Chapter 43

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“Your Grace…….?”

Perhaps, he still hasn’t come into his right mind? Nelia looked at the duke anxiously.

There was no apparent expression on his face, which always emitted a friendly mood. His appearance was close to looking powerless.

Nelia eventually got out of bed and walked up to the duke first.

Now that she moved closer, she could see the duke’s expression wincing for a moment. Seeing his eyes weren’t as hazy as the last time, this seemed to be the usual duke.

Nelia shook her hand right in front of the duke’s face.

“Your Grace, what’s with you, you should give a little bit of response……. Akh.”

The duke caught her by the wrist. The applied force wasn’t strong, but it was enough to surprise her.

Nelia looked down at her wrist held by him and raised his head, the duke’s eyes met her ever so slowly.

“Nelia…….”

The silver eyes that met her were drenched in despondency.

How in the world did she keep getting better at reading his feelings?

Not only when he was in his human form, but when he also became a snake, it seemed that she was able to feel his emotions when she looked into his hazy eyes.

The duke spoke slowly.

“Don’t you……. Feel some sort of dread toward me now?”

Nelia’s eyes blinked slowly.

“You’re saying……. Shouldn’t I be afraid of you?”

“Not just showing you the fact that a ferocious monster is the other side of me, I even tried to hurt you, Nelia.”

The duke murmured while dropping his head.

“I never wanted to show that side of me to Nelia…….”

The duke’s grip on Nelia’s wrist tightened.

“But it’s selfish of me…….”

His hand trembled slightly.

“Not wanting to let go of you.”

Nelia listened to his monologue without muttering anything.

She previously thought there would be no greater secret than the duke’s transformation to a serpent.

But, the duke turned into a giant, ferocious snake yesterday, not just a tiny snake.

A creature that couldn’t be called a snake, it was more like a monster.

The duke has kept that secret well-hidden until now. It must have been his weakness.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t shocked. She was more than surprised as she almost died yesterday. If she had seen it before she grew attached to the duke, she would have probably ran away without looking back.

But when she felt pity for the duke who had hidden such a secret for so long, she couldn’t find it in her to abstain herself from their relationship so easily.

It was still the same until now.

Her heart was melting at the sight of the man who looked like he was about to shed pitiful tears at any moment.

“Your Grace.”

Nelia called the duke in a low voice, and his gaze slowly raised up to meet her.

“Do you remember the last thing I said before I fainted?”

The duke did not answer.

She didn’t know if it was either because he didn’t remember or he just didn’t want to talk about it.

“I said I would be killed by a monster, not because of Your Grace.”

Nelia gently took the duke’s hand. The duke’s hands were never this cold.

“I don’t think Your Grace is the same as that monster being. I wouldn’t have resented Your Grace if I were to die that way.”

“How…….”

“It’s still the same, even now. I don’t think Your Grace, who is standing in front of me now, would cause any harm to me.”

Nelia smiled tenderly. Her light brown pupil twinkled between her squinted eyes.

On the contrary, the duke’s face was still full of shame. Nelia spoke again in a sulky voice on purpose.

“Don’t show me a look as if you’re going to burst out crying. Or I will be leaving for real……. Ukh.”

The duke pulled Nelia into his strong embrace even before she managed to finish her speech. The firm hand wrapped around Nelia’s body tightly, rendering her motionless.

“Your Grace…….?”

“Don’t say that.”

His subdued voice submerged at the side of her head.

“I feel suffocated to death just thinking of not seeing Nelia anymore.”

She heard his deep sigh in her ear, and Nelia wondered if she had gone too far with her words.

So she hugged the duke back without saying a word.

She still hasn’t gotten used to the warmth that she didn’t feel on others, but when hearing the sound of his beating heart, she wanted this man to be an ordinary person after all.

“Nelia……. I like you.”

Like a whisper, the small and low voice echoed in her ears.

She wasn’t as shocked as she expected, despite listening to what she had delayed continuously all this time.

She might have known his feelings for a long time.

The naturally flowing confession must have been caused by the accumulation of emotions. 

The confession that naturally escaped his lips must have been caused by the overwhelming amount of accumulated emotions in his mind.

Of course, this confession wouldn’t change anything between them.

The duke himself still had many tasks that needed to be solved first. However, she would like to attempt a more active conversation with the duke. Whether it’s about revenge, or the curse.

She was so concerned with this man, and she only came to realize that she could no longer pretend to ignore this pitiful man.

Either it was from the moment she saw the duke turned into a monster, or it might be from the moment she met him, she was already involved in his curse and his life.

Therefore, if she couldn’t pretend to be clueless about the duke, it would only be wise to work together to remove this d*mned curse. In fact, she already reached the time when she couldn’t bring herself to leave the duke alone.

When I saw the duke, I often felt sorry for him, and sometimes I enjoyed it, and I wanted him to be happy. When she saw the duke, she often felt pity for him, and sometimes she would be pleased, wishing happiness would engulf him.

Although she couldn’t decide what his presence meant to her now, it’s true that he has become an important presence that she could never pretend to not know anymore.

The duke gradually detached his body from her.

She was worried that he might be crying after hearing his trembling voice, but the gloomy energy radiated from him seemed to have eased down a lot.

“Your Grace. If I have to say it again, I’m not scared or afraid of you. I won’t be thinking of leaving you.”

“Do you get it?”

When Nelia asked while bringing her face close to him as if seeking a confirmation from a child, the duke nodded slowly.

The duke, who had always been acting sly and taking the initiative, seemed to be obedient and listened to what she said because he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood today.

Nelia smiled as if giving him a compliment seeing that, and led the duke by hand to sit by the sunny window.

Luckily, the dark clouds have disappeared completely, and the weather was nice.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes…….. Nelia.”

“I want to hear how things turned out yesterday. I need to know what happened to Your Grace.”

It would have been difficult and uncomfortable for the duke to talk about the event from yesterday, but she just couldn’t let it slip unmentioned.

In order to be with the duke in the future, she had to know what exactly happened to him.

Luckily, the duke also exhaled a low sigh as if it didn’t affect him, and he began to tell her in a calm voice.

“Actually, there is one more curse in the dukedom aside from turning into a snake.”

The duke’s gaze landed on the warehouse outside the window.

“And that is turning into a monster, as you saw yesterday.”

“Do you turn only on the day of the total lunar eclipse?”

“Yes. I don’t have any clue why, but I would turn into a monster only once a year, on the day of the total lunar eclipse.”

He’s lucky to turn into such a terrifying shape only once in a year, but why did he change on the day of the total lunar eclipse?

Perhaps, it’s because that day is such an unlucky day for certain people.

“Nelia once asked about the warehouse. The warehouse is a place made in case I turn into a monster. On the day of the total lunar eclipse, I would be locked there with the magic restraints.”

“Is it……. Because you lose your mind like you did yesterday?”

“That’s right. When I turn into a monster, I lose my conscious. I’m filled with ferocity and all I can think of is the desire to destroy anything.”

Nelia recalled the monster she saw yesterday. It matched perfectly with the description said by the duke.

Rather than just losing his conscious and becoming unruly, he seemed to be tormented.

“But yesterday was a bit unusual. Because the head of the Hart Family has never become so unruly as to destroy any of the magic restraints.”

“Did you receive particular stimulation yesterday?”

The duke shook his head.

“No. I’m guessing it’s because the curse has a lot of changes these days. It’s like the drugs don’t work……. And when I’m with a certain person, I don’t turn into a snake, that kind of stuff.”

That certain person, Nelia, felt a prick at her conscience.

‘Then is it related to me, the reason why he became unruly yesterday?’

Reading her concerned expression, the duke gently stroked Nelia’s hair.

“That’s not important. Even though I was becoming unruly, I could feel Nelia’s touch and was able to come back to my human form.”

Nelia quickly raised his head. The duke’s delicate smile was blinding.

Nelia, who was previously babbling, was at loss for words for a moment and managed to spit out words.

“Did I really caress the duke yesterday and come back as a human being right away?”

All she remembered was when she caressed the duke who turned into a monster before a powerful light came out of nowhere. She lost consciousness after that.

“Yes, you did.”

Oho…… It was very bizarre.

Nelia looked down at her palm.

For a moment, she wondered if she had the ability to train monsters herself.

But she soon gave up her thoughts.

Even if she had such an ability, this one beautiful creature is enough as a monster for her.

“It’s strange even now that I think about it.”

The duke rubbed his chin with a murmur.

“So……. the previous head of the house also turned on the day of the total lunar eclipse, but it wasn’t as ferocious as you were yesterday, is that right?”

“There were times when I didn’t go wild, too. My father also turned into a monster, but his monster was on the quiet side.”

When Duke Hart brought up his father, Nelia remembered the things that had left her mind.

Yesterday was the death anniversary of Duke Hart’s father.

She knew it was late to say now, but she should attempt to comfort him now, shouldn’t she?

Nellia was contemplating the things she was going to say.

“Your Grace……. Speaking of the previous duke, yesterday was His Grace’s anniversary.”

“Yes, yesterday was the day of his death.”

The duke was more composed than she had expected.

To the point that he didn’t seem to be the type of person who would be thinking of avenging his late father.

But it soon dawned on her that it was just his appearance. Contrary to the words that meant nothing, once she looked into his eyes, he seemed to be thinking a lot.

The duke closed his mouth for a moment and stared out the window. Nelia waited for him in silence.

When the cloud hanging in the sky was out of sight from the window, the duke spoke again.

“Nelia. Actually, my father didn’t die at the hands of unidentified assailants.”

The voice that escaped his lips was even more subdued than before.

“He died at the hands of the Emperor.”

Nelia opened her eyes widely.

She already learnt about it because she read the original book, but the fact that the duke told the truth himself surprised her.

This was something that no one knew except the direct heir of the dukedom. It’s not something that she was supposed to know.

It’s about referring to the emperor as a murderer, not just anyone else.

When Nelia didn’t say anything, the duke asked with a tilted head.

“Do you not believe it?”

Nelia shook her head.

“N, No…….”

Of course she believed it, but Nelia wondered what the duke was thinking when he told her this.

“After all, there’s no reason for Your Grace to tell me a lie…….”

Shortly after, the duke smiled lightly.

“Thank you for trusting me, Nelia. This preposterous story.”

The story was definitely preposterous if she didn’t know anything.

Many people would believe what the duke was saying, even if he said the sun rises in the west, but a long time has passed since the emperor killed the previous heaf of the Hart Family, so there was no evidence left.

Huft, the duke exhaled lightly.

“My father turned into a monster on the day of the total lunar eclipse, and on that day, the emperor stopped by the mansion because he was concerned about my father, he was excused because he was not feeling well that day.”

“So, His Majesty saw Your Grace’s father inside the warehouse…….?”

The duke replied in an unsolicited voice.

“Yes, the warehouse was opened a bit.”

Everything really happened only by chance. To the point that it was too harsh.

“Like I said before, my father didn’t lose his mind even when he turned into a monster. So he pleaded desperately to his friend. That he is Benian Hart.”

The emperor was scared because he was facing a monster, not just a mere snake. That’s why he died on the day of the total lunar eclipse.

The empty puzzle pieces were finally put together and she felt like the story was complete at last.

The duke chuckled.

“But when the emperor saw the monster tied up, he was still frightened and pulled out the sword from its sheath. There was not even an ounce of hesitation when he stabbed it.”

Nelia’s expression darkened at the tragic story.

“That’s how he died…….

Even though she learnt about it, she felt different after hearing it directly from Duke Hart.

Why did she feel more sorrow, and how come the feeling of cold-heartedness really hit her home?

Nelia suddenly wondered with her gloomy eyes.

Why did the duke suddenly tell him about this? He had never talked about his father with her before.