My Dream is to Get My Own House - Chapter 88

Episode 88

I looked at Dylan’s serious expression and tilted my head, “What do you mean?”

“Before meeting the Grand Duke Castilla, I want to show you the entire Castilla Castle.”

“Is that alright, though?”

“Yes.”

No outsider had ever seen the entire castle before. 

Revealing the castle’s changing emotions would be like revealing his own heart. 

However…

“Ishael, you may do so.”

She was allowed to enter his heart. 

Because she was Ishael.

Ishael looked at him with a sense of doubt. 

She seemed to be gradually getting closer to the truth he was hiding. 

So, before Ishael noticed, he had to speak with his own words.

* * *

Dylan and I decided to take a walk inside the castle. 

As we climbed up the elegant stairs, he introduced each part of the castle like a narrator.

“Even this staircase used to be filled with ice.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes, it was not a castle but a huge chunk of ice.”

“Wow…”

He continued to explain that everywhere his gaze fell, there used to be ice.

“Do you find the atmosphere of the castle to your liking?”

After hearing his words, I felt a subtle emotion and stopped my steps. 

Normally, it should have been Grand Duke Castilla, the lord of the castle, who introduced it. 

But Grand Duke Castilla didn’t even show his face. 

Moreover, his attitude was as if he was introducing a carefully decorated love house.

“If you ask for my impression…”

It felt like spring had come to the castle that was once winter. 

The staircase that used to have frozen icicles, the windows that were all frosted, exuded an elegant and original atmosphere.

This castle was like my heart. 

Healing people’s hearts is what sunlight does. 

Today, Dylan described himself as sunshine by the lakeside at lunchtime. 

But that’s wrong.

“It’s not me, but Dylan who feels like sunshine.” 

He always silently stayed by my side, eventually melting my winter-like heart. 

Like the warm sunshine on a summer day, approaching little by little.

I thought the end of our contract marriage would inevitably be divorce. 

But now, a faint curiosity arose. 

Could there be another ending?

“Receiving warm sunshine in the winter castle feels strangely extraordinary.”

My changing emotions were amazing. 

“I’m glad you like it. Although the eternal winter of this castle has not been broken yet, someday it will disappear.” 

Even that felt like my own heart. 

I liked his sunny side. 

But I was still wavering about him. 

I chuckled softly and said, “But there’s something I want to tell you clearly, Dylan.”

“Yes.”

“Now you can tell me the secret.”

He flinched. 

“…Did you guess?”

“Well, kind of.”

I was not surprised even if he said he was the closest aide to Grand Duke Castilla. 

Yes, in the life of a knight, he could become a cursed man’s offspring or even a close friend. 

I had no strong prejudice against the Grand Duke’s curse. 

Even if he was a little drunk, someone who owned such a beautiful castle should be a good person.

“Yes, I believe you’re a good person.” 

I suddenly noticed that the evening sunset had disappeared, and darkness crept in. 

Black shadows fell on his face by the window. 

In the faint darkness, Dylan reached out to me again. 

“Then, before that… there’s a place I want to show you. It’s the most beautiful place in this castle.”

Suddenly, I became curious about what happened during the banquet with the Grand Duke Castilla. 

However, I naturally held his hand and said, “I’m looking forward to it.”

And I’m glad we didn’t break the atmosphere; the garden was astonishingly beautiful. 

“I never knew there would be such a beautiful garden.”

Should I say it felt like looking at a painting? 

A garden surrounded by large glass walls. 

Evergreen trees were lush and vibrant, and magnolias bloomed on the moist ground covered with dewdrops. 

Even the decorative sculptures that lacked life were beautiful. 

Glass flowers, filled with light in their petals, gracefully illuminated the garden. 

Thanks to them, even if darkness approached, the beauty of the garden wouldn’t be hidden.

“Can we see this for free? Seriously?”

“Before the witch’s curse, it was said to be the most beautiful place in this castle.”

“Ah…”

“There used to be only ice in the garden, but now it’s full of grass basking in the sunlight.”

Dylan beamed with pride, and I nodded with a curious expression.

‘There are so many amazing things. How on earth did the curse start to lift?’ 

I should have helped to lift the curse and become close to him… 

But the curse of eternal winter still remains. 

Moreover, I seem to have a close relationship with Dylan, so maybe I can become close to Grand Duke Castilla without any worries. 

After dismissing useless thoughts, I looked around and exclaimed, “It’s really amazing!” 

“I’m glad you like it,” he replied. 

At that moment, Dylan’s expression became serious. 

He slowly opened his mouth. 

“So, what I mean is…”

“Yes.”

I looked at him. 

It seemed like he was about to reveal the secret he had hidden for so long. 

Finally, the beautiful night arrived. 

It was still a chilly night in the cold and towering top tower of the castle with lingering eternal winter, inside the garden. 

At this moment, a confession that could not be undone was unfolding.

He slowly plucked a beautiful crimson flower standing beside the garden and lifted it up.

Although Dylan clearly picked only one flower, a dazzling bouquet was now in his hand. 

Is this the charm of this garden?

“Please tell me,” he said, handing me the bouquet.

“What I have kept hidden as a secret is…”

He seemed to know what would follow next.

1. “I am the Grand Duke Castilla’s closest aide. Please do not judge me based on preconceptions.”
2. “By chance, I stayed in the Grand Duke’s residence and became friends with the Grand Duke and the gamekeeper. It has nothing to do with the curse, so please believe me.”
3. “I committed a crime and was driven away as the Grand Duke’s retainer. But now I have repented, so please believe me.”

‘Which one is it among the three?’

It was when I stared at him with a nervous face.

“I am the Grand Duke Castilla.”

No, what is this nonsense?

I covered my ears and asked back.

“What? I didn’t hear it clearly.”

At that moment, he slowly closed and opened his eyes. 

As if a spell was being broken, his face changed subtly. 

It wasn’t drastically different from usual. 

But he appeared more mature and exuded a more sensual atmosphere. 

His features were stronger, with thicker eyebrows, neatly combed hair, and a sharper and more intense impression. 

So this man was the man I had glimpsed occasionally.

He was certainly very similar to Dylan…!

“I am the Grand Duke Castilla.”