Chapter 56 The real Evan

Chapter 56 The real Evan


Both Evan and the duke were left dumbfounded, but Ezekiel refused to believe it. He wouldn't accept that this girl was Evan.

“The fuck? What do you expect me to do? Believe such rubbish? Seriously?” Ezekiel shook his head, laughing as if she were speaking nonsense. “How can you prove it? How can you truly prove that you are Evan and not some black witch?”

“Raphael, why the hell are you asking her that?” Ezekiel backed toward the duke, his mind reeling. This was a trick, it had to be. A deep, cold knot of denial tightened in his chest, refusing to acknowledge the impossible truth standing before him. “Isn't it obvious? She isn't Evan. Evan is dead; they can't possibly be Evan!”

Lord Raphael tried to speak again, but Ezekiel was faster. He sent a ball of fire screaming toward Evan's face. It would have scorched her skin if Ella hadn't arrived just in time. With a swift motion, she summoned a surge of water, quenching the flames before they could do any harm. The hiss of steam and the acrid smell of burnt air filled the space. The shock of the attack sent Evan stumbling to the ground.

“Evan! Evan, are you okay?” Ella cried, rushing to her side. She knelt, her hands frantically checking Evan for injuries. “Evan, are you okay, dear?”

“What have you done?” Ella glared at Ezekiel, her silver eyes glowing a fierce white. In the growing darkness, her hair seemed to be the only source of light. The Lord of Greenwave watched, stunned to be in the presence of the Queen of White Witches for the very first time, a palpable aura of power radiating from her that made the very air feel heavy.

“Evan!! Evan, wake up. Don't mind Ezekiel… he won't be able to hurt you anymore, just wake up! I'll—I'll make sure to protect you with my life, please!!” Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Please!” She clutched Evan's hand, chanting a spell under her breath.

When she finished, Evan coughed, sitting up weakly. A dull ache pounded behind her eyes, the world swimming back into focus with a nauseating lurch.

“Evan, Evan. You're okay, right?”

Evan stared at her, eyes tired and weak from the brief loss of consciousness.

“Evan, say something.”

“I'm fine. I'll recover fully once you stop being so dramatic,” Evan mocked, her voice low and strained.

At that, Ella hugged her tightly. “I love you so much. You're my only friend, my sibling.”

Evan managed a weak smile in the hug. “Thanks, dear.”

“Evan, without you, I don't know how I can rule. It's so scary.” Pulling away, she looked into Evan's eyes. “Please never leave, okay? Promise you won't.”

“I don't plan on dying now. Don't worry,” Evan smiled weakly.

“Pfft, Evan, are you sure you're okay? Like, fully recovered?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

“No,” Evan said, feigning confusion. “I'll only get better when you stop being that dramatic.” With Ella's support, she stood up and fixed her gaze on Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was utterly confused, his mind a battlefield of old memories and this terrifying new reality.

“Pfft, who would've thought you had any feelings in that cold heart of yours? It sounds laughable. You're more like a statue than a living thing. Good job, you passed the test of being alive,” her voice carried the cadence of the Evan he used to know, but it was now more confident, matured, and fluent—though still small and direct.

“I don't care who died or what rumors people are spreading about me being dead. But if I hear anyone call me dead, I'll make sure to erase them from the earth, just like I did with that pervert councilman,” her voice was firm. “I am a killer. Haha, not a bad one, anyway, but killer enough. Have you ever wondered how I escaped your prison cell? I can rip someone apart just like that. I don't care if it's a vampire, a human, or a pureblood. I'll kill without a second glance.”

She shifted her gaze from Ezekiel to Lord Raphael.

“Warn your people. The people of the almighty Greenwave. Control your rogue vampires and reapers. They're invading the little human villages, killing my people. People of my own kind, my blood! If it happens again, I won't hesitate to invade your cities and kill every pureblooded vampire in any empire.” Her voice didn't crack once as she spoke.

‘That’s my Evan. Cook them, cook them hard,’ Ella thought to herself, a fierce pride swelling in her chest.

“Lord Raphael, please don't take this as a threat, but as a warning. After all, you wanted to kill me, accusing me of murdering the Donovan family and poisoning vampires, when I was innocent.” She paused, letting the word hang in the air. “Innocent… I'm not anymore. Now I am more like a bomb; anyone who tries me will make me explode. Have a nice, nice day, and bye—I'm going to bed. I'm human and I need to sleep.” She gave Ezekiel a wide, unsettling smile.

“Why did you kill him?” asked Ezekiel, who had remained frozen all this while, his voice barely a whisper.

“Because he wanted to kill me. Thought he had found his next meal, so I fed him to the soil. Thanks to me, this place will be good for farming. So fertile. Haha.”

And then, something happened. The spell Ella had used on Ezekiel—the one preventing him from recognizing Evan's blood scent—shattered. In that moment, the smell hit him, potent and unmistakable. It was her—that unique, iron-sharp scent he’d known for years, now layered with the faint, wild fragrance of magic and earth. The confirmation was a physical blow, stealing the air from his lungs.

‘It’s truly her,’ he thought, his world tilting on its axis.

“You said you're leaving?” Lord Raphael asked, finally finding his voice. “So, you are Anna?” he added, trying to piece the fragments of this puzzle together.

“I'm Evan, but I used to act as Anna.”

“Did you know about the strange creatures that burnt down a couple of villages?” Lord Raphael pressed, his aristocratic composure beginning to fray at the edges.

“Of course. They're the dead. Dead beings.”

“What? Are you sure?” Ezekiel asked, while Lord Raphael was left flabbergasted.

“I am sure because I've fought them before.”

Ezekiel's jaw dropped. “What? Are you serious? You've fought them?” The idea was inconceivable. These creatures were a myth, a horror story used to frighten young nobles.

Evan didn't reply to that, her silence more telling than any boast.

“They invaded our village and destroyed it,” Ella added, her voice hollow at the memory.

“What were they like?” Ezekiel demanded, his investigator's mind latching onto this new, critical information.

“Dressed in black cloaks, flying in the air,” Ella answered. "They moved without a sound, and the air turned cold and foul where they passed."

“So strange… How come I didn't notice?” Ezekiel couldn't help but ask himself. He usually took note of everything. This must be the one thing he hadn't come face to face with, or else he would have made it his mission to understand what kind of creature it was. The oversight felt like a personal failure.

“Well, I don't know,” Evan cut in, her tone final and dismissive. “But you will teach me about dark witches tomorrow, Ezekiel.” She gave him a warm smile, but on her real face, the expression looked utterly devilish, a silent promise of the turbulent days to come.