Grand Duke, I Like You, But Please Die! - Chapter 34

“Wow…… this is amazing.”

At a glance, it was clear that each piece was crafted with the spirit of a master. Delia was thrilled to choose from the intricate dresses she had only seen in movies or comics.

After thoroughly inspecting the clothes, Delia picked one out.

“I’ll take this one.”

Kaiel raised an eyebrow.

The man, who had been sneaking glances at her choice, clapped and praised her.

“You have a good eye! This is a new release! I knew you’d recognize its value!”

Kaiel remained silent.

“Kaiel, what do you think of this?”

When Delia shook the dress and asked, he replied dryly.

“Sure.”

It wasn’t much of an evaluation, but Delia didn’t mind. She didn’t expect Kaiel to have an eye for dresses.

‘He always dresses in black like a grim reaper. What would he know about dresses?’

Delia thought. Given his tall and handsome appearance, he looked good in anything, but otherwise, he might have looked like a gloomy specter covered in black.

“Thank you, Kaiel.”

Smiling, Delia changed her expression and got to the point.

“So, about that…….”

At Kaiel’s nod, the man gathered the remaining clothes and left the office. As he left, he gave Delia a small nod, as if to praise her choice again.

Kaiel asked Delia, who chuckled softly.

“How’s your body? Feeling better?”

Delia shrugged and approached him.

“You can see for yourself. I’m perfectly fine!”

Delia shouted joyfully, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

“It’s a success, Kaiel!”

“…….”

But his reaction was strange.

As she got closer, his expression stiffened instantly. He even avoided her eyes.

It wasn’t like he usually averted his gaze first. Delia knew for sure. Kaiel was genuinely avoiding her eyes!

Bewildered, Delia asked.

“Kaiel……?”

“……Yes.”

“Is something wrong? Why…….”

As Delia took another step closer in concern,

Bang!

He abruptly stood up. Startled, she looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Kai……”

“……don’t come.”

“Why are you like this?”

He swallowed his breath and shouted lowly.

“Don’t come any closer……!”

Kaiel’s sudden outburst made Delia freeze in place. She thought their relationship was quite good, considering he had moved her room to the same floor and even gifted her new clothes. But his reaction left her bewildered.

She quickly considered the possibilities.

For Kaiel to be this angry, it usually had to be due to her excessive talk back, physical contact, or getting hurt on his behalf.

But she had done none of those things, except for approaching him.

‘Could it be because I got close and might have tried to touch him?’

Delia thought back to the events of the previous night, which were now a blank in her mind. Her missing clothes, waking up in his bedroom—there were too many questions.

Delia asked,

“Did something happen last night?”

The answer came back immediately.

“No, nothing at all.”

Delia asked again, not believing him.

“Really?”

“There was…… nothing. Really.”

Delia thought incredulously,

‘There was something. Yes, something definitely happened.’

How could she believe him when he was stammering, something so unlike him! Especially when she knew him so well.

“Reeeally?”

She mischievously asked, taking another step closer and placing her hand on the desk.

“Are you sure nothing happened? Then why do you keep avoiding my eyes? Look, even now! What on earth are you looking at?”

“……outside.”

Still avoiding eye contact, Kaiel’s behavior made Delia finally rush to stand directly in front of him. She even waved her hand in front of his face a few times.

Only then did he turn his head to look at her.

Who would have thought? Kaiel, lowering his head openly. He sighed deeply and pressed the space between his eyebrows with his large hand.

Delia was bewildered.

‘What’s wrong with him? Could it be…….’

Could it be that she made a huge mistake last night? She was anxious, wondering if she said something about needing to kill him while under the influence, or worse, if she had actually tried to harm him.

Delia finally spoke up after a long silence.

“Just in case, I’m asking. There’s no way, but did I say or do anything strange yesterday?”

“…….”

Oh no, it seems I did…….

Delia hurriedly started making excuses.

“Listen, whatever I said or did, I didn’t mean it. Really! If I said something strange, whatever it was, it wasn’t my true feelings. If I did something strange…… I apologize. I get a bit aggressive when I’m drunk. Lapocia is similar to that, so…… just pity me and let it go. Whatever it was, it wasn’t for real!”

Kaiel listened quietly as Delia rattled on. His expression gradually became more complex, and eventually, it turned into a frightening look.

Delia was flustered.

‘Why…… why is he getting angry again……!’

Usually, she could easily read his emotions, but lately, Kaiel had been making expressions that were hard for her to decipher. Just like now.

“Anyway, the antidote worked, so let’s forget about yesterday and be happy. No matter what, the antidote was a success, right?”

Delia tried to steer the conversation back, emphasizing the success of the antidote. Fortunately, he didn’t maintain his scary expression.

After a brief silence, Kaiel spoke in a low voice.

“In a week, we’ll go to Sheriton Palace. Make a few more bottles of the antidote, just like now. Also…….”

His eyes suddenly flashed coldly.

“Your wrist…….”

He abruptly grabbed her wrist and pulled up the sleeve of the black shirt covering her arm. Reddish scars and bruises were revealed, extending from her wrist up to her shoulder.

Realizing the situation, Delia quickly pulled her arm away and covered it with the sleeve again.

“Haha…… I don’t really know what this is.”

It was true. She had no memory of the previous night, so how could she know the reason for these scars?

Delia pondered and spoke.

“I think it might be from the symptoms of lapocia, like red spots…… what do you think?”

But Kaiel’s expression was strange. He didn’t seem to be listening to her at all. Given how he usually paid attention to anything related to lapocia, what was going on?

Delia cleared her throat and continued.

“Now that I think about it, my whole arm feels a bit sore. So do my shoulder and leg.”

“……!”

Hearing her words, Kaiel suddenly flinched and stepped back. Delia, wide-eyed, tried to reassure him.

“No, it’s not that surprising, so don’t worry. If it’s because of lapocia, the antidote will take care of it. The scars have already faded since this morning. ……Kaiel, why are you avoiding my eyes again?”

“……Ha.”

After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh. Still turning his head away from her, he spoke in a suppressed voice.

“In a week, we’ll go to Sheriton Palace, so make more antidote.”

Didn’t he just say that? Delia fiddled with her sleeve and replied.

“Yes. Got it. Make more antidote in a week. Anything else?”

“…….”

Strangely, Kaiel’s eyes began to scrutinize Delia meticulously. There was no other way to describe it but that he was really scrutinizing her.

Feeling pressured by his gaze, Delia called his name.

“Kaiel?”

When she called him, his gaze, which had been lingering around her waist, slowly traveled up her body and settled on her green eyes.

“……?”

Delia looked at him with a puzzled expression, then quickly changed her expression and smiled with her eyes. It was the smile she used when she wanted to tease him.

“Kaiel, if you want to look at me, just ask. I’ll gladly be your monkey.”

“What……!”

Kaiel frowned deeply, ran his hand down his face, and then quickly walked past her toward the door. His long strides were a bit faster than usual.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

She expected some praise for successfully completing the antidote, but his strange reactions were frustrating. She knew he wasn’t the type to celebrate or commend efforts, so she wasn’t disappointed, but still.

‘Something definitely happened last night.’

Delia was so preoccupied with figuring out Kaiel’s unusual behavior that she didn’t notice him leaving the office.

At that moment, Lisa, who had been nervously waiting outside, rushed in. She looked as if she had seen something strange, her mouth agape.

“Miss……!”

Expecting a long scolding, Delia quickly shouted to preempt her.

“Don’t nag me!”

Then she quickly added in a softer tone.

“Good morning, Lisa!”

But Lisa seemed too flustered to care about good mornings. She hurriedly approached Delia and wrapped a long cloak around her, covering her inappropriate attire.

“What on earth were you doing here in such a disgraceful outfit?”

Delia put on an exaggeratedly hurt expression.

“Disgraceful? That’s too harsh. And I really didn’t do anything. If anything…….”