Transmigrated as the Crown Prince's Mate
Chapter 212: Shocking Revelation...

Chapter 212: Shocking Revelation...

"I was wondering when you’d come."

Evelina didn’t breathe.

She didn’t move.

She wasn’t sure she could move.

The forest around her was quiet—too quiet.

Even the birds had stopped chirping. A light breeze rustled the leaves, but the only other thing stirring was a man standing ten steps in front of her. He was dressed in black, his face concealed by a hood and a shiny silver half-mask that glimmered softly in the moonlight.

"I said," Luther spoke again, slow and even, "I was wondering when you’d come."

Evelina rose slowly from the cover of the tree, her hand drifting toward the dagger at her thigh.

He only spoke again—calm, too calm. "You always did have a knack for following the wrong people into the woods."

The voice.

It was different... a bit raspier. But somehow, it pulled at her memory.

"Turn around," she said in a steady voice. "Turn around and face me."

"You already know who I am," he said, still facing the trees. "You wouldn’t have followed me this far otherwise."

"Lord Luther," she called.

A beat passed.

Then, slowly, he did.

The hood fell back first. Then the glint of moonlight touched the silver half-mask that concealed the left side of his face. The right side was bare—angular jaw, a thin scar along his cheekbone, and lips curved in something that wasn’t quite a smile.

Not smug.

Not mocking.

More like... curious.

Evelina’s breath caught.

The mask, the robes, and the confidence he carried all gave off an air of someone who wasn’t scared of the consequences. It was definitely him.

But still, something felt off.

He seemed different, almost like he was just pretending to be someone else.

"You look disappointed," he said, tilting his head. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"I was expecting a monster," Evelina said, straightening her posture and holding her dagger tightly but not drawn. "Instead, I find a coward hiding behind chaos."

Luther’s eyes glinted in the low light. "Coward? No. Strategist, maybe. Survivor? Certainly."

"Then tell me, survivor," she said in a low voice, edged with fury, "how did you escape the king’s dungeons?"

A laugh escaped from behind the mask. "Do you really believe Arcadia takes good care of its prisoners? They had me trapped in stone, but even stone can break. Especially when the kingdom is too busy focusing on a charming outsider during her trial, only to celebrate her as their future Luna."

Evelina’s eyes narrowed. "You mean me."

He said nothing, which was answer enough.

"You poisoned the prince," she said flatly. "You framed me."

Still, he didn’t deny it.

"Why?" Her voice rose sharply, but not loudly. "You could’ve killed him. Killed me. You blamed all your crimes on me. You nearly had me executed."

"And yet," Luther said quietly, "here you stand. Not dead. Not ruined. You should be thanking me."

Her stomach turned. "Thanking you?"

"It made you stronger," he continued, shrugging. "The girl I watched take the fall? She was soft. A loyal little dog chasing council scraps. But this version of you—the one with a blade, a title, and the prince’s attention? She’s so much more interesting."

"Interesting?" Evelina’s fury pulsed in her chest. "You think this was a game?"

"I think Arcadia needed to burn," Luther said, finally stepping forward. "And you? You needed to wake up."

Evelina took a slow step back, her pulse thundering. "Why, Luther? Why attack Arcadia? Why kill your own soldiers? What are you trying to build with all this?"

He didn’t answer at first.

His gaze turned toward the trees behind her, as though looking through time itself.

Then, softly, he said, "Because this kingdom is a lie. Built on blood and secrets. You don’t see it yet—but you will."

She stepped closer now, dagger drawn, blade glinting between them. "What I see is a coward who struck from the shadows and made others bleed in his place."

"No." His voice deepened—colder now. "What you see is someone who understood the rules of this world better than anyone. And I played them."

"You planned that blast... you planned this attack. That’s what you’ve been doing all these while."

Luther smiled, his eyes glinting like he was proud of the outcome of his plan.

But then, Evelina noticed something—something familiar.

Too familiar.

The calm confidence in them, the sharp, assessing light, they looked like something she’d seen for years in another world. In a white-coat lab where her name had been printed on door panels and clipped to lanyards.

"You always were the brightest in the room," he said. "Even when you didn’t want to be."

Her breath hitched.

That voice.

That phrase.

Luther tilted his head, the silver mask catching a sliver of moonlight. "You were always so precise with your measurements," he murmured. "The antidote you brewed for the kingdom during the well poisoning—it worked exactly as intended. Just the right dose. Impressive."

Evelina’s heart pounded. "You’re talking like you knew what was in it."

"I watched you handle it," he said. "From a distance. The way you crushed the frostleaf before boiling it—most would’ve added it too early and ruined the compound. But not you."

She stared at him.

He continued casually, like recalling a shared memory over tea. "You always had a different way of doing things that seemed advanced. I remember walking into the palace and seeing... what’s that servant boy’s name again that... oh, Jasper, is?"

"I remember seeing Jasper all wrapped up that day, saying it was your idea to prevent the spread and contamination of the poisoning incase it was airborne. That was some great improvisation."

Her blood ran cold.

He chuckled softly. "Even then, I had my suspicions, you know. That you weren’t exactly from here. You covered it well. The language. The customs. But it was in the way you thought. The way you looked at systems. Always trying to simplify, to improve them. Not very Arcadian of you."

She couldn’t breathe.

"I should’ve said something then. But I was curious. So I watched. And then I wondered..." He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "If you remembered me."

Her hand trembled on the hilt of her dagger.

And then, to really drive his point home, he spoke the next word—softly and intentionally, like he was sharing a secret just above a whisper.

"Evelyn."

Everything in her stopped.

The wind. Her breath. Her heartbeat.

She hadn’t heard that name spoken aloud since she woke in this world.

Her voice came out a whisper, cracked and filled with disbelief as her own suspicion also came crashing on her.

"...Tobias?"

Her heart thudded once, too hard. Her voice dropped into a whisper.

The man stilled.

A pause—measured. Calculated.

Then, slowly, the mask came off.

Tobias.

"Took you long enough," he said softly.

Evelina’s knees nearly buckled.

It wasn’t a theory anymore. It wasn’t speculation or desperate hope or terror dressed as logic.

It was him.

Tobias Langley.

Her research partner.

Her closest friend.

Her fiancé.

The man who had tried to steal her work, who caused her lab to explode, but also got caught and trapped in the fire.

Or so she’d thought.

"You—how?" she choked.

Tobias—Luther—tilted his head. "Same as you, I imagine. Fire. Light. Then this place."

She stepped forward slowly, every cell in her body screaming for answers. "You’ve been here this whole time? You’ve been behind all this?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Every moment. Every movement."

Her stomach twisted. "Why?"

His gaze sharpened. "Why do you think?"

Evelina’s fingers curled around the hilt of her blade. "You started a war."

"No," Tobias said quietly. "Arcadia started this. I only gave it the spark."

"Those creatures—you weaponized rogues. You burned the wall. You killed innocent people."

Tobias didn’t flinch. "I’ve done what I had to. This world... it’s a twisted chessboard of wolves and crowns and ancient blood debts. And what have they done with it? Nothing. Just clung to their outdated magic and tribal power."

He stepped closer, eyes burning now. "But I brought knowledge. Fire. Systems. Organization. Structure."

"You brought chaos!" Evelina shouted. "You killed—!"

"I gave them a cause," he cut in. "Something more than superstition and bloodlines. I taught them how to use their rage. How to build something from it."

Her voice broke. "You betrayed me."

Tobias—Luther—smiled faintly. "You were always too sentimental, Evie. Still are. Always chasing peace. Thinking the system can be healed from the inside."

He nodded behind her.

"Arcadia won’t change. You think they’ll crown you queen? You think they’ll ever truly accept you? They’ll love you right up until the next attack. And then it’ll be your fault. Again."

Evelina swallowed hard.

"I don’t want their crown," she said. "I just want this kingdom to survive."

"And I want it to evolve." Tobias took another step forward. "That’s why I need your help."

Her heart stuttered. "What?"

"I didn’t plan for you to arrive here too," he said, in a lower voice now. "But now that you’re here—imagine what we could build. Together."

Evelina shook her head slowly. "You want me to join you?"