HDBMTD 56

~Chapter 56~

Nocturne was right — I was flustered. I never expected he knew this much.

‘If he had this many doubts, no wonder he wanted to bring me back just to get answers…’

It almost felt like a gentlemanly courtesy that he hadn’t rummaged through my mind while I was unconscious. I gathered my thoughts and spoke.

“I didn’t tell you I broke your brainwashing because I wanted to hide my empathy power. I hid it because I thought it would be better for me. A Nomor hiding power is better than an Eshape with unstable ability, right?”

“You’re good at dodging. But you did break my brainwashing for me, didn’t you? You can’t deny that.”

“….”

“Would the sky fall if you admitted it?”

Nocturne raised an eyebrow.

Well, he clearly wanted to hear it. It should be fine to admit this much.

“Fine. Because of the princess’s memories, I do have feelings for you. That’s why I broke the brainwashing. Is that enough for you?”

“Yeah.”

A faint smile spread on his lips — a soft smile that relaxed even the viewer. He looked truly satisfied, enough to make me feel a bit awkward.

I continued, feeling unsure.

“But I don’t understand the question about pretending to be a Cambiata. I’m not pretending — I really am a Cambiata. I even remember my name clearly. I told you, it’s Vis.”

“That’s because…”

Nocturne started to say something, then closed his mouth.

Seeing he didn’t have a solid rebuttal, I guessed he didn’t know for certain.

“As I said before, the reason I acted kindly toward you before was because the prince ordered me to seduce you. Now that I’m out of the palace, the act is over. You’re not trying to continue playing lovers now, are you? Back then you wanted to break the engagement so badly.”

“….”

“In fact, I want to ask you. You treated me coldly in the palace, so why are you now trying to defend me from back then?”

His expression noticeably faltered.

“Back then I…”

Sensing he might apologize, I quickly cut him off.

“No, I’m not blaming you. I just want you to recall what you felt then.”

Smiling faintly, I waited. Nocturne stayed silent for a while.

“If you’re done with questions, shall we play?”

That was the end of the warm-up. There were still uneasy points, but I felt lighter knowing Nocturne’s condition wasn’t as bad as I feared. The second game began.

The second game ended faster than the first — and of course, I won.

Looking over the chessboard with regret, Nocturne asked,

“Your second question?”

I had already prepared it while we played, expecting this result.

“Say my name.”

“….”

“Duke, what’s my name?”

He opened his lips, then closed them again.

Silence lingered, but he still couldn’t speak.

It was like winning the game but not getting a prize — but I wasn’t dissatisfied. This wasn’t really a question.

The first question had been to check his condition; the second was to make him aware of it himself.

Seeing he couldn’t answer, I spoke.

“If it’s too hard, I’ll change the question.”

I looked straight at him and asked,

“If the situation goes wrong, could you kill me?”

“No.”

This time, his answer was immediate.

“There’s no reason I would need to.”

“There are plenty of reasons.”

I met his eyes.

“For example, if I attacked you.”

“Would you attack me?”

“It’s possible.”

“I can’t imagine that…”

Maybe the scenario didn’t fit his image of me. I decided to give a more realistic example.

“If I tried to win your heart but failed, and used my ability instead.”

“You’d use empathy to win my heart?”

Interest flickered in his black eyes. I sighed.

“As you said, I have Princess Ariadna’s memories, so I feel special emotions toward you because of that.”

“…Hmm.”

Perhaps not expecting that, he looked away slightly and touched his chin. His composure faded, which was satisfying to see.

But his next words defied my expectations.

“You can have feelings. But… I don’t think you’d use that method.”

“Duke, I’ve been wanting to ask…”

I sighed and looked at him.

“Are we… close?”

“….”

“You remember we’re nothing to each other, right?”

My tone turned slightly sarcastic.

“You don’t know anything about me. You don’t even know what I imagine when I look at you.”

“What do you imagine?”

“Things you’d never guess.”

“That sounds creepy.”

He chuckled.

“Then tell me, so I can be careful. What do you imagine?”

“Duke.”

Feeling slightly heavy, I leaned back against the bed’s headboard and rubbed my temple.

“You keep smiling at me with your eyes. That’s not good.”

It’s dangerous — it charms people.

His beauty was being wasted seducing a Cambiata.

“You think you know me well because you knew the princess, but I’m not Princess Ariadna.”

I gave the warning sincerely, but Nocturne showed no wariness — only an intrigued look, as if urging me to go on.

I frowned.

“Do you realize how annoying it is that you keep seeing me as someone else? This kind of behavior could cause irreversible problems later.”

“Like the problem of you using empathy to win my heart?”

“…That’s not something to talk about so lightly.”

His smile brought a small irritation. I straightened my upper body.

“The fact that I feel special emotions for you is never a good thing. It could become a trigger at any time.”

“Trigger?”

“Imagine this — someday, there will be a moment when my mood turns. You call me by the princess’s name without thinking, or compare me to her like today. Then I’m seized by jealousy and possessiveness, and I put you under suggestion.”

I leaned toward him until I could feel his breath.

“Forget the woman who’s already dead and gone, and look at me standing right in front of you.”

“….”

“Love me.”

His black eyes stayed fixed on my face. His shoulders tensed, the muscles in his neck stiffening.

I gave a deliberately unsettling smile.

“I’m a Cambiata, Duke.”

Tense silence fell between us, until Nocturne finally spoke.

“Words like that…”

He raised his hand and brushed back my hair.

“…you should say while pinning me down and choking me.”

“….”

“Not while sweating like this.”

He took a wet towel and wiped my forehead. I closed my eyes and steadied my breath under his touch.

“You’ve got a fever again. Should I call a healer?”

“How about just turning on the light?”

Calling a healer wouldn’t help — they wouldn’t give me medicine for normal recovery fever. Blocking the pain response was better.

But Nocturne frowned in concern.

“Doing that too much can cause side effects.”

He had fully switched to protector mode. My threat hadn’t worked, leaving me feeling deflated.

I grabbed his wrist as he wiped my forehead.

“I… have killed many people.”

Meeting his eyes, I spoke clearly.

“You still haven’t answered my question. If the situation goes wrong, could you kill me?”

“….”

“You don’t have to answer now. Just think it over and tell me before I’m discharged.”

“Alright.”

His tone was calm.

It might be unpleasant, but he needed to think about it — and decide for himself.

That reviving a Cambiata had been the wrong choice, and that as an S-class Eshape, he should take responsibility and correct that mistake.

“I think we should end the game here. It’s almost time for your painkiller.”

As Nocturne started to rise, I felt a twinge of guilt.

He had suggested the game, but I’d won both rounds in a row, and now we were stopping because of my condition. It felt unfair that he hadn’t had a chance to ask his question.

“There’s still a little time… if you’re curious about something, you can ask.”

At my words, Nocturne paused — then smiled.

“Then…”