I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 53

As soon as Benjamin sees Evelyn disappear with Leon, he quickly gives her two escorts.

 

After the events at the camp, it’s clear that he knows exactly how to treat Evelyn.

 

The grand duke doesn’t see her as a simple cure. She may have been at first, but she certainly wasn’t now.

 

He wondered for a moment if he should continue with his next report.

 

“Interim reports indicate that they stayed at Count Bernard’s mansion for a while, then headed for the harbor of Litchev.”

 

“And nothing happened at the port?”

 

“That is…”

 

“Don’t make me ask you twice.”

 

Benjamin swallowed dryly, his voice visibly hardening, and finished reporting the carriage accident.

 

“The grandmother of the child they saved then is the owner of the tavern where Mrs. Marcella worked.”

 

“Good, that saves me a long explanation.”

 

He replied, his voice calm and cool, and slowly stepped out of the tub.

 

Thick droplets of water trickled down his massive body and were absorbed by the thick carpeting before they hit the floor.

 

Tearing Benjamin’s gaze away from Kalian’s soaking naked body, he handed him a dry cloth, his eyes fixed on the Grand duke’s large toes.

 

Wiping himself roughly dry, Kalian pulled his nightgown over his loose pants and gave a curt order.

 

“Find out about the saint. If she’s really from the Lindbergh family, what her parents were like. As discreetly as possible.”

 

Deborah Del Lindbergh.

 

That was the saint’s name.

The Lindberghs, symbolized by their silver hair and green eyes, had been a family of healers and saints for generations, but had been wiped out by some event in the past.

 

This was the reason why silver hair and green eyes were rare in the Empire, and the reason for the decline of their holy power.

 

However, as the years passed, one by one, their descendants emerged from hiding, and the family’s name was kept alive, albeit tenuously.

 

‘Lindberg…’

 

Three years ago, the temple proclaimed that the saint had returned.

 

The Empire rejoiced at her presence after centuries.

 

A transcendent purifier who would help awaken the Guardians to fully embrace the power of the Evil Gods.

 

The final key to permanently freeing the Empire from the demonic threat.

 

Contrary to the expectations of her people, the Saint never made a single public appearance.

 

The more he thought about it, the more doubtful he felt, and he chuckled lowly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking up at the ceiling.

 

He was suspicious by nature.

 

Just as he had tested Evelyn by foreseeing where the gate would open, and by leaving a deep gash in her hand, even though she had calmed his rampage.

 

There was no reason for such sensitivity to be harmful in the presence of a saint.

 

Nor was she so merciful as to feel sorry for him when he told her he had been on pilgrimage to him for three years.

 

‘You mustn’t reveal your secret. At least not until everything is clear…’

 

But he couldn’t let the saint off the hook and doubt her.

 

He knew his judgment could put Evelyn in danger.

 

The sudden panic, the carriage accident at the harbor.

 

The way things had gone so far.

 

“I’d better avoid doing anything that might attract attention.”

 

If he hadn’t released his power, Evelyn would have been seriously injured. Hopefully the saint wouldn’t realize he’d intervened.

 

He straightened up as he gathered his thoughts.

 

“Get someone a little more fierce for an escort.”

 

The rain had begun to fall, and the wide windows were now covered with thick droplets.

 

The disorienting spray made his head spin with even more complexity.

 

If only he could get face-to-face with her and share her warmth, the throbbing headache would go away.

 

“I think I’ll go get Evelyn.”

 

He turns around to see her pale face, and he can’t stop himself from stepping on it. 

 

He grabbed his coat with some urgency and burst through the bedroom door.

 

“…The grand duke?”

 

A heavy silence stifled his breath.

 

“Did you expect me?”

 

Kalian’s face hardened as he recognized the stranger who had appeared unexpectedly.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was pitch black when Evelyn returned to Parminion Castle.

 

The sun had been shining all day, but by the time she arrived, the rain had begun to pour down in torrents.

 

Not even the moonlight shone in the dark hallways, making it even harder to recognize her.

 

It was too late to find the duke.

 

Evelyn breathed lightly in the stairwell of the third floor landing where her and Kalian’s bedrooms were located.

 

Her conversation with Mrs. Allen kept replaying in her mind, forcing her to pause.

 

Mrs. Allen had been delighted to learn that Evelyn was Marcella’s daughter.

 

She was delighted, and so was Evelyn.

 

She had been hoping to find some trace of her mother in Litchev.

 

After all, it was the only place her mother had ever remembered.

 

With much to talk about, they naturally headed to Mrs. Allen’s log cabin tavern.

 

Evelyn opened by saying that her mother was already dead.

 

“Alas, poor Marcella,” said Mrs. Allen, after a long pause during which she burst into tears.

 

“You bear a striking resemblance to Marcella’s childhood, so much so that anyone who knew her would mistake you for her.”

 

“Did you know my mother well?”

 

“Aldamada. She was fifteen at the time, and she told me it was in this village that she and my father first settled after leaving their home.”

 

“…Your mother’s father?”

 

“Yes. His name was… Dante, I believe? I didn’t talk to him much, but I do remember that he was the best healer in town, and he was very handsome.”

 

A loving father and a vibrant daughter.

 

Mrs. Allen’s expression turns serious as she remembers the father and daughter she loved so dearly.

 

“I thought it was just a passing acquaintance, but they stayed here for quite a while. Dante was wary of strangers, too closed off.”

 

“Strangers?”

 

“That’s why Marcella always had to walk around with a jet-black tan all over her body. She was so beautiful. Just like you are now… It’s no wonder Dante was so uneasy about the world being such a dangerous place.”

 

But then tragedy struck.

 

On her way home from school, someone kidnapped her mother.

 

Luckily, she emerged unharmed, but mysteriously, she lost all her memories.

 

“That’s when the strange rumors began to circulate,” she says, “that Marcella was actually a witch, that she had been raped and had given birth to a child, and all sorts of other nonsense.”

 

As with most rumors, whether true or not, they spread quickly, and the women of the village, who had been unknowingly jealous of her beauty, decided it was time to turn on her.

 

“It was a pity, for no one thought that Dante, who had endeavored to keep his daughter’s memory alive, would end his life in such vain.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“And shortly afterward, Marcella disappeared as well. But she must have found a good husband, for she has such a sweet daughter.”

 

Evelyn could not tell the truth to the lady, who smiled gently and patted her hand.

 

 

Evelyn simply left, saying that she would stop by often during her stay in Paminion.

 

“Ha…”

 

Evelyn exhaled heavily.

 

She could feel her mother’s miserable life burning in her heart.

 

“After my grandfather’s suicide, she just disappeared.”

 

She was found on the hunting grounds of the Count of Lawrence.

 

It was possible, then, that the abduction had been intentional.

 

Evelyn had the unpleasant thought that someone had cornered her mother and arranged for her to be driven from the village.

 

“But it’s strange, why did they leave her at the count’s manor instead of taking her straight to the temple?”

 

She feels like she’s missing something important.

 

She can’t figure out what it is, and her chest feels tight as if she’s swallowed a rock.

 

“Perhaps I should go to Kalian and tell him that my mother’s death was not unexpected.”

 

Of course, if his demeanor on the carriage ride to Parminion was any indication, she shouldn’t expect much.

 

He is a cold-blooded man who is not easily swayed by circumstances and does not give his heart easily.

 

Moreover, he seemed to resent Evelyn’s tendency to dwell on the past.

 

‘But he’s the only one I can count on now…’

 

Evelyn tightened her grip on the stair railing. She scrambled up the stairs to Kalian’s bedroom, her tired legs barely able to keep up.

 

*Squeak*

 

Just then, his door creaked open, and someone walked out from inside, both cheeks flushed red.

 

The woman was a gorgeous beauty with waist-length silver hair that fell neatly over her left shoulder.

 

‘Saint…’

 

A chill ran down her spine as she realized she wore nothing but a thin robe over a lightweight negligee.

 

A quick glance through the open door revealed that Kalian was also topless, wearing only a loose robe.

 

‘Was it just her imagination, or did he look a bit disheveled too?’

 

The unexpected sight gave her a bit of a shock.

 

Ducking behind a pillar, Evelyn froze in place, unable to move.

 

She couldn’t tell what they were talking about or what they were doing, but she could clearly hear her heart drop to the floor.