I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

Chapter 74

Translated by Niks

Edited by

Unfortunately, finding the Lord’s room was easier than expected, but the problem has started from there.

The space inside created by magic for the room was too wide.

Looking at the materials piled up in the spacious room, I already felt exhausted.

In earnest, I began to rummage through the documents and diaries that Gaithia had left.

Merria also rummaged through her memories to guess when the incident that Reukis caused the runaway.

‘Since His Majesty’s death, my grandfather has never been so alive, so around this time…’

Merria reached out the material she thought they must have used.

“If I knew this would happen, I should have known exactly what date it was.” ᴹᵉʳʳᶦᵃ

If I had asked Reukis as we talked, I would have found something by now.

Merria was frustrated and pouted as she put the documents back in out of regret.

“Hmm?”

When I pulled the documents earlier there weren’t any problems, but now as I placed them back, the documents could no longer fit in.

Merria put her hand in between them in puzzlement.

When I grabbed something that touched my fingertips and pulled it out, something thick was dragged out.

It was a palm-sized notebook with no title written on both the front and back.

Merria turned over the cover without hesitation.

On the very first page, there was a hastily written letter.

When I turned to the back page, something was written on the rest of the paper.

I couldn’t read content that looked like letters or patterns even when I looked away.

“Pictures? Or codes?”

AD

Something written horizontally and a small dot that looks like a period.

I don’t know what it means, but it certainly seemed to be correct.

“But where have I seen it…”

Merria, who was staring at the writing in the notebook, turned her gaze away.

All she saw was a thin ring on her little finger.

Looking closer, the gold ring had an engraved pattern on it.

I thought it was a simple pattern.

Comparing it with what was written in the notebook, the letters with the same shape were correct.

“As expected… It was the same person.”

Once again convinced, Merria muttered softly.

This notebook would serve as a clue to solve numerous questions.

After contemplating for a while, Merria listened carefully to know if there were any signs of people present outside.

It’s already been a while since I came here.

It was too much to copy or interpret this article leisurely here.

However, it was also dangerous to sneak in again next time.

‘I just got lucky today, and couldn’t guarantee that the next time would be successful again.’

Eventually, Merria tucked the notebook into the pocket of her dress.

Then I fixed my dress and checked that it was spotless, and then organized the scattered documents neatly.

Fortunately, there were few places I touched, so the cleanup was completed quickly.

Unlike the way she came in, the way out was simple.

Pulling a handle, visible inside the room, the door leading back to the office opened.

After she returned to the office, she made sure that the door was closed properly, and Merria hurried straight away and left.

When I peeked out of the hallway, I immediately made eye contact with Lexie, who was watching nearby.

Lexie was looking around like a spy on an infiltration mission.

‘You seem to enjoy this situation.’

Lexie, who was absorbed in her situational drama, greeted Merria with happiness.

“Lady! Fortunately, no one passed by.”

“You’ve worked hard. Let’s go back now.”

Merria left the hallway on the second floor, her lips smiling weakly.

That evening, Merria finished dinner early because she was nervous that Themis might have noticed something.

I wanted to stay in my room, but I couldn’t help it and didn’t want to give him the feeling like I’m avoiding him.

As soon as I finished eating, I headed to my room and went to bed early.

I didn’t really fall asleep, I just sent Lexie out of the room after getting ready to sleep.

After carefully closing the curtains, she sat down at her desk with a candle.

When I reached out my hand through the gap inside the table, a small drawer was revealed.

It was a place made using magic stones enchanted with space magic that Serinia had given in the past.

A huge space like ‘Lord’s Room‘ was too unreasonable, but it was enough to fit a small notebook.

As I fumbled inside the drawer, I found the notebook I had left.

The cover, which still had nothing written on it, was black as if it contained darkness.

Merria unfolded it in the middle and looked intently at the notebook.

“I couldn’t read this at all… Was it a code?”

As I turned through the notebook, I found a word that appeared particularly frequently in dozens of articles.

Merria slowly swept the area with her fingers.

“Should I ask Serinia?”

It was the easiest way, but I was reluctant to ask because I couldn’t figure out the content.

If what was written in this notebook was about Reukis’ runaway, the fewer people knew the content, the better.

It wasn’t good in many ways to pull Serenia in this secret.

When I ask Reukis for help, I have to explain how I got hold of this notebook.

Merria agonized over the desk with her fingertips tapping continuously.

‘Yeah, I better find it out by myself.’

For now, this method was the best.

Merria immediately picked up the paper and began to transcribe the contents of a page of the notebook onto it.

“Merria?”

Merria, who was immersed in thought, raised her head at the call of her name.

She turned her gaze and saw Miolo and Lilith looking at her with puzzled faces.

“Oh…”

Merria blinked quickly and bit her lips.

‘Did I briefly doze off?’

Merria titled and frowned.

Recently, Merria has not slept well.

It was because she had begun deciphering the notebook that Gaithia had left.

Since I got a foreign language book from Serinia with a poor excuse that I was interested in it, I have often stayed up all night.

Maybe it’s because I was overworked and wanted to provide Reukis with information as soon as possible.

Merria shook her head vigorously to wake from her sleepiness.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Karina will be here soon, so think about where to go afterwards.”

Lilith shrugged and replied.

The three of them had just come to the dressing room to check the last dress they would wear on ‘Coming-of-Age Night’.

As Coming-of-Age Night would be held over for two days, two dresses were needed per person.

It took a long while just to try it on, so Merria was lost for a while.

Now, Lilith and Merria’s turn were over, and Karina was waiting for the second day of the dress trial.

“Well…”

Originally, they would go to ‘MIRO’ to talk before breaking up, but Merria was in a very difficult state.

While Merria was contemplating for the answer, Karina walked out of the curtains.

“This is the dress I’ll wear for two days. Is it okay?”

Karina slightly turned around, with a smile.

The cream-colored dress swayed profusely to her movements.

It was a color that went well with Karina’s wheat-colored eyes, and she gave off a more lovely atmosphere than usual.

Lilith immediately ran to her side and slowly circled Karina 360 degrees.

“It’s a bit different because the color is dark, but isn’t this exactly the same?”

As Merria tilted her head, Lilith squinted and glanced at Karina up and down.

“Well, um… how should I say this? It kinda feels like a wedding? Should I say it’s the same?”

Lilith’s muttering made Karina’s cheeks turn red.

In response to Karina’s suspicious reaction, Merria added, seemingly interested in the reason behind her reaction.

“I know. His Highness will be very nervous when he sees you.”

When even Merria played a joke, Karina covered her cheeks with both hands and mumbled.

“…Stop it, you guys.”

Karina still had a fading smile, as if she didn’t like being told she looked like a bride.

After the three of them finished trying on their dresses, of course, the place they would go after leaving the dressing room was the cafe.

Lilith was in the midst of retelling the saga about her hunting, which she had recently started as a hobby.

After taking a sip of hot tea, Karina suddenly spoke again.

“Actually, on the second day of Coming-of-Age Night, I decided to announce my engagement with His Highness.”

“Congratulations.”

Merria smiled brightly and congratulated her.

Lilith frowned, raising one of her eyebrows.

“Why don’t you just announce your marriage instead of engagement?”

“I think I want to do that, too.”

Karina responded with a grumpy tone of voice.

It was an attitude she show6 only in front of two people who knew all her love and struggles for Altheon.

As the face and top of the Empire, the royal family’s marriage process was more complex than that of common nobility

Among them, the inefficient procedure of marriage after prior engagement was also included.

It was to contemplate the position she would later become one of the two masters of the Empire.

For this reason, there were often those who didn’t become Empress or Queen who only ended their engagement.

It was a case where corruption, which had been practiced before marriage, was revealed and disadvantaged of the family rank, or where honor was tarnished to the extent that it was irreparable.

At least Karina doesn’t have to worry about getting caught up in that, so if it’s a relief, wouldn’t she be so lucky?

As if this was not the case, Karina continued.

“So, could I make a dress for you guys to wear on my engagement day?”

She put her hands together and asked carefully.

Seeing that Karina’s body leaned to the side, she seemed to be more curious about Lilith’s intention than Merria.

Merria, who doesn’t have much of a passion for dresses, had already promised to wear Karina’s dress.

Therefore, this time, the idea from Lilith with a firm taste was important.

Lilith surprisingly seemed to favor Karina’s proposal.

“I’ve seen something like that in a book. Dressing up and celebrating with the bride’s friends. It sounds fun, so yes!”

She nodded gladly and said.

Lilith would not have accepted this offer, no matter how interesting the idea was, if Karina’s aesthetic sense had not been pleasing.

The fact that Lilith’s taste was similar to Karina seemed to have played a big role.

Karina’s face brightened up with the permission she received more easily than expected.

Merria asked after all the ice that had circulated in her mouth had melted.

“You must be busy preparing for it. Could you afford to make ours?”

“It’s okay if I only make the designs because Miolo would help me make them.”

Karina answered confidently. As the conversation about the engagement dress faded, Lilith brought up a new topic.

“Now that I think about it, there was a rumor that his Highness, the second prince, was deciding on an engagement partner.”

“His Majesty Dominique?”

Merria’s expression was distorted.