I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 63

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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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Chapter 63
There were certainly similar words written there as well.
‘Which means… surely not this woman too.’
If this assumption were correct right now.
“For now, lock her in the underground detention cells and interrogate her about how she infiltrated the Imperial Palace. Just to be safe, make sure this incident doesn’t leak to the outside. Tighten security thoroughly…….”
“Wait, please!”
The Emperor, startled by my outcry, turned to look at me.
“Ah, well, that is…….”
Damn it. I’ve already jumped in, but what am I supposed to say?
‘Don’t take that person away? Or should I ask to handle the interrogation myself since there’s something I want to confirm first?’
Both options sounded suspicious.
I was seriously contemplating what to say and how to extract this woman when—
“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty.”
Leon, who had been standing silently beside me, stepped forward.
“Now that I think about it, I believe this person is someone I know.”
“What? Leon—or rather, you, Duke?”
The Emperor asked in surprise at Leon’s sudden words.
I was equally taken aback.
Leon knew this person?
Looking at him in bewilderment, he glanced toward me and squeezed my hand firmly.
As if to tell me to stay quiet.
“My apologies. It seems her purpose was to meet with me, and since that didn’t work out, she resorted to this method. However, even so, the unauthorized infiltration of the Imperial Palace, the waste of military forces, the interruption of the banquet, and the unnecessary tension created—these are undoubtedly serious matters that cannot be overlooked.”
“Indeed.”
“Therefore, might I humbly request that you grant me the authority to investigate this matter?”
The Emperor fell silent, considering Leon’s request.
His deep blue eyes seemed to weigh something as they shifted back and forth between Leon and me.
“Duke, are you aware of how serious this problem is?”
“Of course.”
“And yet you’re still asking me to entrust her custody and authority to you.”
“Yes.”
At Leon’s firm answer, the Emperor’s gaze turned toward the woman being held by the soldiers.
Some time passed in silence.
“……Very well. Since you’re also the supreme commander of the Imperial Knights, it’s not entirely without merit, I suppose.”
……
“I’ll entrust her to you. I’m also leaving all investigation and handling of this infiltration incident to your discretion. However, you must report properly.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you for your understanding.”
“Good. Let’s consider this matter closed then.”
With those words, the Emperor waved his hand dismissively, sending the soldiers away before turning to leave with unhurried grace.
Before departing, he cast a meaningful glance at Leon and me once more, then walked on.
‘He’s handing over custody and full authority of an intruder who infiltrated the Imperial Palace and reached the Emperor’s very presence, just like that? Without any investigation?’
What if this woman really is an assassin sent to harm the Emperor?
And what was Leon thinking when he claimed she was someone he knew?
Though I was grateful, I stood there bewildered, questioning if this was right, when Leon tapped my hand.
I turned my head uncertainly, and there he was, gazing at me.
His eyes crinkled softly with warmth.
“This works, doesn’t it?”
“……Ah.”
Then I understood.
So he did it deliberately for me. He noticed I had business with this woman.
‘But still, it could have been misunderstood. And the Emperor agreed to it too!’
Both of them seemed out of their minds.
Then again, that degree of trust in each other might be what it looked like.
“So what do you want to do now? You must have some idea in mind.”
“I think we should move somewhere else.”
We’d likely need to have a longer conversation.
From that perspective, the Imperial Palace had far too many eyes and ears.
“Let’s take her to Zaherette.”
At my suggestion to start there, Leon nodded in agreement.
The presence of a supporter willing to grant my every wish was more reassuring than I could express.
“Hey, wait a minute. What’s going on here exactly? I’m alive, right? That’s the impression I’m getting anyway.”
The unfamiliar woman rolled her chestnut eyes as she spoke.
Whether she’d realized that she owed her life to me, or whether she’d simply grasped that I was the reason she’d survived—either way, her face lit with gratitude as she took a step toward me.
“Stay back.”
“Oh!”
Of course, Leon cut off her approach at once.
He fixed her with such a merciless stare that it seemed he’d slice away anything—even a fingertip—if it so much as brushed me.
‘He’s keeping her alive for my sake, certainly. But he’s making it clear he doesn’t trust her one bit.’
Given the circumstances, I realized I’d need to play mediator if this was going to go anywhere.
It was a delicate position, admittedly—but if I managed it well, I might finally answer some of the questions that had plagued me. The thought sent a small thrill through me.
So I couldn’t help but press forward with this first question.
“You there.”
“Yes? Yes?”
“Do you happen to know of a place called Korea?”
The woman’s eyes went wide as saucers.
Just as I thought.
I didn’t even need her answer.
* * *
The engagement party had concluded with great fanfare.
True, there had been certain irregularities, but the Emperor had seen to it that no one breathed a word about them.
All the gossip circulating now concerned the party’s principals—the Grand Duke and the Duchess—being hailed as the “couple of the century,” dripping with romantic sentiment.
As for the intruder, there was no mention of that anywhere.
Thank goodness.
“Haa…”
I exhaled slowly and set down the newspaper I’d been holding.
As I relaxed and took a sip of tea, I found myself noticing the empty seat across from me.
“Where’s Leon?”
“His Highness had business this morning and went to the Imperial Palace. It seems to be related to yesterday’s incident.”
“I see.”
I gave a small nod and drained my cup.
It was possible that now, with Leon away, was the right time to act.
“Has our guest woken?”
“Just now, they say.”
“Perfect.”
I rose from the table at once and walked briskly through the halls.
‘Come to think of it, Leon’s reaction when I first met that woman yesterday was rather peculiar.’
Had I misread him? Or was it just my imagination?
That subtle undercurrent kept gnawing at me.
With this unease settling over me, I arrived at the guest room and knocked lightly on the door.
“Oh, Erna!”
The woman standing by the window beamed and cried out as I entered.
She’d rushed toward me with a bright smile, but then caught herself—her face shifted—and she pressed her hand to her mouth.
“Wait, no. Should I be calling you Duchess Zaherette? I’m sorry. I’m not very familiar with the etiquette here.”
“Just call me by name. No need to be formal.”
“Then I’ll call you Erna. Oh, and I’m Ye-ji. Park Ye-ji.”
She told me to address her casually as Ye-ji and introduced herself accordingly.
“Understood. Miss Ye-ji.”
The name didn’t sit naturally on my tongue, but I acknowledged it and took a seat at a table set to one side of the room.
The servants quickly brought tea.
“Have you recovered somewhat?”
“Yes. And as I said yesterday, thank you for helping me. Another moment and my head would have been separated from my shoulders. Ha ha.”
“That was incredibly reckless.”
“It was. I’ll admit it even now. I think desperation just stripped away my sense of reality. I’m sorry.”
The woman bowed her head in apology, then suddenly jerked it up again.
“But what exactly happened? Are you possessed too? You must be, if you know about Korea?”
“No. I’m…”
“I knew it! They said an extra character with barely any mentions ended up connected to a major player! You hijacked the protagonist’s route, didn’t you? You successfully seduced the Grand Duke! Good grief, so it IS possible to go off-script like that! Do you actually have possession of Volume Four?”
The stranger poured out her words in a surge of joy, as though she’d suddenly become enlightened.
Whoa, hold on. I raised my hand to signal her to calm down.
Along with a gesture meaning I didn’t understand a single word of what she’d just said.
“No. Let me be clear from the start: I didn’t come from the same world as you. I was born here, and I’ve been ‘Erna Zaherette’ from the beginning.”
“What? But… then how did you know I came from Korea? And how did you even learn about Korea in the first place?”
“That’s…”
“And you already knew I was someone who’d undergone Transmigration, didn’t you? Admit it.”
How was I supposed to explain this?
Leaving out the truth made it nearly impossible to answer.
I gave up trying and let out a weary sigh before speaking.
“The truth is, someone possessed my body once before. When that person was about to leave, they left behind a letter. That’s where I got all this from. They told me they’d come from ‘Korea,’ and that this place was just like the story from a novel they’d read.”
“That’s it! Oh, so you knew everything all along. How strange… wait, hold on just a moment!”
Ye-ji, who’d been listening intently to my story, suddenly went still at some point.
“Then where is that person who entered Erna’s body now?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I assumed they went back to wherever they came from. The letter they left certainly seemed to suggest…”
Wait. Now that I think about it.
‘How did that person know they were going to return so soon?’

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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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