The Monster Duke Mistook Me for His Wife Chapter 161 - Side Story Chapter 18

Dillian was not in a good mood.
Not just “not good”—his mood had crashed all the way down to the Earth’s core.

And the cause?
Those damn spirits.

It wasn’t enough that they had slept in separate rooms on the first day of their honeymoon—now they’d even taken Ria away from him. What man would be okay with that?

“Nathan.”

“Hahaha… I have no idea why those little guys are sticking to her like that.”

Dillian, boiling with anger at Nathan pretending to be clueless after starting this mess, yanked on his eyebrow.

“Aaagh! My beautiful eyebrow! Dillian, you jerk!”

“Want me to take the other one too?”

The murderous edge in Dillian’s voice made Nathan shut his mouth tight.

“Ahem.”

He, too, was a bit taken aback by the situation.

He just wanted to tease Dillian a little—but he didn’t expect the spirits to cling to Ria this much.

“You deal with them and get them off her.”

“If I could, would I be standing here like this…?”

I barely get time with Ria too! Nathan swallowed his complaints and looked ahead.

Unlike their gloomy selves, Ria and the spirits sparkled like they belonged to a different world.

“Ria! If you plant it here, it’ll grow well!”

“Thank you.”

When Ria planted the tree where Tippy had chosen, the spirits ran over and patted the soil with their tiny bodies. Aqua used her spirit power to soak the sapling thoroughly.

“You have to come back next year to see how much it’s grown.”

“I will. For sure.”

Ria smiled at the little sapling.

It was as small as she was sitting down now, but surely it would grow fast.

“Tippy, you’ll always protect Wilhelm, right?”

“Of course! This is my home.”

Tippy sparkled as he leapt onto the back of Ria’s hand and met her gaze.

“And it’s Ria’s home too. I’ll make sure nothing like that ever happens again.”

“Thank you. You really are my friend.”

When she gently patted her kind friend’s head, the other spirits all jumped into her arms.

“Me too, me too!”

“We want to be friends too!”

“Pat us too!”

Ria, surrounded by the spirits, looked beautiful—but that didn’t stop Dillian’s insides from burning black with jealousy.

Uh-oh, he’s about to blow.

Seeing the darkness sinking into Dillian’s eyes, Nathan quickly made his way to Ria’s side.

He was right—at this rate, the spirits really needed to be peeled off.

“Little spirits. Why don’t we go play over there?”

“Scary…”

But the relationship between predator and prey wasn’t great.

Afraid of Nathan, the spirits burrowed even deeper into Ria’s arms.

Nathan, now sweating from making things worse instead of better, froze when Tippy suddenly slipped out of Ria’s arms and approached Dillian.

“Hey, Dillian.”

“What.”

Of course, Dillian’s reply wasn’t kind.

“You’re jealous, aren’t you? Because I took Ria away.”

“If you know that, how about backing off.”

“Nope. You get to be with her every day. I don’t. So let me have this time.”

Dillian narrowed his eyes at the tone meant to pacify him.

It was clearly different from how Tippy spoke to Ria.

Tippy was a spirit over a thousand years old.

When he’d just been purified, he was immature like a newborn. But over time, he regained his self and matured again.

He just didn’t show it because he wanted to remain Ria’s eternal child and friend.

But Dillian could see through him.

“You’re sly.”

“Hmph, like you’re any better.”

Tippy lightly swatted Dillian’s hand with his tail, not seeming too annoyed.

Compared to Dillian, who would use any means necessary to win Ria’s heart, Tippy’s innocence was practically angelic.

“Thanks for what you did back then.”

“Wow. Hearing thanks from you is a first.”

Genuinely surprised, Tippy hopped onto Dillian’s knee and waved a tiny hand.

“Are you in your right mind?”

The deadly look in Dillian’s eyes made Tippy nod knowingly.

So he really is sane. Which made it all the more shocking.

“You’ve become a better man than you were then.”

He looked more at peace and happier now than when he wore the emperor’s crown.

Of course, that’s probably because Ria softened him up like dough.

Hmm. What to do? The unexpected thanks left Tippy slightly emotional.

He should just ignore it like nature intended but…

“Since you said thank you, should I tell you another secret?”

“Go on.”

Dillian, who’d learned from experience that Tippy’s words weren’t useless, gave him the floor. Tippy giggled.

“You’re gonna have a rough time soon.”

Tippy glanced toward Ria’s stomach, but Dillian didn’t notice.

“You call that a secret? Sounds more like a curse.”

“Hey, don’t say that. It’s a blessing.”

Tippy winked at Dillian, who frowned at him.

“They’ll be very energetic little pranksters.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t need to. Not yet.”

You’ll find out soon enough.

With a playful tilt of the head, Tippy dashed back to Ria, saying he was done.

“Ria! I really love you!”

“I love you too.”

Tippy kissed her cheek and quietly offered his blessing.

Ria. My precious friend.

May your tomorrow be even happier than today.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Ria and Dillian, after enjoying their honeymoon across several resorts starting from Wilhelm, returned to the ducal mansion and began their new daily life as husband and wife—as a family.

If there was one problem, it was that Ria had turned into a bear.

Not a literal bear, of course—but she slept like one.

“Ms. Ria. Are you awake?”

“Did I oversleep again?”

Ria rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her stiff body didn’t feel great.

“You’re tired again today.”

“Yeah. It’s been over a month, but I feel even more exhausted.”

“You might still be recovering from the trip. Shall I call a physician?”

“Nah, it’s not that bad.”

As his hands massaged her shoulders, the stiffness melted away, and the drowsiness crept back in.

As her eyelids started to droop again, Dillian burst into soft laughter.

She looked so sweet and adorable with her sleepy grumbles that he couldn’t help but press a kiss to her cheek.

“Even if you sleep more, you should eat something first.”

“I’m not going to sleep.”

If she slept any more, she’d stop being human and just become a bear.

Stretching as she got out of bed, Ria quickly washed up and got ready to go to the dining room.

No matter how tired she was, eating in the dining room felt like the proper way to start the day.

That was the plan, anyway…

“Ria?”

Nathan, who was nestled in her arms, looked up. His eyes silently asked why she wasn’t going in.

“Um, no. It’s just… the smell is kind of bothering me.”

That was odd. It always smelled delicious here…

Was I imagining it?

Ria tilted her head and stepped into the dining room—and instantly regretted it.

Why does my stomach feel like this? I think I’m going to throw up…

The stronger the food smell got, the more her stomach turned.

“If you’re not feeling well, Ria…”

Seeing her face twist in discomfort, Dillian tried to speak—but didn’t get the chance.

“Urgh.”

Ria suddenly clutched her mouth and turned aside.

“Ms. Ria!”

“Ria!”

Both of them jumped up in alarm, but Ria waved a hand to stop them from coming closer.

“I’m okay. Just a little—urgh!”

When another wave of nausea hit, Ria couldn’t hold it in anymore. She bolted out of her seat.

“I—I can’t eat! Urgh.”

The dining room door slammed as she ran out, and Dillian and Nathan stared at it like they’d just seen a ghost.

“Nathan… did Ria say she can’t eat?”

“I heard it too. She definitely said she can’t…”

Ria had never skipped a meal, not even when she was sick. Could it be something serious?

Their faces went pale.

“Physician! Call the physician now!”

“Ria! You’re not allowed to die!”

Their over-the-top panic turned the kitchen—and the whole mansion—into chaos.

While the house went into full emergency mode over the lady’s health, Ria rinsed her mouth and gasped for breath.

“Did I eat something bad…?”

“Ms. Ria! Are you alright? We’ve called for a physician!”

“That’s right, Ria! Just hang in there—the physician is on the way!”

“Huh? A physician? I think I just have an upset stomach… you didn’t need to go that far…”

Shaking her head at the fuss, Ria quickly covered her mouth again as Dillian and Nathan rushed over.

“Wait—don’t come any closer.”

Seeing Ria back away and hold them off like that, both Dillian and Nathan froze in place, turning to stone.