I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 62
“Something seems louder around here. Nothing’s happened, has it?”
I had a bad feeling about this.
Worse, I could see soldiers carrying Glass Lamps moving systematically down the opposite corridor.
I caught fragments of speech—something about a “woman” and an “intruder.”
“……I can’t stay here. I should head back to the Banquet Hall.”
Wandering around alone seemed like a recipe for trouble.
Just as I was turning toward the Banquet Hall, wishing I’d never left Isabel’s side, a sound stopped me.
Crackle!
“Hmm?”
A suspicious noise from nearby.
I thought it might be a rat or cat—the sort of vermin you’d find in an old castle—but……
“Achoo!”
“…….”
That was unmistakably human.
I stared toward the source and carefully moved closer.
Leon would be shocked if he knew, but still.
‘If there really is an intruder, I’ll need to fetch the guards.’
Holding my breath as I approached the shadowed end of the corridor, I spotted it—the edge of a skirt jutting out from beneath a stone statue roughly the height of an adult man.
Drawing nearer, I made out the huddled form of a woman whose face I couldn’t yet see.
Could this person actually be the intruder?
No, but something about this doesn’t quite add up……
“Excuse me?”
“Ah! Wait—please, I’m not suspicious. I’m just——!”
“Calm down. I’m not calling the guards. Not yet, anyway.”
I extended my hand and told her to compose herself. The woman looked up at me with frightened eyes, then relief bloomed across her face.
I studied her in return.
She was just an ordinary girl. Her clothes were equally ordinary.
But one thing was certain: nothing about her outfit belonged in the imperial palace.
Who was she? A lost, foolish new servant……?
“Are you all right? If you’ve lost your way, I can help you.”
“Oh? Ah, well……. Actually, I came to see someone.”
“I see. Why don’t you come out from there?”
I waved my hand lightly, beckoning her forward, but she watched me with suspicion in her eyes.
Though not for long.
Realizing she had no other choice, she grunted and hauled herself out from beneath the statue.
I smiled as naturally as I could and stepped closer to her.
“You said you were looking for someone. Who is it? It’s possible I know them.”
“Ah, well……”
She hesitated for a moment when I asked for the name, then finally spoke.
“The Grand Duke—Leon Obsidian.”
“……Excuse me?”
Leon Obsidian? The Leon I know?
Bewildered by this unexpected name, I watched as the woman’s dark brown eyes suddenly gleamed with recognition.
“Those red curls……. You’re Erna Zaherette, aren’t you? You’re the Marquis Zaherette’s daughter?”
“What?”
The woman jumped and suddenly rummaged through her pocket, then produced a crumpled sheet of paper.
It was the front page of a newspaper, torn in half.
And there—a photograph of both Leon and me.
“The woman engaged to Leon Obsidian! No wonder you looked familiar!”
The woman thrust the newspaper toward me, her eyes sparkling.
“This is perfect timing. There’s something I wanted to ask you anyway!”
“……You want to ask me?”
“Yes!”
She nodded vigorously, pressing her hands together in excitement.
“When I first saw the article, I couldn’t believe it. An Extra Character nobody’s ever heard of suddenly engaged to Leon Obsidian, one of the main protagonists! No matter how I thought about it, the narrative didn’t make sense…….”
Speaking rapidly in terms I didn’t understand, the woman muttered to herself with intense concentration.
But why did this all seem so familiar?
I felt like I’d experienced this before. When had that been……?
‘No, that’s not the point right now.’
“That I’m Leon’s fiancée makes no sense. What does that even mean?”
“Exactly as I said. In the Original Work, Leon Obsidian’s fiancée was never you!”
The Original Work.
And his fiancée wasn’t me?
Words I could scarcely comprehend pulled me deeper into confusion.
“Erna!”
It was then.
A familiar voice echoed from the end of the corridor, and Leon rounded the corner in an instant, materializing before us.
“Oh, Leon!”
He’d been glancing about frantically, as if he’d been running through the imperial palace in a frenzy, but the moment he spotted me, he crossed the distance in two strides.
“You came at just the right moment. I was actually about to—mmph.”
Before I could finish, Leon pulled me into his arms without warning.
His grip was so tight that I squirmed, but he didn’t budge an inch.
“L-Leon? What’s wrong?”
The harder I struggled, the more firmly he held me, pressing my head against his chest with one hand.
I could feel his determination—to wrap me so completely in his embrace that not a thread of my clothing would show.
‘Why is he so frightened?’
Through my ear, pressed unintentionally against his chest, I could hear his heart racing like mad.
Thump-thump-thump.
This seemed serious.
“Leon, what happened? I thought there was some commotion outside, so I was heading back to the Banquet Hall.”
“…….”
“Leon?”
“I was frightened. I couldn’t find you.”
“What?”
“Erna, if something happened to you… I was so worried I couldn’t see anything.”
His voice, soft as it was, trembled faintly.
Leon Obsidian—he who commanded the world—was trembling like this.
Instead of pushing him away, I held his broad back and stayed still.
His frantic heartbeat gradually returned to a normal rhythm.
“I’m all right. But Leon, I found something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“Yes. Here—”
“L-Leon Obsidian!!”
A loud cry suddenly erupted from behind us.
Leon’s eyes changed in an instant.
He quickly pushed me behind him and stepped forward, ready to strike at any moment.
“Who are you?”
“…….”
“How did you get in here? What exactly is your purpose—”
“Oh my god! No way! It’s really him! This is incredible!”
“…….”
“So it’s true that you’re the most handsome man in the world! I’ve been dying to meet you in person! Wow, you’re even more stunning than in photographs. All those days sleeping on the streets were worth it!”
What on earth was this woman saying?
Moments ago, while hiding in fear of being caught by soldiers, she’d been bouncing about with unbridled joy, causing an absolute commotion.
I was baffled, but surely Leon was too.
Concerned that he might be in shock, I turned to look at him.
And yet…….
“Surely not…….”
“Leon?”
“……This can’t be real.”
I had expected Leon to show anger, irritation, or wariness toward this stranger. Instead, his face bore traces of confusion and bewilderment as he stared at the unfamiliar woman.
‘Does he know her?’
That was the only thought that fit.
Leon’s reaction was strange.
“Leon, Erna! Are you all right?!”
Soon after, the Emperor, his attending knight, and Isabel—who appeared to have heard the news—came running and found us.
“You’re not hurt, are you? My goodness, an intruder suddenly infiltrated the palace, and soldiers are searching for her as we speak. And when I left Erna alone, she vanished. I was so worried something terrible had happened to you—wait?”
Isabel, who had been fussing about in relief, stopped short when she caught sight of the strange woman standing before us.
Her sky-blue eyes widened rapidly.
“Brown hair and a gray skirt! Tch, an intruder!”
So it really was an intruder after all.
“Duke. Are you unharmed? No injuries?”
“Yes. I am fine, Your Majesty.”
“Thank heavens for that. What are you all doing? Seize her at once!”
The Emperor barked the order after swiftly checking my condition.
At his command, soldiers who had rushed in with him surrounded the woman in seconds.
“Wait, just a moment, please! I’m not a suspicious person! I just… I had no choice, I didn’t know the way back, so I thought, well, forget it, and just tried barging through. And I only came because I wanted to see my favorite character……!”
The woman thrashed about, glancing frantically at her surroundings as she spoke in a rambling, desperate torrent.
But when that failed to move him, she turned to plead directly with the Emperor.
“Please help me! What is this? This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. The story is unfolding in a way I don’t recognize……!”
Wait.
‘Novel. Favorite character. And everything else besides.’
It finally came to me—when I had first encountered those strangely familiar words.
I’d had a nagging sense of recognition all along.
‘The letter that foreign woman left behind when she possessed my body before!’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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