I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 161

Whooooooo-!

 

A heart-rending terror swept through the moonlit ballroom. The insignia on the walls and the utensils on the tables fell to the floor with a ferocious force.

 

“Behold. See who really owns Cardassian, and whether you have the majesty to rule this empire!”

 

Julius’s evil-fueled laughter echoed through the hall.

 

“Aaaahhh!”

 

The drunken crowd screamed. Some even sank to the ground, covering their heads. Julius glared at them with satisfaction, but then he calmed his excitement and withdrew his powers.

 

‘The last thing they want is for me to fall for their taunts and fail the ritual.’

 

“I will show you mercy this once. But if you offend me again, there’s no telling what will happen to you!”

 

Since Cedric had come this far, he would have to wait for the situation to reach a climax.

 

‘I’m sure he’ll change his mind after he sees everything! No matter what anyone said, Cedric was my flesh and blood.’

 

Cedric had inherited Julius’ twisted temper and cruelty, wrapped in an easy-going exterior.

 

‘We don’t know what the future holds, so it’s best to keep Cedric alive.’

 

With his thoughts in order, Julius glanced around sharply. The tension in the room was even tighter than before. For now, the fear in the eyes of the nobles and soldiers staring back at him was enough.

 

But things were not going as Julius had hoped.

 

Cedric, breathing harshly, took the momentum and taunted him.

 

“You’ve finally succeeded in borrowing the power of Babel. It must be worth it to follow a madman.”

 

Julius cringed at this, but a wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

 

“Oooh, my son, borrowing… He has awakened me. He has shown me things unspeakable. When all the rituals are over, you will surely understand me.”

 

Whispering devilishly, Julius’s gaze fell once more to the center of the Great Hall. There, in a crimson gown, lay the grand duchess—or so he thought—helpless. She was begging for her life in words that were not even words, let alone dignity.

 

“Please, help me! I’m not the Grand Duchess, I swear, please…!”

 

For a moment, Julius’ eyes flickered with a strange sense of triumph. This was his chance to show the grand duke, who had just provoked him with his foul language, who held the real power.

 

“Hahahaha, you filthy traitor!”

 

Frantically rushing to the screaming woman, he grabbed her by the hair and began shaking her mercilessly.

 

“Kaaaahhhh! Get off me, you insane human!”

 

Blindfolded, the woman was helpless. No matter how hard she struggled and flailed her hands, she couldn’t reach him.

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m not a traitor! Let me go, you crazy bastards!”

 

The sound of her cries echoed throughout the banquet hall, and all eyes turned to her.

 

“Funny, even the Grand Duchess of Heaven is helpless in the face of death, such frivolous words coming from the mouth of such a fine lady!”

 

Everyone frowned. The sight of a grown man, even a sinner, ruffling a woman’s hair was not a pleasant one. But Julius’ eyes held no contempt. He chuckled and looked around like a man completely consumed by madness

 

He finally made eye contact with the grand duke, who was watching from the corner of the ballroom with his arms crossed.

 

‘I was about to call him on his bullshit.’

 

A strange shiver of pleasure ran down Julius’s spine as he watched his wife clamp her mouth shut in case something went wrong.

 

It was then.

 

“The Holy Lady has just passed through the gates!”

 

The henchman who had flung open the gate shouted. Julius’s eyes lit up with joy as he saw the high ground.

 

“You are so lucky to be here, to be a part of this great moment of the Empire’s rebirth!”

 

Julius, who had been waiting for this moment, stepped toward the frightened woman. His heart leapt in his chest. But only for a moment—as he tore off the blindfold that covered her face, his eyes darted wildly.

 

“You, you…!”

 

The woman, looking around in disbelief, was not the grand duchess he was looking for.

 

“What nonsense, yes, what the hell are you doing here…!”

 

She was just as baffled.

 

“I told you, I’m not the Grand Duchess!”

 

“Damn it!”

 

As Julius slowly backed away, helplessly, his back slammed into something hard. He whipped his head around, startled.

 

“What are you panicking about? You look like you saw something you didn’t expect to see.”

 

The grand duke, who had approached casually, as if he had expected this, looked down at Julius and smiled a smile of cold amusement. In his hand, he held a paper with the imperial seal.

 

‘A pulse!’

 

A realization dawned in Julius’s eyes.

 

‘The grand duke knew this woman was not his wife’

 

As if he had read Julius’ mind, Kalian’s lips curled into a smile, and he began to recite the contents of the note.

 

“The Grand Duchess has been seduced by Babel’s sorcery and summoned the darkness with blood magic. She is to be punished with death for her deception of the villagers, who are a threat to the Empire and suffering from the plague.”

 

Deborah’s face turned bright blue at this.

 

“No, Your Highness, I’m not a grand duchess, I’m Deborah! I’m an imperial saint!”

 

This only added to the confusion.

 

“You’re not the Grand Duchess?”

 

“What is this? Are you saying that a saint has summoned a demon?”

 

It was inevitable. While it was widely known that the Grand Duchess and the Saint looked alike, few people had actually gotten a close look at their faces. The crowd began to wonder if the woman in front of them was the grand duchess or the saint.

 

“Wouldn’t it be even worse if a saint had done this?”

 

“It’s a big deal, Madame! The fate of the temple is at stake.”

 

‘I wonder how it happened.’

 

The din of voices, loud and tumultuous, pierced Deborah’s eardrums. As the chatter grew louder, she felt like she was going to lose her mind.

 

Kalian, watching her calmly, gestured for her to explain herself. Deborah swallowed hard.

 

“So, what happened is that…”

 

Her voice cracked with nervousness. The crowd’s eyes were glued to her, insistent. She wrapped her arms around her shaking body and tried to organize her messy hair.

 

“I really didn’t mean to go this far,” she said, “but the fear of being abandoned by His Highness… has forced me to make this choice.”

 

Kalian’s brow narrowed at the implications.

 

“And what is that choice?”

 

Flinching at the threatening glare, Deborah replied through clenched teeth.

 

“I was going to pretend to be Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, perform a false purification ritual, and escape.”

 

It was her best answer. She didn’t know what she was guilty of, but it was better to fake an identity than to be accused of rebellion.

 

But the grand duke’s look at her only grew harsher.

 

“You would impersonate the Grand Duchess and stain the reputation of House Orpheus?”

 

He spoke with a frighteningly hardened face.

 

“It is pitiful that you would dishonor me for fear of being abandoned by me.”

 

Deborah’s gaze shifted, and she glared at the grand duke with indignation.

 

“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t threatened me!”

 

“I threatened you?”

 

“You told me to prove my worth before all men! You said you had no intention of recognizing as a saint a woman who could not even save a plague-stricken man!”

 

Deborah jumped to her feet, her emotions raging. In her excitement, she didn’t even realize what she was saying.

 

“You’re just as much to blame for backing me into a corner where I have no power to prove the existence of God! Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me?”

 

There was a chilling silence, and Kalian looked at her thoughtfully. He locked eyes with Julius, who looked devastated.

 

“Does that mean you have no sacred power?”

 

“!”

 

Deborah suddenly realized her mistake at Kalian’s question, and Julius made a face.

 

“Answer carefully.”

 

Kalian sneered and shifted his gaze to Deborah.

 

“To do so would be to admit to yourself that the oracle is false.”

 

He added in a voice so low that only Deborah could hear it:

 

“Of course, if the oracle is false, your sin will be lessened. All you have to do is prove that you fell for Julius’ cunning twist.”

 

He gave Deborah a choice. Whichever she chose, of course, she would still be responsible for raising an army of evil.

 

And it was obvious whose hand Deborah, unaware of her sin, would take.

 

“I-I have no power, not even sacred power, let alone the ability to heal a small wound!”