Above all, when the man who had bitten and sucked like a beast suddenly made an expression of horror at even the slightest touch, it didn’t look like acting no matter how she saw it. It felt like they were different people who just happened to share the same face.

Second, Crazy Rian remembered both sides, but Grand Duke Rian couldn’t remember when he transformed. That’s why even just now he treated her with a completely different face from yesterday. What if that too was acting? Then she’d have to acknowledge it. But no matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like acting.

Third, and this was most important. The timing of his changes. He changed into Crazy Rian when thunder struck. She first met the crazy one on a thunderous night. And after that too, he transformed whenever thunder struck. But why? Why thunder of all things? She couldn’t understand the reason.

Actually, even that wasn’t exact. Whether it was the rain, lightning, or thunder. When it rained there was lightning, and when lightning flashed thunder struck.

The problem was that she was already afraid of thunder and lightning, and he appeared with the thunder and lightning. What was more irritating was the weather in the Grand Duchy. With long and frequent rainy seasons, they had to live with rain for half the year, so the future looked bleak. If she had met him when thunder at least wasn’t striking, perhaps it wouldn’t have been this frightening.

Adding fear upon fear, it was truly an unbearable terror.

“Huu……”

Looking out the window, the sky had already grown darker. Though it was still some time until evening, the sky was already dark as night. It seemed to foretell her fate tonight. Though he appeared gentlemanly now, her heart was uneasy knowing well what kind of demon he would transform into if thunder struck.

Last night too, she had chosen to hide in the most secluded storage room in the mansion to avoid him. But he found her as if to show off, and she had to wail beneath him all night.

Suddenly a wry smile escaped. She had mixed bodies countless times with a husband who kept his distance from her. Yet that husband knew nothing of mixing bodies with her. How should she explain this?

“I wonder what expression he’ll make when he finds out later. Ha.”

Belita looked out the window once more and heaved a deep sigh.

* * *

The gloomy weather that had been threatening finally began to rain. Just thinking that thunder might strike soon made her body freeze up. Already, her heart was pounding and her blood felt cold.

Belita, who had come down to the dining room first, ordered meal preparations and looked out the window. If only it would just rain, but the movement of the clouds was quite ominous.

At least until now, as if showing consideration, thunder had only struck noisily at night. But today felt somehow inauspicious. Seeing the sky darken before sunset, it seemed she would need to hide early tonight. Should she hide in the annex instead? But the thought of having to be alone in the annex surrounded by forest was also frightening.

Surely he wouldn’t transform suddenly here? What if he does here! No.

She consoled herself that even if he was crazy, he wouldn’t do anything to her in front of the servants. He couldn’t be that crazy.

“Wife.”

“Yes!? Ah, you’re here.”

When she saw the well-groomed man standing behind her, having come down at some point, she was startled. Even in her flustered state, Belita observed him carefully. Fortunately, he still seemed to be Grand Duke Rian. Since Crazy Rian would mess up his hair when he transformed, his neatly styled hair was proof that he was Grand Duke Rian.

Though she didn’t know when he might change.

“Did I startle you?”

“Ah, yes. You called so suddenly.”

“I apologize. Shall we eat?”

“Yes.”

Belita took her seat effortlessly, as if it were second nature, when the man pulled out her chair. Despite his reserved nature, he had a way of showing kindness in small, unexpected gestures. While he remained fundamentally distant, he never wavered in fulfilling his responsibilities as a husband, always adhering to the basics of courtesy.

At first, she liked this side of him. Regardless of circumstances or positions, he treated her properly as the Grand Duchess and showed respect. But there was an equally high wall, and she couldn’t cross the line he had drawn.

Still, she thought this much was fine. Having separate lives wasn’t entirely bad. Of course, that was before she knew his true nature.

“Wife.”

“Yes?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Why?”

“You don’t look well.”

“I-I just had trouble sleeping.”

“Is your bed uncomfortable?”

Her brows unconsciously furrowed at his concerned tone. How could he ask so casually when he was the cause of her discomfort?

“Wife.”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps……”

Her body suddenly stiffened as the man’s expression turned into a frown while he hesitated, unusually full of questions today. And her heart started pounding at his following question.

“Have I made some mistake towards you?”

Could he possibly remember last night…? Belita’s eyes trembled slightly.

“……What do you mean suddenly?”

“Lately, the way you look at me seems different from before.”

“……What?”

“Somehow it feels like you’re avoiding me. Is that my imagination?”

Ha, she was momentarily dumbfounded. Though she knew it wasn’t him, seeing him ask with such a brazen expression of ignorance on the same face made anger surge up. Moreover, why was he suddenly curious about her condition while maintaining his usual stoic face?

Should she just tell him everything? That he seems to have a severe mental illness? Or should she confront him directly, asking if he’s doing this on purpose?

Feeling frustrated, Belita gulped down her water. Though she desperately wanted to confront him, the words wouldn’t come easily. What if he completely awakens as the crazy one if she says something wrong? Hah…… The thought alone was terrifying.

Rian Nospero Royte.

He was the Emperor’s brother and a man of great position as Grand Duke. He wasn’t someone that she, a mere insignificant viscount’s daughter, could easily meet. They became husband and wife through questionable means, and Belita became the Grand Duchess.

On the surface, Belita had seized quite a fortune. When she married Rian, the entire empire was abuzz, and she received the envy of all women.

However, no one would know that another savage beast lived inside this perfect and proper man. Even she hadn’t known until that thunderous night after their marriage.

She wished she could take it back if possible. She wished she could go back if she could. She constantly thought that marrying an ordinary commoner might have been better.

But now she couldn’t do that either. She knew well how divorced women were treated in the empire. Even commoners treated divorced women as criminals regardless of the reason. Let alone coming down from the high position of Grand Duchess, she might have to live an even more terrible life than now.

That’s why she had to endure. She lacked the courage to live that terrible life, to the point where she thought it better to endure a madman. However, she felt like she was reaching her limit. At this rate, she felt like she might go mad herself.

What could have made this man like this? What hardships could have made him unaware that his personality had split in two? As a member of the imperial family, he must have grown up nobly with everything he needed. She suddenly wondered why he had become like this.

But there was nowhere to ask. She couldn’t ask the man who didn’t even know his current state, and she was too scared to ask the crazy one.

Finding no answers to this situation and feeling only frustrated, Belita decided to get away from him for a while, at least.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes?”

“I have a request.”

“Yes.”

“May I visit my hometown for a while?”

“……?”

Her hometown wasn’t that far from the Grand Duchy. The house would be quite dilapidated since it had been empty for so long. She knew it would be lonely with no one waiting there. She didn’t want to return to those solitary memories, but right now, avoiding him seemed much better.

“Why there…… Isn’t there no one there?”

“I just miss my parents. Is it not allowed?”

“Hmm. It’s not impossible, but I’d like to hear the real reason. Are you really avoiding me?”

At Rian’s question, Belita gripped her glass. Rian filled it with water. As she blankly watched the glass fill up, curiosity suddenly struck her.

Why me, of all people?

Though she had wondered before, she hadn’t brought it up, but this time she blurted out the question. She wanted to know now. Why was he doing this to her?

“Why did Your Grace marry me?”

“Do you need a reason?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard it.”

“Hmm, honestly……”

The man’s expression seemed somewhat apologetic yet complicated as he hesitated. She hadn’t expected ridiculous answers like love, so why was he looking at her like that? There couldn’t be such things in a relationship formed by money.