The Duchess looked at Nellia with watery eyes.
“Why…?”
“It was probably because of guilt.”
Upon hearing the Duchess’s words, Nellia immediately understood why the Duke behaved that way. Having experienced the Duke up close, she could see that he was a person with exceptional empathy and altruism. He was always kind to others and showed even more generosity and warmth to those close to him.
Although he appeared to be joking with Viscount Clint, he would also instruct him to send herbs when he fell ill due to the plague. He did the same for the butler, Thorne. He even noticed signs of fatigue on Thorne’s expressionless face and granted him vacations.
“Well… I can’t say anything about it.”
Certainly, his mother would be included in the objects of his affection. She was the only family member left after his father passed away, so naturally, she would be dear and precious to him.
Therefore, no matter what state the monster, which had lost its rationality, was in, young Duke Hart would have suffered greatly from the fact that it attacked his mother.
“To think Sillian avoided me because of guilt… Honestly, I’m not sure.”
When Nellia unexpectedly gave her answer, the Duchess seemed skeptical.
“If you find my words suspicious, try talking to the Duke about that day. Perhaps he’ll apologize first.”
At that moment, the door to the reception room opened. The Duke, who had gone out for some fresh air, returned.
“Sorry for leaving suddenly… Mother?”
Apologizing, the Duke came in and seemed somewhat surprised to see the red-eyed Duchess.
The Duchess quickly wiped her eyes with the hem of her sleeve.
“It’s nothing.”
Duke Hart looked at the Duchess, who was hiding what had happened, with an odd expression but didn’t inquire further.
For the embarrassed Duchess’s sake, Nellia spoke to Duke Hart first.
“Have you cooled down a bit?”
The Duke’s stiff expression softened a bit.
“Yes, much better.”
At that moment, Reunite tugged on Nellia’s clothes. Nellia looked at Reunite.
“Why?”
“I’m hungry…”
Grumble. The sound of Reunite’s stomach echoed in the silent space.
The Duchess smiled and stood up.
“It seems that dinner time is approaching. I’ll have dinner prepared.”
While dinner was being prepared, Nellia, the Duke, and Reunite were guided to guest rooms.
Nellia took Reunite to his room first, then crossed over to the Duke’s room.
Without knocking, she opened the door and entered. Seeing Nellia, Duke Hart, who had stopped moving without taking off his coat, looked at her.
“Nellia?”
“I’d like to talk with the Duke for a moment. Is it okay now?”
“Of course.”
The Duke finished taking off his coat and approached Nellia. He looked at her with a worried expression that unexpectedly appeared.
“Did something bother you after coming here?”
“No, not at all. Rather, it seemed like the Duke was uncomfortable.”
The Duke hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Just… I was confused earlier.”
“It was confusing indeed. Suddenly, a dragon.”
“It’s not certain that the being depicted in the painting is a dragon. Whether to trust that book is still unclear.”
Although…
Nellia thought that if they had preserved that space for hundreds of years using magic, it must have been valuable.
However, she didn’t want to exacerbate the Duke’s confusion by bringing up such a topic right now.
“If the Duke’s ancestors were dragons, how would you feel? Perhaps something happened, and they turned into snakes.”
In truth, looking at the dragon depicted in the book, Nellia thought that a dragon suited Duke Hart much better than a snake.
Beautiful appearance, exceptional intellect, unique abilities—all of these could be possible because his true identity was a dragon.
Maybe the identity of a dragon would suit him better than that of a snake.
Then, in a whispering voice, the Duke said,
“I dislike both dragons and snakes… I’m not something other than human. Ultimately, isn’t saying I’m a golden beast just an excuse?”
Casting dragons as golden beasts…? Reunite probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing that.
“The curse is becoming something other than a curse. Transforming into a snake is just returning to the original form. Then, what have I been pursuing all this time…?”
The Duke cautiously took Nellia’s hand. His gaze lingered somewhere on the back of her hand.
“Above all… I’m afraid.”
“…”
“If my true form isn’t human, how will you accept me, Nellia?”
The eyes seen between the pitifully brushed eyelashes looked gloomy.
Nellia wanted to comfort him, feeling his anxiety.
“Well, it might be a bit surprising… but I think the most important thing is the heart.”
“Heart?”
“Yes. If you have a human heart, and we can communicate… the identity might not be that important.”
To be honest, if she didn’t care about the identity at all, it would be a lie. However, if the subject was the Duke, it didn’t seem to matter much.
That was Nellia’s honest feeling.
“Now that you’ve said that, I feel a bit relieved, Nellia.”
Finally, the Duke showed a faint smile.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
