CH 62

“Wa, wait…”

“So, you don’t like my face?”

…It was real, not imaginary.

Elysia struggled with surprise. However, the body that was held tight by him did not budge. Nonsense. She wasn’t imagining… What did she just do? She touched Damon’s face carelessly and called out his name. Besides, she said he was so handsome that it was damning her…

Elysia’s face turned pale.

“Ple, please… Please let me go.”

Even if she made a mistake, this was such a big mistake. Did anyone dare to touch Damon’s face and survive it? No matter how it was her imagination, she should have been careful… No, she’d rather fall down the stairs. It was not too late now.

“If you keep moving.”

“Your Grace, please.”

“You will fall.”

She was still in Damon, so she wasn’t falling.

The stairway to the Grand Duke’s castle looked like it was just right to kill a person as it wasn’t ordinary enough to feel like it was built on purpose. While the height of the stairs was high, the width was so narrow that it felt like walking on thin ice.

“I made a mistake. So…”

Elysia, who gazed back at the bloody shape of the stairs, quickly moved her lips to make up for her mistake. How did she think she could touch his face arbitrarily? Even thinking about it again, that was crazy. Unless she wanted to die…

“If you don’t want to fall, you better stay still.”

“…Yes.”

Damon’s voice sounded like he was about to push her away, so she closed her mouth right away. Elysia didn’t want to die yet, and it would definitely hurt a lot if she fell off these stairs. She wanted to fix this stair right away.

This wasn’t just a staircase, it was a murder staircase. She couldn’t understand how even the stairs resembled their master and were so bloody.

“Thank you…”

He held her and made his way down the stairs. There was no sign of struggle on his face. As usual, Damon was calm and expressionless. Rather frightened, Elysia clung to his clothes tightly.

Damon, who had come down the stairs and dropped her down, asked.

“Do you hate me because I’m handsome?”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you were damned?”

Elysia was taken aback. That was not what she meant by saying he was ‘damn handsome.’

“Did you not like me?”

What did he mean? Question marks floated over Elysia’s head because of Damon’s utterly incomprehensible words.

“What…”

“Is what I feel wrong?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You liked my face.”

“….”

Elysia didn’t say anything, and she stood still. She didn’t know what to answer. She did say she liked his face. Still, she couldn’t even say he was right.

To be honest, was there anyone who wouldn’t like Damon’s face? She could confidently say that there would be no one among all men and women. His face was a face that transcended taste. It was an irresistible look.

“Is it not good?”

“That is…”

Even if it was a lie, there was no way she could say it was not good. How could she say she didn’t like it, especially when he smiled so brutally like that? That was impossible.

That face kept deceiving her even though she knew Damon’s cruelty every time.

“Would you like me if I changed my face?”

“Yes?”

Changing his face…?

Elysia was surprised. Could they change faces here, too? Did it mean that plastic surgery exists? She lived twenty years and had never heard of such a thing.

“If you like me if I’m a little more ugly…”

“No, no!”

“I thought you like ugly things?”

Elysia feared Damon would change his face, so she shook her head quickly. It should never happen. There would be nothing left of Damon except his face. Damon Raphael’s only strength was his handsome face.

To make that face ugly?!

“You mean something like plastic surgery?”

“Plastic surgery? What is it?”

Damon’s face was so perfect there was nowhere to touch it. Even his eyebrows were beautiful. Obviously, when God made him, he would have spent three days and three nights. He was as perfect as a statue made by a craftsman.

“Then… What were you trying to do?”

“I would try to inflict a wound on my face.”

What a bad thing to say. A scar on that national treasure-level face…! Even touching it made her hands tremble, but to scar him! She had to stop him.

“Never.”

Damon’s outer appearance was the only solace in this marriage. However, if that shell was changed, she would have to tremble in fear for the rest of her life. From the moment she met him, Elysia had always been afraid of him, but there were times when she was often captivated by his face and forgot her fear… Just like before.

“Well, I see.”

Elysia was dazed at Damon’s sweet smile again.

That smile was the problem. She couldn’t get her mind off of his flowing sexiness and quirkiness. She should know that it was not sweet, it was more dangerous than any poison, though when she saw that face, she forgot.

“Your… Grace?”

“Yes, tell me.”

“Would you mind letting go of my hand?”

Damon was still holding her, even though they had already made it all the way down the steps.

Elysia looked at him puzzledly. It was dangerous to get close to him. He was dangerous even if she kept a safe distance. In the situation where they were so close that they could feel each other’s breath, she only shed a cold sweat.

“…Your Grace?”

She was frustrated because Damon didn’t say anything. It was difficult for her to understand why he always kept his mouth shut at important moments.

There was no reason for him to keep holding her even though she was about to fall, and he had grabbed her earlier. And she couldn’t believe he had saved her. Wasn’t he someone who wouldn’t blink an eye even if someone died right in front of his eyes?

“I don’t like it.”

What does he not like? Elysia felt her heart pounding. She began to worry if she had been too rude in her tone.

“I’m, sorry…”

“Why aren’t you calling my name?”

“What?”

Elysia’s eyes widened at the words she heard as she was about to apologize to him. For a moment, she thought she had misheard. However, Damon’s expression didn’t change.

“Damon. You called me before.”

Was he telling her to call him by his name?

“What?”

“Call me by name.”

She didn’t know why she had to call him by his name. Why?

“Elysia.”

“Ah… I…”

Of course, she had just called him Damon, but she didn’t really have the courage to call him that in front of him. How could she just call his name unless she wanted to die?

“All the food is ready.”

It was none other than Sebastian who saved her.

With Sebastian’s call, she was finally freed from Damon’s grasp. Elysia took advantage of this negligence and quickly escaped from his arms and ran.

“Your Grace…? Did I do anything wrong?”

“Wrong? If you did something wrong, it is very big.”

Elysia felt a little guilty listening to Sebastian and Damon behind her. For some reason, she felt like she was leaving Damon to Sebastian.

* * *

“….”

“It looks delicious.”

An uncomfortable silence hung over the table. Damon looked quite unhappy because of the situation a little while ago. It looked like he was a little bit sulking… No, it couldn’t be. It was strange to her that he was sulking.

“Yes.”

The Grand Duchy’s cuisine was absolutely perfect. The moment she took one bite, fanfare exploded in front of her. Enough to understand why they had to change the kitchen and hire a new cook.

“It looks delicious.”

“Yes.”

If even the food wasn’t delicious, every meal would have been a tragedy. How many people could sit face-to-face with Damon and digest food?

“Wife.”

“Yes?”

“How long are you going to call me Grand Duke?”

Choke.

“Cough, yes… ? Kuh…!”

Elysia choked on her food. She didn’t know why he kept obsessing over her calling him by name. Was it that important? Wouldn’t it be better to keep an appropriate distance from each other…?

“Oh, my… I can’t take my eyes off the wife at all times.”

“Tha, thank you…”

Her chest was pounding at the non-stop cough. Elysia gulped at the glass of water approaching her lips.

“Even if I am a little careless every time, there will always be problems.”

There was no excuse. If he hadn’t helped her on the stairs, she would have been bedridden by now.

“What should I do with the wife?”

“Yes?”

Elysia didn’t understand what she was saying. What was he talking about when he poured her water?

“If I take my eyes off you, you are in danger.”

“Ah…”

“You could have died from suffocation even now, right?”

People wouldn’t die from just choking. Of course, Damon said it sounded like she could die, though.

“No one dies from getting food stuck.”

“No, the wife might die.”

Elysia trembled astonishingly. His words sounded like he was going to kill her. Goosebumps ran all over her body. Why did he always scare her like that?

“…I’m not that weak.”

By Damon’s standards, anyone would look weak because he never got hurt. Even though she didn’t know, why he seemed immortal. After all, even the main character couldn’t kill him.

“You’re so weak. I can’t take my eyes off you.”

“I…”

“I’m afraid you’ll die right before my eyes.”