I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 87

“Did you say your name was Evelyn?”

 

Ines asked, stirring Evelyn’s consciousness from its grip. Evelyn’s darkened eyes gradually regained their colour.

 

“Yes, thank you. Ines. I don’t know how to repay this favour.”

 

Evelyn took a moment to reflect on her struggle to free herself from the curse.

 

Her true goal now that she was free of the Countess was to confirm her mother’s life and death, and to break the curse once and for all.

 

She knew she still had a long way to go, but for that fact alone, she had achieved her initial goal.

 

“I’m sorry, but it’s too early to be sentimental.”

 

As if she had seen right through her thoughts, Ines continued, her voice cold.

 

“The curse’s formula is intricate and vicious, and it’s not just a matter of pulling out a single chunk.”

 

Evelyn listened to her warning for a moment, her heart sinking at the meaningless words, but then she continued.

 

“The Horn of Iblis is only a catalyst for the separation of soul and body, but its intent is to create a terribly powerful evil entity.”

 

An evil entity.

 

“I thought I was done with this once I broke the curse and learned how to manipulate magic?”

 

Her body stiffened. Ines sighed heavily and poured her a cup of warm water.

 

“The more yin and yang it absorbs, the stronger it becomes. When the extracted soul is placed in a black stone and sealed, it is called a Primal Stone.”

 

Suddenly, Evelyn’s mind flashed back to the past, to the words she had overheard.

 

“I heard that the refining of the Primal Spirit Stone is nearing completion. It’s a relief to think that I won’t have to see that disgusting face anymore. She looks so much like her mother…”

 

And Evelyn had surmised that the refining of the Primal Spirit Stone had involved the blood of her mother and her clan.

 

But that’s not the whole story.

 

“So, you’re saying that the souls of those who died were placed into the black magic stone to seal it?”

 

“Exactly. The stone only works if the victim dies with a strong grudge.”

 

Evelyn laughed, the words sounded so unrealistic that she felt her head go cold.

 

“Why on earth would… they want to turn me into a spirit stone, and what were they going to use it for?”

 

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to find out slowly.”

 

“Ha…”

 

“Hey, healer”

 

Ines looked at Evelyn’s serious expression and took another drag from the pipe she’d thrown on the table.

 

It snapped.

 

She snapped her fingers and the tobacco began to spark with a pungent aroma.

 

“Just so you know, don’t get any silly ideas about returning the favour, or sacrificing yourself for someone.”

 

“What does that mean…”

 

“It means to value life.”

 

Ines cut the horse off at the hip and blew out a long stream of cigarette smoke.

 

Evelyn, unable to grasp her intentions, stared at the smoke, her eyes glazed over.

 

“Just because you’ve been through something twice in your life doesn’t mean you’ll get a second chance.”

 

‘Twice, what does that mean? Does Ines realise that I’m repeating my life?’

 

“But I’ve only died once…”

 

The unintelligible words disorientated her. Ines looked at her and smiled, a smile that didn’t match her stoic, cold face.

 

“Okay, now that the fire is out, you need to learn to control your magic. You’ll need to be able to harness the elements properly so you can help that dashing grand duke.”

 

Evelyn watched Ines’s stern eyes as she gave her advice, and she forced herself to gather her thoughts.

 

Even aside from her great title of Archmage, Ines was someone she needed to have by her side.

 

Matthias had said that she must learn to control her powers.

 

“Are you going to teach me yourself?”

 

“Eagerly. Very well, but first there is something you must find.”

 

“What is that?”

 

“Helene’s earrings.”

 

Evelyn looked like she’d been punched in the back of the head at Ines’s crisp demanding tone.

 

“They’re in the Grand Keep?”

 

She’d heard the name before, from Kalian.

 

Helene, the first saint, who was said to have been part of the raiding party that sealed Babel.

 

Of the necklace, ring, and earrings she wore, the necklace was supposedly the only holy item left.

 

“Of course. After everything that happened to the House of Orpheus, wouldn’t it be normal to keep at least one holy relic?”

 

She explained that the ring was in Helene’s coffin, the earrings in the Grand Duchy, and the necklace in the temple.

 

“How does Ines know which holy objects are where, and how does she know…?”

 

Evelyn stared at Ines in disbelief. An inexplicable suspicion rose to the back of her throat, but before she could utter the words, Ines turned away.

 

“I’ll send a carriage at the appropriate time. I’ll see you then. I’d love to play with the lovely lady some more, but as you can see, I’m busy making a living.”

 

But where the hell is she going to find that? she sighed in frustration.

 

“Hey, knight outside, come in and take the jewels back!”

 

Ines called to Viktor, who was outside, sitting on a stool and poring over the ledger.

 

Viktor opened the door and immediately checked Evelyn’s condition. He glanced at her, squinting, and she glared back at him.

 

“Anyway, I don’t like all you stuck-up knights. Go tell the Grand Duke to lower the magic tax!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

At night, when everyone was asleep.

 

Hiss─

 

Evelyn cautiously opened the door.

 

She didn’t intend to do anything, she just couldn’t sleep.

 

The castle, built of solid stone, looked even more majestic in the darkness.

 

As she walked through the deserted corridors with only a lamp, her thoughts naturally drifted.

 

“The holy relic of Helene could be here…”

 

The more she thought about it, the stranger it became. 

 

Even the necklace in the temple right now was used as a tool to measure divine power.

 

“Then why did the archmage Ines mention it?”

 

When she first heard it, Evelyn had focused on the fact that Helene had worn it during the sealing of Babel.

 

That led to only one conclusion. The amulet might be one of the conditions necessary to destroy Babel.

 

“But it doesn’t do me any good right now.”

 

On the surface, the relic only responds to strong divine power.

 

This means that neither her nor Ines’ powers of magic can have any effect on the relic.

 

But that didn’t stop her from trusting Ines.

 

The fact that she had lifted her curse was enough to make her trustworthy.

 

But one must cross a stone bridge before one can cross another.

 

“Even if I find the holy relic, I must not reveal it until I am certain of her intentions.”

 

At least, not until Kalian has confirmed that she is trustworthy.

 

“But how will I find the relic?”

 

Ines said she couldn’t guarantee it either. She couldn’t just waltz into the Grand Duchy on the basis of mere speculation.

 

So she walked on, aimlessly, not knowing where she was going,

 

“Ah…”

 

The third floor of the main house, the central garden with its indoor waterfall. It was the place Kalian had touched the most, and it was familiar to her.

 

A little further along the waterfall was a bathtub large enough for a dozen people.

 

In the past, the space the couple had shared had been quite large, nestled in the middle of the sprawling Grand Duchy estate.

 

But it wasn’t the bathtub that Evelyn was headed for, nor the gardens with their flowing waterfalls.

 

“It’s still beautiful here…”

 

Evelyn smiled as she stepped onto the dome-shaped, clear glass-enclosed balcony.

 

Her eyes were filled with longing as she gazed at the stars beyond the glass.

 

This is the space that Kalian had created for her in the past. For her birthday, he’d converted the best view in the castle into a balcony.

 

It had meant a lot to Evelyn, even if Kalian couldn’t remember anything about it.

 

But for some reason, in this life, she was not allowed to set foot on it, at the insistence of his butler, Benedict.

 

“I beg your pardon, my lady, but the top floor of the castle and the central garden on the third floor are the private domain of His Highness the grand duke, and must be avoided at all costs.”

 

She doesn’t know why. But as Evelyn stroked the space that held their memories, reminiscing about the past, she suddenly paused at the foreignness of her fingertips.

 

The crude stones lined one wall, and Evelyn absentmindedly pressed her finger against the smoothness of the stone.

 

It was then.

 

Thud!

 

The secret door hidden in the ceiling opened.

 

Evelyn’s heart nearly dropped out of her chest.

 

She didn’t think she was this surprised when she found a black door wrapped in vines in the capital’s mansion.

 

As she wiped the surprise off her chest, a wooden ladder descended from the ceiling.

 

“Why does this man keep creating spaces like this, what secrets does he have?”

 

Sighing, Evelyn stared up at the ceiling for a moment, feeling like she was being tested.

 

At the top of the ladder was a door that could fit a human, and what she had just pressed was a key to a secret room.

 

Which meant she had no way of knowing what was up there.

 

“What the hell am I supposed to do…”

 

But that was shortly after she was told that the Grand Duchy might contain Helene’s relic. Evelyn was more or less on board with Ines’ speculation.

 

To hesitate here would be dereliction of duty.

 

“Kalian said he was going to the Empire anyway, and Benedict will be asleep, so I’ll just have a quick look around to see what’s there.”

 

After a moment’s deliberation, Evelyn stepped up the sturdy wooden ladder and lifted the lamp.

 

Boom!

 

Evelyn nearly dropped the lamp in surprise.

 

Firstly, the room was far too large to be an attic, and secondly, the walls were lined with portraits.

 

She felt an eerie chill run down her spine, as if several pairs of eyes were staring back at her  from the darkness.

 

‘Should I just go down?’

 

Then, a portrait not far away grabbed her frightened ankle.

 

“Is that…”

 

Evelyn walked towards it, mesmerised. As she lifted the lamp to eye level, a familiar face greeted her.

 

“I saw them in the glasshouse.”

 

Kalian and his former lover.

 

She stared at the now uninspiring portrait, then suddenly looked up.

 

“……!”

 

The wooden plaque, ‘Portrait of Mr and Mrs Cailus Van Orpheus,’ came into her view.