The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Of course, Leilda had seen the dress of Raygrain’s mother, the former Grand Duchess, in person. He could understand that, but Sevi’s presence was unexpected. It was clear that their intentions were not good. He had assumed that Scheuer would invite him to see the dress together first. After all, she was the one getting married. When he said she could choose her wedding attire as she pleased, it seemed she intended to proceed without him.

‘I’m pretty sure I mentioned it when I returned from the hunt yesterday.’ He had even told her to let him know anytime if she wanted something, not refusing her. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t a statue or a doll. 

Raygrain lightly ran his large hand down his face and murmured, 

“The dressing room? ”

Jess, anticipating the question, answered, 

“If you mean where the Duchess is, then yes, it’s the dressing room.”

Without hesitation, Raygrain rose from his seat. He took a swift step away from the desk, firmly grasped Jess’s shoulder, and said, 

“I’ll continue hearing the rest when I return.”

“…Understood,” 

Jess replied reluctantly, but Raygrain had already left the office before the words were fully out of his mouth.

As he walked down the corridor, the servants bowed in respect. Whenever he walked with Scheuer, people would always speak to them, but when he was alone, no one dared to speak first. At most, he received formal salutes from the knights.

As Raygrain approached the dressing room, which was quite a distance from the office, he began to overhear the servants’ chatter.

“Did you see? What did you think? ”

“I thought everything looked great on her, but the High Priest and Lord Leilda didn’t seem to agree.”

“Exactly. I really wish she would choose the dress she’s trying on now. It’s so beautiful.”

“I loved the one that came up to her neck. If ‘loveliness’ were a person, it would be the Duchess in that dress, don’t you think?”

The maids were animatedly exchanging their opinions about the dresses Scheuer had tried on. As Raygrain’s firm steps brought him closer, the surprised maids quickly bowed their heads.

In a voice unintentionally cold and stern, he asked, 

“Is Scheuer inside?” 

“Yes, Your Grace! We’ll inform her right away! ”

Before he could even give the order, the maids hurried to open the door to the dressing room and relay the message. Although the household staff of Blenga didn’t consider him particularly approachable, it wasn’t to the point where they would avoid him in fear. Raygrain realized that his current expression must be particularly severe, enough to freeze the atmosphere around him.

Inside, he could still hear Sevi and Leilda bickering.

“I’m telling you, the off-the-shoulder style suits her much better, you stubborn High Priest.”

“Don’t you know anything about mermaid cuts? The defined lines look far better. Maybe you’re just getting old and losing your touch? ”

As the door clicked open, the drab hallway gave way to the bright, well-lit interior of the pristine white dressing room. And there, standing in a white wedding dress, was Scheuer, her eyes wide as she looked at him.

The moment their eyes met, she broke into a bright smile, her eyes crinkling with joy as she cheerfully called out, 

“Your Grace, you’ve come at the perfect time! ”

The severe expression that had been etched on Raygrain’s face softened instantly, as if melted away by her warm greeting.

***

Scheuer was inwardly surprised when she heard that Raygrain had arrived. The door opened, revealing his tense face. As soon as she saw him, she instinctively smiled brightly. Grabbing the hem of her dress, she quickly hopped down the shallow step of the dressing room. Cali, who had been adjusting the fit of the dress, seemed startled, but Scheuer dashed over to him.

He was looking at her intently with sharp eyes. Scheuer spread her arms wide and asked, 

“I thought you were busy. I was trying on a dress—how does it look?”

The tailor behind her, overwhelmed by the sudden tension, nervously fidgeted with his hands. The dress, with its shoulders fully exposed and lace draping down like a shawl in several layers, was the one Scheuer and Cali had been most keen on. Even Leilda had given it a favorable review. But instead of answering, Raygrain sharply surveyed the surroundings.

He firmly commanded,

“Everyone, leave.”

Everyone in the dressing room looked puzzled by his abrupt and terse order. Sevi, in particular, strongly objected.

“What the hell? We’ve been helping out while Your Grace wasn’t here, and now that we’re done, you’re telling us to leave? Wow, is this how they do things in the North?”

Leilda clicked her tongue and lazily leaned back on the sofa. 

“Anyway, I think this one looks the best, so you can handle the rest with him.”

As he gave his indifferent response, a white magic circle formed around him. By the time he turned around again, Leilda had swiftly vanished. Seeing this, Sevi straightened his shoulders, replying as if he had won.

“I knew it. He realized he couldn’t win against me, so she ran away. Right?”

He lounged on the sofa with an air of triumph and said nonchalantly, 

“Well, that’s fine. I won, so do whatever you want.”

It seemed that Sevi had been opposing Leilda’s opinion all along just to come out on top.

He let out a huge yawn, then picked up a hand mirror and examined his face, saying, 

“Goodness. Look at those dark circles under my eyes from that butler’s spell yesterday. I knew something was off when I had nightmares last night.”

After scrutinizing his face with concern, he stood up, and with an arrogant posture, hands clasped behind his back, he addressed Scheuer and Raygrain standing by the door.

“Move aside, both of you. I’ve been staring at too much white, and my eyes are about to drop dead from fatigue. I need to go look at something as dreary as the Duke.”

Despite telling them to move, he shamelessly walked right between them. Scheuer asked as he was about to leave,

“Are you leaving? I wonder if there’s anything dreary around here.”

“Koa must be sulking somewhere, so I’ll go give it some attention.” 

He replied with a wicked grin before leaving the dressing room without a second thought.

After he left, the tailor and the maid glanced around nervously. Raygrain, in a firm tone, commanded, 

“Everyone except Scheuer’s personal maid and the tailor, leave now.”

In an instant, everyone except Cali and the tailor disappeared as quickly as a receding tide. Scheuer looked up at him curiously and asked, 

“Why are you sending everyone out?”

Raygrain didn’t answer. He just stared at her intensely, his eyes almost narrowing as if they were about to grimace. Scheuer gently tugged on his sleeve, leading him toward the sofa. 

“Since you’re here, you should sit down. I’m almost done anyway!”

Despite her light pull, he obediently followed her to the sofa. Scheuer twirled once in front of him and asked, 

“How about this one? Cali, Lord Leilda, and I all thought it was nice.”

He silently observed her. As she blinked several times, waiting for his response, Raygrain finally averted his gaze. He had never once looked away before!

‘This dress is going to be burned in a bonfire tonight!’ Scheuer thought. At this rate, she would end up in the wedding portrait all by herself. She leaned this way and that, trying to stay in his line of sight. If he didn’t like it, she needed to change quickly, so she asked again, 

“If you don’t like it, there are plenty of others! What do you prefer?”

He covered his mouth with his hand. After a long pause, he answered in a calm voice, 

“It’s beautiful.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected compliment, Scheuer gasped and held her breath. Her heart raced at that moment. They say when someone sees something cute or lovely, it feels like a pang in the chest, and that was exactly how she felt now.

Sitting up straight, he looked at her and said, 

“Why did you call Leilda and the High Priest, leaving me out?”

Scheuer quickly sat beside him, the voluminous lace of her dress spreading out across the sofa, almost swallowing her small frame. She held her flushed cheeks and asked again, 

“I didn’t invite them—they just followed me. But really, do you think it’s beautiful?”

“Yes. So, let’s disregard everything those two said earlier,” he replied.

“The intimacy of being understood “