Click!

“!”

In that brief moment when the door opened, Belita’s heart seemed to beat ten thousand times. She bit the tender flesh inside her mouth and looked straight at the man entering through the door.

Who is it? Has he changed? Or not…?

Belita clenched her fists as she stared intently at the piercing golden eyes meeting hers. His pitch-black hair seemed unusually dark today. Rian, who had paused for a moment, strode over and sat across from her. Then he exhaled deeply.

Has he not changed…? The calm atmosphere somehow didn’t seem like Crazy Rian. Just that alone was making her racing heart return to a normal pace. If it wasn’t Crazy Rian, this man was relatively easy to deal with.

“Wife.”

Ah……. For a moment, she felt dizzy enough for her head to spin. As the extreme fear disappeared in an instant, she felt all the strength draining from her body.

“I have something to tell you.”

“……Please speak.”

“First……”

Rian paused for a moment and lowered his head. At that sight, her hands tingled again. Please, don’t bow your head!

Fortunately, the man’s eyes remained unchanged when he quickly raised his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I misunderstood you, my wife. I know no words can excuse this. But please try to understand my position as well.”

“What position…?”

“……Sigh…… My mind……”

He sighed repeatedly as if in pain and pressed firmly around his eyes. Rian’s complexion looked paler than in the morning, like he had received quite a shock.

Has this person found out too…? What should I do!

It seemed he had somehow discovered on his own the secret she had been trying to protect as a last human courtesy. But somehow, having this conversation with this man felt much more uncomfortable than with Crazy Rian.

“Soon, my mind will be entirely my own. That bastard! Haah…. I apologize. What I want to say is, my mental illness will soon be cured, and you won’t have to see my other self anymore. So……”

“……”

“About the divorce……”

“Your Grace brought it up first. And I don’t want to live like before anymore.”

“Absolutely not!”

Belita’s eyes widened in shock at his sudden outburst.

“Ah….. I’m sorry. Anyway, I will absolutely make sure such a thing never happens again.”

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“Well……. I will do better. From now on, so that you won’t be lonely…. So……”

He was very strange today. He looked quite unstable, repeating the same words and fidgeting as if being chased by something. But the strangest thing was what he was saying now.

Why is he saying these things to me…?

“I will try to make your life more interesting. Ah, of course, I’m a boring person, but still, as much as possible… um… so….”

“Your Grace.”

She had always drawn the line coldly with an icy expression, but he had been a decent husband in his own way and had respected her. Of course, they were less than strangers as he neglected and ignored her, but it wasn’t much of a problem since she hadn’t particularly wanted his love or attention either.

But why was he suddenly acting like this? Why was he suddenly trying to change himself…?

“You don’t need to—”

“Wife. Please give me a chance.”

“……What?”

“I’m asking for a chance to show you what a proper husband can be.”

“What does that……”

The eyes of the man who had been fidgeting and rambling suddenly flashed intensely. It was a look she had never seen from him before, as if another Rian was overlapping with him.

“Belita.”

“!?”

Startled at first, her shoulders instinctively tensed, but she soon relaxed as the man continued speaking in his usual manner.

“I don’t want to be a coercive husband to you. And I don’t want to remain like strangers anymore.”

“……”

“I want to start anew with you. We may have buttoned the first button wrong¹this is similar to the saying ‘started on the wrong foot’, but I want to unbutton it and start over properly. So please give me a chance.”

“But what kind of chance and how……”

“……Let’s date.”

“……What?”

Thinking she might have misheard, Belita unconsciously dug at her ear, tilted her head forward, and asked again.

“What did you say…?”

“Let’s… date. Create love that way, and…… let’s also create our child.”

“Whaat…?”

What, what are you trying to create…!?

“And let’s share a bed starting tonight.”

Belita felt goosebumps rising as if there were suddenly two Crazy Rians.

The husband who had treated her as an immoral woman in the morning, accusing her of taking a lover, returned late in the evening and unexpectedly asked to date. And if that wasn’t enough, he wanted to share a bed…? For a moment, she thought her husband had changed again in that brief instant. Because he was absolutely not the type of man who would say such things. Or perhaps he had truly gone mad.

What was even funnier was that after saying all those embarrassing things himself, his face turned red. The blush coloring his cheekbones looked very out of place on him. Come to think of it, both personalities were the same in this aspect, even as different selves. It must be his basic nature.

“Wife.”

“Ah……”

Only then did Belita return to reality, recalling what the man before her had said.

‘Let’s… date. Create love that way, and…… let’s also create our child.’

‘And let’s share a bed starting tonight.’

Haah….. Why is this man suddenly acting like this too?

“Please choose a place where you feel comfortable.”

“What?”

“Would you like to come to my room…? Or should I come to yours……”

Belita was able to move a little beyond her embarrassment at Rian’s flushed face and increasingly shrinking tone. It was simply amazing that the man who had spoken first was so embarrassed. A strange feeling stirred at this side of him she had never seen before.

With that face, he had acted so frightening, then cold. Then he had whispered words of love, then berated her, asking if she had found another man. He had embraced her passionately, then ignored her completely. If she hadn’t known about his condition, anyone else would have thought he was truly insane.

Sharing a bed…….

She had spent several days with the violent Rian. And he had been quite affectionate, more than she expected. Even in that short time, it felt more like being a real couple than with this man.

Was that why? She felt an unnecessary expectation. Could this man change too…? But she couldn’t make a hasty decision based on such expectations.

My life is precious.

“I-I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

“Wife.”

“Your Grace. Just divorce me.”

“Didn’t I say I was wrong and that I’m sorry?”

Belita’s heart pounded at his desperate expression. Realistically, accepting his proposal made more sense than divorce. Rather than living with people pointing fingers at her, it would be normal to give him a chance when her husband was apologizing like this and wanting to do better.

But the problem was her husband’s mental state. If that jealous snake coiled up inside him came out, he might try to kill her just for sharing a bed with this man. Even though they shared the same body, their separated minds made them feel like different people despite being in the same body. Above all, Crazy Rian’s jealousy was so extreme that she couldn’t readily accept his proposal.

As she hesitated to answer, Rian asked with a desperate expression.

“Do you hate me that much?”

“Th-that’s not it……”

“If that’s not it, perhaps…… you prefer not me, but that bastard?”

“What?”

His desperate expression quickly turned cold. And now his eyes looked no different from Crazy Rian’s. Because whenever that man became blinded by jealousy and got angry, he always had that look, that expression.

Ah…….

She had an ominous feeling that she would have to deal with two Crazy Rians from now on. No matter how different their personalities were, their basic tendencies must be somewhat similar.

“Divorce is not an option. Of course, I made a mistake first because I was too angry. I apologize for that. If I ever utter such words from my mouth again, I’ll tear my lips apart. So please don’t mention divorce anymore either.”

“……”

‘I’ll apologize. If you tell me to cut off my hands, I will.’

His extreme side was identical. But the man before her lacked the sneering and playfulness.

Just where exactly are they the same, and where are they different…?

“Wife, please don’t see me differently. Can’t you just see me as your husband, just one person?”

“……Ah…. I am seeing you as Your Grace. But that’s….”

“I will do my utmost to never show such strange behavior again. I’ll quit drinking, and I’ll take the medicine Font prescribes faithfully. So please, just like before, stay by my side,”

“You mean live like a dead person, as if I’m there but not there. Like before.”

“!”

Belita’s expression became emotionless again. Seeing this, Rian didn’t know what to do and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.

“That’s not what I meant, I—”

“Your Grace, let’s end our conversation for today. I’m a bit tired. I’d like to talk again later.”

“……I understand. I’ll come back later.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Belita stared blankly at the man’s back as he obediently left the room, and only after confirming the door had closed did she exhale a big sigh and slump down. After worrying to the point of exhaustion all day, and then facing yet another madman, she felt all the strength draining from her body.

“Ah…. I don’t understand anything anymore.”