“More than anything, the night makes you dream.”
The Saintess was a more interesting person than he thought.
The Saintess, who should have emphasized the negative aspects of darkness, was defending darkness instead, so how could he not be interested?
Belled was still wearing his armor as if he were a knight and listening to her.
“The temple is a place where it’s so bright that it’s hard to dream or imagine. It’s always noticeable. That’s why I came here.”
She let out a sigh and smiled.
“I thought that if I came here, I might be able to learn how to dream... how to desire something.”
“If it’s how to desire, then how to desire?”
The Saintess’s cheeks turned red at his more direct words.
How to desire. Belled eventually laughed.
The devil doesn’t hold back desire. So wasn’t she coming to the right place?
“To do that,”
Beryl continued.
“I have to get rid of the misunderstanding I unintentionally created here.”
“If it’s a misunderstanding,”
the Saintess said shamelessly.
“The misunderstanding that this is the devil’s family.”
Not sure? Belled’s smile deepened.
“But it wouldn’t be a bad choice for Vine.”
Being accused of being a devil? Belled tilted his head slightly. Beryl spoke to him in a clear voice.
“I am someone who can point out devils, but at the same time, I am the one who can most definitely prove that someone is not a devil.”
Belled narrowed his eyes at those words. It was true.
“By the way, I am still not used to it and I am confused about the time, but if it is not too late,” she asked, tilting her head slightly.
“I would like to meet the person who will become my husband. Have the Duke returned?”
I returned a long time ago. No, I was with you.
“Of course.”
Belled said with a smile.
“Will you guide me?”
Belled shook his head at the voice asking so cheerfully.
“I think it would be okay to guide you.”
And he took a step closer to her.
“...!”
His eyes met the Saintess’s wide-open eyes. Without using his power, he could see his reflection in her brown eyes.
That was strangely amazing. That he was filling everything about her, everything inside her.
Unable to take his eyes off those eyes, he took another step closer.
It was not a distance that a knight and a lady could maintain. Perhaps because they were close, he took another step toward the Saintess who seemed flustered.
Now, it was the distance between a man and a woman.
“Sir?”
A small voice echoed in his chest. Belled tilted his head toward her, holding onto the pillar she was backed up against with his hand.
“Because it’s me.”
“!”
Was she so shocked? Belled was extremely amused by the ripples in the woman’s face, who was trying to maintain her composure.
“Should I call you Saintess Beryl, or Beryl, or neither?”
He asked in a low voice.
“It may be a little early, but should I call you my wife?”
“Th-”
Beryl’s fingers, who seemed flustered and unable to speak for a moment, grabbed the hem of her clothes. In the meantime, her face was also clearly lit up. It was even better under the light.
“Please call me Beryl.”
Her answer was small but clear.
Not Saintess Beryl, but Beryl.
Belled liked that answer. It didn’t seem like she wanted to be treated as a Saintess.
That’s why he was even more curious. Was she here to be a real wife, not a Saintess?
Was that why she was so reluctant to be treated as a Saintess?
His eyes sparkled in the light.
“Yes, Beryl. My name is...”
You know.
“Belled von Vine.”
It was their first meeting, not their first.
***
This man who had followed me from the carriage as a knight, was really Duke Belled Vine?
I felt as if I had been attacked.
I had thought that I was the only one who had decided to watch, but Belled must have been thinking the same thing.
But in a way, it was natural. From the demons’ perspective, there was no way they wouldn’t scout out a Saintess when the greatest enemy of their lives was coming.
But on the other hand, I felt a little less nervous.
This man was not as unruly as I had thought.
Belled von Vine.
Known among humans as Duke Vine, he was the 'Guardian of the End of the World', but... The problem is that his true identity is a devil.
The devils known to the world are extremely vicious, pursue only pleasure, and enjoy trampling on human emotions.
Belled von Vine, who has completely different evaluations at the same time, was hard to guess what kind of person he was.
I was especially worried that he would act cruelly once I arrived on his land.
...Just like the heads of the Yubar and Orobas families in my previous lives.
But this was not the case. It was as if they were devils and this man was human.
"I heard that you came looking for me as soon as you arrived."
Belled said at that. My thoughts, which had been continuing one after another, stopped.
The two people's eyes met under the bright light.
Dark green eyes. They were definitely green, but the more I looked into them, the more they felt pitch black.
I said while looking at those eyes.
"...I didn't know I would meet you, Duke."
Belled laughed at those words.
“I didn’t know Beryl would want to see me first.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t the temple a place where things are boring? Even before marriage, the husband and wife get to know each other, so they would reject it, saying how can a man and a woman share the same place?”
His voice created a gentle leisure and dug into my ears.
“The person who is the pinnacle of that place does something completely different from them.”
I wonder, that thought.
He was still so close, speaking in such a low voice.
I unconsciously grabbed the hem of my clothes tightly.
“...Of course, the priests will hate it, but I intend to give this marriage more meaning than finding the devil's family.”
Still, I had to say what I had to say.
It would have been nice to meet the Duke with my thoughts in order and say what I wanted to say, but the other person seemed to enjoy surprise attacks.
Still, calmly. I thought that the unexpected could happen at any time.
“What if it means more?”
Belled’s low voice echoed around them. I looked up at him.
“No one cares, but at least we should care.”
In fact, you probably don’t care either. At least I should care.
This marriage isn’t some kind of devil-hunting project. It might be for everyone else but for me.
“Basically, it’s marriage.”
Belled didn’t answer for a moment. I continued, studying him.
“I was curious about what kind of person I would marry and spend time with.”
To be exact, I wanted to know what kind of devil you were... more devilish than the temple, Yubar, and Orobas. I wanted to know whether I should prepare to run away from you or prepare to be with you.
My brown eyes began to sparkle as I gradually began to organize my thoughts.
“I thought I was just being suspected.”
I had thought that I was the only one who had decided to watch, but Belled must have been thinking the same thing.
But in a way, it was natural. From the demons’ perspective, there was no way they wouldn’t scout out a Saintess when the greatest enemy of their lives was coming.
But on the other hand, I felt a little less nervous.
This man was not as unruly as I had thought.
Belled von Vine.
Known among humans as Duke Vine, he was the 'Guardian of the End of the World', but... The problem is that his true identity is a devil.
The devils known to the world are extremely vicious, pursue only pleasure, and enjoy trampling on human emotions.
Belled von Vine, who has completely different evaluations at the same time, was hard to guess what kind of person he was.
I was especially worried that he would act cruelly once I arrived on his land.
...Just like the heads of the Yubar and Orobas families in my previous lives.
But this was not the case. It was as if they were devils and this man was human.
"I heard that you came looking for me as soon as you arrived."
Belled said at that. My thoughts, which had been continuing one after another, stopped.
The two people's eyes met under the bright light.
Dark green eyes. They were definitely green, but the more I looked into them, the more they felt pitch black.
I said while looking at those eyes.
"...I didn't know I would meet you, Duke."
Belled laughed at those words.
“I didn’t know Beryl would want to see me first.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t the temple a place where things are boring? Even before marriage, the husband and wife get to know each other, so they would reject it, saying how can a man and a woman share the same place?”
His voice created a gentle leisure and dug into my ears.
“The person who is the pinnacle of that place does something completely different from them.”
I wonder, that thought.
He was still so close, speaking in such a low voice.
I unconsciously grabbed the hem of my clothes tightly.
“...Of course, the priests will hate it, but I intend to give this marriage more meaning than finding the devil's family.”
Still, I had to say what I had to say.
It would have been nice to meet the Duke with my thoughts in order and say what I wanted to say, but the other person seemed to enjoy surprise attacks.
Still, calmly. I thought that the unexpected could happen at any time.
“What if it means more?”
Belled’s low voice echoed around them. I looked up at him.
“No one cares, but at least we should care.”
In fact, you probably don’t care either. At least I should care.
This marriage isn’t some kind of devil-hunting project. It might be for everyone else but for me.
“Basically, it’s marriage.”
Belled didn’t answer for a moment. I continued, studying him.
“I was curious about what kind of person I would marry and spend time with.”
To be exact, I wanted to know what kind of devil you were... more devilish than the temple, Yubar, and Orobas. I wanted to know whether I should prepare to run away from you or prepare to be with you.
My brown eyes began to sparkle as I gradually began to organize my thoughts.
“I thought I was just being suspected.”
He smiled.
“You asked me why I met you in the guise of a knight. I’ll give you the same answer.”
He laughed.
“They say we shouldn’t meet before the winds of the world blow, but I was curious about what kind of person you would be to be my wife.”
I thought as soon as I heard those words. No, that was a lie. My instincts were telling me. He must have been nervous about the Saintess coming.
“So what kind of person did I look like?”
I asked. Belled spread out his hands.
“I found out that Beryl didn’t think negatively of Vine.”
“Of course.”
I tried to speak with as much confidence as possible.
“You can’t doubt without evidence—”
But the smooth voice wasn’t over yet.
“Or maybe you’re not negative toward the devil, I thought.”
“That...”
I was speechless for a moment. I was struck by the point, but I couldn’t agree. Because I didn’t know what the other person was thinking. Usually, the devil would be happy if the Saintess, who he thought had come to capture him, said she wasn’t hostile to him... But this time, I thought it might be different.
I can’t just guess at the devil’s mind. No matter how untrustworthy the priests were, they wouldn’t be the ones you could trust as the opposite of the devil. I had to be careful.
I was about to answer, having had many thoughts in my mind for a short moment.
“I'm joking.”
A light voice instantly changed the surrounding air. Our gazes met again.
I saw dark green eyes smiling as if nothing was wrong. Eyes that could not read his thoughts at all.
He smiled.
“I found out that the person I will take as my bride is more interesting than I thought, so I got what I wanted.”
It was the answer to why he approached me as a knight. He asked.
“How is Beryl?”
Are you satisfied with the person who will be your husband?
The voice asking that question sounded secretive for some reason.
“Ah..."
I stopped in my tracks at the breath that touched me.
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