Chapter Side Story 7.5: Side Story 7.5
THE BEGINNING OF ALL STORIES(5)
Sturdy arms wrapped around her and supported her . Evangeline leaned against his chest, drinking the soup she was fed, then she grinned . She was surprised at herself, who was now used to being served by him .
“Cael-nim . ”
“Yeah?”
“…”
“Kid . If you call me, say something . ”
Pfft . Evangeline burst into laughter . He still called an old lady full of wrinkles, kid . Perhaps because he treated her like a child, Evangeline subconsciously spoke the way she did when she was young and acted like a spoilt child . The Madam who was known as the iron lady was nowhere to be found .
“You know, a long time ago . If I said I was sick, would you have indulged me, even a little bit?”
“…”
“Sorry . That was unnecessary . ”
“…I likely won’t have much of a choice . I can’t abandon a patient . ”
Evangeline stared at him while he avoided her eyes like he was embarrassed . He had not changed at all . He was still the young and beautiful young man he was when she first met him . This mysterious man, with pitch-black hair and dark eyes, was her puppy love as a young girl, her fluttering love as a maiden learning about love and the one who gave her heart-wrenching pain as a woman who had experienced life .
Evangeline looked down at her wrinkled hand . Even when she was very excited like she had returned to being a young, healthy maiden, she woke up from her delusion when she looked down at her hand filled with signs of age . This was why she didn’t want to see him . She didn’t want to show her old, unattractive self to him, who was still as beautiful as ever .
However, whether it was her anger toward her son who brought her here arbitrarily, or the resentment that surged when she saw him after a long time, they all disappeared in less than a day . She was so happy, every day seemed like a dream .
“I was an idiot . I should have cried that I was sick and dying soon to Cael-nim . ”
“Fake sickness won’t work . ”
“Aha . You don’t know how good I am at faking sickness . I’m sure you won’t even notice . ”
“Are you faking it now?”
“Who knows . What do you think?”
Cael stroked her cheek lightly and mumbled .
“…I hope so . ”
“Hm?”
“Is there anything else you want to eat?”
As he changed topic while put away the soup bowl, Evangeline also acted like she didn’t know anything .
“Orange juice . A very sweet one . ”
“…We have very sour oranges . ”
Evangeline smiled and replied .
“Then I’ll have sour orange juice . ”
He placed Evangeline carefully in bed and got up . Evangeline sighed with regret when his body temperature suddenly moved away . She felt sad, watching his back as he walked to the door, and unknowingly called out to him .
“Is there something else you need?”
“…I don’t like my juice too sour . ”
She was just grumbling but he thought about it seriously and said, ‘I’ll add honey then’ . Evangeline couldn’t believe his affectionate consideration for herself, and even after he was gone, she was grinning to herself .
“…Thank you . ”
She knew he didn’t feel the same as her . He was presumably listening to the wishes of a dying person and even though she knew he was likely just sympathizing with the young girl he had a connection with in the past, her heart raced whenever she saw him . Even if it was sympathy, she was happy with it . She was thankful that he held her and didn’t turn away from her .
“I love you…”
It was a confession that was always in her heart, but she could never say it to him . When she was young, she was afraid of rejection, so she was unable to say it, and when she reunited with him, bearing another man’s child, she didn’t dare to . Now, it was impossible for her to say it when she was old and dying .
She was happily waiting for the orange juice he would bring for her, then she heaved a huge sigh, lamentfully . Sleep was overwhelming her senses, bringing her to exhaustion . She had experience this drowsy feeling so many times, so she knew what it was .
After her father-in-law’s death, endless greedy hands stretched towards her, because as her son’s guardian, she had become the real master of the family . How many times did she escape the throes of death? Eventually, she was unable to avoid the last black hand that came for her .
[It’s impossible to know when the poison will attack . But…if the poison attacks again and you fall into a deep sleep, it will be your last . ]
Back then, she had calmly listened to the doctor’s death sentence . Although her son was holding and screaming at the doctor, Evangeline was at ease . She had always lived with an empty heart that she could never fill . No matter how hard she tried, nothing could take root . Now she was tired of this life, where she carried the notice of being poisoned like an armor . She didn’t have much of an attachment to life so she didn’t fear the approaching death .
But the god of fate was so incredibly cruel . Why was she allowed to meet him again? Why did she want to live?
‘Cael-nim…’
It was only when death drew near that Evangeline realized how great of a blessing it was to humans . She felt sad, knowing he was stuck walking down time in the future, and perhaps for eternity . She felt like she vaguely realized why he tried to push her away .
I’m sorry . For leaving you who’s alone, all alone in this world again .
‘Don’t forgive me for being selfish till the end . But what can I do? The fact that I can close my eyes next to you…makes me so happy…’
Evangeline slowly sank into a deep sleep that was akin to a sweet poison .
* * *
Cael entered the room with the juice he had squeezed from the oranges himself . He took a little to taste and it tasted both sweet and sour, so he didn’t feel the need to add honey .
She was sleeping .
He placed the juice on the bedside table, then he picked up her arm, wanting to cover her properly with the blanket . Her slender arm was strangely heavy, and his heart sank in his chest as he was seized with a terrifying feeling .
He stood still, and very slowly, turned his gaze to her face . Her complexion was pale, her eyes were closed, and her face was at peace .
“…Evangeline . ”
Even though he was calling her name for the first time, she did not respond . His fingers trembled slightly as he brought his hand to her wrist to take her pulse .
Moments later, he sank to his knees and collapsed on the floor beside the bed .
“Hk…”
He couldn’t bear the pain gripping his heart, and gasped for breath, tearing at his chest with both hands . It felt like all the blood in his body was boiling . He couldn’t breathe .
Clear water covered his black irises and fell to the ground . And at the same time, a golden aura began to swirl in his black eyes . The golden energy quickly traveled from his eyes to his veins, passing through his heart before spreading all over his body and he was soon covered in golden light .
Crack! He heard the sound of his frozen heart breaking . Only after losing her did he realize his true feelings . His heart which was frozen from the pain of losing Martha, thawed when he realized his love for her . Perhaps his heart had slowly been thawing without him even realizing it .
He found himself standing in a place that could be described as pure-white or pitch black . This wasn’t the first time . He had been here once, a very long time ago . No matter how hard he tried, he had never been able to come here again apart from that one time, but now, it called him again .
He walked along the golden path . Time flew by next to him . In the midst of time filled with innumerable events and intertwined people, he found a certain woman . A woman he was seeing for the first time, held the pendant on his neck in her hand .
Wanting to know why this woman had his pendant, he followed along the woman’s time . An old man appeared in the woman’s life and he resembled Baden in one way or another . The old man held a newborn baby in his arms and smiled, saying .
‘Dear child, how do you look so much like your grandmother?’
The blonde, amber-eyed newborn baby he held looked a lot like Evangeline .
‘I thought hard about the undeserved request you made for me to name her . The first ancestor of the Baden family said he could not exist without his mother and left a will dedicating all his affection and admiration to his mother . I heard she was someone with a small stature but a mighty spirit . I would like to give her name to the baby . ’[1]
Evangeline .
Upon hearing the child’s name, Cael’s eyes flashed open . The golden energy coiling in the air around him, disappeared into the pendant like it was being sucked inside . Even the light pouring from his body disappeared .
Cael took a long, deep breath, trying to control the turbulent emotions rushing into him . Tears flowed from his closed eyes, staining his cheeks .
Was god mocking him for not believing in it or was it showing mercy for his pitiful arrogance? He witnessed miracles and saw destinies . He read the entrancing future of her descendants who looked like her in a very distant future .
Cael stood up and kissed the back of her hand politely as if performing a grand ceremony . Then he took off the pendant which he had never once removed from his body . It was initially a restraint that signified he was a criminal but after he gained new power, the pendant functioned as the nucleus of his magic and it was no different from his life-force .
He waved his finger slightly and the flowing air turned into a wind and the wind became a knife, cutting Evangeline’s finger slightly . Red blood dripped from the cut and onto the pendant .
“Your blood will be both a seal and a key . ”
As soon as his muttering came to an end, the pendant trembled like a living being and glowed with a faint light . Then suddenly its movement stopped, and all light disappeared . It became a very old and ordinary, blackish pendant .
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