The Duke, Who Didn’t Even Call Me by My Name Until Yesterday, Has Suddenly Started Doting on Me? - Chapter 29

“Mariane, wait a moment.”

I thought I was making a desperate confession, but for some reason the Duke was clutching his head and frowning.

“What do you mean… My original personality? What about me now?”

“Ah…”

‘Damn. I’d kept this a secret from the Duke.’

The Duke tilted his head in confusion.

What should I do?

I’d already told him so far, so there’s no point in hiding it now, right…?

“Um… the truth is…”

I told him everything the doctor had told me, about the Duke’s split personality symptoms, and how they explained to me that they didn’t know when he’d return to his original personality.

After listening to my story, the Duke let out a long sigh, as if letting all the air out of his body.

“I see. So that’s how it is… that quack doctor… No, maybe I didn’t explain it well enough.”

As he muttered this, the Duke raised his head and faced me with a serious expression.

“Mariane, it’s not like my personality has changed or I have a split personality or anything like that. It’s true that the me before and the me now seem like completely different people. But the me who was cold to you before, and the me who has come to love you like this, are both the same me. So there’s no way my personality will go back to the way it was before. I’ll never hurt or torment you again. I swear to God.”

The Duke’s sincerity is conveyed from the way he looks straight at me. But in order to believe his words, I need to resolve this doubt.

“Well, why did you suddenly become a different person, my dear? Why did you start loving me so much?”

If his personality hadn’t changed, then the sudden change in his behavior would be inexplicable.

The Duke then gave me a troubled smile.

“That’s right. I had to explain that. But how should I put it…”

The Duke uncrossed his legs, sat on the edge of the bed, and lowered his feet to the floor.

I moved next to him, lowered my feet, and sat next to him.

The moonlight lit up just ahead of our feet, making the pattern on the carpet stand out.

“I had a dream.”

“A dream…?”

Another dream…?

The Duke looked blank, then choked on his words, as if he was struggling with a painful conflict.

The Duke’s body began to tremble violently, and the sight of him biting his lip was so painful I couldn’t bear to watch.

When I gently touched the Duke’s clenched fist on his lap, his hand twitched slightly.

The Duke’s hand was surprisingly cold, so I wrapped it in both hands and held it to warm it up.

“Duke. If you are in pain, there is no need to force yourself to talk.”

“…”

Then the Duke stared at my face for a while, then relaxed his expression as if relieved.

“Mariane, you are really kind.”

Here we go again.

The Duke calls me kind even over trivial matters.

“I… am not such a kind person.”

“That’s not true. Your kindness has saved me so many times.”

…What did that mean? Did I save the Duke?

What exactly was the Duke talking about…?

I have no idea. No, if there is, it’s…

“Could it be that in that dream…?”

The Duke opened his eyes wide for a moment when I asked, then quickly closed them. A soft smile was on his lips.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The way he spoke, with a nostalgic air, made a little mist form in my heart.

“But… that was only in a dream, right? I’m not really that good in real life…”

“No, it was definitely you.”

The Duke declared with a clear voice and a confident look on his face.

“When I woke up from the dream, I was able to face you sincerely once again, and I was touched by your kindness in many ways. Each of these experiences may have been trivial to you, but to me they were special.”

I couldn’t believe that the Duke’s words were directed at me.

After all, it was the Duke who was kind to me, and I don’t remember doing anything for him.

On the contrary…

Ever since that day, when the Duke’s behavior changed, he would sometimes look sad, as if he was remembering someone.

I feel like I’ve finally solved that mystery.

The Duke had been watching me in my dreams all this time.

He was superimposing my dream self onto my real self.

If that’s the case…

Was worthy of being loved by the Duke?