Chapter 22: 22

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Nelia wanted to comfort the duke, who has always lived with a mask on.

“I…… I believe there is someone out there who can understand a man who has an ability to turn into a snake. There are many different kinds of people in the world, isn’t it true?”

This was all she could say because she wasn’t good with words, but she meant it. After all, the world is vast and there are so many people out there.

‘Actually, even I……’

The fact that the duke could turn into a snake didn’t come out as terrifying to her. It’s another story to have such a person as a spouse.

Nelia had seen various sides of the duke during her stay at the duke’s residence. He was too sweet and gentle despite having to think loosely that his identity was actually a cruel villain.

She felt his appearance was too genuine to deceive her, and the vigilant act she had put on for some time finally melted before she knew it.

Rather, looking at his lonely expression at first glance made her feel that the weight of the curse he had to endure as well as the death of his father was too heavy to be carried on his own.

For Nelia, the duke had already turned into a miserable man in her eyes, not a terrifying man anymore.

That might be the reason. She offered help to find out about the curse with him even though she didn’t want to get involved with him.

Of course it was also because he brought up about his injured foot, but the main reason was because she was moved by the dark expression on his face when he confessed about the curse.

The gloomy face she saw for the first time seemed to reveal the true nature of the raw sincerity which had been hidden deep inside his heart for a long time. That gloom prevented her from turning down his request.

On the other hand, she was not pleased when feeling her change of heart.

It felt like she would continue caring more and more at him, and she would be deeply involved with him.

Then, the servants knocked on the door before entering and served appetizers.

“Enjoy your meal.”

The dish was plump shrimps garnished with cream sauce on top.

‘Well, if I can eat this kind of food every day, it wouldn’t matter if my husband is a snake, right?’

Nelia picked up the tableware in an attempt to erase her bewildering thoughts about the duke.

“How about Nelia? Having a husband who turns into a snake.”

Before having the chance to cut the large shrimp, Nelia raised her head and looked at Duke Hart.

“……Pardon?”

“Would Nelia accept someone who turns into a snake as your husband?”

Until a moment ago, she just thought lightly about it, ‘If I can eat such delicious food, it wouldn’t matter if my husband is a snake,’ but the duke seemed quite serious with it, so she was contemplating on how to answer it.

Most of them asked so because they often wanted to hear positive words. They wanted to be encouraged.

She didn’t have any thoughts like ‘I don’t ever want a husband who turns into a snake’ which was most likely because she didn’t think much about having any spouse yet.

Nelia replied while raking through her brain for a proper answer.

“Uh……. As long as they’re not always in the snake form……. I don’t think it’s really a big deal.”

Duke Hart was staring at her in a slight shock.

“…….Seriously?”

Nelia intensified her thoughts when he asked if she was being serious.

“Instead, should we argue about other aspects? Their personality, their wealth, or their appearance.”

She answered a little realistically, but it was the closest answer to her thinking at that moment.

“What if their situations were the same as mine?”

He asked a more difficult question this time. Nelia frowned and thought again.

She was struggling with this difficult balance game.

Duke Hart was a good man who had a kind personality, great looks, and such a husband material with a great fortune, but his only shortcoming was turning into a snake.

‘Hm…… if it’s similar to Your Grace’s situation…… Wouldn’t it be possible to make up for just that?’

Nelia suddenly stopped moving her fork in the air when she was about to come up with a positive conclusion. Because there was another thing in her mind.

It was the fact that the duke was trying to avenge the emperor. He sacrificed many people during the process of her revenge.

Even if he was a perfect husband material with a tender-hearted and kind personality, she could never accept him as a husband when one thing came to her mind.

This was a completely different story from the previously pitiful side of the duke.

Nelia slowly brought herself to move her fork again and stabbed the shrimp on the plate.

‘But why is he asking that?’

It sounded like he was asking her how she felt about accepting him as a husband.

“Your Grace, why are you asking?”

“I was curious how Nelia thought of me.”

His answer was ambiguous.

Nelia thought she would just be honest with him because she had no idea about his intentions by asking that.

“Honestly, I can only judge based on how many times I’ve seen you.”

Delia glimpsed at the duke and continued.

“I just like nice people.”

“……..”

“Not inflicting harm or acting rude to others.”

In that sense, the duke was eliminated as the candidate of her spouse.

“Even if they turn into a snake?”

“Yes. It doesn’t matter if you turn into a snake or dragon, as long as your personality is good-hearted and sincere.”

The duke looked deep in thought.

Leaving the duke to dwell in his own thoughts, Nelia hurriedly moved the knife and fork in her grip. The shrimp dish was starting to cool down.

Nelia cut the shrimp into bite-sized pieces and put them into her mouth.

‘It’s delicious!’

Smile rose to Nelia’s small face. On the contrary, the food on the duke’s plate hardly decreased.

“Your Grace, hurry up and eat.”

“Pardon? Yes.”

The duke’s expression finally loosened and he grabbed a fork and knife.

After that, the duke somehow looked like in a daze and their conversation didn’t go smoothly.

Nelia rather chose to eat quietly.

The atmosphere in the quiet dining room was a little awkward, but she thought it’s nice since she had the chance to savor the taste of the food more properly.

After finishing the meal, Nelia wiped her mouth with a contented look.

She stole a glance at the duke’s plate, which remained almost the same as before. He didn’t have an appetite and didn’t even eat properly.

He didn’t seem to be in a bad mood when the appetizers were served, but now she guessed it was a sensitive subject for him. Nelia asked, feeling some responsibility for making him act like this.

“Is this because of the conversation about the spouse earlier, Your Grace?”

The duke just shook his head and showed a weak smile.

“No, it’s just……”

Just?

However, the duke paused before speaking any further.

“It’s nothing.”

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The duke rose from his seat.

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“If you’re done eating, shall we head back to your room now?”

Nelia wondered what he was going to say just now, but she only answered after reading his countenance that seemed to have no intention of talking about it again.

“Yes, I would like to.”

The duke was quiet on their way to the fourth floor.

He usually asked if she enjoyed her meal or which one she thought was the best. The conversation they had earlier seemed to have dropped the duke’s appetite.

‘Why did he ask that kind of question?’

‘What if their situations were the same as mine?’

Asking someone about ourselves creates uncomfortable situations in many ways. She didn’t want to lie or be honest either.

And when she thought back to their conversation earlier, she answered back appropriately.

It’s not like she said, ‘I would absolutely hate it if I know my husband can turn into a horrifying snake!’

Thinking about various things, she already arrived in front of her door without realizing it. Duke Hart kindly opened the door for her.

“It’s your first night staying in the mansion, so I hope you have a good night.”

“The same for Your Grace, please put aside the thoughts from your head for a while and sleep well.”

The duke smiled.

“All right.”

Yet, his smile looked weak.

***

Duke Hart entered his room and immediately plopped down on the bed. The bed leapt up slightly when the weight was placed on it.

“Phew.”

The duke shut his eyes tightly.

‘I didn’t mean to say that.’

He told Nelia too many things.

It was the first time he had ever done this.

It’s not that he didn’t talk to other people, but it was just about formal stuff. But when he was with Nelia, he felt like being a child again. He talks about the things that he shouldn’t say even if he doesn’t have to speak about it.

In particular, he wasn’t supposed to talk about his family history.

Luckily however, Nelia responded to him in a calm manner.

Nelia wasn’t surprisingly shakened by big things, but she would be surprised and flustered like a small animal at merely trivial things.

That was the funny thing he discovered about Nelia.

That reason led him to imagine something serious might not be a big deal when he was together with Nelia.

Even his family’s curse.

She saw him in his snake form, but then calmly accepted the situation. It’s astonishing.

‘So, I can’t give up on my hope.’

‘I…… I believe there is someone out there who can understand a man who has an ability to turn into a snake. There are many different kinds of people in the world, isn’t it true?’

‘Uh……. As long as they’re not always in the snake form……. I don’t think it’s really a big deal.’

He was bewitched by those words.

However, the light in Duke Hart’s turned cold as soon as the warm glow disappeared.

Nelia told him that she was fine having a husband who could turn into a snake, but at the end of the day, he realized that he didn’t meet Nelia’s spouse’s requirements.

‘I just like nice people.’

‘Not inflicting harm or acting rude to others.’

He wasn’t the ‘kind-hearted man’ Nelia was talking about.

On the surface, it might seem like that to others, but behind it, he was desperately preparing for revenge.

‘Cause he killed Father.’

He was just twelve years old when it happened.

Even at such a young age, he could remember those terrible days when her mother used to live while crying all day and night.

When his father was still alive, he was close to the emperor.

The emperor was an ordinary man who was clumsy in many ways and well-taken advantage of by his people. He wasn’t someone who possessed outstanding abilities for his position.

After that, the emperor met his father who was assigned as his liege. Thanks to his father, the emperor was able to establish his position.

His father looked after the emperor sincerely and smartly as his liege, and sometimes saw him as friends. The emperor’s heart naturally moved seeing his father. In a short time, the two became as close as brothers.

His father was obviously a wise and benevolent man, and he was also a great support not only for the emperor, but also for his family.

The person who gently comforted his embarrassing feelings when he turned into a snake one day was his father as well.

‘Father…… Do I have to live like this forever……?’

‘Shilian, you know our family is cursed for the mistake we committed in the past. But don’t live your life pursuing the path of misfortune.’

The warmth that he felt when his father petted his head with his big hand was still vivid until now.

‘When you feel unhappy, you only have to devote yourself to your precious things. By doing so, the world simply won’t feel dark for you.’

However, the emperor tragically took away his precious thing, and soon his world became dark.

Duke Hart clenched his fist as he recalled that day,

On the day of the full lunar eclipse, his father turned into a snake due to the curse that trapped the dukedom. Unfortunately, that day, his father was meeting the emperor that day, and he didn’t recognize his liege.

His father desperately pleaded that he was Benian Hart, but it didn’t reach the emperor’s ears who was utterly shocked at that moment.

Eventually, his father turned to a cold corpse in the hands of his close friend whom he devoted his whole life to.

‘He didn’t even die in his human form.’

The corpse that returned to his family was a rigid silver snake.

A lot of things have fallen apart upon the death of his father.

He remained impassive and monotonous no matter what he did. No sadness or joy.

He just tried to be nice to people according to the old guidelines of the family.

Then he suddenly thought like this.

‘If this is the case, he needs to have a reason to live.’

The young Duke Hart had to find a reason to live after experiencing the embers of his dying heart.

And he found a reason to live without a lot of hardships.

The purpose of living this boring life was his anger.

He decided to avenge the one who killed his father, the emperor, who also made him like this.

He endured each passing day with that one thing in mind.

From that day his young self has borne this spite, anger was the only thing that kept him going and supported him throughout his life……

Until one day, he met Nelia.

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It seemed as if the stone had just flown over the calm water.

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*It’s nice that we’re finally able to know the future revenge of the duke.

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