IELNDMH - Chapter 36 < Because I Don't Think You'll Hug Me >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
As soon as the carriage stopped, the employees hurried out of the mansion. They were shaking their feet, not knowing what to do, as they saw Cedric getting off the wrecked carriage.
"Your Highness the Grand Duke! What on earth happened to you?"
The aide hurriedly approached Cedric and said.
"Your Highness, I will meet you right away. See the doctor right away......!"
"Don't make a fuss."
While Cedric spoke firmly to his aide, Adrian came to my side.
"Your Highness the Grand Duchess, I will take you inside."
That was when Adrian naturally extended his hand to me as I got out of the carriage. Before I knew it, Cedric returned to me, took Adrian's hand away, and immediately hugged me.
"Uh... Uh?"
A single word came out of my mouth. I looked at Cedric with wide eyes, but he only gave orders to his aide indifferently.
"Please call the doctor to the dark mansion."
Then, all the employees, including the aide, exchanged looks with puzzled expressions.
"Dark.... To Dark the mansion?"
"Yes. I need to check the Grand Duchess's condition immediately."
With those words, Cedric held me in his arms and walked straight toward the dark mansion. The workers slowly lowered their heads as they watched us moving further and further away.
I, who had to watch the scene from behind Cedric's back, was so embarrassed by this situation that I almost died.
"There's no need for this, Cedric."
"There is. You will be very surprised."
Cedric walked silently.
"I was indeed surprised, but there was no need to carry me..."
When I noticed Adrian walking beside him, he hurriedly approached Cedric.
"Your Highness the Grand Duke. Your Highness must be very tired. I will take care of escorting Her Highness to the bedroom."
Cedric's steps stopped in place. He looked at Adrian for a long time with an expression that I couldn't understand what was going on. Finally, Cedric's lips slowly opened.
"Stop talking nonsense and Rebecca, just wrap your arms around me."
Adrian slowly blinked his eyes and asked again.
"Yes? What is that...."
"I don't think the Grand Duchess will hug me on her own anymore. Help open the door."
"..."
"Because that's the only thing you can do right now."
Adrian looked embarrassed as he looked at Cedric, who spoke strongly as if warning him.
'Why do you say something like that with such a straight face, it makes the atmosphere so bloody...'
As the atmosphere got more awkward, I hurriedly wrapped my arms around Cedric's neck.
"Are you asking me to do it like this?"
Then Cedric looked down at me in his arms and raised the corners of his lips coolly.
"I finally like it now."
"....."
"That's a reason you put your arms around my neck like this."
"Ah... You don't like it."
When I tried to loosen my arms again, Cedric opened his mouth in an uncharacteristically urgent manner.
"I don't hate it, Rebecca."
"Yes?"
"I don't hate it anymore."
"......."
"So, I would appreciate it if you could at least stay like this until we get to the lobby."
Cedric said, looking at me blankly as if I was asking a difficult favor.
'If you say things like that, how can I ask you to take it down?'
I nodded, pretending to look the other way.
"If that makes you feel at ease, well... I will do that for you."
Somehow, my face seemed to heat up. At this, Cedric let out a small laugh.
"Okay, thank you for allowing me."
And he started walking again. As I had no choice but to lie quietly in Cedric's arms, my eyes fell on Adrian, who was walking behind the two of us. For some reason, he had his gaze lowered.
"Is Adrian okay?"
Adrian hurriedly raised his head in response to my question, which I asked over Cedric's back. It seemed like he was lost in his thoughts for a moment.
"Ah.... I'm fine, Your Highness."
"It was Adrian who used his whole body to block those monsters in the coach compartment."
Adrian smiled and shook his head.
"It's really okay. There are no injuries."
"Well, that's a good thing. Is this true?"
"Yes. It's true, Your Highness."
It was at that time that I silently looked at Adrian, who was nodding his head.
"It must be true. Adrian's magical power is quite outstanding even in the demon world."
Cedric suddenly intervened, slightly frowning one eyebrow. It was an expression that did not like something.
"So you don't have to worry about it."
"Yes, but......."
"You need something to worry about, so worry about me, your husband."
"Why you?"
"Why? Of course...."
"Aren't you the possessor of greater magical power than Adrian?"
Cedric had been acting like a very upset person just a moment ago. But now, for some reason, he even raised the corners of his mouth.
"Well, I'm kind of like that."
Cedric said that and entered the dark mansion through the door opened by Adrian. When I finally arrived at the lobby, I lightly taped Cedric on the shoulder
"Now this is the lobby. Please drop me off."
Then Cedric paused for a moment and eventually let me down.
"Thank you, Cedric. From here, I can go up with Adrian."
"... "
"You too, go back and rest. If anything, you'll be more tired than I am."
At my words, Adrian came next to me as if he had been waiting. Then, Cedric's gaze suddenly became harsh and turned to Adrian.
"I will take good care of you, so don't worry, Your Highness."
"There is a decent maid, but why is a butler..."
"...."
Right at that moment, Cedric's brows gradually narrowed as he suddenly stopped speaking. Adrian also blinked as if he sensed something unusual. I just wanted to stay still for a long time. The two men's eyes simultaneously turned towards the lobby's reception room.
"Why...?
'That's it?'
I also turned my gaze in the same direction as them. Then my face reflexively frowned.
'Ah, that eerie picture frame.'
I tried not to watch it, but I ended up watching it again today. It was the same picture frame that filled one wall of the lobby. Inside the frame was a view of a pitch-black forest. Only trees were drawn densely, and the overall saturation was extremely low. In a word, it is a picture with a dark and gloomy feeling.
When I was in front of that painting, I felt like I was left alone in a dark forest. And now, the two men were staring at the eerie picture. How long did that strange silence last?
Cedric let out a long sigh and frowned.
"It looks like that crazy guy is coming."
Adrian also nodded at his words.
"Yes, it looks like you noticed what happened in the forest earlier."
Frustrated by the ambiguous conversation between the two people, I quickly opened my mouth.
"Who on earth is coming? Are you sure you're talking about that picture?"
Then Cedric slowly nodded his head.
"Vincent will be here soon."
Vincent? Who is that?
Adrian smiled awkwardly, looking at me still confused.
"Your Highness. In fact, that is a picture of the Demon World Forest and a passage leading there."
When I heard that, I remembered what Adrian said the other day.
'The forest of the Demon World is very dark. If you happen to find this flower when you are lost, you are considered lucky.'
Ah, that's why the forest in the picture was so dark.
When I nodded thoughtfully, Adrian bit his lower lip and opened his mouth again.
"And now... The owner of this place is coming."
"Is he the owner of this place?"
Then Adrian nodded with a nervous look on his face.
"He is the 'real owner' of the dark mansion."
Soon, a small light appeared at the top of the picture, in the deepest part of the Demon World Forest. The small light began to slowly move toward the bottom of the frame. It looked as if someone was walking along the road holding a lantern.
As if my thoughts were not wrong, the trees around them swayed vividly every time the light moved. As the light gets closer, I can occasionally hear the sound of the wind in the forest and the cries of animals in the night.
That was when my lips slowly parted at the unbelievable sight I saw with my own two eyes.
Soon, someone began to slowly walk out of the picture, wading through the bushes.
"I was having a good time..."
An unfamiliar voice echoed eerily throughout the living room.
"Why, who is this bastard that's bothering me right now?"
Golden eyes slowly emerged from the darkness. The man had silver hair that covered half of his forehead, and his fierce eyes were full of murder. There was a large scar on the right corner of his mouth, and several scars were also visible on his bronzed abs exposed through the loose nightgown.
It was a time when I unconsciously stung at the impression of a man who seemed like a bloodthirsty hyena.
"You've come a long way and you're talking nonsense, Vincent."
Cedric scolded the man coldly. Then, the face of the man who looked like he was going to find that 'bastard' and tear him to pieces, slowly began to soften.
"Hey, this is my cousin, Cedric. Strangely, I met you as soon as I arrived."
Vincent chuckled as he tied the straps of his nightgown.
"Cedric, I'm more than happy to see that you still have that dirty mouth habit. Every time you do that, I feel a little better because I feel like I'm still less touched by the human world."
"....Ha."
"So, why don't you come back to the Demon World instead of having to live among cute humans hiding your true nature?"
Cedric frowned as if Vincent was tired, but Vincent just giggled again.
"Vincent, it's been a while since I saw you."
"Oh, even Adrian? Was today my birthday?"
Although he had been struggling to survive just a little while ago, he was now constantly smiling. Eventually, when Vincent's eyes fell on me, Adrian came to my side and whispered.
"This is Vincent, the head of the Norman family, a grand duchy of the Demon World. It is the family of the Twin brothers who returned to the demon world in ancient times."
Although it was not shown in the original work, the two families seemed to have continued to interact even after the Twin brother's family returned to the demon world.
Vincent, who was looking at me with cool golden eyes, slowly opened his mouth.
"Right. I get it. Are you the Grand Duchess of the Twins, known for being eccentric?"
As expected, it seemed like Vincent was meeting me for the first time. Cedric kept everything a secret from her regarding anything related to the Demon World, so he probably never introduced them to each other.
'Assuming that's true. What is the first meeting??'
When I looked up with my eyes wide open, Vincent chuckled and continued speaking.
"I often heard about your humanity even in the demon world. Even my relatives were so shocked that they stuck their tongues out, so they told me everything."
"Cedric said that?"
"No, not him."
"Then...... ?"
"Devil."
Vincent wrinkled his nose and smiled.
"That old man is also my relative."
He looked at me with a grinning face for a while.
"Hey, by the way."
Vincent approached me cautiously, scratching one eyebrow. A rough and wild impression.
Although he had a similar appearance to Cedric, the feeling was completely different. I felt somewhat intimidated by the broad shoulders and low waist. The gaze is once again looking at me harshly. As he came closer, his lips slowly parted.
"Haven't we two met somewhere before?"
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