Chapter 55

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: A Shared Secret
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"Diello?"

At my words, Diello flinched as if he'd been caught doing something wrong.

I mean, using poison isn't exactly a good deed.

But we couldn't just stand by and be taken for fools, could we?

Diello finally came over and gently took the document from my hand.

Then, he said softly.

"...I was too angry to just stand by."

That's understandable. I nodded. But.

"If the Cartiels find out this was your doing, Duke Cartiel will start to see you as a threat."

That was the problem.

I thought the whole reason we'd knowingly let spies roam the estate was to avoid that very thing.

Wouldn't it be troublesome to show such a dramatic change that it shatters that entire image?

But Diello wasn't surprised by my words. It meant he had already considered it.

"This is better."

And the words that fell from his lips were unexpected.

"This is better than you becoming the target, Croire."

Having drawn close to the desk, he leaned his body toward me.

The light from the ceiling was hidden by his shadow.

A warm shadow touched my forehead.

*Smooch.*

A sweet kiss landed. Beyond him, I could see the crack of the open door.

Maids were coming and going, so the people outside must have heard everything.

"So they will never target you again, Croire."

He smiled beautifully.

I stared at his sparkling eyes, my mouth slightly agape.

The sweet kiss had to be an act.

With others passing by, it was a deliberate display, as if to announce that we were such a sweet newlywed couple that the lily on my body would soon disappear.

That must have been why he kissed me.

And yet, there was no gentleness in his expression.

The warmth he had shown me for a moment vanished in an instant, and now he looked not just resolute, but cold.

...Is this an aftereffect of his rampage?

I studied him. Seeing his blue eyes, still shimmering with mana, I thought it must be.

An emotional outburst is when one's suppressed true nature is revealed.

In the end, it meant Diello had acted that way for my sake.

It was surprising that his true nature was more... cruel than I'd thought, but at the same time, I was grateful.

Who would be displeased that someone was worried about them?

And that someone was Diello.

Thinking about how he'd used a method he never would have before, all for me, I felt more apologetic and grateful than worried about the consequences.

"Come here."

In the end, I beckoned to him.

As he obediently came around the desk to me, I gave him a gentle hug.

"You've been through a lot, truly. You're not the type of person to do these things."

I stroked his shoulder and closed my eyes.

Most of all.

"We have to pay them back for what they did, of course!"

I laughed heartily.

Our under-the-table revenge had unintentionally doubled, but I didn't feel the least bit sorry for the Cartiels.

* * *

"We have to pay them back for what they did, of course!"

Croire's voice was bright as she exclaimed this.

Diello was relieved by her voice.

*She's not as repulsed as I thought she'd be.*

Considering the rumors about Croire Alloje, the renowned villainess, he hadn't expected her to be surprised by the use of poison.

But the personality Croire had shown since coming here was far purer than he'd expected.

*I was worried you might be startled, like a rabbit before a fire.*

But far from it, she was...

"Well done!"

You have to show them that even a gentle lord acts when he must!

Her continuous praise made it seem that she had truly seen him as indecisive.

*...The ones I wanted to deceive were those other bastards, not you, Croire.*

A twisted thought entered Diello's mind.

"I was preparing to attack Cartiel's intelligence division, you see. As you might know from Rick."

*There's no way an order given to the head of intelligence wouldn't reach the lord.*

*I pretended not to know about your movements, worried you might be concerned, but you were already acting with me in mind.*

It was only natural, yet even that fact made him happy.

"I was a little... worried that at the last minute, you might try to stop me, saying the revenge was too excessive."

Croire continued.

According to Rick, Croire had found the Cartiel intelligence division's headquarters through an unexpected method, based on several pieces of evidence.

*Even that is lovely.*

"But I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore."

After saying that, Croire glanced at him and spoke.

"Well, since it's come to this, let's lay down a smokescreen."

Diello smiled at her words.

"Are you going to teach me something again?"

His bride, who had been blinking, smiled confidently.

"Yes. Watch carefully."

Then she paused, tilting her head slightly.

She wore an expression that said she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing.

Diello knew this expression. It was the one she made whenever she was about to 'teach' him.

An expression of guilt, as if she were staining pure white snow with her footsteps.

*'If anyone should feel guilty, it's...'*

He pulled Croire into another hug. The scent of water, no longer unsettling, enveloped him.

*I love this side of you so much, I feel like I'm going crazy with desire.*

*In a world full of weak things, you, so strong and brilliantly radiant, keep pulling me in until I'm on the verge of losing my mind.*

He let out a short breath.

In her blind spot, where Croire couldn't see, Diello clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white.

*I want you.*

*I want you more.*

*So you won't even think of leaving.*

"Sir Rick?"

Croire hugged him back tightly before turning to Rick.

Her violet eyes sparkled with vitality.

"Plant someone in Cartiel's intelligence division. And."

Croire looked back at Diello.

"Could you help me with something?"

"With what?"

As he tilted his head slightly, Croire held out her hand.

"I need you to turn my mana into a power crystal."

"...Your mana, Croire?"

Diello paused. *What is she planning now?*

*Whatever you do will surely be lovely.*

*But if it puts you in danger...*

Just as he narrowed his eyes.

"We're going to frame the Allojes for this incident. We'll let the Cartiels discover Alloje mana."

*Vwoom!*

The blue mana of Alloje sparkled in her hand.

"Duke Cartiel has probably heard about my pathetic abilities, so he'll undoubtedly think the Alloje assassination squad was involved."

Besides, with crystallized mana, it becomes difficult for even someone sensitive to the flow of mana to find its owner.

"If we give the crystal containing my power to the Argenta agent infiltrating Cartiel, we can throw them into chaos while also making them wary of Alloje."

She then gave a wink.

"And it will lessen the chances of them growing suspicious of you, Diello."

At that, Diello's expression visibly relaxed.

"...Of course, I'll have to help you."

His hand took Croire's.

*Vwoooom!*

The mana in her hand gathered at the touch of Diello's fingertips, forming into blue droplets.

Soon, they coalesced in his palm, turning into a large, blue crystal.

It was an Alloje power crystal.

"I don't know how you come up with these things."

Diello marveled anew as he handed the crystal to Rick.

*A radiant person. So radiant she's blinding, yet impossible to look away from.*

*On top of that, a sharp intelligence that strikes from unexpected angles.*

*What if one day, without my knowing, you use that clever mind of yours to run away from me?*

Diello's eyes narrowed.

"This will reduce the suspicion on you, Diello. I feel a bit more at ease."

Unaware of his inner thoughts, Croire gave a bright laugh.

His gaze met hers.

Her gaze was so clear it seemed to illuminate his pitch-black thoughts, yet it only made his mind go blank.

His bride was a villainess, after all.

The kind who makes a person cling to her without even realizing it. The kind who drives them mad.

*I wish you would be this wicked only to me.*

"...Thank you for worrying about me, Croire."

He smiled gently, squeezing her hand as he tried to suppress his dark desires.

That, at least, he couldn't suppress.

It felt as if she would disappear in an instant if he didn't hold on this tightly.

"Diello?"

Croire's voice called his name like a melody.

In the meantime.

"I accept your command!"

Rick left the room.

Diello didn't spare his subordinate a single glance, his eyes fixed on Croire.

To be precise, he couldn't look away.

"..."

Diello slowly closed and opened his eyes. Words he couldn't bring himself to say to his bride lingered on his tongue.

*To you, I'm still just a gentle man.*

*A terribly cautious one.*

*If I approached you now, you would be startled.*

*Like a rabbit.*

His eyes flashed with a blue light.

"..."

He drew in a ragged breath.

*I want you to know more about me. I want you to see my true self and still love me.*

*If not, if you prefer the gentle me... if you would hate my change...*

*I will live however you want me to.*

*Just for a moment, just one single moment, before I go mad from suppressing myself...*

*I want to make a mistake.*

His fingertips tingled with desire.