I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 113

‘What, Irina Gorge? This is the north?’

 

Evelyn lifted her head and looked around.

 

A puff of white breath scattered into the sparse sky, and through it, she could see snow-capped rocky mountains and tall birch trees.

 

“Eh, eh!”

 

The bone-chilling cold immediately greeted her.

‘Gods, she’s going to give her clothes when it’s this cold!’

 

Evelyn called out to the girl, as if that was more concerning than the fact that they had traveled back to the northern end of the dungeon.

“No, little one, I appreciate your good intentions, but you’ll have to take your clothes back with you. Children are fragile, and catching a cold can be bad.”

 

“Well, you look more fragile than I do, and I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

 

Evelyn scowled and grabbed the child again as he turned away, then asked in a cautious voice,

 

“Do you happen to know where the nearest manor is from here?”

 

It was then.

A young man’s voice came from not too far away.

“Marcella! Where has she gone again? I told her not to go far. Marcella!”

 

Evelyn’s mind went blank at the sound of the name.

 

She studied the little girl’s face in bewilderment, her lips pouting as if she wanted to play.

“Your name is… Marcella?”

 

It wasn’t a common name. It was even similar to hers, so it was no wonder she felt a little weird.

 

Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow grew closer.

The little girl, who flinched, swatted Evelyn’s hand away.

“Ouch! Let go of me! If we get caught now, we’ll be stuck cutting herbs for the rest of the day!”

 

The little girl, clearly displeased with her behavior, ran off into the deep forest, stopping only to call out,

“The man coming now is my father. Ask him to help you! He’s called Dante, he’s a healer who knows, and where I’ve gone is a secret!”

 

’What, Dante?’

“Go, go with him!”

 

There was no time to ponder.

 

Evelyn scrambled to her feet, whimpering like someone struck by lightning.

 

Then she frantically followed the little girl’s tiny footsteps, which were now out of sight.

 

The snow was so deep that her feet sank in, and her clothes were so uncomfortable that it was hard to close the distance.

 

‘I wonder how far I’ve run.’

“Heh, heh, heh…!”

 

Evelyn was reunited with the little girl who shared her mother’s name.

 

“Hey, kid!”

 

“Oh, really!”

 

Marcella clenched her fists and sulked, stopping in front of a cliff with a curtain of waterfalls.

 

Then she grunted in annoyance.

“My father told me not to talk to strangers, and if you keep following me, I’ll yell at you!”

 

It could have been scary for the child, who was just trying to be kind to the fallen woman, but she kept chasing her.

Evelyn managed to catch her breath between gasps.

“No, I’m not trying to bully you, but…”

 

Her heart raced.

The bizarre phenomenon that had transported her from the ballroom to the dungeon and back to the North had long since been erased from her mind.

Evelyn’s mind was filled with only one thought:

‘If that child is really her mother’s childhood… how can I spend more time with her?’

 

Suddenly, she began to hum a song on the tip of her tongue.

“I’m afraid I’ll fall in the dark night—”

 

Marcella, who had been hesitantly backing away, heard the song and looked puzzled.

“The moon will follow me, please.”

 

Her eyes widened as she shook her head.

Evelyn choked back a lump in her throat with all her might and continued to sing.

 

“Because I’m scared to walk alone—”

 

No wonder.

This wasn’t a nursery rhyme passed down orally; this was a song Marcell had written herself.

Her mother started singing it when she was six, so if the kid in front of Evelyn was her mother’s childhood self, she knew it.

 

But it was Marcella, not Evelyn, who finished the song.

“And the little squirrel followed—!”

 

Marcella sang the last verse at the top of her lungs and frowned.

 

“Hmm? That’s weird. I wrote this song. How would you know?”

 

Tears welled up in Evelyn’s eyes at the adorable sight.

 

‘That’s because I’m your daughter…!’

 

She hadn’t seen her mom since she went to the temple for treatment in her last life.

She would have felt less regret if she had seen her body.

 

She felt hot inside, as if her own ugly regret had brought her mother right in front of her eyes.

 

“What? Sister, why are you crying? What did I do to make you cry?”

 

Just then, Marcella stepped up to Evelyn and tugged at her collar.

 

“Or are you hurt? Because you look fine.”

 

Evelyn bent down on one knee so her mom could get a better look at her face.

She bit her trembling lip, feeling her warmth as she scrutinized her face.

 

‘But that doesn’t mean I can tell you that I’m your daughter, young mother…’

 

Composed, Evelyn feigned pity as best she could.

 

Her mom had always been the kind of person who couldn’t let things go when she saw something sad.

 

“Eh, I’m just cold. In fact, I’ve been starving since last night…”

 

Her mom’s eyebrows drew together in response to the words hungry and cold.

“Eh, is it because you’re cold, but… it’s kind of hard to go with you over there.”

“What the hell is that place?”

 

“It’s my own private hideaway that no one knows about.”

 

“Wow, that sounds like so much fun. I want to go check it out!”

 

Peering over the edge of the cliff, the kid glanced at Evelyn’s dress and sighed heavily.

Then, as if she had no choice, she held out her hand.

“But it’s going to be a bit of a climb, so follow me carefully.”

 

Evelyn nodded, clutching her mother’s small hand tightly.

 

The path inside the falls was harder than she’d expected.

 

But Evelyn’s face was full of smiles, even as she barely made it through the tiny path.

Even as a young mom, she was happy.

 

She couldn’t have been happier to see her mom again, and she hoped this moment wasn’t an illusion.

 

Meanwhile, they finally reached the cave inside the waterfall.

In the darkness, Evelyn started a bonfire.

 

Marcella, who was quickly warming up, brought out the acorns and other snacks she had hidden in the cave.

Wrapped in a white cloth, the food exuded a comforting warmth that didn’t match the cold weather.

 

“What is Sister’s name?” Marcella asked as they sat across from each other in front of the blazing fire.

 

Evelyn opened her mouth, feeling a fluttering sensation in her chest.

 

“Evelyn.”

 

“Evelyn? Wow, that’s a great name for you. If I ever have a baby, can I name her Evelyn?”

A part of her wanted to tell her to never have her.

But she didn’t want to put anxiety in those innocent, untainted eyes.

‘Because if you’re fantasizing about your mom’s past, it’s impossible to change a future that’s already been written…’

 

Evelyn couldn’t help but smile and nod.

 

Then she asked a question.

“By the way, how did you know about this place and set up a hideout in a place like this?”

 

The Lindberghs, now decimated, had settled in the Irina Gorge.

 

But even so, it still didn’t make sense that a child could have found a place like this.

Marcella, cracking an acorn with her molars, shrugged.

 

“Actually, a very tall woman came to visit me the other day.”

 

“A tall lady?”

 

“Yes. She had two different colored eyes… and she was kind of scary-looking, but she told me that if I came here, I could get a lot of strange things.”

 

Evelyn’s heart sank.

For a tall woman, she couldn’t think of anyone but Ines.

 

But she wasn’t old enough.

If her childhood mother could call her aunt, Evelyn would have to call her grandmother.

But who could it be?

 

As she pondered, Marcella stood up and opened a coffin-like box, pulling something out of it.

“And here I found this! See, it’s very pretty, isn’t it?”

Marcella slipped the plain ring on her finger and twirled it around, her eyes widening in wonder.

“Huh? It’s the same ring you’re wearing, and it looks just like this one! Wow, that’s amazing!”

 

It was.

 

The ring Marcella was holding was the same one on Evelyn’s hand.

‘No way…’

 

A cold sweat broke out.

Evelyn glanced at Marcella, then carefully examined the long box.

“Huh!”

 

At the bottom of the box, which contained the ashes of a person in white priestly robes, was a note that read:

“<Helene, here you rest.>”

 

Sure enough, the long box was Helene’s coffin. This was the moment when her speculation became reality.

‘So you can’t rule out the possibility that Ines told my mother where Helene’s coffin was.’

 

Evelyn recalled her first encounter with Ines in Mauriel.

She was very knowledgeable about the holy relics and even knew where each one was located.

She said the ring was in Helene’s coffin, the earrings were in the Grand Duchy, and the necklace was in the temple…

 

She said it was just a guess, but by the time she got the ring and earrings, their authenticity had already been determined.