I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 100

As she gazed at the bizarre sight, the crown prince looked up, his face pale.

 

A light was slowly rising in his defocused eyes.

 

“E-Evelyn…”

 

Then Kalian, returning to the curtain, looked down at the crown prince, his expression twisted.

 

“Calling someone else’s wife by her first name seems to run in the family.”

 

“Kalian, stop it.”

 

‘Was he trying to pick a fight?’

 

Evelyn understood his mood, but she was also perplexed by his disrespectful treatment of his guest.

 

She knew he didn’t like the crown prince, and she knew he’d invited them with good intentions, but right now, the crown prince seemed to need stability.

 

Evelyn dropped to one knee and locked eyes with the crown prince.

 

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

 

The crown prince, trembling with fear and panic, held out his hand to her.

 

“I’m fine, thank you, for saving me.”

 

“You’re welcome, but I think we need to get out of here, can you get up?”

 

The crown prince nodded and pushed himself to his feet, his face contorted in sympathy as he strained at his wobbly legs.

 

“My legs are giving out on me, will you help me?”

 

“Sure. Lean on me.”

 

Seeing her half-leaning on him, Kalian snorted and stepped forward, grabbing Cedric’s backside.

 

“I’ll help you up.”

 

His grip on his collar was strong, as if he could slam him to the ground at any moment.

 

Half-dragged, the crown prince shook his head, as if rejecting the grand duke’s genuine concern.

 

“Never mind, never mind. I’m much more comfortable this way… Ew!”

 

‘Ugh, I knew it was coming.’

 

“You look like you’re really struggling to walk, by the way.”

 

Evelyn stared at the crown prince, who was being carried like a burden on one shoulder, for a moment.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, which had been clear all day, and raindrops began to fall.

 

With a sense of foreboding, Evelyn stared into the distance as the carriage carrying the High Priest and the Crown Prince headed back to the castle.

 

“Will they be all right?”

 

Leading the crown prince outside, they found the high Priest lying on the ground at the entrance to the tent, coughing up blood.

 

Evelyn’s healing powers brought him back to his senses quickly, but the suddenness of the curtain’s action unnerved him.

 

After sending the crown prince and the high Priest into the carriage, they followed. As they rode toward the castle, the rain grew steadily stronger.

 

“It doesn’t make me feel any better to think that I caused this.”

 

Kalian turned to look out the window, lost in thought, wondering if he too was disturbed.

 

He gently stroked the corner of Evelyn’s mouth, as if to soften her serious expression.

 

“With such a stern look on your face, I think you’ve finally become a true grand duchess.”

 

“You’re kidding.”

 

Evelyn locked eyes with him, her mind racing through the memories of her past life.

 

Most of her subjects were grateful for the grand duke’s favor in keeping the Dark Curtain at bay.

 

But the temples disagreed.

 

They were deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a non-god artificially splitting the continent in half.

 

‘Of course, there’s a real story behind it…’

 

Knowing that the Temple was trying to cover something up, Evelyn was very worried that the high Priest would use this as leverage.

 

“By any chance, has this happened before?”

 

“You mean when the Dark Curtain attacked someone?”

 

Evelyn nodded, and Kalian cleared his throat, his face serious.

 

“It has been disrupted before, but it has never been attacked. If this keeps up, I may have to pull back the curtain for a while.”

 

Indeed, the Dark Curtain has long served as a border guard.

 

It wasn’t usually a serious matter for them to attack anyone with relatives in the north.

 

“Why, what’s the problem…?”

 

He dismissed it as nothing to do with her, but it was true that it started happening after she crossed the barrier.

 

‘But I don’t think it hates me, because if it did, it wouldn’t have flown in and coddled me like that.’

 

A myriad of confusion and anguish shone in her eyes as she continued to think.

 

 

* * *

 

 

That evening, at the Grand Duke’s banquet hall.

 

“The old saying that a family thrives when it has the right people in it was never wrong, but you didn’t listen to my advice, and now you’ve brought a child into the family who has no roots and has made your ancestors angry!”

 

The Empress’s voice echoed through the vast banquet hall, filled with displeasure.

 

“The guardian of the continent attacks a human being, the head of a temple and the noble body that will lead the future of a nation.”

 

Evelyn entered the banquet hall to greet them formally, but before she could take her seat, she was berated by the Empress for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

 

“It runs in the family to pick up defective girls and bring them into the family…”

 

The words were spiteful, but Evelyn didn’t place any value on her words.

 

It was no wonder her insensitivity had angered the Empress.

 

Evelyn lowered her head, letting the verbal barrage fall from one ear to the other.

 

Kalian, who was supposed to be at her side, was absent.

 

He had been forced to leave the castle due to a sudden problem with a neighboring estate, and he had asked that the Empress not be confronted in his absence.

 

‘Still, it would be rude not to greet those who have come to celebrate the wedding.’

 

She knew she would hear nothing good from attending the dinner.

 

What’s more, they weren’t the kind of people she needed to be hospitable to.

 

But she stood there, her legs aching, because she wanted to answer a question that had been lingering.

 

‘Why would the Empress be involved in the Temple’s work against the Emperor? Why was the Empress behind Louise?’

 

And Evelyn felt that now, with the High Priest and the Empress face to face, was her chance to find out.

 

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

 

The Empress looked Evelyn up and down as she apologized, then her mouth twisted into a meaningful smile.

 

“What, you’re sorry? Don’t say that again. I will make this matter official as soon as I return to the Empire.”

 

Officially, Cardassian’s imperial family and high nobility supported the existence of the Veil.

 

The Emperor even praised Johansen’s sacrifice in sealing the borders to keep the demons from coming south.

 

‘It seems that the empress is defending the temple’s position, not the imperial family’s.’

 

But it was the crown prince who was harmed, not anyone else, so it was natural for the empress to be angry.

 

Evelyn curled her lower lip, still unsure of something.

 

“Are you sure I’m okay?”

 

Cedric, who had been eating in silence, spoke up, slamming his utensils down as if he couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“I’ve just been under the weather for a while, and I’m sure you’d feel better if I exposed my weaknesses to you.”

 

The Empress’s face flushed red at the sarcastic reply. She was clearly embarrassed.

 

“Uh, how can you talk to your mother like that? I’m just worried about the crown prince…”

 

The High Priest hastily defended the Empress, who had been embarrassed in front of the Grand Duke’s employees and the Grand Duchess.

 

“That’s right, sir. Her Majesty the Empress has been losing sleep every night worrying about your safety.”

 

Suddenly, the atmosphere at the dinner table turned cold.

 

The Empress and the High Priest seemed to be the only two people in the room who didn’t find the High Priest’s words puzzling.

 

Evelyn swallowed hard, her gaze darting from one to the other.

 

“How does the High Priest know that the Empress is having trouble sleeping?

 

“Really? If he knows the Empress’s bedtime routine, what’s the point of the temple and imperial court pretending?”

 

Here and there, she could see the hired help exchanging puzzled glances and engaging in unspoken conversations.

 

Evelyn, who had been paying close attention to them, couldn’t help but find it odd.

 

‘If the Empress is an ally of the Temple, she must have a very good reason for betraying the Emperor, and that reason can’t be…’

 

Her heart is pounding. She couldn’t be sure of anything, but the situation was enough to nurture a seed of doubt deep within her.

 

“That’s strange.”

 

An unexpected chuckle escaped the crown prince’s lips.

 

“I’m not surprised to be attacked by the Tabernacle because of my sins, but what crime did the High Priest, a priest, commit that caused him to vomit blood?”

 

It was a meaningful question.

 

She didn’t know what the crown prince had in mind, but even a child could see that if he didn’t come up with a reasonable explanation, he would be seen as a corrupted cleric.

 

“It is a sin, Your Highness.”

 

But the High Priest, cunning as a snake, did not change his expression.

 

“I, too, am tired from the long journey, and my holy prowess has suffered a slight setback.”

 

“I see.”

 

But he knew one thing and not the other.

 

To answer here would be to prove that there was nothing wrong with the Tabernacle after all.

 

“You see,” he said, ”the High Priest also says that it was caused by a slight hiccup in his holy power.”

 

The crown prince nodded, apparently satisfied with the High Priest’s answer, and looked back and forth between the empress and the High Priest.

 

“So I think we should end this story here, but what do you think, High Priest?”

 

“Hehe, that’s it…”

 

The Crown Prince’s eyes were determined, and the High Priest’s mouth, which seemed to have a lot to say, clamped shut in a straight line.

 

“It seems that everything is settled, so please sit down and eat, Grand Duchess.”

 

A crown prince is a crown prince, no matter how much of an asshole he is, and Cedric neatly ended the disturbance with a few words.

 

“Ah… yes, thank you.”

 

Evelyn sat down with a light bow, her brow furrowed at the crown prince’s uncharacteristic demeanor.