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chapter 04
“I know. It’s a dining table.”
Ivenia replied calmly.
The man ignored her words completely, walked past her, and sat down on a nearby chair.
He still wore the same face as before—an expression with a mouth far too small to swallow a person.
Seeing that he hadn’t appeared in a monstrous form, it seemed he had no intention of eating her after all.
With no other choice, Ivenia stood up and turned toward him.
“Are you really not going to eat me?”
“You’re too filthy. I don’t want to.”
Ivenia quietly lowered her head and looked at herself.
Her dress, ruined from wandering through the forest, came into view. In truth, even she wouldn’t have wanted to eat something that looked like dirt-covered food.
After a brief moment of thought, Ivenia offered a solution.
“Then you could just wash me first.”
“Do you want to shut up and become clean in one second, or keep wearing dirty clothes and talking?”
Ivenia chose the former. She was uncomfortable in her filthy state anyway, and the man clearly wanted her to stay quiet.
So she closed her mouth and sat across from him.
The man sighed and muttered an unintelligible spell.
Soon, a small breeze swirled around her. Her soiled clothes gradually returned to their original condition.
Her sweat-soaked, uncomfortable body also became refreshingly clean.
“How amazing…”
Ivenia quietly admired it and touched her restored skirt.
Until now, she had never seen real magic—or even properly functioning magical tools.
She had heard that in large cities, relics from the past were used quite effectively, but in the Hessen region, everything she encountered was of mediocre quality.
That was because this was an age in which the blessed ones had gone extinct.
After the man before her eradicated the evil that once threatened the world, the number of blessed individuals had gradually dwindled, as if to restore balance.
Because of that, in Ivenia’s generation, magic was regarded as little more than something close to a bard’s trick or a scammer’s tool.
Those who truly possessed power mostly hid themselves away in remote places, avoiding public attention.
Just like the man sitting in front of her now.
Yes—he truly had power. The ability to move her to another space with a mere flick of a finger.
Whatever had happened in the past, if he truly did not want a bride, there were countless ways to dispose of an unwanted guest.
He could snap her neck instantly, or send her far away where she would never be found again.
And yet, the man only looked at her with thoughtful eyes, as if searching for the correct answer rather than an easy one.
Ivenia asked in a quiet voice,
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you ever transformed into a monster and eaten people?”
“No.”
“Then why are there such rumors about you?”
“I haven’t eaten anyone, but I have killed many. All legends are like that—one truth with ninety-nine lies added on top.”
He answered indifferently, then glanced toward the door leading to the kitchen.
“I know you’re curious about many things, but eat first. You’ll choke otherwise.”
Following his gaze, Ivenia saw Guillermo pushing out a trolley loaded with food.
His movements were as elegant as a noble’s, but his hospitality etiquette was a complete mess.
He placed appetizers, main dishes, desserts, tea, and wine all in a chaotic mix.
“Please enjoy your meal,” Guillermo said proudly.
Was this some kind of local dining style in the Rietberg region?
Ivenia hesitated, unable to bring herself to touch the food, when Agram immediately scolded her.
“Stop picking at it and eat properly. You look like you haven’t had a decent meal in your life—like a beggar’s friend would.”
The one person who could have explained this bizarre table arrangement had already returned to the kitchen.
Ivenia reluctantly picked up a spoon. In this situation, there was no way she could eat properly anyway.
Perhaps because she had no appetite, she couldn’t taste anything at all.
After managing only a few spoonfuls of soup, she set the spoon down, and Agram raised his brows as if warning her.
Ivenia quietly excused herself.
“I’m full.”
“Eat everything. That’s how you grow taller.”
The man who lectured her like an old man looked to be only around thirty.
Even that estimate was generous, based on his perpetually world-weary expression.
But considering he was over four hundred years old, perhaps this way of speaking suited his actual age.
“I usually eat this much.”
“Oh? So you’re one of those girls who’s dieting or something? At your age, you should just eat well and enjoy life.”
Being lectured about meals by someone who had once been believed to be a monster that would eat her someday felt strangely surreal.
Ivenia fidgeted with the tip of her spoon and replied softly.
“I was afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“I thought if there was nothing worth eating, Lord Ram might decide not to eat me.”
“……”
No one would willingly wish to be eaten by a monster.
Ivenia wanted to survive more than anything, and she was willing to do whatever it took.
Even obsessively losing weight so she wouldn’t feel hunger had been part of her long series of trials.
Now, even denying herself the pleasure of food felt like something she regretted.
After all, she didn’t really have any reason to struggle so desperately to survive…
“Don’t you eat, Lord Ram?”
Ivenia asked, looking at the pile of food in front of her.
The man opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a moment, then answered a beat later.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You don’t eat human food…”
Ivenia murmured as if she had reached her own conclusion.
That explained why there were no utensils placed at his seat—this wasn’t his food.
She quietly nodded to herself when Agram suddenly raised his voice.
“Guillermo, bring mine too!”
“Pardon?”
Guillermo poked his head out from the kitchen doorway at his master’s call, his attitude oddly impudent.
“Did I hear that correctly? You said you’re going to eat?”
“Yes.”
“Why would someone who doesn’t even need food waste supplies? Do you know how hard I worked to procure this meal?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Just do as I say.”
Under the sharp command, Guillermo returned to the kitchen.
A short while later, a strange plate that looked like it contained only leftovers was placed in front of Agram.
It was a sight that would have killed anyone’s appetite, yet he said nothing to his subordinate and simply began eating it noisily.
Pressured by the scene, Ivenia also picked up her spoon again.
The meal only ended after she had eaten far more than usual.
After finishing his battle-like meal, Agram wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Now that we’re done, let’s talk.”
Even after saying that, he struggled to continue.
He stared at Ivenia for a long while, then sighed and pulled out a cigarette. He began smoking with a troubled expression, tapping his leg repeatedly as if irritated by the situation.
Ivenia, who had initially waited silently for the conversation to begin, could no longer remain still once he reached his third cigarette.
She gently tried to stop him.
“Smoking like that isn’t good for your health.”
“Huh? I’m immortal, so it doesn’t matter. Pretty great, right?”
“…Where did you even learn to talk like that?”
“Guillermo said it’s the latest trend.”
Agram replied lazily, glancing toward the kitchen.
Ivenia recalled Guillermo’s old-fashioned outfit—and his claim that he had been living in this rural place for at least two hundred years.
So outdated it hurts.
Of course, she didn’t say that out loud.
Perhaps he was trying to use trendy slang because of her.
As she nodded along silently, a strange sensation rose in her throat and she suddenly coughed.
“Cough!”
Agram looked at her steadily after hearing the sound.
Without hesitation, he stubbed out his cigarette on the dish Guillermo had provided.
And then—
