In that moment, all the death flags Duke Kalinos and I had raised flashed through my mind.
“With Giselle’s portrait here, I felt like I was able to display about 15% of my usual monstrous strength.”
Duke Kalinos, who took my portrait with him when he went off to war against the monsters.
“Then, once all of this is truly over… I’ll confess my feelings too.”
And me, putting off my confession like the protagonist of some tragic movie.
A flood of regretful thoughts swirled through my head. I was such an idiot. What if he really is dead? I should have told him sooner.
The feelings I’d never been sure of until now suddenly surged up inside me, all because of the tiny thought that he might be gone. I had to admit it now. I was in love with Duke Kalinos. Very much in love. Yet, I hadn’t managed to utter a single word. Not a single heartfelt confession of my love for him.
“Why, over there…?” My shoulders trembled as I let out a shaky breath.
Sam murmured softly. “I’m truly sorry, Madam.” His nose was red, as if he’d been crying for a long time.
Looking at Sam’s innocent face, I rubbed my face in resignation. “It’s not your fault. Let’s go.” Leaving him behind, I climbed, and climbed again, through the field of gravestones. And then… At the very top of the hill. A single headstone stood on a slope covered in white flowers.
I finally found it. The grave is marked with the name ‘Kalinos’. Around the grave, someone had left freshly picked chrysanthemums, as if they’d just placed them there.
“What is this?”
“Madam…”
Whether Sam wiped his eyes or not, I staggered and collapsed in front of the grave. The startled knights glanced at each other, then quietly stepped back to give me space. But I didn’t have the energy to care about them. I moved closer to the headstone.
“…Did you really die here?”
The cold stone under my fingertips was silent.
A lie.
I hastily wiped away the tears streaming down my face with the back of my hand and whispered softly. “I finally realized I like you.”
But there was no one left to answer. Only my hollow voice echoed in the empty air.
“I like you, you idiot.”
…Saying it out loud just made me even angrier.
“You stupid b*stard!”
But no answer came back.
It felt like he might appear right in front of me, as if it were all a lie. Like he wasn’t really dead. Before I knew it, tears were dripping down my cheeks.
“You… You’re worse than Duke Reshaniel.”
I shouldn’t have ignored all those death flags we raised. I should’ve smashed them all to pieces like I always do, instead of just standing by. No, I should’ve come with him. No, before any of that, I should’ve just confessed that I like him!
It was at that exact moment, as I beat my chest in agonizing regret. Suddenly, like an auditory hallucination, Duke Kalinos’s voice drifted into my ears.
“How am I worse than that guy?”
Maybe I missed him so much that I was starting to hear things. With a hollow expression, I answered. “I’m saying you died and left me behind.” I hated myself for wanting to talk to him, even like this.
But right at that moment. A bewildered voice rang in my ears.
“I… died?”
It was far too clear to be just a hallucination. Startled, I shot up and stared at him.
Wait, am I seeing things now? Unless this isn’t a hallucination…
“Gh…”
“…?”
“Ghost.”
He took a step toward me.
I was so shocked I stammered and fell backward onto the ground. “A ghost!” Sitting on my butt, I scrambled away, staring at him like I was seeing a real ghost.
Duke Kalinos tilted his head at me and held out his hand. “A ghost? I’m a perfectly fine person, you know.”
I pointed at him, my finger shaking. “B-B-But they said you were dead. For sure. T-The scout said so.”
He scratched the back of his neck and replied, “It seems a false rumor got around.”
“It wasn’t just a rumor. I saw it with my own eyes… I watched the footage of you getting caught in that explosion and dying. Was that video fake?”
“Ah, the explosion itself wasn’t a lie. It was an urgent situation, so I set up multiple explosives to eliminate the monster as quickly as possible.”
“Then the person caught in the blast wasn’t you…?”
“I was the only one caught in the explosion.”
“…? But normal people die if they’re anywhere near a bomb when it goes off, don’t they?”
“Normal people would die if they were inside, sure. But I don’t.”
…Is he really a ghost?
I jabbed my finger at him, staring like I was seeing a ghost, and asked, “Then what about the blood and flesh in the crater?”
“Ah. That monster looked like a tree, but it was actually a humanoid monster. So when the monster died, its blood and flesh burst out.”
“Then, w-why did the villagers say Duke Kalinos ended up like that!”
“That, I don’t know either. I’m not sure what they meant by that.”
As I watched him scratch the back of his head, I muttered again in a voice full of frustration. “La-Lastly, w-what about the gravestone in front of this grave? I-It’s says Kalinos on it.”
He murmured with a regretful expression. “Ah, I heard a vassal of our family died and was buried here long ago. They were left anonymous, without so much as a headstone. So, I had it newly refurbished and placed some fresh flowers on it.”
I stared blankly back and forth between the grave and him. …Come to think of it, the grave does look kind of old…
And as soon as he finished speaking, he gave a small laugh and said, “And if I really were dead, they wouldn’t just bury me in a place like this.”
Well, yeah, there’s no way they’d put Duke Kalinos’s corpse in a grave like this! My judgment had really gone out the window. So that means I was fooled by Sam, the villagers, and the gravestone… I… just racked up a whole new level of embarrassment, didn’t I?
Hesitating, I roughly wiped away the dried tear tracks from my cheeks with the back of my hand. “Right. Anyway, I’m just glad you’re alive.” With an awkward smile tugging at my lips, I tried to wrap things up.
Duke Kalinos, who had been staring intently at me, whispered in a low voice. “Say it again.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“That first thing you said earlier.”
Looking at his expression, one full of anticipation, as if he had heard every single word I said… I just couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth. Not a chance! So I quickly changed the subject. “A-Actually, I just remembered I left something urgent back at the mansion! I should go!”
I chose to run away. Lifting my dress, I started sprinting as fast as I could. I knew it wasn’t a rational choice, but I absolutely didn’t want to show him my face, which was undoubtedly bright red by now!
When I’d made it over the hill and out onto the open plain, I heard the ground rumbling behind me. I glanced back, only to turn pale with fright.
“W-Why are you following me?!”
“Because you’re running away, Giselle.”
Unlike me, gasping for breath, he answered calmly.
Just as my pace had slowed down without me realizing it…
“Why are you running away?” Duke Kalinos reached out, pulled me into his arms, and whispered. He held me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe at all. “You definitely said you liked me.”
Too embarrassed to answer, I merely buried my face against his chest.
Duke Kalinos, however, seemed entirely shameless as he casually delivered his next words. “Then, Giselle, just as we promised in the cave, we’re truly getting married now. You can never back out.”
“Um, never back out? That sounds a bit like a shady company…”
Even now, I couldn’t help but blurt something out…
I wanted to bite my tongue, but he whispered, sounding almost aggrieved. “It’s not a shady company. Didn’t I say I’d give you 500 billion?”
Just as I was about to complain about this completely unromantic employment contract, my eyes met his sparkling gaze. There was a look of anticipation in his gaze, a faint tremor of excitement running through him. A subtle blush colored his cheeks, and his lips curved into a gentle, affectionate smile. Anyone could see he looked truly happy. And I absolutely didn’t want to shatter that happiness. Never.
“…500 billion is a bit much, honestly. Just employ me for life, then. I’ll be loyal to you.”
At those words, which slipped out because I couldn’t hold back, he smiled softly, his cheeks still flushed.
“I’ll be even more loyal. Because…”
I looked up at him. Meeting my gaze, he quietly murmured, “Because I love you.”
It was a confession thrown out so suddenly, without the slightest hint of mood or pretense. His voice was utterly plain, lacking any hint of a joke or sly playfulness. Yet, why was my heart pounding so hard?
Wow, I really must have lost it. To think I’ve fallen for a literal madman, and that even such strange words could make my heart flutter.
I hid my burning face against his chest. “Me… too.”
“I didn’t hear that. Say it again.”
With my eyes squeezed shut, I thought to myself. Yeah, now that I know I love him, I should say it without a single regret. I wasn’t the female lead of a regret novel anymore. Because…
Lifting my head, I looked him straight in the eye, daring him. “I… love you too!”
… I’m writing a brand new romance with Duke Kalinos.
At that moment, his lips suddenly drew close. I looked up at him, awkwardly smiling as he stopped just short of brushing the tip of my nose.
“Is this another one of your experiments, Your Grace? Or did you plan this?”
In an instant, our noses touched. It was the closest we’d ever been. I could clearly see the gentle curve of his eyes.
“No. Right now, my mind is completely blank. This must be…” His crimson eyes locked onto mine as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “…instinct.”
The moment those words left his lips, Duke Kalinos slipped an arm around my waist. Tension stretched tight between us. His lips brushed lightly against my earlobe, then planted soft kisses on my cheek, my forehead, and the bridge of my nose. Bit by bit, slowly, until I found myself holding my breath. Then he gently cradled my chin in his hand. My eyelids trembled, then I squeezed them shut.
And finally… His lips met mine. He kept nipping at my lips, our breaths tangling together over and over. It was our first kiss, so intense that it left us both breathless.
[The end of Main Story]
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