I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

The coachman nodded, expressing wonder at the sudden change in attitude of the knights.

When the stopped horse moved its legs again, the carriage wheels began to roll slowly.

“I’ve never heard of such a rule before. Oh my.”

The coachman said while running along the wide road.

Merria, who was still sticking her head out of the window, raised one eyebrow.

“Maybe there are some pets kept in the open. They might get hit by the carriage.”

They were running slowly on a road that was not even close, so she thought it would be faster to get off and walk.

Fortunately, before Merria’s patience ran out, she saw the large mansion gradually getting closer.

“Lady, we’ll be there soon.”

“I see.”

Closing the window at the coachman’s words, Merria patted and straightened her dress. This time she was about to get off of the carriage.

As she got up to get off, Merria had this thought in an instant.

‘Wasn’t it unusual for it to be my first visit to his mansion though…?’

Come to think of it, they always met outside.

Last time, Reukis came to Rackester’s mansion.

‘Oh, that’s right.’

Recalling the last time she had gone through the opposite situation, Merria smiled lightly.

Merria unilaterally concluded, ‘I should pretend like it’s a give and take visit.’

Meanwhile, Harriet, who was looking at Rackesster’s carriage as it approached the front gate, remembered the situation a while ago.

The difficulty at the gate with the knights that Merria experienced earlier was not because of the closed mansion atmosphere.

There were many wanderers who wanted to meet the Grand Duke who returned after the war.

But Reukis didn’t show up in society unless there was a specific reason.

Even if they tried to snoop around when they heard that he was going to work at the palace, it couldn’t have been easy to meet Reukis, who’s in charge of the commander position.

So one of the ways they came up with was to borrow Merria’s name.

It was because some thought that if they pretended to be the princess who he was chasing after, he would not care less.

However, Reukis without Merria was more rational than they thought.

That Merria doesn’t prefer to reveal her relationship with him.

The letter always sends errands to the same servant.

The gifts that she likes were delivered to the others.

Such a shallow trick couldn’t have worked on Reukis, who remembered things about Merria.

“You don’t have to tell me if I’m not here.”

Even after Reukis’ command as above fell, they did not give up easily.

Therefore, only the knights guarding the entrance used to suffer.

In the end, the guard of the mansion, which was originally powerful, was applied even more heavily to the person who mentioned Merria.

This was the reason why they treated Merria’s carriage, her first visit, so harshly.

The knight approached her with the attitude as if to chase them away as usual, but, fortunately or unlucky for her, Merria herself was riding inside.

It was a visit that even Reukis didn’t know, so no knight could have expected her to come.

In order to deliver this news, Merria’s carriage had to slow down as much as possible for the news to arrive at the mansion.

The knight who earned so much time immediately informed the butler of Merria’s visit.

The knight’s deterrence saved time, but the problem was that Reukis was not in the mansion.

Harriet, who had felt like his feet on fire, immediately ordered a knight to inform Reukis of the news.

‘After that, I had come straight out to meet Merria without a moment to breathe.’ (Harriet)

Harriet tried to relax on top of the tension.

Finally, platinum hair was the first to appear behind the slowly opened door.

Then Harriet smiled contentedly when Merria’s face, which had a fresh cat-like atmosphere, was revealed.

‘She was clearly a very kind and merciful person. It’s a match made in heaven for my master.’ (Harriet)

Harriet, who had already fitted her as the master’s wife before even seeing Merria, gave a very subjective impression.

Merria slowly climbed down the carriage stairs, feeling Harriet’s gaze.

She approached him with a slightly awkward smile and bowed her head lightly.

“It’s Merria Rackester.”

“I’m Harriet, butler of this mansion.”

“I didn’t make any appointment, but I came to meet the Grand Duke, at the risk of disrespect.”

“Please feel free to speak. And don’t worry about it, if it’s you Lady, you’re always welcome.”

Harriet showed a nice smile and guided Merria into the mansion.

Arriving at the nearest parlor, Harriet bowed politely and said,

“The master has been out for a while for training. Please wait here for a while.”

“Sure.”

“What would you like to drink?”

“Anything cold, please.”

The maid who was listening next to Merria left the room as soon as she heard her answer.

It seems that she had only left for a few minutes, but the maid returned with something full in her hands.

There were even cold tea with floating ice, cookies stuffed with nuts, and bite-sized sandwiches topped with ham and an egg.

Merria raised an eyebrow, and she gently smiled.

“I was just hungry, thank you.”

In response to a reaction quite different from Reukis, the maid blinked her eyes and replied softly.

“If you need anything else, please call me anytime.”

“Yes, thank you.”

When Harriet left the room, Merria, who was left alone, took a bite of the cookies in front of her.

She slowly closed and opened her eyes, moving her mouth mechanically.

‘I came here without a plan, but where should I start?’ (Merria)

A quiet parlor room and a fluffy sofa.

Waiting for him in the best possible conditions, Merria felt the fatigue she had accumulated during the day.

She tried to wake herself up by drinking cold iced tea, but she eventually lost.

Her eyelids fluttered shut, and Merria’s crimson eyes hid from her tightly closed eyes.

✤

Reukis, who managed to deal easily with his power of darkness after meeting Merria, recently increased his training.

He had been driving a horse for a long time now after training was over.

Now, even if his mana has stabilized a lot, the anxiety that resides in it still remains.

Because of this, he mainly chose places far away from the deserted mansion.

Even while running to clear his complicated head, what suddenly came to mind was his sweet lover.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen her…’

‘Merria.’

Reukis imagined seeing Merria’s face…

A face as white and soft as a cloud, fresh eyes, and beautiful red eyes like flames beneath.

When those eyes looked straight at him and smiled softly, he felt happy.

Reukis wanted to capture her gaze, containing only his reflection on her eyes and feel her warmth.

‘I sent you a letter last night, so I should get a reply as early as tomorrow.’

If she expressed the affirmation of the meeting, I was thinking of going to see her even tomorrow.

Contrary to his daring intentions, Reukis, who was still cautious with Merria, began to look for something to please her.

‘Was Kalix still there?’

On the charge of his lieutenant, Reukis issued a private order to Kalix.

‘I told him to gather all of the information about Frederick’s power, if any…’

Originally, the Frederick’s family was a Duke family that ruled a common estate.

However, from a certain day 200 years ago, a dark magician was born, and its power began to be passed on from generation to generation.

At that time, the Emperor of the Tristan Empire chose to conciliate instead of seizing control of the Frederick’s, who had suddenly gained strong power.

They vowed for loyalty for the imperial family, directly with the title as the Grand Duke, and thus the Frederick family became the only Grand Duke in the Empire.

The dark magic that served as the center and strength of Frederick has continued for 200 years.

And during that long time, a being like Merria had never appeared.

At least in terms of information that comes down from within the family.

However, there must also be information outside, so Reukis did not want to miss even such a small thing.

He strengthened his hold on the reins, the black horse’s well-maintained fur fluttered running across a vast land.

After running for a long time, Reukis, who had reached a lake, slowed down his horse.

He jumped off from the back of the horse and leaned against a tree.

“…?”

Reukis, who was resting comfortably, felt the rapidly approaching presence for an instant.

Turning his head, he saw a knight approaching from behind, running his horse at full speed.

“Majesty!”

The knight looked serious, Reukis also quickly got on the horse and kicked his horse.

Reaching where the knight was, Reukis passed by his knight without slowing down.

The knight hurriedly followed him.

“What’s going on?”

“The guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

It’s been more than a few years since the Grand Duke’s door was locked.

Without Reukis’ permission, no one else could set foot on Frederick territory.

Nevertheless, seeing that a guest came, it must be a person who does not care about permission.

Reukis organized the figures that came to mind as candidates for the sudden visit.

The Crown Prince and Emperor are not idle enough to come without an appointment, and there’s no such thing as a private meeting with the imperial family faction.

‘Then who the hell are you?’

Reukis asked in a scornful, frosty voice.

“If you run like this, it doesn’t look like an ordinary person.”

“Yes that’s right.”

The knight, who was gasping for breath because he had come in a hurry, took a deep breath and spoke urgently.

“Well, the one who stood on the guard said it was lady Merria Rackester- Your Majesty!”

As soon as the word Merria came out of the knight’s lips, Reukis kicked his horse even harder.