IRMDH 22

Chapter 22

At that moment, a thought struck me.

“That’s not Blake.”

I, who had been flinching, slowly stared hard at the man who was imitating Blake.

The man tilted his head as if he didn’t want to show he was annoyed and kept a smile… but I could tell he was quietly angry.

He roughly wiped the blood off his fingertips on his trousers.

Then he reached out and gently adjusted the sapphire earring at my ear.

His hand that touched my ear was warm.

At the same time his voice, soft and sing-song, addressed me kindly.

“I already took care of the most annoying obstacle… so why aren’t you in a red dress?”

“…Who are you?”

The man paused at the thinness of my eyes.

He wore a wounded look as if he didn’t want to hurt my feelings, which made me even more flustered.

He answered my question with a face full of sorrow.

“Who am I? Ariel. It’s me — I’m your husband….”

“Lies. My husband doesn’t speak kindly like you!”

I snapped so loudly that Lily, who had been watching us with widened eyes, looked baffled.

…but my husband speaks with a low body temperature, and in a playful, offhand way.

He really does.

Quick-witted Lily nodded and inched back.

She must have realized the man in front of us was a fake and was probably trying to fetch the “real” Blake.

So that the suspicious man’s attention wouldn’t turn to Lily, I lifted my head and continued speaking.

“And my husband’s eyes are blue, and I wore this dress to match his eye color.”

“…….”

“How dare you pretend to be my husband and the crown prince—who are you?”

The man didn’t even twitch at my sharp words.

Earlier he had looked like he was about to cry; now he looked at me with eyes full of affection as if he couldn’t bear how cute I was.

Then he suddenly burst into laughter.

And that laugh went on and on.

“Haha, ahaha! Hahahaha!”

He laughed so wildly that I stood there stunned and unable to say anything for a long time.

After laughing for a while, as if nothing had happened, the man abruptly began to shed tears.

“Ariel, Ariel….”

This is seriously messed up.

No matter how I looked at it, he seemed crazier than usual.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

And as he silently let the tears stream down, a strange transformation began to occur.

His jet-black hair turned pure white without a single streak.

His blue, longing eyes changed to blood-tinged red.

Yet despite that inversion of colors, the face remained exactly like Blake’s.

That face, at least, was still Blake’s.

“Pretending to be my husband, Ariel. You wound me. Why can’t you recognize me? I am your husband….”

The man still didn’t seem to want to harm me.

That was a relief, at least.

But his pleading, calling my name as if puzzled why I couldn’t recognize him, only made me more confused.

Did Blake have a twin?

No!

In the original novel, Blake’s mother died shortly after giving birth to him.

It was clearly stated she bore only one child, Blake.

So what was this person with Blake’s face?

Even if the hair and eye color looked altered, the face was still Blake’s.

Same face, but one side was cold and decadent, while the other had a gentle, warm handsome look — if that could be considered the difference.

Oddly enough.

Ah, there was one more difference.

Unlike Blake, who had a cool body temperature, the man before me felt vividly alive.

…Now that I looked at it this way, Blake almost seemed like the fake bad guy.

Anyway, he’s my husband, and my husband is Blake!

“You may resemble my husband… but you’re not him.”

“No way. Whatever that idiot Dominic did to you, this is the real thing.”

That idiot Dominic?

Was he talking about Blake?

At my narrowed eyes, the man smiled bitterly and added,

“Of course, I’m Dominic too… ah, this isn’t the place to tell you. I had planned to reveal my true name somewhere beautifully decorated.”

So the name Dominic is shared, but his true name differs from Blake’s?

I waited quietly as the man spoke with a dreamy look.

“Ariel, my true name is…”

“Who are you?”

A cold, low, decadent voice sliced through.

“Get away from my wife right now.”

Real Blake had appeared; I waved my hand frantically like someone begging for their life.

He must have assessed the situation, gathered the knights, and come running.

The knights in armor behind Blake stopped when they saw the man who looked just like him.

They couldn’t hide their surprise and whispered among themselves.

“…He looks exactly like His Highness.”

“Snap out of it. His hair and eye color are different.”

“Is it magic? Reveal your identity!”

Unlike the man, Blake was neat without any trace of bloodstains.

But the sword in his hand alone made clear what he was thinking.

“Stay away from Ariel… that man.”

Blake, born to be a warrior, was extremely skilled with a sword.

How skilled?

Well… the best in the empire? No—maybe the best in the whole world.

So even after becoming emperor, he would have taken up his sword and led the front lines to prevent calamity.

“Oh my, is it already time?”

The man glanced at Blake and said that, then his gaze returned to me.

Still wearing that kind, regretful face, as if he felt so sorry.

As if Blake weren’t even there, his face crumpled with displeasure at being ignored.

I was about to retort, but I met Blake’s terrifyingly fierce eyes and shut my mouth.

Hey, I’m innocent here.

I was only stalling for time until you arrived.

The man smiled prettily and dropped the sword he had been holding as if throwing it aside.

My eyes went to the sword stained with blood.

He must have stabbed someone with it….

What puzzled me was that the sword he carelessly tossed down was exactly the same as the one Blake was holding now.

But how could that be?

Blake’s sword was a one-of-a-kind, specially commissioned blade — its scabbard, the lavishly engraved imperial crest… how could they be identical?

Whether he noticed my narrowed eyes or not, the man continued to act nonchalantly with a smile still on his face.

“Sorry, Ariel. I’m a wreck right now. Why were there so many to kill me?”

Now he checked his clothes shyly as if embarrassed, while confessing to murder — it was all too strange.

“The knights who couldn’t protect you, and those irritating pests….”

I couldn’t understand his words at all.

He spoke as if he had been watching me for a long time and had always been with me.

No matter what expression I made, he continued, dreamy-faced.

“Next time I’ll reveal my true name somewhere prettier and better. Somewhere without that idiot.”

He spoke slowly and glanced at Blake.

Their gazes seemed to clash intensely in the air.

Blake looked ready to charge, but the man didn’t even blink.

He leaned in toward me as if to share a secret and whispered in my ear.

“Look over there — even with that great swordsmanship, he can’t reach me, that idiot.”

It was a cutting remark, but isn’t that why I’m still alive?

“But… yes. He probably doesn’t want to provoke me. Whether it’s him or me, neither can stand to see you get hurt.”

“…Huh?”

I opened my eyes wide in bewilderment, tried to ask what he meant, but the man’s body was already fading.

He waved a wistful face and, until the last, kept smiling at me.

“Then I’ll see you again, Ariel.”