Chapter 35: Wish (part 2)

“Why are you hesitating? Hurry and hold my hand.”  

‘If my lovely wife had a sister, would she look like this?’  

An angel with brown hair, slightly damp from the rain, and blue eyes reflecting the sky held out a pale hand to a weakened man. Her red, cherry-like lips formed a sweet smile, a gesture of salvation.  

Julius looked up at her face, staring at the hand extended before him.  

“… How can I believe that this is real?”  

“What reason would I have to lie to you? If this were false, you could try to kill my beloved child, Erman, right now. I wouldn’t take such a gamble against the strongest heretic inquisitor.”  

With a kind smile, reminiscent of a mother’s, she nudged her hand, urging him.  

He wanted to grasp it immediately, but Julius still couldn’t shake off his hesitation as he thought of Cecil, who was waiting for him at the Aran lord’s castle.  

“Are you worried about Cecil, the one by your side now? She is certainly your wife, but she is not pure.”  

Was Cecil truly that kind of woman? No, no—the woman named Cecil Lionelta was the very embodiment of purity and radiance.  

“….”  

“But look at Cecil now. Think of your wife, tainted by the great void of the Emperor’s nightmare. Is that truly your wife? To me, she seems like a completely different person.”  

Lionelta, the Angel of Death, giggled mischievously, pursing her lips as she continued to shake the inquisitor’s resolve.  

His golden eyes wavered with visible confusion.  

‘It’s already over. It may be a small victory, but it is mine, little sister.’  

A shadow of something enormous loomed over the angel’s head, its presence swallowing the light around her wicked smile.  

When she slowly lifted her gaze, what she saw was a nightmare—an abomination cloaked in pure white divine power.  

“You’ve finally noticed, poor Cecil.”  

—Keeek!  

A monstrous bird opened its gaping maw and let out a desperate cry.  

As if responding to its signal, the air between Julius and Lionelta shattered like broken glass. From the fragmented space, a high-ranking devil, consumed by rage and despair, slowly revealed itself.  

“It’s been a long time, Erman’s daughter.”  

“… Lionelta.”  

Had she been crying? The woman’s crimson eyes, glistening as if she had shed tears, burned with fury as she growled at the angel.  

Only after everything had unfolded did Lionelta, glancing at the newly arrived Cecil, let out a laugh laced with mockery.  

“You came quickly. For someone so arrogant, you sure noticed fast.”  

“… I am not arrogant.”  

A single phrase barely escaped through clenched teeth, her jaw so tight it seemed on the verge of breaking.  

Cecil spread her arms protectively around the blond-haired man behind her and glared at the taunting angel.  

“Aren’t you arrogant? I can see your thoughts clearly. Are you upset that your plan to deceive and corrupt a naive priest fell apart because of me?”  

“… I only want to live a happy life with my husband.”  

“Julius is undoubtedly Cecil’s husband. A love so profound that it even brought tears to Rom, the heavenly master and our father. It is, without a doubt, beautiful.”  

But is it truly yours?  

“… Of course, it is. I am his wife.”  

“Your words are no different from a child throwing a tantrum at their parents. You are merely an abomination—a lifeless corpse, pieced together with magic that defies providence, clinging to Cecil’s name with nothing but stolen memories.”  

“… I am Cecil Lionelta. I am the only wife of Inquisitor Julius Tapnel.”  

Lowering her head so much that her expression was no longer visible, she muttered her words like a prayer.  

The angel standing before her continued to spit out cruel truths.  

“Julius, your wife is dead. Even if she were revived against the lord’s providence, she would already be a different person from the Cecil she once was.”  

So, she is not the Cecil that Julius loved back then.  

There was no longer any reply to the angel.  

Lionelta snorted, as if she had lost interest at the sight of the devil just standing at a distance. She then looked at the heretic inquisitor, Julius Tapnell, who stood behind her with an expressionless face, and whispered softly.  

“So take my hand. I will give you back your real love, not this fake one.”  

“……”  

“The pain and trials of the past—you have impressed us by displaying the majesty of God. So this is fair compensation for that. A gift from the Lord to you, a faithful follower of God.”  

Had those words become a wedge?  

The priest slowly began to walk toward the angel, as if he had made up his mind.  

Stepping through the muddy ground, slowly passing the devil and reaching for the golden fruit, a small voice echoed in his ear.  

“…you promised.”  

“……”  

“You promised. You said you wouldn’t abandon me.”  

“…Of course, I promised.”  

“Then keep that promise now. Choose me, not her.”  

Cecil, who spoke of her past self as if she were a stranger, glared at him with wide eyes.  

Her eyes were stained red with bloody tears.  

The devil’s black eyes reflected the priest’s figure.  

“…That can’t be done.”  

“Why? Why won’t you keep your promise?”  

‘You clearly said you would keep it!’  

“…I am simply keeping my promise to Cecil.”  

“How many times must I tell you that I am Cecil!”  

She let out a terrifying scream, as if about to vomit blood, and clung tightly to Julius.  

A chilling grip that refused to let go.  

As he looked at her, the priest whispered softly.  

“…You are Cecil, but you also have another name. Isn’t that right, Nirhil?”  

The name of the devil who had become one with the inquisitor’s wife resonated softly.  

At the sound of that name—one so similar to her own evil—her shoulders slumped helplessly.  

In the end, she couldn’t give him an answer.  

Although she was Cecil, she was also a being called Nirhil.  

Fresh blood trickled down her pure white cheeks.  

Julius gently wiped away the drops of blood streaming from her demon-like face, smiled at her bittersweetly, and walked past her toward the angel.  

The Angel of Death, smiling as if victorious, held out her hand once more.  

The faithful priest cast aside his hesitation and slowly raised his rough hand to take it.  

The moment when everything should have ended.  

Ehrman’s plan had been a sweet proposition, and the devil had ultimately lost the bet.  

Everyone thought so.  

Everyone except for the Emperor’s Nightmare—Nirhil.  

“…Listen.”  

“……”  

“You know, you promised that if I won the game, you would grant me a wish, right? I will make that wish now.”  

The corners of her lips, stained with despair, slowly curled up. With an eerie smile, the devil raised her head.  

—The devil always bets on their own victory. That is why they always win.  

Saint Telmere once said, “The devil always wins the bet.”  

Lifting her blood-stained face, Nirhil gazed at the back of her beloved husband and spoke her final words.  

“Please don’t abandon me. This is my wish.”  

If you refuse to listen, then at the very least, I will leave you with a memory you will never forget.  

Black smoke rose from the hands of Cecil, the daughter of Saint Ehrman, slowly coiling around her body.  

And then, from within the smoke, emerged a dagger—pitch black in color.  

After staring at the knife in her hand for a brief moment, she thrust it toward her own heart without hesitation.  

A world consumed by silence.  

Only the golden beast roared as it lunged toward his wife.

---

Enjoy reading My Wife is the Devil? Then please show your support if you are able to.

Want to read more? Become a My Wife is the Devil ($5 per month) member at Patreon and get Five or More Advance Chapters (parts) immediately, then stay 5 or more chapter parts ahead of the regular release for the month! Or, become a KR WN Bundle ($10 per month) member and have access to all the KR webnovel advance chapters on goblinslate. Get more chapters by sponsoring at BuymeaCoffee or Patreon Shop. Rate and leave a review at NU.

Check out my other projects: 

Rehabilitating the Villainess

Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses

I Picked Up an Amnesiac Witch

Transmigrated as the Butler of a Defeated Heroine

My Summons Are Special