Instead of My Beloved Sister, I Married a Monster - Chapter 85
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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 85
Not knowing where or how to begin pointing out the problems, Evnia, after a long silence, finally corrected Hanna’s misguided view of love.
“Hanna, that’s not proper toward Lord Ram…”
A jealousy strategy, really.
It might be one thing for simple lovers, but it was far too dangerous a strategy to attempt between a married couple.
One wrong move and it could become infidelity.
To begin with, she doubted whether such a method would even be effective between her and Ram.
“But Seven said so too, didn’t he? That we’d be able to see something good soon.”
“…”
Where and how did this castle go wrong?
She recalled once hearing that every group inevitably has one problematic individual.
When that person leaves, another member inevitably takes on that role, and the current situation was exactly that.
Since Giyermo was hiding and nowhere to be seen, everyone was sharing the burden of his madness.
Evnia sighed and said,
“I hope Count Klaus stays here as quietly as possible. So quietly that Lord Ram could completely forget he’s even here.”
“But…”
“Stop it. Why are you being so unreasonable too? Lord Ram wouldn’t be jealous of Count Klaus in the first place. I’m…”
Evnia couldn’t contain the thought that filled her mind and ended up blurting it out.
Even knowing she’d regret it.
“I’m not Nina.”
Realizing she’d said something that would annoy anyone who heard it, Evnia quietly bit her lip.
It was true that Ram had shown wariness toward Klaus today, but that was simply because he was worried she might get hurt.
He was getting angry on her behalf about how Klaus had neglected her all along only to chase after her with belated regret.
She was already indebted to Ram far more than necessary.
Evnia didn’t want to become a shameless person who would test Ram’s kindness as well.
Evnia looked down with an embarrassed expression and said,
“What I mean is… I don’t want to cause trouble for Lord Ram or anyone else. I’m already sorry enough for always being indebted while living as a dependent…”
“Lady Evnia.”
Hanna called Evnia’s name as if cutting off the negative branches of her thoughts. Then she looked directly into Evnia’s eyes and said firmly,
“I don’t think you’re living here as a dependent, Lady Evnia. Though I do sometimes think that about Seven.”
“…Seven is Lord Ram’s friend.”
“Isn’t it more natural to live with one’s wife than with a friend?”
This was common sense that even Evnia couldn’t deny.
When Evnia hesitated without readily arguing back, Hanna patted the bedding she’d been arranging. It seemed to mean she should come lie down.
Only after getting onto the bed due to the irresistible force did Evnia realize it was rather early to go to sleep.
But she couldn’t get up from her spot again since Hanna had immediately wrapped her tightly in blankets.
As if intending to prevent her from escaping, Hanna lay down on top of Evnia’s stomach and said,
“Lady Evnia, there have been exactly two crises in my life so far. Do you know when they were?”
At the unknown opening, Evnia quietly shook her head.
Hanna answered without delay.
“When I was born and when Lady Emilia passed away.”
“…”
“Lord Giyermo told me. He said my so-called parents threw me near Litberg as beast food and left. Since he saved me from near death and raised me, I should work hard to repay his kindness.”
What on earth had Giyermo been telling the child while raising her?
Even while speaking of a past difficult to voice, Hanna was still smiling gently at Evnia.
Whenever she saw Hanna’s eyes sparkling with such pure light like this, Evnia somehow felt ashamed of many thoughts within herself.
“I overcame the first crisis well. That was when I was still a baby anyway, and from my first memory, I was already living in Litberg Castle. But I never thought it was natural. There were reasons why this castle took me in.”
“…”
“The second crisis came when that reason disappeared. After Lady Emilia’s death was announced, the atmosphere in the castle was terrible. Lord Ram locked himself in his room and secluded himself, and Seven suggested to Lord Giyermo that I should be sent back to where people live. I think he was worried that Lord Ram would think of Nina when he saw me. It was a bit disappointing, but what could I do? Since he’d lost his wife, it was natural for his wife’s personal maid to disappear too.”
Evnia thought that wasn’t a decision as easy to accept as it sounded.
Like herself ten years ago, Hanna back then must have been very young too.
She would have been just an ordinary child who was scared of someone’s death and afraid of leaving the place she lived.
“But when no one told me to leave no matter how long I waited, I went to find Lord Giyermo myself out of frustration and asked him. When would I be kicked out? Then Lord Giyermo told me that Lady Emilia had a younger sister. The bride would come as planned, so I should just continue waiting for her as before.”
“…”
“So I’ve been here thanks to Lady Evnia since that day.”
Hanna looked at Evnia and smiled brightly.
“No matter what anyone says, Lady Evnia is my only master.”
So this child had been saying this all along.
That she had never once thought of Evnia as an unwelcome guest, so she shouldn’t put herself down like that either.
She was saying that she had always believed this was Evnia’s rightful place. She was comforting Evnia like this.
Feeling like she might cry, Evnia couldn’t easily voice her thanks.
She could feel hot warmth gathering at the tip of her nose.
Only after a long while did Evnia, having barely swallowed her overflowing emotions, reply in a choked voice,
“I just came here because I had to.”
“But you thought you’d die if you came here. I never dreamed that was the case.”
Had Hanna finally come to understand the atmosphere of the Hessen family after hearing Klaus’s story?
That was a fact she’d never bothered to reveal to others except Ram.
There was no point in letting the people living here know how miserable a process she’d gone through to be dragged here, as it would only make everyone feel uncomfortable.
“This might be a bit rude to say to Lady Evnia, but I actually thought earlier that it was fortunate you didn’t run away and came here. The castle atmosphere wasn’t this good before you arrived. Lord Ram wouldn’t even come outside, I couldn’t tell what Lord Giyermo was thinking, and Count Max kept crying every night. It was like a haunted castle.”
So Count Max had been crying every night.
Evnia smiled bitterly at this newly learned fact.
Fortunately or unfortunately, what followed was a story about how this place had changed since then.
As if Evnia had changed so many things in this castle for their sake.
“After hearing Count Klaus’s story today, I understood why the castle’s atmosphere changed after Lady Evnia came. It was all because Lady Evnia has a warm heart that thinks of family. Because you treated us with such feelings.”
“…”
“That’s why I really like gathering together for meals like today. It feels like we’ve become a family.”
Looking at Hanna’s excited face, she somehow felt like she was deceiving everyone.
Whatever Hanna had felt at that dining table, if it was a change she had created, it was all meaningless fake.
She couldn’t let her believe such things were real.
“No, Hanna.”
Evnia opened her mouth after the silence.
Her voice confessing the truth trembled slightly with inevitable tension.
“That was for my sake. I longed for family too.”
“…”
“What I did was just imitation. Actually, I don’t really know either. What family love is, what it’s like when such people gather around a dining table. It was so long ago that I’ve forgotten it all now.”
“…”
“Actually, my relationship with my parents wasn’t good at all. We fought a lot right before I came here too. My parents didn’t love me as much as they loved my sister. Actually, that’s why I came looking for her. I thought if I brought my sister back, I could be loved too, that if she returned, we could become a family again like before.”
“Lady Evnia.”
“I’m really grateful that you see me as a good person, Hanna, but I…”
Hanna firmly grasped Evnia’s hand over the blanket.
Since she wouldn’t listen even when called by name, she seemed to have deliberately startled her to make her stop talking.
Hanna looked into Evnia’s eyes and said stubbornly,
“I don’t care if Nina doesn’t come back.”
“…”
“We’re already a family. Let’s just do it among ourselves, excluding those who say they don’t want to. That works, doesn’t it?”
It was unreasonable nonsense.
But this time, Evnia couldn’t correct Hanna’s wrong thinking either. Because she didn’t want to.
She suddenly thought,
Wouldn’t it be okay if this flimsy world made entirely of fake things was this warm?
If they could hold each other’s hands instead of the real thing that abandoned them and left, if those hands were this affectionate.
Hanna buried her face against Evnia’s stomach as if saying she had no intention of listening to any objections.
Watching Hanna cling to her and act stubborn made her feel as if she had gained a spoiled younger sister. Though in reality, Hanna was probably older than her.
But in a world full of lies, that wasn’t really an important matter.
In the cozy sleeping arrangement Hanna had created, Evnia gently stroked her hair for a long while.
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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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