CHAPTER 490: CROOKED TRIUMPH

"Maybe we should just go," Serena sighed, as though she were the one suffering most from the delay. Her feigned patience broke, however, the moment the door creaked open.

Evangeline stepped out and instantly the three people who saw her went quiet.

She wore a gown of pristine white, the fabric soft as moonlight against her pale skin. The faint curls at the side of her hair had been clipped back with a single black feather— an elegant contrast that framed her face in gentle waves. Her green eyes seemed brighter beneath the glow of the candlelight, her lips a soft, natural red that drew the eye before anything else.

For a moment, even Serena forgot to breathe.

She forgot the reason why she had always been so alerted by her older sister’s presence, the reason why she had always been so fearful with the idea that Evangeline would one day steal her limelight.

But in contrast, Eva didn’t feel that she was pretty enough. She smoothened her dress when they stared at her, wondering if something was so out of place that made them to stare at her in such a shock.

"Was the gown you bought really that luxurious?" Mrs. Crestmont asked, squinting as if trying to recall what the original dress had even looked like. Truthfully, she couldn’t remember—she had never paid Evangeline’s attire enough attention to notice.

But Serena did. Her voice came out sharper than intended. "No! It wasn’t like this before! Those pearls— where did you even get them?"

"I... altered it," Evangeline replied, forcing calm into her tone though her throat felt tight. She thought the small lie would be enough, but Serena’s eyes gleamed, the green in them burning with envy.

"The pearls are fake," Evangeline added quickly. "Madam Trevor gave them to me."

"Really?" Mrs. Crestmont murmured, though her tone carried neither belief nor interest.

Serena gave a short, bitter laugh. "They look dreadful! Honestly, you would have been better off leaving it plain. God, I’ll be so embarrassed to walk beside you." She tossed her curls over her shoulder and crossed her arms with a scoff. "No—you’d better change that gown now. I refuse to go out with you looking like that."

"Serena we don’t have time," their mother scoffed, "Whatever, a dress wouldn’t make her suddenly shine. You still look the best tonight, my love, trust your mother’s words."

The wagon that had been ordered beforehand wheezed like an old man catching his breath. The other passengers were already glaring toward their house, impatient for the Crestmonts to finally move.

Mrs. Crestmont huffed and climbed in first, muttering something about "embarrassments before the nobility." Mr. Crestmont followed with the stiffness of a man who had never once offered a hand to his wife— or his daughters. Serena was next, still bitter as she eyed her dress with evil intention written over her face.

Evangeline lingered a heartbeat longer before stepping in last. She could already sense Serena’s eyes darting toward her gown like a hawk eyeing prey and without a word, Evangeline slid onto the opposite seat. She caught Serena’s expression twisting with irritation and that was enough for her to guess what her younger sister would do. She doesn’t have a scissor with her today but her nails were sharp enough.

At least this once, she could spare her dress another "accident."

Despite her giving up the fight for peace, Serena stomped her feet to make her unhappiness known by everyone. Mrs. Crestmont reached for Serena’s hand, rubbing it soothingly, as she gently coax her beloved daughter, "Now, now, my darling, don’t frown. You’ll be the most beautiful lady tonight. No one— not even your sister —can take that from you."

The words should have stung. Once, they might have. Now, Evangeline only gave a soft exhale and turned her gaze to the window. Let them say what they wanted. If she’d learned anything, it was that silence had power too— and tonight, she had no intention of wasting her breath on people who had already decided what she was.

This night would be good for her to escape. Escape from everything. From their words, their hatred towards her despite being a family, everything.

Her fingers brushed the smooth hem of the gown Hades had given her. Not tonight. She would make sure that tonight, at least this dress was spared from all the jealousy Serena has towards her.

Thankfully, by the time they reached the castle’s gate, Serena had momentarily forgotten all about Evangeline’s dress. No—not forgotten, merely distracted. The golden light of the Valentine Castle swept her up whole, glittering as if it had been conjured from their wildest dream.

The gates alone were a spectacle. Forged from black iron and gilded with silver vines, they opened slowly with a low groan, revealing a garden so exquisite it could have been torn straight from a painting. The air shimmered faintly, carrying the mingled scents of white roses, lilac, and something faintly metallic— it was sweet and tempting but dangerous all the same.

Every hedge had been trimmed into near perfection, their edges glowing softly from the tiny enchanted orbs strung between the branches. It gave the illusion that fireflies had gathered to celebrate, dancing along the pathways in golden trails.

The great fountain at the heart of the garden, a marble statue rose from its center. It was a sculpture of an angel in flowing robes, her hands stretched upward, grasping a piece of silk that appeared so lifelike it seemed like it was moving the more one stared at it.

The nobles nearby stopped to admire it, whispering to one another behind their feathered fans. But when they noticed a peasant human among them pausing to do the same, their expressions quickly soured, even their wings seemed to tremble from disgust.

Evangeline lingered at the edge of the steps, her green eyes wide as she took it all in. The glowing arches of the grand staircase loomed before her, lined with golden candlesticks. Her eyes were wide, but unlike the rest of them, it wasn’t from the disbelief to be standing in such a beautiful castle, no, it was different.

She was utterly at a loss for word because this castle was the same castle that she had arrived at before... for the third time even... Lord Hades Valentine’s castle!

She didn’t remember the name of the castle or where it was located, she wasn’t aware of who Hades Valentine was either.

All this time, she had only thought that Hades was some kind of a noble, not someone who would host such a year end ball by the royal, someone so close to the royal, no, someone who controls the entire Southern land of Salestas.

The Valentine Castle she had visited didn’t just belong to any other Seraph noble.

It had belonged to the man who own this entire land.

Serena rushed ahead, nearly tripping over her own gown in her haste. "It’s just as they said," she whispered breathlessly to her mother, "like heaven itself! Let us go in quickly, mama!"

But Evangeline remained rooted to the spot, her heels sinking faintly into the gravel. Words refused to come. Her mind whirled back through every encounter she’d had with Lord Hades—the quiet carriage rides, his teasing remarks, the unshakable calm in his voice.

Hadn’t she spoken to him too freely? Hadn’t she, in her ignorance, looked him straight in the eye and questioned him as if he were her equal?

The realization sank like ice into her stomach. She had never once thought that the man she had spoken to, half in fear, half in fascination, was him— The Lord of Northern Salestas himself. The ruler whose name even the noble families spoke with reverence. A man no one in this land dare to touch, not even the nobles she had seen in all her life.

She had spoken so freely, even asked for him to teach her, someone like him.

And yet... he hadn’t corrected her. Not once.

"Do you know the name of the castle, Papa?" Serena’s voice broke through her daze.

Mr. Crestmont only shook his head, impatient as ever.

Of course Serena didn’t know. None of them did. Because if she had, if Serena had realized whose carriage she had told Adrian that she entered, the Valentine carriage, Serena wouldn’t be smiling so brightly now. Her smugness would’ve crumbled into jealousy.

Evangeline’s fingers tightened around her skirt, a tremor in her chest.

Did Lord Hades know?

Did he know that she hadn’t recognized him all along, that she had spoken to him not as a Lord, but as a man? That she had been foolish enough to think he was merely a kind stranger?

And worse... did he find amusement in it?

But above her head, three stories far ahead, Hades leaned his head forward to the window, smiling as despite all the brilliance around him, his eyes had only caught over the white swan who had stood outside his castle, realization finally dawning on her of just how lucky she was to have stolen his attention, a feat that no one else could do.