Transmigrated as the Crown Prince's Mate-Chapter 122: A Setback...
Zade’s gaze lingered on her face a beat too long before he added, "If you ever need... assistance, I’d be happy to lend my support."
Damian moved.
It wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t step in front of her or snap at Zade.
But he shifted just enough that his presence was unmistakable.
That silver gaze burned hot and sharp as he spoke, his tone surprisingly smooth. "That won’t be necessary."
Zade finally turned to look at Damian. "Oh?"
Damian’s face showed no emotion, but the atmosphere in the room shifted immediately. The air between them felt electric, filled with the energy of two powerful alphas standing toe-to-toe.
Evelina was suddenly very aware of just how big both men were.
Her mind drifted back to the vision she had while holding the dagger in Damian’s chambers—Zade and Damian glaring at each other before they both attacked.
Zade’s smirk hardly changed, but there was a thoughtful look in his eyes now. "I was merely being considerate, brother."
"That’s unnecessary," Damian replied coolly. "She doesn’t need your consideration."
Jasper let out a quiet whistle, speaking in hush tone. "Well, this just got interesting."
Relia purred in Evelina’s mind. "Ohhh, he’s mad. Our mate is so mad."
Evelina exhaled sharply, resisting the urge to rub her temples.
Zade, ever the performer, let out a good-natured chuckle. "Of course, of course. I meant no offense." He turned back to Evelina with a softer smile. "I do hope you take care, my lady. The palace can be a dangerous place."
Evelina had to force a smile. "I’m well aware."
Zade gave her a slow nod before stepping back toward Luther. "Shall we proceed with the questioning?"
Damian didn’t answer.
Instead, his hand suddenly grasped Evelina’s wrist.
Her eyes widened slightly at the contact—it wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t exactly gentle either.
"We’re leaving," Damian said shortly.
Evelina blinked. "Wait, but—"
Damian didn’t look at her, his gaze still locked on Zade. "We wouldn’t want to distract or bother your official assignment."
His grip tightened just slightly, and before she could protest further, he turned on his heel, practically pulling her along with him.
Jasper let out a small, amused laugh and followed behind.
As the iron doors slammed shut behind them, Evelina finally yanked her wrist free. "What the hell was that?"
Damian didn’t stop walking.
Evelina quickly stepped in front of him, forcing him to halt. "Damian."
He finally looked at her.
And oh.
There it was—barely contained jealousy.
His silver eyes were burning, his jaw tight, his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Relia gasped dramatically. "Evie. He’s jealous. He’s actually, properly jealous."
Evelina crossed her arms. "Are you seriously—?"
"No," Damian cut her off before she could even finish. "I’m not jealous."
Jasper let out a loud, exaggerated cough.
Damian shot him a glare.
Jasper held up his hands in surrender. "Didn’t say anything."
Evelina fought back a smirk. "Oh, so you dragged me out of there because...?"
Damian exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because Zade has no business talking to you like that."
Relia cackled. "Ohhh, I love this."
Evelina lifted a brow. "Like what, exactly?"
Damian’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t answer right away.
Jasper, watching the exchange with great amusement, finally said, "I mean, he was being a little extra, don’t you think?"
Damian shot him another glare.
Jasper grinned.
Evelina sighed, shaking her head. "Look, whatever that was, can we just focus? Matthew was about to talk."
Damian exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine." He shot her a glance. "But stay away from Zade."
Evelina raised a brow. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
Eve snorted. "You are jealous."
Damian didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned and started walking. "Come on. We need a new plan."
Evelina sighed but followed.
Jasper trailed behind, chuckling to himself. "Well, this is fun."
Relia purred in delight. "Oh, it really is."
**************
"So... what do you think we should do next?" King Darius asked, looking at his son.
Kyle barely glanced up from his plate, cutting into his food. "We wait."
The King raised a brow. "Wait?"
Kyle exhaled, setting his knife down. "The plan with Arcadia didn’t go through. And since they’re no longer desperate enough to seek our aid, reaching out to them now would only draw unwanted attention to our involvement."
His father hummed in thought. "A setback, then."
Kyle’s expression remained unreadable. "Let’s hear from our spokesman from Arcadia. Then we’ll know what the next move is. This is just a temporary setback."
Seraphina, seated next to their mother, rolled her golden eyes dramatically. "Everything is temporary, Kyle. But that doesn’t change the fact that our entire plan fell apart because of one person."
Kyle’s jaw ticked slightly, gripping his fork a bit tighter. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
One person.
His mind flickered back to her.
Evelina.
Her sharp wit, her defiance, the fire in her gaze when she stood her ground.
He had expected a desperate kingdom. A poisoned well. A crisis so severe that Arcadia would have no option but to come crawling to Oakenshaw for aid.
Instead, he had arrived to find the crisis already solved.
Not by their contact.
Not by a royal alchemist.
But by her.
Kyle exhaled through his nose, forcing his focus back to the present. He took a sip of his wine, his face unreadable as he spoke. "It’s not just that she ruined our leverage. It’s that she did it without even realizing the extent of what she disrupted."
King Darius leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "And this woman..." the king paused, giving a contemplative look. "Is she a threat?"
Kyle hesitated for just a moment.
Seraphina, who had been watching him with quiet amusement, smirked. "Oh, she’s something, alright."
Kyle shot her a sharp look, but Seraphina only leaned forward, golden eyes gleaming with mischief.
"You should tell them, dear brother," she said, resting her chin on her palm. "Tell them about the lady who’s caught your attention."
Kyle’s entire body went still.
