The Duchess and the Devil - Chapter 92.2

Judith couldn’t believe Derrick was alive. She believed in this all the time, but now she didn’t know how to behave. Why did the demon appear before her in another human form? Why is there a new Duke in the Empire and how did people react to this? She looked straight at him as he sat her down on the living room couch.

Derrick smirked when he found Judith’s expression.

– Does something hurt? Should I call a doctor?

The Duchess looked away from the man and shook her head.

– It’s okay, brother.

“If you don’t feel well, let’s go back to the mansion.” I’ll tell the assistant…

“I think you should come back later.”

Derrick, who stood with his arms crossed, interrupted Vincent’s words, but the Marquis immediately turned to him and asked:

– Duke, do you know my sister?

– Yes, we know each other.

– Judith, is this true? – Vincent looked at his sister, not understanding the connection between them. A strange feeling of incompatibility lurked in the heart: how could Judith, who never left the walls of the mansion, meet the famous Duke?

“Yes,” she said softly, looking down.

Vincent, although he doubted what was happening, still could not break the delicate atmosphere between them, so he understood his sister’s request:

– Fine. Call me when you’re done. I will be near.

– Yes, Vincent.

The brother, who remained the last obstacle, disappeared. And a heavy silence reigned in the rest room. Judith folded her hands carefully in her lap, not knowing what to say or how to start the conversation. Are you the one I’ve been waiting for? Have you been alive all this time? What happened to Hannibal?

While the Duchess was lost in thought, a man’s hand lifted her chin.

“You’ve lost weight,” Derrick slowly leaned down, looking her straight in the eyes.

Judith was sitting on the sofa, but was on the same level as the Duke. He was like a knight who dedicated his life to the queen, firmly kneeling before her.

– What would I look like if I were that tall?

The Duchess’s pupils fluttered from the low bass. She didn’t even want to ask anything anymore; it was enough for her to listen to his voice and feel the warmth of his body. And Judith’s heart trembled.

– Why did you do it?

The voice came out of her, but it sounded like someone was squeezing a dry throat with their hand.

Judith shook her head, unable to look him in the eyes.

– What the heck? For what?

She said this without realizing it.

In sadness and mourning, the Duchess hit herself in the chest with a clenched fist. Judith thought that she would never see the demon again, but here he was standing in front of her and could touch her.

– If… If you were alive, why didn’t you give a signal? All this time I…

The hand hitting her chest was caught, but the Duchess could not raise her head.

She had mixed feelings. A painful moment where she couldn’t even figure out how to breathe. But now that Judith had spoken out, she felt overly relieved.

“Judith,” the man said her name again, but this only brought tears to her eyes, which were now dripping onto the hem of her skirt. – Thank you for staying alive.

The Duchess trembled, covering her face with her hands. The wound caused by Derrick’s death had reopened, but was no longer bleeding. This was the process of regenerating new skin around.