I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 130

She looked as though she had seen a ghost. Of course, there was no reason for Erze to welcome Evelyn with open arms, but she hadn’t expected such a reaction. 

 

Evelyn, who had remained silent until now, flustered for a moment before finally speaking up.

“You said you were in a lot of pain.”

Erze remained silent, her gaze distant.

“My sister’s employer sent me a letter. Since I’m the only blood relative you have left… she thought it was the right thing to do.”

“Blood relative?” 

 

Erze flinched at Evelyn’s calm response, but her voice soon rose in anger. 

 

“You have the audacity to talk about flesh and blood after destroying an entire family? How does it feel to see me like this? Does it feel good to watch them all die, huh?”

 

Evelyn hadn’t traveled all this way to argue with a sick woman, but the anger that had been simmering inside her was too much to contain. She burst out laughing.

“Fun? I’m the one who broke up a perfectly good family?”

‘She was exasperated by Erze’s attempts to blame her for both the death of the Count of Lawrence and her own misfortune.’

 

“I see you’re unwilling to apologize for your misdeeds to the end.”

 

In a way, Evelyn was grateful. 

 

‘No, she wanted to applaud Erze’s brazenness. It had erased any lingering remorse or compassion she’d felt during the journey to Luidan.’

 

Even becoming Viscountess Fairfield had been Erze’s own choice. 

 

‘Where did she get the idea that she would die of injustice when no one had ever stood up for her?’ 

 

At the same time, Evelyn realized something.

 

‘Ah… people don’t change.’

She felt it would be disrespectful to her late mother to leave without standing her ground.

“Erze, how is it that you haven’t changed at all?”

Evelyn sighed, knowing it was better to end this confrontation with strength.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve had a lot of fun watching the whole damned family crumble around me.”

“What…?” Erze stammered, her voice trembling.

 

“So, I hope you’ll continue to show me more of them falling apart. It’s too cowardly to run away to your death after all you’ve done to my mom and me.”

 

A heavy silence fell between them. 

 

A single tear rolled down Erze’s cheek as she struggled to find words. 

 

Evelyn wordlessly handed her a handkerchief. Erze took it and wiped her face, her breaths huffing and puffing.

 

“Bitch…”

“You really think so?” Evelyn replied, her tone dry.

Erze pursed her lips in exasperation, a gesture so childish that Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh.

 

‘Enough. What’s the point of arguing with someone who’s about to die?’

Evelyn put her arm around Erze’s shoulders, figuring it was up to the gods to punish her for her sins.

“How did it come to this? Where is your husband, and what is he doing…?”

 

But Evelyn couldn’t finish her sentence. At the mention of Viscount Fairfield, Erze’s whole body began to shake.

“Don’t even mention his name, that crazy bastard!” she cursed.

 

The door flew open. The viscount’s maid, startled by the sudden outburst, rushed in with water. 

 

Accepting the jug, Evelyn dismissed her, then gently lifted Erze’s upper body.

No matter how much she hated them, human frailty always broke Evelyn’s heart.

She poured water into a goblet, trying to calm Erze’s reddening eyes, then held it to her parched lips.

“Erze… what the hell happened to you?”

 

Erze bit her bottom lip at Evelyn’s repeated question.

 

When is a person at their weakest? Perhaps when the shadow of death looms over them. Erze was no exception.

“Am I being punished?”

Her hand twitched on her lap, as if she, too, felt some shame and guilt over her past.

“That bastard is a demon. He manipulated my reason, made it impossible for me to think clearly, and in the end, I couldn’t do anything of my own volition.”

 

Evelyn frowned slightly.

“How did he manipulate you…?”

A dark fear flashed in Erze’s eyes.

“At first, he used a hawk, then a whip, and when it was bad enough, he broke my ankles…”

She lifted the end of the quilt to reveal her bruised ankles. Evelyn slowly released her healing power, but it had no effect on Erze’s body.

‘Why? Does this mean she’s close to death?’

While Evelyn couldn’t hide her devastation, Erze spoke like someone who had already lost all hope.

“One day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I gave him divorce papers, saying I didn’t want anything, just to leave me alone.”

Erze’s voice shook as she continued.

“He made me inhale a strange smoke. The moment I smelled it, I felt dazed and couldn’t resist.”

 

“Strange smoke? What is that…?” Evelyn asked, her voice tense.

Erze’s face contorted in horror.

“If only that were all. But he made me inhale it periodically, and now… I can’t stand it any longer without it!”

“So, you’re saying it was the smoke that made you sick?” Evelyn was stunned by Erze’s honesty.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been smelling a strange odor in her bedroom. A smell that was both fresh and foul.’ 

 

It was unmistakably the same smoke Louise used to entertain the nobility in her salon.

They said it was a mind-altering herb.

 

Evelyn’s expression hardened, more murderous than ever.

 

“When was the last time you inhaled that smoke?”

Erze stared off into space, mumbling.

“I don’t know… maybe yesterday, or… this morning.”

‘If that’s true, he must be insane. No man, no matter how cruel, would force his pregnant wife to inhale something so harmful.’

“Evelyn, help me. Please get me out of here, okay?” Erze’s hands trembled, and Evelyn’s chest tightened at her incoherent pleas.

“Yes, let’s do it. But first, you need to eat and get well.”

 

Evelyn clenched her fists, feeling as though she’d been cut. 

 

‘As much as she wanted to take Erze away immediately, it was impossible. Her body was too broken to endure a carriage ride. Her weakness was likely due to the mind-altering smoke.’

 

“I want to go back… back to the old days,” Erze laughed bitterly, her body drained of strength.

“I don’t know why I hated you so much then, even when I knew Marcella was a victim, just like I am now…”

 

Evelyn’s gaze shifted to Erze. 

 

‘She knew her mother’s memory loss and bearing Count Lawrence’s child had been orchestrated. But I didn’t think Erze knew that…’

In retrospect, Erze had been strangely obsessed with her mother’s birth, as if someone had forced the idea into her head.

Evelyn steadied her rapidly beating heart and asked, “Do you have any idea what Louise was thinking?”

 

Erze’s watery eyes darted around uneasily before settling on Evelyn.

“Of course, she had instructions from the High Priest, but…”

She hesitated, her voice trembling.

 

“If I confess everything I know, will my child… go to heaven?”

 

For a moment, Evelyn was speechless. 

 

‘Even Erze, so vicious, was more concerned about the afterlife of her unborn child than herself. What is maternal love?’

After a moment of thought, Evelyn gave the best answer she could.

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

All the while, Evelyn channeled her healing power as best she could. 

 

‘If she hadn’t, Erze would have been out of breath in no time.’ 

 

She held still, waiting for Erze’s next words, hoping her veins would revive.

 

Soon, Erze gasped and opened her mouth.

“Marcella and you were thoroughly taken advantage of.”

 

Evelyn nodded, as if she already knew the truth, and Erze sighed lowly.

“The kidnapping of Marcella and her abandonment in the hunting grounds… it was all on the High Priest’s orders.”

 

Erze recalled the conversation she had overheard between the High Priest and her mother.

“Have you ever wondered why the Devil would allow the Guardian and the Transcendent Purifier to be born at the same time?”

‘It was odd. In a way, it was as if the Demon had given humans the means to destroy themselves.’

“Perhaps Babel was tired of the long fight and would rather die than remain sealed forever.”

‘Just as Kalian, reincarnated as the Guardian, hopes to secure his own immortality by destroying the demon.’

 

But Erze quickly shook her head.

“No. What else would a demon be? It could never have had such pure intentions.”

 

“Then what is it?” Evelyn pressed.

“You do know that Babel was originally summoned by the First Empress to unite the continents, right?”

 

“Yes, I know.”

After a pause, Erze added slowly,

“Until she was betrayed, Babel was on good terms with everyone, especially the First Saint Helene.”