The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Peyton appeared guilty after broaching the subject, his words trailing off as he lowered his head and added an explanation.

“I don’t mean to imply that something will happen to you, Your Grace. It’s just that this hunt will be lengthy, and as someone who has served you for so long, I’m worried.”

“I understand,” 

Raygrain interjected, cutting off his extended speech in an effort to reassure him.

Hearing Peyton’s concerns, he began to understand why Scheuer had opposed his departure so fervently. If Peyton is this worried, then Scheuer must have had similar thoughts. Besides, hadn’t she seen firsthand the area affected by the cursed stones?

Raygrain responded to the hesitant Peyton, who seemed troubled. 

“Talk to Scheuer.”

“Understood.”

Despite having received the answer he was likely hoping for, Peyton bowed his head without a hint of joy before leaving the room.

In the past, Raygrain would have simply proceeded as planned. After all, his sword energy was robust, and there was no reason not to go. But with Scheuer calling his name in protest, he couldn’t dismiss her concerns so easily.

Above all, it bothered him that she, who usually stayed close to him, especially before a hunt, was not here at this moment. It was a subtle difference that only Raygrain felt, one that she probably didn’t even realize.

‘Is it instinct? ’

After allowing Scheuer some time to rest, he found himself at her room late that night.

“Scheuer.”

Raygrain carefully called out to her as he opened her familiar door, finding her sitting alone on the bed. In the past, she would have rushed to him with a smile, but this time she was cold.

“I don’t want to.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“You came to tell me you’re going on the hunt, right? I absolutely don’t want you to.”

She seemed to be trying to look serious, but it only made her appear more naive. He reached her in just a few steps. Her small face, which he could cover with his palm, turned away as if sulking.

“Hmph.”

As Raygrain sat in front of her, her golden eyes briefly glanced at him. Scheuer then turned her body and buried her face in the pillow.

“I’m serious. This time, no matter what you say, Raygrain, I won’t change my mind. If you must go, then do it in three years.”

Once again, she had called him by his name. It was practically a protest, and her intense dislike of the situation made him uneasy.

Scheuer had never shied away from him before; she had always approached him first, and even when he drew near, she would simply smile and brush it off.

At times like this, he didn’t know what to do. It felt as if someone pressed down on a corner of his heart with just the right amount of force, making it heavy, yet it couldn’t sink and instead beat unsteadily.

“Scheuer, let’s talk.”

As Raygrain reached out his hand, Scheuer rolled away, turning halfway to avoid him. Her stubborn profile that peeked out was a strong testament to her resolve.

“Peyton sent you, right? I know everything.”

“Looks like you don’t know anything.”

“I heard the same thing from Josephina.”

Scheuer buried her face back into the pillow, avoiding his gaze. Seeing her back, Raygrain spoke calmly.

“If monsters are swarming in the north, it will be difficult to go out like before.”

Her lips curled into a slight grimace. The person who always smiled was no longer grinning at the thought of him going on a hunt. Just that fact made it hard for Raygrain to stay still.

Scheuer was afraid of giving her heart to someone. Though she was kind and affectionate to everyone, Raygrain realized that this meant she treated everyone with the same weight after meeting her. Her overflowing laughter was just a means to maintain a suitable distance.

For some unknown reason, Scheuer always drew a line. No one could enter her inner circle. It was as if she was satisfied just watching Raygrain from a distance.

Raygrain bowed his head toward her, who stubbornly avoided his gaze.

“Scheuer. I’m not a bird.”

Was he being treated like that bird, afraid of nurturing something for fear it would leave first?

Yet Scheuer continued to avoid his gaze.

***

Early in the morning, Zeros entered with a pale face to deliver news from the Central.

“Lady Annabelle has committed suicide while in custody.”

“…Annabelle?”

After seeing Raygrain’s distorted face last night, she doubted her ears, wondering if she had misheard the news. Jessica simply nodded silently in confirmation.

“No, how could someone so confidently assert their innocence suddenly do that?”

“It seems they are investigating. As you know, the current situation between the Central and the North is not good.”

Concerned about information leaks, it appeared that Jess only relayed the situation at a safe distance.

‘She was someone who would never die…’

Even though things had become strangely twisted, she would have thought about living alongside Silcaro; she didn’t seem like someone who would willingly leave.

Death is so futile, and it always arrives unexpectedly.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After bowing respectfully, Jessica attempted to leave the room without lingering. Scheuer called out to him again.

“Jess, can I ask you something? What do you think about going on the hunt? ”

Was she being overly sensitive?

She wanted to ask him, who undoubtedly cared for Raygrain more than anyone else. In the original story, he had searched all over the North to find Raygrain’s corpse, determined to build a grave for him.

Now, she was curious how Jess would perceive the current situation.

“I will just follow orders.”

His lackluster response was typical of a loyal captain of the guard. Scheuer cautiously inquired,

“Aren’t you anxious or scared? You know how dangerous the hunt can be.”

“I’m not afraid because I trust you, Your Grace.”

Despite his thin voice, his tone was resolved. It felt as if he believed that Raygrain, whom he trusted, could never falter; a strong sense of faith emanated from him.

That was a typical response from Jesse. He glanced at her with a pale face, then bowed his head without saying anything further. He quietly stared at the door he had just exited.

‘That’s because Jesse doesn’t know.’

Death always comes suddenly and without warning. Scheuer knew people who had vanished suddenly from an ordinary day.

‘Oh no.’

She felt heat slowly rising in her eyes. In a world where her parents had disappeared, she was always alone.

There was no guarantee this time would be any different. If Raygrain disappeared in the North, Scheuer would once again be left alone.

In her past life, the Raygrain from the novel had been her support, but he ultimately disappeared from the pages. And now, even with another chance, he might vanish again. Despite all her efforts to change things, the original story cruelly recreated the same situation through different means. If the God of Lapel were before her, she would want to take his head off immediately.

Scheuer roughly wiped away the tears that kept welling up in her eyes with her palm. Looking at the smudged tear stains on her hand, she couldn’t help but understand the weight of the feelings pressing heavily in her heart.

‘I think I like the Duke.’

Even when she liked him in the novel, she felt pain at his death. But those feelings were closer to emptiness and despair. At the end of the story, his demise was merely depicted with a line stating that his body could not be found. It hurt her heart as if it were being torn apart, but after all, he wasn’t a real person.

But now, the clarity of the feelings she could sense was undeniably different. Scheuer irritably rubbed her eyes.

‘This is why I wanted to love him from a distance.’

Just like when she watched him in the novel—just that kind of relationship. A pain that she could endure even if he were to disappear.

A click echoed as her door opened. When she looked up, Raygrain was staring at her with a twisted expression on his face. He quickly approached and wiped the tears that had yet to dry from the corners of her eyes with his thumb.

“Is that how much you dislike it?”

“Um, this is… Well, I was just yawning! ”

She tried to cheerfully declare, but his gaze remained unwavering. After scrutinizing her for a while, he finally parted his heavy lips.

“I see. Since you dislike it so much, I won’t go on the hunt.”

“And how odd it is to be haunted by someone that still alive”