CH 15

She didn’t know why the bookshelves, that weren’t there just a moment ago, suddenly appeared, but Isabelle instinctively felt that it would hold the answer she was looking for and approached it. Unlike other bookshelves, it was unusual to have only books bound in high-quality red-brown leather. Both the front and back cover contain the words “Cardiago”.

‘Seeing that the year is written on each volume, it’s like an archive of the Duchy. I don’t think I should look at it carelessly.’

There was no physical evidence yet, just a suspicion that Riggs is the Duke of Cardiago. If her predictions were wrong, she might pay for it.

‘But Bill said I could read every book in the library at will.’

It was not as if Bill was talking about the books on this shelf specifically, but there was an excuse. Isabelle hesitated for a moment and decided to read Cardiago’s books.

“Goddess Isis, please forgive me for my bad behavior.”

After praying to be pardoned beforehand, Isabelle touched the back of the book with her fingertips. The book contains the year Riggs was born, in other words, the book with the year of the eclipse.

‘That’s weird. Aren’t books of the same type usually together? Why is this year’s book the only one here…’

Isabelle, who had to pull out the stuck book forcefully, briefly looked at the books next to her. Something was off.

‘This is the scripture of Pilsburg, isn’t it?’

This seemed to be why Bill explained that there are many books from other places in Cardiago’s library. Isabelle again focused on picking out the book with Riggs’ birth year. 

“Oh, my God…!”

In a moment of strong force, several books on the bookshelf, including the scriptures, fell out together. The books were overturned and there was a loud noise, but fortunately Rosa and the maids did not come running.

She didn’t know if the sound could not be heard or if it was taking time for them to arrive because the study was so big. 

Isabelle put off organizing for a while and hurriedly opened the book in question. 

‘This is the Cardiago record for the year Riggs was born. Huh?’

Her eyes grew bright as she was busy flipping through the pages in search of the information she wanted. This was because there was a record of the boy who was born on the day of the solar eclipse in the chapter where the book’s string was inserted. 

“This… is your name Felix Cardiago?”

Just by pronouncing it, she felt like she was out of breath. Isabelle covered her mouth with trembling hands and was speechless for a while.

Felix. Riggs. *E/N: Remember that in Korean, ‘Riggs’ is spelled like ‘Felix’ without the first character. It’s like calling someone named “Annabelle” “Belle.” 

If the name he gave her was a nickname, the story was already over. In addition, the day of the solar eclipse, Riggs’ birthday, and the Duke of Cardiago’s birthday coincided.

‘That’s ridiculous. Baby deer… Same person as the monster duke?’

She couldn’t believe it even when she saw it with her own eyes. There was a great fear that she had secretly discovered a huge secret. Isabelle crawled back, unable to get up because her legs were so weak.

The books she had just accidentally dropped became a hindrance to her hips movement. Isabelle stepped back and accidentally covered the cover of a book with her hand.

“·······!”

For a moment, she was bound to be surprised once again. It was because dozens of blue butterflies fluttered into the sky.

She was sure it was an illusion, but a swarm of dazzling butterflies hovered around Isabelle. In the distance, she could hear Rosa and the maids’ footsteps running.

It was a distant benevolent voice that brought the confusion to its extreme.

「My Isabelle. Don’t panic. Isn’t your god you summoned by your side?」

“Ah…”

Unable to keep her mind at all, Isabelle fell to the side.

***

“Ro. Why did my fiancée faint?”

“Mm, I think she has come across something shocking. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll take care of Isabelle.”

Because Riggs’ voice was dark, Rosa and the maids bowed their heads.

Riggs picked Isabelle up as they stepped down. He didn’t think she fell down. He regretted being complacent that she would stay next to him.

‘How can you live in this harsh world when you’re so weak?’

He is the only one who can run to her right away every time she falls down. So it was concluded that he was the only one who could live with Isabelle.

His red eyes turned to the books scattered on the floor. There are a lot of books on records and solar eclipses of the year he was born. A book of goddess scriptures stolen from Pilsburg.

He didn’t know why the heir’s book was revealed to Isabelle, but the thought that Isabelle was curious about him made him laugh.

From the moment she began to have doubts, she must have been thinking about him all day. When she eats and when she walks, only about the Duke of Cardiago and Riggs.

‘Looking at the books you borrowed, I think you now know the truth.’

Then she might call him Felix before long. His heart fluttered as he thought that the moment he had dreamed of from the first time he saw Isabelle was near.

Riggs barely suppressed the urge to bury his face in Isabelle’s neck, then bite and suck it. Instead, he used his mana to sort through the scattered books.

He wanted to reveal it himself, not anyone else. Felix and Riggs are one and the same.

It was at that moment that ecstasy seemingly slowly spread across his face. But in an instant, a big shadow fell on the library. The atmosphere inside the room became out of control.

Riggs frowned and looked down. As soon as he appeared, a little boy with half open blood red eyes was looking up at him with a shitty face.

“Kiel, you’re late. How’s your spying work?”

“I’m late. Try it, Hyung*. How hard is it to keep a close eye on several people at once. By the way, what are you holding?” *E/N: Hyung means “older brother” in Korean.

Kiel asked with a rather innocent face. It seemed like he was saying that he, the Reaper of Felix Cardiago and the king of the underworld, had the right to ask such a question.

But Riggs had no intention of showing Isabelle to Kiel. No matter how much authority he has, even if he had the appearance of a child. 

“Oh, I see. Is that a woman to use for a sacrifice? I want to eat with you.”

“I’ll give you three seconds, so take back your words.”

“What the hell… huh?”

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Kiel jumped up and opened his mouth wide. He thought she was dead with her eyes closed, but the woman was alive.

‘Your pulse is beating? You’ve got a complexion……’

It was beyond belief. Kiel squinted and dazed around Isabelle’s neck. Her breathing was strong.

“Hey, are you going to eat her alive?”

Kiel’s eyes were twinkling when he looked at the woman, he looked so innocent and small like a seven-year-old child that no one would believe that he was the king of the underworld.

Of course Riggs didn’t let down his guard.

“Don’t get too close. And I won’t eat her. I’m going to take her.”

Of course he’d eat her day and night if she’d let him. Riggs swallowed hard. Kiel stared at the unfamiliar expression of Riggs and suddenly realized.

‘This is the three-syllable woman.’

Kiel knew that Riggs was not a kind lord. That was the case when he first summoned him.

At that time, Kiel begged him to be a little taller and then summoned him again because the Reaper’s shape would follow the summoner’s appearance, but Riggs, who was just seven years old, refused to let him go.

‘Well, now I like this look better.’

It was thrilling to reign over other reapers in the form of a little boy. It was all thanks to meeting the master.

Kiel liked Felix, the heir of Cardiago, who had more power than anyone else.

His heart skipped a beat when he called himself with two characters, while he called everyone’s name by shortening them to one.

Kiel was satisfied with the two-character abbreviation, forgetting that his original name was six characters, ‘Kierkegaard’. Until the name came out of Riggs’ mouth.

‘Isabelle, this woman is always called in three.’

It was three because he didn’t know a woman’s last name. Kiel thought that if he had known the woman’s last name, the master would have carried it around.

At first, he was jealous and wondered who the hell she was, but Riggs refused to allow him to approach Isabelle personally. Kiel shook his short legs and asked.

“Hyung. Is this woman Isabelle?”

“Don’t call my girl’s name however you want.”

“It’s a little strange for Hyung to do this.”

“Noisy.”

After living as a Reaper for two or three hundred years, his face was bound to thicken. Kiel looked at Isabelle not giving a care to his master.

He thought she was a witch-like woman because she made his master wake up in the morning and couldn’t sleep at night, but the way she slept was so beautiful that he forgot to breathe for a moment.

‘You’re more beautiful than I thought. I’d believe you were blessed by a goddess.’

The woman’s hair was thin and soft, shining softly when the sun touched it. The master swept the woman’s hair with a soft touch.

‘What our master is doing is completely a submissive act.’

Kiel contracted with Riggs when he was seven years old, but the original Reapers had been watching Cardiago using his underworld powers.

Kiel recalled the former Duke of Cardiago, the Duke of Cardiago before him, and the Duke of Cardiago on top of it. Whoever the opponent was, the Cardiagos captured the hearts of women using their great power and wealth.

Except for his master in front of him.

‘……maybe it is just a one-sided love for a long time.’

At this point Kiel felt pity for his master.

“Hyung, I often read magazines in the basement, but these days, obsessed men are the least popular among humans.”

“So what?”

“It means that women lose interest if men do everything they can to protect them.”

Riggs had no intention of taking Kiel’s love studies course. Until he heard the backbiting.

“Besides, Hyung has already pushed ahead with the image of a comfortable friend, right?”

“When is there a true friendship between a man and a woman?”

“Hyung has been doing that difficult thing for over 10 years.”

Riggs frowned, but Kiel kept talking with his hands clasped on the back of his head.

“It’s a serious matter for my pride that my Hyung can’t capture a woman he has a crush on. Do other reapers think that the master of the underworld king Kierkegaard never gets married after thinking it’s because of a lower body problem?”

“…the rumor, was it yours?”

“No way. I tried my best to deny it. ‘It’s not like that, I can’t explain it in detail, but our master’s lower body is the best. It’s not inferior in quantity or quality.’ No matter how many times I say it, the reapers don’t believe me. Because my Hyung still doesn’t have a mate. The Duke of Cardiago, who has it all.”

Riggs chewed on something and looked at Isabelle. She still had her eyes closed. Then it was time for him to punish Kiel.

“Kiel, I’ll give you the next mission.”

“I just got back…”

The master had a very dissatisfied face. Kiel resigned, convinced that Riggs would not take his order back.

“What’s going on? You want me to find the first guy to make a false rumor about you having a problem with night activities?”

“…and once you can find him, catch him.”

“And?”

“Now that we have some physical evidence gathered, prepare the soul of Baron Iron. Just enough for you to get an answer.”

Riggs killed Baron Iron a long time ago. How could he leave him alone when Isabelle trembled at his touch?

But it was Cardiago’s power that came in handy in this situation.

“Kiel. Can you do it in ten days?”

“Ah, Hyung too. What do you see me as? That if it’s a one-letter reaper, two-letter me, I’ll just need a week.”

Riggs expressed his satisfaction. He intended to torture the soul with shadow magic.

‘First, the hand that touched Isabelle.’

Riggs had no intention to let him off the hook.