Instead of My Beloved Sister, I Married a Monster - Chapter 44

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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 44

 

Ram seemed at a loss for words at Evnia’s embarrassing confession.

 

Ram stared down at her intently, then after a moment, he knelt down in place with a deflated expression.

 

Resting his elbow on his thigh, he rubbed his face with his hands for a while, then clasped his hands together. Then, in a hunched posture, he looked up at her and spoke as if pleading.

 

“You can’t do that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because only you’ll get hurt.”

 

“Then wouldn’t that be fine? If only I get hurt.”

 

Evnia found it absurd that even in a moment like this, he was worried about her.

 

The reason she shouldn’t like him wasn’t because it would bother him or put him in a difficult position, but because he didn’t want her to get hurt.

 

Such a gentle rejection would never change her feelings.

 

Evnia said firmly.

 

“It’s fine. I’m good at liking someone by myself. I’ll make sure Lord Ram doesn’t have to worry about it.”

 

“You’re still young and don’t know what you’re talking about. Once you meet people your age, you’ll change your mind quickly, right? This is probably your first time living with a man who isn’t family. That’s why you feel this way.”

 

“Then I’ll like you until my feelings change.”

 

At Evnia’s calm response, Ram closed his mouth with a speechless expression.

 

She had wondered if he truly meant what he said, but seeing his reaction, it seemed he didn’t.

 

He too knew that her feelings wouldn’t change easily, which was why he wore such a frustrated expression.

 

Eventually, a long sigh escaped from Ram.

 

After staring at Evnia with an unreadable expression for a while, he suddenly muttered as if feeling sorry for her.

 

“You don’t know how hard it is to love someone alone.”

 

Evnia wasn’t completely clueless about what thoughts led him to say such words.

 

Even though she didn’t know how long Ram had been with his deceased wife, it was obvious that it hadn’t been as long as his entire lifetime.

 

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Ram had been experiencing a kind of unrequited love for the past few hundred years.

 

Since his wife had been a non-existent person for so long, the love she would have given him had also helplessly met its death.

 

Evnia gazed at him steadily and said.

 

“Lord Ram, you’ve been in unrequited love for so long, yet you don’t know much about love.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Liking someone isn’t something you can stop just because you want to stop.”

 

“…”

 

“So no matter what you say, Lord Ram, it’s not convincing at all. You won’t give up either.”

 

If there was one person between him and herself who had to give up, she hoped it wouldn’t be her.

 

To avoid voicing that selfish inner thought, Evnia bit her lips tightly.

 

Originally, Evnia hadn’t come here to say such things to him.

 

She had intended to tell him that he could treat her casually like before, and that she would also try not to make him uncomfortable.

 

However, if she stayed by his side any longer, she felt she might voice even more presumptuous desires.

 

Evnia quietly stood up from her seat and bowed her head to him in greeting.

 

Ram, who had been watching her leave with a dazed expression, only came to his senses after the door opened and hurriedly shouted.

 

“Anyway, you can’t!”

 

Evnia pretended not to hear and closed the door.

 

The fact that even his stubborn behavior seemed cute to her made her think she was seriously smitten.

 

No matter how she thought about it, abandoning her feelings for him seemed impossible.

 

She was repeatedly failing even at the task of restraining herself from liking today’s version of him more than yesterday’s.

 

Love truly wasn’t something you could stop just because you wanted to. Tragically so.

 

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“How is it, Lady Evnia?”

 

Hanna asked with sparkling eyes.

 

Evnia was inwardly flustered by the flashy text that dazzled her vision, but tried not to show it.

 

Hanna was looking at her with such an expectant expression.

 

“…What is this?”

 

“Oh my! It’s a job posting!”

 

“A job posting…?”

 

Evnia examined the flyer Hanna handed her with suspicious eyes.

 

It certainly said something about hiring people, but Evnia doubted whether this could really be considered a proper job advertisement.

 

No one would come to Litberg Castle after reading this posting.

 

No, if any job seekers did show up, they would need to be gently persuaded to leave.

 

Whoever they were, they wouldn’t be in their right mind.

 

“I wrote them by hand, stitch by stitch, and made a hundred copies! If we spread them around, applicants will appear quickly.”

 

“…A hundred copies of this? No, more importantly, you said spread them around. Where are you talking about? If you distribute something like this in Schwaiger, you’ll probably get arrested by the guards.”

 

“Huh? Of course not Schwaiger. That’s too far.”

 

“Isn’t that the closest place among the neighboring territories?”

 

“I was just going to distribute them in the village below the castle.”

 

Hanna tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

 

Naturally, Evnia’s gaze turned toward the window.

 

“…People live there?”

 

It wasn’t the first time she had seen the houses Hanna mentioned, but Evnia had never thought that anyone actually lived there.

 

Litberck was a territory with no contact with the outside world, and living on such land was tantamount to declaring disconnection from civilization.

 

Evnia had always thought that all the houses in Litberck were abandoned ruins from long ago.

 

In fact, except for the people in this castle, she had no memory of witnessing anyone passing by outside. Except for the soldiers sent from Schwaiger, that is.

 

“It’s not a proper village, but quite a few people do live there together. There have been some new residents in recent years too.”

 

“New residents?”

 

“Yes, every time I go down, I see more unfamiliar faces.”

 

“…Do you happen to know why those people moved here?”

 

Perhaps sensing the worry in Evnia’s voice, Hanna burst into laughter.

 

She raised her fist and thumped her left chest as if to reassure her.

 

“Lady Evnia, this is also a place where people live! Don’t worry too much.”

 

Of course, Hanna’s assurance didn’t reassure Evnia at all.

 

Having grown up under Giyermo, Hanna’s perspective on the world was quite different from ordinary people.

 

The story she had heard from Count Max seemed much more credible than Hanna’s words.

 

Count Max had said that the surrounding regions treated Litberck like a kind of disposal facility. Since it was a land where exiles gathered, you never knew what kind of bottom-feeders you might encounter.

 

‘Still, the residents here would probably feel more comfortable with this castle than people from other regions.’

 

At least those living in Litberck would know that Ram wasn’t as frightening as the rumors suggested.

 

If this was indeed a place where people lived, as Hanna said, there would probably be a few decent folks among them.

 

‘For now, it seems absolutely impossible to find people from neighboring territories unless we resort to fraud…’

 

Evnia looked down at the forest spread below the castle with melancholic eyes.

 

It might be different after she and Ram cleared their reputation as the monster couple, but right now, they couldn’t afford to be picky.

 

Having made a resolute decision in her heart, Evnia turned to Hanna and asked.

 

“Hanna, can I come with you?”

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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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