IDEFYEM - Chapter 83
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
"I'm shaking in fear of death right now. What are you thinking about?"
His ears were dyed too bright red to be mistaken.
I frowned and opened my mouth to at least lighten the mood.
"I will sleep on the floor, so you can sleep on the bed."
"Do you have any intention of calling me Kael again?"
"Are you sure?"
I answered bluntly, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference to Raphael.
"Anyway, I can't make you sleep on the floor, so let's switch places."
Normally, I would have pretended to refuse, but today I responded quickly.
"Okay then, okay."
"How about a bath?"
"I would like to do it now, assuming Your Highness is blindfolded. I have to leave early tomorrow anyway."
I remembered what I heard earlier while taking a break during the reception.
"The maid guided me through the schedule. I heard it's a tradition to visit the Grand Duke's villa after the wedding."
"This is a schedule that can be canceled at any time if you say you don't feel like it. There's no need to feel pressured."
In fact, I was perplexed by the schedule that I had no idea about, so I was a little tempted to hear that I could cancel.
"Anyway, it's not a big deal to call it a tradition. It hasn't been long since the position of the Grand Duke's residence changed."
"What do you mean, the place of the Archduke has changed?"
I asked with wide eyes as I heard this for the first time in my life.
"Until a few years ago, the northern villa we are planning to visit tomorrow was used as the Grand Ducal residence. I used this place where I live now as a vacation home in the city."
Raphael said while standing far away from me as I took off my clothes to take a bath.
"However, not only was the geography of the northern part of the original Grand Duke's residence difficult, but the mansion itself was also a place steeped in blood, so we decided to use the two interchangeably."
"A few years ago, did you change the Grand Duke's position as soon as you inherited it?"
"Exactly. It's such a ridiculous tradition that there's no need to keep it."
"... I'll think about it."
I soaked my body in the warm bath water, making a plopping sound. As my body, which had been tired all day relaxed, I felt the tension also ease.
"There's no need to stand so stiffly."
After thoroughly relaxing my body in the warm water, I spoke to Raphael, who was still in a stiff posture.
The answer that came back was unexpected.
"Because you are still afraid of me."
"Can you feel that?"
"I often see it in your eyes."
Raphael's grave voice had the power to make people uncomfortable.
I felt like I was being pricked, so I put my head all the way into the water. To soothe my complicated mind, I made a bubbling sound from my mouth for a long time.
Then, I finished my dive by coming out of the water and getting out of the bathtub and wiping my body.
I went to bed, dripping wet, wearing soft pajamas. I fell down on the bed and opened my mouth.
"Should I ask the maid to run the new bath water?"
"What's left on the side is enough."
While I was burying my face in the pillow, Raphael also finished taking a bath. He asked as he walked around the room, smelling faintly of soap.
"Shall we slowly turn off the fire?"
"Is it so."
I answered, trying to keep my voice trembling for some reason.
The room became dark, with only one candle remaining, with a faint scent.
Raphael lay on the floor not far from the bed I was lying on.
My body was tired as if it had reached its limit, but strangely, my mind was fine.
I heard the sound of Raphael tossing and turning as well. I was conscious of the noise and tried to close my eyelids in an uncomfortable position.
Still, I was having trouble falling asleep when a low bass sound pierced my ears.
"I may or may not have the title of Grand Duke, but I am your Kael."
The words were even more sudden because I felt the sincerity behind them.
I suddenly felt unfamiliar and opened my mouth as if I had been pushed back.
"My Kael..."
But the words that needed to come out couldn't flow out of my mouth and were scattered. It was because I couldn't think of anything to affirm or deny.
"Can you tell me now?"
Raphael took advantage of that moment to ask.
"Whatever your reason is for fearing the Grand Duke, I need to know now."
"...I'm sure you'll laugh a lot after hearing it. It might feel vain."
"It doesn't matter."
It was difficult to ignore RaphaeI's solid voice any longer.
I wondered if there was any point in hiding it further since his identity was already revealed anyway.
"That... Just.."
Anyway, is it right to say something like this in front of the person involved?
I took a deep breath and slowly moved my tongue.
"I had a very long dream."
Although I chose words that were easy to understand. It was actually such a strange memory that I was confused as to whether it was really a dream.
"In that dream, I was a little different from now. I can't disobey the Duke's words and am constantly bullied by my younger sister."
My voice trembled slightly. Raphael listened silently.
"What is similar to reality is that my father exploited me, and as soon as I was no longer useful to him, he sold me off to you and got me married."
"..."
"I married the Grand Duke and was murdered on the first night. After that, I became afraid of your presence like an instinct."
Now that I had revealed a secret I had kept for months, I was afraid of his reaction.
I held the hem of the blanket a little tighter and waited for an answer.
'He's getting angry.'
But the first words that came out of Raphael's mouth were completely unexpected.
"Was it raining at that time?"
"Yes?"
"In that dream, did it rain when I killed you?"
I narrowed my brows as I waited for a reaction such as embarrassment or someone urging me on.
"Are you kidding me?"
"It's important to me, Enri."
I quickly got up from the bed and looked at him on the floor. Raphael's expression was serious, but at the same time, he looked just as confused as I was.
"Honestly... I don't really remember."
It was that moment when I was trying to get even the slightest clue from my blurry memories. A loud thunder sounded outside the window.
"It's rain!"
I, who was otherwise nervous and concentrating, was startled and fluttered out of bed. Raphael moved closer to me with a quick movement and reassured me.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes."
Once again, the distance felt closer. I looked at the blue eyes as if fascinated and pulled up the blanket.
Immediately, heavy rain began to fall outside the window. It was a heavy rain, like an unexpected shower.
As I looked out the window sparkling with lightning, a large moon also caught my eye.
Even as I spoke to myself, I pursed my lips with a calm expression on my face.
"The original, no. If it goes according to my dream, by now."
Early evening after the wedding. If you calculate the passage of time, it seems to make some sense.
"I think it was raining."
According to the original work, I would have died at Raphael's hands by now.
The man knelt on one knee on the floor and was at eye level with me. I forgot my anxiety from before and quickly opened my mouth.
"Your Highness, no, Raphael. Can I call you Raphael?"
"I hope you will."
"Raphael also said that he has nightmares every time it rains."
These are words I heard while nursing a person who was suffering from strange body aches on a rainy day the other day.
"Well. Ever since I was young. I've had nightmares on rainy days. I always open my eyes and don't remember anything. But I still have an unpleasant feeling. like I've been through something terrible."
Raphael also seemed to have just asked a question that felt out of the blue because of that. I felt like invisible gears were aligned in my head.
Isn't there something strange about it being a mere coincidence?
"What about the nightmares that come when it rains? You don't remember a thing?"
"I don't remember."
"But try to remember quickly!"
Raphael's expression, which had been serious the whole time, turned a little absurd.
"There's no way it would work if I told you to do it that way..."
"Come on! Oh, no. It's raining right now, so you feel sick."
"Yes?"
"It hurts. Didn't you get sick every day it rained anyway?"
"This is a shower, isn't it?"
I'm really picky. I shook my head and grumbled.
I had an uneasy feeling that something was not going to be resolved, but I couldn't help it.
"Okay, then. I want to sleep."
I lay back on the bed and closed my eyelids, listening to the sound of the rain as a lullaby. I heard Raphael obediently follow my instructions and take a seat on the floor.
The tension went away and fatigue poured out in an instant. I quickly fell asleep.
***
How many hours have passed like that?
'Hmm, what does this mean....'
Looking at the darkness in the room, it seemed like it was still early morning.
I was on high alert and trying to find the reason why I woke up.
"Happily... I wanted to do it."
Raphael muttered as he curled up his large body on the floor.
'Could it be that he's dreaming?'
He said it was okay because it was raining earlier! Even in the dark, the man's distorted expression was clear.
I quietly got off the bed and went to Raphael's side.
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