IDEFYEM - Chapter 53
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
"Why did you run away from me?"
For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't lie to that voice. I was silent for a long time in the banquet hall, which had become quiet after everyone had left.
"I am sorry for arbitrarily abandoning my duty...."
"It's not an apology, it's an explanation."
The cool air created a sense of tension. But even if I were honest, it was clear that he would be angry.
'Actually, I read a novel in my past life, and in it, His Highness the Grand Duke kills me on the first night...'
'You're giving a ridiculous excuse.'
A number of negative scenarios quickly ran through my mind.
In the end, I chose to tell a mixture of lies and truth. Because it is only emotions that create probability in unexplained situations.
"Because I love you."
"What?"
"I didn't think Your Highness would love me. But I think that man loves me, unlike Your Highness."
Of course, it's a blatant lie!
I was scared because I thought he might get angry, but contrary to my expectations, the Grand Duke started to get a little agitated.
He spoke noticeably less, and his feet, which had been motionless, were slightly angled. And then I heard the sound of someone taking a breath.
Since everyone had left, it was easy to catch subtle changes. It was a time when I was just wiggling my fingers in suffocating silence.
"How?"
He asked for more detailed reasons.
Wow, I thought he could understand it, but he asked for a detailed reason.
Without even having time to think, I started blurting out the words that came out of my mouth.
"Well, when my life was in danger, he protected me by taking care of me before his own body."
"..."
"When we're together, whenever I turn my head, his eyes are always on me."
By listing Kael's actions one by one, a fairly plausible situation was created.
"He gives me all kinds of dresses and jewelry, and when I say I'm tired, he smiles and carries me to the carriage."
The side effect was that I felt very unfamiliar even as I spoke.
"I said this, but... In fact, even if there are no such reasons, you can tell by looking at those blue eyes."
I thought it would be nice if everything I made up was true. Now, just thinking about Kael's eyes made me feel like my heart was racing.
"His eyes, which resemble a quiet lake, only ripple like waves when he looks at me."
It was a moment when I was crying and thinking about how long I would have to do this.
"Haha."
Laughter, unexpected even in my dreams, traveled through the air and into my ears. A situation in which his ex-fiancee is reciting in detail her love affair with her lover.
At this time, there was only one reason to smile. I asked, feeling a little offended.
"Why are you laughing at me?"
"No, I'm not laughing at you. Just maybe...."
Grand Duke Kronhard seemed to be thinking as he continued talking.
"Hearing it from someone else's mouth like this, maybe it really like that."
It felt strange that he seemed confused yet a little happy as if he had just realized something great.
"I was wondering if maybe that wasn't really the case."
It was a truly unpredictable and strange conversation. The Grand Duke seemed quite satisfied with my answer and nodded, then asked again.
"Did you never think I could do that?"
"W-what. Your Highness?"
"Okay."
"I think it will be difficult."
Even though I was very scared and shrinking, I answered accurately.
Slowly, a figure seemed to be getting closer at the end of the distant hallway. We both knew that this question would be the last due to time constraints.
The Grand Duke paused and chose his words very carefully.
"Do you love him too?"
I think I heard a similar line from Kael one day.
"Do you love me too?"
I hesitated for a moment before that fundamental question. Is my crush really a heavy emotion that can be pronounced as love?
At that time, a faint light came in from the door and a loud voice was heard.
"It's a guard! Is there anyone left inside?"
My eyes, which had become accustomed to the dark, became sensitive and began to frown even in small amounts of light.
"Lady, are you hurt anywhere? Why did you stay?"
"Because I'm afraid of the dark... I couldn't go out alone."
I closed my eyes tightly and made excuses when I suddenly remembered a strange fact.
I've never seen the Grand Duke's face before.
Our first meeting was on the terrace beyond the curtain. The second meeting was a hunting banquet where game was sacrificed without the person appearing in person. The third meeting was hidden by deliberately causing a power outage.
"...!"
I quickly opened my trembling eyelids and looked ahead. It was just as I expected.
There was no one left in the place where it seemed popular just a moment ago
***
Raphael Kronhard quietly left the banquet hall and boarded the carriage. Two days later, no one will remember the power outage that just occurred.
He had the power and authority to make something like that never happen.
Yeah, nothing happened.
He repeated to himself and surrendered to the vibrations of the rickety carriage.
"Because I love you."
Enrica's face as she pronounced that confession was still vivid in my eyes.
At some point, Raphael was able to draw her appearance even with his eyes closed.
Hair as bright as a spring flower, clear eyes, and lips that are honest with their emotions. Even in the darkness of today, her face as she confessed her love seemed to come alive and move.
It seemed like it wouldn't be possible to make something like it even if it took several years.
"..."
He wasn't enough of a fool to be completely taken in by the woman's innocent face. She must have used her little brain again to tell him a plausible lie. In the dark, its big eyes would have trembled cutely like a puppy.
The man, who changed his posture by lowering his upper body, raised his hand to rest on his chin and stroked his face.
He was planning to interrogate her today and hear what she was thinking about trying to avoid marriage. When vision is blocked, people become more sensitive to hearing, so if necessary, a device is prepared to scare them.
But what can he do? Now he feels like he has become a bad person just for thinking about that.
It was clearly a night that existed to push her to her limits.
The only thing that remained in his mind were the words that came out of Enrica's mouth.
It was Raphael Kronhardt himself who was being questioned.
"He gives me all kinds of dresses and jewelry, and whenever I turn my head when we're together, his eyes are always looking at me."
As for why he did that, the reason he came up with after reflecting on his actions was nothing special.
The reason he bought and carried all kinds of luxury items was because he liked seeing her face when she felt burdened by them.
He felt like a very lucky person if he happened to meet someone he secretly liked. So he couldn't take his eyes off her even for a moment, wondering what kind of expression he would encounter today.
"When I say I'm tired, he smiles and carries me to the carriage."
He liked that he was the only one who knew about her habit of sleeping with her lower lip slightly open. Her body, whose body temperature had risen as she fell asleep, was small and warm and felt like holding a light puppy.
It was also cute to see her defenseless limbs hanging loosely and making colorful, peaceful breathing sounds.
She would be shocked if she found out later that she was in the arms of the Grand Duke....
Now he feels like he can even like the hurt she gives him. Because it is better to have hatred than to have nothing.
Raphael could no longer deny it.
He loves Enrica Wintersoar.
He loved a woman who said she would run away to another country if he wanted to marry her.
'This is the worst...'.'
Enough to throw himself off a steep cliff into a valley without thinking twice.
Being with her made Raphael dream of the future, and he dared to wait for tomorrow.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
The heartbeat, which only he could hear, hit his ears like the sound of drums. Not being able to hear this sound from her felt like the final punishment of his curse.
A woman who he thought was the key to breaking the curse, but was actually his heart itself.
Raphael raised his arm and felt his left chest. It was still just quiet.
"I love her."
Raphael muttered lowly alone in the carriage with no one listening. As I pronounced the heavy sentence, even his few doubts turned into certainty.
The sensation of touching his fingertips was calm, but the throbbing in his ears grew louder.
"I love you, Enri. Your lies made me like this...."
Raphael continued to click his tongue in a voice that sounded even more pitiful.
There are now 3 weeks until the wedding.
What about the sense of betrayal and hatred she will feel after finding out all the facts?
He should have used it more thoroughly instead of giving it away.
But it was already too late, things had gone too far.
Comments
Post a Comment