I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 82

Translated by Niks

Harriet had no choice but to let his mouth agape when he saw Reukis getting off the carriage.

I already knew he would come back late from the banquet.

“You’re here already?”

I didn’t expect the two of you to come back together.

Harriet stared intently at Reukis, who was holding Merria dearly in his arms.

Unlike Harriet, who was still staring blankly, Reukis spoke calmly.

“Prepare a bed in my room, and bring a maid to serve her.”

“…Yeㅡ yes.”

Harriet nodded with an expression of great sense of duty.

Reukis could clearly see what he was thinking because of his expression, but there was no time to explain the situation to Harriet.

First of all, it was important to let the exhausted Merria to rest.

Merria’s second visit to the Grand Duke’s residence took place during sleep.

There were many stairs to the place where Reukis’ bedroom was located, but thanks to his solid arms, he was able to get there quickly.

Reukis laid Merria on the soft bed linen and placed a soft blanket over her body.

Reukis’ frowned deeply, seeing the mark on her left wrist.

It seems that something must have happened, but before I could ask about the situation, Merria passed out.

It was closer to falling asleep rather than fainting, but there was no difference in Reukis’ pounding heart.

He called Harriet from behind stiffly.

“Call a doctor.”

“All right.”

“And…”

Reukis continued, sweeping over Merria’s scattered hair.

“Tell Kalix to come to the study in the annex. Right now.”

“Yes, I see.”

Harriet went to obey his master.

Reukis, sitting on the bed in the dark room, swept Merria’s cheek.

She was still warm and soft, but there was one thing…

His eyes shook unexpectedly. After a while, the maid who would serve Merria came into the room.

“I’ll take care of her dress so that she can sleep comfortably.”

“Okay.”

Reukis nodded and left the room. He ruffled his hair roughly, seemingly confused.

“Whoo…”

The sound of his footsteps gradually faded away in the quiet hallway.

The sound of rain that began to fall under the dark sky filled the space.

Reukis headed straight to the annex and entered the inner room.

This was a separate room I had created for the investigation of Frederick’s power and Merria’s power.

Inside, books and materials about magic were piled up like a mountain.

Among them, only those taken from the secret library were separated and gathered in one place.

I couldn’t find anything about the dark wizard.

Because of that, I’ve brought out all the materials related to magic.

Since there’s a lock that could only be read by those who inherited Frederick’s blood, all of this material belonged to Reukis.

I have not yet read as much about the amount of the materials stored in this room as the history of the Grand Duke.

Reukis picked up one of the books and sat down on the sofa.

As Reukis’ mana permeated the empty book, the letters appeared as if blooming.

『The manifestation and dissipation of mana.』

When I turned over the book, the letters continued nonstop.

Having confirmed the part he was looking for, Reukis’ hand stopped.

He read the text quickly.

『Chapter 4, Lost Mana

Usually, once a person has manifested its Mana, that power continues until death.

However, if you don’t have the physical condition to use that mana or are blocked by your will, you may lose your mana temporarily or permanently. 

In fact, the following cases exist.

~9th Leonard Frederick.

: At the same time as his disease worsened, he gradually lost his mana, and from a while before his death, he reached a point where he could hardly feel it.

~13th vs. Patrick Frederick.

: During the war, he was unable to use the power of the Dark for about a day due to the enemy’s scheme. 

A wizard was sacrificed as a scapegoat to win in the enemy country.

~15th Ludwig Frederick.

: After the raid, she lost her dark mana for quite some time, and she had to hand over her seat, the 16th head of the family, to her younger brother, Erich Frederick. 

As it was later revealed, it turned out to be the same situation as the 13th generation.

.

.

.

There was a way to stop Frederick’s power, which everyone shouted for integrity. 

But those who stood up to Frederick’s quickly vanished. It’s because the conditions required to do this were very strict. 

In order to stop Frederick’s mana, these conditions were necessary.

1. A healthy body that has experienced the darkness.

2. Abundant Mana.

3. One’s own Life

There were many who were hostile to Fredericks, but it was almost impossible to find someone who met all these conditions. 

The obstruction, which has continued steadily since the 13th generation, disappeared in the 19th generation. 

And our we, Frederick’s, have become impeccable again.』

The more I turned over the pages, the more it made me frown.

✿

Clink~

“Princess…”

Shannon’s light pink eyes widened.

It was because she was surprised to see that Merria broke the teacup that had been offered to her.

While Shannon was looking at Merria with a startled gaze, two of her escort knights blocked Shannon.

“It’s poison! Princess Rackcaster tried to poison the future Crown Princess!”

“The princess would be immediately arrested on charges of assassination of the royal family.”

“…Poison?”

Shannon stared at the floor with trembling pupils.

The color of the tea spilled between the broken teacups had turned into a precarious purple color.

Before she left the capital, it was Merria who came to apologize for what she had done.

It was the last time, and I accepted because I couldn’t feel any hostility from Merria today.

However,

Merria tried to harm me until the very end.

Even while using a dreadful poison. Clear tears welled up in Shannon’s eyes.

“Does the princess want to kill me? Why, that’s… Do you hate me?”

Plop~

Tears fell from her eyes.

‘Don’t you hate him?’

Someone whispered in Merria’s ear.

‘Don’t you want to see him scream in despair?’

It was a sweet voice like a dream.

‘If you feed this to Shannon, I could make it that way.’

Merria’s hands began to tremble with tears flowing along Shannon’s cheeks.

“…No.”

The knight, who expected Merria to wreak havoc, grabbed her hand.

While being dragged by the knight, Merria repeated only the same words.

“I didn’t do that! No! It’s not…!”

“Lady, are you okay? Do you feel sick?”

Sensing that her condition was unusual, the maid urgently asked.

“No!”

Merria raised herself screaming.

“Hic…!”

When she awoke from her sleep with a scream, the maid standing close to her was startled and hiccuped.

Merria crouched down, breathing heavily.

The cozy bedding wrapped around her, but it wasn’t easy to calm down.

Merria raised her head and looked at the maid.

‘It’s not Lexie.’

Merria, who had been staring at the unfamiliar-faced maid, turned her gaze and looked around.

“This…”

It was dark, but I could quickly recognize it. It was Reukis’ room.

“Why am I here?”

Her last memory was at the garden of Pierre Hall.

I didn’t drink much, but my memory felt chopped off, it was strange.

Jane, the maid who waited for her to wake up, answered.

“The master brought the young lady home. You came in a sleeping state, you must have been very surprised.”

Jane continued to talk, wiping Merria’s cold sweat.

“You don’t look good. Do you want me to bring you chamomile tea?”

“…It’s okay.” Merria replied, shaking her head.

Knock, knock~

“Lady Merria, this is Harriet.”

It was just the right time, as someone was waiting for her to wake up outside the door.

Jane put down the towel and handed over the gown next to her.

“You should put this on first, lady.”

Hearing her words, I looked down at my outfit and found that I was only wearing a light undershirt.

Jane had taken off her dress so that Merria could sleep comfortably.

I couldn’t show Harriet this appearance, so I decided to listen to Jane.

As Merria rose from the bed, Jane unfolded the gown and put it on her body.

“…”

It was so long that my hands couldn’t even be seen, and the sleeves fell off even when I tightened my belt.

This excessively large garment belonged to the owner of this mansion however anyone looked at it.

When Merria looked at it as if she were giving up, Jane had a troubled smile.

“His Highness doesn’t have a sister, and I could’t give you the clothes of the deceased duchess…”

‘Tsk. That’s true.’

I could fully understand that she couldn’t prepare clothes right away at this time of the night.

“Come on in.”

Merria walked toward the sofa as she spoke.

Harriet coughed a couple of times as he entered the room.

Jane, who was sensible, nodded briefly and left the room.

In Reukis’ bedroom, when the two of them were left, Harriet said to Merria.

“I contacted the mansion separately while you were asleep. Wasn’t it raining a lot?”

At his words, Merria gazed out of the window.

It started to rain before I knew it, and it was raining endlessly.

It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t leave by carriage, but it was certainly cumbersome when it rained.

Because the ground becomes muddy and the speed of horses slows down.

“Ah… Thank you.”

It would be bad news for Themis if he finds out, but it’s better than not contacting him.

Besides, Merria was now in a state of confusion due to various things.

Anywhere’s fine, so I wanted to organize my thoughts in a quiet place.

From that point of view, the vast mansion of the Grand Duke with few employees met the standard.

As Merria nodded slowly, Harriet continued.

“The master is currently in the annex for an urgent matter. He told me to let you know immediately when you wake up, so please wait a little bit and he’ll come back soon.”

“It’s urgent, but you don’t have to do that. I’m going to sleep again anyway.”

What’s wrong with her waking up in the middle? Merria shook her head and swept her hair back.

The sleeves of the gown slid down along as she raised her hand.

Harriet watched her and asked.

“The doctor came earlier, and he said that the wound on your wrist would heal soon. It was only a light bruise. If there are any other inconveniences, I would call the doctor again.”

“Wrist?”

Merria rolled up the sleeves of both her hands and looked down at it.

Then a neatly rolled bandage caught her eye on her left wrist.

Did I have a slight wound on the part where the man held me, that I met in the lounge?

Seeing that the part that didn’t hurt was over-treated, I felt more sick for no reason.

It was time for Merria to turn her wrist lightly to indicate that it was fine.

“Ah. This, it’s nothing…”

Merria’s mouth widened as she discovered her empty hand.

Even if I closed and opened my eyes and checked again, the reality in front of me didn’t change.

“The ring… it’s missing.”

Merria’s left pinky, which had always worn the same ring, was completely empty.