If I Disobey the Duke

Why Did You Do That? (4)

“But honestly… I can’t believe it.”

Vlad paused. All he could see was the little back of Lily’s head.

Her silver hair, shimmering softly like linen woven with starlight, flowed over the pure white pillow.

His eyes narrowed.

My bloodline that the whole world knows about? Even if you ask a few people around you, you will know…

“That you really think of me as your wife. Not as a trinket or tool.”

Vlad’s shoulders stiffened.

Trying to ignore her nerves, Lily turned to the other side. When she saw the wall, she felt more comfortable. If she talked to him face to face, she would feel sympathy for him before she could even resent him.

“It doesn’t matter where I am from. Because I have always been an uninvited guest,” Lily muttered.

Ironically, to be the first person to hear his story was a relief.

If what he said was true, it meant that at least it wasn’t her problem. But it was resentment and distrust that raised her head.

“But in the end you deceived me…  .”

He was a seasoned man in many ways. Especially since he was five years older than her, he wasn’t immature.

Thinking logically, which was more painful between one’s husband’s ugly appearance or living without even knowing his face?

I know it’s presumptuous, but…

“It was fine for me if you had a toad head. I am so… so… lonely.  If you had only told me the reason…”

Had she known the reason, she wouldn’t have been anxious and lonely during those many nights.

If he really thought of her as his wife, didn’t he think she would resent him for only coming at night?

Lily’s voice reached him, who was standing there unblinkingly. “Even if you tell me you treated me as your wife… I honestly can’t believe it. Sorry.”

Vlad froze on the spot as if he had been attacked, defenseless.

***

It was a very old memory.

It was when she had just started being educated by a Conde Sect priest. She was around nine years old.

“What exactly is a monster, Priest?”

The round head of the old priest reflected sunlight coming from the window. The cap wrapped around the skull like a band further emphasized the smoothness of the egg-like head.

Lily wanted to go back and giggle about that head to Crocus and Dandelion.

The priest tapped the desk with his finger. “Isles, I’m a commoner, so no matter what I say, it doesn’t matter.”

He licked his lips as he looked at Lily, who was bewildered.

“A wise woman should pretend to be ignorant even if she knows something, and should not speak out even if she has a question. When is the right time for a woman’s mouth to be open?”

“…”

Lily kept her mouth shut and looked up at the priest.

Pretend that I don’t know?

He hesitated for a moment whether to scold or compliment her, and then he angrily tapped the desk again. “That’s greedy of you, child. If you act cocky one more time, you’ll be beaten throughout class just like last time!”

“Hic…”

As her big eyes were terrified, the priest smiled a soft smile as if satisfied.

Lily quietly shook her head.

“Monsters are things that shouldn’t exist. Creatures that were sucked into the entrance of hell by the devil mixed with each other and monsters came about. It’s a life that’s forcibly connected, so unless you cut it into pieces and burn it, they’re terrible things that keep coming back to life.”

The priest opened the book on the catechism of the Conde Sect. “This is a monster with a bird’s head, wings, and lion’s body combined. Those with human heads are more vicious than a bunch of beasts.” He handed it over.

Lily found something in common in the monster paintings.

The upper body of the monsters were all female. The priest, full of disgust, pointed to the pictures one by one. “Can you see it? This is a woman’s upper body with bird wings, this is a fish’s lower body, and this is a snake’s lower body. If a woman has a lustful heart, she is corrupted to such an extent that she can communicate with the devil, and even if she does not die, she goes to hell. It is also said that she mates with the devil and becomes ugly.”

Lily couldn’t stand it anymore and asked him, “Then why can’t men become monsters?”

He shook his head, disregarding the fact that she should be scolded. “Women are fundamentally imperfect and immature because they were created for men by the Almighty Creator. So it is a woman’s greatest happiness to care for her man. You are not young anymore, so please respect men and always have a modest appearance.”

Lily tilted her head slightly. “Then, is the platypus a monster?”

“Platypus… What?”

She was full of pure curiosity. Sometimes an innocent question was the deadliest of them all.

“It’s a peculiar animal. It has a duck-like snout and webbed feet like frogs. It was brought by a merchant from the North Continent, and it was cute.  And if you go to a distant sea, there are winged fish called flying fish. Their eggs are red and delicious.  And…”

“Isles!” The priest glared at Lily along with a thunderous roar.

(t/n : Please note that this is a fiction novel so everything that happens here is not real.)