischief.

Tilting her head slightly, a smirk tugged at her lips. "Look what the wind dragged back."

The young man standing before her let out a low exhale, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off a long journey. His dark clothes were dusted with dirt, his boots scuffed from travel, but none of that dulled the commanding presence he carried.

And then there were his eyes—striking blue, deep, and hard to read as they locked onto hers.

"Seraphina," he greeted in a smooth voice

Seraphina grinned. "Kyle."

His name carried weight, but not in the way most people said it. No formalities. No ’Your Highness’ or ’Alpha-Heir.’ Just Kyle.

Which meant she was about to be insufferable.

Kyle sighed, stepping forward. "You’re up late."

"You’re back late," Seraphina shot back. She pushed off the pillar, her sharp gaze scanning him. "And you look like you lost a fight with a dirt road."

Kyle smirked. "It’s called blending in."

Seraphina wrinkled her nose. "It’s called being reckless."

Kyle let out a low chuckle, tugging off his gloves. "You sound just like Mother."

"I’ll take that as a compliment." She tilted her chin. "So? What’s up with where you went to?"

Kyle’s smirk faded slightly. He shook his head. "Nothing."

Seraphina stiffened. "What do you mean nothing?"

Kyle exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Exactly that. There was nothing for us there."

Seraphina’s golden eyes darkened. "That’s impossible. They were supposed to signal us as soon as the situation escalated."

Kyle nodded. "That’s what I thought, and since the message didn’t come, I went myself."

Seraphina let out a frustrated breath, running a hand through her long, dark curls. "And? What did you find?"

Kyle’s gaze flickered with something unreadable.

A face flashed in his mind.

Evelina.

Her defiant eyes. The fire in her voice. The way she had managed to shatter everything his kingdom had planned—without even knowing it.

He had gone to Arcadia expecting to find chaos. He had expected to see their contact pushing for his kingdom’s aid, using the poisoned well as leverage.

The deal was supposed to involve them providing the cure when the waters in Arcadia were poisoned.

Instead, he had met a woman who had unintentionally uncovered their carefully planned scheme using only her intelligence and determination.

Evelina had changed the game.

Kyle’s jaw tightened. "It’s complicated."

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed. "Kyle."

Kyle sighed, running a hand down his face. "I got there, and the people were already healthy. The cure didn’t come from us."

Seraphina froze. "What?"

Kyle looked at her with a grim expression. "Someone else found it first."

Seraphina’s face twisted in disbelief. "That’s—" She stopped, inhaling sharply. "That’s not possible."

Kyle’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Apparently, someone does."

Seraphina took a step back, shaking her head. "That doesn’t make sense. Who—?"

Kyle hesitated.

He could still hear her voice in his head.

"I found the cure. But instead of being celebrated, they’re accusing me of being behind it."

Kyle hesitated.

The frustration. The bitterness. The fight in her.

He had seen the way Arcadia’s people regarded her—half with suspicion, half with awe.

It was almost like they didn’t know what to make of her.

A woman who had done the impossible. A woman who had found the cure to a carefully sourced toxin before anyone else. A woman who should have been their hero—yet, instead, she was being hunted.

Kyle’s mind drifted to the assassins.

The way they moved and the accuracy of their strikes showed that it wasn’t just a random attack. They had been sent to kill her.

Which meant someone saw Evelina as a threat.

Kyle’s jaw clenched slightly. He wasn’t sure why that detail sat so uncomfortably in his chest.

Seraphina’s golden eyes stayed locked on him, her patience wearing thin. "Well? Who was it?"

Kyle exhaled slowly. "Her name is Evelina."

Seraphina’s head snapped up. "Evelina?"

Kyle nodded. "She’s the one who cured the well."

Seraphina stared at him for a long moment. Then, her lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk. "Well," she murmured, crossing her arms. "That’s interesting."

Kyle raised a brow. "What?"

Seraphina’s smirk widened. "You never mention names."

Kyle frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Seraphina leaned in slightly. "You didn’t just say, ’someone found the cure.’ You gave me her name."

Kyle’s gaze flickered. "That doesn’t mean anything."

Seraphina tilted her head, studying him like a puzzle. "Doesn’t it?"

Kyle huffed. "You’re reaching, Sera."

Seraphina laughed under her breath. "Oh, I love this."

Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you focus?"

"I am focused," Seraphina quipped. "You, on the other hand, are clearly thinking about a certain Evelina. So tell me dear brother, who is this young lady?"

Kyle’s jaw tightened.

The answer was simple.

She was the reason their entire plan had unraveled.

She was the one who had turned Arcadia’s crisis into her victory.

She was a problem.

And yet—Kyle exhaled.

He ignored the heat creeping up his neck. "She’s someone we need to keep an eye on. She ruined our entire plan."

Seraphina raised a brow. "Did she, though?"

Kyle’s gaze sharpened. "We lost our leverage, Sera. Our contact failed. Instead of Arcadia begging for Valmere’s help, they got their miracle from someone else."

Seraphina hummed, tapping her fingers against her arm. "And yet..." she trailed off. "You don’t seem as angry as you should be."

Kyle clenched his jaw. "I don’t waste time on anger. I focus on solutions."

Seraphina grinned. "And what solution do you have for Evelina?"

Kyle exhaled slowly, his mind working through the pieces.

Evelina was an anomaly. A wildcard.

He had seen something in her—something rare.

And for the first time in a long time, Kyle wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to eliminate the problem...

Or claim it as his own.

"No idea... yet. But I’ll be thinking about her... about it tonight," he corrected himself almost immediately. "By tomorrow, I’ll have something for Father."