The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 160 - Side Story Chapter 17

“Lord Dillian, you don’t have to do that.”

“You said your legs hurt. I’ll give you a massage.”

I picked the wrong excuse.

Because of that one sentence, I had no choice but to let Dillian hold me captive and quietly stretch out my legs.

Dillian pressed firmly on my calves. As the tight muscles loosened, a refreshing sensation spread.

“Miss Ria, do you like it?”

“Yes. But…”

“But?”

At some point, I noticed his hands had moved up to my thighs and narrowed my eyes.

“What do you think this is?”

“A massage.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

See? When I poked the hand that was lingering around my waist, he silently pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“Then let’s call it a massage full of love.”

“Not just personal desire?”

“That too.”

His lips came close, pressing against my eyes, cheeks, and lips. What started as playful, gentle kisses gradually deepened, and sparks flew between our eyes.

“Isn’t it a bit early for night-time things?”

“In newlywed life, there’s no such thing as day or night.”

That’s true. We giggled, about to press our lips together again—

“Ria, your last name is still as beautiful as ever…”

Nathan, who had naturally floated into the room, crashed to the floor when he spotted us.

Thud. He collapsed pitifully, quickly covering his eyes and clearing his throat.

“I-I didn’t see anything.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence filled the air.

‘Would the valley water be cold right now…?’

Of all people, it had to be Nathan who caught us. Embarrassed, I bit my tongue and crawled under the blanket.

Whatever. Dillian can deal with it. As I pulled the covers over my head, I heard Nathan’s loud voice.

“No, seriously? Why am I doing this? Dillian, you jerk! Get away from her!”

“Kanae.”

“Lord Nathan, shall we step outside for a moment~?”

“Let go of me! That guy—!”

Click. The door locked, and Nathan’s tantrum and Kanae’s soothing voice grew fainter.

Dillian pulled back the blanket. Seeing my blushing face, he smiled with his eyes.

“Now that we’ve kicked out the intruder, shall we continue?”

“You pervert. Aren’t you even a little ashamed?”

“Sadly, shame is something I lack.”

Dillian’s warm hands slipped under my clothes. I spread my arms and wrapped them around his head.

Just like he said, there’s no such thing as day or night when you’re newlyweds.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

 

Still, this is a bit much.

We only got out of bed after the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky.

“How am I supposed to face Nathan tomorrow…”

Dillian said it didn’t matter, but unlike him, I didn’t have a face of steel. Embarrassment hit me all at once, and I squirmed before stepping out of the room.

My face was too hot to stay still.

“I need to go before Dillian finishes washing up.”

I muttered while rubbing my dry throat.

I was walking down the hallway, trying to remember where the kitchen was—

…Ah…

“Huh?”

I thought I heard something just now.

…Ri…a…

This time I definitely heard it. And it was my name.

I quickly turned around, but not even a shadow was in the hallway.

“…Lord Dillian?”

Was he looking for me because he couldn’t find me? I called out cautiously, but there was no reply.

“Is that you…?”

Rattle, rattle!

The window shook like it was going to break. A white light floated outside.

They say you can’t even scream when you’re truly scared. I just gasped silently.

Rattle! Rattle! The locked window shook violently for a moment.

Then it suddenly moved sideways.

‘No way, to another spot—!’

Creeeak—

I heard the door open.

Whoosh— I could feel it rushing toward me.

A chilly night breeze brushed against my back, and a shiver ran down my spine.

Ria…

Thump, thump, thump. My heart pounded like crazy. When I slowly turned around, creaking, three glowing orbs were charging straight at me.

Come… here…

…I was curious…

So this is… what you look like…

“Kyaaaah!”

Screaming, I stumbled back and slid down the wall.

‘It’s a real ghost! I’m scared!’

I’d rather just faint. I squeezed my eyes shut and trembled.

Like I said before—I absolutely hate horror stuff.

What’s wrong?

Are you hurt?

Are we scary?

The lights floated around me, murmuring.

‘…Are ghosts supposed to worry about the living?’

Just then, I cracked open one eye—

You idiots! How could you scare Ria like that! If he finds out—!

That familiar presence, that familiar voice—it brought me back to my senses.

“You… it can’t be…”

I barely spoke when a murderous aura surged from the end of the hallway.

“Miss Ria!”

It was Dillian.

“Ria!”

“My lady!”

Not just Nathan, but the whole knight squad came running.

I told you to be careful not to scare Ria!

We didn’t know she was this easily frightened…

Dillian stepped in front of me protectively, and the knights, who had drawn their swords, froze. They were clearly shocked by the fact that the glowing things were talking—and even arguing.

“G-ghosts!”

Rudo, who had pointed and screamed, scratched his head.

“…But do ghosts even look like that?”

They’re more like…

“Mystical beings…?”

Just like Rudo said. These weren’t ghosts.

But Dillian looked ready to slice them all down anyway.

“Mr. Dillian, wait!”

I quickly grabbed his arm and stepped forward. Carefully, I reached toward the lights and called out a name.

“Tippy, is that you?”

The light suddenly spun happily around me.

I knew you’d recognize me!

A cheerful voice giggled by my ear.

Pop! The light burst, revealing a snow-white lizard.

“Right, Ria?”

The ghost… was actually Tippy.

“I missed you!”

Tippy leaped into my arms, rubbing his face against my cheek. His eyes were full of affection.

“We meet again, lizard.”

Recognizing Tippy, Dillian put his sword away.

The knights followed his lead, and Kanae stopped preparing her spell, asking:

“So they’re not ghosts?”

“They’re forest spirits. The others are, too.”

At Nathan’s reply, Kanae wiped her brow.

“Phew, no wonder. I was starting to wonder why any were left after we had the shaman help them all pass on.”

*Pass on?* So there really *were* ghosts?!

A chill that had settled down crept up my back again. I rubbed my arms and asked Tippy:

“But… who are they?”

If Tippy had come alone, I wouldn’t have been so scared.

“They’re my friends. They really wanted to meet you, so I brought them!”

“So you brought your friends *in the middle of the night*, huh? You really have no sense of time, lizard.”

“Don’t call me a lizard! Dillian!”

Tippy huffed in annoyance at Dillian’s teasing.

…Is this when humans sleep?

Seems so. We messed up.

Sorry, humans…

The spirits, finally realizing what they’d done wrong, began sweating nervously.

“I’m Melody.”

“I’m Ventus.”

“I’m Aqua!”

The flower spirit, the wind spirit, and the water spirit appeared before me, all in the form of cute lizards like Tippy.

“Thanks to you, we were able to be reborn.”

“We really wanted to thank you, so we begged Tippy—but I think we scared you. Sorry.”

“But we really wanted to see your face!”

“I’m glad to meet you all.”

I waved at the spirits and scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“I was actually planning to come see you tomorrow\…”

“I couldn’t wait that long!”

Tippy puffed his cheeks and buried himself against my chest.

“I heard you got married! Why wasn’t I invited?!”

“Because you couldn’t come in that form…?”

Tippy’s real body is a giant tree. He can move around as a lizard within his domain, up to Wilhelm, but he can’t leave the territory.

He knew that, but still seemed a bit sulky and pouted.

“Hmph, whatever. I’m upset.”

“I don’t care if you’re upset. Just get off her. Unlike you, who has no sense of time, Ms. Ria needs to sleep.”

Dillian, clearly telling them to get lost, made Tippy’s eyes sparkle instead.

“Really? Then Ria, sleep with me! I think I’ll forgive you if you do!”

“What a ridiculous thing to say.”

Just as Dillian reached out to stop Tippy, suddenly Nathan jumped in and blocked him.

Dillian’s brow twitched in annoyance.

“Nathan, what are you—”

“Exactly! You can’t make spirits angry! Let her sleep with him!”

“Are you insane?”

“Even Dillian says so!”

“Since when—?!”

Nathan completely twisted Dillian’s words and even covered his mouth—payback for earlier, no doubt.

Tippy didn’t miss the chance.

“Really? Then I’ll take you up on that, Dillian!”

Excited, Tippy gave me a firm push from behind.

“Then we’ll join too…”

The other spirits, watching the exchange, jumped in.

“W-wait, really?”

“Really!”

And just like that, I was pushed all the way to the bedroom by a crowd of eager spirits.

“Nathan, if you wanted to die, you should’ve just said so. I would’ve made it quick before we got here.”

“You dare threaten me?! I call that revenge!”

The sounds of Nathan and Dillian fighting echoed in the distance, like background noise.