The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 128

Am I dreaming?

Otherwise, there’s no way Dillian could be here.

Or am I just seeing an illusion?

“You abandoned me and ran off, and now what have you picked up this time?”

As I just stared at him blankly, Dillian scolded me in a gentle voice.

His words snapped me back to my senses.

“Dillian…?”

When I carefully called his name, Dillian started walking toward me.

Not fast, not slow—but it made me anxious anyway.

I jumped up and ran into his arms.

I wanted to hug him. Wrap both arms around him and bury my face in his neck.

But I couldn’t bring myself to hold him tightly with Arrest still injured.

So instead, I pressed my face against his chest and took a deep breath.

Dillian’s scent filled me from deep within, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

Like I had finally found peace.

“It’s really you. It’s really Dillian.”

“Yes, it’s me. Dillian Sinize, the one you so cruelly left behind.”

He must have taken it to heart that I didn’t take his hand. Dillian looked at me with a sulky face.

‘I knew it. I knew he’d think I abandoned him.’

Even while showing how upset he was, he never loosened the arms wrapped around my waist.

Even that was cute to me. I really was a hopeless case.

“You’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t leave you behind—I did it to protect you.”

“You did it to protect Dante, more like.”

“That’s not true. I mean, yes, I wanted to protect Dante too. But the one I really wanted to protect… was you, Dillian.”

I tried my best to explain myself, but my words didn’t reach him.

His face clearly said he didn’t understand.

“I just… I couldn’t lose you again. I figured it was safer if I went alone, since Coma can’t hurt me anyway.”

The more I spoke, the more Dillian’s face hardened. Growing anxious, I reached out and held his hand.

I just wanted him to understand my heart.

“I was scared. If Coma took you, I thought you’d die for sure. I thought you’d leave me again like before, so…”

“To your eyes, I looked like someone who’d just die to the Darkness? Like someone too weak to even protect you?”

I stopped rambling and shook my head in a panic.

“That’s not what I meant. You’re strong, Dillian. You’d protect me, no doubt. That’s why I couldn’t let it happen.”

“Why do you keep assuming things before even trying?”

“I did try. That’s why I know. I know everything. That feeling back then was just like this!”

His face when he took the curse from the Darkness still lingered in my mind.

That gut-wrenching sense that I was about to lose someone I loved.

That same uneasy, cold feeling had returned.

And it had followed me throughout the entirety of Terje’s birthday banquet.

“If I lose you again, I won’t survive it! That’s why I went alone—!”

My voice grew louder, my chest heaving with emotion.

“If I take it all on myself, at least you’ll be safe—!”

That’s when it happened.

A large hand cupped my cheek. In the blink of an eye, Dillian’s face was right in front of mine.

Our lips met.

Like a butterfly landing, it was a light, fleeting kiss—and I blinked in surprise.

“Are you going to keep saying such cruel things?”

“Cr-cruel things?”

“Why do you keep talking like you’ll be alone? When I’m right here, alive and well.”

Dillian bit my lip sharply, as if punishing me for deciding the ending all on my own.

“Ah—!”

A small gasp escaped at the sting on my lower lip.

Then the arms around my waist pulled me in tighter.

I shut my eyes, flustered under his intense gaze that felt like it would consume me whole.

And that seemed to be the right answer.

Dillian gently caressed me, murmuring apologies for being petty.

The cold that had settled in my body warmed, and the anxiety slowly melted away.

The kiss that started soft had turned rough before I even realized it.

‘I can’t breathe.’

My breaths grew faster. It felt like I was being pushed off a cliff.

“S-stop…”

“Haa…”

I finally managed to push Dillian away and ducked my head, trying to hide my flushed face.

But even in that brief moment, he wouldn’t let go. His hand lifted my chin and brushed my lips, teasingly.

“Unlike you, I don’t remember anything from back then. But there’s one thing I do know.”

Panting, I looked up at him.

“That I was a bastard for leaving you behind.”

“…That’s a little harsh…”

“No. Whether it was then or now, making you worry like this—it’s my fault.”

The hand that had touched my lips moved to my cheek, gently brushing away the tears from my reddened eyes.

“I won’t make the same mistake twice. This time, I won’t let you go.”

Dillian pulled me into his arms. I could feel his promise in the strength of his embrace—he would never let go again.

‘I wish time would stop right now.’

I wanted to throw away everything—Coma, Obelus’s trials, all the complicated mess—and just stay here with him.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Eyes closed, nestled in Dillian’s arms, I snapped back to reality at the sudden cough.

“Ria, sorry to interrupt, but… I’m still here, you know? And so is he.”

Aina pointed downward. The shadow twisted its body and made a weird noise.

[Kyah! Kyah!]

“Look at his face. This is not the kind of thing you show in front of a kid.”

Just as Aina said, the shadow’s black face seemed faintly flushed.

It shyly glanced at me—then suddenly turned pale.

[Ria… I’m scared…]

I turned to Dillian at those words—and saw him glaring at the shadow with deadly eyes.

‘He’s basically killing him with a look…’

Terrified by Dillian’s murderous expression, the shadow hid behind me.

That needy behavior only seemed to irritate Dillian more.

“Seriously. The moment I take my eyes off you, weird things start clinging to you.”

“It’s not weird, um… this one’s Kkami.”

It was a name anyone could tell was made up on the spot.

[Kkami!]

But the shadow wiggled its body and spun around me in circles, clearly overjoyed.

“You’re naming monsters now? Darkness, no less?”

“Technically, it’s a shadow clone of Darkness.”

“That’s the same thing.”

The warmth in Dillian’s eyes quickly turned into betrayal.

And what rose in his gaze was clearly jealousy.

His eyes, burning with fiery intensity, soon shifted to Arrest in my arms.

“Just to clear things up, this is Arrest. He’s the divine beast guarding the Temple of Arrest. Nathan’s friend.”

Only then did the tension leave Dillian’s eyes.

“He’s in bad shape.”

“Yeah. He needs treatment, but not here. It has to be somewhere sacred.”

This was Darkness’s fortress. With all the wicked energy here, it was impossible to heal Arrest.

Just as I hurried toward the stairs, a white blur shot toward me at high speed.

“Ria!”

“Nathan!”

Maybe hearing my voice made him emotional—Nathan burst into tears and rubbed his face against my cheek.

“You look half-dead!”

“Pretty sure you’re the one who looks half-dead…”

It had only been a day and a half at most, but Nathan looked like someone who hadn’t seen me in a year.

“Arrest!”

“Nathan, calling him won’t help. He’s completely unconscious. Too much divine power has been drained.”

“That bastard Coma… he did this to Arrest…”

Nathan looked at Arrest with a devastated face.

“Nathan, if we get him to the temple, we can heal him, right? Right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure we can.”

After staring at Arrest for a long time, Nathan’s gaze shifted to Kkami, who was clinging to my side.

“This guy…”

Nathan immediately recognized what Kkami was.

“It’s a clone, but… different. It’s been separated?”

“Seems like it.”

Kkami didn’t even realize what he had done.

He didn’t know he was used as bait for Arrest—he said he had just woken up from a long sleep.

“When Coma abandoned Manus’s body, the connection with Kkami must have been cut. Now it looks like it’s become its own separate being.”

“He must’ve put a lot of work into raising this thing. Must sting.”

“Well, lucky for us. Kkami listens to me first.”

Just like a long time ago.

Peeking out shyly, Kkami glanced at Dillian. Dillian frowned under that curious gaze.

“He’s just curious.”

“This… is curious?”

“Coma—Darkness, I mean—was like that in the past.”

But Kkami, while resembling the old Coma, was also different.

Unlike Coma, who hated Dillian and always kept his distance, Kkami seemed interested and even approached him first.

But the word “Darkness” only made Dillian more wary.

“What are you staring at?”

[Ria’s favorite person is scary.]

But despite saying that, Kkami continued circling around Dillian, watching him nervously.

“Ria, this thing’s annoying. Can I kill it?”

[Huh?! Right! He killed that ugly monster in one blow!]

Either Kkami didn’t hear the part about getting killed—or pretended not to.

He started hopping in place.

[Strong! Super super strong!]

His bright yellow eyes sparkled.

Seeing that pure excitement, Dillian stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Now that I see it, it really is different from Darkness.”

“Right?”

“Yes, it’s… soft.”

[Soft? What does that mean?]

Kkami tilted his head.

“Uh… It means squishy. Like, soft to the touch.”

[Squishy? Squishy! That’s cute!]

Maybe he couldn’t see our awkward faces, but Kkami twirled happily around us, shaking his body.

[I’m cute! Kkami is cute!]

The more Kkami shook, the more Dillian’s face contorted into something hard to describe.

“Are you saying Darkness used to be like this?”

“That creepy thing was like this? I just got chills.”

Aina rubbed her arms as if she had goosebumps.

Their eyes met.

“Never thought I’d agree with the Saintess. But here we are.”

“Same to you, Duke.”

For the first time, the two of them were on the same page—as they looked down at Kkami like he was a rare species.