Chapter 3: I’m Ready

Liam, slouched in his chair and skimming a report, tossed his fountain pen onto the desk with a flick. He’d been rereading the same sentence over and over again, but the words refused to register. And it irritated him all the more because he knew exactly why.

“It’s bothering me.”

With a low growl, Liam pressed his throbbing temples with his fingers. Even when he tried not to think about it, the memory played on an endless loop in his mind, standing face to face with Eden in the rose garden.

—“I am not afraid of you, Liam. Will you punish me?”

Nonsense. She couldn’t even meet his eyes when they accidentally locked gazes. She always flinched, pulling back her shoulders whenever their hands so much as brushed.

—“Liam will always be Liam to me. As a child, now, and forever.”

Then why?

Liam ran a hand through his hair in mounting frustration.

Knock knock knock.

A sharp knock snapped him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” he snapped, voice taut.

Sensing his master’s foul mood from his tone alone, the aide hesitated before stepping inside. And the message he bore was the kind bound to make things worse.

“Your Majesty, an invitation has arrived from House Munach.”

“Munach?”

Liam’s face contorted with visible displeasure. The air around him bristled with menace. The aide silently thanked the stars he had convinced the Marquis to send the letter instead of coming in person.

“Yes. The Marquis’s daughter has come of age.”

Liam ground his teeth.

Edgar Munach, cold-eyed and honey-tongued, a man as slippery and unreadable as a snake. His words might be sweet, but his eyes were always calculating, full of schemes. It made Liam deeply suspicious.

Still, one must keep enemies close.

Liam leaned back into his chair and spoke flatly.

“I’ll attend.”

“Shall I inform the Lady as well?”

Liam had been about to nod automatically but stopped short. He’d been avoiding Eden for days.

“I’ll tell her myself. If you see her, tell her to come to me immediately.”

* * *

Eden walked toward Liam’s office in a pale blue gown the exact shade of her eyes. She slipped inside quietly and shut the door behind her. Liam was so buried in his paperwork he didn’t even notice her entrance.

She called out to him in the gentlest voice she could manage.

“Liam.”

Only then did he look up. His brow twitched, as if already displeased. His face was still beautifully chiseled, but Eden could see the fatigue weighing heavily on him.

As she approached slowly, his eyes gave her a cursory glance. He looked rough around the edges, as if he hadn’t slept. There were deep shadows beneath his sharp eyes.

Liam suffered from chronic insomnia, a secret known only to a select few. He played the part of the unshakable Iron Sovereign to perfection. 

But ever since the war ended and he took the empty throne, he hadn’t slept soundly a single night. When thunder rolled outside, he would spend the entire night standing by the window until dawn.

She remembered it clearly from her past life, those bloodshot eyes, seared into her memory like a painting.

“What did you want to see me for?”

“There will be a banquet at House Munach.”

“Ah… I received an invitation from the Marquis as well.”

Liam leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed firmly on her. A slow, creeping unease ran along his spine.

“Right. He’s desperate to parade his daughter at my side. Persistent man. Edenastie, you’ll come with me that day. That’s why I called you.”

His voice carried a faint, bitter sarcasm. Wearily, he ran his hands over his face.

Eden’s eyes drifted to the teacup on his desk. 

‘Coffee. Not exactly ideal for insomnia.’

Liam tilted his head slightly, lips curving into a smile. Once upon a time, that smile would have made her blush scarlet. But now Eden felt nothing at all. She slowly met his gaze.

“Even if you didn’t want to, you’d have no choice.”

“I’ll go.”

Their words overlapped. Liam raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You always said you hated such gatherings.”

“I do. I hate social events like that. But if I don’t go, someone else will stand beside you and I don’t want that.”

She stepped closer, her voice softening with shyness. Liam’s pupils dilated slightly. Eden caught it. That tiny tremor.

“I won’t run away, Liam.”

It wasn’t Eden who was shaken, but Liam. He still wore his stoic mask, but she could see through it. His emotions were clear as day to her now.

“I won’t hide anymore.”

Her voice calm, Eden held Liam’s red eyes with her own. She saw herself reflected there, familiar, yet somehow distant.

“I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

But what about the man before her?

Eden looked at the face she once would’ve given everything to possess. Not a single detail had changed. The only one who had changed… was Eden. And that pleased her.

Armed with memories from her past life, this beautiful man could no longer stir her heart as he once had.

“You’ve become someone entirely different in just a few days, Edenastie.”

Liam murmured the words, suspicion tinging his otherwise pleasant voice. His gaze pierced into her like it was trying to peel her apart. It wasn’t as cutting as before, but the pressure was still there.

“What changed?”

Love had blinded Eden, deafened her. It made her weak, made him a god.

Liam. In her past life, he had been her deity. The reason she lived, her sole purpose.

“I’m not sure.”

But now, looking at him with clear eyes free of love, fear, or longing… he was just a wounded boy.

A boy who had grown up eating and sleeping on blood-soaked battlefields since he was twelve. A boy who had to collect his father’s mutilated corpse with his own hands. A boy who ascended the throne at eighteen, still haunted by the stench of blood and plagued by nightmares. A boy with an empty heart, who knew neither how to receive nor give love. A boy who let no one in, and yet suffered from crushing loneliness.

“There are many reasons I could give…”

Eden imagined him crumbling. Tearing his clothes, collapsing before her, weeping blood. It wasn’t a pleasant image, but it was oddly satisfying.

“I want to become someone worthy of Liam.”

A faint crease formed between Liam’s brows, like he’d heard something he wasn’t prepared for.

For the first time, Eden felt they were finally on equal footing. A delicate smile traced her lips.

He had everything, and yet nothing. Liam Jean Cherott.

Eden thought: In this life, I will be his god. I will give him everything he’s never had… and then take it all away.

“I’m tired. You should leave now.”

Just as he had done to her once before.

“Of course. Oh, and Liam, coffee chases away sleep. Best not to drink it this late.”

“Coffee does?”

“Yes. I overheard some merchants say so. I have plenty of tea in my room that’s good for sleep and fatigue. Please stop by anytime. It really works.”

She dropped the bait, little by little. Soon, it would be a snare too tight to escape. Eden was sure of it.

* * *

Eden stood before the mirror, turning this way and that. Her navy gown shimmered like the night sky, beautifully offsetting her silver hair. Unlike the modest dresses she usually wore, this one boldly revealed her pale shoulders. A daring choice.

‘Was this too much? It’ll be all the rage later, but still…’

She hesitated, losing confidence, until a knock at the door announced it was time.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

With a slight nod, Eden left the room and descended the stairs. In the center of the lobby stood Liam, his back to her.

Click, clack.

Her heels echoed crisply through the room, prompting Liam to turn slowly. 

His black hair was slicked back, his indigo formal wear perfectly tailored. Not a single flaw to be found.  He gleamed from head to toe.

Eden’s eyes widened. Her steps slowed, then stopped altogether. She softly called his name.

“Liam.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but he really was something. Her heart dropped hard. Forcing herself to smile, Eden greeted him brightly. Liam’s face held a trace of annoyance.

“How many times have I told you I hate waiting…”

His voice trailed off. 

His eyes narrowed, then suddenly widened. He forgot whatever he was about to say. For a moment, time stopped. Even his heart seemed to pause.

Then Liam whispered, “Edenastie.”

Her name fell from his lips like a sigh, half pain, half wonder.

Her dress, the same deep indigo as his formalwear, clung delicately to her figure. His abdomen tightened involuntarily, his hands balling into fists.

The frozen thing in his chest began to throb violently. His blood simmered under his skin, face growing hot. It was a strange, overwhelming sensation, his senses spinning wildly.

His instincts screamed a warning.

‘Stay away. Stay far away.’

But Liam couldn’t look away.

“Sorry. I changed shoes. Did I keep you waiting?”

“…It’s fine.”

Eden hesitated, then reached out her hand. Liam silently placed it on his arm with smooth, effortless grace. His eyes never left her.

‘He liked it.’

Eden exhaled quietly in relief. Her erratic heartbeat gradually settled into rhythm. Looking up at him, she smiled brightly.

“I’m ready now. Let’s go, Liam.”

* * *

Outside, a gleaming imperial carriage awaited. Eden was about to step in as usual when Liam’s arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, lifting her with ease.

“Oh!”

He seated her effortlessly, then took his place across from her. Eden quickly composed her face.

With a flick of Liam’s fingers out the window, the carriage began to move.

‘Right. Liam has always been like this.’

Even when she was old enough to climb in herself, Liam had never stopped lifting her into the carriage like he had as a boy. The memories surfaced one by one.

The day he left for his first battle, and she’d tied a ribbon to his sword, awkwardly embroidered by hand. Their first ball together, when she’d stepped on his feet repeatedly out of nerves.

“What are you thinking about?”

His cold voice snapped her back.

‘This man is no longer that boy.’ 

She berated herself for indulging in useless nostalgia.

“Nothing important. I think I’m just nervous.”

Liam studied her face in silence. His gaze hadn’t left her once. Eden found it more irritating than flattering.

Even with a respectable distance between them, his presence felt overwhelming. She could practically smell him. The tension stretched taut between them, like a pulled string.

“That dress… I’ve never seen it before.”

He spoke lazily, crossing his legs. His voice, in contrast to his relaxed eyes, was hard. Eden smiled sweetly, masking her hostility.

“Do you like it?”

“No.”

The reply was curt and final.

“Oh… I see.”

Her voice slipped out before she could stop it, faintly sour.

Liam let out a short laugh. But his eyes never wavered from her, not for a second. It was a response she’d never seen before.

Too intense to be mere petulance. His emotions were clearly stirred, and his tone held a subtle trace of displeasure.

That alone spoke volumes.

……

T/N: If you give him everything then take it away when he’s the happiest, his expression would be utterly satisfactory 👏