I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 88

The repercussions of the name Cailus van Orpheus were enormous.

 

“The portrait I thought was of Kalian and his old lover, the old Guardian couple…”

 

With her head spinning, she suddenly looked down.

 

A piece of paper with a verdict on it lay on the table. Narrowing her eyes, Evelyn read it aloud without thinking.

 

“Daphne Del Lindbergh, a witch who has given her soul to the Devil, is condemned to be burned at the stake for using her extraordinary powers to overthrow the Guardian’s Izzie and plunge the Empire into chaos…”

 

Her heart was beating fast.

 

Evelyn paused, as if her heart would leap out of her mouth at any moment.

 

So the inscription <D. Lindberg.> refers to the wife of the Ancestral Guardian, Daphne del Lindberg, and she was accused of being a witch and burned at the stake?

 

Before Evelyn’s stunned eyes, a scene from a dream she had once unfolded like a painting.

 

[Witches who have given their souls to the devil, hear, for the crime of causing the Empire’s tragedy, a crime that cannot be repaid with life, you shall be burned at the stake!]

 

The anger of the furious crowd, the flames that raged through the hem of her dress as she struggled in fear, came over her like a reality, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.

 

Had her dreams foretold this?

 

Had she loved him so much that she’d caught a glimpse of her past life in a dream?

 

Or, could it be…

 

“No, that’s such a ridiculous leap…”

 

Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, she wiped the sweat from her brow and was about to descend from the loft.

 

Thud, thud, thud—

 

She thought she heard familiar footsteps, but then she heard a dull thud, a dull friction.

 

Goosebumps ran down her spine at the unexpected sound. Evelyn froze for a moment, then slowly turned around.

 

“……!”

 

Her eyes locked with Kalian, who was leaning against the doorway, staring at her.

 

There was a moment of silence, and when she didn’t speak, he stepped closer and took the paper from her hand to read it.

 

“…….”

 

Her breath caught in her throat, and it was no wonder she stiffened as if she’d been caught stealing in a restricted area.

 

It was he who broke the short silence.

 

“You have many ways to surprise me. I never realised my wife was so playful.”

 

Kalian casually set the paper down and continued, his face as nonchalant as if he were telling a joke.

 

“I wonder if hide-and-seek is your hobby, but oh well. Unfortunately, it’s not my job to find you.”

 

His gaze was as unflinching as his fingertips stroking the tracking mark on his wrist.

 

“Why don’t you say anything?”

 

He took another step closer.

 

As he drew closer, she could feel the chill in his collar, the chill of a man who had been out in the cold too long.

 

He must have realised she was gone as soon as he got back and checked her location.

 

“I should have waited a little longer…”

 

Deciding that an apology was in order, she grasped his fingertips, which had grown cold.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come in here in the first place, I just…”

 

“Just?”

 

She should have walked away, even if her feet had moved of their own accord in search of a familiar place.

 

But a nagging feeling of regret drew her to the balcony, and she couldn’t suppress her curiosity.

 

Whatever he was trying to hide, he ended up with ten mouths to feed.

 

“The sky from the balcony is so beautiful that I can’t help but…”

 

As soon as he heard Evelyn’s answer, Kalian’s brow furrowed. The expression on his face, which had been so calm the whole time, made it seem real.

 

But then he said something unexpected that caught her off guard.

 

“I told you, don’t apologize quickly, even if it’s me.”

 

“You’re…?”

 

“It means I don’t blame you for getting in here.”

 

Kalian let out an inexplicable sigh as he smoothed back her dishevelled hair.

 

“There is no place in this castle that you cannot enter, and you are the only one who has been invited into the catacombs that no one else has.”

 

He clenched his jaw until the bones beneath his ears stood out.

 

“I can imagine what my mother would have said. Next time, don’t go off on your own.”

 

“Oh, no, she was a very caring and sweet woman.’”

 

Evelyn shook her head in stubborn denial, and his head tilted stiffly.

 

“You mean to tell me that as soon as you saw me, your heart broke and you wanted to comfort me?”

 

Evelyn bit her lip, referring to his early morning visit to her a few days ago.

 

It must have bothered him that she’d thought it was a dream and that she’d confided in him.

 

“That’s..”

 

She sighed shallowly, and he brushed his lips over her bite marks, then smiled as if to change the mood.

 

“It seems like a lot has happened while I’ve been gone.”

 

“Yes, so much so that I don’t know where to begin.”

 

“Then I’ll give you a chance.”

 

He picked Evelyn up, the corners of his mouth curling loosely, and sat her down on the table where the verdict lay.

 

“I’ll listen to anything you have to say, but tell me the first thing you’ve been wanting to say.”

 

In an instant, their eyes were level. His sharp, golden eyes locked on hers.

 

Her breathing deepened slightly as a different kind of tension filled her.

 

She wondered what she should say in this situation.

 

But she couldn’t let this opportunity pass her by.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, she gripped his collar and swallowed dryly.

 

“Why is the portrait of the old guardian couple in the capital’s glass conservatory, ah…!”

 

Evelyn groaned as he carefully removed her mouth.

 

He tilted her head, biting down painfully on her lower lip.

 

Does that mean he can’t answer? Or was it a question he didn’t want to be asked?

 

“Oh, that hurts. Hmph, ouch!”

 

Evelyn protested through her bitten lip, and he pulled her into a hug with such force that she could barely breathe.

 

With a gesture of urgency, as if he couldn’t bear it if he didn’t, he bit down deeply on her lips, digging in.

 

The sound of wet skin rubbing together echoed sinisterly in the enclosed space.

 

“Hmph.”

 

The naked, blatant kiss made her head dizzy. Her breath caught in her throat, but ironically, it made her feel more comfortable.

 

The chaos that had been cluttering her mind had been swept away by the thrusting gesture.

 

Her heart was beating frighteningly. ‘What if this stops? What if I’m so possessed by this man that I don’t want to let go?’

 

The moment tears formed in her eyes, her weakly swaying body slammed violently against the portrait on the wall.

 

Thud-!

 

Her back suddenly felt empty. When she opened her eyes, the portrait on the wall was scattered across the floor.

 

“Why is that…”

 

“It hurts.”

 

“…….”

 

“Focus on me.”

 

Evelyn wondered if he’d taken it down because he was worried she was going to get sick. A portrait of an ancestral guardian?

 

But there was no time to dwell on it, and he dug in frantically, as if to steal every last breath from Evelyn.

 

Evelyn’s pained moan slipped over the tip of his tongue at the sluggish movement.

 

“I can’t breathe.”

 

“Don’t stop. Hold on.”

 

“Ugh…”

 

He stood on his tiptoes, breathing hard, as if he had something other than his tongue in his mouth.

 

But Evelyn didn’t push him away.

 

She opened her jaws wide, inviting him in, taking him deeper.

 

Her body wanted him, all the longing and need she’d been suppressing exploding in a single kiss.

 

“Haah… Haah…”

 

Her breath rose to her chin.

 

“Breathe through your nose, it’ll be less painful.”

 

His lips parted, and he gently caressed the tip of her chin, as if to soothe her.

 

“Ha…”

 

Her eyebrows arched, she exhaled once through her nose and stared up at him with languid eyes.

 

“…like this?”

 

“Yeah, that’s good. Practice it. Don’t fumble every time.”

 

Why is the human heart so weak?

 

Even though she knew she shouldn’t fall prey to his kindness, the anxiety that had been building up in her chest slowly sank to her feet.

 

And so, when their lips met again at the familiar angle, the warmth of his touch made her burst into tears.

 

It would be foolish to say that, for this moment, she felt as if she had returned to a time when she had loved him desperately.

 

“That, that’s enough.”

 

Evelyn pushed him away with a sweet face, afraid she might lose control.

 

The long line of saliva between their lips showed how passionate their kiss had been.

 

Shifting his gaze to follow it, he wiped his thumb across the traces on Evelyn’s lips and smiled loosely.

 

“Is that all you have to say to your safely returned husband?”’

 

“…….”

 

“I was wondering how you were, and how much you thought of me.”