Chapter 67
Two slow, unhurried knocks echoed through the tense silence. Drawn by the sound, both Evelyn and Laura turned toward the door.
The door swung open. Mist poured into the bedroom.
“He’s back.”
Evelyn swept an irritated glance over the haze spreading across the room. He was doing it on purpose. He always made a spectacle of it, simply because he enjoyed watching her recoil at the sight of his damned fog.
“M-My lord!”
Laura startled at the Duke’s arrival, hastily straightening herself before lowering her head.
Without sparing the maid so much as a glance, the man crossed the bedroom in long, unhurried strides and stopped in front of Evelyn.
“Seems you’re having trouble handling it?””
Calix smiled as he spoke. The smug satisfaction on his face, as though he’d expected exactly this, was so infuriating that Evelyn refused to answer.
He took hold of her wrist and guided her toward the cradle. At some point, Laura had quietly disappeared, leaving behind only the silver nursing bottle the baby hadn’t finished.
“Here, Eve.”
He lowered her hand over the baby’s face. So close that the child’s delicate breaths brushed warmly against her palm.
“Let go!”
“It’s not that hard. All you have to do is cover her nose and mouth.”
“I said let go.”
Tilting his head, the man released her wrist before picking up the silver nursing bottle.
“Why? Don’t want to kill her yourself? In that case…”
The gleaming silver bottle turned black in an instant. That was… Realizing what was happening on instinct, Evelyn’s eyes shook.
“Poison will do.”
Calix spoke as casually as ever while roughly pinching the baby’s cheeks.
Just before he could force the bottle between the child’s parted lips, Evelyn slapped his arm away with all her strength.
Clang!
The silver bottle hit the floor with a sharp crash.
Pale goat’s milk spilled from the bottle, spreading slowly across the floorboards. Evelyn stared only at the widening puddle.
Then his chilling whisper drifted into her ear.
“So you’re planning to starve her to death? How cruel. Rather than letting her suffer for days, why not show a little mercy and send her off all at once?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“You know, don’t you, Eve? You know better than anyone how unbearable hunger is.”
“I said shut up!”
Evelyn shouted, her eyes clouded with confusion as she looked up at him.
“Why are you doing this to me? Why go through all this just for some sick game…?”
“I told you. It’s not a game. It’s a gift.”
“What part of this looks like a gift to you?!”
The moment the words left her mouth, the baby let out a startled wail.
“Ehh… waaah!”
The sharp cry made Evelyn instinctively look down into the cradle.
The baby, who had been smiling only moments ago, was now scrunching up her tiny face, crying at the top of her lungs. The piercing cries echoed throughout the bedroom.
“Waaah! Aahhh!”
The moment his slender finger touched the baby’s forehead, the crying stopped. Evelyn stared, her lips parting as her gaze darted back and forth between the suddenly silent child and Calix.
He didn’t pick the baby up. He didn’t murmur soothing words or sing her a lullaby. He simply looked down at the tiny bundle in the cradle with those clear blue eyes, his expression utterly devoid of emotion.
As though crushed beneath that cold, overwhelming presence, the instant her father’s hand touched her, the baby went perfectly still. Her crying ceased. Her little face turned pale. Even her breathing seemed to stop.
“Nng… ah…”
It wasn’t the comfort or security a child should feel toward a parent.
It was the exact same instinctive reaction as prey holding its breath before the apex predator of the food chain, hoping to survive.
And somehow… That image overlapped with her own. The realization left Evelyn feeling utterly miserable.
Silence settled over the room once more. Meeting her eyes again, the man smiled with quiet resignation.
“Then again, my wife has never appreciated my gifts.”
Calix gently stroked her meticulously kept golden hair. His touch was tender, yet the fingers threading through her hair made goosebumps crawl across her skin.
He drew her closer by the back of her head and pressed a brief kiss to her lips.Their mouths barely brushed before he whispered softly.
“Adrian’s eyes, the emerald ring, and our poor little daughter. They were all for you.”
The large hand cradling the back of her head slid slowly to her cheek. Warmth spread wherever his skin touched hers.
“If you’re going to starve her to death, then go ahead.”
He placed one last kiss against her forehead. Then, without a trace of hesitation, he turned and walked away.
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