CH 12

“What does that matter, mind your own business. I thought you said you didn’t care about the spirits.”

[I don’t think you’re interested in spirits. You’re going to kill a person for nothing].

“What do you care, you’re the one who sent me here to live.”

[Ah, look at you saying this, when did I just send you to live here? I sent you here because I want you to want to live!]

“That’s it.”

If I could just live when I wasn’t living, that’s the life I want to live.

This crazy old lady’s plan was a success in another sense.

I, who was strictly confined to the corner of my room, living and breathing, am here, complaining here of not wanting to die.

Living like that is also wanting to live.

That is also life.

It was funny to see myself struggling not to let go.

[I brought you here because I didn’t want to see you stuck at home with your head in your hands…].

“Who the hell wants to be sent here? You’re the one who one-sidedly sent a perfectly fine person here!”

I don’t think anyone would have wanted to come here.

Who would want to come to a place like this, where there’s no TV, no smartphone, no ramen noodles?

She thinks I don’t know that she brought me here to use me as a vessel.

[You said you’d rather die than receive me, so I sent you here to wake up].

“You sent me here to enlighten me, after all.”

[Tsk tsk…. If you’re not grown up yet, you’re a long way off].

“If you’re going to say something weird, just go.”

I’m tired from lack of sleep and confronting the spirits, and now I’ve got to deal with this old lady.

Even if I was living like a cripple in the corner of my room, it would be a hundred times better than this.

It’s better than here, where every time I blink, something happens.

[I can’t fix that crap, anyway, ugh].

The old lady, who had been rambling on, said she didn’t feel like arguing anymore and walked away.

I don’t know where she went.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and climbed the stairs, reaching my bedroom.

“My wife is very busy as soon as we arrive.”

An unexpected enemy lurks in my doorway.

Sitting lazily on the couch in a soft silk shirt…….

A nervous knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I realized I’d been caught out in the hall with the spirits.

“Why are you here?”

“Because it’s my bedroom.”

“…….”

“Have you forgotten that we’re a married couple in love?”

Oh, yeah.

I replied in a numb voice, throwing my tired body onto the bed.

“Come here.”

The Grand Duke’s voice sounded so much like a loving husband in the moonlit night.

His voice was sweet and seductive, and I glanced up to look at him.

No, no, no, no.

He must have known what I was doing.

“I’m tired, I’ll go to bed first.”

“If you prefer to talk in bed, then so be it.”

Without hesitation, the Grand Duke rose from his seat and walked to the bed where I lay. Step by step, my heart pounded as he got closer.

“I thought I made myself clear.”

“…….”

“Post a report before you act.”

It was useless to tell Hardin to look out.

The manor was in the hands of the Grand Duke anyway.

I tried to bury my face in the sheets, but his stare was too much for me, so I lifted myself up to face the Grand Duke.

“You told me this was the Marquis Heli’s mansion, and the first thing I saw when I got here were the evil spirits.”

“Spirits? Spirits of the dead?”

“Yes. They were servants who had been wronged by the Marquis, and a little while ago I sent Hardin to kill him.”

“At whose behest?”

His sharp, piercing eyes were chilling, frightening.

The Grand Duke had eyes like that.

Eyes that could make a man cringe with a single glance. Eyes so deep and dark that you couldn’t see into them.

“Was there ever anyone who could look away after hearing such a thing?”

“Who pities whom?”

A sickening mockery turned toward me.

I felt sorry for myself, sitting in this darkened bedroom, being treated like this.

“You’re not Bevenia, you’re Noctis. Floaty Noctis.”

“…….”

“With that name comes so much responsibility.”

“…….”

“What will you do if they find out you were behind the Marquis of Heli’s death?”

There was no sincerity in the Grand Duke’s voice.

If he really wanted House Noctis’ honor to remain intact, he wouldn’t be laughing like it was so funny.

“That won’t happen.”

“You’re so confident after last time.”

“I’m sure.”

In their darkened bedroom, there’s an odd tension in their stare-down.

“From the moment she sees her husband’s death, the Marquess will begin to panic.”

She’ll be begging the imperial guard to come out and catch the killer.

Why?

Because their sins were so great that they would abandon the mansion and flee to the estate.

They’ve done more than kill a whole bunch of people, they’ve done a whole lot to get caught.

“The culprit will not be caught, and the madam’s fears will grow by the day. The guards will not investigate the case for long.”

“For what reason?”

“Because he’s a marquis in name only, who’s lost his fortune in debauchery and gambling, and has retreated to an estate on the outskirts of the empire.”

Hardin was a competent enough assassin that the Empress had kept him around.

If he had been an easy target for the guards, I wouldn’t have tried to talk to him in the first place.

“That’s my plan, for her to be eaten alive by the fear she nurtured.”

And with that, I silenced the spirits of the mansion.

Now that they have safely returned to the heavens, the sinister aura of this place will dissipate in the morning.

“That concludes my report. May I retire for the night?”

“You may as well be a saint from heaven, wife.”

“…….”

“You must be a saint, given your ability to foretell, see spirits, and serve them.”

The Grand Duke had a perfect sense of my abilities.

Not surprising, since I’d overused them to survive.

I figured it didn’t matter, since I was going to use my powers to help him anyway.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say. I only moved just enough to avoid harming Noctis’s name.”

“It’s curious, a princess with such extraordinary abilities is treated as a pariah by her family.”

“…….”

“Did you hide it on purpose, because you didn’t want to be taken advantage of by the Duke?”

The Grand Duke asked insistently, his eyes shining. Like he was trying to get to the bottom of something.

“That’s what it means to be different.”

If you think you can use me, use me until I’m no longer useful.

And when you don’t need me anymore, you point your finger at it and dirty it.

“You’ve heard the rumors, that I’m a cursed child.”

So I’ve lived a disgusting life, and so has Bevenia.

Disgusting lives, despised for doing nothing to harm others.

“Maybe I’m just cursed, like the priest said, not some great saint.”

The Grand Duke asked me no more questions as I tucked myself into bed under the covers.

He merely said,

“I didn’t mean to be sarcastic, so don’t take it to heart.”

It was an unnecessarily thoughtful thing to say.

Once the darkness cleared, a normal day at the manor began.

It was an uneventful day, as if I hadn’t moved to the capital to capture the empress who threatened my life.

“My lady, some fragrant tea has been brought in, would you like a cup?”

“The sun is shining today, so why don’t we have tea in the garden?”

“His Excellency has asked me to tailor your dress, so let me take your measurements, ma’am.”

“Seafood is not to your taste, is it?”

“It is only harvested in the south. I hope it fits your taste.”

What a peaceful life.

Perhaps this is what it must be like to be the beloved wife of the great Grand Duke Noctis.

Dresses of the finest fabrics, ornaments inlaid with colorful and precious jewels, delicious food always freshly prepared, and refreshments at every turn.

It was like the life of a tycoon on a European vacation.

A large, ornate mansion, beautiful gardens with loving touches, and people who might be snooty behind your back but are very friendly on the outside.

Was this really the life of a Bevenia, a contracted marriage partner meant to capture the empress?

“My lady, His Excellency asked you to stop by his office for a moment.”

“Yes, tell him I’ll be there soon.”

It was so peaceful that I could barely see the face of Grand Duke Noctis, the man who had offered me a contract marriage.

He comes in when I’m asleep, and goes out before I wake.

“What kind of wind will blow today?”

This was the first time I’d seen him in the daylight since coming up to the capital.

“My lady, I’ll help you with your dress.”

She’d already gotten up.

I meekly accepted the maid’s touch as she gave me one last tidy up before I went to see my husband.

She tied her downy hair into a neat bun and finished with a pretty piece of jewelry.

“It’s done, ma’am.”

“Thank you. It looks beautiful, Leah.”

Blushing, Leah felt embarrassed by my compliment.

“No, ma’am. I’m ashamed of my workmanship.”

Leah was the maid who had been nearly taken over by the spirits on her first day at the manor.

Word had gotten out among the servants that I’d saved her, so she’d offered to be my exclusive maid, much to everyone’s reluctance.

“Then I hope you have a good time, my lady.”

“Yes.”

Even my one-word answer is not that good.

Leah disappeared from the room with a light step.

“Your Excellency, the lady has served.”

“Come in.”

In the sunlit throne room was the Grand Duke, surrounded by piles of papers, his face tired.

“You look even more beautiful in the daylight.”

If he can pull off an act like this, maybe he’s not tired.

The man flashed a wide, bright smile until the butler closed the door behind him, and then his mouth tightened into a straight line.

“What did you call for?”

“You’ve had enough rest, and now you must do your duty.”

What was coming was inevitable.

My days of leisurely play and eating were over.

“First mission, or something like that?”

“Something like that.”

The Grand Duke smiled leisurely and held out a gold-encrusted invitation to me.

Finally

“An invitation from the Imperial Palace.”

And so it begins.