This was also an unexpected question.
Paimon hesitated and stretched out his front paws as he pondered whether or not to catch the soap bubbles.
[âOf course they will like it.â]
âInstead, if I ask them to protect the castle until the end of winter, would they listen?â
Paimonâs ears drooped.
[âI am really â¦â¦ not good enough, oh no. Iâm not qualified because I couldnât protect Eve.â]
Paimon who was about to dig a tunnel again, so I said,
âYou couldnât help it this time. And there will be many opportunities in the future? Some madman is looking for me.â
[ââ¦â¦.â]
âPaimon? Will you still stay by my side?â
[âBut the Demon King would be more helpful than meâ¦â¦.â]
âHuuâ¦â¦.â
[âAhh! Donât cry, Eve! I will follow you always! Iâll definitely protect you from that madman or whatever!â]
âThank you.â
As soon as I stopped sobbing, Paimon tilted his head.
[ââ¦â¦ Eve? Are you done crying? Did, did you trick me?â]
âDonât know? Are you going to take it back?â
[âDevilâ¦â¦.â]
Paimon trembled.
Iâm not the devil, Iâm the Grand Duchess.
* * *
When I finished my bath, sleepiness came over, but there was still one person left to meet.
He was the most important person.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I forced my weary body and went to Regen.
I just stood in front and didnât even knock on the door, but I heard a voice from inside.
âDonât come in.â
I hadnât even shown my presence yet.
âDo you know who I am?â
âItâs Your Grace.â
It was a watery voice.
âHow did you know?â
âI just heard it.â
Aha. I came alone, and he could hear me even when the floor was carpeted.
My adopted son is extraordinary.
As if approaching the door, Regenâs voice was heard closer than before.
âYour Grace, do you remember what you promised me?â
âWhat promise?â
âEven if I disappearâ¦â¦.â
I burst open the door. Regen widened his eyes, but he continued to struggle to speak calmly.
âMaybe I will attack Your Grace. I have to leave.â
Regen wiped tears with his sleeve.
How many emotions was he hiding in that tiny body? Iâm sure Kadan must have been trying to play another trick.
I closed my distance with Regen.
âI donât remember making that promise.â
âThat, thatâs a lieâ¦â¦.â
âItâs real.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Regen looked at me. His eyes were swollen and red.
It wasnât due to him crying for a short while. Maybe he had cried all day since the day I disappeared.
âLord, in the beginning, adults change their words as they please.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Regen avoided my gaze.
I spoke lightly, meaning I didnât mind much.
âIf you want to leave the castle like that, there are two ways.â
ââ¦â¦ Two ways?â
âYes. One of them is to knock me down.â
Regen was appalled.
âI, Iâm leaving because I donât want to attack Your Grace!â
âThe other is to call me Mom.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âWhat are you going to do?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âLord?â
There was a ripple in Regenâs eyes. As expected, the first reaction was denial.
âI think Iâ¦â¦misheard you.â
I tilted my head to the side and casually nailed it.
âI told you to knock me down or call me Mom if you want to get out of the castle.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIf you donât want to do either, you can use the black diamond to get a good nightâs sleep. I donât use it for that purpose, but it helps me sleep without having nightmares. I donât think youâre going to have nightmares for the next 20 years.â
ââ¦â¦.â
He gave no answer. I smiled brightly.
âThen, knowing that you are not leaving, I will go sleep.â
âUhâ¦â¦.â
âHave a good dream, Lord.â
I lightly kissed Regenâs cheek.
Regen looked blank even when I left.
At least he wouldnât cry anymore.
I left Regen behind and, as I crossed the empty hallway called Paimon.
âPaimon.â
[âLeave it to me! Iâll watch him quietly without chattering!â]
âYes, please.â
I also lightly kissed Paimonâs cheek.
It was a dark night, close to dawn.
As soon as I reached the bedroom, I jumped into Aedisâ arms. He hadnât applied perfume, and he smelled of soap.
âRegen is fine. It doesnât seem like heâs going to depend on me yet.â
Ugh, Iâm sleepyâ¦â¦.
Aedis procrastinated and muttered, unable to push me away as I approached him.
âThe magic tool that Regen wore did not function properly.â
I frowned.
âThat bracelet?â
âPerhaps he recognized Wifeâs wounds.â
Oh no. As soon as my wounds heal, the first thing to do is to tell Regen.
Even as I sighed, my eyes were closing. It was partly because I was next to my husband, so the tension was quickly relieved. Iâm afraid Iâll sleep after thinking a little.
âIâm tired, Aedis.â
âIs that so?â
Yes.
âHow about a goodnight kiss after the reunion kiss?â
Aedis forced me to sit while I was half asleep and babbling nonsense.
âTreatment comes first.â
How cruel. Canât I lie down and receive treatmentâ¦.?
I kept talking while showing my shoulders.
âBy the way, I heard Eleonora asked you to take off your shirt while treating you?â
I was trying my best not to fall asleep, but a blue flame suddenly caught on to the spiderâs web that was acting as a bandage.
It did no harm to me, but the flame burned the web without a trace.
ââ¦â¦ Well, youâre not angry, right?â
âTo the wife.â
âItâs alright then.â
I roughly agreed. Aedis seemed to smile softly, then pursed his lips again.
âSorry.â
âAre you going to apologize, too?â
âThis is the poison I ate.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Kadan said that, too.
It was when Kadan changed his appearance to Aedis.
â Do you know what poison it is?
â I know it very well. Because my brother also ate that poison.
That trash bastard.
âThis poison slowly hardens the kidneys in the body. Later, you will be unable to walk, and you will not be able to do anything without the help of others.â
âIsnât this a drug that will kill you?â
âBecause Iâm alive like this, I donât think itâs poison that causes death.â
Thatâs weird? Eleonora said I was going to die?
He insisted that I needed treatment for at least ten days so I wouldnât die. And I believed Aedisâ words and Eleonoraâs diagnosis. The only problem is that Eleonora explained the poison by saying it was hard to find, so it was hard to find other examples.
Was it simply because Aedis was the strongest in the world, so the poison didnât work well? But didnât he say that Aedis was also an ordinary human back then? Whatâs the difference with me?
Then Aedisâ finger touched the wound.
I flinched greatly.
âDoes it hurt?â
âThere, um, that.â
Without realizing it, I shrugged. Aedis immediately took my hand.
âAre you uncomfortable?â
âItâs notâ¦â¦ It suddenly reminds me of treating the wolf in the forest.â
I could never forget the look of the wolf, who eventually passed out at the touch of the hand poking through the stomach.
Aedis narrowed his eyes.
âDonât worry, I wonât put my hand in it.â
âCan I trust you?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âCan I really, really trust you?â
I trembled and asked over and over again.
But regardless of my intention, the treatment started, and I closed my eyes.
Within a minute, Aedisâ voice woke me.
âItâs over.â
Huh? Really? It didnât hurt at all?
I carefully opened my eyes. I mustered up the courage to check my shoulder. The wound had disappeared without leaving a scar. Even the pale skin had returned to its original state.
âWow, you can be a doctor. Arenât you better than Eleonora?â
âWho are you comparing me toâ¦.â
Aedis suddenly stopped talking.
I took my eyes off my shoulder and looked at Aedis.
âWhy donât you speak?â
Instead of answering, Aedis grabbed my pajama top, which was about to fall off.
The soft cloth twisted around Aedisâs long fingers, wrinkling it.
I hadnât even loosened the buttons a lot, so I guessed it was going to slide down.
âAedis, Iâll do it. If you hold it that hard, it will tear.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Rescuing my pajamas from Aedisâ hand, I asked,
âHey, can you see if Iâm brainwashed?â
Aedis answered with his head turned.
âI have already checked. You are safe. You will never see him again in the future.â
âThatâs fortunate. But I also have to get my ring back, and I want to slap his brazen face if possibleâ¦â¦.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âBut Aedis, how did you twist Kadan to death?â
I adjusted all the buttons and rubbed my sleepy eyes. Aedis then looked at me again.
âI was going to give it away.â
âWhat?â
âThe immortality I have.â
âIs that possible?â
âI do not know. Even if it is possible, it will not be easy. Thereâs no way he wouldnât have tried.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âOnce I pulled out the body, I was thinking of sending it to the other side of the shadows.â
I remembered Aedis popping from my shadow the day Regen went on a rampage.
I had never heard of any magic that travels through shadows. It was something only Aedis could do. Seeing that he was locked up there, it seems that even Kadan couldnât break the magic.
I stared intently at Aedis.
âAedis, donât you like to live long?â
âIf possible, I want to die with the wife.â
ââ¦â¦ Itâs touching, but donât pretend you donât care about anything else. We have to give Regen a dream and a hopeful future.â
Aedis sighed and laughed.
âIt used to be a thing of the past that I thought it might be possible to die with my wife. He said no.â
I guessed who would have said that.
âThe beast?â
Aedis reached his hand toward me. This time it was not for the purpose of treatment.
âYes. He said I couldnât die with the wife.â