The Flower That Was Swallowed by the Beast - Chapter 58

Iris opened her eyes wide and stared at the man who had suddenly stormed in.

He looked as if he was on fire because of his red hair, red eyes, and fiery spirit. He was a big man with broad shoulders and is as tall as Keivrand, but he didn’t give off a domineering pressure. The freckles on his nose made him look like a playful youth.

‘Who is this man?’

From her memory, there exists a man with red hair and red eyes. However, the man she saw in her past life wasn’t a man with such a handsome look.

“Hey, Grand Duke Miranise Fiano. You shouldn’t intrude like this.”

At Keivrand’s mellow remark without a hint of being frustrated, Iris stopped breathing.

‘This is Miranise Fiano? Really?’

In her previous life, Miranise Fiano was greatly beaten while fighting an enemy, and more than half of his face was crushed by burns and one eye was lost. His vocal cords were also damaged, so his voice was rough and not as clear as it is now. He walked around with a dreary atmosphere.

Like under a constant spell, people avoided him out of fear.

But now, the current Miranise, a man who gave off a good feeling, was a man who everyone would like to be around.

“I should be the one troubled, Kei. It’s very troubling. How did you not invite me to your wedding…huh? Who is this beautiful lady here? I’ve never seen her before.”

Miranise, who was shouting loudly at Keivrand, suddenly showed interest in Iris.

Iris was dumbfounded.

In this situation, who else could it be other than Lady Green standing next to Keivrand?

She looked at Miranise’s expression, wondering if he was joking, but he looked really curious about her identity.

As if he had misunderstood her gaze, he shook his head slightly and spoke.

“Ah, Lady. You can’t look at me like that. I don’t have any owners at the moment, but I’m trying to refrain from being in a relationship…”

A few ladies burst into laughter.

Only then did she recall what kind of assessment Miranise had among the ladies before he was seriously injured.

[It’s okay to be in a relationship with him for a while, but as a husband…]

It also occurred to her that Miranise, who had married early, divorced less than two years later.

The last words his ex-wife, famous for being quiet and mature, shouted at him were,

[You loathsome creature!]

Various assessments of Miranise disappeared after he was seriously injured and his personality changed.

So Miranise, a person who has not yet been hurt in this life, was a person who is ‘It’s okay to be in a relationship with him for a while, but as a husband…’

“Mir.”

Keivrand said calmly, as if he were used to this behavior of Miranise.

“Now, if you look at this situation, shouldn’t you know who the woman next to me is?”

“Hm? Really? Am I supposed to guess the answer to this mystery?”

Miranise muttered quietly and looked at his aide. His aide Reingale, who stood by him silently, spoke in a small voice.

“This is Countess Green, who married Count Green today, Grand Duke.”

“Oh! That’s right. Hahaha. I already knew. It was a joke, a joke. You know, Kei? I love to joke.”

“…Your sense of humor always surprises me, Mir.”

“By the way, you’re so beautiful, Countess Green.”

Miranise held Iris’ hand and kissed her lightly on the back of her hand, even though she hadn’t reached out her hand.

He had taken the initiative even before Iris could respond to this disrespectful act.

As if he had finished, he let go of her hand and looked back at Keivrand.

“By the way, Kei. I’m very disappointed. I’m shocked. How did you not invite me to your wedding? Who am I? It’s me, Miranise Fiano, your best friend!”

“Don’t you remember two years ago when you said you don’t ever want to see me again and that if you did see me again, you would cut my throat?”

Miranise’s eyes widened in disbelief at Keivrand’s response, and then he looked back at Reingale.

Reingale replied calmly.

“It’s true, Grand Duke.”

“Oh my god, Keivrand! It was a joke, a joke! Did you keep that joke in mind? You really did. Jokes fly over you.”

Miranise grinned and tapped Keivrand’s arm.

Pa-! Pa-! Pa-!

Iris thought it was amazing how hard he tapped and how Keivrand didn’t show any pain.

“I didn’t expect you to come to my wedding, but since you’re here, enjoy yourself.”

“Really? When does the ceremony begin?”

“…it’s already over, Mir.”

“No, does that make sense? You hosted the wedding without me. I even brought a wedding ring to be your best man!”

When Miranise raised his right hand, Reingale brought forth a ring case and put it in his hand.

He opened the ring case in front of Keivrand as if he was proposing.

Inside was a diamond ring of enormous size. It was a much larger and more elaborately made ring than the one Keivrand had given to Iris.

“You’re late no matter how you look at it, Mir. One wedding is enough for the bride and groom. But thank you for the ring.”

Keivrand simply took the ring out of the case.

Returning the empty case to Reingale without any sign of being displeased, Miranise spoke.

“This can’t be the end, is it, Kei? Can’t you have another wedding for me?”

Keivrand stared silently at Reingale. Reingale bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, Count. Countess.”

“No, Rein. Why are you apologizing?”

“Grand Duke, please stop. We’ll leave you alone, Count.”

“You have your hands full, Baron.”

After Keivrand greeted Reingale with a nod, he held Iris’ hand and tried to leave.

Miranise, who turned and stared at Keivrand, found a strap sticking out of his trouser pocket and inadvertently reached out and pulled the strap.

What was in Keivrand’s pants pocket came out. It was a small pouch made of white cloth.

Keivrand had turned around, but Iris was still facing Miranise. She quickly realized what the pouch Miranise had taken out of Keivrand’s pocket was.

It was the pouch with the Sleep Stone.

She knew that Keivrand always carries the Sleep Stone, but she didn’t know he would carry it in his pocket so carelessly.

‘No!’

Without realizing it, she reached out and grabbed the pouch. Miranise may have been holding onto the string, but the pouch easily came into her hands.

“Miranise Fiano.”

Keivrand, who stopped walking and looked back after feeling the pouch leave his pants, called Miranise’ name with a growl.

“You still don’t know you shouldn’t take other people’s stuff?”

“The strap came out of your pants pocket and I wanted to take care of it because it didn’t look good…No, why are you so angry? It’s just a small pouch!”

“Ha. Miranise, you’re so…”

Keivrand shook his head.

“Why do you only say something to me? It’s in your wife’s hands now. It’s okay for your wife to take it, but not for me, your best friend?”

“The couple are one in body and soul, Mir. Whatever my wife takes from me, it doesn’t matter. But it’s a problem for you to take it.”

“Are you saying your wife is more precious than I am?”

“…Mir. Is that also a joke?”

“I don’t enjoy jokes! I’m very straightforward!”

“…”

While Keivrand and Miranise quarreled, Iris looked down at the pouch with the Sleep Stone which came into her hands for the first time.

‘This makes me have a good dream. But…’

She turned her head and saw Edward chatting with people.

‘In my previous life, Edward entered an eternal sleep because of this stone. Kei doesn’t know how scary this stone is. That’s why he carries it around in his pocket like this.’

She was afraid of this stone. Of course, in this life, she was going to try to not let anything happen that would make Edward want to sleep forever.

But what if someone other than Edward uses this stone for the same reason as he did in the past?

What if it’s someone precious to her?

Or what if the power of this stone is so strong that even Keivrand can’t suppress it and many people fall asleep forever?

‘It’s not just a convenient stone that makes you have a good dream. It can be a disaster.’

She thought it would be better if there were no Sleep Stone in the world.

But she doesn’t have the power to break it. Gripping the pouch, all she can do is such.

It was then that a strange feeling overcame her.

Shaaa-

Although there was no sound, she felt a deafening roar inside her body.

The sound of all the energy flowing inside her body began to gather toward her palm.

In an instant, it gathered in her palm and slipped out.

It was moving towards the Sleep Stone.

She realized that the Sleep Stone was absorbing all of this force.

Her spine chilled. What came to her mind at this moment was eternal sleep.

‘I don’t want to!’

She didn’t want to fall into eternal sleep.

Thus, she dropped the pouch like she was throwing it. All her strength was drained and her knees were bent. She didn’t have enough energy to breathe, but fortunately, her mind was clear. There was no sign of her falling asleep.

However, the relief only lasted for a moment.

Plop!

Someone fell down.

Miranise Fiano.

It wasn’t just him.

Plop – plop –

Starting with Miranise, who was nearby, his aide, Reingale and others, also began falling to the ground. For a long time, there were only sounds of people falling down.

She widened her eyes and stared at the falling people.

Everything happened in a flash, but for her, the time stretched so long that it felt like eternity.

At the wedding hall, which had been full of life a while ago, there was an ominous silence as if death had befallen.

She couldn’t even hear the sounds of birds or insects that occasionally come and go.

There was no rustling sound made by small wild animals either.

A world with no sound.

‘No, life has disappeared from this world.’

She wanted to scream but she didn’t. She was afraid that this nightmare would become a reality as soon as she made a sound.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

She couldn’t even guess.

Is it the power of the Sleep Stone?

But then why is she fine?

How about the guardian of the sacred relics, Keivrand Green…

‘Kei!’

Only then did she remember Keivrand.

He had also collapsed.

The sight of him lying on the ground as if he was dead made her sink to her knees.

Despair pressed down on her.

A fear that she had never felt before hit her.

== Translator’s Note ==

1. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section .