Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 128

It wasn’t a mistake. The person I saw before me was clearly Reus. At that moment, Karin, who had been picking up crops, stood up and nudged me.

“What’s this? Looks like you know him? Who is he?”

“Ah, well…”

Only after being dragged by Karin and arriving in front of the house did I start to regain my senses. And I could finally fully understand Teron’s somewhat puzzling attitude from a while ago.

‘So that’s what he meant by apologizing…’

But I didn’t particularly resent Teron. Since I had left without sorting anything out, I had already anticipated that Reus would come looking for me someday.

At that moment, Reus, who had made eye contact with me, cautiously opened his mouth.

“…Roel.”

Even just calling my name, the man’s voice was thick with hesitation.

“Oh my, oh my…! You do know each other! You’re talking! You’re the new resident, right? But how do you two know each other?”

After a moment’s consideration, I said:

“He was… my husband…”

“If he’s your husband, he’s your husband, what do you mean ‘was’—”

Karin stopped mid-sentence, made an ‘oops’ expression, and slowly backed away from my side.

“Oh dear, now that I think about it, I forgot, uh… I think I left something behind. Well then, go on in. I’ll go ahead first.”

“Auntie…!”

“See you tomorrow, Roel!”

Karin quickly disappeared, and without warning, I was left alone with Reus.

Although I had always thought we would meet again someday, I never thought we would reunite so quickly, so I was a bit flustered, to be honest.

I hadn’t decided what expression to show or what words to say first if we were to meet again, which made it even more awkward.

“Well… would you like to come in?”

I couldn’t keep standing like this in front of the house, so I passed by Reus and opened the door.

But then I suddenly remembered how I had left the house in a hurry this morning. Sure enough, there were unfolded clothes and towels scattered all over the floor.

“Ah, the house is a bit messy.”

As I turned around at the sound of the door closing, I was startled by Reus standing right behind me and dropped the clothes I had picked up.

He was so close that I felt I should step back immediately, but I couldn’t move an inch.

That’s because Reus’s face, which had seemed perfectly fine until Karin was here, was now a mess with tears.

“…Reus.”

That was all I managed to call out, very carefully. But Reus flinched for a moment and then hurriedly started speaking, as if he had committed a great wrong.

“I know. That you don’t want to see me anymore. I know it too well, but still…”

“…”

“I know it’s selfish… but I missed you so much…”

His voice trailed off as Reus’s breathing became rough. He was crying and gasping so hard that I moved slightly to try to calm him down, but Reus desperately grabbed my sleeve.

“…Don’t go.”

The fingertips holding my sleeve were trembling. When I looked up, Reus continued with a pale face.

“I’ve gotten rid of everything that made you anxious. As you said, I didn’t die and… I’ve sorted out everything. From now on, neither the Emperor nor the Ibel County will be able to trouble you.”

“…”

“So… please don’t go, Roel.”

As if this wasn’t enough, but please have mercy.

Sometimes when I was left alone, I would imagine what Reus would look like after completing his revenge. Relieved, or happy, or maybe sad. I had imagined many faces, but never one like this.

Reus looked no different before and after completing his revenge.

“Why do you look like that when it’s something you’ve devoted your entire life to?”

After fulfilling the lifelong wish he had devoted his life to, why…

Why does this man look no different from just before I left? Seeing Reus’s desperate attempt to hold me back on the day I left the Grand Duke’s castle overlapped with this moment, and my emotions welled up.

“Roel… please don’t cry.”

Seeing Reus at a loss in the face of my tears, I wanted to stop crying immediately, but it didn’t work out as I wished.

In the end, I couldn’t hold back my sobs and lowered my head. Then Reus, who had been hesitating in front of me, carefully embraced me.

That touch, too, felt as if he was admitting his fault, making me even more sorrowful.

“I…”

“It’s all my fault. Roel… please don’t cry.”

“I thought you might be able to find some peace. But why, still with that look…”

A considerable amount of time had passed, and the revenge was over, so I thought it would surely be better than before. I had even thought that maybe the wounds I had inflicted on him might have faded a little.

But seeing Reus now, I realized that was purely a delusion for my own sake.

When he said he felt alive only when I was around, it was the truth without a hint of lie. Reus had been barely holding on alone in the hell he spoke of after I left.

“I’m sorry. I… I thought it was absolutely right for me to leave. I thought I was only getting in your way… When I said I didn’t want to be by your side because it was dangerous… that was a lie. I didn’t mind dying with you—”

“Roel.”

I could feel Reus’s arms, which were holding me tightly, trembling finely.

“None of this is your fault. It was me who dragged you into this in the first place, who held onto you when you had nothing to do with it. So… please don’t say such frightening things. It’s all my fault.”

In fact, the ones who should really be sorry were others. Those people have disappeared, so why should we be sorry to each other?

I didn’t want to hurt Reus anymore with this matter. I looked up at Reus. His face showed guilt just for coming to find me.

Having barely swallowed my tears, I slowly continued speaking.

“Reus. Shall we go back now?”

“…Pardon?”

Reus looked down at me with a foolish expression. Then he responded blankly as if he really didn’t understand what I said.

“Where to…”

“To where we used to live.”

Reus, who had been in a daze for quite a while, seemed to finally understand what I meant and let out a small sigh.

“Didn’t you come to get me?”

“Are you… saying you’ll return to the Grand Duke’s castle with me?”

I nodded immediately, but Reus still didn’t seem to believe my words.

“Reus?”

“Why…”

And Reus started crying sorrowfully again, just like before.

“Why do you always forgive me so easily? I… I did everything I wanted to keep you from leaving. You, who did nothing wrong, just because I wanted it, at the Grand Duke’s castle, like that…”

I couldn’t say I felt no guilt at all for choosing to stay there. But in the end, I made that choice because of my own feelings.

‘Because I like Reus.’

I wiped Reus’s tears and said:

“Reus. Do you know? I… like you much more than you think.”

Hearing my words, Reus stiffened.

“Really.”

Reus was someone who gave everything he had without hesitation. He stood by my side without complaint when I was struggling, and always reached out his hand as if he was on my side whenever I was falling apart.

From the moment I opened my heart, always unchanging.

How could I refuse when such a man said that just having me by his side made him feel relieved?

Regardless of right or wrong, if Reus could forget his pain even for a brief moment, that was enough.

Even if we were to meet the same end that I knew about, I thought it would be okay if I was by this man’s side. With such thoughts, I remained by Reus’s side.

“I don’t know how this will sound, but even my decision to leave you was for your sake. Because that was all I could do for you when you were suffering even with me around…”

From the moment I decided to stay at the Grand Duke’s castle, I was prepared to die with Reus, and even when the moment to leave finally came, I intended to be with Reus until his dying moment.

But Reus came back alive, as if to prove me wrong.

“Reus, I’m so grateful that you came back safely.”

“…”

“So let’s go back now. To the Grand Duke’s castle.”

As I took Reus’s hand at that moment, the space changed in an instant.

The Grand Duke’s castle that I had left for a while. We had returned to our home.

[This is the timeline separator]

The first day we returned to the Grand Duke’s castle was spent in a whirlwind thanks to the servants.

“No, Your Highness…!”

“Roteo. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Roteo welcomed me with a face as pale as if he had seen a ghost. The same was true for all the Grand Duke’s castle servants we encountered, with Dewin showing the most intense reaction.

“Your, Highness…?”

“Dewin, have you been well?”

When I smiled awkwardly, Dewin kept tilting his head.

“No, am I seeing things…?”

“It’s really me.”

“My ears seem a bit strange too…”

Dewin, who couldn’t believe the reality for a long time, stepped back startled when I lightly grabbed his arm. As soon as he realized it was real, he looked at Reus standing behind me.

Judging by the concerned look in his eyes, he seemed to be worried if the situation was the same as before I left.

“It’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand.”

Everyone seemed to have the same concern as Dewin, welcoming me with faces half happy and half worried. Millie, whom I met almost last, even burst into tears.

Even after greeting all the Grand Duke’s castle servants like that, it took a few days for the confused atmosphere in the Grand Duke’s castle to settle down a bit.

But the problem was that while Reus wasn’t acting like before, he still couldn’t hide his anxiety at all, just like before I left the Grand Duke’s castle.

Yeah. Just as if he had forcibly brought me here.

‘He seems to have forgotten that I was the one who said I would come back here.’

Today too, I called out to Reus who was sticking close to my side.

“Reus.”

“Yes, Roel.”

“I’m asking just in case, but… You’re not having any strange thoughts like I’m staying by your side against my will or anything like that, are you?”

But Reus stiffened as if he had been hit right on the mark.

“Were you really thinking that…?”

“…”

“Do you really not know why I came back to the Grand Duke’s castle?”

When I asked like that, Reus looked puzzled as if wondering if there was a reason.

“Do you really not know? Really?”

After thinking for a while, Reus finally spoke in an uncertain voice.

“Is it… because you pity me?”

“What did you say?”

I couldn’t help but frown at the ridiculous answer. Reus’s expression immediately turned to bewilderment.

So you thought all the kindness I’ve shown you so far was because I pitied you?

“Don’t you remember what I said before we returned to the Grand Duke’s castle?”

Even after saying that much, Reus still looked like he didn’t understand the reason. I opened my mouth to speak, then said:

“I like you.”

“…”

“I like you just as you like me, Reus. The reason I stayed by your side, why I kept waiting for you even after I left… and why I came back here is all because of you, Reus.”

Reus seemed unable to believe what I had said, and as soon as our eyes met, he lowered his head with tears in his eyes.

“This time, I’ll keep my promise not to leave. So don’t be so anxious.”

I placed my hand on top of the man’s large, trembling hand. Reus immediately intertwined our fingers.

“Roel. You might regret what you just said later. So please think carefully again.”

For someone who said that, Reus held my hand tightly and wouldn’t let go. Of course, I had no intention of giving a different answer either.

“I like you, Reus.”

“…”

“This time, I absolutely won’t leave…”

I couldn’t continue speaking because Reus’s breath rushed into my mouth. Reus, who had been holding me for a long time, finally let me go when I was about to run out of breath.

“You started this first. So… this time I really won’t let you go. Even if I become terrible later—”

This time, I cut off Reus’s words. Reus, who had been staring at me with a dazed expression, soon pushed me onto the bed.

Reus stared at me for a long time, trapped helplessly between his arms. Soon he kissed my forehead. Then he tickled the tip of my nose, my cheeks, and breathed into my lips again.

“Roel. If you want to run away from me, this is your last chance.”

He said that, but Reus’s fingers caressing my cheeks moved as if they already knew my answer. The heat in his eyes looking down at me grew more intense.

“…I love you.”

“…”

“Reus, I love you.”

In response to my words, Reus answered with a face that I couldn’t tell if he was crying or laughing.

“I love you. Forever.”

Soon, Reus cupped my face with impatient hands. Then he took my breath away with desperate gestures as if he wanted to possess all of me.

On that night when we confirmed each other’s feelings. We vowed eternity to each other all night long.

[The End of Strategic Married Life with a Crazy Villain]