IELNDMH - Chapter 88 < Goodbye, Adrian >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
Even after getting ready for bed and asking all of the maids, I still had time until the appointed time with Adrian.
I think it was a good idea to bring business documents from the secretariat just in case.
I laid down on the sofa and flipped through the papers one by one for a long time, thinking about looking at the papers I couldn't read during the day.
Suddenly, I raised my head and my eyes naturally fell on the empty window.
It was the very spot where Cedric, in the form of a black cat, always sat politely and tapped the window with his paw.
'Because he doesn't come, the empty space feels big.'
A few hours ago, I had just arrived at the dark mansion.
I had already told Cedric, who came to my living room as usual, not to visit the Dark Mansion tonight.
The reason was that there was one last thing to talk about with Adrian before he left.
I thought Cedric would be displeased, but I couldn't lie.
But contrary to my expectations, Cedric had a surprisingly calm expression.
'Yes, I can't help it. Let's do that.'
When I remembered Cedric saying those words, my lips pressed together again.
Then, I inadvertently turned my head and saw that the minute hand of the clock was already pointing to 5 minutes before the appointed time.
"Uh? What is a time like this?”
I threw the papers carelessly on the table and quickly left the bedroom.
And that was when I finally opened the front door of the dark mansion.
“Your Highness, you have come.”
Adrian, who was standing at the bottom of the front door stairs looking at the flower bed, slowly turned around.
He smiled softly, leaving the beautiful and mysterious garden behind him.
“Are you in a hurry?”
“No, rather than that...”
“You stayed up late working and then came out in a hurry, right?”
Adrian spoke as if he knew everything about me.
Having hit the nail on the head unexpectedly, I smiled awkwardly and walked down the stairs to the front door.
“Yes, that’s right. Adrian knows too much about me.”
As I stood next to Adrian and touched my lips, he let out a small chuckle.
"Sure. Your Highness is the only master I have served with my own hands.”
Adrian's only owner.
Those words suddenly passed through my heart.
'Adrian is about to become the head of the family, so it's not entirely wrong to say that I was the only owner in his life.'
It was only then that I realized that I would soon be breaking up with Adrian.
I shook my head, trying to remember my sinking feeling.
Anyway, isn't this the place where I came to hear Adrian's goodbye?
If, as Adrian said, I was his only master, I wanted to leave an even better final farewell.
I smiled slightly and slowly walked towards the garden where the purple ‘Gift from the Demon King’ was spread out.
“Adrian, you said you had something you wanted to say to me today, right?”
Adrian just nodded and was silent for a while.
His lips parted when our feet touched the center of the flower-filled garden.
“...Your Highness.”
Adrian, who stopped first, called to me quietly.
Then my feet also stopped in that spot.
The flowers blooming around us swayed in the night breeze, emitting a soft purple light whenever they touched our two bodies.
I slowly turned around and looked at Adrian, anticipating his final goodbye.
“Yes, Adrian.”
When I smiled softly, pretending not to know anything, his gaze, which had been touching his lips a few times, slowly sank.
Let's be silent like that for a while. Adrian seemed to have finally come to his senses and parted his lips.
"I am... I decided to become the head of the Monter family.”
“...”
“So now, I must leave Your Highness’s side.”
Adrian, who spoke calmly, somehow looked dangerous, as if he was about to collapse.
Is it because I broke up with someone I depended on a lot?
It felt like the regret would turn into tears at any moment and flow down.
I bit my lip to suppress my emotions before I could finally smile at him.
“Go away. I can’t imagine it yet, but I’m sure Adrian will do well.”
“...”
“Of course, it’s a shame to break up with Adrian.”
Adrian was looking at me blankly, with an expression that showed he had a lot to say.
He spoke again with his eyes slightly lowered as if he was struggling to hold back those many words.
“At this moment, I am probably the one who hates being separated from Your Highness more than anyone else.”
He continued his words with force as if making a serious confession.
“But I’m pushing myself. If I leave now, I can be proud when I meet Your Highness again, and...”
“...”
“I can finally have the strength to be with the woman I love.”
The blue-violet eyes turned to me again.
Beautiful eyes that reveal an unprecedented thirst.
I couldn't see it right away and lowered my head.
And I realized that now was the moment when I had to say what I wanted to say to him.
“Adrian. I spent the night with Cedric.”
I spoke calmly and looked at him.
“You know better than anyone else what this is about.”
“...”
“The fact that Cedric was imprinted on me.”
For a brief moment, I could see the tip of Adrian's chin trembling slightly, but he quickly mastered his expression.
"I know."
At those simple words, the eyes that had been looking at him slowly opened wide without me realizing it.
Adrian looked at me silently, and a slightly rough breathing sound came out of his lips.
“I knew, but... But it doesn’t matter.”
I shook my head at him who spoke firmly.
“Adrian. Of course, I am human, so I am not imprinted on Cedric, but that is meaningless, because...”
This moment of having to throw away my beloved Adrian was difficult.
I took a moment to catch my breath and then spoke again.
“I love him. Cedric.”
As he slowly raised his head, Adrian's face came into view.
His beautiful forehead was wrinkled as if it was about to fall off at any moment.
When I saw him like that, a tingling pain filled my heart, but I did my best to pretend to be indifferent and looked at him.
Behind him, countless flowers shed purple light and swayed in the night breeze.
Adrian looks at me with sad eyes, leaving that mysterious scene behind him.
Seeing him like that, for the first time, I realized what it means to be beautiful to the point of being sad.
In his blue-violet eyes, faint resentment and intense affection were suddenly mixed together.
It was only for a moment that those eyes stared at me in silence.
Eventually, Adrian's lips slowly parted.
“But it doesn’t matter.”
“Adrian....”
Adrian turned his back on me as if denying what I said.
“Unlike demons, humans’ affection for their companions can change at any time. In any case, in the future, if Your Highness's feelings towards His Highness the Grand Duke change, and if an opportunity comes to me...”
As if he had finally come to his senses, he turned to look at me again.
At the same time, the corners of his lips gently curved up.
“I just try not to miss that opportunity.”
After saying that, Adrian picked one of the flowers near me and walked closer to me.
Then he gently lifted my hand and placed a flower on my palm.
As soon as the warmth of the hand penetrated the flower, the purple light flowed even more brilliantly.
Soon, Adrian's gaze, which had been resting on my palm, turned to me again.
“So now I really have to say goodbye.”
"Now... You mean?”
At my question, he nodded his head with a smile on his face.
“The passage in the Dark Mansion belongs only to Vincent. Low-level mixed-blood demons sometimes go directly to the forest of the demon world, but high-class demons like me can return to the demon world from anywhere.”
Adrian slowly looked around and smiled at me again.
“That’s why I wanted to leave this place where our memories are and see off Your Highness.”
“Adrian, but right now...!”
I've tried my best to act calm so far, but in reality, I wasn't fully ready to break up yet.
So, without realizing it, I urgently grabbed Adrian’s sleeve.
But he just shook his head with a smile. Only then did the separation begin to feel real. Eventually, the area around my eyes started to get wet little by little.
“It was painful for me to see Your Highness shed tears, and it was absolute happiness to see you smile, so...”
As Adrian said that, he gently wiped away my tears.
The friendly smile of the day we first met appeared on his face.
“So please don’t cry because of me.”
Adrian murmured, lightly squeezing my palm that holding the flower.
“We will definitely meet again.”
Soon, a purple light began to waver behind him.
“So you must not forget me until that day, Your Highness.”
Adrian looked at me with a soft smile.
The light spread so wide that it seemed as if it would engulf him at any moment, and I held Adrian's hand even more tightly out of fear that he would soon disappear.
“Adrian!”
But like sand slipping through his fingers, Adrian's presence only gradually faded away.
A large light instantly engulfed my vision.
And when I opened my eyes again, Adrian was nowhere to be found.
Like... It's as if he never existed here, to begin with.
Where Adrian disappeared, only light purple flower petals were fluttering in the wind.
As I gazed helplessly at the empty spot, I slowly stretched out my warm hand.
A mysterious purple light was still flowing from the petals placed on the palm of the hand.
Eventually, a teardrop fell onto the thing that resembled Adrian's eye.
“Goodbye, Adrian...”
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