Instead of My Beloved Sister, I Married a Monster - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14

Evnia checked the object he offered with an uneasy feeling.

A small jewelry box covered in red velvet was gleaming with a suspicious luster in his hand. Judging by its size, it seemed to contain something like a ring or earrings.

Wariness flickered in Evnia’s eyes.

“What is this?”

“It’s a kind of… artifact with protective functions. There are quite a few dangerous places in this castle. I’m giving this to you to prevent any potential accidents.”

Saying this, Giyermo blinked naturally. He even opened the box enticingly to show her.

However, Evnia only grew more suspicious after seeing what was inside.

What Giyermo offered was a ring set with an enormous gemstone that would be fitting for royal marriages.

An emerald-cut diamond was sparkling brilliantly on the ring, almost overwhelmingly so.

“…It looks incredibly precious.”

“Well, I suppose it could buy this entire castle. Since it’s stuck in the countryside and people keep dying here, the property value is terrible. It has a powerful healing spell that can somehow keep the wearer alive as long as it’s not instant death.”

Evnia barely swallowed the scream that was about to burst out.

She instinctively stepped back hesitantly and asked.

“You’re giving such a thing to me? Is it really okay for me to receive this?”

“If not to you, then who should I give it to? To Hanna, the maid who’s been well-educated for 20 years? Or to the person who scattered dangerous objects and spells all over this castle?”

“But you’re giving it to me so suspiciously. Like we’re making some kind of shady deal, waiting until it’s just the two of us…”

“Then should I take out this precious thing in front of the thief who invaded our castle?”

Giyermo asked back as if he found it even more absurd.

Evnia was left speechless.

Apart from feeling grateful to Count Max for diligently building the fire, Evnia also knew why he was in such a situation.

Still unable to shake off her uneasy feeling, Evnia began nitpicking unnecessarily.

“I appreciate your consideration, but the stone is too large to wear casually as you mentioned.”

“How about this?”

Asking this, Giyermo closed and reopened the box containing the ring.

It happened before she could stop him.

Evnia checked inside the reopened box and momentarily doubted her own eyes.

The diamond that had definitely been the size of her thumbnail had shrunk to almost vestigial proportions.

Evnia snatched the jewelry box from him with bewildered hands, like a raccoon that had washed its cotton candy in water.

Evnia looked down at the suddenly diminished diamond and muttered blankly.

“The diamond…”

“I’ve reduced it to a size that won’t be bothersome for everyday wear. Do you like it?”

“It was huge…”

“Now it’s no longer so cumbersomely large.”

Giyermo declared with a proud expression.

The accessory that had been worth a fortune in gemstones alone had instantly transformed into something only a petty thief might covet.

Since he had changed it for her sake, she couldn’t refuse it anymore saying she wouldn’t accept it.

Evnia asked in an almost resigned voice.

“…You did get Lord Ram’s permission, right?”

“Of course. This was something the master prepared for you in the first place. He hoped you wouldn’t get hurt because of him.”

“But I clearly told you repeatedly that I’m not a bride…”

“That’s not what’s important right now. The real problem is this: if you die in an accident, the master will probably tell me not to show my face for another 200 years. Then I’ll be abandoned in this damn castle for 200 more years…”

Unable to resist Giyermo’s persistence, Evnia finally took out the ring and put it on her left ring finger.

She had thought it looked similar in size to the ones she usually wore, but when she actually put it on, it fit her hand perfectly.

Having achieved his goal, Giyermo abruptly stopped complaining as if he had never been chattering noisily.

He stared intently at the ring that didn’t excite him in the least and muttered in a meaningful voice.

“It fits perfectly, like destiny.”

“I’ll use it carefully and return it when I leave here.”

Evnia hastily emphasized that it was a loan.

She had accepted it for now since refusing would likely become troublesome, but she had no intention of being burdened with such a weighty object indefinitely.

Even though the gemstone had become relatively modest in size, the fact that this ring had tremendous value hadn’t changed.

To think it had the function of healing any wound as long as it wasn’t instant death.

It had been quiet because those who possessed it didn’t need such protection, but if this fact became known to the world, it would cause tremendous upheaval.

All the powerful and wealthy would rush to get their hands on the ring somehow, engaging in bloody competition.

Evnia looked down at her ring finger with eyes full of burden.

‘I shouldn’t take it off even when sleeping.’

If she lost it by any chance, she wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of her life.

Ram and Giyermo probably wouldn’t demand compensation from her, but she couldn’t cause financial damage to those who were already being inconvenienced by her.

Evnia unconsciously covered the ring protectively with her other hand.

Giyermo smiled with narrowed eyes as if he could read her thoughts completely.

“Oh, don’t feel unnecessarily burdened. Considering the trouble you’ll go through for our castle, this is modest compensation.”

“Even if I sold my body piece by piece, it wouldn’t be worth this ring’s value…”

“Don’t worry, I don’t particularly like corpses. I prefer sacred labor instead.”

Uttering words that could be either a joke or serious, Giyermo turned his eyes to look at the doorway.

Just then, Count Max was entering the kitchen with groans, carrying firewood.

Instead of continuing the headache-inducing conversation with Giyermo, Evnia hurriedly approached Count Max to hold the door for him.

Never knowing that Giyermo was smiling ominously behind her back.

* * *

“Just become the bride yourself.”

This was what Seven said during a brief moment when his plate was empty, having been eating the food Evnia made in a trance.

As soon as Seven made this suggestion, everyone sitting around the dining table—except Ram, of course—nodded in agreement all at once.

Thanks to Count Max’s hard work, the roast beef had been deliciously cooked today, and fortunately it seemed to suit more than just human taste.

Evnia looked with curious eyes at Levi, who was on the table pecking at the meat in a trance.

Feeling secretly proud, Evnia asked.

“Is the qualification for mistress cooking skills?”

“There’s quite a historical reason too. Nina was also good at cooking like you.”

Perhaps Ram’s wife wasn’t someone who evoked particularly sad memories for Seven.

He had a tendency to talk about dead people with surprising ease.

Evnia reflexively glanced at Ram as if gauging the situation.

Understanding her gaze somehow, Ram hurriedly made excuses before even swallowing the food in his mouth.

“Ish not dat I liked her cooking.”

Seven didn’t even glance at Ram and laid his fork sideways to scrape his plate.

Seven scooped up every bit of mashed potato that had been on the bottom and put it in his mouth, closing his eyes as if savoring it.

He said with his throat trembling with emotion.

“That’s why I liked her. She was the only comfort during those damn marches.”

“Did Nina also go to war with you?”

“Without her, humanity would have perished. How could we have strength eating that damn gruel.”

So she had played a role similar to a cook?

Seeing Evnia’s puzzled expression, Ram couldn’t stand it and intervened to add explanation.

“The cooking was just because this guy was always looking miserable saying he wanted to desert, but her main job was as a healer.”

“Right, she was as good at handling human organs as animal organs.”

Seven added praise that would have been better left unsaid.

Evnia desperately tried to recall the portrait she had seen yesterday, trying not to connect Seven’s description to her imagination.

To think that beautiful woman had been a comrade who shared life and death during the Great War.

She had been inwardly curious about how they came to marry, but there was an incredible story hidden beyond her expectations.

She definitely thought that if she were Ram, it would be difficult to forget such a connection.

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