The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 63
Chapter 63
She touched her neck and said,
“No, it means my head hurts! Your Grace, you’re too tall.”
Only then did he kneel in front of her on the bed. Even though she sat at a higher position, their eye levels were roughly aligned. Emotions clearly visible on his always composed face.
Scheuer pressed his forehead with her index finger, smiling brightly as she asked,
“Your Grace, did I do well? Seems like I have a talent for reversing emotions.”
“It’s better not to have it.”
What kind of statement is that? Who are we trying to save from this suffering right now?
Ignoring it, Scheuer urgently grabbed his cheeks, her small palms easily capturing his face. Speaking each word firmly, she injected her words into him,
“We don’t know how long this will last. Absolutely not. Save it well, and use it after the turmoil is over.”
Even with her firm words, Raygrain kept his sealed lips. Later, Sevi, along with Koa, visited the room.
“Well, what. Even if it’s the Duke and Duchess of Blen’s room, it’s nothing special.”
He casually walked in with a dismissive attitude. To this, Raygrain firmly stated,
“Healing comes first.”
“Oh, right.”
He burst into a hearty laugh at the sight of the excessively bandaged wound. It even took a while for him to stop laughing.
“No, isn’t it just a scratch?”
“It is, but…”
Unable to refuse, the maid who attended to her kept wrapping the bandages incessantly under Raygrain’s instructions. Even calling it treatment was minimal, as Sevits touch healed her neatly with just one stroke.
Experiencing divine power for the first time was fascinating.
“Koa isn’t in the mood for conversation today,”
Sevi said. In Koa’s hand behind him was the bouquet she had taken. When Scheuer glared at it, Raygrain spoke first,
“I’ll bring a new one tomorrow.”
Sevi, with a sanctified smile, said,
“Surely, the Duke wouldn’t snatch it after giving it, right?”
“Although I may seem lenient, I’m not a pushover, but…”
“No dignity either?”
After Sevi made a fuss for a while and left, when Raygrain turned to the exhausted Scheuer lying on the bed, he said,
“You. Whatever happens in the future, report it to me.”
“Am I being monitored?”
“Yes, I may need to call someone from the North.”
***
The forgery case of the slab had come to a conclusion. Since the confessed culprit had died with a single stroke, it was challenging to assign blame elsewhere. The nobles who had been walking a tightrope between the temple and the central authority seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.
Opinions varied among them on why the slab was forged, but it was not crucial. Regardless, the North was completely in the position of a bystander in this matter. Scheuer, exhausted from being entangled in the incident all day, received Sevi’s treatment and quickly fell asleep.
In the dark night, inside the room, Raygrain carefully brushed Scheuer’s cheek, who was curled up next to him. It was an intense emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time. The former Grand Duchess, or Raygrain’s mother, was someone who couldn’t use magic, just someone who knew a bit of it. After Duke Blen committed suicide, it was the then-Grand Duchess who took over all the responsibilities immediately. Although she could use magic, she decisively opposed him going out for retribution a bit earlier.
Seeming to resist quite desperately, she didn’t last more than five years. When she was on the verge of death from a severe injury sustained during the retribution, Raygrain asked her,
“Why did you protect the North so fervently?”
He heard it was a strategic marriage. Without any affection. Now that he had to protect the frozen land that meant nothing to him, he couldn’t understand why it was so important.
She replied, absent of expression, while he gently stroked her cheek,
“Protecting the North is how you protect what you love.”
With that statement, she took her last breath. That day, he felt a sense of loss for the first time, and at the same time, he inherited the title. All of his people had already left, and he wondered what he had to protect.
Raygrain didn’t understand the meaning, but he simply memorized her words as they were. He didn’t even know what love, as his mother described it, was. “Protecting the North is how you protect what you love.” And today.
From Scheuer, who nodded at him, he could finally understand the meaning of those words. If the North was strong, who would dare touch the Grand Duchess? The petite woman was more assertive than he had thought. Not just assertive, but fearless. Risking danger by discussing the forged slab in the presence of a sword.
When her stubborn golden eyes sparkled as she raised her head, Raygrain, for the first time, lost confidence in his judgment. In his mind, he shouted that he should interrogate him, but his hands wanted to maim the man’s limbs immediately. This feeling of frustration from not being able to wield the sword was familiar. The moment when one wanted to strip away everything, losing all emotions.
Blenga’s last moments, teetering on the edge but not crossing, were eerily similar.
“What moves you?”
he asked. Why does she give without asking for anything in return? Even in this situation, she held onto his clothing tightly, deeply immersed in sleep.
Raygrain still had much to do. At least, he needed to investigate the knight who lied about forging the slab. He carefully began to loosen the grip of her hand that held his clothes. At that moment, her smooth forehead quickly furrowed into a frown.
“Don’t like it…”
With that, he couldn’t move any further. Everything was smaller than her, and she was surrounded by things she didn’t fully understand, making it frightening for her to grasp onto something else like holding onto clothes.
He had never seen something so weak before. Holding onto her clothes once again, he observed her troubled face throughout the night. Perhaps due to the commotion, Scheuer woke up late, well past noon. Habitually, she felt the side, but only the fabric of a shirt was there. Scheuer looked at the crumpled shirt in her hand and hesitated for a moment.
“Is this Your Grace’s shirt?”
she asked, examining it with her narrowed eyes, comparing the size and fit.
Realizing that it was an instinctively familiar garment, she glanced around with just her eyes. Confirming that no one was around, Scheuer discreetly folded it and tucked it under her pillow. She planned to ask Raygrain to store it separately later, along with her collection.
Instead of morning exercises, she rolled around playfully in Raygrain’s spot where he lay. Being there made yesterday’s events feel like a dream.
“If we had to distinguish, somewhere between a nightmare and a good dream….”
Someone had claimed to have forged the slab. Despite openly admitting to being the original forger, there were many unsettling corners to declare that it was resolved since there was no impact on the North.
His name was Teper, if she remembered correctly. Investigating him was a priority. The most suitable person for this task was Lady Anabelle. With her excellent information-gathering skills, cleverness, and experience, she was the right candidate. As Scheuer contemplated, a soft knock accompanied by the small voice of the courtier came from beyond the door.
“Your Grace, Lady Anabelle wishes to see you.”
Even before she sought it, they already knew. Scheuer confidently responded,
“Tell her I’m coming.”
Then, with a thud, the door opened. The courtiers of the Golden Palace, including Tiora, looked quite worried.
“Smile Love”