Chapter 13: First Meeting (2)
‘It must be because of the curse.’
The look in the Grand Duke’s eyes just now wasn’t disgust or hatred toward me. It was something much closer to fear.
He was afraid that he might hurt someone and worried about what he could do.
‘That’s why he avoided me.’
Only today did I finally realize. The reason he had been avoiding me so much—of course, it might also be because he didn’t like me—but at the core, it was because he was afraid of harming me.
Why didn’t I think of that before?
During the Beast War, the previous Grand Duke had made a blood pact with a dragon, and as a result, he was cursed.
When he died, the curse was passed down to his son, Loic.
‘I remember reading in the original story that the Grand Duke suffers from this curse.’
But for some reason, it was as if my mind had been blocked from recalling this fact until now.
‘And only after touching him did I finally remember.’
Lying in bed, I tried to recall everything I knew about the Grand Duke’s curse from the original story.
The contract had originally been proposed by the dragon.
Weakened and on the verge of disappearing, the dragon needed a vessel to safely store its mana. In exchange for victory in the war, it transferred its mana core to the previous Grand Duke.
A dragon’s power was so overwhelming that it could disrupt the balance of the entire world. With it, the previous Grand Duke easily won the war and protected the North.
But no human could fully withstand a dragon’s power. Eventually, the previous Grand Duke died, leaving his cursed fate to his son.
Dragon mana constantly multiplies inside the body and must be released periodically. If not, the accumulated energy builds up and violently erupts—causing unbearable pain and an uncontrollable rampage.
The Grand Duke manages his power by hunting beasts to continuously drain his mana.
But that’s only a temporary solution. The best way to release the burden is through physical contact with another person.
The problem is, perhaps due to the dragon’s nature, only women can receive and balance the Grand Duke’s mana. Furthermore, if the woman lacks strong mana control, the energy becomes unstable inside her and causes severe side effects.
In the original story, the only woman capable of handling the Grand Duke’s mana was the saint, Constance.
That meant any other woman who touched him would experience excruciating pain—and in some cases, could even die.
In other words, when I hugged the Grand Duke… I could have died.
‘Why didn’t I think about this before?!’
I had almost died in the most reckless way possible.
But what was even stranger was that despite holding him for quite some time, I felt completely fine.
The original story said that even slight contact would cause intense pain. But when I embraced him, I didn’t feel anything—not even discomfort.
In fact, if anything, I actually enjoyed being wrapped in his strong arms…
Anyway, the cut on my hand hurt far more than anything else.
I wasn’t as skilled in mana control as Constance, so maybe… did his power not affect people from another world?
‘If I hold his hand again, I might be able to find out…’
Of course, that would only be possible if he agreed to meet me. After everything that happened, it would probably be even harder to see him now.
‘What if his arm is seriously injured? What if the wound is deep?’
I remembered the blood dripping from his arm like water.
‘Well done. I’ve officially left the worst first impression possible.’
Fresh from his bath, the Grand Duke had smelled like crisp, cold winter air. Meanwhile, I had probably reeked of wine and tomatoes.
At the very least, I should have gone to see him in sober.
Frustrated, I kicked my blanket and swallowed my regret.
And yet, despite all my worries, sleep came surprisingly easily.
As I drifted off, I silently apologized to the poor servants who were forced to clean up after my drunken disaster.
Loic Blenheim, Grand Duke of Blenheim and lord of the great northern territory, slept soundly.
When he woke early in the morning, he blinked in disbelief. It couldn’t possibly be morning already… yet outside his window, the sky was glowing softly with dawn.
Hadn’t he spent countless nights tossing and turning until sunrise?
‘Could it really be because of her?’
Only a few people, including Whitley, knew about his curse.
Ever since Perel brought the lady to Blenheim, Loic had been on edge.
Perel had even shown him the raft carriage she arrived on to prove that she wasn’t an accomplice of the Marquis. But the more Perel tried to convince him, the stronger Loic’s determination became—to send her away as soon as possible.
If he touched her, he could seriously harm her.
That was an unfair power imbalance.
What if, at some point, the Marquis betrayed him? Could Loic really stop himself from unleashing his anger on the Lady?
The dragon’s power made him unstable. He could never be sure of his own self-control.
If he ever lost control and laid a hand on her—even unintentionally—he would never forgive himself.
That would be no different from slaughtering the weak.
Whitley was taking care of her, but staying in a remote, desolate place with no family or friends wouldn’t be easy for her.
She should just leave and save herself the trouble.
Yet, as Loic swung his sword hundreds of times in the empty training hall, his mind kept drifting back to the young lady.
It was an unpleasant and bothersome curiosity.
It should have stayed as a mere curiosity, but somehow things had turned out this way.
The Loic stood in the westmost room on the third floor of the castle, an area that was somewhat shabby for someone of his status, but it was the only place where Loic could truly exist in peace.
Last night, when the steam cleared and she came into view, only one thought filled his mind.
‘The knights were right.’
She was beautiful.
As the moonlight illuminated her delicate, pale face, her jewel-like blue eyes met his gaze.
When her small, red lips parted to speak, for the first time in his life, Loic felt as if his breath had stopped.
Perhaps the reason he had never cared about a woman’s appearance before was that he had never seen someone truly beautiful.
And when she slipped, he instinctively caught her.
He hadn’t even thought—his body had moved on its own, desperate to keep her from falling.
It was absurd.
Touching her should have hurt her.
His rational mind had shut down completely.
The only difference from his worst fears was that his emotions weren’t fueled by anger—but concern.
The moment their bodies touched, the dragon’s mana within him flowed into her effortlessly—like water leaking through a crack in the glass.
For the first time in his life, he felt warmth.
The pain that had tormented him for so long simply vanished, as if it had never existed.
For the first time since being cursed, Loic felt truly alive.
At the same time, a faint, sweet scent filled the air.
It was subtle yet inescapable, wrapping around him completely.
A dangerous thought crept into his mind.
‘I want to hold her like this forever.’
He wanted to hold her like this for the rest of his life. That was the only thought in his mind.
After experiencing the overwhelming satisfaction, Loic finally snapped back to his senses.
“What have I done?”
Just moments ago, his heart had been racing with excitement, but now it pounded with fear. His voice trembled as he asked if she was okay, sounding almost ridiculous even to himself.
“I’m fine. Are you okay, Your Grace?”
Seeing the lady act as if nothing was wrong and even worry about him, an overwhelming confusion swept over him.
Even after she left, Loic kept asking Whitely if she was truly unharmed.
He wasn’t sure if it was a relief that she was fine or if it was a problem.
Only after Whitely reassured him about ten times did Loic finally rest his head on his bed.
He must have gone mad.
If things had gone wrong, he could have truly killed her.
But that scent… it was unbelievably sweet.
It reminded him of a fragrance from his childhood—the comforting scent of his mother’s greenhouse, one that made his heart feel at ease.
If he held her again, would he be able to figure out what that scent was?
His mind swirled with chaotic thoughts and emotions.
“I guess I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”
Yet, to his surprise, exhaustion soon overtook him, and he fell into a deep sleep—something that hadn’t happened since he inherited the curse.
For the first time, he slept through the night without waking up.
No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one possible explanation.
“A woman immune to the dragon’s curse.”
Could it be true? Was she his salvation?
Why was she unharmed? Could this impossible theory in his mind actually be real? And if it was… just how important would she become to him?
Everything about it terrified him.
The curse was his destiny.
He had resented it—of course, he had. But for a long time, he had accepted it as a part of himself. He had never once hoped for salvation.
No, he never wanted a savior.
The idea of someone else holding control over his fate was unbearable. He didn’t want a special person to appear in his life.
He already had one inescapable bond—with the dragon. That was enough.
To be tied to someone else… to become dependent on their touch… to crave them desperately for the rest of his life…
It was horrifying.
And if that person was her, it was even worse.
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