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Chapter 46
Kuah-aang, bang! Kuuuuung, bang!
The sound ringing in my ears right now was the pounding of my heart. It felt like something had gone wrong inside me—maybe the element with atomic number 38, strontium (Sr), had exploded in my chest.
Gerald was staring at me strangely.
I was mortified. My face flushed hot. Embarrassed, I lowered my gaze and bit my lip.
Surely it’s only me who can hear this. Only me, only me.
Luckily, he knelt down before me and slowly began unfastening the buttons from the bottom up.
Phew…
I let out a sigh, but then his hands brushed against my front again, making my whole body tingle. My gaze, before I knew it, was fixed on him fumbling with my buttons.
His shoulders were broader and sturdier than I had imagined. I thought they’d be narrow since he spent his time reading in the study, but surprisingly not.
Well, he is the Grand Duke guarding the Demon Realm. He’d have to be at least this strong to stand against creatures of the underworld.
No doubt his stamina was superhuman, and his martial skills among the best in the Empire.
As he leaned up slightly to undo the next button, I noticed his dark eyebrows stretched in a bold, straight line, full of spirit.
Yet, beneath them, his thick double-lidded eyes gave him a soft look. Above all, his lashes were so long that they cast a shadow over his cheeks like a canopy. And his nose was so high and smooth, he looked like he could ski-jump off of it.
Wow, if even Gerald—a supporting role at best—looked this good, just how handsome would our Crown Prince Alfred become when he grew up?
“Heh, heh, heh, heh.”
At my lascivious chuckle, Gerald shot me a puzzled look.
By now, he was practically pressed against my chest.
“It’s nothing,” I muttered.
But Gerald lifted my garment to show me.
“Nothing? How did you even manage to jam a button through two buttonholes like this?”
“Gasp! Why on earth did I do that?”
Hah!
Gerald sighed so deeply it seemed the ground would cave in.
I was baffled too. Even if I was in a hurry, how had I managed that? No wonder it had felt like I was hand-stitching instead of buttoning.
Still, the buttonholes on Gerald’s coat really were too tight. I’d have to fix them later. Looking down, I realized his nose was practically buried in my chest as he kept undoing the buttons.
Get a grip. This is perverse.
A gust of river wind blew, and I took a deep breath. At that moment, Gerald’s black hair fluttered in the breeze, sending a fresh “Pure Heart Attack” scent deep into my lungs.
Oh wow, author, what detail!
Ssshhk—
His face rose up in front of mine, his eyes glinting sharply.
Startled, I leaned back and offered a meek apology.
“I’m sorry.”
Like a teacher scolding a pupil, he fixed me with a steady gaze, then bent down again to undo the last remaining button.
Feeling guilty, I gently smoothed his hair with my hands.
Gerald rolled his eyes at me, and I quickly withdrew my hands and looked away.
Then it came.
“Why did you take the drug at the wedding?”
“Because I couldn’t kill the child. At the very least, I wanted to stop the marriage. Your Highness.”
“More romantic than I expected.”
Romantic?
I was taken aback. He knew that word? Well, maybe he only knew it on paper.
“It was your life at stake. Ah, but that’s right—you don’t die, do you?”
Gerald chuckled.
“Is that a joke?”
“No, I mean it.”
I was speechless.
He had nearly finished undoing the buttons. His head was now at the level of my lips.
“It’s true. Why else would you charge at a monster-bird, or willingly dive straight into a pit full of demon-crocodiles?”
He straightened up for a moment, his emerald-green eyes locking onto mine.
“It hurts. Even if I don’t die, my flesh still tears, my bones still shatter—it’s painful. And I don’t even know yet whether my body would dissolve in a monster’s digestive acids or not.”
Anger flared, and I snapped at him in rapid-fire. But almost immediately, I regretted exposing my inner thoughts to such a heartless man. I quickly raised my head and looked at the sky across the river.
It was his gaze—that was the problem.
He began buttoning me back up.
The afternoon light wrapped the world in warmth. The Therion River twisted lazily, resisting drowsiness as it shimmered in golden waves. The trees across the river stretched their shadows long as if taking a nap.
Theo must be lying in Ariel’s lap by now, fast asleep.
“Your Grace.”
I called him calmly. He briefly glanced up and corrected me.
“No, call me ‘husband,’ or ‘darling.’”
“Are you really not going to divorce me?”
I pressed again, just to be sure. Now that it was known I was a demon, he had every right to divorce me, even if he didn’t kill me.
“Not until death. Once is enough for marriage.”
“Yes, husband. Let me say again—I will protect Theo, and I will protect you.”
“And what do you gain from that?”
The glorious light of the setting sun shattered into pieces.
What? Asking me what I gain from protecting family, like calculating on an abacus?
No matter how hounded by politics he was, no matter how desperate to guard his ducal seat, wasn’t this attitude unfit for a family man?
“And what do you gain, husband, from protecting your family’s lives?”
He finished buttoning me up and straightened his back.
“Family. Is that sincere?”
I looked up at him reproachfully.
“From what I see, it’s your life that seems far more precarious.”
And just like that, the idyllic afternoon vanished. Suddenly I was standing in a gloomy cave.
What in the world?
When had we come here?
I staggered. Gerald reached to steady me, but I shook him off.
Then I collapsed anyway.
To think he’d seduce me with buttons, only to drive me into danger!
I glared up at him, betrayed.
In the darkness, his face loomed over me like a fearsome Demon King.
Then—
“Is this the one?”
A bewitching soprano voice rang through my ears, echoing all around the cave. It didn’t sound of this world. So beautiful that I couldn’t help but look toward it.
“Yes.”
Gerald’s voice—polite in a way I had never heard before—answered.
I looked up at him in shock.
What on earth was happening?
Where were we?
His magic shouldn’t have worked on me!
“Get up, the ground is cold.”
As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I finally saw the owner of that voice. A girl, around fifteen years old. But in an instant—thok, thok, thok!—like cuts in a horror movie, she appeared right before my face.
Every hair on my body stood on end. Goosebumps pricked my skin.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
The scream tore from my throat, shaking the whole cave.
I couldn’t handle horror. In movie theaters, I’d scream and flail so much that people called me a nuisance. Eventually, I just stopped watching them altogether.
But to be ambushed so suddenly like this!
Why, why, why?!
Why was I filming a horror special here?!
Terrified, I trembled.
The fifteen-year-old girl winced and covered her ears with her palms.
Gerald tried to help me up.
I shoved at his chest, but he was too strong. And too menacing.
“Show some respect!”
I fumed, forcing my voice steady.
But Gerald bowed deeply and apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
Unbelievable! The Grand Duke apologizing? He was actually a man who could seek forgiveness.
And as I was still fuming, Gerald leaned close and whispered softly in my ear.
“No need to be afraid. She’s a demon like you.”
I gaped at him in shock.
What was he playing at?
Didn’t he just vow to protect my life?
So why bring this witch here?
Was it all a lie, to lull me into trusting him before killing me?
Then, the witch girl began circling us in dizzying, chaotic loops.
My legs gave out, but Gerald quickly caught me in his arms. I should’ve shoved him away to survive, but I was so scared that my body refused to move.
Turns out, the book I was possessed in belonged to the horror genre.
If the protagonist had to suffer obsessive romance and tragedy, then extras like me had to endure horror, mystery, and despair.
Rationally, leaning on him was insanity. And yet, his warmth—36.5 degrees—was comfort.
He clasped my trembling hand tightly.
Is it to keep me from running?
I glared up at him with fury. His emerald-green eyes only said, It’s fine.
Cruel man. Ruthless man.
I slapped his hand away and staggered back, forcing strength into my toes to keep from collapsing.
I had to escape, somehow.
Then—
“Mana zero. Witch qualification failed!”
Did that mean I was easy to kill?
So that was it. Gerald had even enlisted a witch to eliminate me. The man was thorough.
Know your enemy, know yourself, and you win a hundred battles.
I narrowed my eyes at the witch, my new opponent.
What is she?
“You really can’t see? I’m not a child. I’m a witch who grows younger and younger. Fifteen years from now, I’ll be a baby and disappear. And Gerald—”
Gerald?
She was calling him by name, not “Your Grace.”
What was her true identity?
“You think too much. Be quiet.”
I flinched again. She could read my thoughts. She was gifted.
“Gerald, this girl wants to run away.”
What?! She was reading my heart!
Thunk.
The strength left my toes, and I nearly collapsed—but Gerald caught me again.
What kind of man was this?
Was it fear of death? Or betrayal?
Before I knew it, tears streamed down my face. I hated myself for having trusted him, even briefly.
His large hand covered my face. Terrified, I shut my eyes tight.
All will to fight had left me. What use was it to struggle in such a wretched world?
Please, at least—let it be painless.
Let me leave this pitiful tale at last.
I’m sorry, Theo. I couldn’t protect you.
