Chapter 20
I even went so far as to take a short nap early in the evening, just so I could stay awake late that night.
Because I was determined to talk to Evan no matter what.
It wasn’t until midnight that Evan finally dragged himself into the room, looking completely exhausted.
“…You’re still not asleep?”
“I was waiting for you.”
I smiled softly as I said it.
“Why did you do something so pointless?”
Evan tossed out the words bluntly before heading straight into the bathroom.
Something was definitely strange.
He always hid his true feelings, but he’d never spoken like that before.
After washing up and changing into his loungewear, he glanced at me, still sitting there awake, and muttered:
“Just go to sleep.”
Oh, is that so?
‘But tonight, no matter what, I’m going to find out what’s going on with you.’
I had been feeling confident—until I noticed his pajamas had long sleeves.
It was the beginning of summer, and the weather was only getting warmer.
‘Didn’t he refuse to wear long sleeves even when it was colder than this?’
Something felt very wrong.
I suddenly stood up and pulled the fairytale book I had gifted him from the bookshelf.
“Evan, want me to read you a bedtime story until you fall asleep?”
(Reading him a story at night until he falls asleep.)
I was faithfully carrying out what had been written in that diary.
Evan suddenly made an expression as though he were facing the hardest dilemma of his life, using every muscle in his face.
‘Is it really that hard to decide?’
Watching him struggle like it was some impossible problem, I let out a faint sigh.
‘He’s cute, so I can’t help it.’
When a kid who tried so hard to act like an adult made a reluctant “not totally against it” face, it was unbelievably adorable.
So I moved closer.
“What? You don’t like being read to?”
“…Forget it.”
As if he’d made up his mind, he dropped heavily into a chair and avoided my eyes.
“You don’t have to.”
His voice was stiff—colder than I’d ever heard.
“And don’t buy things like that anymore.”
Why was he getting so serious?
He was the one who had written plainly that he wanted it.
But no matter how much he tried to act indifferent, I could tell it wasn’t genuine.
And that fairytale book…
It had only been three days since I gave it to him, but it already showed signs of being handled a lot.
He had definitely read it over and over while I slept.
‘Why is he being so painfully pitiful?’
As I flipped through the pages, Evan grumbled again.
“Go to sleep first. Don’t wait up anymore.”
That’s not how acting works.
“Come on, let’s read it together. I bought it because I wanted to read it with you.”
That’s how you do it.
I smiled subtly and grabbed his arm.
“…Ah.”
He flinched.
And I froze too.
That was definitely a reaction of pain.
‘What? I barely even touched him… like I was pinching a feather.’
And Evan’s arms were usually so solid that even if I punched him, he wouldn’t feel a thing.
“What’s wrong?”
I lifted the sleeve that had been bothering me.
Evan tried to stop me, but he couldn’t even bring himself to touch my arm. He just looked helpless.
“…Evan.”
Even though I’d been brave enough to face my own death fate since coming here…
This time, for the first time, I asked in a trembling voice:
“What is this?”
His entire arm was covered in bruises. There were serious wounds too.
This wasn’t his body.
Just the other day, when he wore short sleeves, there was nothing like this.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Evan spoke shortly, still refusing to meet my eyes.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“How can I not worry?! I’m your wife! I’m your closest family!”
Evan flinched at that.
“Look at the other side too.”
I forced up his other sleeve.
Only the parts hidden beneath clothing were stained with bruises, as if someone had been careful to conceal them.
This was impossible.
There had never been any mention of Evan being abused!
Who the hell hit my husband?!
“What is this?”
My voice shook violently.
“Who did it? Who did this to you?”
He didn’t look like someone who’d go out and get beaten up.
“Go to sleep.”
Evan pulled his sleeve back down indifferently.
“You don’t know, but when you train with a sword, everyone ends up like this.”
Sure, I’d never trained in swordsmanship…
But no human being could look like that and still say,
“Oh, I just like swords.”
The fact that he still wouldn’t look at me was suspicious.
“Thanks for the storybook. But you don’t have to read it to me. I’m not a kid.”
Says the guy who believes holding hands makes babies.
He jumped up, sat at the desk, and deliberately opened another book.
“And don’t buy things for me anymore. I don’t need them.”
I sank into thought.
“And don’t wait an hour in line to buy things like ganache either.”
“Huh?”
“Why stand in line like that? I don’t even like sweets that much.”
That’s funny, considering three nights ago he scraped the ganache clean down to the last bit…
‘Is this early puberty? Why is he suddenly acting like this?’
At times like this, if you press too hard, people only shut down.
“…Okay.”
I slumped my shoulders and lay down first, pulling the blanket over myself.
“I just…”
Then, turning my back to him, I murmured weakly:
“I just wanted to see you happy…”
I didn’t forget to sniffle a few times.
My small, cute appearance was perfectly specialized in triggering sympathy.
And pretending to be pitiful was my greatest talent.
When I curled up, acting like I’d cried myself to sleep…
Only after a long while did I hear Evan sigh.
“…I’m sorry.”
He whispered so quietly.
‘Oh, honestly…’
Inside, I clicked my tongue.
I thought he was becoming a complete cold-hearted male lead…
But it seemed he still had some childish innocence left.
I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter.
I was going to save up money and run away eventually, so what did it matter if Evan got beaten or not?
But those bruises were too heartbreaking.
No matter how much my own safety mattered most, I couldn’t pretend not to see that.
And strangely…
Whenever I looked at Evan, I felt this aching pity.
Thinking about him staring at my card all night, or rereading the fairytale book over and over…
My heart softened completely.
‘I don’t need to get involved, but I should at least find out what’s going on.’
I forced myself back toward sleep, making a decision.
Evan’s injuries…
This wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the original story.
Maybe because Evan was only a supporting character, his backstory was never written.
The protagonist had pointless details, so why not something this important?
‘The original novel seriously sucks…’
I drifted off…
But before dawn, I felt Evan get up beside me.
He gently brushed my hair with his fingers, changed clothes, picked up his sword, and left.
‘Sword training without even eating breakfast…’
And why the hell did he touch his sleeping wife’s hair before leaving?
I rubbed my half-awake eyes and sat up.
‘What is wrong with him? I’m not letting this go.’
Whoever did this to my husband…
I’m seriously not going to let them get away with it.
