IELNDMH - Chapter 72 < Bloodstained Fountain >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
The blue eyes that had always been looking down at me became even more profound.
As I looked up at his beautiful face as if fascinated, a large, warm hand touched my cheek.
I gently cupped his large hand that cupped my cheek.
And that moment when I gently closed my eyes.
Finally, I felt a soft texture on my lips.
Cedric's lips.
Eventually, he dug deeper into the gap that opened between us.
A movement that is persistent, as if trying to tie me down, but at the same time extremely gentle.
My heart was beating louder as he moved with a mixture of desperation and leisure.
"Ha...”
My heated breath tickled the tips of my slightly wet lips.
The refreshing breeze of a spring night. Cedric's scent passes by the tip of my nose on the wind.
Everything seemed to stir strangely in my heart.
The second kiss with Cedric was more polite, affectionate, and lovely.
When our lips met again and finally separated, it was much later than we felt.
We just looked at each other for a moment.
A shy smile spread across our lips, like that of a boy and a girl who had just confirmed their feelings for each other.
I looked up at Cedric again with a smile on my face.
“Tell me one more time, Cedric.”
A soft smile spread across Cedric's lips as he looked into my longing eyes.
“Which one?”
“All you really want is me now.”
I wanted confirmation.
The reason he regretted it so much was not because he missed the former Rebecca, but because he fell in love with me now.
I am qualified to be his one and only companion in his life.
So no more... I don't have to be afraid of being betrayed by love.
"Huh?"
I was a little nervous about Cedric's silence, so I gently urged him.
However, Cedric paused for a moment, looking a little troubled.
"That...”
It was a time when the anxiety that had subsided began to creep up again.
“...Could it be something like a variation of a previous exam?”
“A variation of the previous exam?”
“Why, you know. They ask you to choose an answer, but it turns out that there are multiple answers, so you end up failing...”
Cedric pursed his lips and then spoke again.
“It’s something the mischievous professors at the Imperial University are good at.”
My eyes were shut, but soon a sound of wind coming out of my lips came out.
It was because I understood his words too late.
As I covered my mouth and suppressed laughter, Cedric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“I don’t want to be hated by you again for saying that I like you better now compared to back then.”
Cedric seemed to be wary of saying the wrong thing in front of me.
It was even more difficult for me to hold back my laughter when I saw his uncharacteristically embarrassed appearance.
'I heard there's a bit of a cute side to him.'
As I continued to laugh while covering my mouth, Cedric's eyes narrowed little by little.
“Stop laughing, Rebecca.”
Although the voice seemed to be broken, it still had a sweetness to it, like the way he spoke to a child.
Cedric immediately pulled me into his arms.
“I told you to stop laughing.”
As if he was warning me one after another, he bit the shell of my ear lightly enough that it didn't hurt.
"Ouch."
I pretended to be hurt and playfully glanced at Cedric.
If I didn't do that, I felt like I would quickly get caught looking red-faced.
“Cedric.”
"Huh."
I gently got out of his arms and took a small step back.
“Don’t worry about that, can you just tell me honestly?”
“...”
“I like myself better now. I will never go back to the way I was back then.”
A mischievous smile spread across Cedric's lips.
“Are you really confident that yiu won’t go back to the way you were?”
"Hmm... Maybe?"
Cedric smiled slightly and continued speaking again.
“Yes, I like you the way you are now. If you hadn’t changed, I would probably still hate you.”
When I playfully rolled my eyes, he twitched the tip of his nose mischievously and then hugged me tightly again.
I wish you could hold me in your arms like that for a long time.
Eventually, Cedric let out a long breath and continued speaking.
“It may seem funny to you, but... I think I finally understand the person you used to be.”
“What does that mean?”
Cedric slowly let go of me from his arms and gently held my shoulders.
As I met him like that, his blue eyes were full of affection for me.
“You are curious about my daily life, jealous of someone around me, and because of that, you end up doing childish things.”
“...”
“Those appearances are quite similar to me looking at you right now.”
He paused for a moment, and the corners of his lips softly curved.
“It was my first time experiencing it. It's a feeling that even reason can't handle. Even though I felt ashamed of myself for being petty, I couldn’t help it when I saw you again.”
“...”
“I finally understand your feelings just a little bit. Because before I knew it, I was starting to resemble you little by little.”
Cedric lowered his eyes as if overcome with emotion, then looked at me again.
“Rebecca, since I started loving you as you are now.”
As the word ‘love’ flowed from those beautiful lips again, my heartbeat became stronger once again.
Cedric, who was looking at me blankly, gently held my hand.
“I think it’s finally time to give this to you.”
Cedric immediately got down on one knee in front of me and looked into his jacket pocket.
What was eventually taken out was a very small box.
For example, a size large enough to hold a ring...
“Cedric, you...?”
Cedric, who was looking at me in surprise, slowly opened the box with a smile on his face.
Then, a beautiful ring with a brilliant red jewel appeared.
“It’s a marriage proposal ring that’s been passed down in our family for generations.”
“...”
“Proof that you have become the wife of the Grand Duke and the mistress of the Twins family. That's why, unfortunately... It is also a gift that was ultimately not given to Rebecca in the past.”
The blue eyes looking up at me were shining as brightly as the token.
“So it may be late, but I’m going to hand it over now. The woman whom these Cedric Twins truly love... To you."
Cedric was still on his knees, looking up at me.
There was not even the slightest wavering in his gaze.
The moment when I intuited something and unconsciously covered my mouth.
“Rebecca Twins.”
A series of attractive low notes flowed from his lips.
“My only companion in my life.”
My pulse raced all over my body, along with a pleasant goosebumps feeling.
The man I've always dreamed of, Cedric Twins.
He declared that I would be his one and only companion in his life.
'And now this situation... It's really real.'
That fact made my heart beat wildly again.
And finally, Cedric's lips were about to fall once again...
It was right then...
***
Whoa whoa!
It sounded like something heavy had fallen from a high place.
At that dull yet creepy noise, we looked out the glass door of the terrace without even thinking about anyone else.
Immediately afterward, a series of screams that seemed to tear the eardrums were heard.
“Aaaah!”
The screams that started like that erupted simultaneously from the mouths of several people.
“Aaaah!”
“Yes, people...!”
That was enough to instantly shatter the romantic atmosphere between us.
Cedric's beautiful smile also ended with that unpleasant noise.
'What happened outside?'
Cedric seemed to think the same thing. His brows furrowed fiercely as he stared out the glass door.
“At times like this, I lament the fact that I am the Grand Duke of this empire.”
The fact that our time was interrupted seemed to upset him. However, as Cedric said, he was the Grand Duke of this empire. That meant that he was someone who could not ignore the accident that occurred at the Emperor's birthday party.
“Let’s go quickly, Cedric.”
As I held his hand and spoke as if urging him on, Cedric let out a long breath as if he had no choice. I quickly held his hand and went out to the terrace. Then, I saw a number of people leaning on the railing and staring at the banquet hall on the first floor.
Some could not hold back their screams, while others were hastily covering the eyes of their wives or lovers.
‘What on earth is going on...?'
An ominous energy came over me.
The moment when I finally stood in front of the railing and checked under it with Cedric. My eyes slowly opened wide in surprise.
The champagne fountain decorated the banquet hall on the first floor even more gorgeously. The fountain had already turned a frighteningly dark red with someone's body in it. Cedric and I quickly went down to the banquet hall on the first floor, holding each other's hands.
The situation in the banquet hall was even more chaotic than it looked from afar. Blood-stained champagne was overflowing from the fountain, and several noble ladies were sprawled out on the sofa, fanned, as if they had already fainted.
“Your Majesty, what on earth is going on?”
Cedric asked as he approached Emperor Letitz. Emperor Letitz then let out a long breath, as if relieved by Cedric's appearance, and tried to hide his embarrassment.
“It looks like someone fell from the railing on the top floor. It looks like he fell into a fountain and hit his head, not anywhere else. I wonder if he will survive... ”
The captain of the guard arrived just in time, stood in front of the Emperor who continued speaking, and bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, I heard that there was a problem in the banquet hall and rushed over.”
“Ah, you’re here. That fountain over there.”
Emperor Letiz continued, pointing to the fountain with his finger.
“Check who was involved in the accident. And we will thoroughly investigate the reason.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When the guard captain looked at his men behind him, the guard quickly headed to the fountain.
'No way, the person I know... I guess not?'
I felt a little curious, but even so, I couldn't muster the courage to check the face up close. So all I can do is look around and look for familiar faces. But familiar faces were nowhere to be seen.
Duke Bold, Camilla, Henry, Lobelia, and even Adrian.
'Especially, I don't think I've seen Duke Bold in the banquet hall since he left with Cedric earlier... '
The moment when I unconsciously looked at Cedric due to the ominous energy coming over me. The security captain's voice rang loudly throughout the venue.
“Your Majesty, we have confirmed the identity of the body!”
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