IMBSM 14

Chapter: 14

Evania checked the item he was holding out to her with a lingering sense of unease.

A small jewelry box covered in red velvet gleamed suspiciously in his palm. Judging by the size, it probably contained a ring or a pair of earrings.

A wary light entered Evania’s eyes.

“What is this?”

“An artifact… with a protective function of sorts. There are quite a few dangerous places in this castle. I’m giving it to you to prevent any unforeseen accidents.”

As he spoke, Guillermo blinked innocently. Then, as if to tempt her, he even opened the box.

But when Evania saw what was inside, her suspicion only deepened.

What Guillermo had presented was a ring set with an enormous gemstone—the kind exchanged in royal marriages.

An emerald-cut diamond sat on the band, glittering so brilliantly it was almost burdensome to look at.

“…It looks incredibly valuable.”

“Well, who knows? It could probably buy this entire castle. It’s tucked away in the countryside, and people keep dying here, so the market price is dreadful. There’s a powerful restoration spell placed on it—unless you die instantly, it can somehow keep the wearer alive.”

Evania barely swallowed the scream threatening to burst from her throat.

Instinctively taking a step back, she asked, “You’re giving something like that to me? Is it really alright for me to accept it?”

“If not to the bride, then to whom? To Miss Hannah, the maid we’ve trained diligently for twenty years? Or to the very person who scattered dangerous objects and spells all over this castle?”

“But you’re giving it to me in such a suspicious way. Like some sort of black-market deal—waiting until it was just the two of us…”

“Should I have taken out something this precious in front of the thief who broke into our castle?”

Guillermo shot back as if he were the one being unreasonable.

Evania found herself speechless.

While she was grateful to Sir Max for building the fire earlier, she also knew why he had ended up in such circumstances.

Still unable to shake her discomfort, she nitpicked.

“I appreciate the thought, but the stone is so large I don’t think I could wear it daily, as you suggested.”

“Would this do?”

As he asked, Guillermo closed and reopened the box.

It happened before she could stop him.

When Evania looked inside again, she momentarily doubted her own eyes.

The diamond, which had been as large as her thumbnail, had shrunk to nearly vestigial proportions.

Like a raccoon that had dunked its cotton candy in water, she grabbed the jewelry box from him in stunned disbelief.

Staring blankly at the now-pitiful diamond, she muttered, “The diamond…”

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

“It was enormous…”

“It’s no longer so cumbersome.”

Guillermo declared this proudly.

The accessory, once worth a fortune on the gemstone alone, had transformed in an instant into something that might tempt a petty thief at best.

Since he had altered it for her sake, she could hardly refuse it now.

“…You did get Lord Ram’s permission, right?” she asked in a near-resigned voice.

“Of course. It was originally something the master prepared for the bride. He simply hoped that you wouldn’t be harmed because of him.”

“I’ve told you repeatedly that I’m not a bride—”

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

Unable to withstand Guillermo’s pestering, Evania finally took out the ring and slipped it onto her left ring finger.

She had thought it looked similar in size to the rings she normally wore, but when she put it on, it fit her perfectly.

Having achieved his goal, Guillermo abruptly stopped complaining, as if he had never been grumbling at all.

He stared intently at the ring, which showed no sign of excitement, and murmured in a meaningful tone, “It fits perfectly. As if by fate.”

“I’ll use it carefully and return it when I leave,” Evania hurriedly emphasized. “It’s just a loan.”

She had accepted it to avoid further hassle, but she had no intention of shouldering such a burdensome item forever.

Even though the gemstone was now modest in size, the ring’s immense value hadn’t changed.

To think it could heal any wound short of instant death.

It had remained unknown only because those who possessed it had no need to flaunt such protection. If the truth became public, it would cause an enormous uproar.

Every powerful ruler and wealthy magnate would scramble to obtain it, sparking a bloody competition.

Evania stared down at her ring finger with visible discomfort.

I shouldn’t take it off even when I sleep.

If she lost it, she would never sleep peacefully again.

Neither Ram nor Guillermo would demand compensation, but she couldn’t bear to cause financial damage to people she was already troubling.

Unconsciously, she covered the ring protectively with her other hand.

Guillermo smiled knowingly, as though he could see right through her thoughts.

“Oh, don’t feel burdened. Considering the effort you’ll be putting in for our castle, this is a small token of appreciation.”

“Even if I chopped myself up and sold the pieces, I couldn’t match this ring’s value…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not particularly fond of corpses. I prefer sacred labor.”

Uttering something that might or might not have been a joke, Guillermo turned his gaze toward the doorway.

Right on cue, Sir Max entered the kitchen, grunting as he carried firewood.

Rather than continue the headache-inducing conversation with Guillermo, Evania hurried over to hold the door open for Sir Max—

Completely unaware of the sinister smile spreading across Guillermo’s face behind her back.

“Why don’t you just become the bride?”

It was Seven who said this, taking advantage of a brief lull after emptying his plate in a trance-like state while devouring Evania’s cooking.

The moment Seven suggested it, everyone gathered at the table—except Ram—nodded in agreement.

Perhaps thanks to Sir Max’s hard work, the roast beef had turned out especially delicious today. Fortunately, it seemed to suit more than just human tastes.

Evania watched Levi, perched atop the table and pecking at the meat in a state of bliss, with quiet fascination.

Feeling secretly pleased, she asked, “Is culinary skill a qualification for being the lady of the house?”

“There’s also a rather historic reason,” Seven replied. “Nina was a great cook too.”

Did Ram’s wife not evoke particularly sorrowful memories for Seven?

He had a curious tendency to speak of the deceased without the slightest hesitation.

Instinctively, Evania glanced at Ram.

Perhaps misunderstanding her look, Ram hurriedly protested before even swallowing his food.

“Tha’s not why Ah liked her.”

Seven ignored him entirely and scraped his plate with his fork.

He scooped up every last bit of mashed potatoes from the bottom, put it into his mouth, and closed his eyes as if savoring it.

With a voice thick with emotion, he said, “That’s why I liked her. She was the only comfort on those damned marches.”

“Lady Nina went to war as well?”

“If she hadn’t, humanity would’ve perished. How do you expect anyone to fight on that wretched swill?”

So she had been something like a cook for the army?

As Evania wore a puzzled expression, Ram couldn’t stand it any longer and cut in.

“She cooked because he was always sulking about wanting to desert. Her actual profession was healer.”

“Yeah. She handled human guts just as well as animal entrails.”

Seven added what was hardly a flattering compliment.

Evania tried desperately not to connect his explanation with gruesome imagery, forcing herself to recall the portrait she had seen the day before.

That beautiful woman had fought alongside them in the Great War, sharing life and death.

She had been curious how they ended up married—but it seemed the story behind it far exceeded her expectations.

If she were Ram, she thought, she wouldn’t be able to forget a bond like that either.