[author] Bonus chapter thanks to Bobple filling the bonus chapter gauge. Thanks! (Not sure if you wanted it to go to this, but we're putting it to this for now) [/author]
'Burn it all to the ground. Accept my power and drown this world in despair.'
"...Yes." Evelyn's silver eyes flickered a deep crimson. "I should just..."
*I love you, Eve.*
A muffled voice. One that cut through Evelyn's haze of despair.
It took her a bit to realize what it was. But then she remembered.
A line from Alex that she secretly recorded. His loving confession that was so serious and heartfelt that he would likely cringe from embarrassment if he knew she had set it as her notification alert for his messages.
Evelyn blinked and then realized that if she heard that line, it meant Alex had sent her something. So, still a bit numb, she pulled out her phone with trembling hands as if it was a lifeline. And true to her thoughts, there was a message there. From Alex. Her Alex.
===
[My Alexander]
Hey, Eve. Sorry if I woke you when you were sleeping, but I just wanted to say something.
I know today was rough.
I know you saw things you didn't think could happen in the Eternal Empire. Heroes and Imperial guards dead on the street along with monsters that were so powerful it didn't make sense.
And I know that you think everything you know is wrong now. That something like that couldn't have been written off as just a minor incident.
But it's okay.
I'm okay.
My feelings for the Empire haven't changed.
And neither have my feelings for you.
I love you, Evelyn vi Eternia.
You are my Eve. The only one in my life. The love I chose, not out of emotion, but out of my own free will.
You are my Eve, the night before the rest of my wonderful love-filled life.
And you are my Eve, the woman who I know cherishes me with everything she is.
But more importantly, I am your Alex. Yours, as you are mine.
We walk life together, remember?
So don't go off on your own or run somewhere I can't follow.
Talk to me first. Whatever you do, I do. Where you go, I go.
I love you, Eve.
Please, rest well.
I'll see you in the morning and every day that follows.
Your Alex.
===
Evelyn felt the numbness in her body fade. The cold starting to creep into her bones was replaced by a soft warmth. She slid down to the ground against the bookshelf, holding out her phone and carefully rereading the message.
It was long. It was also far too formal. More of a letter than a simple message.
But it was also just what Evelyn needed at that moment. She let out a disbelieving laugh and held her phone against her chest, pressing it with both hands as if she could press the loving words directly into her heart. "You always know just what to say to me, my love..."
A faint whisper echoed.
'Curses. That anomaly dares to intervene with what is mine again!? First my apostle and now my vessel...! He dares...!'
Even so, Evelyn didn't hear it, too lost in the warm love she felt for Alex at that moment. Once more, she held her phone out, carefully rereading the long message- No, the love letter. Then she let out a long sigh and pressed the phone against her chest again. "You are strong, my love. So, so, so strong..."
What Alex had gone through was enough to break a man completely. And what the report said was true. If he had dared to speak the truth of what occurred in Edelweiss, none would have believed him.
So he hadn't.
Instead, he had just quietly honed himself. Grinding himself down to dust, pouring that dust into a mold, and slowly building himself back up...
Alex had chosen not to cry out in despair. Not to lash out against the world. Not to fall into madness.
No, he had chosen to stand.
Evelyn felt her heart race as she realized that. The man she loved more than life itself... the one who had sworn to save her from a danger she did not even know...
Alex had his world ripped away from him. He had been tossed aside as worthless and not even enough of a threat to be silenced.
And yet he had survived- No, thrived.
From a mere civilian at fifteen, an age where training to a competent level was near impossible, Alex had forced his way to a Rank 3 Mage-
No.
Evelyn still remembered it. When she first met him, Alex had barely been a Rank 2.
He had been a student who entered Starlight Academy not on physical or magical prowess, but on his sheer intellect and diligence. A man who, instead of waiting for luck or a miracle, instead of waiting for a chance or opportunity, forcibly seized it with his own two hands.
A man who dared to love Evelyn even if it meant facing the world. A man who dared to say he would protect her while she was stronger than him. A man who, somehow, Evelyn believed could do just that.
Who could protect her, who had always been the one protecting.
Who could save her, the one who had always saved.
And, most of all...
Who could love her, not as the princess, but as Evelyn-
No.
As Eve. As just a woman in love.
'Tch. It matters not. She is already mine, if not in heart, in body. On the longest night, my hold will become absolute. You will not free her, Anomaly. Never.'
Again, that soft whisper.
But again, Evelyn didn't hear it, still lost in her love for Alex. Holding her phone against her heart, she slowly got up and murmured. "Alright, my love. I will do as you say." She let out a soft smile and said, "The morning and every day that follows. We will walk life together. So... I will wait for your word. Always."
Silence fell in the library.
Before, it had been deafening.
But now, Evelyn didn't mind it. She gently tucked the report away and cleared her credentials from the holographic display. After that, she walked out of the library and locked it behind her.
Now, to rest well, as her love said.
...And also to dream of the life up ahead, filled with love and cherished memories together.
===
I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead and let out a long sigh. "That was a close one..."
A floating system message displayed a timer.
> 30 seconds until absolute Demonification of your Eve!
Thankfully, that timer had frozen, and was followed by another system message.
> Urgent mission complete! You have successfully calmed down your Eve!
> A great success! Your heartfelt and elegant words have created an absolute bar against further attempts at swaying your Eve's heart to darkness and despair!
> Warning! The issue of physical demonification remains! Without removal of the demonic energy (D-Force) within your Eve, she will be forcibly turned into a Demon by Demon God Umbrel at the Winter Solstice!
> Your Eve's demonification process has been reset to 0%!
> Warning! The demonification process can rapidly rise to 100% in the span of a few minutes under proper conditions! Remain alert!
I let out a deep sigh and pulled out my phone. "...Might as well make sure of it."
I called Eve and waited.
She instantly answered. "Yes, my love?"
I laid down in my bed and said, "I was just about to go to sleep. But I was wondering something, Eve..."
"...Yes?"
"Could we go to sleep listening to each other's voice from now on? I want to drift asleep hearing your breathing."
It was cringey. And it was honestly a little creepy of a request too.
But it didn't seem to be that way for Eve.
I heard a quickly stifled squeal. But then Eve cleared her throat and said, "I would love that, my love. Then..."
The sound of the phone being placed down echoed, along with the sound of shifting blankets.
"...Should we just talk until one of us drifts to slumber?"
I nodded and said, "Yeah. But even if we do, let's leave our phone on. That way, we can wake up to each other first thing in the morning."
Eve's content sigh echoed from the phone and then she said, "I would love that."
I set my phone down on the table beside my bed and said, "I'll go first then. Eve..."
"Yes, my love?"
"I love you more than life itself. Your voice is like music to my ears, and I never tire of hearing you talk. Even when you just ramble about random things, I love listening."
"A-Alex. That is... I... M-My heart will burst if you keep-"
"I love how soft your silver eyes become when you gaze at me. It makes me feel like the only person in the world. That I'm your world itself."
I couldn't see Eve. But I was certain that she was blushing a bright red from how quiet she was being.
And then a soft giggle echoed from the phone and Eve's soft voice followed. "Tell me more, my love."
I smiled and continued whispering sweet nothings.
It was embarrassing.
It was cringey.
...But it was sincere.
And if this was what it took to ensure that I could hold her in my arms just another day, I would do it until my last breath.