Chapter 50: BWCGD

Chapter 50

Her heart pounded wildly.

Then why did the merchant I met mention the Farminion Trading Company?

“Therefore, any such ingredient circulating on the market is smuggled goods. May I ask who told you that?”

A cold sweat broke out across her back.

Realizing he had not meant to interrogate her, the Duke quickly softened his tone.

“Then again, there's no smoke without fire. I'll quietly investigate whether any prohibited goods have found their way into my merchant company and let you know.”

The tension drained from her body.

She had thought meeting Duke Farminion would untangle the knot, yet her chest still felt as heavy as though she had swallowed a stone.

But I can't just sit here worrying.

Swallowing her anxiety, Evelyn continued with what she had prepared to say.

“May I ask one more favor?”

The Duke nodded for her to continue.

After hesitating for a moment, Evelyn spoke with a troubled expression.

“The merchant ship from the Nora Continent is scheduled to arrive in fifteen days, isn't it?”

“Hm? How do you know that, Miss Evelyn?”

“Every fifteen days, traveling merchants set up a market in Adelheim Grand Plaza in the capital. If you go there, you hear every kind of rumor. The merchants were all worried because the ship that was supposed to arrive this month was delayed due to the epidemic.”

Looking straight into his eyes, Evelyn calmly told the lie.

She was secretly surprised at herself.

They say humans adapt to anything.

Feeling a brief moment of self-loathing, she soon hardened her resolve.

“Please postpone the ship's arrival for another fifteen days.”

In the past, after Richev Village had been completely destroyed, the grief-stricken Duke had ordered the merchant ships to dock to demonstrate that his family still stood strong.

But—

The Farminion Trading Company's fleet departing from the Nora Continent sinks in a violent storm! Is the prestigious ducal house finally falling?

Already devastated by the epidemic and the Gate disaster, the Farminion family began its slow collapse because of that incident.

And it led to an irreversible tragedy.

Unable to suppress his rage, the Duke eventually blamed everything on the Grand Duke's family.

Realizing he could never kill Kalian, the family's sole heir...

He threw himself into the embrace of darkness.

That won't happen in this lifetime.

...But why all of a sudden...?

Blood splattered everywhere.

Someone's desperate scream.

The shadow of death looming before her.

And herself...

Slowly turning to ash.

Without warning, countless memories merged together and came crawling up her throat.

“Miss Evelyn?”

She couldn't breathe.

Her thoughts scattered as her consciousness suddenly became hazy.

It felt as though space itself were twisting.

Overwhelmed with terror, Evelyn desperately grabbed whatever her hands could reach.

Otherwise...

She felt she would be dragged helplessly into an endless void.

Crash!

The deafening sound echoed.

A piercing ringing exploded through her senses as if the world had turned upside down, and cold sweat poured down like rain.

“My goodness! Don't move! Leon! Albert! Is anyone out there?!”

Someone's rough voice suddenly reached her ears, as though coming from another world.

At the same time, the greenhouse door flew open.

Leon rushed inside, forcibly opened her clenched hand, and removed the shard of glass embedded between her thumb and index finger.

Evelyn realized she had fallen into a panic attack and desperately tried to regain control.

“Hah...! Haaah!”

“Evelyn! Can you hear me? The glass just broke. That's all. Nothing happened, so calm down.”

Looking at the blood running down her hand, Evelyn clutched her chest, unable to breathe properly.

Leon hurriedly embraced her and gently rubbed her back.

“It's alright. Breathe slowly.”

“H... haa...”

“That's right. You're doing well. Slowly.”

Before long, her breathing steadied.

Her vision gradually came back into focus.

Finally coming to her senses, Evelyn looked around.

Seeing the Duke's shocked expression, she forced strength into her trembling body.

“I... got lost in my thoughts for a moment... I'm sorry.”

“There's nothing to apologize for. Right now, your health comes first.”

“The Duke is right,” Leon said gently as he held her hand to stop her from pulling away.

“It's alright. These things happen. There's nothing dangerous anymore, so you can relax.”

He tore the cloth table mat into long strips and tightly wrapped the wound to stop the bleeding.

Blood stained her dress.

Shards of broken glass lay scattered across the carefully prepared meal.

Everything was a complete mess.

Evelyn acknowledged that something inside her had broken.

At the same time, she couldn't understand why this had happened.

“I... haven't finished what I wanted to say.”

“There's no need to rush,” the Duke replied.

“Treat your injury first. We can continue afterward. Leon, I'll leave Miss Evelyn in your care.”

Supporting her by the shoulders and arm, Leon carefully led her outside.

Judging by her symptoms...

It appeared to be post-traumatic stress disorder.

A psychological illness that develops after experiencing life-threatening physical or emotional trauma.

In other words, while speaking with the Duke, scenes from her past—or from the recent battle—had likely resurfaced from her subconscious.

As if proving that assumption, her body shook violently while she muttered unintelligible words through trembling sobs.

Poor thing.

She had only recently regained consciousness.

Even Leon, who had witnessed countless deaths on battlefields over the years, occasionally experienced the same thing.

Because of that, he understood Evelyn and felt a deep sense of pity.

The Duke could have waited until she'd fully recovered before calling her.

Silently cursing Duke Farminion for his impatience, Leon spoke in the gentlest voice he could.

“Getting some fresh air will help you calm down. After that, we'll go upstairs, and I'll stitch your wound so it won't hurt.”

He even tried to reassure her by proudly mentioning his specialty.

Yet she remained silent.

To possess such incredible power...

Then again...

Mental strength and physical strength did not always go hand in hand.

As Leon slowly rubbed her back comfortingly, he gently wrapped his arm more firmly around her shoulders.

“You don't need to be afraid. I may not look it, but I'm actually quite skilled at—”

At that moment—

She suddenly stopped walking.

Leon stopped as well and quietly looked into Evelyn's eyes.

The panic that had filled them only moments ago rapidly disappeared.

Instead...

They slowly became filled with shock.

Following her frozen gaze, Leon turned his head.

His own face involuntarily twisted in disbelief.

“Why is... His Grace the Grand Duke...?”

After leaving the greenhouse, Evelyn blankly stared at the carriage slowly approaching the front porch.

There could only be one person riding in a carriage bearing the crest of House Orpheus.

But...

The person who stepped out was not alone.

At the end of her gaze stood the Grand Duke, carefully carrying a woman dressed entirely in pure white as he stepped down from the carriage.

...The Saintess?

The moment she saw the two descend together as though they were one...

The strength left her body.

Her vision turned white, and without realizing it, Evelyn clutched Leon's sleeve for support.

The portrait she had seen in the Grand Duke's mansion suddenly came to mind.

A man and woman gazing lovingly at one another.

A flawless couple who seemed perfectly made for each other.

Could it be...?

At that moment, sensing her gaze, Kalian turned his head.

The instant he spotted them, his expression also froze.

Meeting his eyes, Evelyn hurriedly looked away.

It was inevitable that those two would eventually join forces.

But...

Not now.

She was the one who had risked her life and exhausted every last drop of her mana to save him.

She had never intended to hand his place beside her over to the Saintess so easily.

I haven't even been formally invested as the Grand Duchess yet... and he's already brought the Saintess here...

The reality before her seemed to confirm that she was merely the Saintess's substitute.

Moreover...

Unlike the Saintess, who looked beautiful like a bride dressed in pure white...

Evelyn herself was covered in blood from head to toe.

She had no confidence in facing them looking like this.

Completely disheartened, she turned around and left the castle immediately.

A short while later...

By the time she arrived at the Bernard residence beneath Farminion Castle's walls, rumors that the Saintess had performed a miracle had already spread throughout the entire Farminion territory.

“Did you hear? They say the Saintess guided the Sun God to Richev.”

“She just returned from her pilgrimage, didn't she? They also say that troublemaking Crown Prince made a huge contribution this time. Looks like the sun's rising in the west.”

So...

The reason Kalian had gone to Marden...

Was to personally bring back the Saintess.

He must have intended to attribute the healing power that had bloomed from Evelyn's hands to the Saintess instead, strengthening her position.

Of course, I'll only know the truth after asking Kalian...

But as she pieced together what had happened, it felt as though every drop of blood had drained from her body.

Her mind turned cold.

She had suppressed her emotions with such desperate determination that her entire body trembled like a leaf.

Where did everything go wrong?

In this life...

She had struggled with everything she had to change fate.

She had used Kalian to punish Louise.

She had helped him using the memories of her previous life.

Even though their marriage had an end...

She had done everything she could to become the perfect Grand Duchess.

And she had intended to continue doing so.

I even risked my life for him... and yet all my choices led to nothing more than this.

Overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion, Evelyn clenched her fists tightly.

She had believed that once the disaster at Richev Village was resolved, all the burdens weighing on her heart would disappear.

But she had been wrong.

What will become of me... and of us?

Just as she closed her trembling eyes, lost in thought—

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Someone's voice interrupted her thoughts.

“No... though perhaps I should have made it hurt more. Then you wouldn't be able to think about anything else.”

When she looked up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

Lowering her gaze, she saw Leon wrapping a bandage around her hand after finishing the stitches.

Smiling faintly at his joke, Evelyn shook her head.

“It doesn't hurt.”

She meant it.

A needle that thick had pierced through her skin.

It should have hurt.

But perhaps because the wound in her heart was even deeper...

It felt as though her sense of pain itself had broken.

She couldn't feel anything at all.