The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 121

The trembling around his eyes hinted at how shocked he was.

“So, unlike that bastard Dillian, you do believe in the gods since you trust the prophecy.”

“No way… Could that child really be…?”

Terzhe’s trembling eyes desperately turned to Nathan.

Nathan, puffing out his chest, spoke triumphantly.

“Well? How does it feel to finally see the child of destiny you’ve been searching for?”

Terzhe, shaken by the revelation of Ria’s true identity, staggered.

As his massive body swayed, Nathan flapped his wings in surprise.

“Ria is the child of destiny.”

The one destined to save Dillian!

How could mere words express this joy?

Terzhe didn’t bother speaking—he showed his feelings through action.

Like a bullet, he lunged forward and wrapped Ria in his bulging muscles.

“Ria! Thank you so much for meeting my foolish Dillian!”

“H-Huh?”

Ria, who had just managed to catch her breath, stammered as she was trapped in Terzhe’s biceps.

“When shall we hold the wedding? If you’re fine with it, we can do it tomorrow!”

“W-What?!”

“You don’t have to do a thing. Just show up. Your very existence is a treasure!”

Startled by the tightening grip around her neck, Ria frantically patted Terzhe’s arm.

At that moment, Dillian urgently pushed his grandfather away.

“Please don’t hug Miss Ria so carelessly. Do you realize how much your monstrous muscles just scared her? That’s not a body—it’s a weapon. A lethal one.”

Dillian glared coldly at Terzhe while gently rubbing Ria’s neck.

Normally, Terzhe would have scolded him for being disrespectful to his elder. But today was different.

“Fate is truly fate. For the two of them to meet like this… I could die happy tomorrow.”

“Please don’t say such ominous things!”

Ria understood why Terzhe was so emotional.

“It’s because he realized that I’m the child of destiny.”

She knew he was overjoyed to finally meet the prophesied one after waiting for so long, but this was too much.

“Grandfather, please calm down—”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Before she could finish speaking, a round of applause erupted, shaking Ria’s vision like an earthquake.

The source of the clapping? Bianca and Lloyd.

“So, you’re finally giving your blessing. Congratulations, Miss Ria.”

“Tsk, I should have made Miss Ria my daughter-in-law instead…”

Despite her grumbling, Bianca clapped dutifully. And soon, more applause followed from below.

“Miss Ria, congratulations.”

Even Giselle, whom Ria had trusted, joined in.

At this point, Ria almost wished for the old Giselle—the one who had fiercely opposed the marriage when they first met.

“Dillian, please, stop your grandfather!”

Dillian was her last hope. She turned to him for help.

But unfortunately, he was absolutely the wrong person to ask.

“If we hold the ceremony tomorrow, there won’t be enough time to pick out a dress. We should delay it by a week, don’t you think?”

“A week is still too soon!”

“You people! We haven’t even dealt with the mess Koma caused yet!”

Though they had managed to stop Dante’s rampage and seal the rift, a sense of unease lingered in Ria’s heart.

“I need to go see Cassis right away.”

Just as she made up her mind—

Crash!

The terrace doors shattered as Cassis burst into the room, shouting urgently.

“Everyone, run!”

“Your Highness?”

Those who hadn’t yet fled murmured in confusion at Cassis’ disheveled state.

At that moment, Giselle’s face turned ghostly pale.

“Giselle? What’s wrong? Is something happening to Dante again?”

At Terzhe’s question, Giselle barely managed to choke out words as if her throat were constricted.

“I…”

“…?”

“I… I opened it. The barrier…”

Giselle muttered incomprehensible words as she clutched Dante protectively.

“Opened the barrier?”

Ria didn’t immediately grasp the meaning, but Terzhe and Dillian did.

“Giselle! What have you done?!”

Before Terzhe’s furious shout had even finished—

Bang!

The banquet hall doors slammed open, and a soldier screamed.

“M-Monsters!”

“Everyone, run! The monsters have breached the castle!”

“The barrier is broken— Aaaagh!”

A monster burst through the door, slamming a soldier against the wall as it let out a bloodcurdling roar.

“Kieeek!”

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Monsters burst through the grand doors of the banquet hall.

And that wasn’t all. Winged beasts swooped in through the windows and terrace, their razor-sharp claws snatching people as if they were mere prey.

“Kyaaah!”

“Agh, let go of me!”

“Kieeeek!”

“Uwaaah!”

“Kyaaaak!”

The once-beautiful banquet hall was now a scene of chaos, filled with human screams and the chilling cries of monsters.

Clang! Clang—!

The sharp sound of clashing swords rang painfully in their ears.

“Kieee—urk!”

Dillian swiftly beheaded a monster lunging at Ria, then pulled her close, shielding her.

“Miss Ria, are you alright?”

Ever since the monsters appeared, something had seemed off about Ria.

“Miss Ria.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Did healing Dante drain you too much?”

“No, that’s not it…”

Dillian gazed at her with concern, but Ria couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror unfolding before her.

The ear-piercing screams, the metallic stench of blood lingering in the air. Bodies littered the ground, tangled with the grotesque remains of monsters.

The scene was all too familiar. Shadows of the past flickered in her mind.

“Please, save us, Saintess!”

“Aah! No, stay away!”

“Saintess, I beg you…!”

Ria clutched her throbbing head.

“Why is this happening again? Why…?”

It was exactly the same.

A rift appeared, throwing the world into chaos. And in that moment of weakness, darkness struck, trying to consume everything.

A sudden rift. An endless wave of monsters. Lives lost too soon…

Realizing she was retracing the past, a crushing sense of dread settled over her shoulders.

“Miss Ria, snap out of it. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

Ria lifted her head and met her lover’s worried gaze.

“What if I lose them again? What if they leave my side like before…?”

“Stay with Giselle. I’ll handle this and—”

Before Dillian could finish, Ria grabbed his arm tightly.

“No. Don’t leave my side. I can fight too.”

“You can’t. You don’t even have your bracelet right now.”

At his words, Ria clenched her empty wrist.

“Damn it, I forgot Koma destroyed it.”

She bit her lip hard.

“Did you lose your bracelet?”

Unaware of what had happened, Dillian gently patted her shoulder before slowly guiding her toward Giselle.

“If I hurry and get my bow—”

She was about to argue when her eyes widened in horror.

“Dillian, behind you—!”

A scream tore from her throat as a monster lunged—

Slash!

Thud. Roll—

The beast’s severed head tumbled across the floor.

“Hah… What a mess.”

“Your Highness!”

Cassis wiped monster blood from his face, panting heavily.

Pushing Dillian aside, Ria rushed toward him.

“What happened? Where’s Sera?”

“She lost consciousness. My men are protecting her. As for him… he got away. She tried to buy time until you arrived, but I failed her.”

“The gate is open. The festival has begun. Just like before, red blood will flood the world.”

“I’ll spare you. Go tell Ria. I’ll be coming for her soon.”

The eerie voice of darkness echoed in her mind, laughing as it vanished into the shadows.

“The one the darkness wants… is you, Miss Ria. So listen to the duke and get to safety.”

“Darkness?” Dillian’s gaze sharpened. “Miss Ria, did you come into contact with it?”

He hadn’t heard what happened on the terrace.

With Dante’s rampage and the monster attack, there had been no time to explain.

“Dillian, the third prince we knew… was darkness all along. That thing took over his body.”

“…”

“I’ll explain everything later.”

The shocking truth about Manus barely had time to sink in.

Dillian simply nodded, as if he had expected it.

“I knew there was something off about the way he kept hanging around you. So that was why.”

He ran his fingers over the hilt of his sword before glancing at Cassis.

“If the third prince is darkness, that means I can kill him without hesitation.”

The murderous intent in his voice was unmistakable.

“Good. Don’t hesitate. Cut him down.”

“Then I’ll bring you his head as a token of loyalty.”

Loyalty, my ass. He just wanted an excuse to punish the bastard who kept pestering Ria.

“But these monsters aren’t stopping. Where the hell are they coming from?”

Like a broken dam, an endless flood of creatures poured into the duchy.

“With this many, the entire territory should be overrun…”

Yet, no such news had come.

The attack was focused solely on the duchy.

Something wasn’t right.

It was Nathan who provided the answer.

“A door has opened inside the castle.”

“A door? What do you mean—”

Cassis instinctively turned to Ria, his eyes trembling as realization hit.

“Wait, did that owl just talk?”

“A first-time introduction, I see. I am Nathan.”

“He’s a divine beast. Like the one you’ve seen with Mika before, Your Highness.”

Cassis was still processing the sight of a talking owl wearing a red bowtie when Ria spoke again.

“The door is a passage connecting the monster’s realm to the castle. It’s open somewhere inside. We need to destroy it.”

“Or we could just close the barrier around the duchy. Either method would work.”

Nathan suggested a simpler solution, but Ria shook her head firmly.

“No, we need to do both at the same time.”

That was the only way to trap Koma.

“We end this here.”

She refused to relive the same nightmare.

“I can’t let him escape.”

As she steeled herself, a trembling but determined voice cut through the chaos.

“I’ll close the barrier.”

“Giselle.”

“I opened it… so I’ll close it.”