I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 71

About an hour later.

 

As if to welcome the Templars’ return, the blizzard that had been raging had subsided.

 

Beyond the stillness of the walls, a group of men could be seen in the distance, running through the hard packed snow.

 

Hired hands and lords rushed to meet them, preparing hastily in and around the castle.

 

As the long procession of horses came into view, everyone began to cheer in unison with joy.

 

“Wow-! Long live the Grand Duke!”

 

Fragrant handkerchiefs and shredded pieces of colorful paper waved in the air.

 

“Long live the Knights of Blackwood!”

 

But the cheers were short-lived.

 

The shouts of the lords and ladies lining the streets on either side of the gates slowly began to die down.

 

“Eh? Didn’t you just return from a great exploit?”

 

“Ah, man, why wouldn’t I, I averted a disaster so dreadful that the Emperor of Cardassian bestowed upon me a supply worth several years’ budget!”

 

“Then why are you all…”

 

The knights at the head of the line were unusually grim. The faces of the commoners, which had been beaming with joy, were now tinged with anxiety.

 

So would he.

 

The knights of the Blackwood are a boisterous bunch, and most of them are loud and boisterous.

 

The slightest news of victory was enough to melt the chill of the north.

 

“Oh my God, something must have happened!”

 

Benedict, sensing from the dead atmosphere that this was no ordinary occurrence, broke from the line and rushed toward the grand duke’s carriage.

 

His heart sank at the sight of the tightly closed windows.

 

Normally, the grand duke would have opened the windows and greeted the people.

 

He moved a little closer, but Benjamin, who was escorting the carriage, made an X with his hand and shook his head.

 

“Don’t come any closer,” he said.

 

The atmosphere grew even more somber, and the carriage continued on its way to the castle.

 

Benedict watched the carriage drive away in dismay, urged the remaining servants and knights to clear out, and then mounted his own horse.

 

“Come on!”

 

The horse, reading its master’s mind, sped off, outpacing the carriage.

 

The carriage pulled up to the gates not long after Benedict’s arrival.

 

“My heartfelt congratulations to Your Majesty and the Knights of Blackwood on your safe return. May the Sun God bless you with His infinite…”

 

He straightened his grooming and offered his prepared greeting, but he was interrupted.

 

“Ah…”

 

The grand duke was stepping out of the carriage, as sturdy as ever, when someone fell into his arms.

 

The servants stirred in unison.

 

No wonder. The grand duchess they’d been waiting for so long had been carried in as if she were dead.

 

‘What a pity. Is she truly cursed?’

 

While they were all muttering to themselves, the Grand Duke stepped onto the stairs and asked gently, “Has everything been well?”

 

The pale woman in his arms looked so pitiful that Benedict cringed for a moment.

 

“Hmmm, ah, yes, Your Highness, we are all unharmed, thanks to your protection.”

 

The grand duke waggled his eyebrows at the butler, who was blushing and sobbing a little.

 

“You must be getting old, too. I see you’re doing something you’re not used to.”

 

Then, as he started to finish climbing the stairs, he added.

 

“The Grand Duchess is only fast asleep from exhaustion. Stop fussing and disperse.”

 

A glow of relief began to spread like ink over Benedict’s face at the words.

 

“I beg your pardon, sir, are you sure you are all right?”

 

“Do not tremble and do your best to prepare the knights for their journey.”

 

Hearing the sighs of relief that began to break out here and there at the same time, Benedict asked urgently.

 

“Sire, when shall the baths and meals be brought up?”

 

Just then, the grand duke, who had reached the end of the stairs, turned to face him, taking the woman in his arms.

 

Benedict swallowed hard at the thoughtful, hard look in his eyes.

 

It was the unusual atmosphere that made him feel so nervous.

 

“If anyone knocks on my bedroom door before daylight tomorrow, I will slit their wrists.”

 

‘Wow!’

 

A thunderous roar erupted from the knights, who had been silent, as if the tension had been broken.

 

The tide had turned. The silent castle was suddenly filled with life.

 

“We’ll be busy for a while.”

 

Under Benedict’s skillful command, the hired hands, all smiles on their faces, began to move in unison.

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a dusky light above her closed eyes.

 

Evelyn realized it was dawn, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.

 

The unpleasant sensation still lingering on her hand reminded her that the encounter with Aether she had hoped was just a subconscious trick was real.

 

‘What the hell had happened?’

 

In her previous life, she had never met Aether, never heard his voice.

 

Still, she was certain that the man before her was Aether, for he bore a frightening resemblance to the rampaging Kalian.

 

‘Why has the Dark Curtain fallen upon me? It never did in my previous life.’

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden realization.

 

“Oh, right. Kalian…!”

 

“Yeah, here you go.”

 

She realized the presence of the arm around her waist at the same time she heard a voice, still not quite awake.

 

“Get some more sleep. It’s still early to get up.”

 

She tried to turn around quickly, but he pulled her into a full-body hug and wouldn’t let go. Evelyn let out a gasp of air.

 

“I want to see if you’re okay…”

 

“Later.”

 

He ignored her pleas to show his face and gave a little more strength to the arm that held her.

 

‘Was she dreaming?’

 

It was ticklish and hot, and she didn’t know what it was about it that made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

 

But the scent rushing into her lungs, the warmth wrapped around her, was so good that she decided to let him hold her for a moment.

 

In fact, she couldn’t move even if she wanted to.

 

Her back ached and her head throbbed like it was going to crack after lying there for so long.

 

Meanwhile, a large body was weighing her down, and she couldn’t move at all.

 

The sound of regular breathing made her eyes begin to close with a lying slurp.

 

But instead of falling back asleep, she opened her eyes to the familiar yet unfamiliar view outside the window.

 

‘We’ve arrived safely…’

 

Sunlight streaming through the arched windows, the blizzard raging as if mocking the sun for its warmth.

 

It was a strange feeling.

 

She felt like she had finally stepped into the place she was meant to be.

 

She had only lived in the north for a year in her previous life, and she didn’t know why she felt this way.

 

She even felt a veil fall over her.

 

“You like it.”

 

As she was lost in thought, a tight voice tapped her on the back like a knock on the door.

 

The heat on the nape of her neck and the languor of someone who had been asleep for a long time proved that he had fallen into a deep sleep.

 

He was never a heavy sleeper, but the relief of being back home seemed to relax him.

 

“Yeah, I like it.”

 

Evelyn smiled in response and stroked his forearm against her right temple. The damp, sweaty skin slid over her fingertips.

 

“I think the castle looks like you. Cozy, warm.”

 

“Me?”

 

He smiled weakly, as if he’d never heard that before.

 

Then she explained, matter-of-factly, why she felt cozy and warm.

 

“The maidservant put a lot of firewood in the fireplace, and I’m sure she was worried you’d be cold, but you must have been surprised when you came to me in a faint.”

 

There was a crackling, crackling, crackling sound of wood burning.

 

At the same time, it wasn’t hard to visualize the handmaiden’s puzzled face and the grim atmosphere of the reception.

 

Evelyn frowned in perplexity.

 

“Oh, I’m sure it must have been,” she said, “what’s the use of worrying people all the time?”

 

Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t a normal embarrassment.

 

She hadn’t walked out of the Count’s manor, into his mansion, out of the Parminion, or even into the Grand Duchy with her feet intact.

 

Evelyn quickly lost heart.

 

As if to soothe her, he reached out and gently caressed her breast, which was covered by the light fabric.

 

“It can’t be helped. Things have always been this way. No one could have predicted the destruction of the Karmic Circle at the Tabernacle.”

 

“Destroyed…?”

 

“We’ll have to find out why, but it seems the veil cracked when it fell into chaos, and everyone panicked because it had never happened before.”

 

“No way, I caused it to break?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Now that she thought about it, the veil was the condensation of his soul, so maybe it was his subconscious that destroyed the magic circle after all.

 

The fact that he’d momentarily lost his train of thought and summoned a shadow during the moment the veil had shaken supported her theory.

 

When he reached out and grabbed her by the waist, he looked empty, as if he were detached from reality.

 

“But, why…?”

 

She asked, too afraid to voice the question in her head.

 

“So, tell me, did you not witness something strange inside the veil?”

 

She nodded, as if she was going to say it without having to.

 

“I saw the God of Death.”

 

The hand that had been stroking her long, panned belly stopped abruptly.