I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 27
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The Grand Duke looked like he might collapse at any moment.
His already sharp features were on edge, exuding a decadent charm. I glanced at the Grand Duke’s chest, where his buttons were undone and disheveled.
‘How much have you been overworking yourself?’
It felt strange to see the Grand Duke, who was usually meticulous about self-care, so broken down. The Grand Duke approached, staggering, and asked in a tired voice.
“You’re still not asleep?”
“Yeah. Did you come to sleep?”
He looked like he would fall asleep the moment he lay down on the bed. I rolled over, making space for the Grand Duke to lie down on one side of the bed.
“Lie down here.”
I patted the bed while looking at the Grand Duke, but he remained silent for a while. Finding it strange that he was standing still in the darkness, I asked him.
“Grand Duke? What’s wrong?”
“Why haven’t you slept until now?”
“…Um. I’m not sleepy?”
“I told you to go to bed early.”
Talking with the Grand Duke often made me feel like I was a troublemaker who didn’t listen. Still, I was relieved that he didn’t seem to know about my outing.
The Grand Duke, who obediently lay down beside me, gently patted my blanket-covered stomach. He looked at my wide-awake eyes and spoke.
“Let’s pretend you’re sleeping now.”
“But I’m still awake?”
“No. You’re sleeping. I’m talking to myself while you have your eyes closed.”
What a strange thing to say.
The Grand Duke whispered in a low voice that I should just understand it that way. My vision went dark as his hand gently forced my eyelids closed.
‘Did the Grand Duke eat something wrong?’
I was about to ask about the Grand Duke’s strange behavior but decided against it. Today’s Grand Duke looked unwell at a glance, and it was the anniversary, after all.
It wouldn’t hurt to go along with it just this once.
“Alright. Good girl.”
The Grand Duke caressed my cheek as I made even breathing sounds as if I were really asleep. His voice, right next to my ear, somehow felt gentle.
“I have something to tell you.”
He tells me to pretend to sleep and then says he has something to say? This clearly meant I should listen without objecting to whatever he said. I marveled at the Grand Duke’s cunning method.
The Grand Duke’s voice, resonating in the quiet room, was very calm.
“I had a reason to save you.”
My intention to go along with his eccentricity as much as possible silently disappeared with his next words.
“I will make you the Emperor.”
“Cough”
I forgot the Grand Duke’s instruction to pretend to sleep and suddenly sat up.
‘Wait, is this natural?’
In the original story, the princess the Grand Duke saved was enthroned as a puppet emperor. Even knowing the original, I was momentarily surprised by the impact of his words.
After calmly organizing my thoughts, I lay back down and tried to calm my startled heart.
“I’m going back to sleep.”
“…You always show reactions I don’t expect, but that’s not necessarily bad.”
“Snore”
I heard a small chuckle at my earnest acting. My intention was to listen to whatever the Grand Duke had to say.
Heavier stories than expected leaked out one after another.
“The Imperial family values bloodline and despises illegitimate children. I wanted to show them that you, whom they would despise more than anyone, would succeed their position.”
The Grand Duke spilled out details of what should have been a most secret rebellion plan. For a moment, I doubted if I had heard correctly.
“…Is it okay to tell me such things?”
“You’re asleep, and I’m just rambling to you, so it doesn’t matter.”
“So that’s your excuse.”
A sane adult wouldn’t reveal their plans to a child. Especially content that could lead to beheading for insulting the royal family.
The only reason he would make such a confession to me was probably guilt.
“Are you sorry to me, Grand Duke?”
“Because I will end up ruining your future.”
Of course, it was true that he currently intended to use me, believing I was the princess. At first, I resented him for saving my life, mistaking me for Juno.
However, quite some time has passed since then, and my thoughts have changed.
“Grand Princess! The sunshine is so warm today!”
“Would you like to have snacks with us?”
“This Gerard will strive to ensure that the Grand Princess has a happy day.”
I experienced a warmth I had forgotten.
A peaceful childhood given to me, who was afraid to even trust people. I simply couldn’t deny that that time had become a comfort to me.
“I can’t give you up. Honestly, I’m not confident I can love you either.”
“……”
“Your life might crumble because of me. I’ll erase your choices.”
I could guess as much even without the Grand Duke saying it.
However, I didn’t want to hear it now, before everything was revealed.
I covered the Grand Duke’s mouth with both hands as he rambled on as he pleased.
“It doesn’t matter, Grand Duke.”
Juno came to me, who thought life was just about enduring alone. And before I realized it, you killed the precious person I had lost.
‘No, I killed her.’
If it was resentment for that, I had already poured it out to the Grand Duke in that dying moment. So now it was my turn to thank the Grand Duke.
“I didn’t want to live. You forced me to live then, and you’re still telling me to live now.”
“Liat.”
It seemed I had somewhat fulfilled Juno’s last wish, which seemed impossible to keep, to be happy.
“I’ve come to have a slight attachment to life, and it’s all thanks to you, Grand Duke.”
“What I did was…”
“You were the beginning.”
You’ve kept alive a life that could have been simply abandoned and left alone. Such violence and mercy could only be done by the Grand Duke.
“You created my tomorrow.”
Even if the Grand Duke tries to kill me someday, it’s too late to resent him. The peaceful time I received from the Grand Duke was that valuable.
“So be quiet.”
To stop his incessant self-blame, I stood on tiptoe and hugged the Grand Duke’s neck.
He let out a shallow sigh as he exposed his neck, a vital point to me. The only sounds in the now quiet room were our heartbeats.
Now I understand.
“You’re an awkward person.”
I stroked the Grand Duke’s dark-shadowed eyes with my fingers. I never thought I’d meet someone as clumsy at living as myself.
Your lonely end, unloved by anyone, resembled mine.
***
The next day, I woke up in bed.
The Grand Duke had left to handle urgent matters, and Gerard was there instead. I sat on Gerard’s lap, drowsy with sleep.
‘I hope the Grand Duke is alright?’
The Grand Duke, who fell asleep in my arms as if collapsing, looked desperate for rest. But he went to work right after waking up, so I couldn’t help but worry.
They say the most meaningless thing in the world is worrying about high nobles. As I sighed heavily, Gerard asked in a concerned voice.
“Grand Princess, are you listening?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I was asking if you might consider starting your education soon.”
I half-listened to his words with one ear while getting lost in thought.
‘Why don’t they bring the person they said they would?’
Since he came early in the morning, I thought he would bring the person who wanted to see the princess.
Gerard kept repeating that it wasn’t time to meet yet. If I could meet that person quickly, I might at least feel at ease.
I asked Gerard, who was just rambling on about things I didn’t care about.
“When can I meet Gerard’s gift?”
“Would you believe me if I said it’s all related to the education I’m talking about?”
“No.”
“I would like the Grand Princess to receive a gifted education.”
Behind Gerard, who was looking up at me with earnest eyes, I could see the image of a rotating tail.
‘My life will end soon anyway.’
Rather than wasting time receiving education, it was better to enjoy my current life.
“I just want to eat bread.”
When I openly expressed my lack of interest, Gerard changed his target. He put me down and walked towards the maids who were in the middle of cleaning.
“Everyone, about the Grand Princess…”
After saying that, he put on a very gloomy expression. Sen, startled by his face that looked as if he had lost his country, asked.
“What about the Grand Princess?”
“Don’t you think she’s spending her time too idly without receiving any education?”
At his genuinely regretful tone, the faces of Sen and the other maids crumpled. The maids snorted as if they had heard the greatest insult.
“Our Grand Princess is smart even without education!”
“That’s right! She can even read!”
“She eats well and even goes to bed healthily at 9 o’clock!”
It was meant to be praise, but it strangely hurt.
It also seemed like a roundabout way of saying I play all day. The maids who cared for me started to pick apart Gerard’s words.
The conversation between the maids and Gerard quickly turned into an argument.
“Are you saying our Grand Princess is slow?”
“I never said anything like that.”
As I was watching the situation with great interest, I shivered from an inexplicable chill.
‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’
As the argument intensified, even maids who were doing other work gathered around. That’s when the flow of the argument began to change subtly.
“That’s what gifted education in the capital is about!”
“Is that really true?”
“Of course. If you just trust me, I’ll educate the Grand Princess perfectly.”
“We can’t let the Grand Princess fall behind other nobles.”
The maids applauded Gerard, who was giving a speech with strange words. Why are they listening to such nonsense?
Gerard sheepishly ran his hand through the back of his hair.
“I’m glad everyone understands. But there’s an obstacle here.”
Gerard pointed at me, who was quietly eating a cream puff. The maids’ excited gazes all fixed on me at once.
“As you can see, the Grand Princess needs to want it.”
“Huh?”
Crumbs from the half-eaten bread fell from my mouth. Sen, with eyes rivaling Puss in Boots, slowly approached me.
“Grand Princess, would you perhaps like another cream puff?”
Sen whispered, ready to hand over the entire basket of cream puffs. The point was to try this education thing Gerard talked about.
As if I’d fall for such temptation!
No matter what conditions they offer, my pride as a person who has lived thirty-two times…
An hour later, I was pouting, holding snacks and storybooks the maids had given me. The result was my overwhelming defeat to their massive offensive.
