Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 27

Inside the carriage on the way back, Braeden’s eyes were sharp as he studied Juliana’s face.

“I’m telling you, nothing happened.”

She had to repeat herself more than once.

Braeden had little trust in Empress Pamela, so he couldn’t accept Juliana’s words so easily. Even though he had given Cheryl a gift and asked her to look after Juliana, that didn’t mean he fully trusted Mammon either. He still couldn’t let his guard down.

“Lady Clemence talked so much about jewelry that I think Her Majesty eventually got tired of it,” Juliana said, trying to reassure him by sharing what had happened at the palace.

Without meaning to, her fingers reached up and began to fidget with the ring on her left hand.

Braeden’s eyes followed the motion, then suddenly narrowed.

“What is that mark?”

He crossed over to her side of the carriage in one swift movement and took her hand. Even inside the moving carriage, he moved without the slightest hesitation.

“This is nothing…”

Juliana trailed off. She wasn’t sure how to explain it. From the moment Braeden warned her about the Empress, she had expected worse. It wasn’t like she had been struck. The mark from the nail would fade quickly. But his expression was so dark that she couldn’t bring herself to brush it off.

“Did the Empress do this?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it was on purpose.”

“You call that an excuse?”

Braeden closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger under control.

The urge to walk into the palace, grab Pamela by the throat, and crush her windpipe was nearly overwhelming. Containing that kind of fury was not easy.

When he looked down at the red mark on Juliana’s pale skin, the rage bubbling inside him made him feel as if he could destroy the entire world. It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling.

He forced himself to stay calm. After a long breath, he opened his eyes and knocked against the wall of the carriage.

The carriage came to an immediate stop. Lochlan, seated outside, approached the door.

“Is something wrong, Your Grace?”

“Juliana is hurt. Turn the carriage around.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll take you to the townhouse right away. I’ll also have a physician ready upon arrival.”

Everything happened so quickly that Juliana didn’t even have the chance to protest. The carriage, which had been heading toward the Barnett estate, turned around and started moving toward the Duke’s townhouse.

With a slightly blank look, Juliana murmured softly.

“I really am fine. It is just a small wound. It will heal quickly on its own.”

“Do not say you are fine. In times like this, you should get angry and say, how dare someone leave a mark on your body. Or at least ask me to deal with the person who hurt you. Then maybe I would believe you are fine.”

Braeden spoke bluntly and laced his fingers through hers. Juliana’s eyes widened at the contrast between his harsh words and his gentle touch.

“Just let it be like this. This is the only way I can stay calm.”

She looked at him with a mix of disbelief and confusion. Who exactly needed to calm down? Was it her? Or was it him? Juliana gave him a look that clearly showed how absurd she found the moment, but Braeden calmly closed his eyes and said nothing.

A warm breeze came through the slightly open window.

It was still spring, but the air felt strangely heavy and warm, as if summer had arrived early. For some reason, their linked hands began to feel unusually sensitive.

The moment Juliana stepped into the townhouse, the entire place became filled with noise and movement.

Braeden usually disliked loud environments. The staff had become so used to his preference for quiet that they always moved carefully and spoke in low voices. That was why this sudden bustle was so unusual.

Following Lochlan’s orders, the staff moved quickly. A physician who had been called in urgently hurried to his place.

“This is really just a minor injury…”

The doctor began treating the wound on Juliana’s hand but paused halfway through his sentence. Something about the air in the room made him stop. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was fear.

Some inner sense of danger told him it was not safe to say those words.

“It may seem small, but if we want to avoid a scar, we should treat it very carefully.”

The doctor quickly changed his words. As he spoke, his eyes moved briefly toward Braeden.

Braeden stood near the window, arms folded, watching everything with an expression full of dissatisfaction.

It was impossible to tell exactly what he was displeased about, but the feeling in the room was clear. If the doctor made even a small mistake, it felt like he might be dragged away and punished without warning.

He was the official physician of the Duke’s townhouse. Since the Duke rarely stayed in the capital, his work mostly involved checking on the occasional illness among the staff. It had felt like an easy job with good pay.

But today, he realized why the salary was so generous.

This was not just a good position. It was a dangerous one. One misstep could cost him everything.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, the doctor carefully applied ointment to Juliana’s hand.

“If you apply this regularly, the mark will slowly fade.”

“Thank you,” Juliana said softly.

As she spoke, Braeden pushed himself away from the wall where he had been leaning.

Even the sound of his footsteps felt intimidating, and the physician quickly stepped back, putting distance between himself and Juliana.

“Prepare a few more jars of the ointment.”

“Yes, of course,” the physician replied, bowing quickly, clearly relieved that Braeden had made such a reasonable request.

After dismissing the doctor, Braeden ran a hand through his hair and let out a quiet sigh.

It was strange how sensitive he had become to someone else touching her. Even if that someone was a physician, the feeling was irrational.

The moment he realized that Juliana had been hurt because of him, everything around him seemed to fall out of place. Everything except her felt wrong. The unfamiliar emotions made him uneasy and confused.

Was this the true nature of a demon that he had kept buried for thousands of years finally breaking loose?

The thought that nothing else mattered as long as she was safe was a clear sign that something within him had gone wrong.

“Set the table in the garden.”

Following his command, the garden table was draped with a bright cloth, and a beautiful meal was prepared.

The centerpieces and the generous use of candles and lanterns gave the entire scene a warm and charming glow.

Juliana sat across from Braeden and lifted her eyes to the sunset. The deep red light stretching across the darkening sky drew her gaze without effort.

The sun seemed like it would disappear at any moment, but it lingered at the edge of the mountains, glowing red for a long while.

A peaceful dinner like this, surrounded by such beauty, was something she had never experienced before. That realization struck her with an odd sense of unease, and her eyes trembled for a moment.

Sometimes she had thoughts like this.

Was she truly living a second life? Or was all of this just a vivid dream born from the pain and injustice of her death? At times, the line between life and memory blurred.

“The guest chamber has been prepared for you.”

Braeden’s voice brought her back, and her eyes focused once more.

The sunset had vanished now, and night had fully fallen. Yet when she looked up at Braeden, she saw the fading light still reflected in his eyes.

Strangely, that made everything feel real.

So real that it almost pushed her past the memory of her previous life. The weight of the present moment was undeniable.

“You are still recovering. I cannot send you away.”

Juliana smiled without meaning to. Something about the way Braeden added that last line, almost like he was trying to defend himself, struck her as unexpectedly sweet.

“What does that smile mean?” he asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. “Is that a yes or a no?”

His serious expression amused her, so she responded with a playful tone.

“What if I insisted on going back?”

She thought he would smile and tease her in return, but there was no trace of playfulness in his red eyes. Instead, they grew darker and deeper, and that seriousness caught her off guard.

The candlelight and lanterns flickered in the breeze, casting a soft, wavering glow across his face like shimmering waves.

“I do not want to send you back.”

His answer was quiet but firm. Juliana was not sure how to respond. She knew she might be hearing what she wanted to hear, but her heart still began to beat faster.

“You do not really want to return to that house, do you?”

Braeden asked the question with a crooked smile, but there was truth behind it. It was true, yet the way he said it so directly made it hard for her to answer right away.

If he kept acting like this, she would only grow more attached to him. That thought stayed stuck in her throat as she lowered her eyes for a moment and then slowly nodded.

“You are right. I do not want to go back.”

“Then use me as an excuse.”

Braeden seemed certain now. A small, confident smile appeared on his lips as he pulled her plate toward him and began cutting her steak into small pieces.

“You could just say you are staying here to focus on the wedding preparations. That would be a good enough reason.”

He pushed the neatly cut food back to her side of the table.

“That might be a little difficult,” she said with an uncomfortable smile.

Maybe if Braeden insisted strongly enough, she could make it happen. But she had already made her decision. She could not walk away from the Barnett family yet. Not until she had finished what she had started.

Before the wedding, she needed time to prepare her revenge. There were still seeds she needed to plant.

“Then how about I go to the Barnett estate instead?” Braeden said. “The law says weddings should take place on the bride’s land. So, it would not be strange for the groom to stay at the bride’s home before the ceremony.”

Juliana stared at him, stunned. If the Count and Countess of Barnett had heard those words, they would have fainted. And yet, Braeden looked completely serious.

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