I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My lips still felt scorched, as if they’d been touched by fire. That red glow, which had seemed to shine only for me, had felt so secretive that I wanted to plunge into cold water right then.
“Big sister, kissing is nice, right?”
“…Our Rose? You’re sleepy? Well, I suppose you must be tired. Yes, yes.”
Shh, shh, shh.
I forced Rose’s head against my chest, the one who had just been seized by a sudden burst of curiosity. She’s surprisingly strong. A few days of good meals have given her plenty of fight, even in the way she shook her head.
“Hmm? Rose isn’t sleepy at all. Big sister, kissing Grand Duke Hyung is nice, right?”
“…Ha, ha, ha.”
“Why are you laughing? Ell—no, Bella big sister said kissing is only nice if you want to do it, didn’t she?”
This person, honestly.
I was already rattled enough by my eldest sister’s name, and I had no idea she’d been dyeing Rose’s head with all this nonsense too. I gritted my teeth and patted Rose’s shoulder, forcing myself to be gentle.
“Let’s go to sleep. Shh, shh, quickly rest your face here and close your eyes.”
“Mm-hmm, big sister. Rose can’t breathe.”
“Eliya, the child is asking you a question.”
Kiers, who had been watching all this, stepped forward with long strides.
The moment the strength left my arms, which had barely been holding Rose back, she popped her head out like a little chick. The way Kiers bent one knee and brushed the hair from Rose’s face was so natural that for a moment I lost my words.
“…It isn’t good for a child’s education to forcibly stop her when she’s so curious about something, my lady.”
“Excuse me?”
My lady?
For a moment I nearly glanced around to see who he was calling. Who could… Oh. It’s me.
Unlike my flustered self, Kiers looked utterly composed. Judging by that poise alone, he sounds like a man who’s been married more than once.
In an instant, his voice turned stern as it reached me.
“My lady, Rose is asking you something.”
“Excuse me?”
“Please answer her.”
With Rose between us, his eyes drew closer, and they grew as intimate as they had been during the kiss.
“…Was it not good?”
Wh-what is he saying?
He’d acted like a gallant knight when he rescued our Rose from my arms, so I can’t figure out why he’s treating me like a villain now. Though when I think about it, I have done quite a few things wrong, so I can hardly grumble about it.
I did my best to avoid Kiers’s gaze and focused on Rose instead.
“Rose, that kind of thing is something to think about later, slowly—”
“Slowly kiss?”
Why is she acting like this today?
She used to be so timid she could hardly string a sentence together, but ever since coming to the Grand Duke’s Castle, her curiosity has grown by leaps and bounds. And what am I supposed to say now? Everyone’s eyes, waiting on my answer from every direction, have grown heated.
“Well… ‘usually’ people do it because they like each other.”
“….”
I managed to find the most harmless answer I could. Judging by the way Kiers narrowed his eyes, it clearly wasn’t the answer he wanted, but at least the sharp pressure in the air eased somewhat.
So I’d gotten past that, for now. As I felt an unexplained relief, Rose nodded brightly.
“Ahh, so that’s how it is!”
“Mm. Y-yes, that’s right.”
“Then Rose does it with someone she likes too?”
“Absolutely not!”
“…Y-your Highness.”
At the low growl in his voice, the air around us turned chilly in an instant.
Overwhelmed by it, Rose and I looked over at him, and Kiers belatedly pulled up the corners of his mouth. It was the most forced smile I had ever seen from him.
“That… isn’t allowed. It’s far too early a question for you to be thinking about, Rose.”
“Huh? Mm… no, no.”
“But it isn’t allowed. Not for you, either.”
“….”
“Now we should go back. Come, let’s go.”
Hand.
Kiers, hiding his resolve behind a calm face, extended his right hand to Rose. I, still bewildered, let out a scoff.
Do you really think our Rose will fall for that sudden show of kindness? You seem pleased with yourself for having held her at the temple, but our Rose only trusts me, her big sister, and no one else…
“Okay.”
…And she took his hand.
Quick to read the room, Rose, like the child she is, was just as quick to obey the predator.
If his shoulders seem unusually stiff, that must just be my imagination.
Watching the two of them walk a step ahead of me, something under my ribs gave a sharp little sting. Why, though? It wasn’t the kiss that had nearly melted me from the inside out, nor was it that infuriating man walking off with Rose just to make a show of ignoring me.
Bella, why are you pretending not to know?
This tightness in my chest, like a stone had been set on it, started much earlier than that. It began the moment I saw another name beside Kiers’ on the document.
Eliya Mayfield.
My sister’s name, and the very name that should now be mine.
Ah… I should have said something after all.
That moment was the only chance to correct it, yet strangely, my lips wouldn’t move. If I had to trace the reason, it was the same as when I had no choice but to accept his ring. It wasn’t that I feared this man would kill me. I feared that he would be disappointed.
“…Shall we go, my lady.”
When had he come back? Kiers’ shadow fell over my head. I didn’t need to look to feel that faint, mocking smile of his.
Take it.
His remaining hand drew near, whispered and unhurried. Only then did I understand why our Rose had no choice but to take this man’s hand.
“…”
It wasn’t because she had grown tired of him, nor because she was simple-minded.

Fine. We’re getting divorced anyway, so whose name it is doesn’t matter. Since when have you been so conscientious? Bella, just worry about your own future!
“…Fine. Let’s keep living the way we were.”
I muttered to myself, rattling on like I was brainwashing myself, as I set foot on the stairs.
Beside me, Kiers and Rose were practically glowing with happiness while leaving me out entirely, yet I couldn’t recall a single word they said.
Ah, I just want to lie down!
With exhaustion piling up in both body and mind, I felt I’d fall asleep the moment my back touched anything. Who would have thought I’d come to miss that pitch-black, brutally vast room?
My goal was simple: once I stepped into the castle, I would flee straight to the second floor. All the while, I was acutely aware of Kiers, who refused to let go of my hand.
Let’s act normal. We can’t stay awkward forever, can we?
This morning I didn’t have a husband, and now I have one, and I’ve been kissed until my head spun.
I had already made peace with the twists of a woman’s life, so there was nothing left to surprise me. No, I thought there wasn’t.
“…W-what is this?”
That was before the door swung open and I saw the enormous crates stacked all the way up to the ceiling.
“…”
“So you’ve finally decided to speak.”
Kiers’ voice sounded somewhat curt against my dazed face.
No, this isn’t a matter of whether or not I speak, is it?
The crates piled up from the very entrance of the castle made the wide doorway look cramped.
Is this much really military supplies? I craned my neck and nape until they ached, staring up at crates stacked nearly to the grand chandelier. Yet the colors of the boxes were far too elegant and luxurious for anything terrifying to be packed inside.
Oh. As I kept staring, unable to look away, Kiers’ indifferent voice brushed past my ear.
“…It’s nothing much, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself.”
“Nothing much? You call this nothing?”
“They’ll be carried into your room. If you’re curious, open them now and then when you’re bored.”
He tugged at my hand in his usual flat, unremarkable tone, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. But is it really that easy?
This wretched curiosity of mine. This is why the heroine can’t be just anyone.
Thankfully I’m the beast’s wife, because if I were the wife of Bluebeard, my head would have been chopped off several times over by now. There’s no need to look far for where our Rose’s curiosity comes from.
“Um, then may I open just one?”
“Didn’t I say to open them when you’re bored?”
“Yes, well… that’s exactly why. Right now.”
“Would that not hurt my feelings, my lady?”
Kiers came to an abrupt halt and tilted his head down at a slant.
Why is he suddenly so serious? As I pressed my bone-dry lips together, he didn’t even glance my way. He simply drew a single finger smoothly across the space behind my back.
Take her away.
Before I knew it, Devon and Aiden, who I hadn’t even noticed were there, came rushing over in a crowd and whisked Rose away, all in less than ten seconds.
With even Rose, my last stronghold, gone, my arms trembled as though I’d been stripped of a layer of clothing.
“Rose! Ah, Your Highness! H-hurt? What do you mean, hurt? I didn’t—”
“Are we not husband and wife now?”
Like the final moment of a wedding ceremony, his lowered gaze drew closer, right up to my face.
“…So you’d better not expect to have a single idle moment for a while.”
“…”
Do you understand?
Kiers whispered quietly, as if it were a man’s natural pride. Even the giggles of the twins and Rose, who was utterly absorbed in their antics somewhere far off, all felt like a dream.
Mm… So I really did marry a beast.
Every time I realized it, my body shuddered on instinct. No matter how gently he held our Rose’s hand, or how earnestly he slipped on the ring, he was still, undeniably, a beast.
The beast of beasts, the one who had kissed me like that.
“…Eliya.”
As his gaze deepened, just as it had a moment ago, my eyes reacted first. When I shook my head with trembling lids, he didn’t press forward blindly this time. But he didn’t back away either, so I was caught there, unable to move in either direction.
“…”
Even if he is a beast, it’s broad daylight.
Or does it not matter, since he’s a beast anyway?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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