I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 68

Grand Duke Orpheus of the North.

 

A hawk soared across Johansen’s expanse, gliding slowly toward the upper levels of the soaring castle.

 

The handmaiden, Mrs. Riktor, who sat with her back to the crackling campfire, pushed up her round spectacles and clicked her tongue.

 

“Such a provocative title for an article.”

 

In her wrinkled hand she held a newspaper from a few days ago, published by the Empire. She rarely paid much attention to the affairs of the Empire, but the article about the castle lord had been a hard sell.

 

 

<Johansen’s next Grand Duchess makes a successful debut in Cardassian society!>

<The price of her dress was as unexpected as her mysterious identity!>

 

Beneath the boldly printed headlines was a portrait of a woman as white and delicate as a fairy-tale high priestess.

 

Her beauty shone through the harsh curves of the hastily drawn portrait.

 

She was the kind of woman who could turn heads in social circles, and even the most judgmental woman wouldn’t disagree.

 

“It’s going to be noisy for a while.”

 

Indeed, it had been too quiet.

 

Leaning back in her rocking chair, the lady’s gaze drifted to the window, the corners of which were beginning to turn blue.

 

The sun had risen earlier.

 

Spring had arrived.

 

Unlike spring in the Empire, where flowers bloomed and life began to sprout, spring in the Grand Duchy signaled death, the awakening of the dead.

 

But the Grand Duchy, the place she had dedicated her life to, had always been as silent as the snow that blanketed the land.

 

Except for the knights who fought the demons, of course, but within its thick walls it was known as an iron fortress, unassailable for thousands of years.

 

Mrs. Riktor puffed out her chest with deep pride.

 

“It is almost time for us to return home, and we must prepare to receive our guests.”

 

With the furniture in place, all that remained to be done was to find silk quilts and fine fabrics to suit the noble lord’s exacting tastes.

 

The only way to get them was to pay a fortune to a group of merchants near the Dark Curtain.

 

“If only we could get married.”

 

But that’s just her wish.

 

Lady Rictor recalled a letter the Empress had sent to the Senate not long ago.

 

A letter filled with threats of opposition to the appointment of a prospective grand duchess.

 

“A lady of the earldom.”

 

Evelyn Lawrence, the daughter of a wicked woman whose witchcraft upset the order of the Empire.

 

The label attached to her commonplace name was enough to divide the Senate.

 

 

“You mean to tell me that you chose a family so disreputable that the late Grand Duke would jump out of his coffin!”

“Hate the sin, but not the man,” he said, “and how could he have chosen so well?”

 

 

But this is a matter of great secrecy within the Grand Duchy.

 

No one has spoken of it since the lord’s word came down that her identity must never be revealed, though they may lament it inwardly.

 

‘You’ll have to get used to this, I suppose.’

 

It was then.

 

BANG!

 

Without knocking, the door to the executive office was flung wide open, and the maid who appeared called out with a pensive face.

 

“Madam, madam, please come out, the lord…!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Evelyn stared out the frosted window at the landscape from inside the carriage, which was gradually gaining altitude.

 

The inky clouds, filled with rain and snow, seemed to have completely erased the boundary between earth and sky.

 

At the same time, a strange sensation of being in the netherworld slowly enveloped her entire body.

 

‘I never thought I’d feel this again.’

 

With a renewed sense of gratitude, she clasped her hands together and stretched them upward.

 

Her body relaxed for a long moment, and she felt the fatigue melt away.

 

It had taken her a week to reach the northern border, even by the shortest route through the warp gate.

 

It hadn’t been a boring journey, of course.

 

While Kalian was busy buried in papers, Evelyn spent her time with the knights, learning to wield swordspears, axes, bows, and other weapons, or playing chess.

 

In the meantime, she was addressed as Your Highness or Mistress, and it was no longer awkward for Evelyn to speak to them.

 

‘How long would the journey have taken in an unenchanted carriage?’

 

Just as she was realizing the distance between the Empire and Johansen, she caught sight of Kalian, his face serious and focused on his work.

 

Not a single ray of light shone through the dimly lit window, but his surroundings were illuminated by a halo.

 

The majestic nature outside the window merged with him to create a stunning picture.

 

‘It’s as if it’s welcoming its master back.’

 

Just then, he looked up, rubbing the nape of his neck.

 

Evelyn glanced away, afraid she’d been caught leering at him, thinking he was cool.

 

But it didn’t hide her blush. At the flushed tips of Evelyn’s ears, Kalian lifted the corners of his lips and smiled weakly.

 

“You must be tired. Hang in there, we’re almost there.”

 

“You look more tired than I do, why don’t you get some sleep?”

 

His calm voice was thick with worry.

 

The reason he was so busy was that he had learned that the ingredients for the curse had been found in a secret storeroom at the top of the Parminion.

 

The culprit was Viscount McHale.

 

Afterward, it was unclear exactly what he was doing, but his face was tired as he gathered papers and compared them.

 

“I haven’t seen you sleep since we set out,” she said, “and if you fall down, I’m afraid you’ll have to…”

 

Evelyn, who had repeatedly suggested a break, blushed unexpectedly.

 

She realized that he was too strong and vigorous a man to be considered too tired to collapse.

 

When sleep came, sleep came; when cold, cold; when tired, tired.

 

Kalian hugged her for all sorts of reasons.

 

It was no wonder that the air in the carriage grew warmer as they neared the border, until she didn’t even notice the temperature drop.

 

This was a blatant invitation to hug her, coming from someone who had experienced it all firsthand.

 

Kalian gave a small laugh at Evelyn’s newfound embarrassment.

 

“Interesting.”

 

Evelyn’s head tilted slightly at his laid-back comment, her jaw clenching.

 

“What?”

 

Kalian’s lips stretched a little further, as if amused by her reaction.

 

From the moment he’d been born with the Guardian’s destiny written on his heart, he couldn’t remember ever being protected by anyone.

 

And to think he was worried.

 

The realization that he looked weak in the eyes of such a small, slender woman was both hilarious and caused a strange throbbing in his chest.

 

He swallowed all these feelings and said meaningfully, his expression hardening.

 

“Apparently I haven’t satisfied you, and I’ll have to work harder from now on.”

 

“It’s not that, it’s just that you look so tired.”

 

“If you’re so sorry, at least hold my hand.”

 

He intertwined his fingers in her hand on the table.

 

Then, with a gentle tug, he sat her down on his lap.

 

As embarrassed as she was to be held like a child, Evelyn let her perfectly honed healing powers flow naturally, hoping to ease his mental exhaustion.

 

Then her power crawled over his fingertips and melted gently into the mesmerizing and overwhelming aura of Magi.

 

“Mmm.”

 

A heavy, bitter woody scent filled her lungs.

 

Tilting her head back to see if it felt good to him as well, she asked, eyes still closed.

 

“Have you heard? The Earl of Lawrence has been stripped of his title, and the extent of his forfeiture and sentence will be determined after the trial.”

 

Evelyn wasn’t surprised when she realized that William was the one who had murdered Louise. It was somewhat expected.

 

“I see…”

 

But there was something else that worried her. Evelyn’s face sank low.

 

Seeing the concern in her face, Kalian added reassuringly.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to make him pay for his crimes, though I doubt he’ll be beheaded.”

 

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

 

He opened his closed eyes.

 

“Then what?”

 

“I’m just worried… that they’re going to use me as leverage to cross you.”

 

“No worries.”

 

He snorted a laugh and closed his eyes again.

 

Evelyn watched him close his eyes and thought about the things that threatened them.

 

William, and the temple.

 

First, William, the biological father she knew, was a very evasive man.

 

Whatever he had in store for Kalian, he would not act rashly, not even for the sake of his only daughter, Erze.

 

All that was left was the temple. But also them.

 

“…It’s eerily quiet.”

 

Well, they would have to be cautious. With her mother involved, they’ve been planning this for quite some time.

 

Clearly, just being in Kalian’s presence is stressful enough for them.

 

‘Now that Louise, the woman who pushed me to my death in my previous life, is dead, I won’t have to suffer the horrors of death for a while, if I can just break the curse.’

 

And then.

 

Thump-!

 

“We arrived at the border. After organizing the ranks, we will be departing, so please dress and disembark.”

 

Benjamin’s voice came from outside the carriage.

 

Anyone setting foot in Johansen for the first time would have to pass through the curtain on foot.

 

Evelyn wrapped herself tightly in the cloak he had given her and stepped out of the carriage.

 

The ear-splitting cold hit her immediately. She clutched her ears and looked up at the sky.

 

After a week of traveling, Johansen’s sky was a dark ashen color that looked like it was about to rain.

 

She lowered her gaze and her mouth dropped open at the magnificent sight before her.

 

On either side of the carriage was a long line of the Grand Duke’s knights.

 

At the end of the procession was a curtain that roared as fiercely as a black sea.

 

“Huh.”

 

Her mouth went dry. She thought she’d be fine, but her heart was racing uncontrollably.

 

It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the Dark Curtain, but now that she was facing the blackness of the shadows like a curtain, fear washed over her.

 

He read her nervousness with ease and put an arm around her shoulders, speaking reassuringly.

 

“Don’t be afraid. The shadow that is my alter ego would never attack my pet.”

 

“It’s…”

 

She took a deep breath, swallowing down an unknown anxiety.

 

“Uh, huh?”

 

“The shroud, the shroud is coming.

 

“Wake up, everyone, form up and protect the king!”

 

The smell of death filled the air, and suddenly, as his knights shouted, a pitch-black darkness began to sweep across the area.