The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 119

The moment Ria turned her head at the scream, she heard laughter from below.

Meeting Coma’s gaze, she saw his eyes gleaming with insanity.

His face was drenched in blood, and yet, he was grinning like a lunatic.

Through his mangled lips, he whispered—

“Ria, the party has begun.”

“…Party?”

A terrible sense of foreboding gripped her as she flung the terrace door open.

The air inside the banquet hall was heavy, thick with an unnatural tension.

Ria’s eyes darted toward the source of the commotion.

It wasn’t hard to find.

Every guest was staring in the same direction.

Giselle sat on the ground, trembling, clutching a small body in her arms.

“Dante, wake up! Please!”

She shook him, her hands frantically patting his cheeks.

But Dante didn’t move.

He didn’t even twitch.

The sight was tragic, but it wasn’t what held Ria’s attention.

Her gaze hardened as she looked above Giselle’s head.

The air wavered, distorting like heat rising from asphalt on a scorching summer day.

“…What did you do?”

Ria’s voice trembled with fury.

“I only gave the woman what she wanted,” Coma chuckled, lifting himself from the floor.

“She wanted her son to be free from pain. So I granted him eternal rest, just like I promised.”

Giselle had wished for Dante’s suffering to end.

And Coma had kept his word.

There were many ways to take away pain—by healing, by medicine…

Or by making sure someone never felt pain again.

By killing them.

“In the end, it’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“You insane bastard.”

Ria’s vision turned red with rage.

He had taken a child’s life as if it were nothing more than a game.

“Tsk. You’ve gotten quite the foul mouth since we last met—ugh!”

Ria lunged forward and seized him by the collar, yanking him close.

Spitting her words like venom, she hissed—

“Close the rift. Now.”

“You know as well as I do. Once a rift has begun, it can’t be stopped.”

Coma smirked, as if sharing a wicked secret.

“There’s only one way left, Ria. What will you do? Kill me… or save them?”

Only she could stop the rift.

If she didn’t, Dante’s body would shatter.

The rift would widen, consuming everything in its path.

“Shall I guess your choice?”

Watching her face contort with helpless fury, Coma hummed a little tune.

He already knew.

Then.
Now.
And forever.

Ria would make the same choice.

“You’re going to save them.”

On one side of the scale was Coma’s death.

On the other was the lives of dozens.

And the scales tipped immediately.

“You’re right,” Ria admitted.

She was not a destroyer.

She was a protector.

So of course, she had to choose saving.

Releasing Coma with a shove, she stood tall.

“I knew it. Such a guardian-like choice.”

“Don’t be so pleased. You only delayed the inevitable. You will die by my hand.”

“How about we settle that today?”

A familiar voice cut in as Cassis stepped between them.

“I’ll handle this.”

The conversation between Ria and Coma had been cryptic—filled with words only the two of them could understand.

But one thing was crystal clear.

The being who had stolen Manus’s body—this Coma—was the darkness that had been plaguing the empire.

And I wasted time searching in the wrong places…

Cassis let out a slow breath, looking down at his possessed brother with disappointment.

“Manus was always a fool. But I never wanted to hear that he had been consumed by a curse and died like this.”

His grip on his sword tightened, his knuckles turning white.

“Are you sure about this?” Ria asked.

“Honestly? No.”

Cassis laughed lightly at Ria’s startled expression.

There was no point in pretending to be confident.

He wasn’t Dillan. He wasn’t a chosen warrior.

He wasn’t even blessed with divine power.

But even so—

“I’ll buy time until you finish out there.”

“You can’t face him alone!”

“I won’t be alone.”

To prove his point, Sera drew a dagger from her sleeve and stood beside him.

“Lady Ria, go. I’ll hold him off.”

“Sera?”

“As your right hand, I cannot allow anyone to hurt my mistress.”

“You don’t have to worry, Ria.”

A shadow flickered along the walls.

A dozen masked figures leapt onto the terrace.

“Do you think I’d come without an escort?”

Cassis smirked.

“I am the crown prince, after all.”

“Then we’ll hold the line,” Sera declared, gripping her dagger tightly.

“Let’s see how long we can last,” Cassis added, raising his sword.

“…Don’t die,” Ria said firmly.

“Not planning on it,” Cassis replied. “It would be a terrible look for a prince to die here, don’t you think?”

His steady voice reassured her.

Yes.

Even in a crisis, he was still the crown prince.

She could trust him to hold his ground.

“Ten minutes. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

With that, Ria turned away from them—

And ran toward Dante.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Ria sprinted toward Giselle with everything she had.

Forget etiquette. Forget dignity.

There was no time.

She had to save Dante.

She had to return to the terrace and destroy Coma.

Her heart pounded with urgency.

Then—

Giselle, who had been clutching Dante in panic, suddenly fumbled through her belongings.

She pulled out a small, black bottle.

A vial…?

Giselle was mumbling frantically like a madwoman.

Ria leaned in, trying to catch what she was saying.

“This medicine… If he just takes this, he’ll be fine….”

Her trembling fingers struggled to open the bottle.

A sickening stench filled the air.

Why is no one noticing this smell?

Even Giselle didn’t seem to realize something was wrong.

She held the vial carefully, tilting it toward Dante’s lips.

“No!”

Ria shot forward, slamming one hand over Dante’s mouth while knocking the bottle away with the other.

Crash!

The vial shattered, spilling its contents across the floor.

The liquid evaporated the instant it touched the air.

Clearly, something unnatural had been in that bottle.

Ria exhaled in relief.

Then—

“AAAAAAAH!”

Giselle let out a piercing scream and shoved Ria away.

She nearly toppled over, but a firm grip caught her.

“Dillan?”

“Are you alright?”

“Thanks to you, my tailbone survived.”

With Dillan’s help, she steadied herself.

Then she grasped his hand, channeling divine power into him.

Dillan shivered slightly at the sensation before sighing.

“You noticed.”

“Even though it’s faint, divine power is filling the entire hall.”

Ria frowned at the energy swirling around them.

It wasn’t strong enough to harm Dillan—yet.

But soon, it would come crashing down like a tidal wave.

“Don’t leave my side. My divine power will repel it.”

After warning Dillan, she turned her focus back to Giselle.

“Giselle, what’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”

Nearby, Bianca stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

“Let go of me! Why are you stopping me? If Dante doesn’t take the medicine, he’ll die!”

“Giselle, I know you’re scared, but calm down.”

Lloyd reached for her arm, trying to help her up.

But Giselle shoved him away and clung to Dante, screaming—

“Stay back! Stay away from him!”

Her hysteria reached its peak, making the whole hall tense.

Then—

“Giselle! You’re the one who needs to step back!”

Therze’s voice boomed across the hall.

Seeing her spiraling out of control, he moved to take Dante from her.

Leaving Dante in Giselle’s unstable hands was far too dangerous.

But, driven by desperation, Giselle displayed unnatural strength.

Even Therze’s muscular arms couldn’t pry her away.

“No! Don’t touch him!”

She thrashed violently, unwilling to let go.

Ria clenched her teeth.

Then—

Slap!

A crisp sound echoed through the hall.

Someone hiccupped.

Giselle stared at Ria in shock, her cheek turning red.

She hadn’t expected to be hit.

Ria, unfazed, met her wide-eyed stare with a firm voice.

“Get a grip. Do you even know what that medicine is?”

“I-It’s supposed to save Dante—”

“No. That was poison.”

“…Poison?”

Giselle’s voice wavered.

She blinked, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard.

Then—

She laughed.

“That’s ridiculous.”

Her laughter was hollow.

Then, her expression twisted into something venomous.

“What do you know? That medicine has saved Dante many times! And now you’ve destroyed the last dose!”

She grabbed Ria by the collar, screaming in her face.

Anger surged through Ria.

“Saved him? Lessened his pain? Maybe for a moment. But only because that poison was suppressing divine power with a curse.”

“What…?”

“It’s a curse, Giselle. The medicine you’ve been giving him—it wasn’t medicine at all. It was part of the curse itself.”

Giselle’s breath caught in her throat.

“Listen to me, Giselle. Dante isn’t suffering from an incurable disease.”

At last, the memories from her past life had fully returned.

She knew what was wrong with Dante now.

I’m sorry… I should have realized sooner.

Looking down at the frail boy’s shallow breathing, guilt weighed heavily on her chest.

Then she turned her gaze to Giselle, who was trembling uncontrollably.

“That’s why doctors couldn’t help him. That’s why no medicine worked.”

Because the illness consuming his tiny body wasn’t something science could cure.

“It’s a divine affliction.”