Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke - Chapter 49

Dimidius, who didn’t get a wink of sleep, searched for Legalis’ room as soon as morning came. Although Olentia told him to stay put, he felt like he should at least warn him.

Legalis seemed to have just finished washing up, shaking the water from his hair. He looked at Dimidius, who came to his room, and spoke in a puzzled voice.

“What is it so early in the morning?”

Dimidius glared at him as if he would swallow him whole.

“Leave immediately. There’s no place for you in the Belial estate.”

“What do you mean by that? It hasn’t been a few days since I arrived at the Grand Duchy Castle. But you’re suddenly telling me to leave.”

Dimidius was disgusted by him, who was acting as if nothing had happened despite trying to seduce a married woman.

In the end, Dimidius approached Legalis and spoke in a growling voice.

“I know what you did to my wife. And you think I should still keep you here?”

At that, Legalis crumpled his expression and twisted his lips.

“As I thought, you’ve put a watchdog on me.”

“Leave while I’m asking nicely. Don’t test the limits of my patience.”

“And if I can’t do that?”

At his words, Dimidius’ eyes darted. Dimidius gripped Legalis’ neck with great force. Legalis squirmed, unable to breathe at the sudden turn of events. No matter how strong a young man Legalis was, he couldn’t stand up to Dimidius, who possessed demonic powers.

“Urk! Ugh!”

Just before the Crown Prince’s breath gave out, Dimidius loosened his grip and dropped him to the floor. Legalis writhed in pain and screamed.

“You’ll regret acting like this! Even if you’re my cousin, I won’t stand still.”

Legalis glared at Dimidius with sharp eyes and stood up from his spot again. A bright red mark remained on his neck.

Dimidius took another step closer to him and said,

“Do it if you can. And I’ll give you two days. It’d be best for you to pack your bags and leave the Grand Duchy Castle by then.”

Dimidius turned around and headed straight for the room where Olentia was. He wanted to see her sleeping face a bit more. Using his demonic powers made him feel uneasy. He thought he could calm down a bit if he saw Olentia.

[This is the timeline separator]

Dexter wandered outside the Grand Duchy Castle from early dawn. In the early morning, the castle’s servants didn’t pass by often, making it convenient to investigate.

The goal was to find a good passage to infiltrate the Grand Duchy Castle, but it wasn’t easily visible.

It was the Empress’ order, so he couldn’t disobey, but what should he do?

Dexter had no interest in what the Empress was trying to do by finding that out. He merely obeyed orders.

Anxiously, Dexter searched the bushes haphazardly behind the Grand Duchy Castle and discovered a small door wrapped in vines. It was a place difficult to find because it was hidden by the bushes.

Dexter’s eyes momentarily sparkled.

“Here it is! There was a forest outside the north of the door, right?”

A vast forest was connected to the small door. To infiltrate the Grand Duchy Castle, surrounded by huge castle walls, it seemed there was no choice but to use this place.

Dexter let out a sigh of relief, having finally found a place worth reporting, and left the place for now.

[This is the timeline separator]

I had a dream.

It was deep into the night, and not even the sound of crickets could be heard.

It was definitely the Grand Duchy Castle, but I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. I only saw dozens of assassins breaking through a door with vines and entering the castle walls.

They moved in unison and immediately attacked Dimidius’ bedroom.

Dimidius used his demonic powers to slay them, but there were too many assassins.

He ended up with fatal wounds on his waist and legs.

Shortly after, it was the moment when the assassin’s blade was pointing towards him.

Olentia woke up from the dream with a scream.

“Huff, huff! Wha-what kind of dream is this?”

She had another ominous premonitory dream. Olentia groaned, gripping her hair.

Then, as if he had been in the room all along, Dimidius approached her.

“What’s the matter? Did you have a nightmare?”

Dimidius’ voice was filled with worry. But she couldn’t easily tell him about the premonitory dream.

Olentia looked at him with confused eyes.

“That, well… Yes. I had a rather bad dream.”

When Dimidius sat on the bed, one side sank deeply, and his heavy presence was felt. He tidied Olentia’s disheveled hair with his hand and said,

“Bury the bad dreams. It’s nothing. Because it’s not reality.”

‘No. This could be a premonitory dream… I’m going crazy.’

Olentia groaned to herself, unable to say it in front of him. She thought she should find out where that door with all the vines was.

‘I can change this too. Let’s calmly find out.’

Olentia got up from her seat and said to Dimidius,

“Then, have a good day today. I need to get ready now.”

She was busy trying to find the door, so she kicked him out for now.

Dimidius looked up at her with a quiet gaze for a moment, then got up from his seat and opened the door.

“You have a good day too, Lady.”

Olentia, who was in a hurry, pulled the bell rope to call Bobby. Bobby came in with water for washing and made a fuss.

“Miss. No, Madam. How was it?”

“How was what? I slept on the bed, and His Grace slept on the couch.”

At that, Bobby made a bored expression and skillfully combed Olentia’s hair. Olentia, while being groomed, was only filled with thoughts of finding the door with all the vines.

She put on clothes suitable for activity and went outside the Grand Duchy Castle, skipping breakfast. Servants carrying various items were passing by outside.

Olentia grabbed one of them and asked,

“By any chance, are there any doors other than the main gate around the Grand Duchy Castle?”

The grabbed maid opened her eyes wide and tilted her head.

“Well, I don’t know. Madam. But why is that?”

“Ah, we could be attacked at any time. The world is so treacherous.”

“Indeed. Since it was attacked once 5 years ago. There’s no law saying it won’t happen again.”

“The Grand Duchy Castle was attacked 5 years ago?”

Olentia was startled and shrugged her shoulders. This was the first time she heard of this. She had seen it being attacked on the train, but was it also attacked at the Grand Duchy Castle?

But the maid, seeing her who knew nothing, opened her eyes even wider in surprise.

“Ah… Madam didn’t know.”

“Who the hell was the culprit?”

“That, well… It’s not something I can speak of recklessly. I’m sorry.”

In the end, after sending the maid away like that, she felt even more bothered.

Who on earth ordered the attack on the Grand Duchy Castle 5 years ago, and where is the door full of vines?

Olentia wandered around the outside of the Grand Duchy Castle for a long time. She touched all the castle walls, but couldn’t find it.

She asked other servants as well, but the answer was similar to the maid’s. It was truly frustrating.

Before she knew it, it became a hot afternoon. Olentia quickly became tired from walking around too much. The bottom of her dress was also dirty.

‘Ah, I think it’d be faster to just ask His Grace. His Grace would know, right? If I say it well, he won’t think it’s strange.’

Olentia made up her mind and headed to his office. The knight guarding the office naturally opened the door as soon as he saw Olentia.

His office gave a rather warm feeling, with all the bookshelves and desks made of solid wood. In the place smelling of books and ink, Dimidius was lying down, sleeping. Olentia held her breath and approached him closely.

At that moment, the mask that was precariously placed on Dimidius’ face fell off due to his movement.

Thud!

Olentia was startled and unknowingly gripped her chest.

It was the first time she saw Dimidius’ bare face.

She wondered if it was okay to secretly come in like a thieving cat and see it. But there was no assistant Killen in the office, and it was just the two of them.

Dimidius had a very delicate face. His eyebrows were moderately thick and neat, his nose bridge extending from his forehead was sharp, and his lips were red and plump like cherries. She had seen it in the premonitory dream, but seeing it in person brought a greater sense of awe.

She wanted to show it to the people who cursed him, saying his face was that of a vicious monster.

That Dimidius was such a beautiful man.

He was breathing loudly, sleeping like crazy. Maybe he didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. Olentia couldn’t know, as she slept rather well and woke up.

When he frowned due to the sunlight coming in through the window, Olentia placed her hand over Dimidius’ face. Only then did Dimidius relax his face. It seemed to be the first time seeing him in a defenseless state. Although Dimidius could be cheeky at times, he was actually quite stiff most of the time.

“How nice would it be like this.”

She thought it would be really nice if he could take off his suffocating mask and walk around freely. She didn’t know the real reason why he wore a mask, but she hoped he could shed the burden from his heart.

Olentia brought her hand to Dimidius’ nose as he breathed. She unknowingly touched his face.

Dimidius’ skin was soft and smooth. When his breath touched her fingertips, it tickled not only her skin but also her heart.

Olentia had no idea why she was doing this. Her chest tightened and she swallowed automatically.

‘Ah, at this rate, His Grace will wake up.’

Feeling a sense of urgency, Olentia quickly removed her hand from his face and left the office. It was an important moment to see Dimidius’ face, so she felt it was a shame.

Moreover, she regretted not being able to ask about the door with the vines.

But she couldn’t predict what reaction Dimidius would have if he woke up in that state.

As someone who hated showing his face to death, he might get angry.

Olentia went up to her room for now.