Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13
Orentia frowned deeply as she looked at him, and Dimidius continued speaking.
“I sensed holy power. It seems the lady isn’t aware of it herself, but you clearly possess holy power. Since I’m half-human, half-demon… I can definitely tell whether someone has holy power or not.”
“That… that can’t be. I’m just an ordinary person.”
Orentia looked down at her hands and tilted her head in confusion. No matter how she thought about it, holy power and herself simply didn’t go together. The only thing that seemed even remotely suspicious was having become Pieta’s contractor—nothing else came to mind.
Seeing her flustered, Dimidius spoke in a quiet voice.
“If you insist it’s not true, then let’s hurry. It’s getting late.”
It turned out he’d torn the hem of his cloak when entering the forest and tied it to tree branches as a trail. Orentia, on the other hand, had followed blindly, drawn only by the white light without a second thought.
Afraid she might lose her way, Orentia hurried after him, trailing closely behind.
“Ah! Let’s go together!”
Suddenly, her feet tangled, catching on a rock, and her body lurched forward. Her vision went dark, leaving her flailing her arms helplessly.
She kept falling—down, and further down. At this rate, her face—the beautiful face she’d carefully maintained for twenty-three years—was about to smash straight into the ground.
At that moment,
A large hand wrapped firmly around Orentia’s waist. His grip was as powerful as a fisherman reeling in a shark.
Suddenly cradled in Dimidius’s arms, Orentia gasped in a shallow breath.
Brilliant moonlight poured down upon them both.
The bitter scent of trees.
His cologne, his broad chest—they remained just as she remembered.
Was this already the third time? The third time she’d ended up absurdly in a man’s arms like this. She worried she must seem utterly helpless.
Orentia couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes from sheer embarrassment.
Still nestled against him, she fidgeted with the hand resting on Dimidius’s chest. For some reason, her heart felt like it might burst.
Then Dimidius brushed back her disheveled hair and said,
“A lady so clumsy can hardly be carried around in one’s pocket.”
Now he sounded just like the Dimidius she knew.
‘Why is my heart racing? And what’s this about carrying someone in a pocket… Could he possibly mean… me?’
So bewildered was Orentia that she didn’t even stop him from brushing her hair aside. She just stared up at Dimidius blankly. With her hand still on his chest and her chin lifted toward him, the moment felt strangely intimate.
‘This feels exactly like… someone expecting a kiss.’
She’d never experienced it herself, but romantic illustrations in novels often showed scenes like this.
Finally snapping to her senses, she shoved hard against Dimidius’s shoulders.
“Get away from me!”
Dimidius, who had merely saved her from tripping over a rock, grumbled in response.
“You’re treating the person who caught you rather poorly. Your prized face nearly scraped the ground just now.”
Orentia rubbed her goosebump-covered arms with both hands and said,
“There won’t be any more incidents like this from now on.”
“…What do you mean? That you won’t trip again?”
“Yes. I won’t fall foolishly like that again. I’ll handle everything myself!”
Her voice, unusually sensitive and agitated, trembled with frustration. Her chest heaved up and down as she huffed.
She hated constantly relying on Dimidius’s help. If Sokor saw her like this, he’d surely treat her once again as someone who needed protection—and that thought infuriated her.
“It might even be better to just let you fall. Maybe then you’d finally come to your senses! Don’t you agree?”
If she endured pain, healed, and faced situations like this over and over, perhaps she’d eventually gather the strength to stand up to Sokor.
What Orentia truly wanted was to become a capable adult with real strength.
But right now, she had absolutely no reason to be angry at Dimidius. As he’d said, he hadn’t done anything wrong—he’d only helped her.
In the end, she’d gone and acted foolishly again.
‘Ah, why did I do that…? I just suddenly lost control.’
Embarrassed, Orentia bit her lip absently, and Dimidius—perfectly at home in the quiet forest—spoke.
“If I were to leave you alone or let my guard down, you’d get hurt again, just like that time.”
‘That time? When?’
Noticing his gaze drift toward her neck, Orentia laughed weakly.
“Oh, this? It’s fine. It wasn’t a serious wound, so I didn’t even call the Odor family’s personal physician. My uncle didn’t even know—I mean, he had no idea I’d been injured on the neck at all. Honestly, how thoughtless of him. His only niece went through something terrible on the train, and he doesn’t even know.”
Thankfully, it had only been a shallow cut—it would heal without leaving a scar.
Now that Orentia finally smiled and returned to her usual self, Dimidius resumed walking. She followed him, and suddenly his torn cloak settled over her shoulders.
Now wrapped in an absurdly oversized cloak, Orentia gave Dimidius a bewildered look.
“I’m not cold, you know?”
Dimidius shifted his shoulders as if uncomfortable and replied,
“This cloak is a bit bothersome. Consider it discarded… for the lady.”
‘He just has to phrase it that way!’
Honestly, it didn’t seem like he suddenly found the cloak inconvenient—it was more likely he’d noticed how lightly dressed she was. After all, she’d been in a protected area where no one else could enter, so her attire was indeed quite thin.
After some hesitation, Orentia simply wrapped the cloak tightly around herself and marched forward stubbornly. Bundled up in Dimidius’s oversized cloak, she looked just like a snowman—the kind made by the people of Belial territory, the only place in Bonus Empire where it snowed.
[This is the timeline separator]Emerging from the deep forest, Orentia’s hair whipped fiercely in the spring breeze. The world outside the woods felt utterly different—as if she’d returned from another realm.
Grateful she was wearing the black cloak, Orentia said to Dimidius,
“The villa where I’m staying is right ahead. I’ll go on alone from here.”
A sudden gust of wind nearly flipped her thin dress inside out. She couldn’t possibly show such a sight in front of Dimidius.
Meanwhile, hearing Orentia’s words, Dimidius scowled and opened his mouth.
“You mean the villa right in front of the daisy field? The one with completely transparent interiors?”
“A-ah, yes, that’s right. Most of the living room is floor-to-ceiling glass.”
As if entranced, Dimidius walked closer to the villa. Orentia followed him with a puzzled expression.
“You really don’t need to walk me there.”
At Orentia’s cheerful remark, Dimidius turned to look at her and let out a short sigh.
“Sigh… Even when I first heard about it, I thought it was a terrible idea. Why on earth are you staying in a place like that? You’re Count Odor’s niece, after all.”
‘What news had he heard?’
He placed a hand on his hip, clearly displeased. Though his mask hid his expression, she was sure his brow was furrowed.
Orentia replied flatly,
“Well, someone more important than me arrived at Count Odor’s residence first.”
“…”
“And this area—including the forest and the daisy field—is all a protected zone. No one’s allowed to enter. You’re the exception, Your Highness.”
Clearly, just like when he’d mentally transmitted his voice to her, or when he’d subdued the masked man,
he must have used his demonic abilities to sneak in secretly.
Realizing this made their nighttime meeting feel even more uncanny. Honestly, the hairs on her arms stood on end.
Feeling her fingertips grow cold, Orentia spoke one last time to Dimidius before entering the villa.
“Please don’t say anything to my uncle. And… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that I saw the light from the Illusion Bloom.”
[This is the timeline separator]In the forest where straight-stemmed flowers swayed gently, Orentia stood as pure and delicate as a single blossom. Her long hair flowed down to her waist, her slender frame wrapped in a white dress, and brown slippers made of kid leather adorned her feet.
She shimmered as if she’d absorbed all the white moonlight.
If Orentia had seen light from the Illusion Bloom, then he felt as though he’d seen light emanating from Orentia herself.
Even after returning to the mansion, that image of her lingered in Dimidius’s mind for a long while.
But in truth, his thoughts about Orentia stemmed from another crucial reason—her ability.
Dimidius stroked his jaw beneath the mask with one hand and murmured,
“If the white light from the Illusion Bloom is indeed a strong pulse of holy power… then she can actually see it?”
That clearly meant Orentia possessed and could wield holy power. Truly fitting for someone of the Apricot Tree House, of Count Armenuaka.
Dimidius recalled the time, five years ago, when he’d first unlocked his demonic power—the time when holy artifacts had failed to halt his demonic transformation.
Back then, consumed by fear of becoming a demon, he’d roared like a monster.
“Bring it to me right now! Bring me something that actually works!”
His eyes had turned entirely crimson, his body swelling as if ready to burst. Behind him, demonic wings twitched as if about to erupt, and such a menacing aura radiated from him that even the well-trained Belial knights dared not approach.
Wracked with pain, he growled like a beast.
Whenever he felt the demonic power and heard the demonic voices, it felt as though he became someone else entirely.
Even using holy artifacts—once opposites to demonic power—had done nothing to calm his transformation. After all, it was during the attack on the ducal palace just days prior that he’d first unleashed his demonic power.
Inside himself, he felt a surging black desire urging him to simply accept this power. It was incredibly tempting—his mind felt as if it might snap at any moment.
‘Should I just become a demon? Wouldn’t that make me stronger?’
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
_____
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