Duke and Duchess Reunion - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

“There’s something you don’t know. Humans reflect their emotions in every word they utter and in even the smallest movements. So, no matter how similar the experiences are, they show different reactions depending on the moment.”

Lei raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t seem offended. Instead, he gestured with his chin as if encouraging her to continue.

“But you weren’t like that. No matter what I said, you showed a considerate and yielding attitude. That may have been how Carlos usually behaved, but the story changed when Serce was mentioned.”

If it had been the real Carlos, he would have expressed his feelings of hurt without hesitation.
He always expressed his emotions openly, and jealousy was no exception. Most of that jealousy was directed at Serce, who had been spending more time with Aneta than before.

If Lei hadn’t acted so noticeably, Aneta wouldn’t have been able to find him.

‘I probably would have just thought you were a fake like everyone else.’

Aneta didn’t bother to tell Lei that. Mentioning it wouldn’t have benefited her in any way.

“More importantly, I have more than a few questions for you.”

“Ask away. After dealing with only foolish or boring masters for so long, I’m quite pleased to finally meet someone as clever as you.”

Lei added a needless comment, noting that her father, Derek Adenauer, fell into the former category and wondering how someone like him came from that family. Aneta ignored the remark and asked her questions.

“Why did you reveal yourself now, and what’s your true form? This necklace seems to be merely a substitute for your true self.”

“You’ve already figured out that the necklace isn’t my true form? That’s beyond my expectations.”

“Just answer the question.”

Lei pretended to be exaggeratedly surprised, a gesture that didn’t sit well with Aneta, who frowned and urged him to answer.

“I have no intention of revealing what my true form is. But know this—I can move between my true form and the gem embedded in that pendant. And it was possible only through the connection between you, the one you long for, and the item belonging to that person.”

Lei drew a line for Aneta. Before she could respond, he started answering her next question.

“The reason I revealed myself is because you, a stranger, took the place of my master. The foreign energy you carry awakened me from a long slumber. After that, I watched over you, gathering strength and waiting for you to come into contact with my true form.”

A stranger, Aneta couldn’t mistake that Lei referred to her as such because she was a reincarnator.

Sensing that she had already encountered Lei’s true form, Aneta waited for his next words.

With a smile that resembled Elena’s, Lei spoke words that shook Aneta.

“That’s probably where the story you know begins to break apart.”

“What do you mean by the story I know? Surely you don’t mean…?”

When Lei mentioned the original story, Aneta was startled and questioned him, her eyes instinctively narrowing with intensity.

“You’re talking about the original story? How do you know about that? And wasn’t the original story shattered by Erez Bauter? That’s what I’ve always believed.”

“I know about the original story because I read your memories from the moment you crossed into this world. The original was disrupted because your reincarnation as ‘Aneta Adenauer’ created an unforeseen variable.”

Lei explained that her reincarnation, which wasn’t part of the original story, awakened him and led to one variable triggering another. One such variable was the gender change of Erez Bauter, who was born later.

“Things started to go awry when someone entered Erez Bauter’s body. That person even killed his grandfather, something the real ‘Erez Bauter’ would never have imagined.”

“So, Erez Bauter’s fate wasn’t just another variable, was it?”

“It was nothing more than reaping what he sowed.”

Lei made a rather harsh judgment of Erez.

“If he hadn’t committed so many atrocities, he might not have won Carlos Baltimor’s heart, which was fixated on you, but at least he would have kept his life.”

“Then what was the real reason for bringing me into this world?”

“As I said, it was for your sake.”

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t believe you did all this for me. You have the look of someone who sees me as a toy to play with, yet you expect me to believe that?”

Aneta scoffed, doubting the miracle’s claim.

Realizing that he couldn’t deceive her, Lei raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, acknowledging the truth.

“I’m different from other Glorys who are content to be owned by humans and don’t try to escape. I sought to regain my freedom. If I could remove the last bloodline of the Adenauer family—you—from that world, I could be free.”

Lei, as if he had never lied, candidly revealed his true purpose. He didn’t hide his disdain when he mentioned other glory.

“So, I used Elena Adenauer as bait to tie you to this world. Oh, and it was also me who orchestrated the gallery owner’s sudden acquisition of a male painter’s work.”

“And the reason there’s no night in this world?”

“There’s no need to create a time when my power weakens. At night, the light, which is the source of my power, is limited. You’ve already felt that unpleasant sensation through me, haven’t you?”

Aneta recalled the image of Ellen hurriedly returning to the mansion, thinking about Lei’s admission that his power weakened at night.

“Talking about needing to paint the twilight and not wanting to miss that moment—you said those things. I never would have guessed such secrets were hidden behind them.”

“Being inside the necklace consumes a lot of energy. Once the sun sets, it’s impossible to maintain both the necklace and the painter Ellen, so I had to leave. But just before sunset, during twilight, my power amplifies uncontrollably. Not that Erez Bauter’s abilities could ever be a match for mine, of course.”

Lei shrugged his shoulders with an air of arrogance. As he rose from his seat, Aneta’s gaze followed him.

“Well, I’ve answered your questions, so I think it’s time for me to leave.”

“Sit back down. I’m not done with my questions yet.”

“Let’s save the rest for tomorrow. I may have let slip too much in the heat of the moment.”

“Lei.”

Aneta called his name in a low voice.

“You’re going to ask about how to go back, aren’t you? I’ll give you one chance since I’ve already spoken to Carlos Baltimor, but it won’t be easy. If you leave, all my plans will be ruined.”

“For someone who’s saying that, you sure have told me a lot, just because you were in a certain mood.”

“It doesn’t matter. You won’t be able to escape from here unless I tell you how.”

Lei simply stood there, looking down at Aneta, showing no intention of sitting back down.

“Think carefully. Can you leave your mother here and go back alone? If you go back just because of a man you might not be able to be with for long, you could end up regretting it later.”

“Don’t talk about Carlos like that.”

“To me, he’s just another man blinded by love. Frankly, it’s because of him that my plans are ruined. I can’t say I have any good feelings toward him. Plus, he was annoyingly perceptive for a human, forcing me to go through the trouble of hiding my presence.”

Lei’s expression twisted as if the more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. He was recalling the time when he had to pose as the guild leader’s secretary.

“I’ve cooperated with using other glories to avoid arousing your suspicion, but there’s no need for that anymore.”

Lei stated this as if giving a final warning.

“Now, I really must go. I hope you make the choice that benefits us both.”

Aneta was about to refuse him in the same steadfast manner as before, but Lei was more brazen than she had expected.

Before she could respond, Lei vanished from sight, as if he no longer needed to conceal his abilities. Aneta reached for the teacup to soothe her parched throat.

The lukewarm tea, now tepid, barely moistened her dry mouth.

Feeling her mind entangled with complex thoughts, Aneta left the parlor. The exertion of dealing with the miracle seemed to have drained her, making even the simple act of closing her bedroom door and collapsing onto the bed feel exhausting.

Though she had learned a lot from Lei, the most important information had eluded her.

‘I had a feeling he’d leave if I asked about the way out first, so I tried to satisfy my curiosity first. I didn’t expect him to dodge the question like that.’

Aneta closed her eyes, weary. Yet her mind grew clearer as time passed, perhaps due to the turmoil in her heart.

She thought she understood why the miracle had devised such a plan. If it had been before she gave her heart to Carlos, she would have chosen this world without hesitation.

“Even if everyone else was fake, it wouldn’t have mattered as long as my mother was real.”

But now, that very fact was the problem. Because among those who were fake, there was Carlos.

Aneta imagined herself parting ways with Carlos, just as the miracle had suggested.

What naturally followed in her mind was the dream she had after catching a cold following Derek’s funeral. In that dream, Carlos was holding another woman in his arms.

As he smiled, looking utterly happy, Aneta recalled the impulsive words she had said to Carlos in that dream.

“It seems like I don’t exist in your future.”

Is this what it means to be choked with emotion? Something heavy, lodged somewhere in her chest or perhaps somewhere she couldn’t quite pinpoint, made even breathing feel overwhelming.

Aneta desperately hoped that the words she had uttered wouldn’t come true. To ensure that, she knew she had to return to the world where Carlos was.

The miracle had likely mentioned the possibility of their separation to shake her resolve, but instead, it had the opposite effect—it strengthened her determination to return.

Just imagining Carlos being with someone else made her chest ache as if it might burst. The thought of voluntarily trapping herself in this world and abandoning him was simply unimaginable.