Chapter 7 – The Forbidden Floor (1)

I corrected the way he referred to me. I didn’t have to see his reaction to know that he didn’t care about that.

“My name is not ‘you’, it’s Riddel Spencer. You can call me Riddel.”

“Why should I do that?”

“If you don’t want to do that, then just please help me take off my clothes. And don’t forget to wear gloves.”

Kyle fell silent for a moment as he faced the two choices he was forced to choose between. Fortunately, however, I didn’t sense any murderous feelings emanating from him. I briefly wondered about Kyle’s extended silence before turning my head to look at him.

Huh? To my surprise, he obediently wore the gloves.

What should I say? It was still a bit of an unpleasant situation. Well, I figured I should at least try to say something.

“Why don’t you start by taking off my clothes?”

That’s weird. Why wasn’t he answering me back? Was it because…

“Archduke, I’m just asking this out of curiosity, but is it that you don’t know how to take off the gown?”

“… I just didn’t have the desire to help you take off your gown.”

I really didn’t think that was the case. It seemed more apparent to me that he simply didn’t know how to remove the garment. I held back my smile and explained to him how to undo the gown. He listened attentively to my explanation, like a child. After I finished, I looked at him with a face that said ‘it’s easy, isn’t it?’.

“Now you can take it off, right?”

“That much is trivial.”

Of course, because I already explained it to you. He grumbled and suddenly reached his hand toward me, making quick work of each of the accessories that I wore while unbuttoning the bridal gown.

With the help of gravity and Kyle’s actions, the gown slowly slid rather easily to the floor. Maybe it was because I was finally free of the restricting garment, but my blood felt like it was able to flow freely again.

Tuk. As soon as the gown reached the floor, Kyle quickly withdrew his hand from my body.

‘Ah, finally I can breathe.’

I was not at all embarrassed at the circumstances, because I had already prepared for it in the first place by wearing undergarments that resembled a nun’s habit, so it barely showed any skin. I chose this ensemble beforehand because I had predicted that such a situation would occur.

“Thank you,” I smiled and bid him goodnight as I walked to the bed and lay down.

Kyle was already back to sitting on the couch.

“Are you going to sleep there?”

“Yes.”

“Just sleep in the bed with…”

“Don’t be concerned about me.”

He cut off my sentence as if it were not worth listening to. I was going to say something further, but I stopped. I didn’t have any more strength to fight with him tonight.

I should stop it for today.

Maybe it was because I was tired from the long distance I had to travel to reach this mansion, but I fell asleep almost immediately after settling into the bed.

I just want to relax on the first day.

I shouldn’t be so impatient to improve our relationship. I still had six months left to get close to him. No, rather, I only had six months to get close to him…

***

Nighttime fell, and only the sounds of Riddel’s breathing filled the silence. Kyle was still wide awake and feeling annoyed.

He was twenty-three years old this year and already considered a hero who saved the empire. But after the war, he had developed a maddening desire to torture and kill people.

Because of the curse, so many necks had rolled from countless dead bodies. He knew that he couldn’t continue doing such things. He came to his senses one night after looking at his hand, which had been stained crimson and filled with blood. Afterward, he decided to move away from the capital and to the north, but regardless the same thing kept happening over and over again.

Eventually, Kyle locked himself up. When his desire for blood flared up, he tore at his own flesh, and when his instincts commanded him to kill someone, he shackled his body with chains to prevent himself from satisfying those urges.

Ky… Kyle Romani! Kyle Romani is going to kill me!

That’s what the emperor had cried out to him while shivering. A rumor quickly spread throughout the empire that the once heroic Kyle Romani had changed into a bloodthirsty monster because of the curse.

The emperor, who had become extremely terrified of him, decided to issue him an order to get married. Kyle still couldn’t believe it, even when the emperor announced the command to him. He knew that there must have been an ulterior motive in arranging for his marriage, and it was likely to monitor his movements.

Count Spencer, who was greedy for power, had forced his daughter to annul her engagement to her previous fiancé and marry the Archduke instead. Kyle recalled reading a report about the girl that had been compiled by his assistant, Elvin.

Her name is Riddel Spencer. I heard she’s strongly opposed to this marriage, to the point where she is being confined in a villa. Rumour says she still really loves her old fiancé.

But he didn’t think that she would so quickly change her mind and act the way she did towards him.

Is it because she’s an illegitimate child and has nowhere else to return to?

“Umm, It’s hot…” Riddel suddenly mumbled in her sleep as she tossed and turned her body.

“I’ve brought in quite a bothersome girl,” Kyle clicked his tongue. He had no idea that this girl would have such a personality.

It’s ok. I just have to see her for the next six months and suffer a little more before my death.

After he had given up on thinking about her and his dwindling life span, he leaned against the couch and slowly closed his eyes. Their first night together passed just like that.