The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 116

The hand pulling his arm was warm. Her face was flushed from both intoxication and heat. As she glanced back to check if he was following, dimples formed deeply on her cheeks.

Kyle felt a strange sense of familiarity as he watched Amel leading him forward, and then he realized why.

‘It feels just like when we first met.’

He pulled out the memories from more than a year ago.

It had been one of those days when time drifted on endlessly, devoid of light or purpose. One morning, after waking up, he had dragged his exhausted body out of bed and started tidying his surroundings.

After dismissing the servants, he had made his own bed and swept everything off his desk into a drawer. What began as an impulsive act soon turned into an unstoppable urge to organize.

The last thing he had taken down was the massive emblem of Chaeild hanging in his room.

There had been a time when he believed that the two beasts depicted on it, rearing up on their hind legs, would one day devour him whole. The moment he removed the emblem from his room, he felt as though it had already consumed him completely.

The thought that he no longer wanted to live like this dominated his mind. For a fleeting moment, the cliffs on the outskirts of town flashed before his eyes.

‘A death befitting a monster.’

He had long since accepted that he was nothing more than a monster guarding the wealth of a powerful family. With no hesitation, Kyle left the ducal estate.

For the first time in his life, he rode in a carriage that did not belong to the Chaeild family. As the slow, rattling vehicle carried him forward, he observed the vibrant daily lives of ordinary people.

Young girls clapped their laundry clean before hanging it on the line. A woman pulled a piece of candy from her apron and placed it into a child’s mouth. A group of young men walked along with an elderly gentleman, laughing boisterously.

Without thinking, Kyle found himself following the men his age. They led him to a shabby pub. The moment he stepped inside, intending to try a drink he had never had before, he saw a familiar face.

Though she wore a cloak, there was no mistaking it—she was a noblewoman. Her tearful expression was one he had seen long ago at Chaeild Bank.

‘Amelia Diane?’

She must have recognized him as well because she simply stared in silence. When he sat beside her, the strong scent of alcohol immediately hit him. Just how much had she been drinking?

As she gazed at him with those greenish-brown eyes, reflecting his own sorrow, she suddenly reached out and caressed his cheek.

For the daughter of a fallen count to lay hands on the Duke of Chaeild was more than just improper—it was outright insolent. Yet, because of the warmth of her hand, he couldn’t bring himself to push her away.

It was warm. Warm enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“……?”

Before he knew it, he was being led away by Amel. Of course, he could have easily resisted.

But Kyle followed her into a hotel room. Even he couldn’t quite understand why he did.

“Ah… No matter how I look at you, you’re just too handsome. I want to hear you call me ‘sister’ just once. Won’t you do it for me? I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.”

Her drunken giggle and absurd request were nonsensical, yet he didn’t leave.

As he stood there watching her mumble without a hint of caution, lying sprawled on the bed, she flashed him a deep-dimpled smile and spoke again.

“Fine, then. Come lie down. You trust me, don’t you?”

It was ridiculous, but his body moved as if spellbound. While she stroked his cheek, his jacket slipped to the floor, and his shirt buttons came undone.

Amel’s fingers traced the scar near his hip. “That must have hurt,” she murmured.

Hearing those words, Kyle suddenly realized the situation was more dangerous than he had thought.

“Lady Diane. What exactly do you want from me?”

His tone was cool as he tried to push her away. But her response—

“Don’t go alone.”

That one sentence, spoken as if caressing his heart, shattered his defenses.

It was the first time he had ever felt so helplessly undone.

Back then, he had thought her gentle and sweet voice was simply urging him not to do something as foolish as throwing his life away.

‘…But now that I think about it, maybe she meant something else.’

Kyle let out a quiet chuckle as he finished reminiscing. In the end, she had become his wife, so none of it really mattered anymore.

Lifting Amel effortlessly into his arms, he carried her to the bed. As he climbed onto the mattress and leaned in close, her lips curled into a beautiful smile.

“I’m glad I no longer have to ask what you want from me. I was so clumsy back then.”

“No way, Kyle, you were already incredibly skilled. There was nothing you weren’t good at,” she teased. “I don’t remember all the details since I was drunk, but I do remember wishing that night would last forever.”

“…Really?”

A fleeting thought crossed his mind—that if she kept talking like this, they might not get any sleep until morning. But tonight was their wedding night. Amel had decided to be honest.

“Of course. Honestly, even if you had been a little inexperienced, I think it would’ve been adorable. But no matter what happens, tonight will be better than that night. Because now, we love each other.”

“…”

“So love me as much as you do. I love you.”

Kyle was someone who often said ‘I love you’ without hesitation. But her candid confession had a way of making him flustered.

Her words sent a jolt through him like an electric current. As the background faded into darkness, Amel became his entire world.

“Sister, tonight, I’d like you to do what you always do and read my heart.”

“…Huh?”

“Because everything I do from now on is out of love.”

His smile was full of mischief and desire. As his long arms wrapped tightly around her, refusing to let go, Amel sobered up instantly.

She surrendered as he cradled the back of her head with his large hand and pressed his lips to hers. With every warm breath, she felt herself drifting into a hazy state.

His hand traced slowly down her spine, lingering at her waist. The soft, deliberate movements gradually kindled the heat within her.

“I wonder if Sister really likes what they describe in those magazines.”

「…You said there wasn’t a single woman who would dislike it.」

「I want to make you happy.」

「You told me to love you as much as I do…」

The love he poured into her, slowly and deeply, burned hotter than ever. A warmth gathered in the corners of her eyes. Amel held her breath for a moment before exhaling faintly.

＊＊＊

Through the darkness, the sound of water trickled into her awareness. Amel flinched slightly, slowly awakening from sleep. A sharp headache throbbed, no doubt from hastily drinking Amelia wine the night before.

As she struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, she realized how eerily similar this moment was to the morning after her first night with Kyle.

Back then, all she could think about was how to escape from the doomed man lying beside her. But now, all she could think about was spending a lifetime of happiness with him.

‘That aside… Kyle, then and now…’

Recalling last night, Amel unconsciously gripped the pillow tightly. People were said to fluctuate between progress and regression.

But Kyle seemed to only move forward, never backward. With his naturally strong physique, boundless stamina, and now even more refined skill and experience, he had reached an entirely new level.

‘To think I get to live with this kind of man for the rest of my life…’

Surely, in a past life, she had saved an entire nation. Perhaps she had even rescued a thousand innocent lives from wrongful deaths.

Amel couldn’t suppress the grin that stretched across her face as she opened her eyes. Right before her was Kyle, freshly bathed, his damp hair still dripping slightly as he lay beside her.

“Kyle?”

“What were you thinking about to be smiling like that?”

“I was just realizing how similar this morning is to the first time we spent the night together. And then I smiled because I’m happy we’ll be together forever.”

Kyle followed her lead, his expression softening into a comfortable smile. Hearing her speak of their future as an obvious certainty filled him with warmth.

He ran his fingers through her hair, which was even softer than usual. Gazing into her large, unblinking eyes, a thought crossed his mind.

“Come to think of it, the first time I called you ‘sister’ was the morning after we spent the night together.”

“…Just how much did I pester you for that?”

“You didn’t pester me that much.”

“Then why did you call me that? It’s not a common term for nobles.”

Amel looked puzzled, but Kyle still remembered that moment vividly.

As he was washing up, he heard the sound of her shifting in bed and glanced over. The woman who had clung to him the night before, as if she would never let go, was now staring at the emblem of Chaeild in horror.

“I still remember standing there, pretending to keep washing up while trying to figure out how to stop you from running away.”

“…You kept the water running even after you were done bathing?”

“You looked like you were ready to bolt at any second.”

Kyle, still damp, pulled her tightly into his embrace.

“You have no idea how terrified I was that you’d disappear in the blink of an eye. I was willing to do anything to keep you by my side.”

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Amel chuckled awkwardly. When she had peeked into the past with Arete, she had seen herself looking for every possible chance to escape.

“You must have realized by then that I was the head of Chaeild. If I called you ‘Lady Diane,’ you’d probably get scared. But if I pretended not to know you, you’d take that as your chance to run.”

“…”

“So, I called you ‘sister’ instead. I thought maybe, if you liked the way it sounded, you wouldn’t leave.”

Amel unintentionally replayed the moment Kyle first called her ‘sister’ in her mind as if watching it in a video.

Her eyes trembled, as if demanding an explanation for what she had just heard, while her lips curled into a grin—one that could only be described as perverted.

The expression was so honest in its desires that it made her own cheeks flush. If she could meet her past self, she would have asked: Did you really like being called ‘sister’ that much?

「I wanted to hold onto you that badly.」

「Not even during the succession battle was I that desperate.」

「…Sister.」

Kyle’s heartfelt whisper made Amel sigh softly. Even now, she liked hearing him say it, so how much more overwhelming must it have been the first time? That strange, foolish grin was inevitable.

Slowly, she wriggled closer, nestling into his embrace. The clean scent of soap tickled her nose. A teasing thought crossed her mind.

“Kyle, if I promise never to run away, will you stop calling me ‘sister’?”

“I could call you ‘wife’ or ‘darling’ now, but I’ll still call you ‘sister’ too.”

“…Seriously? Why?”

“Because when I do, you smile.”

His laughter was pure, as if that was the only reason he needed to exist.

Amel playfully tapped his chest a few times before pressing her forehead against his.

Listening to the quiet murmur of his affectionate thoughts, she felt her happiness swell. Kyle, too, indulged in the serene joy of hearing her heartbeat quicken more than usual.

Kylean Chaeild and Amelia Chaeild knew without a doubt—no matter what future awaited them, as long as they had each other, only happiness was certain.

“Sister, I love you.”

“You started last night the same way.”

“…Since I don’t remember it well, I should say it again.”

Kyle, shamelessly matter-of-fact, leaned in and kissed her deeply.

As their love filled the room with warmth and peace, the golden light of noon spilled over them.

[The End]

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