I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 91

As Kalian held the exhausted woman, he thought back to the moment when he had confessed his past.

 

He hadn’t meant to confide in her in the first place.

 

He could have made any excuse he wanted. They’re their descendants, it’s only natural that they look alike.

 

But the moment he saw her eyes ask for the truth; his resolve crumbled.

 

Kalian didn’t want to tell her a lie, exactly.

 

‘Why?’ he thought to himself, ‘I could have just blurted it out like I always do and she wouldn’t have asked.’

 

The reason was simple.

 

He was going to confess one day.

 

That he was the Ancestral Guardian, that he had a story, that he would use it as a shackle to bind Evelyn’s ankles in their final moments together.

 

He knew that this woman, so capable of embracing the pain around her, would break his heart more than anyone else if she knew his past.

 

Evelyn was as selfless as he’d ever seen her, and her selfish ploy had worked.

 

‘I like it.’

 

At the same time, her plaintive voice came to mind, and his chest throbbed as if a blade had been removed from the inside of his heart.

 

It was a confession he didn’t want to hear, but he didn’t argue.

 

Instead, he simply hugged the frail woman as hard as he could and let her know how he felt.

 

Pity, pity, pity.

 

Kalian loved the way the woman looked at him with pity in her eyes.

 

It was satisfying to be on the receiving end of a blind stare that expected nothing in return.

 

‘Call me arrogant, but I don’t care.’

 

Ever since he realised that if he couldn’t extinguish that damned silence, his life wouldn’t end.

 

His whole life has been conceiting and arrogance. He couldn’t live without it.

 

Kalian trusted no one and kept only a handful of humans by his side who were unqualified from birth to family roots.

 

His life itself had been too worn down over hundreds of years and countless lifetimes to be the first to show someone his pure heart.

 

Instead of showing emotion, he always remained expressionless.

 

This had earned him the labels of a bloodthirsty madman, a slaughtering maniac, but it didn’t matter.

 

They weren’t wrong, and he hoped the rumours would make humans fear him.

 

But now it is different. Evelyn was keeping her distance from him.

 

It was the first time she’d let him stay with her without any validation, but he never expected it to end like this.

 

To leave a sleeping face purely because he missed someone, he’s sure those who knew him would be horrified to hear.

 

“Kal…”

 

She whimpered and burrowed into his arms, and he hugged her tightly. Kalian thought it was curiosity, but it wasn’t that shallow, because she kept looking at him, and it bothered him, and it made him angry.

 

He had been alone since the death of his wife in his last life. He hadn’t felt desire for anyone, and the saint didn’t look like a woman. But…

 

‘You’re different.’

 

But he didn’t know how to be kind to her. No, he had long since forgotten how to treat human beings gently.

 

She’s not like him, he thinks deeply. Apparently not pleased with him, Kalian descended from the loft, wrapping his cloak around the woman’s body.

 

He pulled on a robe that was laid out by the side of the bathtub.

 

Benjamin, who had only just awakened, came panting to the door.

 

“Your Majesty…! When did you come unannounced?”

 

“Never mind. Get the things I told you about now.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

How much time passed.

 

Evelyn frowned as she awoke from her nap. She frowned as she woke up, feeling floaty.

 

“Mmm…”

 

She tried to open her eyes, but the crushing in the corners of her eyes made her groan in pain. She wondered why her head hurt so much.

 

Suddenly, she remembered gasping frantically as she was crushed by a large body.

 

It was at the same time that she realised she was being carried somewhere, in the arms of a man who was holding her down, unable to breathe.

 

“Get off me, stay still.”

 

She whispered sternly, and he gave her a quick, light slap on the buttocks. The arm around her nape flinched.

 

“Ah…!”

 

“You’ve done worse.”

 

The gust of wind snapped her out of her reverie and brought the lush central garden into view.

 

She felt the lukewarm water on her toes, and then her tired body washed over her. Before she knew it, she was in the bathtub with Kalian holding her.

 

Evelyn didn’t know if it was the water splashing against her chest or the heat of his gaze on her, but her body, which had climaxed so many times before, was hot again.

 

“Hot?”

 

He asked, stealing a kiss from her damp cheek, and she changed the subject, burrowing into his arms, embarrassed.

 

“A little, but how much time has passed?”

 

“See for yourself.”

 

Holding her face to face, he turned her around.

 

Then he eased her so that she was nestled between his legs.

 

He turned her so that she was facing forward and could see the night sky, obscured by the transparent curtain.

 

“Wow… it’s so pretty.”

 

The black sky was dotted with stars. The high ground made her feel even closer to the sky.

 

“I don’t really have a hobby for decorating, but this is the only space I can get my hands on. As you can see, it’s also the best view of the sky in the castle.”

 

Leaning her back against his chest, Evelyn leaned back and asked curiously.

 

“May I ask what you were thinking when you made the balcony…?”

 

He was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head, his eyes calm. Evelyn read the darkness in his eyes immediately.

 

It meant he didn’t remember.

 

‘Why can you remember your wife from hundreds of years ago, but not me from a past life…’

 

A twinge of regret crept in, but she pushed it away.

 

“I’m sure it wasn’t a very good memory.”

 

It’s hard enough to remember the distant past but remembering how she didn’t help herself will only make her head hurt.

 

As she gazed up at the twinkling stars to clear her mind, a thick arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

 

“How weak you are, anyway.”

 

As usual, he wasn’t satisfied with one relationship.

 

Evelyn had fallen asleep on his stomach as he embraced her, much to Kalian’s displeasure.

 

“It’s not that I’m weak, it’s that you’re exceptional.”

 

“To say the least, I think it’s a bit much for you to fall down after only three relationships.”

 

“You’re the one who’s too much. You’re a Guardian, I’m a mere mortal, there’s no comparison.”

 

Living two lives as a Guardian was like being chosen by the gods.

 

Evelyn wondered briefly if her return to the past was also through his power, but she shook her head.

 

‘It’s a power he’d have to embrace to bring his wife back to life, and he wouldn’t use it for me.’

 

While she chuckled to herself, a large hand gently stroked her flat stomach.

 

“Your body is a curious thing. For a human, how can you be so thin for a living?”

 

Kalian squeezed her tiny stomach, which she could have covered in the palm of his hand.

 

“With such a thin belly, I can see all the way in and out of my things, and you have no idea how much it drives me crazy.”

 

Instead of answering, Evelyn splashed water at him, her eyes narrowing.

 

Unable to fight back, Kalian splashed water into her sweaty hair and kissed her ripe earlobe.

 

Their eyes met, they laughed, and they shared a breathless kiss.

 

The warm water’s temperature made her blush like she was covered in red ink.

 

“Oh, right…!”

 

Evelyn blurted out, changing the subject to prevent the mood from turning saucy again.

 

“Ines says you can’t even have tobacco, it’s such a curse they have to pay a magic tax or something?”

 

He wiped the moisture from his face and smirked.

 

“Viktor told me about it, but I’d rather hear about your conversation with Ines.”

 

“I was going to tell you even if you didn’t.”

 

This was going to be a long story, so Evelyn shifted in her seat, resting the side of her head against his chest.

 

With the long moonlight illuminating them as one, she told him about the stone and how she came to break the curse.

 

“I’m about to find out what the hell they were trying to do with the souls of the Lindbergh women.”

 

“In what way?”

 

Evelyn swallowed calmly at Kalian’s question.

 

“Ines has agreed to teach me how to manipulate the elements. If I know what powers are in my body and can harness them…”

 

“Evelyn.”

 

A low voice cut her off. From her experience, when Kalian spoke like this, it was usually to try to talk her down.

 

“You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”

 

But what Kalian said was a different story.

 

“Ever since I was six years old, I’ve been knocked unconscious by bursts of magic, and when I wake up, the world around me is in ruins, and some people have been killed in the rampage.”

 

Evelyn tensed, expecting him to say what was in her heart, but her face grew contemplative.

 

“Then the demons invaded the Great Duchy, and my twin brother and father, not even ten days old, were killed in their attack.”

 

He smiled bitterly.

 

“Everything I love is gone. It was only recently that I learnt that it was a true curse placed upon the Guardians.”

 

Her heart fluttered.

 

It was a strange feeling, one she didn’t know whether to call fear or excruciating nervousness.

 

She felt like he was telling her that he cared about her, that he was afraid she would disappear.

 

That’s why his words felt like a passionate declaration of love, like he was worried she’d do something wrong.

 

Evelyn took a deep breath, as if swallowing a ridiculous assumption. Then she held the man in front of her still.

 

“But it’s not…your fault.”

 

“It’s not their fault either.”

 

Then who the hell was to blame.

 

“So it’s no wonder my mother hates me, and it’s no wonder I’m a monster in her eyes.”

 

Evelyn felt sorry for him, knowing that being an adult doesn’t mean he has to embrace everything, and that he said it so matter-of-factly.

 

Evelyn silently swallowed the sigh that was rising in her throat.

 

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean it, and I’m sure once I’ve nursed your burns back to health…”

 

Kalian arched an eyebrow at her, convinced that something had changed.

 

“I must seem strange to you, don’t you think? Reincarnation, past lives, it can’t be easy to believe in such things without question.”