Author: Nikss

 

 

 

The man shook his head with a troubled expression on his face.

 

He murmured in a low voice.

 

“I made a mistake to master, I mean my boss, and I need this cake to make up for it. I came here because I heard that this place was the most famous in the capital, but if I took an ordinary cake for him, what kind of eyes my boss would look at me?”

 

It looks like he made some mistake while working, but I’m so embarrassed because of the scary relationship.

 

Even if this was their first encounter, Merria felt sorry for him.

 

‘If I look at the pampering of his subordinates like that, the master’s personality would be bad, but it would be better to remove him from my Husband’s Candidate List’, right?

 

Merria, who was thinking hard with her chin up, opened her eyes and said to the man.

 

“Who the hell’s your boss?”

 

“…” 

 

“Anyway, I don’t know him, so it’s okay. If you tell me, I’ll give up this cake.”

 

I just asked lightly. When I saw the man with a serious face and a tight mouth, Mary felt a useless desire to win.

 

It’s a cake that’s been for sale for a few more days, but the man was mistaken that it was for sale until today.

 

But I didn’t have to tell you, I needed to get your master’s name.

 

The man, who smiled for a moment at the hopeful words of concession, quickly changed his face and trembled.

 

“Miss, if my boss knew about this, I wouldn’t survive. I just happened to know that he likes sweets, so he told me to keep quiet about it.”

 

“Then you could just buy any cake.”

 

As soon as Merria put a fork on the cake pretending to be uninterested in the man’s continuous defense, the man quickly approached the table.

 

Lexie and Lilith had already eaten the cake, and the only thing that was fine was Merria’s cake.

 

His eyes looked at the last remaining cake and Merria alternately.

 

“My life depends on it. Please…”

 

“No, well, could your boss be the Grand Duke.?”

 

Clank!

 

Merria’s fork fell to the floor.

 

Putting the Grand Duke in her mouth was just a joke.

 

It was a light word from the unconscious mind that he might have the worst temper among the aristocrats in the capital city because he was also a villain in the novel.

 

As soon as she saw the man’s face, which became fleeting, Merria realized that she had caught the wrong one.

 

There was only one man called the Grand Duke in this empire, Reukis Frederick.

 

So, that man’s boss was also Reukis.

 

‘Ah… Are there any secrets like this?’

 

A dark liquor drinker who enjoys cake.

 

Anyway, I didn’t know when he’d get revenge because I tried to dig up a secret that Reukis wanted to hide.

 

I felt like I was pouring thick asphalt on the flower road that I had laid out with my own hands.

 

The man again grazed his face, and Merria also called the staff, pretending to be okay.

 

It happened for a short time when Lilith swallowed a cake in her mouth.

 

Merria asked the approaching employee to bring her a new fork.

 

“And wrap this cake and a few more popular ones and give it to the gentleman.”

 

“Miss…! Thank you very much.”

 

“It’s been this long, and if you buy one, you’ll get a good word. All the cakes here are delicious, so your prize…I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”

 

There was no embarrassment or anxiety on the man’s face.

 

Seeing Lexie and Lilith eating cake peacefully, Merria seemed to be the only one who noticed that the main topic of this errand was Reukis.

 

‘Good. We could break up without knowing anything like this.’

 

Merria hurriedly turned her head out the window, thinking that a man might ask for her name.

 

The staff returned to their seats with a large box and a chocolate cake for Merria.

 

The man who received the box of cake smiled brightly and once again expressed his gratitude.

 

“Thank you for your consideration, Miss. I’ll pay all the share of the people with you, so I hope you enjoy it enough.”

 

After completing his work, the man rang a golden bell only for Merria’s seat and hurried out of the store.

 

Merria also went home without even savoring the taste of the chocolate cake in front of her.

 

That night, Merria couldn’t sleep well after a long time.

 

 

On a night, the spacious room was overwhelmingly full of dark darkness.

 

The darkness, which was ringing as if it were alive, soon devoured a man’s body like an animal that found its prey.

 

The man struggled to pull himself out, but it wasn’t enough.

 

With a sense of helplessness, pain and fear grew, and the darkness that gained strength came up to the chin.

 

“Reukis, wake up, arghh!”

 

“Stop! No, sweetheart. Please stop!”

 

The woman who was standing next to the man quickly ran to the child standing in the room.

 

He tried to hold the child’s hand tightly and try to block it, but nothing changed.

 

On the contrary, darkness fell under the foot of a woman who tried to block something.

 

The man’s eyes opened wide while watching the scene and screamed in a trembling voice.

 

“No! Madam, hurry and get away from him-”

 

“Ahhhhh! What is this? Reukis! What—”

 

Soon, a woman who found the darkness climbing on her body quickly distanced her body from the child.

 

The woman fell to the floor with a crackling noise.

 

The child’s eyes, who were looking at this situation from a distance, gradually returned to focus, and the child’s small body began to tremble.

 

“Urgh… uh, What’s this…?”

 

Tears filled the eyes of the child who quickly looked around.

 

The child shook his head violently as if he were possessed by something, and repeatedly held his hand tightly.

 

“Mother! Father! I am not like that. Really! What’s this? I can’t stop… I can’t stop. Please someone save me. Please, somebody!”

 

“Reukis! Baby! Honey… What should we do with our  son…?”

 

Tears welled up even in the woman’s eyes as the child sheds tears while turning pale.

 

“…Reukis, get out of the room.”

 

The man, who was eaten by the darkness and had only his face left, squeezed out a low voice and said.

 

“But… ”

 

“Get out!!!”

 

The child, surprised by the screaming man’s words, stepped back and exited the room.

 

As soon as the child escaped, the living darkness scattered through the air as if it had finished its work.

 

In time, Frederick was surrounded by silence as if nothing had happened.

 

 

“Ugh!”

 

Reukis jumped up and breathed a harsh breath.

 

My head was burning hot and I couldn’t breathe as if I had something stuck in my throat.

 

Then Reukis, who grabbed the throbbing head, shed a small curse.

 

“Damn, again…”

 

It was an unending nightmare.

 

It would have been nice if it had been a dream, but the nightmare tormented him until he woke up.

 

This nightmare has been around for decades and would probably continue to chase him until the moment he stops breathing.

 

“Ugh…”

 

He groaned in agony with his head locked in his arms.

 

I was particularly sick, whether it was because of the pain in my body or because I had a nightmare again.

 

The fierce life from four years ago when he went out to fight with his young body under the command of the selfish emperor was now over.

 

The victorious empire would be peaceful, and the glorious Tristan Empire would remain for decades to come.

 

But it wasn’t very welcome to Reukis.

 

On the day of excessive physical exertion, I could at least fall asleep as if fainting. What could be so exhausting in the middle of the capital?

 

A peaceful and smooth life could not coexist with him.

 

If it weren’t for Altheon’s urging, he would have dragged it out so that the whole war wouldn’t end.

 

But the war ended neatly by the Crown Prince. In addition, the prince secretly assigned the situation, citing Reukis’ convenient ability to travel.

 

He refused with a shallow excuse that he might turn the tide, but the enemy’s throat fell shortly.

 

Eventually, Reukis was forced to return to the capital. Generously using teleportation makes the body tired quickly.

 

The capital was so peaceful and quiet that it felt like a dream to fight with a sword until a while ago.

 

‘Majesty. If you are tired, I’ll figure it out.’

 

Despite Kalix’s dissuasion of Reukis, he did his job.

 

Because I wanted to get out of my pathetic self-pity for a moment.

 

From the battlefield at the eastern end to the capital, and even within the capital, my body quickly became exhausted because of the constant teleportation.

 

How many days?

 

Even that night, Reukis raised his body to attend an unknown party.

 

‘Ah, it’s a party that doesn’t reveal your identity today, so I don’t have to use magic. It would be better to go in a normal carriage.’

 

I thought it was a strange party, but Reukis headed there.

 

To find talented people who would be the hands and feet of Altheon, whose support was still weak.

 

‘I’m gonna need you to attend by today, and I’ll look into it myself for a while. You haven’t had a day off.’

 

Kalix was worried about him even in the wagon heading for the party.

 

No matter how rich in magic and powerful Reukis, he couldn’t have endured more than the battlefield.

 

Although Kalix did not know that Reukis was overworking himself to fall asleep. 

 

Fortunately, Reukis agreed with Kalix.

 

It was because I couldn’t get rid of all my tiredness and it became difficult to control the darkness.

 

While Kalix chose the right nobles, Reukis rested in the lounge for a while.

 

Reukis’ eyes slowly closed, leaning on the sofa, taking off the mask he was wearing.

 

‘If I fall asleep like this… Again.’

 

If I hadn’t woken up forever, I was thinking about such things. I could feel someone approaching the room.

 

Thud—

 

It was quicker for Merria, who was drunk, to open the door with confidence than to grab the mask that Reukis took off.

 

‘This.’

 

It seemed that the stupid attendant guided her without knowing that there were people inside.

 

She walked roughly to the bed without glancing at Reukis and lay down.

 

She didn’t even know that Reukis was in this room.

 

‘My Majesty, please wait a moment for me to come. We have marked that there are people in this room, so no one would come in. If you come in…’

 

Reukis, who pretended to be worried about Kalix, swallowed his saliva in an unexpected situation.

 

‘It would be better to move her to the next room first.’

 

It was the widest lounge, so the distance between the two was quite far, but the fact that men and women were in the same room on an ambitious night was perfect for causing a misunderstanding.

 

After much consideration, Reukis got up from his seat carefully.

 

After checking that her breathing sound changed evenly, he approached her slowly.

 

It was time to put one knee on the bed and reach out carefully, hoping that Merria would not wake up.

 

Her tightly closed eyelids flashed open, revealing her clear, pale-green eyes…

 

Reukis stopped moving in embarrassment and stiffened into that position.

 

Merria’s hazy eyes slowly stared at him.

 

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Comments (2)

  1. Seems like a better way to avoid the issue would have been getting engaged before now.

  2. Pale green eyes? Is this a typo, or a plot device that will make him unable to find/connect this night when they meet again to her? Ohh… she changed her hair and eye color to go to the party?