Chapter 9: Change 

Eden opened her eyes to find the sun already high in the sky. Judging by the palace’s silence, it seemed no one had learned what had happened the night before.

“Ah…”

The reflection staring back at her in the bathroom mirror was a sight she could hardly bear to see. Aside from her face, there wasn’t a single part of her body that wasn’t bruised or battered.

Heat rushed to Eden’s cheeks. Even standing upright was a struggle, her knees trembled, but she couldn’t let anyone see her like this. She didn’t ask for help with her bath, nor did she ask for warm water. Instead, Eden lowered herself into the cold water alone.

As if trying to scrape away the remnants of last night, she scrubbed herself with gritted teeth. Her pale skin turned red from the friction, but she kept rubbing and rubbing until she felt raw.

She didn’t cry. If she allowed herself tears, she feared she’d spiral into unbearable misery. A chill overtook her, and her lips turned blue.

Shaking, Eden barely managed to dry herself off and crawled into bed, more like dragging her body than walking. Since it was her first experience in this body, her entire frame felt like it had been beaten black and blue.

Claiming she needed rest, she dismissed the maids and lay alone in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Time passed quickly, even though her mind felt completely disconnected.

‘How much longer will I have to keep living like this?’

On the surface, everything seemed to be going according to plan. Liam had already begun to open his heart to her. All that remained was for him to realize it himself and willingly place his neck in the noose.

It wouldn’t take long.

A hollow smile flickered on Eden’s lips.

The real problem was her. She couldn’t bear to look at Liam’s face. She’d always avoided it, but now it felt truly impossible. More precisely, she couldn’t force a smile while looking at that face. It was becoming harder and harder to quell the storm that rose inside her whenever she saw him.

Eden bit down on her lip hard.

“Liam? What brings you here at this hour?”

Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Liam came to her room the moment his scheduled training ended.

‘There really isn’t a single thing I like about him.’

Grinding her teeth inwardly, Eden forced herself to sit up. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the confusion, and putting on a cheerful face was pure agony.

When she tried to rise too quickly, her legs gave out beneath her. Liam swiftly reached out and caught her. That familiar scent of soap hit her. He must’ve come straight from a bath as his hair was still damp.

“There’s no need to get up.”

Liam gently lifted Eden and laid her back on the bed. She avoided his gaze, caught in a half-sitting, half-lying position. His awkward little cough only made the atmosphere even more stifling.

“So… how are you feeling?”

He took a hesitant step closer. His voice, too, was uncharacteristically awkward.

Eden glanced at him and noticed his ears had turned red. It was the first time he’d held a woman, and he looked very much the boy he still was. But because it was Liam, that boyishness felt deeply unfamiliar and out of place.

Shyness and Liam, two words that didn’t belong in the same sentence. Even combing through all her memories of her past life, not once had she seen him act like this.

“I’m fine. I just need a bit of rest.”

She bowed her head as if trying to erase what she’d just seen. But then… 

“…I’m sorry.”

The words tumbled from his mouth, and Eden instinctively jerked her head up. It was enough to make one gasp in disbelief.

“I should’ve been more considerate.”

Words so unlike Liam kept pouring out. Eden stared at him in stunned silence. His face, usually sharp and tightly guarded, now looked oddly relaxed.

To a stranger, he might still seem cold and cynical, but Eden, who’d seen him all her life, could tell this was different.

‘He must be insane.’

And the realization filled her with a visceral sense of disgust.

Every time she caught a glimpse of a side of Liam she’d never known, Eden was overcome with conflicting emotions. 

Relief, that this life was diverging so drastically from the last. And guilt, that she was breaking someone apart, not the Liam who had once pushed her into the abyss, but someone else entirely.

“There’s still a lot left for us to talk about, isn’t there? I’m sure you have questions for me too.”

Leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed, Liam looked down at Eden, who was groaning and fidgeting under the blanket. He looked far too composed. Perhaps he’d regained his calm after releasing all that pent-up energy last night, his complexion was clearer than ever.

Meanwhile, Eden’s body still ached. Seeing how perfectly fine he looked only fueled her frustration.

“…Yes. I suppose so.”

She nodded vaguely and forced a smile. Liam walked over and stacked some pillows behind her so she could sit more comfortably, apparently displeased with how she’d been neither properly sitting nor lying down.

Reluctantly, Eden let go of her stubborn posture and leaned into the softness. A satisfied smile touched Liam’s lips.

“I’ll come again at sunset. I still have a few things to take care of.”

His eyes curved into crescents as he tucked the blanket around her.

There was something subtly suggestive and chilling in his soft voice that made a shiver run down Eden’s spine. If he planned to torment her again tonight, she might really break apart.

He reached out and touched her forehead. Eden flinched at the contact.

“Y-you don’t have to come. If you want to talk, I could come to your office later…”

“You could barely stand earlier.”

“That’s…”

A deep crease formed between Liam’s brows. His tone was curt, almost scolding.

Eden, humiliated, couldn’t come up with a retort. As her silence dragged on, the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a smirk, like he could see right through her.

“Do I really seem like the kind of man who lusts after a sick woman?”

His sharp gaze bore down on her. There was no menace in his eyes, but his naturally piercing presence made it feel intimidating nonetheless.

Watching her eyes tremble slightly, a flicker of amusement danced across his otherwise expressionless face. Though the mood should have been sour, it somehow felt… lighthearted.

“…No.”

‘Of course not.’

The words slipped from Eden’s lips before she could stop them. But her eyes were still wary. Her body was in too much pain for her to hide her discomfort.

Her whole lower half ached, from her waist to her thighs. Even the softest fabric brushing against her skin sent dull pain pulsing through her.

“You must’ve been in a lot of pain yesterday. Or wait… today, I suppose.”

Chuckling, Liam perched on the edge of the bed and peered at her face. His fingers lifted the hem of her nightgown and lightly traced over the marks he’d left, almost teasingly.

As satisfaction bloomed on his face, Eden’s mood plummeted to her toes.

“Don’t.”

She twisted her body slightly, and his hand slowly retreated, almost regretfully.

Seeing her pull the blanket up to her chin, he let out a low chuckle. A genuine, untroubled smile spread across his face. The sheer brightness of it struck Eden like a hammer to the head.

Liam had always smiled more than people thought the so-called ‘Blood Lord’ should. The real problem was that his smiles were usually colder than his scowls. Even for Eden, who’d seen him smile countless times, this was new. Not a smirk, not a sneer, just a boyish, ordinary smile.

A dull throb pressed at her temples.

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

At his snake-like words, Eden finally buried her face in her hands. The fact that he sounded sincere only made it worse.

The mere fact that they were having this kind of conversation was unbearable. His unpredictable behavior was like pouring oil on the fire already burning inside her.

“N-next time…?”

Eden clamped her mouth shut before she could finish the sentence, trying to contain the rising fury. She could feel her face burning up again.

She reached up with a sore arm and pulled the blanket up to just under her eyes. But her efforts were quickly undone by Liam’s hand yanking it back down. He looked at her with a suddenly serious expression.

“Why? You weren’t satisfied?”

He didn’t seem to believe that. As he muttered to himself, Eden stiffened. Seeing her too stunned to speak, he seemed to take it as confirmation. His expression darkened.

“If there’s something you want… tell me. I learn quickly.”

He spoke solemnly, as if taking an oath. Eden nodded vaguely. She desperately needed time alone. Her mind was a tangled mess of thoughts, like a ball of yarn mangled by a cat.

“I’ll have dinner sent up. Eat everything. You’re too weak. You need to build up your strength.”

“Liam!”

She couldn’t take it anymore and sat bolt upright, shoving his arm with all her might. Pain shot through her body. But despite her effort, he didn’t budge an inch. He chuckled softly at the sight of her flushed face.

As he stood, he pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. His lips felt cool against her burning skin. His eyes were still sharp, as always, but the crimson glow in them now held an unfamiliar warmth.

This wasn’t like him at all.

Eden clenched her jaw as she looked up at him. He had never shown that kind of gaze to anyone, not even Rosaline, not even to the version of Eden who once would’ve done anything for him.

“Rest.”

As he quietly closed the door and left, Eden stared at his retreating figure and felt the change in him settle into her bones.

She buried her face in her hands, overwhelmed.

Nothing would change. Nothing, absolutely nothing.

And yet, Eden knew.

“He’s not the same person I used to know.”

The Liam of her past life and the Liam of this one were no longer the same.

* * *

His long legs sprawled arrogantly, his cravat half-loosened, eyes blazing with the kind of resolve that looked ready to burn any paperwork in his way. The tiny wooden chair beneath his massive frame looked almost pitiable.

“Liam.”

Eden finally broke her silence, unable to bear it any longer as she stared at the mountain of documents piled on the tea table.

She had been sitting with her arms crossed, glaring in protest from the seat across from him for two hours. Liam glanced at her over the paperwork and let out a short chuckle.

“What?”

“What are you doing?”

“Work.”

His curt reply left her momentarily speechless. The tension in her neck spiked with her rising blood pressure.

‘Right. But why are you doing that here?’

Liam had begun treating her room like his own, wandering in and out as he pleased. Then, a few days ago, he started bringing his paperwork and working here outright.

It had been four days.

She glared at his secretary, silently demanding an explanation, but the man just shook his head, clearly just as powerless to stop him.

Word of Liam’s eccentric behavior had spread throughout the palace. The assumption that the two were as good as married was gaining quiet traction. The air around the imperial palace was softer, more gentle than usual.

Only Eden knew how it would all end, shattered and buried in the muck. Everything was going just as she had planned.

Tilting her head slightly, she stared at the man before her. Liam smiled as he drained his teacup. A thoroughly irritating smile.

“Are you going to keep this up?”

“Keep what up?”

“I mean, you have an office. Why are you working in my room…”

“It’s my palace.”

He no longer bristled in front of her.

With his naturally cold and severe expression, he didn’t exactly come off as warm or affectionate. But Eden, who had watched him her whole life, could tell his guard was down, and his face had softened like butter on the verge of melting.

Letting go of his defenses seemed to mean letting go of his dignity too. He was behaving like a child, worse than he’d ever been as a child, in fact.

“…Fine.”

Liam no longer minded if Eden spoke to him with irritation. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

As Eden frowned, he let out a small laugh. She had no desire to make him smile, but it was a relief not to have to pretend to be cheerful and sweet all day long.

“I like it here. I can concentrate better.”

He sat awkwardly, in a way that looked uncomfortable by any standard. The chair was too small, the table too low. And he clearly wasn’t concentrating as his paperwork hadn’t moved in hours.

Eden could already see where this was going: he’d idle away the day, then crawl into her bed again under the pretext of being too tired.

She let out a deep sigh. Liam’s mouth twitched upward as he stole a glance at her face.

“You’ll go back once you’re done with those, right? I’ll help.”

“You?”

As if accepting a challenge, Liam slid the stack of papers toward her. Eden picked up the top sheet and began reviewing them, one by one.