Instead of My Beloved Sister, I Married a Monster - Chapter 28

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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 28

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Whatever ordeal he had endured in half a day, Count Max’s body was completely battered with bruises and wounds.

After asking Hanna to help with stopping the bleeding and treatment, Evnia went to the kitchen and scraped together what little oatmeal remained to make porridge. She doubted those who had beaten Count Max like this would have properly provided him with meals.

Perhaps because his mouth was bitter from being torn by his colleagues’ blows, Count Max couldn’t even swallow a single spoonful of the porridge she had painstakingly made.

Count Max spoke in an embarrassed tone.

“I’m sorry. I’ve caused you great trouble once again.”

“I don’t think of it as trouble. Though I am a bit curious about what happened in the meantime.”

“Well, I was a fool to believe I could return to my original position without any problems after being away for three whole years.”

Count Max’s subsequent explanation wasn’t much different from what Evnia had expected.

Count Max had successfully set foot on his hometown soil with Ram’s help, but few welcomed his survival.

Schwaiger Baron in particular couldn’t easily accept his son’s death and the truth behind it that Count Max revealed.

“It seems they knew his son had disappeared with his escort, but didn’t know where he had gone. I thought it wouldn’t be difficult to track since they moved without revealing their destination but with many people… Perhaps the search party that noticed the trail went cold near Litberck wisely kept their mouths shut.”

“The people here really are afraid of setting foot in Litberck.”

“Believing that, I warned them the whole way here that they would surely die if they went to Litberck, but that seems to have been a rather poor choice for me. Those bastards seem to have been thinking all along that they should sell me out if necessary.”

“…Were there people among them that you knew well?”

“Haha, of course. The knights who came with me all used to share the same quarters back in the day. Well, I don’t particularly remember being close with them though…”

Count Max trailed off with a strange tone, then carelessly mumbled his response.

“At least it was fortunate that Lord Giyermo was in no condition to exert his power. If it hadn’t been Lady Evnia who came out there, neither those bastards nor I would have died peacefully.”

“I was fortunate they were frightened by my clumsy acting and ran away. Lord Ram hasn’t returned yet either, so I wanted to avoid armed conflict if possible.”

“No, it wasn’t clumsy at all. For a moment I suspected that Lady Evnia had awakened and gained some mystical power while I was away.”

Seeing that he had even imagined such nonsense, he must have been quite mentally cornered indeed.

When Evnia looked at Count Max with pitying eyes, he let out an awkward cough.

“If that weren’t the case, who would step out alone to face so many soldiers? You could have been hurt if something went wrong. Rather, the fact that it was acting is more surprising. Why didn’t you hide and instead come outside?”

“Hanna said she saw Count Max being dragged here.”

“…You came out to save me?”

“Count Max returned because there were people you wanted to see again. I thought those people would surely be sad if something happened to you.”

Count Max, who had been staring at Evnia with an unreadable expression, soon burst into hearty laughter.

He rubbed his eyes as if finding it absurd and said.

“Lady Evnia, you’re really naive. An eighty-year-old mother? I’m thirty, so that would mean my mother gave birth to me when she was nearly fifty. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh my. You’re thirty…”

“…”

Evnia’s eyes widened in rare surprise.

There was one reason she hadn’t doubted Count Max’s words.

His appearance, with his unkempt beard hanging down, had looked so aged.

She had thought he was easily in his forties, but he had only just passed thirty.

Honestly, she wanted to confirm whether that was really true, but instead of hurting him twice, Evnia gracefully moved on to another question.

“Was saying your mother was waiting a lie to persuade me?”

“I’m sorry. You have such a kind heart that I thought you’d take pity on my situation if I said that.”

“Then…”

“I’m an orphan. That’s why I crawled under Franz even though I knew he wasn’t a very good master, trying to succeed somehow. I never had family waiting for me from the beginning.”

In a way, she had been nicely deceived by his lie, but Evnia wasn’t particularly angry.

Unlike me, who received better treatment here than in my hometown, Count Max had suffered through hard labor he had never experienced before.

Of course he would have wanted to return home.

“Even without people waiting, one’s hometown is still a place to miss.”

Evnia answered calmly as if comforting him.

Despite it being a land that had given her more sad memories than good ones, Evnia too sometimes unconsciously recalled her days in Hessen.

“Will you return to Schwaiger again once you recover?”

“Well, would that be possible…”

At Evnia’s question, Count Max looked out the window with vague eyes.

That appearance somehow overlapped with her own when she first arrived here.

He spoke in a deflated voice.

“Isn’t it really ridiculous? The hometown people I missed tearfully for three years pushed me toward death, while the bride of the monster everyone fears stepped forward to save me.”

“Lord Ram is not a monster.”

“Lady Evnia always thinks of others first. You’re really not like a noble.”

Count Max suddenly scolded her.

However, like his previous words, this wasn’t meant to insult Evnia.

“Lord Ram is also far from the frightening evil reputation that circulates outside.”

“…”

“That’s right, actually the real monster-like thing isn’t him.”

Count Max muttered while keeping his gaze beyond the window.

The real monster-like thing isn’t Ram?

Could he be talking about Giyermo?

But his thoughts seemed to reach even further.

For instance, to his hometown that could only be reached after walking a long way through forests and fields.

Just then, a knock echoed from outside.

It seemed Hanna, who had briefly left saying she would bring ointment, had returned.

Hanna poked her head through the door and asked.

“Lady Evnia, Lord Ram has returned. Would you like to go see him?”

“Ah, yes. Where should I go?”

“He went straight to the storehouse, saying he was moving the things he bought.”

Thinking she should inform Ram about today’s events, Evnia immediately stood up.

Evnia stopped Count Max, who was trying to get up to see her off, and said.

“I’ll go out now, so please rest comfortably. Hanna, come in and finish tending to Count Max’s wounds.”

Though Hanna seemed a bit annoyed at having to care for Count Max, she didn’t refuse Evnia’s rare request.

Hanna entered the room and immediately approached Count Max, instructing in a cold voice, “Turn over.”

Count Max’s expression looked a bit pitiful as he presented his back to Hanna, but treatment was originally painful.

Evnia left the two behind without delay and came out to the corridor.

‘I don’t know whether to consider it fortunate or unfortunate that he has no family left in his hometown.’

Count Max’s current situation was like a candle before the wind.

If his colleagues who returned to Schwaiger maintained the same claims before the baron, Count Max would be branded a public enemy.

If that happened, his family would also suffer, so in terms of safety, it was rather better that he had no relatives left behind.

Though the big problem was that there would also be no one to vouch for his innocence.

‘Perhaps it would be better for him to relocate somewhere far away…’

That would be cleaner in many ways, but from here on, it wasn’t a matter for Evnia to decide.

In any case, since Giyermo was also involved in the incident, informing Ram of this news was the priority.

Evnia hurried her steps toward the storehouse where Ram was said to be.

It was just as Evnia turned the corner right before her destination.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“You’ll fall if you hurry like that.”

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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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