I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 17
Drip, drip.
A crack formed on my palm where it touched the sharp sword, and blood began to fall. At that moment, the oppressive aura from the Grand Duke’s sword disappeared as if washed away.
“…Ah.”
“Give me your hand.”
His eyes narrowed again as he pulled my wrist. He was looking at the area where I had bruised myself while using magic to burn the book the other day.
I pulled down my sleeve to cover my wrist.
Guessing what the Grand Duke might be thinking, an unsolicited excuse tumbled out.
“This happened while I was playing.”
“……”
“It’s definitely not self-harm or anything like that.”
Somehow, the more I spoke, the deeper the wrinkles between the Grand Duke’s brows became. I tried to remove his hand from my wrist while cautiously observing his expression.
Restraining my slight resistance with one hand, he asked in a voice suppressing anger.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
When I shook my head vigorously, a vein popped on the Grand Duke’s forehead. I couldn’t understand why he was so angry, but his expression as he looked at me was frightening.
Perhaps he was upset that the nobles had defied him.
Whatever the reason, it seemed urgent to break the frozen atmosphere. Suppressing my desire to run away, I opened my mouth.
“Grand Duke, if you get angry, you’ll die early.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”
“But they say you need to laugh a lot to live healthily.”
I demonstrated by pulling the corners of my mouth with my fingers to make a smiling expression.
“You should smile too, Grand Duke.”
The Grand Duke’s expression contorted at my words.
‘Was that too much?’
Even I would be taken aback if suddenly told to smile. After all, I had just blurted it out because his angry face was scary.
As I was about to correct myself, saying I had spoken wrongly, I froze with my mouth open at the sight before me.
My vision was filled with the Grand Duke’s gently smiling face.
‘He’s as pretty as an angel.’
The Grand Duke’s lips, which were usually turned down, now formed a soft curve. His beautiful purple eyes crinkled, and a pure smile settled on his lips.
His silver hair, bathed in sunlight, was dazzling in itself. The smile on his picturesque face faded away moments later.
The Grand Duke’s gruff voice struck my blanched mind.
“What are you staring at? Didn’t you tell me to smile?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“Feigning emotions is basic in noble society, so you should learn it too.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Are you listening?”
As I nodded my head vigorously up and down, the corners of the Grand Duke’s mouth loosened slightly. Wiping away the drool that had unconsciously flowed, I reflected on the scene I had just witnessed.
‘What a terrifying appearance.’
Even knowing he was the villain in the original story, I had almost been inadvertently captivated. Is it okay for a villain to be so beautiful?
Puffing out my cheeks with an inexplicable sense of injustice, the Grand Duke set me down on the floor.
“Wait here for a moment.”
After sheathing his sword, the Grand Duke slowly walked towards Luke. Luke pleaded with the Grand Duke, repeatedly pressing his head to the floor.
“P-please spare me! Your Grace!”
“I won’t kill you.”
At those words, color returned to Luke’s face. As Luke hastily tried to get up, the Grand Duke gripped his shoulder and raised his scabbard.
Crack.
The quickly lowered scabbard struck one of Luke’s kneeling legs. Along with the sound of breaking bone, Luke let out a scream.
“Gah! Y-Your Grace!”
“I made you my assistant because you were quick-witted. You’re useless like this.”
“H-huu. It’s… it’s a misunderstanding.”
“Your job was to stop the nobles and report to me, wasn’t it?”
Luke tried to escape from the Grand Duke, unable to stand properly. The Grand Duke stepped on the edge of his cloak as he crawled, dragging his leg on the floor.
Losing balance, Luke’s upper body fell face-down on the floor.
“Be grateful I’m not killing you.”
“Ugh, urk. Sob.”
As I listened to Luke’s sobbing voice, I rubbed my sweaty palms on my clothes.
Is it possible to shatter someone’s bones with sheer force?
‘He must have wanted to make an example.’
By tomorrow, news of what happened to Luke would spread throughout the mansion, and the problem with the nobles gathered at the door would be resolved immediately.
‘Broken bones are easy to heal.’
The holy power in this world might not heal external wounds, but it was perfect for broken bones. The Grand Duke seemed to have taken this into account when breaking the bones.
Soon, the Grand Duke, who had been coldly looking down at the suffering Luke, delivered a final warning.
“Not everyone has accepted the Grand Princess’s existence. If any noble were to harm the Grand Princess due to your silence…”
The Grand Duke briefly paused, then stepped on Luke’s neck as he writhed in pain on the floor.
“Your neck won’t remain attached here.”
“Guh, gack.”
Luke’s body, which had convulsed slightly, went limp, unable to withstand the killing intent. The Grand Duke clicked his tongue in annoyance before picking me up again.
As I naturally rested my head against his chest, the Grand Duke gently patted my back.
“You’re not stopping me this time?”
“The Grand Duke just did what needed to be done. You punished someone who broke the rules.”
“After stopping that guy from dying?”
“I don’t want to see any more deaths. I’ve seen too many already.”
The memories of all sorts of atrocities encountered on the battlefield when I was a Sword Master remained in my mind. I didn’t want to recall the scenes where life and death intersected.
“Thank you for not killing Luke.”
The Grand Duke sighed briefly and muttered in a low voice.
“Don’t trust nobles carelessly. They’re the kind who use others for their own gain.”
Is that something a Grand Duke, the noblest of nobles, should say?
‘He really confuses people.’
A few days ago, he spoke lightly of a maid’s death, but today he forgave a noble.
‘Well, at least he’s better than Luke.’
At least he doesn’t look down on others recklessly like Luke does just because he’s a noble.
“…It’s difficult.”
He’s cold at times, but unexpectedly gentle in ways you wouldn’t expect. Sometimes he looks at me with an indescribable gaze different from hatred.
Suddenly, I became a little curious about the Grand Duke’s past that wasn’t mentioned in the original story.
***
After escorting the Imperial Princess to her room, Yurian returned to his office. Having decided not to go to the capital and proceed with the adoption of the Imperial Princess, petitions had piled up.
The Imperial family must have been quite upset by this incident.
Especially the Empress, who not only looked down on him but hated him, might take matters into her own hands. Either way, it was clearly troublesome, but he didn’t regret it.
His vassals couldn’t understand his decision to return directly to the mansion from the campsite.
“Why are you returning?”
“Didn’t we send an official letter to the Imperial family with the expected arrival date?”
“There will surely be backlash.”
The vassals’ judgment was correct.
If they had continued on to the capital without stopping, things would have been much easier. But even now, he didn’t feel the need to go to the capital.
He looked at the sky beginning to set through the window.
“Maybe I’ve been possessed by a ghost.”
The letter he received that day happened to be written in the child’s handwriting, more carefully than usual.
So he was able to read the contents of the letter.
[Thank you for taking care of me, who doesn’t have a happiness calculator.]
It was a very long thank-you letter.
From the snacks eaten in the morning to the maids, the briefly cast sunlight, and even the flowers encountered on the way and the cook, the child expressed gratitude for everything.
His name was written there too.
[I’m sorry for leaving resentment then. I won’t resent you even if you kill me.]
Is this supposed to be a will?
There was no despair prepared for death or desire for revenge against others. Reading the will, he realized that the child didn’t trust him.
‘She thinks I’m going to kill her.’
Neither his words nor his gifts had reached the child at all. No matter how many times he said he wouldn’t hit her, the child wouldn’t believe him.
‘Because she grew up in such an environment.’
Where death is more natural than life, and abuse is rampant.
He thought again that it was good he had swept away that tower.
As he read the letter, each carefully pressed character stuck to his heart. At the same time, the words of the will overlapped with his wife’s last words.
“Thank you. For treating me warmly.”
[Thank you. For being kind even though you hate me.]
When he came to his senses, he had already returned to the mansion after riding his horse like mad.
He just couldn’t understand.
A child who wrote such a will might leave without any lingering attachment. He was afraid of facing someone dying again without being able to do anything.
He didn’t know how to ensure he wouldn’t lose anyone.
“Why am I always too late?”
No. This time he wasn’t late.
Seeing the clear face looking up at him alive, the long nightmare broke. The visions of his wife and daughter dying covered in blood disappeared.
In his arms was the Imperial Princess he would use as a tool for rebellion. The small warmth clutching his rain-soaked shoulder soothed his frayed nerves.
He should have been angry at the child for sending such a letter and ruining things, but his lips wouldn’t move.
‘Ah. You didn’t die.’
Unlike them.
Later, when he summoned the maids and questioned them, he could guess the general situation. The child’s prepared letter for him and the pre-written will have been switched.
The child seemed clever at times but was ultimately clumsy.
‘I need to gain her trust.’
The child needed to know that where she was wasn’t a cage.
“If she wants love, I’ll pretend to love.”
Although he had never given affection before, he knew the common forms of affection. If the child came to trust him on her own, she would develop attachments.
An act until the child develops expectations for life.
‘This is for revenge.’
For some reason, it bothered him to see the child smiling without hesitation by his side. If his lost daughter were alive, she would be about that age.
He called the waiting butler and instructed him to adjust the schedule.
He was planning to hold a meeting with all the high-ranking vassals who had left for the campsite in attendance.
“For now, process the agenda of the meeting as preparation for the upcoming event.”
He intended to officially introduce the Grand Princess at this meeting. There was no better way to cut off unnecessary approaches from the vassals.