The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 139

Dillian frowned at that sly smile.

“Ugly face.”

“Shut up!”

Seriously! You haven’t changed one bit since the old days!

‘You’re making me not even want to help anymore.’

Hmph. Tippy turned her head away with a pout.

Looking straight ahead, he saw Ria with her hand on Arest’s chest.

A pure white light burst from her hand and wrapped around Arest.

‘That’s some intense focus.’

Her busy hands were healing Arest’s broken body.

Watching the scene, Tippy called out to Dillian.

“Hey, human man.”

At the strange way he was addressed, Dillian looked at Tippy with indifferent eyes.

“Is your name Dillian in this life?”

“Yeah.”

“I see. It’s a pretty name again this time.”

Back then, at least your name was pretty.

A wistful light appeared on Tippy’s face as she recalled the vivid past, as if it happened just yesterday.

“Fate is a strange thing.”

Dillian narrowed his brows at the familiar gaze fixed on him.

Tippy clearly felt a sense of closeness to him.

But in his memory, there was no such tiny reptile.

‘Is it the past again?’

Facing remnants of a past he didn’t even know about always made him uneasy.

Ria, Nathan, even this lizard—they all knew something he didn’t.

‘I never thought I’d feel left out because of this.’

He was afraid he might end up doing something foolish like getting jealous of his past self.

“…Have we met before?”

“Yeah. We used to meet pretty often.”

Tippy, staring at Dillian, smiled with squinted eyes and added,

“And we fought a lot. Every time we saw each other, we fought and got scolded by Ria. Still, I think we were quite close.”

No matter how this man remembered it, Tippy felt that way.

‘This scrappy-looking thing is the spirit of the forest?’

‘-Ria. What is this? What kind of creature is it? It doesn’t look like a human like you. I’ve never seen anything like it.’

‘Should I just slice it up, or maybe roast it right here?’

‘Can’t you two get along? He’s my friend, Tippy. You too. Stop fighting.’

‘…If you say so, I’ll try to hold back.’

‘…Mm. I will too.’

Tippy let out a groan.

“…Maybe we weren’t that close after all.”

Now that she thought about it, all she could remember were the times they fought and got scolded by Ria.

“No, we definitely saw each other at least three times a week. We were close.”

Mumbling to herself and nodding, Tippy nudged Dillian’s foot with her tail, urging him to agree.

“Don’t you think so too?”

“Three times a week… Yeah, that’s often.”

As Tippy kept nagging, Dillian reluctantly nodded. Tippy happily shook her body.

Dillian let out a small laugh as he watched her mysterious dance, then sat down on the ground.

Tippy jumped lightly onto Dillian’s lap, seemingly pleased with the lowered height.

“Isn’t this place really warm?”

The green grass and colorful flowers filled the area, and the swaying grass sang as the wind blew.

A tall tree stood on the vast land. Sunlight poured over Ria, who knelt before it.

Dillian watched the scene for a long time.

Maybe sensing his gaze, Ria looked up.

She smiled brightly, like a flower in full bloom, happy to see him with Tippy.

And at that moment.

Something faint overlapped with Ria’s smile. His heart sank with a thud.

‘What was that just now?’

A sense of déjà vu.

Like he had seen this scene before.

“I spent a very long time alone.”

Tippy began quietly.

“A time so long, I can’t even remember. There were always people around me, but all they ever did was want something from me.”

Since she was the guardian spirit of the village, maybe it was natural for people to expect something from her.

“Then one day, a girl came to me.”

Tippy slowly recalled the past.

‘Hi! What’s your name?’

‘My name is Ariane. People call me Ria.’

‘You were alone all this time? That must have been lonely.’

‘Then do you want to be my friend?’

Ria was the first to reach out her hand and ask to be friends.

Even though Tippy was a spirit and looked no more than a tree.

“Ria was the first to see my true nature.”

And just like that, they became friends.

“I watched over Ria since she was very young. Until she grew up and eventually left with you.”

Tippy pouted as she saw Dillian now fully focused on her.

“So I ended up hating you. It felt like you stole my friend.”

“For a spirit, you’re pretty petty.”

“Ugh, really! You haven’t changed at all! What did Ria even like about a guy like you to meet you again in this life!”

Tippy, who had just been reminiscing about the past, shouted and kicked Dillian’s knee with her small foot.

Dillian snorted at the ticklish kick and asked impulsively,

“What kind of person was I?”

It was a question he could never ask Ria.

“You’re the same now. You look different, but your personality hasn’t changed at all.”

Childish and petty. Tippy grumbled openly about Dillian and then muttered softly,

“But maybe that’s why you two met again.”

The wind blows. A gentle and warm wind.

“The flowers dance, the butterflies sing, and the stars give their blessing. That’s the day you two met again.”

Tippy’s grass-colored eyes curved like a crescent moon, mirroring this place.

“This must be what people call fate.”

“Fate…”

Again. It felt like someone gripped his heart tightly.

Waves surged through his once-calm chest. Unrefined emotions overflowed past the dam he had built.

“Do you know what you’ve lost?”

A voice riding the wind asked in a whisper.

“…My memories.”

“Do you want to find them?”

A spark returned to his dreamlike, distant eyes.

Of course, he wanted to. He hated being the only one who didn’t know what everyone else did.

Even if the person living in Ria’s memories was his past self.

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’ll help you find what you lost.”

With a sly smile, Tippy leapt up and tapped Dillian’s forehead.

“Because, well, we were kind of close.”

Then, his consciousness faded under a power he couldn’t resist.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Dillian opened his eyes.
He was walking across a vast land.

Whoooosh—

A sharp, slicing wind made his whole body ache.

Dillian groaned in pain as he trudged through the snowy field.

‘Is this a dream?’

The plains that had smelled like spring were gone, and a bitter winter had taken over Dillian.

Snow that reached his ankles was cold enough to freeze him to the bone.

Dillian raised his stiffened arm and clutched his stomach.

Thick blood oozed from his abdomen, and pain surged through him.

‘I got hit by the enemy. I was so cautious, over and over again, and still…’

He had survived thanks to the sacrifices of his men, but in this cold—how much longer could he last?

Before he could even finish the thought, his weakened body collapsed forward.

With his face buried in the freezing snow, Dillian grimaced.

‘This is the memory I forgot?’

The memory had come to him naturally, but it wasn’t one he recognized.

‘That lizard… What did it do to me?’

The unfamiliar memory tore through his mind, and his body moved on its own.

Dillian sighed inwardly at the body trying to crawl forward.

That desperation wasn’t his own will.

‘I don’t get what this is supposed to be.’

He was going to freeze to death before he even found his memories.

Just as his consciousness began to fade—

Hurried footsteps echoed from the distance.

“–!”

A voice faintly called from afar—it sounded familiar somehow.

“Hey!”

That voice…

“My lord!”

Urgent hands pulled Dillian out of the snow.
A warm embrace cradled his head.

“Please stay with me! My lord!”

He needed to say he was okay… They must be worried…

Dillian parted his lips, but in the end, he lost consciousness without ever replying.

*****

 

 

Dillian regained consciousness three days later.

“You’re awake?”

At the anxious yet gentle voice, Dillian’s gaze turned toward it.

He swallowed hard as he saw the woman’s face up close.

A kind voice, warm eyes, soft touch.

“How are you feeling?”

“……”

“Are you in any pain?”

Dillian blankly stared at her worried face, then opened his mouth as if entranced.

“Who are you?”

No—he didn’t even need to ask.
Dillian knew exactly who she was, better than anyone.

“Ariane. I’m the lady of this castle.”

That the woman before him was Ria in her past life.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

At her pure smile, blooming like a flower bud, Dillian clutched the blanket tightly.

“May I ask your name, my lord?”

“…Lysandro Roheim.”

“Lysandro Roheim. What a lovely name.”

“Ariane. You too…”

His voice trailed off before he could finish, and Dillian bit his tongue.

‘Idiot. Why can’t you talk properly?’

Unlike Dillian, who silently cursed his clumsy past self, Ria beamed and held out her hand.

“Please, just call me Ria. My lord.”

After some hesitation, Dillian took her hand.
Then, as now, her hand was warm.