“I’m not Cecil now? Is it because my hair is red?”
Cecil grabbed her hair with both hands and started fluttering it.
She looked like an innocent girl, but Julius was visibly displeased.
“If you’re going to imitate someone, do it right, or are devils unable to hide their evil nature?”
“You’re cute. At one point, you told me not to imitate me, but now you don’t like me doing it wrong?”
She smiled at him, resting her chin in her hand and drawing circles on the table with her finger.
“… Yeah, I don’t like it.”
After a moment of surprise at his unexpected answer, Cecil ran her pink tongue over her lips, then leaned forward and gazed into Julius’s eyes.
“Do you hope I’ll stop acting arrogant?”
“….”
“Okay, I won’t—if that’s what you want.”
“… Thank you.”
“But not for women. Will you understand that arrangement?”
Julius tried to respond, but he closed his mouth as the chef slowly wheeled a food cart toward them.
“Wow, it smells delicious. Are you excited too?”
As the chef approached, Cecil shed her previous demeanor, and her eyes lit up like a little girl’s. She wore such a bright expression that it could make anyone laugh, but neither the heretic inquisitor sitting across from her nor the chef, who began to scowl while rolling his eyes, smiled.
It was an absurd scene, with birds flapping their wings vigorously and calling out to her from afar.
***
“Wow, this is really delicious. As expected, Carridge Restaurant is top-tier.”
Cecil patted her stomach, gazing happily at the plentiful plate in front of her.
Julius glanced at her briefly, then turned his attention to the window. The sun was setting, using the horizon as a blanket.
While watching the sun slowly disappear, he finally voiced the thoughts he had been holding back.
“There are a few things I want to ask you.”
“Huh? Like when we’ll have our second child? I’d be happy to start today.”
She smiled brightly and nudged Julius, but his expression grew serious.
Pure white flames surrounded the two in a dome-like shape. In this sacred, slightly heated space, Julius began his questions.
“I’ll ask you directly. Was it Krail who called you? Does that guy hate me?”
“… No. The man I mentioned that night wasn’t Mr. Krail.” Her voice softened. “It was my father, Saint Erman.”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m Cecil—Julius’s loving wife.”
Julius bit his lip at her unwavering response and continued to press her.
“Have you lost yourself?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You forgot that you’re a devil.”
“… You’re mistaken.”
“As a high-level devil, Nightmare doesn’t mimic humans by devouring memories like other lower-level devils.”
“… If it’s not mimicry, what is it?”
“It consumes human memories and merges them. Slowly, you begin to fall asleep.”
Cecil spoke of herself as if they belonged to someone else entirely. As she continued, her voice grew quieter.
“When I fell asleep, I dreamt of being Cecil, Julius’s wife. While dreaming, I am Cecil who carries the devil’s memories.”
“This was the so-called complete resurrection…” Her voice dropped to a whisper, soft enough that one had to focus to hear it.
“As long as this dream isn’t broken, I will always be your loving wife. The wish you’ve longed for has already come true.”
Her gaze darkened. “So, if you reject me and try to wake up from this dream, it will get difficult. I don’t want to die again.”
“… Are you really saying you are the real Cecil?”
“Yes. The one you’re seeing is really me.”
Before Julius realized it, she was in his arms, her dress crumpled and stained, but she didn’t care.
The devil imitating his wife—or perhaps the wife imitating the devil—gently cupped his face.
“Keep looking at me like that, and one day, you’ll accept me completely.”
She whispered, “Then…let’s have a grand wedding.”
The bride in a black dress k!ssed him softly and covered his eyes with her hands.
By then, the sun had set, and only the dark night sky bore witness to them.
***
“… Thank you for dining with us.”
The manager, who had fainted earlier, got up and watched the heretic inquisitor and his companion leave.
Everyone in the restaurant had fainted after witnessing the sacred flames, and now Julius could only smile bitterly, realizing he had unintentionally caused a mess.
“That was truly delicious. We’ll definitely come back soon!” Cecil declared cheerfully.
The manager shook his head desperately, rejecting her words, but the red-haired woman in the elegant black dress had already left without a backward glance.
From that day on, everyone at Carridge Restaurant became devoted believers of the Telmere Church.
The priests at the church in the city were utterly baffled.
***
“Well, after all, these clothes are the most comfortable!”
Cecil returned to the mansion by twisting space in an instant. She dyed her hair brown again, discarded her dress, and changed into more familiar clothing—a white blouse and a brown skirt.
Julius had been wearing a serious expression since their k!ss earlier, lost in thought.
There’s still a long way to go, she mused. I should make it my goal to return that necklace to him with my own hands.
Her scent shifted to a cozy fragrance. Smiling benevolently, she gently took Julius’s hand and led him to the room. Just like before, he followed her quietly.
She guided him to the bed, sat him down, and gently pushed him onto his back with a hand on his chest.
Huh? Isn’t this going well?
Don’t give yourself time to think! Just like with Leira all those years ago!
Realizing what was happening, Julius tried to get up, but Cecil held him tightly, preventing him from moving.
“Don’t worry. Just accept it. This is perfectly natural between couples.”
“… I understand. I’ll accept it, but let me settle this first.”
As soon as Julius loosened his grip on her, Cecil naively complied. But the moment he released her, Julius scooped her into his arms, threw her onto the bed, and pinned her down.
“You! Are you really going to act like this?”
“I’m a faithful servant of God. I won’t fall for a devil’s whispers!”
In the past, when things were still playful, he could get away with teasing her, but now Cecil was no longer an ordinary woman—she was a high-ranking devil.
A black shadow snaked around Julius as she fought back, while he summoned flames in an attempt to escape. Their fierce struggle continued through the night.
By the time dawn broke, Cecil had managed to secure her place under the same blanket as Julius, just as she had planned.
Exhausted, they simply held hands and drifted off to sleep.
Sponsor Chapters at the Patreon Shop: Along with BuymeaCoffee where you can now make payments in your local currency.
The Shop section on Patreon can be used as a way to make a one-time-payment. I will be creating products in the Shop section with the title of the webnovels. It will only have an image as the product, but it will count as the payment for the Sponsored Chapters.
For example: You will buy the product with the title “Flower Stealing Master” to sponsor a chapter for the novel. As far as I know, you can buy the same product multiple times, so you should be able to sponsor as many chapters you want. I hope it was easy to understand.
Introducing KN WN Bundle ($15) for those who prefer to read only KR webnovels. This bundle gives you access to all the advance chapters of the Korean Webnovels on Goblinslate immediately, and will stay ahead of the regular release for the month! Get it on Patreon!
That means, you get:
PTTV – Four Advance Chapters! ($10)
IPUAW – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)
MSAS – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)
MWD – Two Advance Chapters! ($5)