I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 15
What was that all about earlier?
After taking another bath and being tucked neatly into bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling. The Grand Duke I just met seemed like someone who had eaten something terribly wrong.
‘I don’t even know why he’s angry.’
I was on edge because he was emitting an ominous aura as soon as he entered. Maybe he had returned after finding out that I wasn’t the Imperial Princess.
But when the Grand Duke approached, he just pulled me into his arms without saying a word.
The soft silver hair tickled my cheek and the scent of rain lingered on my nose. Feeling awkward in his cold embrace, my voice came out cracked.
“Grand Duke, what’s wrong?”
“…Why… you?”
“I can’t hear you well.”
Whispering in a desperate voice I’d never heard before, the Grand Duke’s gaze was avoiding me. He seemed to be tracing something other than me.
Confused, I held his cheeks and lifted them to examine his expression carefully.
The emotion that briefly flashed across the Grand Duke’s neat face was all too familiar to me.
‘Self-blame and self-deprecation.’
Why would the strongest and most vicious villain from the original story make such an expression? Moreover, he was drenched as if he had been caught in the rain, his body felt damp as he held me.
Guessing that something must have happened, I let go of his cheeks and hugged him back.
As I patted his shoulder as if soothing a child, a faint light seeped into his unfocused eyes.
The Grand Duke, finally opening his mouth, whispered softly.
“How can I…”
Purple eyes briefly appeared beneath his thick eyelashes. The Grand Duke, who seemed about to say something, let go of my shoulders.
His face had already returned to its expressionless state.
It seemed he had completely shaken off the remnants of the emotion that had briefly seized him. The Grand Duke shook off the hem of his robe, full of rainwater and dust.
As he got up, he hesitated before whispering to me softly.
“It’s nothing, forget everything.”
I felt upset watching his back as he moved away from me, surrounded by servants.
How can you just stop talking like that?
I felt deflated, sensing the discomfort from the Grand Duke’s clearly different state than usual. On the other hand, as the tension eased, relief washed over me.
‘I haven’t been found out yet.’
If the Grand Duke had known I wasn’t the Imperial Princess, he would have questioned me.
But what was it really?
The Grand Duke usually didn’t avoid contact with me, but his dislike was evident. What reason could he have to embrace someone he didn’t even like?
‘And with that expression.’
If there was an event that could shake him up like that, it was probably related to the original story. I grabbed Sen, who was tidying up the bed and asked.
“Sen, why did the Grand Duke come back early?”
“We’re not sure about that either. We just heard he had some business.”
“Will he go back to the capital tomorrow?”
“Well, seeing that the nobles who went with him are returning too, it seems he’ll be staying for a while.”
It would be nice if I could find out why the Grand Duke returned in such a hurry. At least I could tell that it wasn’t because he wanted to return.
‘I probably won’t be able to see him for a while.’
If he came back because something went wrong, he’d be busy trying to fix it. Even living in the same room, it was hard to see the Grand Duke’s face.
‘If he wasn’t a Sword Master, the Grand Duke might have died from overwork long ago.’
Sen, having finished arranging the blanket, put a soft rabbit doll in my arms.
“Well then, Grand Princess, it’s time for you to sleep.”
“Okay. I will.”
“Shall I read you a book before you fall asleep? Like the cookie story from last time.”
“It’s okay. I’ll fall asleep soon.”
Actually, I had been getting sleepy for a while now.
Sen smiled softly and stroked my cheek, which was heavy with drowsiness.
The touch full of affection reminded me of the farewell letter I kept in the drawer. I thought it might be good to express my gratitude to Sen in words first.
“Sen, thank you.”
“Oh my. What are you so thankful for?”
“Everything.”
Sen’s hand, which had been slowly caressing my cheek, stopped in mid-air. I closed my eyes and whispered words I hadn’t been able to say before, stumbling over them.
“Being loved like this is unfamiliar… and it makes me happy.”
That makes me want to be greedy.
When I faced the angry Grand Duke earlier, what I felt wasn’t just fear.
‘To think that I would have lingering attachments.’
The moment Juno died, all my will to live disappeared with her. It was painful and hard to take her place in this situation.
But suddenly, I thought it was a shame.
This time being cared for by the greatest villain from the original story and the people around him. To think I could enjoy such a warm childhood.
‘It’s just a very brief dream anyway.’
Maybe it would be okay to live until Gerard returns and it’s revealed that I’m not the Imperial Princess. I sank into sleep, immersed in a languid sensation.
I must have slept for about an hour.
In the depths of my sleep, I faintly heard a voice calling me.
“Wake up, Imperial Princess.”
I turned over with my eyes still closed. The voice I thought was an auditory hallucination called me again. The voice persistently clung to my ears.
Trying to ignore the voice and sleep a bit more, I reluctantly opened my eyes when I felt a hand shaking my shoulder.
“…Grand Duke?”
The silver hair shining in the darkness confirmed it was indeed the Grand Duke.
I thought he’d be too busy to come.
It seems to be close to dawn, why did he wake me up instead of sleeping? As I blinked my eyes, drowsy with sleep, the Grand Duke’s purple eyes narrowed.
“I came briefly because I have something to say.”
“What is it?”
Forcibly chasing away my sleepiness and sitting up reluctantly.
I, who hadn’t thought much of his visit, widened my eyes at his next words.
“If you answer my question with a lie, I will kill the maids.”
The Grand Duke’s purple eyes, which I belatedly met as I raised my head, were sending me a warning.
That I would regret it if I didn’t follow his will.
***
In an instant, all traces of sleepiness vanished.
What came to mind in my astonished state was Sen’s bright smile I had seen before going to bed. I tried to read the reason on the Grand Duke’s face.
“Why are you saying such things?”
The Grand Duke’s face was too indifferent for someone who had just mentioned death.
As if the proposal he just made had no meaning to him. How could he speak of taking others’ lives in such a calm voice?
His following nonchalant words sent chills down my spine.
“First, that maid called Sen would be good, right? Since you seem to follow her the most.”
“What did you just say?”
“I’ll cut off that noisy maid’s tongue first, and then behead her.”
Even though he was a villain, I thought he was kinder than expected. But to make such threats just to hear my answer?
Seeing his brazen behavior as if it was nothing, I felt anger rising. Just as I was about to burst out in anger at him, a strange doubt crept in.
‘Could there be some reason?’
Once I realized it, I could glimpse the cracks hidden beneath the Grand Duke’s smooth, doll-like expression.
He seemed to be afraid of something.
“Why are you saying such bad things?”
The Grand Duke’s gaunt face was deeply shadowed with fatigue.
My reflection briefly caught in the Grand Duke’s eyes looked very small and fragile. But at this moment, the one who was anxious wasn’t me.
“Tell me, Grand Duke. You have something you want to say, don’t you?”
“You…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not confident I can prevent you from dying.”
The Grand Duke’s pale face overlapped with the description I had read in the original work.
[He could give up anything for the sake of rebellion. Using the young Imperial Princess was not a big issue for him.]
Was that really the case?
From the Grand Duke’s perspective, he couldn’t help but be concerned about the Imperial Princess who could become the justification for rebellion.
If my actions, which I had merely followed on a whim, had instilled anxiety in him. Now I could understand his strange behaviors.
“Grand Duke, I won’t die.”
“You say you won’t die when you have neither desires nor attachments to life? Do you expect me to believe that?”
Well, I’m just a fake Imperial Princess after all.
But even if I said that I didn’t think the Grand Duke would believe me. People tend to believe what they want to believe.
Just like I did long ago, waiting only for you to come.
“I do have something I want.”
I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and smiled faintly to reassure him. The Grand Duke’s eyes sank gloomily as he faced my smile.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like it if the Grand Duke loved me very much.”
Because then, when you learn the truth, you might kill me less painfully someday.
“…Alright.”
The Grand Duke, who answered in a low voice, bent down and pressed his lips to my forehead. The unfamiliar sensation of his hot breath touching my forehead made the back of my neck flush.
“If you’ve never been loved before, I’ll give you love, even if it’s a lie.”
“…Okay.”
“If you don’t know how to enjoy good things, I’ll personally teach you how to enjoy them.”
So stay alive until I want you to
His arrogant and selfish request made me furrow my brow. Somehow, the situation seemed to be turning more serious than I had thought.
“Grand Duke, I…”
That’s not what I meant.
Doesn’t that sound like he’s saying he’ll do his best to win my favor?
“That’s not really necessary.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to find the sleepiness that had fled.
‘Could this be a dream?’
When I lightly pinched my cheek, I felt a stinging pain.
The fact that I felt pain on my cheek meant that this wasn’t a dream, at least. With a dazed feeling, I rubbed my forehead where his breath had touched.
‘Let’s not worry about it unnecessarily.’
I lay down to try to sleep again, but my eyes remained wide open. I had an ominous feeling as my heart was beating fast.
Soon, that intuition became reality.
The next morning, I pressed my throbbing forehead as I looked at the chaotic scene in front of the door. Nobles in luxurious clothes were gathered in front of the door.
They were all crowds who had come to see me.
What benefit could they gain from seeing me that they gathered like this?
“Keep the order there! Didn’t I say I would greet her first?”
“My rank is higher, what order are you talking about!”
“I’ve been waiting in line since dawn to see the Grand Princess, why can’t I?”
My ears hurt from the nobles shouting and clamoring.
I heard that most of them were vassals who had left with the Grand Duke. I peeked at the gathered nobles while hiding behind the maids.
