I Unintentionally Cured the Grand Duke’s Insomnia - Chapter 140

70. — It Seems God Undoubtedly Has a Grudge Against Me (2)

“She smiled, like a girl her age should.”

There was a smile on Abel’s face, too, as he said this.

I quietly looked at him for a moment before raising the corners of my mouth. Abel grimaced as if he found it unsettling.

“What’s with that creepy smile?”

“No, it’s just…”

“…?”

“The way you’re talking makes me think you must really like Irene, Lord Michael.”

Abel didn’t say a word in response to what I’d just said. Instead, I was the one who got flustered under his quiet gaze as he simply stared at me.

‘…Ah, was I too blunt?’

Come to think of it, Abel had never once confessed his feelings to Irene in the novel… because he liked Irene just as much as he liked Cain. Once he realized Irene had feelings for Cain, he ended his love without ever properly expressing it.

‘Ha. Thinking about it now, I feel like a villain again…’

“I do like her.”

“Huh?”

“I said I like her. She’s the kind of woman you can’t help but like.”

His reply came without hesitation, and for some reason, my face flushed bright red. I was so shocked that I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands, my eyes widening.

Abel, clearly amused by how I blinked and stared at him in surprise, bent over, laughing uncontrollably.

“Is it really that surprising?”

“N-No, I just didn’t expect you to admit it so easily…”

“Well, is it really that big of a deal? Oh, but of course, it’s a secret from Irene.”

Seeing him talk about it so casually only made me feel more embarrassed. Abel glanced at me as I pressed the back of my hand against my flushed cheeks, trying to cool them down, and asked,

“And what about you?”

“…Me?”

“Didn’t you also have a close relationship with that Grand Duke? I heard people in Aren talking, saying that you were even engaged.”

“No, well, something like that did happen, but His Highness the Grand Duke and I aren’t like that!”

“Not like that?”

I quickly stopped myself from blurting out something in my confusion. I couldn’t possibly tell Abel, who had just admitted he liked Irene, that Cain was destined to be with her.

Abel, noticing how awkwardly I had trailed off, looked at me with curiosity and asked again.

“Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?”

“I-It’s nothing, really.”

As I nervously shifted my gaze, trying to avoid looking at him, Abel glanced behind me and then spoke.

“Well, I suppose things must be complicated for you too.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I don’t think being engaged necessarily means you have to end up getting married.”

I furrowed my brows, sensing some hidden meaning behind Abel’s words, but he continued speaking with a casual expression.

“Honestly, I’m not saying this with any bad intentions.”

“….”

“But wouldn’t a reasonably good-looking, kind guy be a better match for marriage than someone who’s just handsome but difficult?”

As Abel leaned in, whispering this to me, I thought to myself.

‘Does he even realize that by saying that, he’s not only talking about Cain but also insulting himself?’

“In that case, I think the acting lord is a better choice.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his teasing words and the expression on his face as he looked at me.

It was just too funny how much Abel resembled Cain when he talked like that.

I watched as Abel walked away, his figure growing smaller in the distance, and took a sip of my tea. Even though he had lost his memories, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that, after all, blood doesn’t lie.

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

After passing by Adelia and leaving the garden, Abel stopped in front of a pillar.

“Did you overhear?”

“Weren’t you saying it loud enough on purpose so I would hear?”

Unlike Cain’s emotionless expression, his voice carried a chilling tone that made Abel feel like he was about to burst out laughing.

“To be honest, I figured it wouldn’t matter even if you did hear.”

“….”

“I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? It’s true that a kind, gentle man makes a better husband than someone who’s prickly and overbearing, isn’t it?”

Abel smirked as he spoke, and Cain’s face crumpled even more.

Abel found it both amusing and entertaining to see the normally stoic Duke looking so aggravated. In truth, the conversation with Adelia had been purely accidental, sparked by simple curiosity. He had stumbled upon her while walking through the arcade corridor and decided to strike up a conversation when he spotted her in the courtyard.

Adelia Blaise.

The woman Irene, who rarely talked about others, spoke of with a flushed face.

The conversation, which started out of curiosity—wondering what kind of comfort could make someone cry so much their eyes were swollen—turned out to be more entertaining than expected… especially when he saw the Duke glaring at him as if he wanted to tear him apart, while Adelia, completely unaware, tilted her head in confusion.

It was easily one of the funniest things he had ever seen.

Of course, maybe it was just because he only had memories from the past five years.

“Let’s pretend the conversation we had last time never happened.”

As Abel was about to walk away, after what barely passed as a conversation, he stopped at the sound of a voice from behind him. When he turned around with a slight grimace, Cain continued, staring directly at him.

“I won’t concern myself with your affairs any longer.”

“…What?”

“Even if you truly are my younger brother, Abel Destro, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

Abel narrowed his eyes as if not understanding Cain’s sudden words. Cain, who had briefly lowered his gaze as though in thought, looked back up at Abel with a cold expression as he continued.

“So you’d better be careful with your actions from now on.”

“….”

“Especially in front of Adelia Blaise.”

With that low warning, Cain turned and walked away first.

Abel, watching Cain’s retreating figure, suddenly slumped to the ground.

“…D*mn it.”

It seemed God undoubtedly had a grudge against him. Otherwise, why else would his memories have come flooding back so suddenly like this?

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