The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife (Web Novel) - Chapter 66

“Whoa….”

 

I stared blankly at the landscape unfolding before my eyes.

 

The reddish sunset that descended from the sky covered the world as if a curtain had been drawn.

 

The sun, which touched the world without missing a spot, immediately started to descend down the mountains. Then, evening light fell gently, and the curtain of night rose overhead.

 

“Miss Ria, look over there.”

 

As I looked down as followed where Dillian was pointing, a light came on in the dark spot.

 

One by one. The fast-lit lights looked like the Milky Way.

 

“It’s beautiful….”

“Am I right?”

 

It was as Dillian had said. Here was the best spot.

 

It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen and felt.

 

I was mesmerized by the capital, which was dyed with a splendid color that was completely different from the daytime.

 

“Sit here.”

 

Had it not been for Dillian to pull me down, I might have stood idly until the fireworks were over.

 

I sat down next to Dillian and he wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.

 

‘When did you prepare this?’

 

It was mats, blankets, and even a thermos bottle when I glanced to the side.

 

How could I have been distracted while he was preparing so thoroughly? I felt sorry for him.

 

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

 

Dillian meticulously wrapped the loosely covered blanket.

 

“Does sir Dillian don’t have to be covered?”

“I have to be covered too.”

 

As I heard he also needed the blanket to cover his shoulders, the toned body dug into the seat next to me.

 

There was no room even for a sheet of paper to fit between the shoulders.

 

‘No wonder the blanket was so big.’

 

It was meant to be like this from the beginning.

 

I pecked at Dillian and poked him in the arm.

 

“You don’t miss a chance.”

“Just tell me that I’m thorough.”

 

As he let out a light laugh, our arms clashed.

 

The exceptionally hot body temperature passed through the thin shirt.

 

As if the heat had become a fuse, the tickling rose.

 

‘I think I have to step away a bit.’

 

When I felt the danger and was about to bite my body, Dillian whispered softly.

 

“It’s starting.”

 

Boom, boom.

 

The sound of firecrackers in the distance signaled the start of the fireworks display.

 

The colorful firecrackers exploded one after another, like paint spreading in the black sky.

 

‘That’s why it’s called a flower*.’

*Literal translation for fireworks in Korean is fire flower, from word 불꽃 (불: fire and 꽃 : flower)

 

It bloomed like a flower, and the flames that fell like a meteor filled the heart.

 

It’s beautiful.

 

I couldn’t think of anything other than that feeling.

 

“Sir Dillian, do you know that?”

 

I looked up at the five-colored sky and hugged my knees.

 

“I’m seeing fireworks for the first time.”

“Is that so?”

 

It was the words he uttered after contemplating, but Dillian didn’t seem to believe it.

 

Perhaps, he thought I meant it was the first time that such large-scale fireworks were displayed.

 

The fireworks display in the capital was famous for its incomparable splendor compared to other places.

 

“It really is. It’s the first time since I’ve been born.”

 

Both in the present life as well as in the past life.

 

That’s weird. Why have I never seen such a common fireworks display?

 

Why am I so busy making a living? It’s not like anyone will recognize that.

 

“Is that true?”

“It’s true. How can I lie about this?”

 

I shrugged at him as he shook his head in disbelief.

 

Well, I can’t believe it either. In the Rohaim Empire, even slaves could see fireworks. It was so common, it happens often.

 

But for me, it wasn’t that common at all.

 

“Thank you. For bringing me here.”

 

If not for Dillian, this beauty would have passed me unnoticed for the rest of my life.

 

While being hit by work, hiding from the temple. I’ve been running away for the rest of my life, and that’s how I went.

 

“I’m so glad to have met sir Dillian.”

 

For the first time, I showed him all my feelings at that moment.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I smiled broadly as I saw Dillian’s face dyed in the flickering fireworks.

 

Maybe it was because of the scarlet fireworks that colored the sky, the smile on the face was red.

 

Dillian, who had been staring at my face for a while, tapped his lips.

 

He carefully brought out the story, as if he had brought out a secret hidden deep in his heart.

 

“… Me too, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a fireworks display like this.”

“… Really?”

“As miss Ria knows, I’m not normal. When I was young, I heard that my parents banned me from going out.”

 

I quietly listened to Dillian.

 

Did the Duke and Duchess worry that Dillian would threaten others, or did they not want to show off Dillian to their acquaintance?

 

“After my parents died, I was desperate to survive, so I lived a life far from the things like festivals.”

 

The voice that talked about the painful past was too dull.

 

“When I asked miss Ria to see the festival, to be honest, rather than wanting to see it, I liked it because it gave me an excuse to be with you.”

“… How do you feel to see it in person?”

“I thought it was a noisy and annoying event, but it’s not necessarily like that. It’s not loud, it’s not chaotic.”

 

Dillian, who muttered that maybe it was because he didn’t want to see it alone, burst into laughter.

 

He shook his head as if he had never expected to think like this.

 

“Honestly, it’s not a bad feeling.”

 

At that moment, I came to my senses as if someone had slapped my head.

 

Looking at that face now, who dares to call it a monster duke?

 

He was more human than anyone else. It wasn’t the curse that made him a monster, it was the people around him.

 

I was so moved that I grabbed Dillian’s hand and shouted.

 

“Sir Dillian, I will work harder!”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s about lifting sir Dillian’s curse. I think I’ve been very carefree so far.”

 

After spitting out my thoughts, I felt heavier. The frustration came over me as if a large rock was pressing on my chest.

 

‘Because I’m afraid of the Darkness, I only think about avoiding it, and I should be ashamed of it.’

 

I found a way to break the curse, so let’s run hard.

 

It made my nose ache at the thought of not seeing such a beautiful sight because of that damn curse.

 

As if surprised, I looked at the bright red eyes that had grown in size, and I closed my eyes tightly and started talking.

 

Just like a confession.

 

“To be honest, when I first met sir Dillian, I was scared. During treatment, I immediately recognized sir Dillian’s curse. So I tried to send you out.”

“I know. Miss Ria is really bad at lying.”

 

Dillian grinned as if saying it was written all over your face. As soon as the person concerned found out about it, shame flooded in.

 

Blushing, I hurriedly added, in case he was still misunderstanding.

 

“Not now. Rather, I feel like I want to scold the past me.”

 

I rubbed Dillian’s cold hand. So that my warmth can be delivered.

 

“Thanks to you, I’m happy now. It looked stupid. Right?”

 

It is said that people are easily moved by even the smallest things.

 

It may be trivial to others, but to that person, isn’t it impressive because it is more precious than anything in the world?

 

This fireworks display is like that to me.

 

And the same goes for Dillian.

 

It seems that he doesn’t know how he feels, but it seems to me that Dillian was also happy.

 

‘Let’s work hard.’

 

As I work hard, normal daily life will come closer to Dillian.

 

Then I hope Dillian will be happy.

 

So I hope you can enjoy the peaceful daily life that everyone else enjoys.

 

With determination not to be heard, I watched the fireworks run toward the end.

 

 

***

 

 

As if relieved after finishing what she had to say, Dillian pressed his tickling heart to Ria’s bashful smile.

 

Dillian burst into a small laugh as he looked at the small face once again lost in the fireworks.

 

‘You’re really amazing.’

 

Sure, he liked Ria. Dillian once again checked his mind and smiled.

 

Yes, he liked Ria from the beginning.

 

Being together made him like her better, and he wanted to keep her by his side at all costs.

 

To the extent that he has continued acting as a fool with amnesia until now.

 

And in the end, tied her up in a relationship of engagement.

 

It was not perfect, but Dillian laughed at the noose she couldn’t easily escape.

 

But that was also for a while.

 

When he achieved the purpose, he thought that his thirst would end. But it wasn’t.

 

Thirst grew day by day. And finally, today, it exploded.

 

‘I can’t believe I could like it more.’

 

Now Ria Delice was terrifying.

 

She was the only one who shook and knocked his heart like this.

 

“Sir Dillian! Look over there! It’s the last one, so it’s so huge.”

 

As if all the remaining firecrackers had been set off, bright enough to engulf the darkness one after another.

 

“Wow…. It’s so pretty.”

 

Ria grabbed Dillian’s arm and shook it without realizing it.

 

“I think it’s prettier because we watched it together.”

 

Dillian had no choice but to admit it as he looked at her who smiled broadly.

 

‘I’ll never be able to beat this woman even for my whole life.’

 

He reigned as king anytime and anywhere, and never bowed his head.

 

But when he stood in front of Ria, he became a thorough subordinate.

 

It was an awkward situation for him, who had been a ruler all his life, but he didn’t hate it.

 

“Sir Dillian, you liked it too, right?”

 

It was lovely to see her taking care of him even when she looked at the sky in awe.

 

Dillian unconsciously reached out and grabbed her chin. He kissed her reddish cheeks.

 

It wasn’t an action calculated to win Ria’s heart, it was an action that was extremely impulsive and just what his heart told him to do.

 

“… Huh?”

 

Ria, startled by the sudden kiss, covered her cheeks and blinked her big eyes.

 

“This, what’s….”

 

The blush that had been painted on her cheeks began to spread all over her face.

 

Dillian couldn’t stand the cute face and kissed her once more. This time it was lips.

 

He stole her soft lips, giving a nonsensical excuse that he couldn’t help it because of the hand that wrapped the cheek.

 

Ria’s shoulders trembled as if struck by lightning at the sound.

 

“Yes. I like it”

“… Pardon?”

“I like it.”

 

Ria, who later realized that these words were the answer to her question, tapped her lips.

 

No matter how she thinks about it, she doesn’t think that was what it means.

 

“Did, did you mean the fireworks?”

“If you pretend not to notice, I will do it one more time.”

“What, what…?”

“If you are curious, go ahead. The more you do it, the more I like it.”