Chapter 21: It Bothers Me (2)
In the afternoon, the Grand Duke had a full schedule, so I couldn’t disturb him any longer.
‘Maybe I should write a letter to Ferdinand?’
Even if Ferdinand wasn’t happy to receive my letter, I had at least to thank him for the expensive gift he sent me.
Not that I expected him to reply.
‘Come to think of it, the Marquis has been quiet.’
Maybe he didn’t care about his unrecognized daughter running away. The Marquis’ family hadn’t sent any messages so far. Since the wedding was already done and their goal was achieved, they probably didn’t care where I was now.
But wondering about it wouldn’t give me any answers, so I decided to let it go for now and asked Whitley for some high-quality letter paper.
Soon, a high-quality letter set arrived, decorated with gold-trimmed edges and an official seal.
“…Whitley?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Is this real gold?”
“Yes. This is the finest stationery, the same as what His Grace uses.”
I lightly bit the gold trim with my teeth. A clear bite mark was left on the edge.
“…Please bring me some practice papers too.”
If I made a mistake, I’d have to rewrite everything. At this rate, I might end up wasting enough gold to buy a house.
Whitley returned with practice paper that was still high quality, but at least it didn’t have gold on it.
I straightened my posture and held the pen properly.
‘What should I even write?’
“Dear Ferdinand, I hope you are doing well.
I received the jewelry. I really appreciate it, but since you even came to my wedding, wouldn’t it have been better to give it to me in person? I have so many things I want to ask you, but instead, you just sent the jewelry box through a servant….”
I shook my head and pulled out a new sheet.
“To Lord Ferdinand,
Thank you for pretending not to notice my escape. But how did you even know I was running away….”
Frustrated, I frowned at the paper. There were too many things I wanted to ask, but we weren’t close enough for me to actually ask them.
‘Once I remove all the things I really want to ask, there’s barely anything left to say.’
Just then, my maid, Leta, entered carrying a tea tray.
I was in desperate need of something sweet, so the snacks were a welcome sight.
“Wow, how pretty.”
The tray held small fruit tarts stacked on three tiers. It was hard to tell whether the cake was filled with fruit or the fruit was filled with cake—it was that packed.
“This is too much for just me. Let’s eat together.”
“Oh, no, Your Highness. I wouldn’t dare…”
“But you share leftovers with the other maids anyway, right? Just eat here with me.”
Leta hesitated, but when I handed her a tart myself, she finally accepted it with a deep bow.
‘Does the North always have this much fruit?’
Thanks to my marriage, had the trade routes opened up? Despite the harsh winter, there seemed to be a steady supply of various fruits at every meal.
The tarts were delicious.
After trying an orange, apple, and strawberry tart, my mind felt clearer.
“Alright. I’ll start with a simple greeting and then organize what I want to say.”
After a long struggle, I finally completed my letter and carefully transferred it onto the expensive gold-trimmed paper.
As Leta gathered the dozens of ruined practice sheets, I neatly folded and sealed the final version.
Late at Night
As usual, I knocked on the Grand Duke’s door.
“Your Grace, I’m here!”
When the door opened, I tried to walk inside, but instead of letting me in, the Grand Duke stepped out and shut the door behind him.
“Your Grace?”
His gaze glowed coldly in the dimly lit hallway, making me instinctively shrink back. He leaned one arm against the door and spoke.
“There’s something I didn’t get to say earlier.”
“What is it?”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t visit me at night anymore.”
His voice was suddenly formal and distant, making me hesitate.
“Why?”
“You know why. It’s not appropriate for us to visit each other at night.”
“Why does it matter? We’re married.”
“…And we’ll be getting divorced in a year.”
His firm voice cut through my playful tone.
“I already told you, there’s no need to pretend to be a real couple.”
The veins on the back of his hand stood out as he gripped the door.
“Your Grace, are you upset with me?”
“…”
“Did I do something wrong…?”
He sighed, his expression softening slightly.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Then why…”
“I know what you mean, but please don’t disrupt my way of life too much.”
“Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“As I said before, I’m used to being alone. I’ve lived that way, and I need to continue doing so.”
His tone was polite yet distant. Faced with such a clear rejection, I couldn’t argue further.
“…So I just shouldn’t visit at night?”
Like a child clinging to the last piece of candy they were allowed, I wanted some reassurance. The Grand Duke sighed.
“That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want during the day. Just… don’t come at night.”
“Alright.”
The Grand Duke, without showing any weakness, turned his gaze away from me, even though I stood there looking completely dejected.
“Then, have a good night.”
With that, the Grand Duke entered his room.
‘I even brought some scented oil today to give him a hand massage.’
I looked down at the scented oil I had tightly held in my hand. I had carefully selected the fragrance just for this.
Standing in the dark hallway, I suddenly felt sorry for myself.
At least the faint light spilling from the crack in the Grand Duke’s door gave me some comfort as I slowly walked back to my room.
Loic stood behind the door until he heard the sound of the Grand Duchess going upstairs and the door closing. All he could do was leave the door slightly open to ensure the path wasn’t too dark for her.
The Grand Duchess had stormed into his life like a whirlwind, turning everything upside down in just a few days.
Her every action and word caught him off guard.
Loic had no choice but to be dragged along helplessly.
She spoke shamelessly about tying his cravat and insisted on taking walks together. She invaded his private space—and the worst part was, he didn’t hate it.
‘I shouldn’t have told her about the curse.’
Loic reread the background report on Lady Annette.
On the surface, she appeared to be the beloved daughter of the Marquis, but rumors suggested she might be the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis’ wife from an affair, and the rumors seemed to have some truth to them.
Even Perel, who had brought her to the estate, muttered, “Even if she isn’t the Marquis’s real daughter, isn’t it too much to treat her so coldly?”
But whether she was the Marquis’s real daughter or not didn’t matter.
As long as she was connected to the Marquis’s family, he would find a way to use her.
Loic’s curse was his greatest weakness, and the last person who should ever discover it was the Marquis.
If the Marquis learned that any woman who touched Loic could die, he would seize the opportunity to brand him as an enemy of the Empire.
A cursed Grand Duke.
That would surely cause chaos in Blenheim.
A cursed lord who could harm his own wife and daughter. If it becomes none in Blenheim, then many of the local people would flee from Blenheim.
The Marquis would raise an army, and to avoid tarnishing the name of his family, Loic would have no choice but to surrender in the end.
What would happen then?
If it’s hanging, then maybe it would be a happy ending. But if he’s unlucky, he might end up locked in a tower, used by the Marquis for the rest of his life.
Knowing this, he had still foolishly told the princess about the secret.
The fact that the princess knew about the curse made even the calm Whitley stutter.
“T-then, Your Highness, we must ensure that the Grand Duchess grows attached to this place.”
‘That would be meaningless.’
She had already declared she would leave in a year.
Why?
Why did he find himself so defenseless around her?
It wasn’t just him.
Even Perel and the knights acted as if their hearts melted in her presence.
He thought he might know the reason.
She’s different.
Annette was completely different from the cold, rigid people of the North.
Unlike them, who believed smiling too much made them appear weak, she always carried a warm, sunny smile.
She spoke softly, her words flowing like a gentle breeze.
And when she furrowed her brows slightly and asked for something in that sweet, pleading voice, it was impossible to refuse her.
Blenheim had always had spring.
But the Grand Duke’s castle had never felt this warm before.
The princess, while eating a simple piece of cake, praised the strawberry as if it were the best thing ever.
She must have had much better and more expensive food in the capital, but she seemed delighted by something so simple.
Loic, who had never really paid attention to the taste of food, found himself looking at the food on the table in a new way.
The fruits of Blenheim were good, after all.
That wasn’t so bad.
He hoped that when she looked back on her time here, she wouldn’t remember Blenheim as just a cold, bleak place.
If she could take at least one good memory with her, that would be enough.
Even if it was just the taste of a strawberry in her cake.
