I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 14

Sen looked at me sitting in front of the drawer with worried eyes. Since returning from the library, I couldn’t leave the drawer.

‘Bewitched by that suspiciously handsome face.’

As I gritted my teeth, remembering the man I encountered at the library, Sen cautiously asked.

“Grand Princess. Are you going to stay there?”

“I like it here.”

“But you haven’t slept since yesterday.”

“I’ll sleep here too.”

I buried my face in the blanket given by the maids, with sunken eyes. Inside the drawer were the will and farewell letter I had written before and two books.

‘I must protect them.’

While it would be a bit troublesome if the will and chronology were discovered, the problem was that imperial history book.

I couldn’t forget the shock I felt when I read the history book given by that man.

[There were two divine beasts born from light and darkness in the world.

“Light, what a coveted power.”

The first emperor, who coveted the power of the divine beast, killed the divine beast of light and stole its power.]

Even now, recalling the contents of the book made my head go cold reflexively. No wonder, as the content of the book differed from the widely known imperial history.

The imperial family claimed that Anastasia, the divine beast of light, and the first emperor were in a loving relationship.

‘They said she gave her power out of love, not that it was stolen.’

What would happen if the imperial family knew about this book?

‘At least three generations would be wiped out.’

This was a forbidden book that shouldn’t exist.

How did such a dangerous book end up prominently placed in the Grand Duke’s library? One could be summarily executed just for being associated with the book.

In other words, I couldn’t let the maids discover this dangerous book.

That was the real reason I couldn’t leave the drawer where the book was hidden. The maids, unaware of the situation, fretted anxiously around me.

“The Grand Princess won’t sleep…”

“She says she’ll only eat breakfast in front of that drawer.”

“We’re failures as maids for not being able to make our charge comfortable.”

“Sob, the, the Grand Princess l-likes the drawer more than us. Waaah.”

To be honest, I was reaching my limit too.

Although I was holding out without sleeping through sheer willpower, my head kept drooping. I shook my heavy head from side to side, weighed down by fatigue.

‘I mustn’t fall asleep.’

If it’s impossible to guard the drawer forever… I threw off the blanket, stood up, and approached the maids.

As I finally left the drawer, Sen’s eyes filled with emotion. She raised both hands above her head and offered a prayer.

“Thank you, God! The Grand Princess has parted from the drawer!”

“Sen, do you know the founding myth?”

“You mean the story of how Divine Beast Anastasia gave her power to the Emperor out of love?”

So she doesn’t know about the book.

Indeed, this book shouldn’t be returned to the library but eliminated entirely. I pondered how to burn the book without the maids seeing.

First, I needed to go outside.

Unfortunately, it was intermittently showering outside right now. I doubted I’d get permission to go out in this weather.

I clung to the maids’ waists and pleaded.

“I wanna go outside.”

“It’s the rainy season now, so we don’t know when it might rain again. And we’re worried about you catching a cold.”

I needed a special measure to get the maids’ permission.

‘I have no choice.’

I closed my eyes tightly and slowly raised both arms above my head. I bent my wrists to make a heart shape and tilted my waist.

The maids couldn’t take their eyes off me as I wiggled my hips from side to side.

“I love you! Let’s go outside!”

“Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.”

I quietly bit my trembling lips, shaking with shame.

‘I want to die.’

As always, the embarrassment was all mine.

***

When Juno first taught me this pleading pose, I didn’t believe it would work. But after using it a few times, I understood. This was the real deal.

Even the Grand Duke, who looked at me coldly right after my request, still made time to go out with me.

Is it okay for this to work?

My cheeks were sore from the maids losing control midway and showering me with kisses.

“How can her expression be like a fox from the Betti Plateau?”

“Can’t you do it just one more time?”

“Where’s the video recorder? The video recorder…”

Let’s never do this in front of the maids again.

I trudged along following Sen towards the garden. Sen, who put a parasol over me for the outing, smiled brightly with a pleased expression.

She seemed happy to have become my walking companion, beating out the other maids.

“It’s fortunate it’s not raining now.”

“Um… I have something to say.”

I fidgeted with my fingers, trying to bring up my request. Would Sen, who was more sensitive than anyone about my safety as a maid, grant my request?

I had no choice but to try asking.

“Sen. Liat needs some alone time. I wanna be alone for a bit.”

Sen’s eyes widened slightly at my words, spoken with courage, then curved gently. Her hand came down on my head as I fidgeted anxiously.

The touch stroking my hair was very affectionate.

“How can I help you?”

“You won’t stop me?”

“How could I refuse a request made with such an expression?”

After a brief pause, Sen removed her hand from my hair and continued.

“We owe our lives to you, Grand Princess.”

Sen calmly explained to my puzzled self. In fact, on the day we reunited, if I hadn’t forgiven the maids, they would have all died.

The Grand Duke had no intention of letting the maids who had neglected the Imperial Princess off the hook for their presumptuous behavior.

“We’ve all worked here since we were young. That’s why we were momentarily mistaken.”

That they were important to the Grand Duke’s household.

There was also arrogance in thinking that only they knew the person the Grand Duke brought was an Imperial Princess. Even while knowing they were tormenting an innocent child.

They came to their senses when they reunited with the Imperial Princess, their target of bullying, facing death. The moment they met those eyes that blamed no one, they knew.

The weight of what they had done.

“When you hugged me, Grand Princess, I thought: This person won’t abandon us worthless beings.”

“There are no worthless beings, Sen.”

Sen’s eyes sparkled like they held starlight upon hearing my words.

“Yes. I think so too.”

After a brief but strong affirmation, Sen pointed beyond the wall entwined with rose vines. She leaned close to my ear and whispered.

“There’s a wide space inside there. Why don’t you spend a little time alone there?”

“Okay!”

“I’ll make excuses to the other maids.”

“Thank you.”

A radiant smile graced Sen’s face at my simple gratitude. I pressed down on my inexplicably fluttering heart at her bright expression without a hint of shadow.

‘They owe their lives.’

I never thought that the always cheerful Sen had been threatened with death by the Grand Duke. Yet she had still gathered the courage to stand before the Grand Duke for me before.

I had already received more than enough repayment from her.

“Then, off you go!”

I walked along the wall Sen had mentioned, leaving behind Sen waving her arm slightly.

“Good thing I hid the book.”

There was no one worth dying for over just one such book. Having found a sufficiently secluded space, I took out the imperial history book from my bosom.

I closed my eyes and concentrated the surrounding magic on my hand holding the book. As the blood vessels burst, unable to handle the magic, a faint bruise appeared on my wrist.

“…Burn.”

The book, engulfed by the magic-induced flame, soon lost its form.

I carefully disposed of the ashes left from burning the book and returned to where Sen was. Sen was explaining to the other maids why I was late.

“The Grand Princess had an urgent need for the bathroom, so she’s taking care of business.”

“It’s taking too long for just that.”

“Should we go check?”

Sen, blocking the anxious maids, shouted suddenly.

“No! The Grand Princess has constipation, so it takes a long time!”

“…Sen.”

As I quietly approached and tugged on her clothes, Sen’s expression stiffened. I raised the corners of my mouth as I watched her blinking and looking sheepish.

“Let’s go back, Sen.”

Sen, with a tearful face, nodded silently.

That evening at the dinner table, I faced the aftermath of Sen’s lie. The table was full of foods good for constipation.

Broccoli, sweet potatoes, and even cabbage.

Thinking of the maids’ thoughtfulness, I stuffed my mouth full of stir-fried cabbage. Suddenly, I remembered the times when I had to force myself to eat because of the Grand Duke.

‘So much has really changed.’

I never thought I’d become this close to the maids who used to be neglectful.

‘I’ve safely disposed of the book too.’

Since I could now get away from that drawer, I felt I could sleep deeply tonight.

And that night.

I had gone to bed early, covered with a blanket when I woke up to a commotion. Looking at the window, it was still before dawn.

Through the slightly open door, I could see servants running busily.

“Move quickly! There’s not much time left before arrival!”

“To come in one day when it’s a two-day journey…”

“Heat the water immediately and prepare to welcome the master!”

I heard the sound of several people going downstairs at once.

Could a rebellion have already started?

I hadn’t finished looking through the chronology, so I didn’t know when the rebellion would occur. But even so, there was no way a rebellion could happen this soon.

Feeling an odd sense of unease enveloping me, I hurriedly went down the stairs.

In front of the entrance, hundreds of employees were lined up, bowing towards the main gate.

“Welcome back.”

A man wearing a rain-soaked robe strode in through the main gate.

Even though covered by the robe, his intimidating aura and tall stature were evident. A glimpse of brilliant silver hair is visible from inside the robe.

“Why is the Grand Duke here now…”

Wasn’t the Grand Duke supposed to stay in the capital for at least a month? As I stared at the Grand Duke in confusion, our gazes met in mid-air.

An instinctive fear arose at the Grand Duke’s eyes, colder than usual by at least twice.

“Come here.”

When I stood still without moving, he walked directly to the railing where I was standing.

His hurried steps, having lost their usual composure, betrayed a sense of impatience. I slowly backed away until I hit the wall and stopped.

As the tall Grand Duke blocked my way, a dark shadow fell over my head.