I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 98

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The meal naturally began to wind down, and Merria’s tension eased along with it.  

 

“I’ll step outside for a moment…”  

 

Miles spoke up as the servants cleared the table. It seemed he was excusing himself to take care of something.  

 

“Merria, I’ll be back shortly.”  

 

As soon as Miles stood up, Reukis also rose from his seat.  

 

Merria, distracted by Serinia’s words, simply assumed he was going to the restroom or something similar.  

 

“Alright. Come back soon.”  

 

She waved him off with a light hand gesture.  

 

Reukis headed in the direction Miles had gone. He positioned himself a short distance from the tent entrance and waited for Miles to return.  

 

A few people noticed Reukis standing there and approached, but they quickly backed away.  

 

After a short wait, Miles came walking back. His face, more delicate than rugged, with soft brown hair, gentle eyes, and a slightly upturned mouth, seemed to reflect his kind nature.  

 

Without intending to, Reukis found himself staring intently at Miles.  

 

Miles, sensing the intense gaze from somewhere, turned his head sharply and spotted Reukis.  

 

Reukis stood firmly in the path, clearly waiting for someone.  

 

And judging by the unmistakable focus of his gaze, that someone seemed to be Miles himself.  

 

‘Why… is he looking at me…?’  

 

Miles nervously bit his lip, unsure of what to do.  

 

Miles had been in a long-term relationship with Serinia. Because of this, Merria, Serinia’s sister, felt like a younger sibling to him as well.

  

It made sense, considering Merria had been only 14 when Miles first visited Rackester Manor.  

 

Having seen her as a young girl still in her formative years, it was natural for him to feel that way.  

 

Recently, however, Miles had been surprised by news of Merria’s romantic involvement.  

 

The Grand Duke, who had just returned from war, was Merria’s lover?  

 

It seemed unlikely that two people with no apparent connection would come together.  

 

But such thoughts had faded into the background as he focused on his work. He had vaguely imagined that if he and Serinia were to marry someday, he might occasionally cross paths with the Grand Duke.  

 

Contrary to his expectations, however, their meeting came much sooner.  

 

Reukis had appeared at tonight’s dinner.  

 

Despite their first meeting, the two hadn’t exchanged any words. Reukis wasn’t much of a talker, and Miles was quite shy.  

 

It seemed like things would end uneventfully.  

 

‘Should I greet him…?’  

 

Miles, tense to the point of forgetting he had already greeted Reukis earlier, hesitated.  

 

He kept his gaze unnaturally fixed straight ahead, deep in thought.  

 

In his peripheral vision, he noticed a dark figure.  

 

Then, Reukis began walking toward him, step by step.  

 

Miles, startled, quickly turned his head. He had thought Reukis was quite far away, but now he was right in front of him.  

 

Reukis stared at Miles with an intense gaze.  

 

Miles awkwardly smiled and bowed his head slightly toward Reukis.  

 

“By any chance…”  

 

As Reukis moved closer, Miles tilted his head up to meet his eyes.  

 

“Yes?”  

 

Miles responded with a puzzled voice, his head tilting slightly.  

 

Gulp—

  

He felt a dry swallow.  

 

As Miles looked at him with the most harmless expression he could muster, Reukis’s brow furrowed slightly.  

 

“How long have you…”  

 

“…?”  

 

“How long have you been able to make the Duke smile?”  

 

“…Excuse me?”  

 

Miles asked back, bewildered.  

 

Reukis, who had suddenly approached him with this cryptic question, looked utterly serious.  

 

“I wondered if there was a secret…”  

 

Despite Miles’s awkward reaction, Reukis didn’t back down.  

 

What he wanted to know was how to avoid incurring the Duke’s hostility. He thought that Miles, who seemed like the epitome of harmlessness, might have some special trick to disarm others.  

 

However, Miles’s tilted head led to a significant misunderstanding.  

 

Miles saw a reflection of his past self in Reukis, who had a fundamentally different level of courage.  

 

The way Reukis seemed to hang on the Duke’s smile felt all too familiar.  

 

Wasn’t it just like how he used to tremble under the weight of the ‘cold Rackester family’?  

 

A sense of baseless seniority welled up in Miles’s wide eyes.  

 

“If you need any help from me…”  

 

As a result, Reukis gained Miles’s boundless support and a handful of useless tips.

 

💫

 

“Aren’t you sleeping?”  

 

Merria asked, wearing a thick robe over her pajamas.  

 

Serinia, who Merria thought would already be asleep, was still awake. She was reading a report by the light of an outdoor lamp and a few candles.  

 

Serinia, who had been frowning as she read, looked up at Merria.  

 

“What’s that?”  

 

Serinia gestured toward Merria with her chin.  

 

At the end of her gaze was the cup Merria was holding.  

 

Merria held up the cup and replied, “Iced lemon tea. Lexie brought it over because I said I was thirsty.”  

 

“Ah. Warm milk would’ve been better.”  

 

Serinia shrugged.  

 

“Should I ask Lexie to bring some milk? She’s probably still around.”  

 

At Merria’s words, Serinia shook her head.  

 

“She’s probably tired from all the preparations since yesterday. Let her be.”  

 

“Are you busy enough to bring work here?”  

 

Merria walked closer to Serinia and glanced at the report.  

 

It wasn’t as much as what she had in her lab, but it wasn’t a small amount either. Serinia shook her head again.  

 

“I just brought it to read if I couldn’t sleep. It’s usually the time I’d be working, so I didn’t think I’d sleep early anyway.”  

 

She added that her body had adapted to working late at night over the years, so there was no helping it.  

 

Merria frowned slightly at this.  

 

“Even with Emily around, it feels like you’re working just as much as before. Is it just me?”  

 

“Probably not.”  

 

Serinia chuckled mischievously.  

 

“Emily definitely works hard and does well. It’s really strange.”  

 

“Hmm.”  

 

Merria nodded vaguely.  

 

After all, Serinia wouldn’t quit her research work, no matter how tough it got.  

 

If she couldn’t handle all-nighters, she would’ve quit long ago. Plus, given Serinia’s personality, she wouldn’t stop until she achieved what she wanted, so she’d keep working as a researcher until she was satisfied.  

 

How could she be so different even though they were both Rackesters?  

 

Merria looked at Serinia with a strange expression.  

 

Just as she was about to turn away and head to bed, Serinia suddenly spoke up.  

 

“Merria.”  

 

“Hmm?”  

 

“Come to think of it, I forgot about this.”  

 

Serinia closed the report she was reading and focused on the conversation.  

 

“Have you gotten interested in magic lately?”  

 

“What do you mean?”  

 

Merria asked, clearly confused.  

 

Serinia tilted her head, furrowing her brow.  

 

“Well, there was a piece of paper tucked inside the book I lent you last time.”  

 

“What?”  

 

Though her response was similar to before, the atmosphere was completely different.  

 

Serinia shrugged at Merria’s sharp tone.  

 

“No need to react so sensitively. I didn’t see it. Well, even if I did, I wouldn’t understand what it meant.”  

 

Her head-shaking made Merria’s tension ease slightly.  

 

“Give that back to me.”  

 

It seemed one of the two pages she had copied for Reukis had gotten stuck in the book.  

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, Serinia didn’t seem to understand the content.  

 

Merria, sighing inwardly, asked, “But why magic all of a sudden?”  

 

If it had looked like incomprehensible script to Serinia, it would’ve been normal to ask if she’d taken up studying or code-breaking as a hobby.  

 

But magic? Out of nowhere?  

 

Serinia burst out laughing and replied, “What was it again? I don’t remember exactly, but it was something about a mana outburst.”  

 

“…”  

 

“Emily, who read it, said it looked like some nonsense magic formula written by a wannabe mage.”  

 

But Serinia’s laughter quickly faded.  

 

“Still, I’m pretty sure the only person I lent that book to was you… Merria?”  

 

Her sister’s face had turned deadly serious.  

 

“What’s wrong?”  

 

Serinia asked, furrowing her brow as the mood shifted abruptly.  

 

Merria shook her head vigorously, trying to cool her heated thoughts.  It wasn’t like that would help, but it did help her regain her composure.  

 

She strode over to the table where Serinia was sitting.  

 

Slamming her cup down with a clatter, she asked, “Emily read it?”  

 

Neither Merria nor Reukis, nor even Serinia, had been able to decipher the script.  

 

They hadn’t found any clues even in the Imperial Crown Prince’s library, which had the most books in the empire.  

 

Yet a foreign research assistant had deciphered it.  

 

Merria shook Serinia’s shoulders and asked,  

 

“Did Emily really read it? Really?”  

 

A bright smile spread across Merria’s face as she spoke.  

 

Finally, someone had appeared.  Someone who could decipher the notebook.  

 

Someone who could lead them to a solution for Reukis’s magical overload.  

 

“Yeah, um. Write a letter to Emily for me. No, actually, if I send someone now, could they get here by morning?”  

 

“What?”  

 

“I need to meet Emily right away. Okay?”  

 

At her urgent words, Serinia waved her hands in surprise.  

 

“Calm down first. What’s going on with you?”  

 

Serinia, unaware of the details, couldn’t understand Merria’s behavior. She pressed Merria’s shoulders down and made her sit beside her.  

 

“What are you planning to do at this hour? And you can’t meet Emilie right now.”  

 

Merria pouted at Serinia’s firm headshake.  

 

“Why not?”  

 

“Emily went on vacation to Horben to coincide with the hunting competition dates. You know, that place where I went to gather herbs.”  

 

“Ugh. Why does nothing ever go my way…”  

 

Merria’s shoulders slumped, her earlier excitement gone. She slumped onto the table, alternating between grimacing and chuckling.  

 

“Still, having Emily is better than nothing. It’s a relief to have a backup plan in case Shannon’s help falls through.”  

 

‘It’s a good thing. Of course, it is.’  

 

Merria kept muttering to herself, nodding her head.  

 

Serinia, who had been watching her for a while, soon lost interest and turned her attention back to the report.