The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 124

The swirling sandstorm had vanished like a lie.

As if nothing had happened.

As if it had all just been a dream.

If only—if only it were a dream.

If only it had been a damn nightmare.

Dillian stared at the spot where Ria had disappeared, his eyes empty, as though everything had been ripped from him.

“…Ria.”

He looked down at his hand with dry, lifeless eyes.

He had touched her. Briefly—just the edge of her fingers.

But in the end, he hadn’t been able to hold on.

As if trying to grasp a fading illusion, Dillian clenched his hand into a tight fist.

The veins in his hand bulged with the force of it.

‘I let go.’

The rising wave of emotion burned in his chest. Dillian tried desperately to swallow it down.

He pressed it down. Again. And again.

But the more he tried, the more it clawed and tore through him from within.

And finally, the dam broke.

His vision turned red. His breath came in short, sharp bursts.

He felt it—the curse burning up from his chest to his neck, to his cheeks.

It was the sign of an impending rampage.

He knew better than anyone that he needed to suppress it right now.
But he didn’t want to.

In this powerlessness he had never felt before, Dillian wanted to let everything go.

And just then—

“Dillian! Get a hold of yourself!”

Nathan flew in and grabbed his shoulders tightly.

“Calm down! You’re going to blow up the whole place!”

Nathan shouted over the roaring air, then glanced around in panic.

“Where the hell is Ria at a time like this?!”

He didn’t know yet. Didn’t know that Ria had been taken by the darkness.

“We need to get to Ria, quick—”

Dillian looked at him, silent.

Their eyes met—Nathan flinched. A chill ran down his spine.

His heart pounded as a terrible thought rose within him.

“No… No, it can’t be. Tell me that’s not true!”

Dillian wanted to deny it, just like Nathan. But reality was cruel.

“It’s true.”

“…”

“That bastard—he took Ria.”

“That thing… took Ria…”

Nathan was struck dumb.

Then, from behind, a frail figure staggered toward Dillian and clung to his arm.

“Dante… What happened to Dante?”

Having barely survived with Nathan’s healing, Giselle looked pale as a sheet, her eyes darting in search of her son.

“Dante!”

Even though she’d seen her son’s body be used like a weapon, Giselle still believed in him.
He was only unconscious. He’d come back.

She still held on to hope.

But Dillian’s next words shattered that fragile hope.

“That’s not Dante anymore. It’s a monster wearing his skin.”

Cold eyes. A voice drained of emotion. Black thorns crawling up his cheek.

And the blood dripping from his sword.

“Does that really look like your son to you?”

Had she ever seen such a cold, terrifying face?

Giselle’s eyes trembled at the sight—familiar, yet so unfamiliar.

“Your Highness… No… That can’t be true, right? You didn’t use your sword on Dante… right?”

“I wish I had.”

The sincerity in those words made Giselle’s shoulders shake.

“Your Highness…”

“He walked off with Ria, perfectly fine. You should be grateful.”

“…Ah.”

Just as Dillian said, Giselle collapsed in relief.

But that relief didn’t last long.

Despair clawed in—her son had been taken. Possessed by darkness.
She might never get him back.

The flood of dread and fear overwhelmed her. She beat her chest in grief.

“Ugh… ngh…”

Anyone could see it was a heartbreaking scene. But Dillian stared at her with empty eyes.

Now that Ria was gone, nothing could touch him.

Nathan stood deep in thought. Giselle was half-delirious.
Therze and Cassis had only just arrived.

And Dillian…
Had no intention of holding back.

Now that Ria was gone, everything had fallen apart.

“Ugh—!”

Giselle suddenly raised her head like a gust of wind.

Her gaze locked on Rexter, who was vomiting and crawling on the ground.

“Rexter Blent!”

Fire lit in her eyes. She shot forward like a bullet, tackling the fleeing Rexter.

“Ugh!”

“You bastard!”

She mounted him, raining down punches with all her might.

“Die! You poisoned my son! Are you even human?!”

“Screw you! You’re the one who fed it to him!”

“I’ll kill you! Die! Just die already!”

If she had a sword, she would’ve sliced his neck, stabbed his heart, hacked his body to pieces.

“You deserve to feel the pain you put my son through.”

“Guh!”

Giselle’s trembling hands clamped around Rexter’s neck.

He was stronger, bigger—but her rage gave her the upper hand.

The one who finally stopped her was Terze, now the most level-headed among them.

“Giselle! Stop it! Killing Rexter won’t fix anything!”

“I’m going to kill him, at the very least!”

A few steps away, Cassis stared down at Manus’ lifeless body.

‘So this is how it ends…’

It was a death he had seen coming. Cassis accepted it quietly.

“He’s the one behind the attack. Send word to the imperial family and clean this up.”

After assigning the task, Cassis turned to Dillian.

‘Something’s wrong.’

He had expected Dillian to lunge at Rexter first. But instead, Dillian just stared.

Stared at the spot where Ria had disappeared.

‘No way he’s this calm. Not if Ria’s gone.’

Sensing danger, Cassis instinctively reached toward Dillian.

From the outside, Dillian looked fine. But he was like the eye of a storm—seconds from unleashing hell.

Cassis grabbed his shoulder in urgency.

“Duke. Calm down.”

But Dillian’s shadow suddenly whipped out like a lash. Cassis shouted,

“Duke!”

“Dillian, no! You have to control it!”

Even Terze tried to stop him, but their voices didn’t reach.

Swoooosh—

The wind spiraled violently around Dillian, swallowing the area in a terrifying roar.

Then—a single red ribbon fluttered into Dillian’s view.

A ribbon…

It was the ribbon Ria wore on her wrist.

At that moment, the wind began to die down.

The ribbon, twirling like it was dancing, gently landed in Dillian’s hand.

He cradled it as if it were Ria herself, brushing his lips against it. Her scent lingered at the tip of his nose.

And slowly, the rage tearing through him began to fade.

“Ria…”

He whispered her name over and over again.

As if carving it into his very soul.

“I’ll let it go once.”

Whether it was to save Dante, or for another reason—it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Ria had turned away from his hand.

And that… that hurt more than he could stand.

“I won’t let it happen twice.”

As if making a vow to both Ria and himself, Dillian stood.

“Next time… I’ll never let you go.”

The curse that had flared up enough to darken half his face vanished completely.

Color returned to his once-hollow eyes.

Like the dawn creeping over the horizon. Like the sun blazing into full flame.

His glowing red eyes turned sharply toward Rexter.

“Tell me—where is Ria?”

Because the place she would return to…

Was right here.
At his side.

Page 12. The Final Trial

Flick.

Like a light switching back on, my fading consciousness slowly returned.

Flick.

The dazzling lace and sparkling jewels that came into view the moment I opened my eyes hurt to look at.

‘Where am I?’

I thought I’d be locked up in some kind of solitary cell, but I was so shocked to find myself in a room so luxurious it was almost blinding that I shot upright.

In that moment, the world spun and my head throbbed.

“Ugh.”

I curled up with a groan, and the soft touch of silk brushed against my skin.

“This is…”

I ran my hands over myself, checking what I was wearing.

It wasn’t the red dress I had on at the birthday banquet—it was a white dress, something a saintess might wear.

“…What the hell.”

A curse slipped out. Of course it did—this was the same outfit I wore in my previous life.

And there was only one lunatic in the world who’d recreate this exactly.

“You’re awake?”

I turned my head toward the voice. As expected, it was Coma who called me.

“You were asleep for a whole day. I was worried, but I’m glad.”

A whole day already?

“You must’ve been really shocked.”

“And whose fault is that? Also, dressing up someone who passed out like this—your taste is seriously messed up.”

“‘Messed up’? Call it love, please.”

Coma approached me, grinning disgustingly with Dante’s face.

His small, soft hand took mine. In that instant, I felt a chill.

“Ria. I just want to go back to how things were. It was so good back then, wasn’t it?”

“Is there something wrong with your memory?”

I harshly yanked my hand away.

Dante’s small body wobbled from the force.

Startled, I instinctively reached out, then froze at the sight of his smirking face.

“My memory’s fine. I remember it all like it was yesterday. Look—the room, and you, everything’s the same.”

Only then did I really take in the room.

The wallpaper patterns, the decorations, even the placement of the desk—it was all identical to before.

The only difference was the bed, which was excessively lavish.

“I especially prepared this for you. I really wanted you to have it.”

His eyes curved as he smiled, asking if I liked it. I felt disgust rise inside me.

“You’re still as selfish as ever.”

“That’s strange. You used to go along with everything when I acted clingy.”

“That was before I realized what a disappointment you are. You can’t possibly not know why I left you.”

“Of course I know. You left me because of that bastard Lysandro.”

“You really think that’s the reason?”

“Yes, you changed because of him.”

Unbelievable. Coma didn’t even consider his own faults—he was blaming everything on Lysandro.

“You killed people inside the castle! You snuck around killing them, made it look like accidents, and pinned the blame on innocent people. You really think I wouldn’t find out?”

My fury burst out, sharp and unfiltered. Coma tilted his head like he couldn’t understand the situation.

“They deserved it. They were bad people. They had to die.”

They had to die? They were kind and good people.

Even if they had sinned, who gave him the right to judge and punish them?

“You still remember those lowly insects and hold them in your heart? Ria, you’re as naïve as ever.”

“Insects…?”

“Yes! They looked at you with filthy eyes, touched you with filthy hands! They were pathetic humans, lowly bugs who dared to desire you!”

Insane. He’s completely lost it. I stared at Coma, horrified.

“I’m human too. One of those ‘lowly’ humans you hate so much.”

“No, Ria. You’re different. You’re my world.”

There was no reasoning with him. I grabbed my throbbing forehead.

In the end, nothing had changed. Not even after a thousand years.

“I’m going to destroy the rotten world Obelus created and build a new one.”

“…You lunatic.”

“In that new world, you and I will be the mother and father of a new beginning.”

Mother and father? That was revolting.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed Coma by the collar and slammed him onto the bed.

“Enough of your nonsense. Let Dante go. Right now.”

“No. If I give this body back, you’ll kill me right away, won’t you?”

“Of course I will. That’s exactly the kind of person you are. I never expected you to hand it over willingly.”

If he wouldn’t return it, then I’d just have to take it by force.

I pressed my index and middle fingers against Dante’s chest and pulled upward.

He was weak from switching hosts—I could force him out now.

“Ugh, s-stop it, you’d better—urk!”

“What? Afraid you’ll die?”

Ignoring Coma’s protests, I kept pulling him out.

“L-Lady Ria…”

A soft voice tickled my ear. But I didn’t stop. It had to be another one of Coma’s tricks.

“Pretending to be Dante won’t work.”

“Ahh! It hurts! It hurts! Stop, stop! Mom! Waaah!”

That scream was different from before, and it startled me so much I immediately let go.

“…Dante?”