I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 8
I crawled out from under the bed and tilted my head at the familiar sight of the room I hadn’t seen in a while.
Why am I in my original room?
The sparsely furnished room was the one I had stayed in when I first came to the Grand Duke’s residence. It seemed that when I gave a bribe to the Grand Duke yesterday to return to my room, I had returned to my original room.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I left a letter, so they should be able to figure out where I am.
As I was about to go back under the bed to sleep a bit more, I heard noisy sounds from outside.
“Everyone, move quickly! Time is of the essence!”
“Orders have come to search up to the west annex, so split into two groups!”
“She’s not in the east warehouse!”
Soon after, the clanking sound of armor moving followed. It was clear that at least dozens of knights were bustling about.
Did someone go missing?
Curious, I slightly opened the door and peeked my head out.
I made eye contact with a knight who was running down the corridor. His hair was soaked with sweat, probably from running around for a long time.
I awkwardly greeted the knight.
“…Hello?”
The knight, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly came to his senses and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“I found the Grand Princess! She’s here!”
“W-Wait…”
Were they looking for me outside?
Before I could grasp the situation, almost everyone in the mansion came running towards me. They all looked like a horde of zombies, rushing at me with bloodshot eyes.
‘What’s this? It’s scary.’
The thought that I shouldn’t be caught by them started to grow rapidly. I turned my back on them and began to run away earnestly.
“Grand Princess! Where are you going!”
“You mustn’t run away! Huff! P-Please come back here immediately!”
“Stop! His Grace the Grand Duke has ordered us to bring you back.”
Somehow, as time passed, the number of people chasing me kept increasing. There was a limit to how much I could evade pursuit by utilizing a child’s small body.
‘At this rate, I’ll be caught.’
Desperately fleeing, I climbed up the largest tree in the garden.
Somehow, I managed to climb to the very top of the tree and caught my breath.
“Now I’m safe.”
I sat on a branch at the top and looked down at the tree below. I could see small crowns of heads looking up at where I was, dumbfounded.
As I exhaled the breath that had risen to the tip of my chin, I pondered the belated question.
Why did I run away again?
It seems I got caught up in the atmosphere and ran with all my might. The knight who had made eye contact with me earlier waved his hand and shouted loudly.
“Grand Princess! It’s dangerous, please come down!”
I glanced at my trembling legs and shook my head. If I tried to go down with my strength depleted, I felt like I might fall.
Intending to convey that I would come down after resting here, I shouted towards the ground.
“Can’t go!”
“You can’t come down?”
“A little later. Can’t go!”
Thinking I meant I couldn’t come down at all, the gathered people started murmuring. Seeing their troubled looks made me feel sorry.
‘Why are they looking for me?’
I could come down on my own once my strength recovered a bit more, but there was no way to tell them that. As I was watching the situation with sympathetic eyes, it was then.
The crowd parted, and a familiar silver crown approached.
“The Grand Duke came too.”
The Grand Duke came to look for me, in addition to the mansion’s staff? Puzzled, I wriggled my bottom towards where the Grand Duke was.
At that moment, the Grand Duke, who had been exchanging words with a knight, drew the sword at his waist. The blade flashed, and my body tilted to one side.
Crack.
“…Huh?”
In an instant, the huge tree I was sitting on split in half.
I fell rapidly downwards along with half of the split tree. Gritting my teeth at the sight of the ground approaching faster and faster.
Just as I was bracing for impact and covering my head, someone embraced my body and rolled on the ground.
The dust that rose hazily obscured my vision.
When the dust finally settled, I confirmed who had saved me. The Grand Duke’s frosty eyes were glaring at me.
“Do you have some disease that kills you if you stay still?”
“…Grand Duke.”
The Grand Duke, who was catching his breath while holding me in his arms, muttered in a stern voice.
“What were you planning to do by climbing the tree? Did you not think it would be dangerous if you fell?”
With each word the Grand Duke spoke, I could feel the temperature around us dropping. The people gathered around inhaled sharply at the Grand Duke’s fierce aura.
‘The Grand Duke saved me.’
I stared at the Grand Duke’s clothes, now covered in dirt from rolling on the ground while holding me. Just like when he held me and patted my back when I was choking.
He didn’t seem like such a bad person.
When I read the original work, I thought he was just a violent and vicious villain. The Grand Duke’s cold voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You should answer.”
Trying hard to avoid the Grand Duke’s ominous gaze, I fidgeted with my fingers. He grabbed my neck and lifted me up to meet his gaze.
I turned my head slightly and mumbled.
“I just, just followed.”
“Why not just say you wanted to run away?”
“I’m not running away.”
“After leaving such a letter?”
What letter?
I did give a letter to the Grand Duke, but it had nothing to do with running away. I wrote it concisely because I lacked ink for the sauce.
[I’ve recovered, so I want to go back to my original room. Please change the maids back to my previous ones.]
What was wrong with that letter?
I couldn’t understand why the Grand Duke was angry, mentioning running away. The Grand Duke didn’t take his eyes off me, as if trying to find some trace in me.
“The letter said you wanted to go back, didn’t it?”
“Yes, it did.”
At my words, the Grand Duke’s eyes became fierce again.
“Do you want to go back to the Imperial family?”
“No.”
“It’s probably not that you want to go back to the tower. Tell me where you intend to go.”
Thinking it would be faster to show with actions rather than words, I broke free from the Grand Duke’s arms.
“Follow me.”
After gesturing to the Grand Duke, I trudged towards the direction of my original room. The Grand Duke held back the knights who tried to stop me.
Suddenly, a spectacle unfolded where hundreds of people were chasing after one small child.
Finally arriving at the small room, I stood in front of the bed and turned around. The Grand Duke, facing my smiling face, asked in an unusually surprised tone.
“Is this where you wanted to return to?”
“No.”
I proudly entered the dark space under the bed in front of the Grand Duke.
This cozy feeling.
It was my true sanctuary, with a comfort that couldn’t be felt in the large, empty room.
Through the gap between the bed, I could see the Grand Duke’s shoes. The pitch-black color seemed just like the villain Grand Duke’s heart.
“Immediately…”
The Grand Duke, choosing his words, called a waiting knight and instructed.
“Call for a code breaker.”
A moment later, the bed I was hiding under shook and was lifted up. The Grand Duke, who had effortlessly lifted the heavy bed with one hand, ordered in a chilling voice.
“Get rid of this unsightly bed as well.”
“…Hiccup.”
As two knights carried the bed out, the Grand Duke’s gaze pierced down at me. Covering my mouth with both hands, I watched his reaction.
***
“Your Grace, are you sure this is alright?”
The knight glanced at me standing blankly in the unfamiliar room and asked worriedly. The Grand Duke opened his mouth with an expression of annoyance.
“Rather than leaving her to die, it’s better to keep her close and watch her.”
“If I may be so bold, even though the Grand Princess is young, she has caretakers, so she wouldn’t die…”
“No. That child is dangerous. She climbs trees taller than herself, and wanders around the garden with a fever.”
Hearing the Grand Duke’s explanation, the knight nodded as if understanding. Lowering his voice considerably, the knight asked in a whisper.
“Does the Grand Princess lack survival instincts?”
“It’s not that she lacks them. She just doesn’t care.”
I puffed my cheeks, overhearing the conversation between the Grand Duke and the knight. If they wanted to talk without being heard, they should have left the room entirely.
‘I do care.’
It’s just that I’m a little quicker to give up on life than others. The knight, seemingly unable to believe the Grand Duke’s words, asked again in a puzzled voice.
“Is that even possible?”
“I don’t know either.”
Seeing the two of them looking so serious as if facing a difficult problem, gave me a strange feeling.
What’s so serious about it?
I climbed the tree in the garden because I was confident I could get down. And I went out on a rainy day because I wanted to take a short walk.
The Grand Duke declared to the knight in a stiff voice.
“I’ll take charge of the Imperial Princess for the time being.”
After dismissing the bowing knight, he walked towards me and spoke with a crooked posture.
“Now, do you feel like causing trouble in moderation?”
“Where is this?”
“My room.”
As I expected, it was indeed the Grand Duke’s room.
Despite having little furniture, the room didn’t feel empty. It was because of the antique paintings decorating every corner.
But why did he bring me to his room?
“Grand Duke, I want to go back…”
“From now on, this is your room.”
Bang.
Lightning struck in my head at the Grand Duke’s sudden declaration. What I wanted was to be sent back to my original room, but why…
‘Did I mishear?’
As I doubted my hearing, the Grand Duke drove the point home.
“You will stay with me for the time being.”
“Why?”
“It might be better to ask yourself, the one who caused trouble, for that reason.”
It wasn’t long ago that I was having nightmares about the Grand Duke. Now I’m supposed to live with him, trembling in fear of when he might kill me?
Sensing my intention to refuse, the Grand Duke cut in with a cold voice.
“Of course, nothing will change even if you dislike it.”
Is that what you should be saying right now?
If you don’t like me wandering around, you should just tell me to stay in the room.
Anger welling up, I raised my fist and pounded on the Grand Duke’s abdomen. It was as hard as hitting a solid wall rather than a person.
‘Is his stomach made of stone?’
The Grand Duke sat on the bed, ignoring me as I panted, my strength drained. Seeing him nonchalantly looking at documents, my stubbornness flared up.
Let’s see if you can ignore this!
I crawled onto the Grand Duke’s lap and drew a heart above my head. It was none other than the desperate ‘pleading pose’ that Juno had taught me.
With that, I winked and shouted with all my might.
“Don’t lock Liat up! I love you!”
“……”
An embarrassing silence swept through the Grand Duke’s room. Cold sweat beaded up under his cold gaze.
I sincerely wished to die.
