The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 130

“They said there was bait—was it Rexter?”

And what’s this about a living curse?

I was staring at Rexter in shock when our eyes met.

Maybe he recognized me, because Rexter started thrashing even harder.

“A perfect bait. He even revealed the location of this fortress.”

Dillian twisted his lips as he fixed the crooked mask on my face.

“Never thought the day would come when that idiot would actually be useful.”

“Mm! Mmph! Mmmphhh!”

“…I know, right?”

Just by the looks of him, he did seem like bait.

The way he squirmed and twisted around, maybe he’d catch a big one?

“When the Darkness sees that idiot, it’ll charge in like a dog that’s seen meat.”

As soon as Dillian said that, the announcer raised Rexter’s hand.

Then, a clear black curse mark appeared on the back of his hand.

‘Yeah, the Darkness will definitely approach Rexter to get its power back.’

As Rexter struggled, a red jewel hanging from his neck caught my eye.

“Dillian, what’s that necklace?”

“A magic item that keeps the Darkness from sensing Rexter’s presence.”

Dillian lifted his sleeve and showed a cufflink button as he answered.

“No way—is that a magic item too?”

“If the curse gives away the location, everything would fall apart.”

They really prepared for everything. I could feel how determined he was to catch the Darkness here.

“We’re going to move the Darkness into Rexter’s body.”

“That thing would never give up Dante’s body.”

“Maybe not now. But it can’t live like that forever.”

Dillian was sure.

“It can’t win Ria’s heart in a child’s body that hasn’t even fully grown.”

He would switch bodies to have me.

And that thought clearly got under Dillian’s skin.

The cold look in his eyes made it seem like the Darkness was already right in front of him.

“Not being able to appeal as a man must be the Darkness’s biggest insecurity. That’s why it’ll definitely want a new body.”

“…Rexter, cursed and all, really is a tempting prey.”

“Exactly. If the Darkness uses Rexter as a host, Dante will be released naturally, so we won’t have any more hesitation.”

Unlike with Dante, there’d be no guilt in taking out Rexter, who had always been his enemy.

‘And there’s no need to force the Darkness out with holy power, so Dante won’t get hurt either.’

Honestly, I was impressed. It hadn’t even been two full days since Dante lost his body and I disappeared.

They came up with this whole plan in such a short time?

What Dillian described really was the best option we had right now.

“Who came up with this plan?”

“Dillian did.”

Nathan whispered quietly.

“Really?”

“It’s not the kind of plan I’d come up with, right?”

“Honestly? No.”

If it were the usual Dillian, he would’ve gotten rid of Dante without a second thought.

“Killing Dante would be easy, but Ria would be heartbroken.”

“…”

“I don’t want to see you suffer with that guilt.”

To save me from that guilt, Dillian did his best to come up with a plan everyone could agree on.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Dillian came close, his crescent-shaped eyes curling, and stole a kiss.

“Don’t worry. This time, it’ll all really be over.”

Nathan gagged dramatically and turned his head away at the display of affection.

Meanwhile, Rexter’s value was skyrocketing.

To bored nobles, a living curse must have seemed like a very tempting toy—hands were going up all around.

‘It’s probably because his body’s intact and he’s got a pretty decent face.’

Some of them seemed to even recognize Rexter.

I glanced behind me.

I saw my teammates, also wearing masks, who had snuck into the auction house just like me.

I scanned the crowd, looking for Aina.

‘Even if Dillian’s plan fails…’

My eyes met Aina’s. She gave me a small nod.

“Hey, announcer. How do we know he’s really cursed? Couldn’t he have just painted something on his hand and called it a curse?”

“We figured someone might ask that.”

As if waiting for that question, the announcer’s red lips curled up under the fox mask.

“Let me show you.”

He grabbed the necklace hanging from Rexter’s neck.

“No way…”

Dillian leaned in and whispered low in my ear.

“It’s coming now.”

Snap. The necklace broke.

 

 

****

 

 

 

Silence swept through the auction house.

The quiet that had lasted for a while shattered as one man suddenly stood up from his seat.

“What do you mean, ‘show us’?!”

That shout was the spark, and murmurs began to swell louder and louder.

“Yeah, seriously, what was that? Nothing happened.”

“Are you messing with us right now?”

“Are you scamming—!”

Bang!

A huge door was ripped off and rolled across the floor.

Everyone who had been shouting at the announcer turned to look at the door.

“You really think I’m dumb enough to fall for something this obvious?”

The voice belonged to a boy who hadn’t even gone through puberty yet, causing the crowd to stir.

“What the—who’s this kid? Scram back home, you—ugh!”

A man who tried to threaten Coma—who wore Dante’s shell—was suddenly flung to the ground.

A long shadow at Coma’s feet rose up and opened its mouth wide.

“Ahhh!”

Crunch.

It happened in an instant.

Before anyone could react, the shadow devoured the man.

Maybe it was the surreal scene, or maybe pure fear—people froze, unmoving.

The sound of bones crunching jolted them back to reality, and screams erupted.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

“Let go! Let me go!”

Crunch. Snap.

People trampled over each other, pushing and shoving in a desperate attempt to escape.

In the midst of the chaos, Coma stood calmly, his eyes locking on one place.

The scene was so vivid, it made Ria hold her breath.

“Ria. I told you to stay in your room.”

Coma, watching the mayhem with amusement, found Ria instantly—as if he knew she’d be there.

“Why don’t you ever listen?”

His scolding voice made Ria’s eyes tear up with frustration.

“Do I look insane to you? Like I’d listen to you?”

“Because of you, all these people are dying.”

“Cut the crap.”

Throwing off her mask, Ria destroyed the monster in front of her with holy power just as it was about to devour a woman.

Ffff—

As her shadowy copy vanished into dust, Coma clicked his tongue and stepped toward Ria.

“You wanted to catch me using Rexter?”

“……”

“You want me to move into that body, don’t you?”

His innocent face twisted into something nasty.

“As if I’d ever go along with that.”

Coma scratched his own neck with sharpened nails.

Blood welled up from the cuts on his soft, pale skin.

“I told you. As long as this is your weakness, I’ll never let you go.”

It was provocation.

A vile attempt to get her worked up, to throw her off balance.

And even knowing that, Ria couldn’t hold back her anger.

Coma, seeing the cold glare in her eyes, shuddered as he swept his arm.

“I’ve been waiting for that look—eyes that only look at me.”

His voice trembled with excitement, drunk on the high of the moment. But what came next brought him crashing down.

“That voice is disgusting to hear.”

“What…?”

“You’ll never be loved, even if you die. So now you’re hoping for a shred of attention, even if it’s contempt. How pathetic.”

Dillian stepped in front of Ria, sneering.

“You should be ashamed.”

“You little—!”

Coma nearly fell for the provocation himself and forced a smile—but couldn’t stop the trembling of his lips.

“No matter how hard you try, to Ria, you’re just a pest buzzing in front of her eyes.”

And just like that, Coma took the bait.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll kill you first.”

He had been leisurely picking off people, but now his eyes burned with fury as he glared at Dillian.

“Once I get my power back, you’re—!”

Shraa!

A shadow shot up behind the platform, jaws wide, aiming for Rexter.

Its breath was sickeningly hot, its sharp teeth soaked in blood, and Rexter screamed in terror.

“Mmmpf! Mmph!”

“Be still and become one with me, Rexter Blent.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

Crunch.

The announcer, who had been silently observing the chaos, lifted a foot and stomped down on the shadow.

Ria’s eyes widened. The announcer’s voice—it had changed.

That voice…

“Duke, can I stop now? This act burns through mana like crazy.”

“Yeah.”

In that moment, the people disappeared all at once.

“What the—!”

Coma frantically looked around at the people vanishing like smoke.

The room that had been packed was suddenly empty, as if they’d never existed.

“What… What is this?!”

Caught off guard, Coma panicked—

“What else? All of it was fake.”

Aina slammed him down, pinning him in place.

His child-sized body—smaller than average—collapsed easily.

“You fell for the Tower Master’s magic.”

“Magic…?”

“You played with us like toys, but now the tables have turned.”

“Saintess…!”

“How does it feel to be completely fooled?”

You called me a toy? You said you were being toyed with?

“No! Who said you could toy with me?!”

Let go! Coma thrashed violently.

“Stay still.”

Led by Aina, the holy knights rushed in and drove their swords into the ground around Coma.

The swords glowed with divine energy.

They weren’t quite holy swords, but they were enough to hold down the weakened Coma.

“Grrgh!”

Coma barely lifted his head from the floor, eyes wide at the scene in front of him.

Aina said everyone else was an illusion—magic. But there were still people who hadn’t vanished.

Dillian and Ria’s people.