The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 147 - Side Story Chapter 4

Dillian buried his face in my shoulder and took a deep breath.

“Now I finally feel alive.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You seemed to be having fun with Whity…”

He was talking so much, I felt embarrassed just listening.

Remembering how I had to shut Dillian’s mouth to finally get him to stop, I felt my face heating up again.

“I guess he got excited seeing you after so long, Ria. It was so lonely waiting for you, when you didn’t come no matter how long I waited.”

Ugh. When he says it like that, my conscience…

“Do you know how hard it’s been for me?”

Before I realized it, Dillian laid me down on the bed and curled up in my arms, mumbling.
With his face buried in my chest, he looked up at me with sorrowful eyes.

Eyes so gentle—I rarely saw them like this.
It made me feel guilty.

“…Sorry for leaving you alone.”

As I hugged his head and gently stroked his hair,
he stretched out like a cat and let out a low sigh.

“When were you planning to come back?”

“I was going to return after seeing Dante receive the blessing.”

Dillian, who had been quietly enjoying my touch, raised his head.
He frowned, clearly not understanding.

“Can’t you give the blessing yourself?
Being blessed by the one who receives the divine oracle would be the highest honor.”

“That would be nice, but I left the temple. Since it wouldn’t be an official ritual, problems could come up later.”

Like a monk who’s left the order trying to give a blessing.

Even if I was loved by the gods, adored by the High Priest, and the main figure in the oracle, people would still talk.

‘The High Priest might let it slide out of goodwill, but it’s not good to set a precedent.’

I couldn’t let something like that stain my brilliant student’s moment.

“Have you chosen the priest?”

“Of course! The blessing is in two days, and if we weren’t prepared, it’d be a disaster.”

I’ve made all the arrangements for our genius student!

“Dillian, do you want to come with me?”

“I’ll go anywhere, as long as it’s where you are, Ria.”

“Then let’s go together and celebrate.”

I smiled in Dillian’s arms.

My heart fluttered at the thought of giving Giselle and Dante a surprise they weren’t expecting

 

 

****

 

 

 

At last, the day of the blessing arrived.

The sky was bright and clear, as if blessing Dante itself.

“Dante, are you nervous?”

“A little bit. Hehe.”

Dante, who didn’t have good memories of the temple, unconsciously pressed his cold hands together.

When I took his stiff hands and channeled divine power into them, warmth slowly began to spread through his fingers.

“Better now?”

“Yes!”

“It’s warm! I like it!”

Whity, who had been hiding in my arms, peeked out, eyes sparkling as he felt the divine power.

“Let’s go.”

With Dante by my side, I stepped into the temple and looked around.

‘The atmosphere seems good.’

Thanks to Giselle’s report that led to the removal of corrupt priests, the temple was full of energy.

“Are you Lady Ria Delice?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The priest who approached placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Cain, your guide for today. I’ll take you to the prayer room.”

I was briefly surprised by his extremely polite manner.

“She’s the Oracle’s chosen.”

“Is that the one from the rumors?”

“Definitely blessed by the gods.”

I heard whispers around us. I had no idea how they already knew who I was, but not wanting to cause a scene, I hurried along to the prayer room.

“This is it. May the blessings of the gods be with you.”

He completed his task quietly and stepped back.

“Did someone print flyers of my face and pass them around the empire or something?”

“I’ll look into it.”

I grabbed Dillian’s arm, who looked ready to storm off.

“That’s not what I meant—it’s just strange. How do they know…?”

As I tilted my head and opened the door to the prayer room, the answer revealed itself.

“You’re finally here!”

Why is she here…?

The one bouncing and squealing with excitement was none other than Hanisha.

The problem was, it wasn’t just Hanisha.

“I thought my neck would break waiting.”

Samiel stretched his wings and worked out the kinks in his body.

“You should move quicker. Young folks these days are all too slow.”

Arest scolded me the moment we met.

“And it’s been a while, everyone.”

Even Mika greeted us calmly.

‘No wonder I got found out. Even someone totally clueless would realize something’s up!’

All the divine beasts had gathered and were waiting for us.

I had expected to see Mika, but not the whole group. That was beyond imagination.

Nathan’s eyes widened in shock, and he quickly spoke.

“Why are you all here? What about your temples?”

“Are you scolding us now? Like you didn’t abandon your temple just to cling to Ria’s side? You hog all the fun for yourself!”

Hanisha snorted and gave Nathan a sideways glance. As the pouting Hanisha fell silent, Samiel answered in her place.

“Mika told us. Ria has a disciple now—we couldn’t help but be curious.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s too noisy now.”

As the situation quickly turned chaotic, Mika pressed his forehead in exasperation. Meanwhile, Arest narrowed his eyes at Dante.

“This little one’s your disciple?”

“Hello! I’m Dante Yustine!”

Dante cheerfully bowed at the waist, and the divine beasts looked at him like doting grandparents.

“Oh my! He’s so cute! Not quite as much as Dillian, but still my type! He’s got potential!”

Hanisha giggled and rubbed her cheek against Dante’s. Truly, a consistent divine beast.

“Of course, Dillian—you’re still my favorite.”

“I’ll pass.”

Hanisha chattered on, unfazed by Dillian’s cold rejection. In the midst of the noise, Whity peeked his head out.

“That creature—!”

The divine beasts immediately recognized Whity as a shard of darkness, flaring their wings and puffing up with alarm.

“Hup!”

They braced themselves against the marble floor, ready to strike.

Even in the suddenly tense atmosphere, Whity bowed calmly.

“I’m Whity. Please take care of me!”

The polite greeting—just like Dante’s—left the divine beasts flustered for a moment. Then, reluctantly, they folded their wings.

“…It’s clean.”

“A rare kind of energy.”

“Separate being from that one.”

“Feels similar to the energy around Ria’s disciple.”

The divine beasts gathered around Whity, eyes sparkling with curiosity. It was almost exactly how Nathan had reacted when he first met Whity.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, Giselle—who had been stunned—finally came to her senses and grabbed my arm with trembling hands.

“L-Lady Ria? What is all this…?”

“Well, I only expected Mika to come. I didn’t know they’d all show up…”

“Mika… Wait. Don’t tell me… His Holiness is here…?”

Even as she spoke, Giselle’s voice trembled, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, he’s currently touring temples and, by pure luck, arrived here yesterday. I thought it was a good opportunity to ask him to bless Dante.”

“Ah…”

Giselle nervously took and released my hand repeatedly, swallowing hard. She looked dazed, like someone trapped in a dream.

“So it’s really His Holiness…”

“Lady Ria.”

And at the perfect moment, the main star arrived.

“You’ve come right on time.”

The High Priest, Eren—warm and gentle like spring sunlight—approached with a kind smile.

“Lord Eren, how have you been? You must be so busy, thank you for coming.”

“I should be the one thanking you for reaching out first, Lady Ria. I’m happy to see you again.”

Radiance seemed to pour from his bright, smiling face. Just as we’d agreed, we reached out and shared a light embrace.

‘Whoa. That glare is intense.’

Feeling Dillian’s sharp gaze, I quickly pulled back and introduced Giselle to Eren.

“Lord Eren, this is Count Yustine. Count, as you probably already know, this is His Holiness… Count?”

But Giselle looked strange.

Like she was about to faint, huh?

Thud.

She really did faint.

“Count!”

“Mom!”

What’s wrong? What is it? I dropped to my knees in panic and checked her condition.

“She seems fine…”

“Of course she is. She fainted from joy.”

“What? From joy…?”

Startled by Dillian’s indifferent comment, I looked down at Giselle. She slowly nodded.

‘Seriously?’

Giselle grabbed my hand and spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“L-Lady Ria… please take good care of Dante…”

“No, don’t say it like that—Dante will totally misunderstand!”

“Now I can die without regrets…”

Before she could finish, Giselle lost consciousness.

“Moooom!”

This is insane! Don’t say it like a final farewell and then pass out!