Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke - Chapter 68

Regalis visited the empress in prison before coming to the party. Although the empress was receiving some special treatment, her complexion was very poor. It was understandable, as she had been formally deposed after her trial.

Regalis looked at the empress with pity and said:

“Mother. Are you alright?”

The empress trembled all over, clutching her dress tightly.

“I am fine. If you ever succeed to the throne and become emperor, you can restore this mother’s honor.”

Regalis had always assumed he would become emperor, but Saint Daphne’s prophetic dream troubled him.

He wanted to give the empress a firm answer, but the words wouldn’t come out.

As Regalis hesitated, the empress glared at him fiercely.

“Don’t tell me the scandal I’ve been hearing is true? That you have a relationship with the Grand Duchess?”

It seemed the empress was also aware of the scandal. Regalis sighed deeply with a troubled expression.

“Hah… Everyone is talking about that. Even if it were true, it won’t harm me.”

“I already know your relationships with women are complicated. But you’ve managed to keep it hidden until now. Pull yourself together. You can’t have even the slightest flaw. If you have feelings for the Grand Duchess, let them go completely.”

The empress’s words made sense. The scandal had indeed caused a slight blemish. Though Regalis didn’t care much about it.

Regalis looked at the empress, who seemed on the verge of collapse, and managed to say:

“Take care of yourself, Mother. I’ll be going now.”

He was furious that his mother had to be imprisoned like this because of Dimidius. But he couldn’t express his anger in front of the already fragile empress, so he simply turned to leave.

Regalis wasn’t sure if he could let go of his feelings for Grand Duchess Olentia as his mother advised. He could no longer distinguish whether his feelings for her were genuine or an illusion created by Daphne’s prophetic dream.

Regalis got into the carriage to attend the Grand Duchy’s party for the first time in who knows how many years. He had to hurry if he wanted to see Olentia after so long.

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Olentia danced with Dimidius. As soon as the music started, they were the first to take center stage, boldly stepping in full view of everyone. Dancing with Dimidius reminded her of the wedding reception. Back then, Dimidius had danced very well and smoothly covered for her mistakes.

Olentia knew that many nobles and Regalis were watching her, but she confidently twirled her body. Then she said to Dimidius:

“Don’t you think my dancing has improved quite a bit?”

Dimidius nodded slightly at her words.

“Yes. You’ve definitely become smoother. At the reception, I thought you were a wooden doll.”

She now knew this was his way of joking.

Olentia chuckled.

“A wooden doll! Have you ever seen such a pretty wooden doll?”

“It’s my first time seeing one. My lady seems to have a lot of confidence in her looks.”

If he said it was his first time, it seemed Dimidius was also acknowledging that her face was pretty. Yet he was also teasing her. Olentia pouted her lips.

“Well, my parents gave birth to me beautifully. I’m grateful.”

Dimidius then danced silently for a moment. What could he be thinking? Was he perhaps thinking of his face that resembled James Belial’s?

Olentia swallowed nervously for some reason.

“Do you remember what I said before? That I said the Grand Duke was beautiful.”

That night, Olentia had endlessly praised Dimidius. She herself was surprised by how blindly devoted she had been. Olentia hoped that Dimidius would love his face rather than hate it.

Dimidius adjusted his mask for a moment before speaking.

“Those were such kind words that I almost wanted to take off this mask for a moment.”

That he had such a thought was truly surprising.

Olentia smiled shyly, but suddenly remembered the vision she had after collapsing while dealing with the evil spirit possessing the maid. It was a dream of kissing Dimidius, and dancing so close to him now suddenly brought it to mind.

Olentia hesitated for a moment before saying to him:

“When I… when I collapsed after using my holy power. Did I perhaps wake up briefly and do something?”

She didn’t think it was possible, but she asked just in case.

Dimidius was visibly flustered.

“Well, I don’t remember very clearly.”

Did saying he didn’t remember clearly mean something had happened?

Olentia stared intently at Dimidius, finding it all very strange. She tried to imagine his face behind the mask.

Just then, Nicholas, the captain of the Belial Knights, entered the banquet hall. His usually bright and lighthearted face looked very gloomy.

Dimidius stopped dancing and approached Nicholas. If Nicholas, who was supposed to be guarding the Grand Duchy, had come into the banquet hall, there must be some problem.

However, Dimidius whispered quietly with Nicholas and then said to Olentia:

“Something’s come up that I need to check on, so I’ll be going with Nicholas for a bit.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll be back, so please wait a little while.”

With that, Dimidius left the banquet hall with Nicholas. Olentia had no choice but to remain and attend to the guests. She couldn’t leave and cause anxiety among the guests.

Although Dimidius had disappeared, fortunately Regalis did not approach her.

Thinking it was fortunate, Olentia stepped out onto the terrace for a moment. She wondered if she might see Dimidius who had gone outside the banquet hall. But he and Nicholas were nowhere to be seen, and only a cool breeze blew.

The darkness was thicker than usual, and even moonlight didn’t reach down, perhaps due to clouds.

As she rubbed her arms with both hands, feeling an ominous sensation, Regalis Fulpa appeared on the terrace.

He smiled strangely when he saw her on the terrace.

“So this is where you were. The star of the splendid scandal.”

Could he have been waiting for a chance to approach?

Regalis was clearly mocking her. Olentia glared at him sharply. She had no intention of freezing up and doing nothing like when he first appeared at the banquet.

“You’re also the star of this splendid scandal, Your Highness.”

“I’m used to my name being talked about.”

“Why is the Imperial Palace being so passive when we’re issuing rebuttals? You didn’t put out any statements, did you?”

When Dimidius had checked, he said it wasn’t Regalis’s doing. And Olentia also thought the Crown Prince wouldn’t do anything to tarnish his reputation with a scandal involving his cousin’s wife.

Regalis put his hands in his pockets and lifted one corner of his mouth. That upturned corner of his mouth always irked her.

“Sometimes no response is better, my lady. Who would pay attention to rebuttals anyway?”

Did he know that Olentia, being a woman, was suffering from much worse rumors because of this?

Olentia had become a flirtatious woman torn between the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke.

Clenching her fists, Olentia said to Regalis:

“That’s why I told you not to call me out or approach me. You’re the one who didn’t heed my advice.”

As Olentia was about to leave the terrace, Regalis’s chilling voice came from behind.

“If you don’t come to me, I will kill that Dimidius by whatever means necessary.”

He didn’t even call him cousin anymore. All of Regalis’s friendly behavior towards Dimidius until now had been mere acting.

And now she felt ashamed for having advised Dimidius to be kind to Regalis as a guest.

Olentia turned to look at Regalis, who had all but declared he would carry on the deposed empress’s will. He didn’t seem to be joking, his face very serious. The venomous look in his eyes closely resembled the deposed empress.

Olentia wasn’t sure if she was shivering from the surprisingly cool breeze despite it being summer, or because of Regalis’s warning.

“If there’s a chance the Grand Duke could get hurt, I’ll leave anytime. But it won’t be to go to Your Highness’s side.”

After hearing Dimidius’s confession, she had been wondering if she should stay by his side longer, but hearing Regalis’s words made it clear that was impossible. It seemed she would have to firmly end their contract relationship once Dimidius found someone to transfer his holy power to.

It was just a 5-month contract marriage after all. There was no reason to be sad, yet Olentia felt her heart suddenly sinking into an abyss. It was as if she was wearing deep-sea treasures all over her body, but truly disappearing forever into the depths of the sea.

Regalis was unfazed by Olentia’s sharp words.

“So you’re thinking of leaving Dimidius’s side. That’s welcome news.”

She didn’t want to hear any more of his unpleasant words. Olentia left the terrace and went back inside the banquet hall. She kept rubbing her bare forearms, wondering why she felt so cold.

That’s when it happened.

The banquet hall doors opened again and Dimidius entered with a group of Belial knights.

Olentia was startled and approached Dimidius.

“What’s going on? Why are the knights in the banquet hall…?”

Dimidius roughly loosened his tie and said to Olentia:

“Wolves have climbed over the castle walls and gotten inside. But the more I think about it, these don’t seem like ordinary wolves. The walls are too high for normal wolves to climb, yet they got in, and they’re all extremely agitated and attacking with extraordinary strength.”

What in the world was happening?

Olentia clutched her dress skirt tightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. If these weren’t ordinary wolves, could it be something like the evil spirit that had possessed the maid?