IMBSM 4

Chapter: 4

“I know. It’s the dining table,”
Evinia replied calmly.

The man ignored her words and walked past her to a nearby chair, sitting down.

He still wore the same expression as before, his mouth far too small to swallow a person.

Since he hadn’t appeared in some monstrous form, it seemed clear he didn’t intend to eat her.

Resigned, Evinia straightened up and looked toward him.

“Are you really not going to eat me?”

“I’m too dirty. I don’t want to.”

Evinia quietly lowered her head and surveyed her own appearance.

Her dress, dirtied from wandering through the forest, was a mess. Surely, she didn’t look like the sort of food he would want to pick off the ground.

After a brief pause, she came up with a solution.

“You could just wash me.”

“Do you want to be clean in one second, or stay dirty and keep talking?”

Evinia chose the former. Her body had grown uncomfortable from being grimy, but more importantly, it seemed he wanted her to be quiet.

She zipped her lips and moved to sit across from him. The man let out a sigh and muttered an incantation she couldn’t understand.

A gentle wind stirred around her, and her filthy clothes gradually returned to their original state.

Her sweaty, sticky skin softened and dried as well.

“Amazing…”

Evinia silently admired the clean hem of her dress.

She had never seen real magic or even a properly functioning magical tool before.

She had heard that in big cities, old relics were put to practical use, but in the Hesse region, anything she could access was mediocre at best.

This made sense in an era when blessed individuals had become nearly extinct.

Ever since the man in front of her had eliminated a great evil, the number of blessed ones had dwindled, almost as if the balance of the world demanded it.

By Evinia’s generation, magic was barely more than a companion for bards and con artists.

Those who truly wielded power lived hidden away in dangerous places, away from the public eye—just like the man sitting before her.

Indeed, he possessed real power. Just a flick of his finger could send her to another place.

Whatever had happened in the past, if he didn’t want a bride now, there were countless ways he could dispose of an unwelcome guest.

He could cut her throat in an instant or send her to a distant location where she would be completely irrelevant.

Yet he merely looked at her with a thoughtful expression, as if searching not for the easy answer, but the correct one.

Evinia spoke in a quiet voice.

“May I ask you something?”

“Speak.”

“Have you ever transformed into a monster and eaten someone?”

“No.”

“Then why are there such rumors?”

“I haven’t eaten anyone, but I’ve killed many. All folklore works that way—one truth surrounded by ninety-nine lies.”

The man answered casually, his eyes drifting toward the door leading to the kitchen.

“I know you’re curious about a lot of things, but eat first. Don’t choke on an empty stomach.”

Following his gaze, Evinia saw Guillermo rolling out a trolley filled with food.

His movements were as graceful as a noble’s, but when it came to the proper etiquette of serving, he was completely hopeless.

He placed appetizers, main dishes, desserts, tea, and wine all mixed together, then proudly said,

“Enjoy your meal.”

Could this be the dining style of the Ritberg region?

Evinia hesitated, unsure where to start, when Agram immediately scolded her.

“Stop picking at it and eat! If you’re starved like a beggar, people will mistake you for one of my friends.”

The person who could explain this bizarre setup had already returned to the kitchen.

Evinia reluctantly picked up her spoon. She knew there was little chance she would actually enjoy the food in this situation.

She barely tasted anything as she sipped the soup.

When she set the spoon down after a few bites, Agram raised his eyebrows in mock reproach.

“I’m full,” she muttered in a small voice.

“Don’t leave anything. You’ll grow taller if you eat properly.”

The man’s age seemed only around thirty, yet his eyes carried the weight of someone who had seen everything in life.

Considering he was over four hundred years old, perhaps this sort of scolding actually suited him.

“I’m fine eating this much,” she said.

“Ha! Are you dieting just because you’re a girl? When it’s just you, eating well and enjoying yourself is the best thing.”

It was strange—here she was, talking to a man she had believed would eat her, and now she was being lectured about her meals.

Evinia toyed with the end of her spoon and replied quietly,

“I was afraid you might eat me.”

“What?”

“I thought that if there was nothing to eat, Lord Ram might not eat me.”

No one would willingly let themselves be eaten by a monster.

Evinia wanted to survive more than anyone, and she had done whatever it took to stay alive.

She had compulsively deprived herself of food to keep her body from showing any indulgence.

Even the simple pleasure of eating had been suppressed in her endless struggle to endure. Now, in retrospect, it felt almost pointless.

She didn’t really have any reason to survive so desperately anyway…

“Lord Ram, you’re not eating?”

Evinia looked down at the pile of food in front of her and asked.

For a moment, he just moved his lips slightly, then finally replied,

“I’m not hungry.”

“You don’t eat human food…”

Evinia muttered to herself, convinced. She wondered why there were no cutlery placed by his seat—it seemed this simply wasn’t his diet.

Seeing her remain silent, Agram suddenly raised his voice.

“Guillermo, bring mine too!”

“Huh?”

Guillermo peeked back in through the door at his master’s call, though his attitude was somewhat insolent.

“Did I hear that right? You’re going to eat?”

“Yes.”

“Why waste food on someone who doesn’t need it? Do you have any idea how hard it was to prepare this?”

“Don’t make me say it twice. Just do as I say.”

Under that sharp command, Guillermo returned to the kitchen.

A strange plate, seemingly composed only of leftovers, was placed in front of Agram shortly afterward.

The sight might have killed anyone’s appetite, but he chewed and swallowed everything without complaint, instead scolding his subordinate.

Feeling the pressure, Evinia picked up her spoon again.

The meal ended only after Evinia had eaten far more than usual.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Agram said,

“Now that we’re done eating, let’s talk.”

Even after starting, he struggled to continue.

After staring at Evinia for a long moment, he sighed and pulled out a cigarette, nervously shaking his leg as he began to smoke.

At first, Evinia waited quietly, hoping the conversation would start naturally. But by the third cigarette, she could no longer just watch.

“Smoking so much isn’t good for your health,” she said gently.

“Huh? I’m immortal, so it doesn’t matter. Pretty awesome, right?”

“…Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“Guillermo said it’s the latest trend.”

Agram casually glanced toward the kitchen as he replied.

Evinia recalled Guillermo’s retro outfit and his unforgettable comment about living in the countryside for over 200 years.

‘Completely outdated…’

Of course, she didn’t voice her thought. It seemed he was trying out trendy phrases for her sake.

As she nodded in agreement, a tickle ran down her throat, and she coughed violently.

“Cough!”

Hearing her cough, Agram stared at her for a moment, then casually stubbed out the cigarette on the plate Guillermo had served.