Chapter 26 – 26
With his face completely contorted, Euro wailed. He hadn’t been very confident in his acting when it came to tears, but upon reflection, he felt so wronged that the tears came naturally.
When he opened his eyes, he had become Euro Leches. It would have been one thing if he had entered the body of a complete stranger, but he had become someone who was destined to die; he felt as if he had died twice the moment he woke up.
This was the result of searching for any way to survive. No, if he had to be possessed, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to become Euro Leches as a newborn baby?
Then he wouldn’t have to spout bullshit about loving someone while being viewed with suspicion by a man he didn’t even like, all while smiling like an idiot.
In the first place, it was difficult to say “I love you” to anyone, let alone Melione. Not only did he not love him, but he was a being he couldn’t love.
The man scheduled to kill Euro Leches—that was Melione. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t him personally, but Euro had even died at the hands of the actor playing him.
Though they were clearly different people, he was still the guy who had killed him or was planning to. Thus, saying he loved him was a physiological impossibility.
And yet, driven solely by the desire to live, he was acting all coquettish. Seeing Melione prattle on about contracts and such, completely unaware of his inner turmoil, made his resentment explode.
And was this all for the sake of his own survival? [unauthorized copy]If he cooperated quietly, Melione could live too. While it was inevitably his fault that he couldn’t explain everything one by one, it was still upsetting.
“Seriously, a contract… I’m so, so disappointed.”
Euro shouted, roughly wiping his tears with the back of his hand. His words, spoken with a nasal voice, carried little weight. Moreover, it was time for the tears to stop, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop crying.
“I thought you’d suspect me, and I thought it was a story that would be hard to believe, but I thought you’d eventually understand if we lived together…”
Overwhelmed by sorrow and gasping for breath, Euro accidentally burst into loud sobs again upon reaching the part “if we lived together.”
‘How the hell am I supposed to live with a bastard like this?’
Euro’s future looked bleak. The thought of living and rubbing shoulders in the same space with a human so riddled with distrust was utterly miserable.
There was a mountain of work to do. Curing Melione’s madness was actually just the default setting. While staying at the Dukedom, the tasks Euro had to perform to stop the original plot were piled high.
He needed something to calm the Emperor, who would be absolutely furious, and in the midst of that, he had to get Clope and Crown Prince Gail married.
Not only that. Since the rage-blinded Emperor might just kill Clope without thinking, he had to prepare a countermeasure for that as well. There was no telling how Gail might suddenly change and take his anger out on others.
He also had to meet the fickle dragon frequently and cater [unauthorized copy]to his whims. Though the dragon lived dressed as a ridiculous clown, he was by no means an easy target.
“Your Excellency really… you don’t know anything…”
“…”
“Who… who risks their life just to come and make a contract? You make a contract to live, not knowing you’re going to die.”
At this point, acting didn’t matter anymore. If he didn’t spit out all the words he had suppressed, he felt like he might survive by stopping the original plot, but die of a stress-induced illness.
“I only think it’s okay to die because I love you. If I… if I really intended to live alone, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
“…Your Highness.”
“Forget it, don’t talk to me! Why do you keep calling me? What did you do so right?”
Euro glared at Melione with bloodshot eyes. Melione was staring back at him with a look of unprecedented bewilderment.
“I’m so pissed,” Euro muttered, repeatedly wiping his drenched face. Because he kept rubbing it with his sleeve, the skin around his eyes and nose began to sting.
‘I should have cried prettily, but I got so angry I just let it all out.’
Euro sniffled and lowered his head. Since he had squeezed out every last drop, his face must have been a mess. Until a moment ago, he had practically been a human juicer. Even if you put fruit in and squeezed it, this much juice wouldn’t come out.
“…I didn’t intend to make you cry. I simply judged that there was no reason for you to marry me without a motive. I intended to grant whatever it is you desire.”
“And how would you know what I want?”
Lifting his head, Euro met the Duke’s eyes. He intended to see what kind of contract the man wanted.
“Your goal wasn’t to grant my wish, but to find out my intention and kick me out. If so, just say you can’t go through with this marriage!”
Of course, that must absolutely not happen. If Melione said, “Right, well said. Pack your bags and leave immediately,” Euro would have to throw himself back on the floor and throw a tantrum, screaming bullshit like “I love you!”
However, he felt he shouldn’t just be submissive in front of the bewildered man. If the reason was simply love, he had to be confident. Falling in love isn’t a crime. Honestly, isn’t love the most persuasive of all illogical arguments?
Falling in love isn’t a conscious choice, and it’s a well-known fact that reason is paralyzed when one likes someone.
“…I have no intention of canceling the marriage.”
‘Score!’
Euro cheered inwardly, but he didn’t let it show on the outside. However, as the corners of his tightly shut lips kept twitching, he quickly turned his head away.
“I simply wanted to be sure. As you said, contract terms worth trading one’s life for are rare. Upon marriage, Your Highness would…”
“…”
“That is why I am actually more curious. What on earth is the reason?”
“If I tell you the reason and what I want, what will you set as the contract condition, Your Excellency?”
At Euro’s question, Melione fell silent. It was because he hadn’t come to him with any specific conditions in mind. He simply wanted to know the inner thoughts of Euro, who had been strolling through the mansion with a smirk, unlike someone facing death.
But seeing him cry as if he were dying of sorrow, he was at a loss for words. Euro’s attitude was essentially no different from a child throwing a fit.
There was no proper connection between them. They were in a relationship with no reason or bond that would make someone act as if they couldn’t live without the other. Yet, he was asking to be believed. There was nothing more nonsensical than this.
“See? No matter what you set, it’s meaningless, right? As Your Excellency said, I’m entering a marriage while risking death, so what conditions could there be? I’m going to die anyway.”
“…”
“Money, nothing—it’s all meaningless. Even if I get something from Your Excellency, would I have the time to use it? All I want is marriage to Your Excellency. Are you asking me to tell you what I want to gain from that marriage? And if I tell you, will you even listen?”
“There may be things to gain from the marriage itself.”
Convinced he had the upper hand due to Melione’s silence, Euro pressed his advantage. Then, Melione, who had been silently listening to the chattering, spoke.
“Clope Leches.”
“…Yes?”
“Isn’t she the one who deserves to hear that it’s okay to die because of love, rather than me?”
Right, he knew that would happen. Euro sighed at Melione’s point. There was nothing else to say. It was an achievement—no, a pile of shit—left behind by Euro Leches, and as the one who occupied that body, it was his share to clean up.
‘Everything, from start to finish, is because of this bastard.’
If the Duke hadn’t been there, he would have raised his hand and slapped his own cheek. Euro Leches, you piece of shit who deserves to be hit! Where did you find the time to show the whole neighborhood that you viewed your own sister as a woman?
“…He’s the Duke now.”
“…”
“I won’t lie and say I didn’t like my sister. You wouldn’t believe me anyway. But you already know that when I love someone, I’m the type to go completely crazy, don’t you?”
It had never been revealed whether they were biological siblings or not, but even when he thought of her as his own flesh and blood, Euro Leches had not hidden his feelings of affection.
How bulldozer-like. Even if they were biological siblings, Euro Leches’s heart would not have changed. After all, he loved her knowing that.
“The object of that affection has simply changed to Your Excellency. Then and now, others will never understand.”
“…”
“Still, I want Your Excellency to believe me. There is nothing I can gain from this marriage. You aren’t going to like me back anyway.”
As Euro said this, he tapped his toes against the floor. That was the truth. In the end, all that remained for him and the Duke was a loveless marriage, an alliance for survival. That was all.
Even when he lived as Kim Euro, he had never experienced a proper love. It was because his life had been so dark that he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
“…Is that really all you want?”
Melione asked in a tone of disbelief, his brow furrowed. To this, Euro nodded. A silence descended between the two.
It was Euro who broke the silence first.
“See? What’s the point of writing a contract.”
“…”
“Since you won’t even grant my wish.”
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