The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 146 - Epiogue

No matter what happens today, tomorrow’s sun will rise. So what I mean is…

 

The morning after I kissed him, confirmed our love, and came back home, I found myself in a very strange situation. For some reason… things feel weirdly awkward. In romance novels, what lingers after a kiss is usually just love, but I’d somehow ended up with love and awkwardness at the same time.

 

Duke Kalinos, however, clearly felt very differently from me. He was lying beside me, just staring straight at me. Right up until I finally gave in to the sunlight slipping through the window and opened my eyes!

 

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I snore or something?”

 

Even at my sheepish question, he simply shook his head, expression cool and unbothered.

 

“No. You were sleeping so adorably, like a baby, that I just watched you.”

 

There was one thing I’d been overlooking up until now. Duke Kalinos was an engineering-type man with a very clear sense of input and output. Meaning, the input…

 

The input has been way too much! What do I do! I was pretty sure he’d read way too many romance novels. The problem was… I have absolutely zero immunity to cheesy lines! In other words, I was completely screwed.

 

I muttered, trying to sound nonchalant, to Duke Kalinos, who was still staring holes into the side of my face. “Do you, by any chance, not know what it feels like to have your face itch from embarrassment?”

 

“No, I don’t. From what I’ve heard, when your face itches, it’s usually because you have a skin allergy. I possess skin as strong as steel.”

 

“Yes, you certainly seem made of steel, inside and out…”

 

Faced with the same old, genuine madness of his, I was helplessly shaken. Which was why I ended up getting up…

 

Duke Kalinos caught my arm and murmured gently, “Ah, Giselle. People usually have a morning kiss when they wake up.”

 

My face went bright red at that. What kind of romance novels has he been reading? His eyes were already a fiery red to begin with, but the burning passion in them right now only flustered me more.

 

“S-So, here’s the thing, Duke. I…”

 

“Yes?”

 

I stared straight into those heated red eyes and whispered, as if trying to brainwash him, “I’m the type who prefers good night kisses.” …After I’ve brushed my teeth nice and squeaky clean, of course!

 

“Understood. Then tonight.” He nodded with a grave expression, like he was jotting it down in his mental notebook.

 

The moment I saw his face, anxiety washed over me all over again. Did I just put the wrong input again? I had a very strong feeling the output was going to come out all wrong.

 

* * *

Even after purifying the North and making that trash villain suffer worse than death, my life continued. At lunch the next day, I sat across from Duke Kalinos and listened to his briefing on the current situation.

 

“His Majesty has been informed of everything.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“He’s also finished dealing with Duke Reshaniel.”

 

I answered with a gentle little smile tugging at my lips. “Yes, I know.”

 

“His Majesty says he wants to properly recognize your achievements.”

 

“Aah…”

 

“He boasted that you only have to say what you want, and he’ll give it to you.”

 

“Tell him not to worry about that. I’m very ambitious.” Ambitious as in I fully intend to get my hands on every last piece of prime land in the empire. I’ll make sure to demand something so expensive to the point the emperor ends up regretting it.

 

I curled my lips in a mean little grin and chuckled to myself, but before I knew it, he changed the subject and said, “Somehow, talking about His Majesty makes me feel jealous.”

 

“Huh? Out of nowhere?”

 

“Yes. I didn’t realize it before, but I must be the jealous type.”

 

“You sound like you’re in a pretty serious condition…”

 

Even though I answered lukewarmly, watching from a safe distance like a fire on the far side of a river, he just bulldozed right on.

 

“Yes, I’m seriously only interested in hearing about you. What did you do today?”

 

“Mmm, today I had tea with Riwes, and I prepared for tomorrow afternoon’s tea with Madam Yuliana. Lord Garno baked a pie for me this evening, so I ate that too. What about you, Duke?” Watching his expression change every time I mentioned someone’s name was so entertaining that I wanted to keep going, but I held back.

 

He said to me, “Ah, I ran an experiment.”

 

“What kind of experiment?”

 

“An experiment on monsters. It’s about the <Piona-Derkan Theorem>. For example, things like this: the range when attacking a monster, and its speed and velocity…” He looked at me and gave me a detailed rundown of what he’d been doing.

 

Of course, I understood maybe half of it at best. I’m a humanities major… Still, I forced my eyes wide open and listened hard. Thankfully, a topic I could actually grasp finally came up.

 

“During the breaks, we did an experiment on my heart rate.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

“The researchers under me said my heart seems to be beating unusually fast these days.”

 

Startled, I looked at him. I was checking to see if maybe his health was bad or something. But then he pulled a crumpled, many-times-folded piece of parchment from his pocket, wearing a strangely pleased expression.

 

“These are the results.”

 

I quietly folded away the thought, ‘Why is he giving this to me?’, and took the results sheet he handed over….The heart rate that had only ticked up a little in the section labeled [When thinking about how to develop a mini troll] had absolutely exploded in the section labeled [When thinking about Giselle].

 

“Wow…”

 

“I think this heart rate is the precise proof that I love you. It means my heart pounds excessively every time I think of you.” He looked at me, clearly proud of himself.

 

I had no idea what to do with this. He’s still as obsessed with experiments as ever…Measuring his own heart rate, seriously…

 

“But if a person’s heart rate gets that high, don’t they usually die?”

 

I began to wonder if I’d married some kind of weird science guy.

 

“I might actually die tonight.”

 

“…What?”

 

“My heart’s already racing because of the things we’ll do after our good night kiss.”

 

Wait a second.

 

“Um, am I understanding you correctly?”

 

“Yes. We’ll be together tonight. Like in a romance novel.”

 

What the hell kind of romance novel did he read to end up like this?! And seriously, what male lead in a romance novel tells the female lead to look forward to tonight in that way?

 

Anyway, one thing was clear. In short, tonight was going to be our real first night. And my heart is pounding like crazy too in tension, nerves, anxiety, and… excitement. If Duke Kalinos’s researchers could see me right now, they’d probably come running to measure my heart rate. This is really a problem.

 

And then there was that line, “I might actually die tonight.” That made me look forward to it too… The thump-thump in my chest just wouldn’t stop.

 

“Ah, that reminds me, I prepared something for tonight.” He squeezed my hand tightly and smiled softly, then reached over and pulled the bell cord beside him. And then a whole crowd of maids began to file in.

 

* * *

…Before I knew it, it was deep into the night. I was already half worn out.

 

Ugh, this is so embarrassing. Maybe it was thanks to the maids, who carefully wiped my face with toner and fussed over me tonight. I did feel like I looked more pure and fresh than usual, but… What the hell is with this negligee and this pure white pajama dress on top of it!

 

With my skin faintly showing through, I honestly looked like a bride about to spend her actual wedding night. Of course, the maids don’t have the slightest clue this is supposed to be a ‘wedding night’ for us. Every time they dressed me up, they looked at me like I was someone who already knew everything there was to know about this stuff, but… I don’t actually know a damn thing.

 

I was standing there, frozen on the other side of the bedroom door, quietly agonizing over it, when the door opened first from the inside. Duke Kalinos was looking at me.

 

“Mmm, I look a bit unfamiliar, don’t I?”

 

It felt like just yesterday we were in that cave, covered in dust and fighting like lunatics. And now here I was, in a sheer negligee with a white dress as light as wings over it…

 

“You don’t look unfamiliar.”

 

“Ah.”

What the, after I went to all this trouble to get dolled up! I felt a little let down, honestly.

 

The next moment, he suddenly pulled me into his arms and whispered in my ear. “It’s just… I feel moved, somehow.”

 

Now that he said it, his voice did sound a little thick, as if it were damp with emotion! But being moved is a bit much, isn’t it? All I did was put on something that suits a wedding night. Why is he getting emotional over that! A-Anyway, it’s not like there’s any real sexual tension between us yet.

 

…Feeling oddly ticklish inside, I cleared my throat lightly and spoke to him. “S-Should we go in?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The bedroom feels kind of…”

 

In the dark room, only the lamp on the nightstand cast a faint, hazy light. I did think the atmosphere was strangely dreamy, but even as he led me by the hand and sat me down on the bed, it still didn’t fully hit me. Then, while smiling and thinking of making light conversation to ease the mood, I looked up at him. But… W-Why does he look so serious?

 

A blank expression, eyes flickering, the corners of his mouth faintly twisted. My heart dropped with a thud. It was like I suddenly became acutely aware of what kind of situation this was. Our unofficial first night. Flustered, I hurriedly bit down on my lip.

 

“Giselle. You seem to bite your lip far too much.”

 

“Ah, it’s just, biting my lip kind of became a habit.”

 

…But, you know. Apparently, it only takes a moment for a spark to catch.

 

His fingertips brushed over my lips. “It bothers me.”