The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 123

“Guh! Ugh!”

Coma coughed up a mouthful of blood.

As he shakily lifted his head and looked forward, his eyes locked with Ria’s cold, unwavering gaze.

“Ria…”

But Ria turned her head away, mercilessly. Not toward Coma, but toward the rippling gate behind him.

Staring blankly at her, Coma slowly dropped his gaze.

“…That idiot.”

To think he couldn’t hold out even for a moment.

Rexter, crushed beneath Ria’s feet, squirmed like a worm.

At the pitiful sight, Coma’s face twisted in disgust.

“You think I’m going out like this?!”

He jerked his body and reached for Dillian, desperate to drag someone down to hell with him.

That outstretched hand was sticky with malice.

“Back off. The only one allowed to touch me is Ria.”

Dillian slapped Coma’s hand away with a flat voice and twisted his lips into a smirk.

“Now I get why Ria hated you so much. I’d be sick of you too.”

“You—!”

“Hey. Guys who obsess like you? Zero appeal.”

Throwing back the exact words May once told him, Dillian watched as Coma thrashed furiously.

“Oh right, you’re not even human. Ria said you were basically dust when she found you. Guess that explains it—no sense of decency.”

As expected, Dillian’s mouth was a weapon straight from hell. His smiling face scraped at Coma’s pride with every word.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

Coma glared at Dillian with pure hatred, blood dripping from the corners of his eyes, strained from the pressure.

“I won’t die like this—I won’t die!”

But no matter how violently Coma raged, Ria didn’t spare him a glance.

She simply aimed her arrow, charged with amplified holy power, straight at the gate.

“Nathan. Now. Close the barrier.”

 

 

****

 

 

“Giselle, get ready.”

Nathan closed his eyes and gave the order to Giselle.

Despite the chaos, Giselle had gently laid the sleeping Dante down in a corner. She pulled out her hairpin and took a deep breath.

‘Nathan, go with Giselle and close the barrier. We don’t have any magical tools, so the only way for us to communicate is through holy power.’

‘And Giselle, when I give the signal, close the barrier. You have to close it. If we fail, the darkness will escape.’

‘Let’s get it right the first time and show the one who hurt Dante what we’re made of. I’ll even catch Rexter for you.’

‘So please, Giselle. You have to succeed. You’re the only one who can close the barrier.’

Only someone with Sinaiz’s blood could touch the barrier.

‘If I fail, everything will fall apart. I have to succeed.’

Ria’s warmth, from when she held Giselle’s hands and healed her fatigue, still lingered around her like a memory.

‘What have I done all this time…?’

Regret washed over her, painfully late.

“Giselle, now!”

But regrets are only for those who survive. Giselle pushed the key into the barrier.

Just as she began to turn the rattling key—

Thwack!

A sharp hand pierced through Giselle’s stomach.

It happened so fast, the world seemed to freeze.

Cough—blood welled up and trickled down her lips.

As she saw the hand that had run her through, a faint groan escaped her mouth.

“H-How…?”

The bright, smiling face flashed once before vanishing into the darkness.

“Ah… ah…”

“Giselle! Get a hold of yourself, Giselle! We have to close the barrier, Giselle!”

Nathan desperately tried to lift her arm to finish the task, but it was no use.

Giselle’s body collapsed limply to the ground.

 

 

****

 

 

Whoosh—!

The arrow flew and hit the gate dead-on.

The pitch-black back of the gate suddenly flashed with light.

For that brief moment, dozens of eyes staring back sent chills down my spine.

‘All of them… are monster eyes…’

I swallowed hard.

Thwack! The arrow embedded itself and then—boom!—exploded.

Rumble—!

The gate collapsed, kicking up clouds of dust.

At the same time, Dillian yanked the sword from Coma’s heart. His limp body crumpled to the ground.

Thud. As Coma’s body collapsed, Dillian cautiously reached down to his neck.

“He’s dead.”

Just as Dillian said, the fallen body had gone cold with its breath stilled.

But Coma… was still alive somewhere.

Shaking my head as I looked at Dillian’s neck, I said,

“The curse is still there. He’s alive.”

Rexter’s curse was still intact, too—his body writhing on the ground like a worm.

“If Giselle managed to close the barrier in time, then he should be somewhere inside the castle.”

That was why we tried to shut the gate and the barrier at the same time.

Even if the gate was sealed, if the castle’s barrier remained open, Coma could escape through the shadows.

“Ria, it looks familiar.”

“Yeah. He’s done this kind of hiding before.”

I never thought we could end it in just one go.

First, we had to find Nathan and check if the barrier had closed.

But before that—

I reached out and gently rubbed Dillian’s tense, annoyed cheek.

“What’s with that grumpy face? What’s bothering you?”

“I don’t like that I’m the only one who doesn’t know. You and that worm both do.”

“…It’s not even a good memory.”

Painful and hard memories—he’d be better off without them. Yet Dillian still wanted to carry even that pain.

“You’re such a greedy man.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been called greedy.”

“Liar. You’re full of greed.”

“I hope you know it only applies to you, Ria.”

Dillian’s eyes softened as he pulled me into his arms.

“It’s not over yet, you know?”

“But we’re halfway there, aren’t we?”

His relaxed whisper tickled my ear.

“…You’re so shameless.”

Even as I said that, the truth was I felt some relief, just like him.

‘And after overcoming trials and hardship—shouldn’t there be a deep kiss as a reward?’

I wrapped my arms around Dillian’s neck and slowly rose onto my toes.

“I wonder who the truly shameless one is here.”

Dillian gave a small laugh and leaned in toward me.

His warm breath brushed against my face—

“Damn it. If you’re gonna make out, do it somewhere else.”

A voice from below shattered the moment in the most obnoxious way possible.

“Seriously, right in front of me, smooching and rubbing—mph! Mmmph!”

Before Rexter could spew another crude word, I snapped my fingers.

The vines reappeared and clamped his mouth shut again.

“Mmmph! Mm!”

“What, you can’t be quiet for one second?”

Honestly, this guy was zero help. As I nudged Rexter’s side in annoyance—

A small body darted in like the wind and clung to my waist.

“Ugh, Dante?”

Terrified and trembling, Dante buried himself into my arms.

“L-Lady Ria. Mom, my mom…!”

Dante’s voice trembled as tears welled up.

“Something happened to Giselle?”

“She collapsed! She was bleeding so much—I didn’t know what to do… I left her… I should’ve protected her…”

Trying so hard not to cry, Dante finally broke down in loud sobs.

I wiped the blood off his hands and held him close.

“It’s okay. Nathan’s with her, remember? That cute owl. He must’ve saved her.”

His bloodied hands told me just how serious things had gotten.

‘If Nathan hadn’t been there, it could’ve been terrible.’

After roughly cleaning his hands, I gently patted Dante’s shoulder and asked,

“Dante, where is she?”

“She’s in the room with the barrier… she collapsed and couldn’t get up…”

Dante raised his hand and pointed.

At that moment, Dillian grabbed Dante’s hand roughly.

“Ow!”

“Dillian!”

Startled by the sudden harshness, I tried to pry his hand away, but he didn’t budge.

“Dillian, what are you—”

I stopped.

His expression as he stared at Dante… was colder than I’d ever seen.

“That’s not where the barrier is. Dante Eustine.”

“Y-Your Highness, w-why are you acting like this? Huh… huhuh…”

The whimpering voice suddenly turned into a light, empty chuckle.

“Damn it. You always get in the way. But hey, this is enough.”

“You…”

Crack, snap, creekk.

A grotesque noise came from Dante’s hand. Manipulating the bones in his wrist, Coma pulled free from Dillian’s grip and grinned.

Snap! He flicked his thumb.

Boom!

A dark rumble surged as fierce wind whipped around us.

Whooooosh—!

The sealed gate burst open again, a whirlwind of sand blinding our sight.

I looked around, trying to find Dillian through the chaos.

“Dillian!”

“It’s no use. He won’t hear you.”

And he was right. No matter how I screamed, Dillian didn’t answer.

Only my desperate voice echoed back to me.

Realizing it was hopeless, my shoulders sank.

“…Giselle failed, didn’t she?”

“Good thing. If she’d taken any longer, the barrier would’ve closed completely.”

“You killed her, didn’t you?”

“Who knows. With Nathan there, she’s probably still breathing.”

The arms wrapped around my waist tightened into a locked grip—unbreakable.

“Kind-hearted Ria. After what she did to you, you still worry about her? If it were me, I’d be laughing.”

With a strength no child should have, he began to shove me toward the gate.

One step, two steps.

The closer we got, the more my body tilted forward, almost being sucked in.

The wind whipped my hair against my cheeks, stinging.

That sharp sting brought me back to my senses.

‘Pull it together. It’s still a child’s body. With holy power, I can still—’

Thwack.

I froze at the sight before me.

Drip, drip, drip.

Red blood trickled down a slender neck.

Still smiling with Dante’s face, Coma dug his sharp nails into his own throat.

“Ria, are you going to let this child die?”

The flowing blood stained Dante’s white shirt red.

Panicking, I grabbed his neck and poured holy power into him.

“If I’d known it’d be this easy, I would’ve gone for the kid from the start.”

I didn’t even have the strength to argue—I was too busy trying to heal the bleeding.

“Ria!”

I heard Dillian’s voice from somewhere far away.

“Dil…”

“Ria, if you leave me, this child dies.”

“Ria! Where are you?!”

Coma threatened me, Dante’s life in his hands. I said nothing.

One more step, and I’d be swallowed by the darkness.

And who knows when I’d ever see Dillian again.

“…Dillian.”

Just once more, I called his name.

As if summoned, he broke through the sandstorm and appeared.

“Took you long enough to answer me.”

“Dillian…”

“Are you trying to drive me insane?”

He ran toward me, hand outstretched.

“Take it. Now.”

I wanted to. I wanted to grab that hand and escape.

‘But I can’t. I just can’t.’

Forcing myself to look away from his desperate hand, I gave him a faint smile.

“I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t abandon this small life.

I couldn’t leave behind a child sacrificed to Coma’s twisted obsession.

“About that kiss we missed earlier… how about we save it for next time?”

“Ria… don’t…”

“Let’s make it a really deep one then.”

“Don’t go.”

One final step.

Dozens of hands stretched out from the gate and pulled me in.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be a very short while.”

Until the darkness covered everything in sight, I kept my eyes on Dillian—

Like I was trying to imprint his face on my soul.

 

 

****

 

 

 

The raging sandstorm settled as if it had all been a lie.

As if nothing had happened.
As if it were just a dream.

If only—if only it really had been a dream.
If only it had been a damn nightmare.

Dillian stared at the spot where Ria had vanished, eyes hollow, as though he had lost everything.

“…Ria.”