CHAPTER 290: TO OUR PRECIOUS EVELYN

The carriage sped through the streets of the capital, heading towards the Anton mansion.

By now, the sky had darkened. The moon was just coming out.

Just like before, Evelyn sat opposite Catherine, but this time, there was a little difference.

Allen was also in the carriage and he was seating in front of Aristia.

Evelyn was staring out of the window with a lost look in her eyes.

The carriage slowly stopped as it had arrived at the Anton mansion.

Catherine alighted the carriage with Aristia, followed by Allen and then Evelyn.

Just then, another carriage bearing the emblem of the Grand Duke stopped beside theirs.

They turned and watched as Wilson and Alaic came down from the carriage.

Aristia had contacted Wilson earlier in Evelyn’s cottage through their daemons and asked him if he could come to the Anton Mansion. She roughly went over the details before cutting off the link.

She felt it would be better for Catherine if Wilson was there too.

Wilson and Alaric had gone out just as Catherine and Aristia had and were about returning home, so when Wilson heard it, he headed back to the carriage, ordering the Coachman to head to the Anton Estate.

Wilson and Alaric immediately noticed Evelyn before going to stand next to Catherine and Aristia.

"Greetings, your Imperial highness." Evelyn bowed, immediately catching sight of the signature grey hair under the dusk light.

"You may rise." Wilson said.

"Let’s go in." Catherine said.

They all turned towards the mansion.

The mother and son paused, looking up at the large mansion. It was the first time they had seen a mansion like it.

Catherine turned around, noticing they had stopped. She walked forward, hesitated a bit, then took Evelyn’s hand. "Come with me."

Evelyn looked at their hands in surprise before nodding. "Yes."

They entered inside the Anton mansion.

The old butler was just coming to welcome the guests when he saw that it was Catherine, Wilson, Aristia and Alaric.

Quickly, he came to greet them.

"My lady—" His aged face wrinkled in shock when his eyes landed on Evelyn. "How...?"

"Where are mother and father?" Catherine asked.

"I’m the Tea room." The butler replied. "I shall inform them of your presence."

Since Catherine hadn’t said she was coming, the family wasn’t aware of her presence yet.

"That isn’t needed." Catherine said.

She led Evelyn and Allen to the tea room.

She took some time before opening the door, giving Evelyn time to collect herself. She felt Evelyn grip her hand tighter before taking a deep breath and releasing them.

The people in the room turned when the door opened. Seeing Catherine and her family enter, they smiled.

"Oh, Cath. You’re here." Edgar Anton chuckled in pleasant surprise, gettimg up and coming toward them.

In the tea room with him were his wife, Claire, his son and daughter in-law, Maxim and his wife, Alistair, and their two daughters, Lauren and Lilith.

They tea room erupted in greetings.

"My dear, Cath. Oh Tia and Allie are here too." Claire Anton said with a wide smile. "How are you...?" The question trailed off when they noticed the two extra people.

They all stared in shock at the lady and the little boy behind Catherine and Aristia.

The tea room was so silent that one could even hear a pin drop.

"Who— Who is this with you, Cath?" Claire broke the silence with a shock filled question, her hands involuntarily shaking, finally shifting her gaze away from Catherine to the lady with much difficulty.

"Greetings, your Grace." Evelyn said with a bow. "I am Evelyn Torres."

"Evelyn. My dear Evelyn. How is this possible?" Claire collapsed on the chair behind her.

Allen peeked out from behind his mother’s skirt.

Edgar gave Catherine a glance, full of questions.

"I met her while strolling the streets with Tia. We looked so much like me. Like the portraits we had of my lost sister." Catherine explained as Wilson rubbed her shoulder in comfort.

Everyone’s expressions were complicated.

Evelyn mustered up courage and asked.

"My apologies... But I do not understand any of this."

"Have a seat." Edgar said, somewhat awkwardly, pointing at a chair. It was obvious he too was trying to control his emotions.

He took a seat himself.

Everyone else followed suit.

Seeing Catherine take a seat, Evelyn chose the seat beside hers.

"Please, don’t be scared. Tell me about yourself." Edgar said.

"I... I lived with my parents, Adam and Samantha Torres. They were farmers. They died a few years ago." Evelyn said sadly.

Seeing this, Allen patted her hand. His mother was always sad whenever she remembered his grandparents.

Evelyn glanced at him and smiled, then turned back to continue speaking.

"So it came as quite a shock to me when I met her highness and she told me that I could be her sister." She took a deep breath and asked. "How... how can you be so sure?"

"Not could be. You are." Maxim spoke. The first he did since he saw Evelyn. He continued, "The hair, the eyes, and the face don’t lie."

"Do you have a necklace in your possession?" Claire suddenly asked.

Evelyn hesitated before nodding. "Yes. I do." She took off a necklace she was wearing. The necklace was work underneath her clothes, making it not very noticeable at first glance.

She held the necklace open. It was a thin chain necklace with a silver jewel in the shape of a half moon. Behind it were the words; to our precious Evelyn.

"My... parents told me years ago that I was not their child." Evelyn took another deep breath. "They found me on their farm decades ago. It seems someone left me to die."

Her words made their hearts ache, and at the same time, anger burned in them. If not for what happened that time, Evelyn would still have been with them.

But they had received the confirmation and proof they needed.

"You are our daughter." Claire said.

Before Evelyn could ask for further proof, she heard Catherine say beside her.

"I have the same necklace."

Catherine swiped her hair to the side and took out her necklace, handing it to Evelyn.

Evelyn scanned the necklace. It was the same as hers, but engraved on it were the words; To our precious Catherine.

She took her necklace, piecing it together with Catherine’s, and it was a perfect match. The other piece of the moon.

Her eyes watered slightly. This was enough proof.

"Oh, my dear child. It must have been so hard on you." Claire said with emotion.

"It’s hard to imagine. After so many years of searching with no results." Edgar said quietly, thinking of the past.

Claire couldn’t control it. She burst into a mix of sad and happy tears, overwhelmed with emotion.

Evelyn felt different feelings inside her all at once. But most of all, she felt conflicted. It was hard to swallow the fact that she was of noble descent, and it wasn’t just any family, but one of the two Ducal families the kingdom had.

Her parents were actually alive, ad she had a brother and sister, who had family of their own. Never would she have imagined it in a million years.

The tears that had pooled in her eyes finally dropped, trailing down slowly and wetting her cheeks.

"It’s alright." Claire said, hugging her. "We’ve found you. Finally."

"I still want to know what happened." Evelyn said, pulling away and wiping her tears.

"Well tell you everything. But first, you must gather your things."

"Why?" After Evelyn asked this, she felt stupid.

"Because it’s your home. Now that we’ve found you, you’ll stay with us. This is where you belong." Claire answered.

She turned to the others and suddenly said. "We have to hold a feast to celebrate."

Just as she was about to call the butler, Alistair interrupted.

"Mother, I don’t think Evelyn will feel comfortable with that. She has just been told about her origin. This may be too much for her."

Evelyn nodded immediately, agreeing with her.

A celebration feast? Wouldn’t that include nobles and aristocrats?

Claire finally calmed down. Alistair’s words made sense. She wasn’t impulsive, but it seemed her emotions had received a strong blow because of her daughter’s arrival.

Allen finally spoke. It seemed everyone had forgotten about him.

No, it was better to say that they had been too focused on Evelyn to notice the little boy with her.

"Mama. They’re your parents?" He whispered to his mother, but in the tea room where everyone had stopped talking, they all heard him.

"Allen." Evelyn said, not knowing what to say.

"Yes. They are your grandparents." Maxim said awkwardly.

Among the siblings, he was the one who could remember her, even though faintly.

Catherine and Evelyn were about one year old and he was eight, so he could remember her.

"You have a child?" Edgar asked, staring deeply at Allen.

Evelyn nodded. "Yes. His name is Allen. He’s five years old." She said. She felt thankful that no one asked about the child’s father.

Even if they had, she didn’t think she would have been able to say it. Thinking of it... brought back unpleasant memories.