I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 4
The Grand Duke’s office.
Grand Duke Yurian put down the documents he was holding and lazily lowered his eyes. The aftermath of rescuing the princess was more troublesome than he had anticipated.
‘Deceiving the imperial family is cumbersome.’
The imperial family wouldn’t be pleased to have a child of royal blood, even if illegitimate, under his protection. The princess’s identity had to be concealed until he could launch the prepared rebellion.
Moreover, that wasn’t the only annoying matter.
Yurian asked Gerard, who was looking at him with a tense expression, indifferently.
“Is it about that issue again?”
“The princess is just a child.”
Yurian’s head throbbed at Gerard’s response, which was exactly as he had expected.
‘Why start doing this now.’
For the past few weeks, the topic Gerard brought up was always the same. Improving the treatment of the illegitimate princess rescued from the black mage’s tower.
He thought his aide usually distinguished between public and private matters. Yurian wiggled the quill he was holding towards Gerard, who was waiting for an answer.
“And?”
“The princess needs professional care. Her health condition is poor too.”
“Does she look like she’s about to die?”
“Your Grace!”
“If not, leave her be.”
What Yurian wanted was a princess as a pretext for rebellion. As long as the illegitimate princess was alive, nothing else mattered.
‘She’s just a puppet princess anyway.’
Yurian knew how greedy those belonging to the imperial family could be. Even if abandoned, a princess was still a princess.
Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.
Gerard hesitantly spoke to the Grand Duke, who had returned his focus to the documents.
“But Your Grace. The princess is an outcast from the imperial family. There’s no need to treat someone unrelated to that incident like this…”
“Do you think I’m mistreating that child out of personal feelings?”
“Aren’t you?”
Gerard’s clenched fist trembled slightly.
He had mentioned ‘that incident’ to the Grand Duke and even opposed his will. He would have no excuse if any punishment were to come his way immediately.
Instead of denying Gerard’s words, Yurian leaned back in his chair. By this point, he was curious about why Gerard was so protective of the princess.
“Why do you care about that child?”
“Because she resembles my sister. I can’t leave a child with such eyes alone.”
The Grand Duke recalled Gerard’s sister, whom he had seen only once long ago. The skinny young girl had resignation in her eyes.
He had heard that Gerard’s sister died before reaching adulthood. Come to think of it, that young princess also had eyes unsuitable for a child.
However, he couldn’t put a dead person and an illegitimate princess on the same level.
“I understand your concern, but that’s as far as it goes.”
“Your Grace… I…”
Under the Grand Duke’s gaze filled with silent pressure, Gerard closed his mouth. Yurian pulled out a document, signed it casually, and handed it to Gerard.
It was an order to exterminate monsters in the northern mountains.
“If you’re so idle that you have time for unnecessary thoughts, why don’t you go for some training?”
“I will follow your orders.”
Gerard’s shoulders were slumped as he left the office. The Grand Duke, who had pushed aside more than half of the remaining documents, stared at the closed door.
He needed some time to clear his head.
“…Tsk.”
Gerard was a capable aide.
For him to bring up the illegitimate princess so frequently, even if mixed with personal feelings…
‘Is there a problem with the princess’s situation?’
He had ordered the long-serving maids in the mansion to take care of the princess so she wouldn’t die. He hadn’t paid attention since there were no particular reports.
He went out to the terrace connected to the office and rubbed his face with his palm.
“How pathetic.”
As Gerard said, it wouldn’t be difficult to pay attention to that young princess. He could just add a word or two when calling the maids who were taking care of her.
He just didn’t want to.
He didn’t want to show kindness to a member of the imperial family, even if only half. In his mind, he knew it wasn’t that child’s fault.
“I’m the one who decided to save her.”
There was something else bothering him.
In fact, he had been about to give up on going to rescue the illegitimate princess. It was because of a sudden oracle that came to him alone from the temple.
-The moment you pick up the red flower, you will lose what you desire most and fall to a low place.
The possibility of the oracle, which was said to be known only to the person concerned, being fabricated was low. The departure was delayed by a week more than expected as he deliberated on this.
He eventually decided to trust his own plans rather than the deity.
The princess’s appearance when he finally met her was a mess.
“She called me a fool.”
A whim struck him when he saw those eyes glaring at him as if he were her mortal enemy.
That day, he placed his hand on the princess’s cheek.
‘This is just a simple whim.’
The next level of swordsmanship was only known through rumors.
Only after using up all the mana he had accumulated for that did the princess’s breathing stabilize.
‘I did something unlike me.’
As Yurian was about to return to his office, his senses caught a small presence. Hiding his body behind the curtain, he discovered a tiny figure.
‘Why is the princess here?’
Red hair in disarray and thin legs that could barely walk. Large, vivid purple eyes blinked as they scanned the office.
Can that be considered alright?
The visible condition of the illegitimate princess was not good at all.
It wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment in that state.
He could understand why Gerard had been bringing up the princess’s story so tediously.
“Is anyone… here?”
The princess looked around and then ran to his desk. The child climbed onto the desk using the drawer and spilled something out.
The princess’s small bottom wiggled as she did something on the desk.
“Done.”
The child smiled with a satisfied face and quickly left the office, as if afraid of being seen. After the princess’s footsteps faded away, he came out from behind the curtain.
“…This is.”
What the child had left behind were various fruits and flowers.
The soil-covered fruits and flowers were arranged in a cute heart shape. He recognized the identity of the herb placed at the center of the heart.
‘Starwort.’
It was an herb he desperately needed after overexerting his mana to rescue the princess. How did a young child come to possess such a precious herb?
There was another point that puzzled him most.
“Why give this to me?”
He was aware that he hadn’t treated the princess well. Her terrible appearance showed the cold treatment she had received.
Yet, all she did was come and leave herbs and flowers?
Gerard’s parting words echoed repeatedly in his confused mind.
“The princess is just a child.”
No. You’re wrong.
The princess was merely a tool for revenge. He couldn’t let her go until the revenge was complete.
‘It should be fine to give a warning.’
Yurian called the butler and instructed him to summon the maids to take care of the princess. Then, all the gifts except the herb were incinerated by his mana.
***
I rolled my eyes watching the maids busily moving around the room. Yesterday, I left a bribe in the Grand Duke’s office and fell asleep under the bed.
‘It was cozy and nice.’
When I came to my senses due to the noise, I found maids who had entered the room looking for me.
“Where is the princess? What if we can’t find her at all?”
“Be quiet! His Grace the Grand Duke just showed a bit of interest.”
“Suddenly ordering us to feed her all that.”
From the conversations between the maids, it seemed the Grand Duke had given some instructions regarding me.
Could it be that he didn’t like the bribe?
The maids searching for me with fierce determination didn’t seem to have good intentions. In my mind, I pictured the Grand Duke discarding the herb I had given.
Maybe I should have waited for him instead of just leaving the herb when no one was there.
‘I even insulted him.’
Remembering what I had said to the Grand Duke at our first meeting, I broke out in a cold sweat. I crawled further into the bed, hiding my body in the darkness.
Nothing would happen if I just didn’t come out.
“…We need to find her.”
“W-What should we do? She’s not here either.”
The maids even turned over the trash can to check if I was there. Hesitating at their desperate appearance, I crawled out from under the bed.
Relief flashed across the maids’ faces when they saw me.
“Here! She’s here!”
The maids grabbed my wrist and walked at a quick pace. My breath caught in my throat as I was half-lifted, almost running.
‘What’s going on to make them like this.’
The place the maids took me was the mansion’s dining room. On the table that could seat dozens, there was tableware set for just one person.
A black-haired maid personally placed a cushion on the chair and sat me on it.
Soon after, a large tray full of all kinds of food entered the dining room.
“You must eat all of this today.”
The maid handed me a fork and continued.
“It’s His Grace the Grand Duke’s order. You must eat all of this and then receive confirmation from His Grace.”
How cruel.
I gaped at the scale of torment worthy of the final boss from the original story. I could bet my wrist that I would vomit if I ate all of this.
After all, the food on the tray was all too heavy for my weakened digestive system.
“Please eat quickly.”
The maids standing beside me urged.
I stabbed a glistening roast turkey with my fork and put it in my mouth. My head spun from the stimulation that my stomach couldn’t handle.
After putting a couple of pieces in my mouth, I tried to put down the fork.
“I can’t eat any…”
“I said you must eat everything.”
“If the princess doesn’t eat it all, we’ll be in trouble. Is that what you want?”
The maids finely chopped the turkey meat and rubbed it against my lips. When I couldn’t swallow well, the maids’ actions became more urgent.
They forcibly pushed greasy food mixed with water down my throat.
“Urgh.”
After barely emptying the plate, I was dragged to the bathroom for a forced bath. Throughout the washing, I couldn’t move due to nausea.
“Now we’ll go to His Grace.”
The maids brought me before the Grand Duke.
My stomach, full of water and food, felt like it was sloshing with every movement. How much must he hate me to do this to me?
When I finally met the Grand Duke, he frowned at me sitting on the floor.
“Why aren’t you standing up?”
The moment I saw the unnecessarily handsome face of the Grand Duke head-on, the forcibly held-back food came up. I vomited everything I had eaten onto the Grand Duke’s shoes.
This is bad. What should I do?
When I raised my head, the Grand Duke’s eyes were frozen cold.
