Chapter 18: BWCGD

Chapter 18

“Miss, it’s time for your meal.”

The door opened quietly, and a maid stepped inside, giving a polite bow.

Soon, trolleys carrying food were wheeled into the bedroom one after another.

While the maid set the dishes on the table, Evelyn slowly forced her weak body upright and sat down.

Fresh seafood, lightly seasoned grilled fish, steaming hot stew, and vegetables so fresh they looked as if they would crunch with every bite soon filled the table.

Every dish was something she liked, yet she found herself unable to reach for any of them.

“I don't need this much food in the morning.”

Except for the one year she had spent in the North during her previous life, she had never eaten more than one proper meal a day.

To someone like her, this amount of food was pure luxury.

But the maid's answer never changed.

“I'm sorry, Miss, but that isn't for me to decide. I was also ordered to make sure you finish everything that is served.”

Watching the nervous maid, Evelyn let out a deep sigh inwardly.

Several days had passed since she had begun making contact with him under the pretense of purifying the tangled magic within her.

Even though she had firmly declared that nothing like desire would happen between them, he was surprisingly serious about the purification. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy it.

That didn't mean their contact had become any more intimate.

At most, they held hands lightly, he bit the back of her neck like a beast grinding its teeth, or they shared a kiss that exchanged saliva.

"Even that alone leaves my whole body exhausted."

Then, she suddenly remembered something he had said while straightening her disheveled clothes.

“Gain some weight. You're so weak that I couldn't even take you onto the battlefield.”

That was around the time these overwhelming meals had started appearing on her table.

Of course, he wasn't wrong.

In her current condition, following him onto a battlefield would only make her a burden.

Even if she couldn't be of much help to him, she at least needed to be capable of protecting herself.

Fortunately, as the rampaging magic inside her gradually stabilized, the symptoms that had tormented her for so long disappeared as though they had never existed.

"It's still too early to practice barriers or offensive magic."

Even she could hardly believe how much she had recovered, and vitality slowly returned to her once lifeless body.

The energy flowing through her now was like a lively stream.

Every day, Evelyn repeated the same training, converting the demonic energy he infused into her into magic power and making it her own.

The feeling of vigorous magic surging through her veins was beyond words.

Without even forcing herself to the limit, she could now heal most ordinary injuries.

So she had to keep eating.

Only by growing stronger could she do anything.

Determined, Evelyn cut a piece of grilled fish and forced herself to swallow it.

After finishing her meal, she stood up to change out of her sweat-soaked clothes.

Normally, the everyday clothes the maid prepared were enough.

But today she needed something suitable for going out.

Remembering the maid's words that she was free to wear anything in the wardrobe, Evelyn walked over and threw the doors open.

“Wow...”

Inside the wardrobe, decorated with finely crafted diamonds, hung rows of clothing in every color imaginable—from elegant everyday outfits to formal dresses fit for grand occasions.

Every single design was exactly to her taste.

It was as if someone had looked inside her mind.

The colors, fabrics, and even the sizes were absolutely perfect.

Just as she reached toward the dress that caught her eye the most, her expression stiffened slightly.

She suddenly remembered his cold face as he had said he loved another woman.

Right...

So that must mean...

"The owner of this wardrobe must be that woman."

Yet no matter how deeply she searched through the memories of her previous life, she couldn't think of any woman who had shared such a special relationship with him.

He avoided contact with women almost obsessively, and unless it was absolutely necessary, he rarely even spoke to them.

"No... they say you can never truly know what's hidden inside someone's heart."

Perhaps he had simply kept his feelings hidden from her.

Maybe there had always been a woman he treasured.

Or perhaps he had concealed her because he didn't want to burden her with the disgrace of being known as a woman unable to bear children.

The thought made her chest feel unbearably heavy.

Fighting back the sudden ache, Evelyn gently ran her fingertips over the dress and reflected on her married life with him.

"Did he already have someone back then too?"

That wasn't to say their marriage had been distant.

Unlike many noblemen who kept mistresses, he possessed an intense appetite and never tried to hide the desire that constantly burned within him.

That was why his sudden declaration had left Evelyn completely bewildered.

“Well... it has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Whatever the reason she had returned from the brink of death, everything that had happened in her previous life had already faded away.

She had succeeded in persuading him.

But theirs was merely a relationship built on each other's objectives, not one bound together by love.

Even knowing that, she couldn't stop the misery rising within her.

Whenever she looked at him, her heart still ached.

Whenever she remembered the moments they had shared, her emotions became restless.

Those memories were impossible to erase.

Even if the day came when they parted forever, that much would never change.

"You should have just said nothing. It feels like you're warning me in advance not to expect love... or to ever fall in love."