IDEFYEM - Chapter 88
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
As I panicked and walked away from him, Raphael quickly took out a handkerchief and took care of the situation.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth clean and removed any traces left on the floor.
But I couldn't erase the memories that had just remained vivid in my mind.
"Why is the blood..."
The man I loved vomited blood. I stuttered in shock.
When I first heard about his curse, there was only one year left. However, due to his sturdy male physique and personality that did not show his pain, he tended to forget about it and live his life.
With my lips quivering, I took a closer look at Raphael's complexion. He had a pale face, more bloodless than usual.
At that time, Raphael opened his mouth with his usual relaxed smile.
"... I got caught."
"Yes?"
"I thought I would like to gain your sympathy and return your feelings to the way they were, sorry."
Raphael apologizes for his mistake as if the situation just happened was his own actions. I thought it would be better if this were the truth.
However, the way he spoke incessantly was clearly different from usual.
I fiddled with my fingertips for a while and then spoke in a low voice.
"... It's not."
"You're right."
"You're trying to make it all seem like you made this up because you don't want me to worry about you. Is it wrong?"
You were too hasty. Do you think I would fall for such a trivial trick?
I bit my lip. It tasted bitter.
If this was your intention. It would have been a huge success, you.
"Why do you keep calling yourself a villain?"
Raphael said nothing as if he had hit the nail on the head. At that moment, a piece of memory from long ago flashed through my mind.
'That handkerchief... I'm used to it. I once received it from the Grand Duke.'
At a masquerade ball, I had a conversation with the Grand Duke through a curtain.
"S-sorry, therefore. Huh, huh!"
The hiccupping sound that came out of panic could easily be mistaken for crying.
At that time, I thought I might have walked away because it was annoying to hear the cold-hearted villain, the Grand Duke. Now I know it can't be like that.
I wonder if the Grand Duke dropped it by mistake or why the handkerchief was there.
"Don't be afraid and don't hate me."
"Yes?"
"That's Okay. Let's go out and talk first."
I mumbled in a deliberately cold tone and walked outside. While holding Raphael's sleeve with one hand.
***
I was given my own room separately so I could unpack and rest comfortably, but since we were a married couple, we had to have the same bedroom.
I headed to the bedroom we hadn't seen before with Raphael.
'The interior decoration here is also overwhelming.'
I thought the story would be quite long, so I asked the maid to bring me some tea.
I sat in front of a table under the moonlight and sipped a cup of richly scented rose tea.
Raphael was the first to open his mouth.
"Shall we talk about the library first?"
"I do what's you're comfortable."
Although I pretended to be cold, I was actually more concerned about his health than anyone else.
'It looks like your complexion has come back a little bit.'
I glanced sideways at him for no reason and waited for the story to begin.
"I've said it before. There's nothing I haven't tried to break the curse. Black magic was one of them."
"I have no intention of criticizing you, so don't worry about me. It's not like I lied about my identity and married an innocent girl."
Raphael cleared his throat with an embarrassed look and continued speaking.
"As the saying goes, poison is cured with poison, so I thought this situation could be improved with black magic, which is closer to a curse than anything else."
"I guess you had pretty high hopes. The amount of books was enormous."
"For a while. However, there is little precedent for black magic targeting such difficult curses, so I decided that it would not be easy to find someone to cast it or to do it secretly."
Although we were dealing with a difficult topic, Raphael seemed very honest.
"At that time, I had relatively time to spare, so I thought I would wait a little longer and look elsewhere."
I was nodding his head while listening to the story with a serious expression.
Raphael suddenly clapped his hands together and smiled brightly.
"After waiting so long, voila! Didn't you appear as if by magic?"
"... Well."
It sounded like magic, but it wasn't like that at all. In the end, I have never been of any significant help to Raphael until now.
I just watched helplessly as the man was bleeding, but I kept digging.
I hated being depressed like this.
"You had relatively free time back then, what about now?"
"There's still room...."
"Don't lie. It's not the first time you've vomited blood like before."
Unlike me, who was embarrassed, he handled the situation familiarly.
"Excuse me, but let me take a look."
"Yes?"
I suddenly stood up and stared at Raphael's torso.
"You can do it. I feel the flow of magic power, naturally."
It was my first time doing this, but it wasn't difficult. It seemed like it was thanks to the magic stone necklace that Vermont gave me as a gift.
I saw through the magic flowing through his body as if I were clairvoyant.
'Magic power is concentrated like a lump where the heart should be.'
It was a complicated feeling to face a condition that I had only heard about through explanations.
The first thing I felt was helplessness.
'That... How can I fix it?'
In the first place, filling the empty space with magical power was only a temporary expedient.
Not only was the magical power not intact, leaving internal scars, but the power that replaced the heart was also gradually weakening.
"It'll probably hurt."
Even now, he may be smiling while enduring the slight pain.
"I don't feel relaxed at all."
"...Haha."
I became anxious because the time I had been ignoring until now seemed to be coming before my eyes in the form of a stopwatch. So It seemed like I had inadvertently put my nails to my mouth without realizing it.
Just as I was about to bite my fingertips, Raphael gently grabbed my wrist.
"Then you get damaged, Enri."
"Oh, it's okay to just leave it as is."
"Don't hurt yourself because of me, even a little bit."
The moment I raised my head, I made direct eye contact with Raphael.
Even though my heart was pounding, I felt like emotions welling up inside my chest.
"I don't think everything I've done so far has been useless."
"Me too."
"But I'm not sure it's helping you."
Only then did I say out loud the words I had been suppressing inside.
"I discovered that the Duke commits terrible evil deeds. I will gather evidence step by step to save people and help avenge Sarah."
"You're doing well."
"Then, when the Duke's authority comes into my hands, I will search for the family's magic tools. With that, I break your curse...."
Raphael's hand, which was gently holding my wrist, came up. With the lips, cheeks, and finally around the eyes.
As I blinked my eyes in confusion, I felt tears flowing down my face.
'Oh. I guess I was trying to clean it.'
I guess you've become the person who notices me crying before I do
"That's the plan right now, but..."
I raised my hand and wiped my eyes. , I spoke with my trembling lips holding back tears.
"What if I'm late...".
"That's right, Enri."
Raphael, who was sitting at the table across from me, stood up and approached me
However, when he actually approached me, he couldn't do anything about me as tears were falling, so he just stood next to me, fidgeting.
"Would you like to go to bed?"
"Are you crazy?"
"No, because my posture looks uncomfortable. To hug you and comfort you...."
"It's crazy because I keep going back and forth."
"I'm sorry."
When I saw it like that, it was a little funny and the tears quickly stopped.
I sniffled one last time and raised my head to make eye contact with him.
"What are you thinking?"
"Can I be honest with you?"
"You have to be honest, then. Are you planning on fooling me for another few months?"
That embarrassed face is cute and funny, so I keep treating it coldly. To the point where it feels like a long time since I was afraid of him as the Grand Duke.
"How dare I... I thought it was beautiful that you cried because of me."
It was even more so when my heart sank at just one word like this.
As I remained speechless, Raphael quickly picked me up and hugged me.
I was a bit used to it because I had done it a few times, so I wasn't embarrassed this time.
He put me down on the spacious, soft bed and pulled out a thick blanket.
"Raphael, I hate you so much."
Raphael's arm, which was pulling a bunch of blankets to cover me, stopped for a moment.
After much thought, this was the answer he came up with.
"I love you."
It was a shameless attitude.
Even though I didn't hate Raphael, I thought there was no answer.
'I guess I'll have to go to that room in the library again tomorrow.'
The image of Raphael bleeding did not disappear and kept repeating in my mind.
That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep deeply.
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