Until this morning, her resolve to divorce had been firm. But honestly, she couldn’t help feeling afraid. As time passed, future problems became more constraining than present ones. A divorced woman expelled from the Grand Ducal household… Regardless of the truth, people would treat her like a criminal and call her that. She couldn’t live that way.
Though she had complained about her position being worthless and boring, in reality, she understood the weight of her position better than anyone. On top of that, with Grand Duke Rian approaching her with such an attitude, it was true that her firm resolve had begun to crack.
But there were too many concerns. Back then, she only needed to be careful around Crazy Rian, but now this man also knew about his condition. And he had changed too. Quite aggressively at that. This meant she now had to be careful around both personalities. Variables could pop up from anywhere.
“He said Font. A doctor? I wish I knew who that is. Then I might be able to learn a bit more about Rian.”
Honestly, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what her heart wanted right now. Whether she truly wanted a divorce, or if she wanted to try to make things work with Rian. And if she did want to try, with which version of him.
She found it both amusing and frustrating that she suddenly had to think about such things.
“Let’s rest early and think about it tomorrow, tomorrow. Sigh……”
After thinking until her head nearly burst and trembling all day, fatigue washed over her. She took a quick shower before going to bed early. Somehow her body didn’t feel very well, as if she might be coming down with something.
“I wonder if he’s alright……”
Belita’s eyelids quickly closed as she thought of Rian’s face.
At that time, Rian, who had returned to his room, could only glare at the wine glass in his hand without drinking it. Though he wanted to down the entire bottle to ease his troubled mind, he couldn’t risk losing consciousness again.
“Was I always this weak? When did I become like this?”
He already knew he wasn’t entirely well. But he never imagined he had developed two personalities. The memory of his expression not obeying his will and another person’s words coming out in his voice was truly horrifying. That guy acted as if he were the rightful owner of this body.
“Ha, to think I lived without even knowing my mind had been stolen. What madness!”
He thought he had lived well enough. Though he hadn’t had a happy childhood, he prided himself on growing up well despite those insane circumstances. He thought he had grown up properly despite his terrible parents, but that wasn’t the case. He was completely broken.
He clutched his head and tried to swallow his rising anger. But he felt like he might go mad at the realization that there was nothing he could do in this situation. All he could do was keep his wits about him. To prevent that guy from coming out again.
Suddenly, Belita came to mind. She already knew everything. Yet she never showed it to him. Is that why she looked at him that way?
Now he understood the look in her eyes when she gazed at him. It must have been horrifying. It was horrifying even to him, and it was his own self.
After the initial shock and disbelief that made his body tremble, thinking about his other personality and Belita reminded him of what she had said last night.
“What exactly did that guy do to her while I was asleep? Did they get close somehow?”
The drunk woman had smiled at him and played around. She had affectionately called his name and clung to him, asking for a hug. He had never seen her like that before. So defenseless and comfortable.
In that moment, his anger boiled even hotter than before. That guy was trying to take not only his body but also her. He absolutely could not let that happen. He would never again let anyone take what was his.
“You won’t have anything. I’ll make sure you never open your eyes in this body again!”
Rian threw the wine glass and clenched his fist. He felt desperate. He was afraid of losing his body and his life.
“Belita……”
Suddenly, he remembered that night. The night he first joined bodies with her. He needed a sedative. Somehow, he felt that her embrace could soothe his chaotic mind. Their first touch hadn’t been unpleasant. He wanted to feel that again. Like a madman, Rian headed back to Belita’s room.
Due to his other personality, his obsession with Belita was slowly awakening.
* * *
It felt suffocating, as if there was a huge wall beside her. Belita struggled in her sleep, feeling something constricting her body. But the more she struggled, the tighter the force binding her became.
“Haah…. So stifling.”
After trying to lift the large log that was tightly gripping her body and finding it wouldn’t budge, Belita frowned and opened her eyes.
“Ah, what is this…!? Huaah!”
“Did I wake you…?”
“Rian? Ah, no…. Y-Your Grace…? Why are you here now……”
“……Didn’t we agree to share a bed starting today? Until you decide, I said I would come to your room for the time being.”
“Ah, no. I never agreed to that.”
Straight lips. An expression that still looked emotionless. But his eyes now seemed abnormal.
“Y-Your Grace. First, this hand.”
“……”
She nearly fainted at the thought that the man who couldn’t even bear to touch her fingertips was now holding her. For a moment, she thought Crazy Rian had returned. Seeing him sigh as he obediently removed his hands, it seemed he found the situation just as awkward.
She couldn’t understand why he was making such unnecessary efforts. Why not just continue as before? Why go to the trouble of pressing their flesh together? Feeling awkward, Belita quickly got out of bed and put on her robe. Though he was a man she had slept with countless times, because it was a different mind, this situation felt extremely uncomfortable.
When Belita stood up, Rian also sat up. When she poured a glass of water and sat on the sofa, Rian followed her there. He was like a puppy following its owner. It felt strange and awkward how he had changed into a completely different person overnight.
“You just need to decide which room you prefer.”
“What?”
“It’s already decided that we’re sharing a bed. So just choose which room you prefer.”
“Th-that’s not how it works! You said you wouldn’t be a coercive husband……”
“This isn’t coercion. Didn’t I give you the choice?”
Ha! It seemed shamelessness was also part of his basic nature. Making decisions and acting on his own was clearly the essence of the man called Rian.
“……Wife.”
“……Yes?”
It was ominous. Extremely ominous. Belita pulled her robe tighter at the man’s sinisterly glinting eyes.
“From today, we’re going to make a child.”
“What…?”
“So please help me wholeheartedly.”
Wholeheartedly…? How exactly am I supposed to help wholeheartedly…? No, wait, why the sudden talk about children?
As she looked at him with an incredulous face, he suddenly stood up. Belita’s eyes widened as the man strode over to her side. She felt like warning signals were blaring in her head. Looking at his expression, she couldn’t even tell if he was Grand Duke Rian or Crazy Rian anymore.
“Y-Your Grace! W-wait a moment. Why, why are you coming over? You said we’d date first! How can we date if there’s a child!”
“It will still be a long time before a child is conceived and born. Until then, we should date diligently. Like this.”
“Hup!”
Belita’s already wide eyes grew even wider at the man’s sudden kiss. But something felt strange. She had expected him to immediately thrust his tongue in and devour her fiercely, but he just pressed his lips against hers and stared at her without moving. With his gaze so close, Belita’s heart pounded. But somewhere, there was an off-beat drumming sound thumping loudly.
As if he had applied adhesive, the man who had only pressed his lips against hers while staring slowly pulled away. Rian’s face had turned red. This was so awkward and embarrassing. The madman who would pounce on her without warning might be better; with that face blushing like that, it felt even stranger and more embarrassing.
“Wife.”
“Yes…?”
“I will try my best. So please look at me a little.”
“Ah, no…. It’s just too sudden……”
“Though it wasn’t my intention, this isn’t our first time……”
No, please don’t say such things with that face.
Rian’s face turned even redder than before. But his yellow eyes were blazing like a burning sun. She couldn’t understand why he was trying so hard.
Was he doing this because he was conscious of Crazy Rian? But the one suffering from the battle between the two personalities was Belita. Whether they competed or fought fiercely, that was between them, so why did they have to drag her into it and exhaust her like this?
The man who used to flinch at the slightest touch and give her contemptuous looks just for lying next to him had suddenly changed so much that she even wondered if everything before had been an act. In any case, Belita’s conclusion was that the basic nature of the man called Rian was that of a beast.
“Wife.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
“What?”
“You said we should date.”
“Well……”
The man whose face turned red at every word felt very unfamiliar. It was also unfamiliar to see him fidgeting with his fingers like a boy who knew nothing about dating for the first time. It was fascinating to think that he was the same person who had spoken such lewd words without hesitation and pounced on her so skillfully with that face.
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Nous_Defions
Ok… Fine… Let’s give him a chance… He’s making such effort, and he clearly has fallen for Belita, but just don’t know what to do… And to think he suggested to date… I wanna give him a bonk on the head! 😅 At this point, I iust wished it was Crazy Rian who woke up, instead of prim-and-proper Grand Duke Rian… At least, Crazy Rian had the thought of bringing her to a nice peaceful place before… I hope our Belita will also give this idiotic basturd a chance… He seems sincere… I wish, she would also get the chance to meet Font, and for Rian to also gradually open up to her to help her understand his circumstances, for her to get a better handle at things when he’s around…