The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife (Web Novel) - Chapter 76

“If I take away his power, you will be safe.”

 

He smiled softly and reached out towards my face.

 

“Look, you are safe now.”

 

At the gentle touch that stroke my cheek, and a warm word made me crumble.

 

Across the blurred vision by the tears, I was choked at the black thorns that covered his body.

 

It was a curse he had taken from Koma.

 

“It’s a relief. Because I can get hurt instead of you.”

 

That person took one of the powers of Koma for me and implanted it in his body.

 

His sacrifice weakened Koma, and I was able to seal it with all my might.

 

But I wasn’t happy at all.

 

By carrying the curse, he became a child abandoned by Father.

 

“You know what that means, right? There is no way Father will look after a cursed child.”

 

I collapsed and muttered like a madman.

 

“You cannot be reborn, just disappear. Forever. You know, you can’t come back. I’ve never heard of you. I’ve never seen you….”

 

As the man wrapped his arms around my shoulder, the evil energy of the curse made my whole body tingle. Noticing that, he bit himself.

 

I hugged him tightly, who was trying to avoid me.

 

‘We don’t have much time.’

 

As time goes by, the curse is eating him away. It was after half of his face had already turned black.

 

“For not seeing you in the next life, right. I may regret it forever. But no matter how many times time turns back, I will make the same choice.”

 

But I can’t save him.

 

I had exhausted my strength to seal Koma, and had no power left to save the life of the man I loved.

 

A sense of shame, guilt, and despair flooded in.

 

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s all because of me, it’s because I’m lacking.”

“I always wanted to see your smiling face, but strangely, I just make you cry every time.”

 

As he wiped away my tears, he kissed me softly. As if comforting me.

 

“Like you said, I may disappear just like this. But I saved the world He made, won’t God give me a chance?”

 

He smiled playfully as he kissed every corner of my face.

 

“If He doesn’t give it, I will climb up from hell to meet you. I will persistently chase after you and win your heart.”

 

As if to leave soon, I grabbed his arm and hung on to his final goodbye.

 

“Don’t go. Do not go.”

“Like the day we first met, I will come to see you again on the day the snow covered the world.”

“… Lies.”

“I promise.”

 

He stretched out his pinky finger. I hesitated and clasped my hand into his.

 

“Ria, wherever you are, I will definitely go find you.”

 

It was a promise to me as well as a promise to himself.

 

I hugged him as his breathing was getting weaker and I swallowed my tears.

 

“So, you just need to wait.”

“Yeah, yes. I will.”

 

I whispered in his ear.

 

How happy I was with him. How much I loved him

 

In the meantime he kept his eyes on me. As if to look at it once more, as if to engrave even a fleeting moment.

 

And at the last moment that approached, he closed his eyes and smiled as if that was enough.

 

That was how he left me. To a place of no return.

 

Snow began to fall from the sky, as if to announce that he had left.

 

I stared blankly at the snow falling from the sky and then burst into laughter.

 

Laughter turned into weeping, and soon turned into crying.

 

I cried for days and days.

 

The moment when the body’s moisture dries up and the exhausted body collapses.

 

I heard His voice.

 

“My child.”

 

I lifted my pale face and watched the light pouring over my head.

 

In the light, a being slowly walked out.

 

“Why are you crying so much?”

“… Father.”

 

He was Obelus.

 

I woke up late and ran to Him.

 

“It’s not, right? Really, You didn’t annihilate him. Right?”

 

It was close to begging. He shook His head, as if saddened by my desperate eyes.

 

“Child. I’m sorry to you, but I can’t break the rules.”

 

At those resolute words, I collapsed. Is this what it feels like to have fallen off an endless cliff?

 

I murmured with dead eyes.

 

“You said You loved me. You said You loved me more than anyone.”

 

As if it was about to break, the muffled voice slowly filled with poison.

 

The rage at the loss of a loved one was beyond my imagination, and I stared at the Absolute, whom I should not disobey.

 

“But, why did You do that? You’d rather take me too!”

 

I pounded my chest and screamed.

 

“Rather take my breath away!”

 

A sad light shone in my golden eyes as I cried out, which had completely collapsed.

 

“How am I going to take your breath away?”

 

A gentle but firm refusal stabbed me painfully.

 

He was sweet but determined, warm but ruthless.

 

In the end, Obelus did not spare the man, nor did He take my breath away.

 

“You are a hero. Everyone will look up to you.”

 

What’s the use of all that? I couldn’t even save my loved one.

 

“Just one more chance, please, just one more chance. Please….”

 

I knelt down, bowed my head and prayed.

 

As an ordinary human, all I could do was pray.

 

“… You beg me so much like this, so I can’t say no to you.”

 

A friendly hand stroked my hair. I shook my head at the touch.

 

“… Really?”

“Yes, as you said, you are my most cherished child.”

 

As if He had lost, He smiled and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

 

“I will give you the first and last chance.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

 

When I finally shed tears of joy at the opportunity I got, I felt a strong force on my shoulder.

 

“Don’t like it. It is both an opportunity and a test.”

“A test…?”

“I won’t destroy the poor soul. However, in this lifetime, you will not be able to meet that man. And you will be reborn again and again. Losing all your memories.”

 

The eyes that met were firm.

 

“Remember each time. Your true self, your mission, and what you must do.”

 

Obelus’s large hand covered my eyes.

 

“Take care of yourself. The things you love.”

 

Consciousness blurred. The voice, which had gradually faded away, soon ceased completely.

 

 

***

 

 

I heard a voice calling my name from afar.

 

‘Who is it?’

 

I didn’t know if the lover in my dream or in real life was calling me .

 

“Miss Ria.”

 

I woke up and slowly opened my eyes. Dillian’s worried face was visible beyond his blurred vision.

 

‘Is it still a dream? Or is it real?’

 

As I blinked, hot water ran down my cheeks. Dillian, who wiped away the flowing tears, touched my forehead.

 

“Miss Ria, are you okay? Where does it hurt?”

 

I shook my head.

 

“Then did you have a nightmare?”

“… No. It was not a nightmare.”

“Then?”

“… It was a sad dream.”

 

A very, very sad dream.

 

When I remembered the face that worried about me until the end and then left me, tears came again.

 

I wondered why I became like this just because of a mere dream, but I didn’t stop as if my tear glands had broken.

 

“What kind of dream was it that made you cry so sadly?”

 

Dillian gently rubbed the corners of my eyes.

 

“Who made our miss Ria cry?”

 

As if to appease a child, I poked my lips out at the playful question.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“I will scold you if it’s because of another man.”

 

… How can you have such a good hunch? How did you know?

 

“It’s not true.”

 

I turned around and pulled the blanket over. Then, Dillian, who was following after me, walked on the blanket and kept playing pranks on me.

 

It was an action to relieve my subdued mood.

 

“Were you crying because of me then.”

“I’m sure it’s not sir Dillian.”

“Ah, it looks like it was a man.”

 

A hand that reached out suddenly grabbed my cheek. The weight of the cheeks increased with the force of pulling without pain.

 

It seems the more I chew on it, the stronger the hand feels.

 

“Who is it, the man who made miss Ria cry? Who is it that makes you cry so sadly?”

 

Whoever he was, he was someone who would likely erase his existence from the world.

 

He was obviously smiling with his eyes curved, but he wasn’t really smiling. I felt as if a dark energy had flowed from behind my back.

 

I rolled around avoiding Dillian. Don’t want to miss, Dillian came after me.

 

I roll, and Dillian is chasing me.

 

Nathan, caught in the untimely chase, opened his eyes with a squeak.

 

“You two, not even a kid, what are you doing! If you’re going to play tag, go outside and do it!”

 

Nathan groaned in anger.

 

What makes him angry is that Nathan woke up from being hit by my arm while rolling on the bed, just like got struck by lightning in the blue sky.

 

“So, sorry.”

“Why is miss Ria apologizing? It’s Nathan’s fault for sleeping there without notice.”

“Forget it. I’m not going to ask you to go out… not that! Dillian, you bastard! Why are you in this room!”

 

Nathan noticed the strangeness belatedly and jumped up. It was then that I noticed something strange, and I clung to Nathan’s side.

 

“Right. Sir Dillian, why are you here…?”

“The sun is in the middle of the sky, but no one is waking up, so I came because I was worried.”

 

Dillian approached the window and rolled the thick curtain. Then the pouring sunlight hit my eyes.

 

“Uh.”

 

I didn’t know, as the curtains were drawn, it was already lunch time.

 

“It’s time to slowly start the day.”

 

“Yees….”

 

I groaned and got up.

 

As soon as I opened my eyes, my mind was cleared from running around, but there was still a feeling of dread in the corner of my head.

 

I looked at Dillian’s back and called out his name involuntarily.

 

“Sir Dillian.”

 

Dillian looked at me at my call.

 

“Go ahead.”

“….”

 

When I was about to speak, my mouth didn’t come out.

 

Dillian. I trust him more than anyone.

 

He is the one under the curse, and he is as deeply involved in this matter as I am.

 

But, can I tell you this information, where everything is uncertain? Even I couldn’t confide in information that I wasn’t sure about.

 

In the end, I shut my mouth.

 

“Nothing.”

 

When everything is clear, I will let you know.

 

About that man.

 

About that dream.

 

And about that test.