IDEFYEM - Chapter 8
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
"Lord, you're going to die?"
"Yes."
"No!"
I shouted out loud without thinking.
He was my benefactor who took me out of my family and even saved my life.
"Now I was on the same boat, and one of the few people in the world was on my side. I already have someone who is sad for me."
Kael smiled, raising the corners of his mouth slightly.
Actually, I feel like my stomach is burning!
"Then I see you didn't say the most important thing."
"Oh, what's still left?"
"That's why I want to marry you."
It was a moment when I was worried that something shocking would come out of his mouth again.
"It felt like a heart that didn't exist in me was beating when I saw you, Enri."
"Cough. I beg your pardon?"
I started coughing again.
"It's not an illusion. Not once, but many times."
He put the glass of water back into my hand in a familiar way and continued talking.
"I have a feeling you must have something to do with my curse."
"So?"
"From now on, we have to find the reason."
I blinked in fascination.
Apparently, he only proposed a contract marriage to avoid the Grand Duke.
But the de had a much more twisted situation than I thought.
"What would have happened if I had just married the Grand Duke?"
"Hmm..."
No, this is not the time to ask this.
As the man pondered over his answer, I brought up a more important topic.
"Does your heart beat every time you see me?"
"No, sometimes it does."
"Under what circumstances did you do that? When I laugh? When we drank together?"
Under normal circumstances. It would have been a very unfamiliar question, but exactly when that feeling occurred was a very important question.
I asked interrogatively, and Kael was silent for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Do you remember the ball at Marletta's house?"
Ah, this is the first banquet I attended after being possessed.
"At that time, I saw you from afar. The heart... It tickled."
I asked back with a calm expression.
"Then do you remember what color dress I was wearing?"
"A purple satin dress with frills. It suits you well."
Since I rarely go to banquets, I do remember the clothes I wore.
Compared to me, who mostly stayed away, Kael would often go to dances and deal with people. The exact answer was quite surprising.
"And? When again?"
I stopped talking to ask for more specific details.
The man who was always relaxed was avoiding my gaze, rubbing the corner of his mouth.
The tips of the ears are slightly red. I felt embarrassed for some reason, so I quickly cleared my throat and changed the subject.
"Haha, well. I don't need to know now! Tell me later, then."
Kael seemed to understand my intention, nodded his head shyly, and said.
"Now that you've answered the question, may I ask you something else?"
"Yes, it is!"
"I want to know why you want to avoid marrying the Grand Duke."
He embarrassed me several times today.
"Isn't that conversation over?"
"I can't help it if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm so curious that I can't sleep."
Why on earth is it like that?
Feeling embarrassed, I hesitated and asked.
"Why do you want to know that? Do you happen to know His Highness the Grand Duke?"
"Yeah, whatever. We are not strangers."
It was a completely unexpected answer.
I rolled my eyes and started asking questions about things I had been curious about.
"Is he a good person? Isn't he the bridegroom the whole kingdom covets? Wealth and fame, face and body. I don't think there's anything missing."
He was a popular villain in the original work, so that would be natural.
"Why do you praise another man so much?"
"What if I am persuaded and say that I will now marry His Highness the Grand Duke?"
The man just smiled and did not respond. He sighed under the unspoken pressure.
"I should have at least one secret too."
"It's a shame. All right."
I thought he would be a little more persistent, but surprisingly he gave up cleanly.
"You don't ask any more questions?"
"Because I don't want to get you into trouble."
At those words, I began to become conscious of the confession he had made earlier. When he saw me, his heart started beating like it wasn't there before. It was like a romance novel.
"Finish your meal, Enri. Thank you for listening to my story."
Kael said calmly.
After those words, there was no sound of conversation in the restaurant for a while.
***
"Your heart beats when you see me?"
Why?
It's definitely a pretty face, though.
His face was too powerful to say that I was attracted to him solely because of his appearance.
'Anyway, we need to find a way to break the curse as soon as possible.'
He said it would be enough for him to leave me at home and see me often for the time being. And what if the curse suddenly gets worse?
I had no intention of waiting leisurely.
"If a curse has been placed, there must be a way to lift it."
Usually, things like this are solved with magic.
As I was lamenting my loss of magic, I remembered a scene from the original story.
"I'm sorry I left you behind, Vermont."
Enrica Wintersoar thought of her friend and familiar one last time.
"In my next life, I will become a more powerful wizard and never be separated from you."
This was Enrica's will before she died at the hands of the Grand Duke.
But what's the use of it all?
I was about to shake my head while thinking that, but stopped.
'Leaving it behind?'
The word choice is a little strange.
Besides, wasn't Enrica's magic and familiar already gone by then?
I looked back at the setting that was mentioned several times in the original work.
A familiar cannot return to the demon world unless its owner terminates the contract. The only exception is when the owner dies.
'That means...'
Even if the owner's magical power has disappeared, as long as the contract has not been canceled, That means the familiar may still remain in the human world!
Besides, a devil would surely know how to combat the curse.
Intoxicated by the conclusion I had come up with. I jumped out of bed.
'As soon as the sun rises, I have to take the carriage again and go to the Duke's residence.'
So I fell asleep all night thinking about familiars and curses.
As soon as the day dawned, I went to Kael's office where he said he usually stayed.
However, what I encountered there was not Kael, but a strange man.
"Nice to meet you, Young Lady."
A young man wearing glasses said.
"Cough, Cough! My name is Melua, the Count's aide."
"Ah, nice to meet you. Isn't Kael here?"
He has a good-natured appearance, and even just looking at him, you can't tell he's lying.
'Cough, Cough! The Count went out early because of work."
"Wow, you have a bad cough."
The weather has been cool these days, so I think he has a bad cold or something.
I shrugged and said.
"Then there is nothing we can do. Could you please prepare a carriage?"
"Why are you looking for a carriage?"
"I have something to do at the Duke's residence. When I think about it, there are a lot of things I left behind."
Melua's face became increasingly blue.
"Oh, no!"
"Yes"?"
"If the Lady disappears when the Count is not around, I will die."
Whatever I heard from Kael, he seemed quite desperate.
"This is something I must bring today! I'll be back soon."
But I was just as desperate. When I confronted him with a strong attitude, he continued to be troubled, but soon spoke resolutely.
"Then I will accompany you."
"Yes? No matter how busy you are?"
"Currently, cough! There is nothing more important than a lady at the count's residence."
He keeps coughing like that. Isn't he going to fall down?
I looked at him with distrustful eyes and said.
"Then I will take one of my maids with me."
Melua adjusted her glasses and nodded.
"Why don't you come after breakfast? I will have the carriage ready in an hour."
And so the strange journey of the three of us began.
***
Rattling, rattling.
Ugh, no matter how much you experience the inconvenience of a carriage, you never get used to it.
With Melua sitting across from me and Sarah sitting next to me, I pretended to look at the window and recalled the original story once again.
In the original work, Vermont was described like this in Enrica's recollection.
Excellent appearance, as if he were not human. Long, shiny silver hair, and beautiful spots decorating her pale cheeks. Sharp eyes that give off an unapproachable vibe.
"If such a person were hiding in the Duke's residence, he would have been noticed right away."
I don't know if I'm just wasting my efforts. I asked Sarah, worried.
"Sarah, have you ever seen someone like this at the Duke's residence? His hair is silver and long, and he looks very pretty...."
Sarah said, while incongruously embroidering a handkerchief.
"Is he the lover you left behind?"
"Cough."
The weak-looking aide coughed again.
"Just joke. If there was such a person in the Duke's residence, wouldn't everyone know about it?"
It was exactly what I thought. And did that ominous premonition come true?
A few hours later, I arrived at the Duke's residence and couldn't even find my familiar's nose. It was an added bonus that I had to be careful in case I ran into Martha or my father. Maybe I thought wrong in the first place. I can only guess from a few lines of the original story.
"Sarah, I'm sorry. You're having a hard time because of me."
"It's okay."
"I'll take a look over there one more time. If it's not there, let's go back."
I circled the Duke's mansion, which was the size of a small village, several times.
I trudged along feebly, looking gloomy. It was a remote road leading to a laundromat and a stable. At that time, a voice rang out from afar.
"Is it really strange? I saw things floating around him!"
What did you just say?
"Hey, just kill me. A sinister beast like this needs to be dried up."
A bad feeling crossed my mind. An ominous beast, no way...
As I rushed out, forgetting to hide myself. a shocking scene unfolded.
"Ugh. that's gross. Look at him struggling."
A small cat the size of a span was being kicked by the shoes of young attendants.
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