Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I made the effort to nap early in the evening so I could stay awake late into the night. I had resolved that I needed to have a proper conversation with Evan, no matter what.
It wasn’t until the dead of night that Evan shuffled into the room, his face etched with exhaustion.
“…You didn’t sleep?”
“I was waiting for you.”
I said with a gentle smile.
“Why did you do something so pointless?”
Evan tossed out those words and disappeared into the bathroom. Something was definitely off. He’d never spoken to me like that before, even when hiding his true feelings.
After washing up and changing into his indoor clothes, he saw me still awake and waiting, and spoke once more.
“Just go to sleep.”
Oh, I see.
‘But tonight, no matter what, I’m going to find out what’s bothering you.’
As I sat there with complete confidence, I suddenly frowned upon noticing that Evan’s indoor clothes had long sleeves. We were at the beginning of summer, when the weather was growing steadily warmer.
‘Didn’t he refuse to wear long sleeves even when it was much colder than this?’
Something felt deeply wrong.
I sprang to my feet and retrieved the fairy tale book I’d gifted him from the bookshelf.
“Evan, would you like me to read you a fairy tale until you fall asleep?”
[Reading fairy tales until falling asleep at night.]
I was faithfully carrying out what was written in that diary.
Evan suddenly mobilized every facial muscle, adopting an expression of deep contemplation.
‘Is this really something worth agonizing over that much?’
Watching him struggle as though facing a monumental dilemma, I let out a soft sigh.
‘He’s too adorable for his own good.’
When this pretend adult wore that “not unwilling” expression, it was utterly endearing, so I moved to his side.
“What? Do you hate having me read to you?”
“…Fine.”
Having made his decision, he dropped heavily into the chair and averted his eyes from mine.
“You don’t have to read to me.”
His voice was stiff in a way I’d never heard before.
“And don’t buy things like that anymore.”
Why the serious tone? He was the one who wrote that he liked having fairy tales read to him.
But no matter how unconvincing his act was, I could see through it. His words weren’t sincere.
‘And this fairy tale book especially…’
It had only been four days since I’d given it to him, yet the pages already showed signs of heavy handling. He must have read this book countless times while I slept.
‘Why is he being so stubborn about this?’
As I flipped through the fairy tale book, Evan continued to grumble.
“Go to sleep first. Don’t wait for me anymore.”
That’s not how you act convincingly.
“Why not? Let’s read it together. I bought it because I wanted to read it with you.”
This is how you do it.
I caught his arm with a subtle smile.
“…Ah.”
At that moment, he flinched, and I was equally startled. It was clearly a reaction of pain.
‘Wait, I only grabbed it gently like I was plucking soft down—how could that hurt?’
Besides, Evan’s arm had always been so solid that my fists would never hurt him.
“What’s wrong?”
I grasped his arm and rolled up the long sleeve of his indoor clothes that had been bothering me since earlier.
Evan tried to stop me, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch my clinging arm and simply stood there looking flustered.
“…Evan.”
I, who had remained composed even facing my own death since arriving here, now trembled for the first time, my voice shaking as I asked.
“What is this?”
His entire arm was covered in bruises, and the wounds were severe. No—when I’d seen him wearing short sleeves before, his body was absolutely not like this.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Evan spoke curtly without meeting my eyes, and I finally burst out.
“How can I not worry? I’m your wife! I’m your closest family!”
Evan flinched at those words.
“Look at the other side too.”
I forced myself to show him the other arm. The parts hidden by clothing were subtly mottled with marks.
This made no sense. There was no mention anywhere of Evan being abused! Who on earth hit my husband?
“What is this?”
I asked, my voice trembling.
“Who? Who did this to you?”
He didn’t look like someone who’d been beaten up somewhere!
“Go to sleep first.”
Evan indifferently rolled down his sleeve.
“You wouldn’t understand, but everyone gets like this when they train with swords.”
It was true I’d never trained with swords, but no human could endure that condition and still say something like ‘I just love swords.’
The fact that he still wouldn’t meet my eyes seemed suspicious.
“Thank you for the storybook. But you don’t have to read it to me. I’m not a child.”
Yet he believes holding hands while sleeping creates children—honestly.
He abruptly stood up, sat at the desk, and deliberately pulled out another book to read.
“And from now on, don’t buy me things. I don’t need them.”
I fell into deep thought.
“Don’t stand in line for an hour and buy things like ganache.”
“Huh?”
“Why go through the trouble of waiting. I don’t even like sweets that much.”
Yet three nights ago, he scraped that ganache clean to the bottom…
‘Has early adolescence arrived? Why is he suddenly acting like this?’
In times like this, pressing for answers only makes him clam up.
“Understood…”
I let my shoulders droop and rose listlessly, flopping onto the bed and pulling the blanket over myself.
“I just….”
Turning my back to Evan, I murmured in a deflated voice.
“I wanted to see you happy….”
I even remembered to sniffle a few times for good measure.
My small, adorable appearance was perfectly specialized in tugging at heartstrings. And playing the victim was my specialty.
Hunching my shoulders and feigning sleep after crying, it was only after a long while that I heard Evan’s sigh.
“…I’m sorry.”
I heard him whisper very softly.
‘Tsk, tsk.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly. To be honest, I’d wondered if he’d become so callous that he’d end up as the final form of an emotionally detached man, but it seemed some childlike innocence still lingered in him.
Eventually I’d save up money and leave anyway—what did it matter who he ended up with or didn’t? I tried to think that way, but those mottled bruises on his arms were too pitiful to ignore.
No matter how much my own wellbeing came first, I couldn’t pretend not to see him like that. And strangely… whenever I looked at Evan, my heart ached.
Thinking of how he’d spent nights studying my card or how the fairy tale book I’d gifted him bore the marks of being read countless times—my resolve crumbled entirely.
‘I don’t need to stick my neck out, but I should at least find out what’s going on.’
I resolved this as I tried to coax sleep back to my fully awakened mind.
‘Evan’s wounds, you say.’
This wasn’t mentioned in the original work at all. Since Evan was just a supporting character, such backstory apparently wasn’t written. Why would the protagonist have useless information but fail to describe such an important fact?
‘The original really is garbage….’
I drifted off thinking that, but before dawn even broke, I felt Evan rise from beside me.
He brushed my hair gently, then changed clothes, picked up his sword, and left.
‘Training with the sword without even eating breakfast….’
And why did he touch his drowsy wife’s hair before leaving?
I rubbed my sleep-laden eyes and sat up.
‘What is he doing? I really won’t let this slide.’
Whoever made my husband this way—I really won’t forgive them!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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