Alice was quiet for a few seconds before softly saying, "...Sorry."
Paused for a moment, she tried to explain, "I didn't mean to hide it from you. There are some things that ordinary people gain nothing from knowing..."
"I know." Evelyn chuckled softly. "I know... Knowing too much isn't a good thing."
Alice opened her mouth, wanting to say something else, but Evelyn suddenly asked, "May I know your real name?"
"...May I?" Alice repeated the form of address, the smile vanishing from her face. "You're calling me that?"
She stared fixedly at Evelyn. A few seconds later, she heard Evelyn ask, "Shouldn't I address you that way?"
"I thought..." Alice stared at Evelyn. "We were friends."
Evelyn looked at Alice for a while, then suddenly rubbed her forehead wearily and sighed. "Did you ever truly consider me a friend?"
Alice froze. She suddenly didn't know how to respond. She suddenly realized that she had no way to define a relationship. She only knew that some people were more important than other people. That was all.
Evelyn took that silence as confirmation and lowered her eyes as she asked:
"The person who saved me from that monster back then... was that you?"
Alice said nothing, and Evelyn did not wait for her answer before continuing:
"You knew me, you were a Beyonder, and you probably hadn't known me for long...
"When I first heard those conditions, you were the first person I thought of.
"What a coincidence. You appeared at just the right time, you happened to be hiding a whole host of secrets, and sometimes when you spoke... How to put it? You gave people the feeling that, the moment they heard you, they would know you absolutely didn't belong here.
"You said we were friends, but I don't