Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

I finished preparing in just thirty minutes. It was thanks to my husband who cherished his wife.

“…… Aedis, I look like a polar bear!”

I muttered dumbfounded.

In the mirror, I was firmly geared with a fur hat, fur gloves, fur vest, fur pants, and fur boots.

Should I have predicted this would happen when he asked me to wait……. Aedis even wrapped a fur scarf around me like a polar bear.

It was warm, so it was good. I buried my nose in the fluffy scarf and clenched my fists.

First of all, unless I did something ‘good,’ I could not use the power given by the beast. So I was just the same as usual at that time. I did not possess immortality, nor did I exhibit tremendous power or supernatural powers.

In order to use it properly, I had to discover where and how far the range of ‘good’ really began.

When I gently raised my head with a sinister mind, I saw my husband and wanted to kiss him until his lips were worn out.

“Aedis, can I kiss you?”

Aedis sighed and laughed at the question warmly.

“Do you need to ask permission?”

He obediently bent his back. I warned in advance

“It might sting a little.”

I put my arm around Aedis’ neck and bit his lip.

Aedis didn’t push me away. I was sorry that I hurt him, so I gently relaxed my grip, but I felt a sharp taste.

Then I parted his lips and said.

“Oh, are you hurt? I will treat you.”

“…….”

Aedis looked surprised at his wife who gave both illness and medicine.

“I inherited my ability from the beast, but I’m not intolerant of anything. So even if you’re the Master, I’ll treat you generously. I bet it won’t leave a scar.”

I focused my attention on my hands, remembering how Aedis tended to the wound on my shoulder. Then, slowly and reluctantly, a cluster of light rose from my hand. Things that twinkled like small shooting stars bounced around on my palms.

I tilted my head and put a hand to Aedis’ lips.

Before my hand could reach it, the light spread to his mouth, and the wound disappeared without a trace. However, the lights did not disappear immediately. After changing the form into a spray of starlight, it created something similar to the expression of a pouting person.

I smiled at the face.

“Thank you for treating my husband.”

Great. I had learned how to use it.

Aedis ran the back of my hand lightly over his lower lip. Soon, a mischievous sense of betrayal crept into Aedis’ eyes.

“You took advantage of me.”

“Isn’t that too misleading?!”

Aedis wrinkled the bridge of his nose slightly.

“I knew the wife was that kind of person.”

“Hey! Don’t hit me with that.”

Puck. I lifted my heel and put my lips on Aedis again.

It was a short kiss without any biting.

Assuming it was dessert, I kissed him so lightly that I could even make a creaking sound on my jawline.

“Go to bed. Please watch over this for now.”

“…….”

“What is your answer?”

Aedis asked as he embraced me with one arm while I was wrapped up like a polar bear.

“…… Are you really going alone?”

“If you’re around, he won’t even show up.”

It was a certainty due to Kadan’s self-conscious personality. And Aedis would never like it if he knew what I was trying to do. I released the hug and laughed.

“Sorry. I’ll leave you your share, though.”

Aedis’ expression turned cold.

“It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“…….”

“Eve, it doesn’t matter compared to you.”

It was a horrifyingly deep voice. My heart felt as if it had been scratched by the fact that I was more important than revenge. Still, I couldn’t back down.

“I do care. He hurt you.”

“…….”

“So let’s put off the risky plan you’ve been making for eight years.”

“…….”

I had been vaguely aware of it for a long time.

I read ❬Esmeralda’s Crescent Moon❭ until the middle and late half, not long before the end. But even there, Aedis’ past was still shrouded in mystery.

In other words, Aedis’ secret and Kadan’s existence would have been barely revealed at the end, or would have remained a secret forever.

Moreover, Aedis, whether in the novel or now, was about to hand over the position of successor to Regen.

Before meeting me, Aedis was just as boring and uninteresting in everything as in the novel, so I couldn’t help but speculate.

…… Maybe the Aedis in the novel, who didn’t marry me, tried to die like Cardan, who was overcome by boredom and kept coming back to life?

―But Aedis, how did you trick Kadan?

―I will give it to him.

— What?

—The immortality I have.

He said that even if it was possible, it wouldn’t be easy. So a tinge remained in me. Afterwards, he said that he intended to send Kadan to the other side of the shadows after bringing out the body. But he kept quiet about the details and what would happen next.

―Aedis, don’t you like living a long life?

―If possible, I would like to die with the wife.

Even now, he is a husband who does not regret his own life. Even more, it was obvious how much Aedis in the novel, who did not put any meaning to anything, would have endured for revenge.

It may be different with me by his side, but it may not be completely different. Since Kadan was targeting me, I was sure he’d push himself as hard.

Even if Aedis was richly blessed by the blessings left by the gods, as the beast said. At the end of the day he was a person who felt the same emotions as me.

Someone who was in love for the first time in hundreds of years.

Maybe that was why I was confident that I could do better than Aedis at hiding or suppressing my agitated expression.

Yes, I could very well anticipate what my husband who cared about his wife so much would do if Kadan provoked me.

I put a sweet smile on my lips.

“Aedis, you promised to finish it before winter. Can you promise me that you’ll be okay after that? Can you assure me that you will be able to achieve victory without any sacrifice?”

“…….”

“Look at that. So I have to go.”

“Eve.”

I took a step away from the hand that was trying to grab me.

“If it seems really dangerous, I will call you by name. Will you come to rescue me?”

Aedis sighed.

“You’re not going to call me.”

“I will call. I want to live happily ever after with you.”

“…… Can you promise me, Wife?”

“I promise.”

He finally raised his hand after a long sigh.

“There’s no way I could stop the wife as you are so stubborn. I’ll be waiting for you at the castle.”

I picked up a lantern. Soon, my existence was cut off from space. And I went to a place where the sharp wind blew.

I blinked a few times. I could see the crystal gate shining like a crystal of light even in a dim space.

…… Am I really alone?

I raised the lantern here and there and talked nonsense to confirm.

“Aedis, we are getting a divorce.”

It was quiet. Still, just in case, I confirmed again.

“I’m canceling the divorce. In fact, I really like your chest.”

This time, the only thing that came back was the sound of the wind blowing with great force.

I shrugged and started walking. Before entering the Crystal Gate, there was a place to stop by.

I passed by the small house that the previous Grand Duke Kallakis had built and crept through the snow. I was in a hurry to use magic tools, so I moved around here and this is where the wolf found me.

Ah, I found it.

I put down the lamp and squatted down. A lot of time had passed, but the bloodstains were still there.

Perhaps the poison that poisoned me continued to emit miasma, not even the occasional snow could accumulate around the bloodstain.

“I can use it one more time.”

I left the lamp and went into the house to find a sharp object. Aedis and I were the only visitors, so it was empty because we weren’t the type to visit often.

I couldn’t help it.

I picked up the glass, as it would be a big deal if I kept dragging on, and Aedis came at the perfect timing.

Crash!

Shards of broken glass scattered under my foot. I took the biggest piece and went back to where I left the lamp.

What to do now was very simple.

I rubbed a piece of glass on the bloodstain, smearing it with both blood and poison. At the same time, the hidden emotions were brought to the surface.

There was no need to hide the boiling anger, and there was no need to let go.

…… I don’t like it.

Kadan, too. This power I received from the beast who hated Aedis. This situation too. Everything.

The tip of the glass was charred black by the poison. I took off my fur vest and lifted the piece of glass.

I didn’t like it, so I had to change it.

I wouldn’t make Aedis sacrifice himself for vengeance because he lowered his priority, and I wouldn’t make Regen act like a decoy to protect me.

That’s how confident I was.

Well, if I can take a little pain.

My hair fluttered in the wind and drew a pink trail on the white snowy field.

I took a breath and stabbed my shoulder with a piece of glass. It was the same spot that Monica stabbed.

However, the intensity was adjusted so that blood flowed out little by little. Even so, there wouldn’t be a big difference in severity because of the poison.

While watching the droplets of blood flow drop by drop, suddenly, a supernatural power was forcibly manifested. A soft halo of light emerged from under my feet and began to spread out in a calm ripple.

After expanding the range to a certain extent, it looked like a star map filled with jewels spread out on the snowy field.

It felt like I was stepping into an upside-down night sky instead of a field of snow.

But I didn’t fall for it.

“Don’t treat me.”

As if my words were understood, the light stopped moving.

I lowered my gaze and put the light into my eyes for a moment.

“I don’t need it unless I’m genuinely worried and want help. It doesn’t even conform to being nice anyway.”

“…….”

The light that had been brilliant like starlight gradually dimmed.

He seemed intimidated like an immature child who had been scolded, but it was not his business.

I walked slowly toward the crystal gateway.

Now, let’s see who smells my blood first and comes running, between my dog-like adoptive son and the more dog-like father.