I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 14

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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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Just moments ago he was a genius, the way they all praised him, and now I buried my face in my hands in despair. Fine, I only read the novel for that part, but by the middle of it I’d skipped every bit of exposition entirely.
No, of all things, why this?
I was the type who rationed out every sheet of toilet paper, yet I had no idea why I’d flipped through a novel I’d paid good money for so carelessly.
They say instinct is a frightening thing, but thankfully, things weren’t hopeless. Why? Because I’d still read all the dialogue.
“…….”
Nothing reads better than the dialogue in an adult novel. The heated moans of the leads do a great deal to heighten the mood.
And in ‘Beauty and the Night Beast,’ the leads did talk quite a lot, in their own way. It wasn’t everyday conversation, more the kind that happens in bed, but a novel can’t very well get by on moaning alone.

“…Ah, Your Highness, not this early in the morning… Today’s the day the envoy from Hessen arrives to discuss dividing the southern territories, you know. And yet you’re still going on like this… Hnn… Ahh.”

It’s embarrassing, but here’s an example of the sort of thing I mean.
If you strip away the various moans of hnn, ahh, and mmm, you can pull out a few bits that are actually worth keeping.

“…Why bother with the trouble from the Capital?”
“Well… His Majesty the Emperor says he wants to build a summer annex palace here. So he wants to consult with Your Highness…”
“An annex palace? Why here of all places?”
“…Please, just meet with them. It’s only because he wishes to get along with Your Highness… Won’t you do it for my sake? Please?”
“Hah. What a bother.”

Honestly, after all that, he goes and gives in anyway.
Not that a scene of him actually meeting them would ever appear, but there was no way the male lead would turn down the request of a female lead he doted on so tenderly. He puts on a gruff front in front of the heroine, then quietly summons the Count behind her back while she sleeps.

“Go and meet them in my stead and tell them this. If they insist on building an annex palace, there are a few places that would do.”
“…Wait, what about here?”
“It’s bordered by both the lake and the mountains, so it wouldn’t be a bad site for an annex palace. Of course, keep it from Cecil.”

What a scheming shadow duke he is.
In the end, he tells the Count the spots he had already picked out, fulfilling the male lead’s true role of quietly granting the heroine’s wishes behind her back.
If the Count had been a little kinder, he might have said, “No, wait, isn’t this the spot twenty kilometers from Liden, Lot 30-5 at Brundel Lake?” instead of “No, what about here?” But he wasn’t that sort of man. The Count was merely the grandfather from the epilogue, the one who dotes on a whole brood of little grandchildren.
“…Rose.”
“Hm? I’m keeping a good eye on things, Sis.”
At my suddenly wistful gaze, Rose tilted her head.
My dear Rose, just wait.
First I had to settle on a plot of land, so I could buy the little grandpa that the youngest would be dangling from, bouncing her feet. Allowing a generous two years, if I put in the effort until then, a comfortable and peaceful life for Rose and me would be guaranteed.
And there’s another reason I need the land approved quickly.
“Go, Sis, fighting!”
With land of my own, I could raise our poor cat to my heart’s content.
As if the Grand Duke could possibly care about me. He’s the sort of man who won’t mind anything at all, as long as I don’t cheat on him. If I build a little cabin and spend my time there like a weekend farm, whether I bring my little sister over or open a cat farm, it’ll be none of his concern.
Of course, until then I’ll have to stay somehow at the Grand Duke’s Residence, but that’s a separate matter to think about…
“Sis! Bella, Sis…”
“Yes, just a moment. I need to take a look at this for a second…”
“S-someone’s coming! I hear footsteps…”
“What?”
Without meaning to, I raised my voice and dropped the pen I was holding. Here I was, and she’d said nobody would come, and this grandpa was…!
Pale with panic, I hurriedly gathered up the pen and the map, and Rose, on her own, scurried over to the box.
“Sis, I’ll come out later. Bye.”
“…Rose.”
Seeing Rose with both feet already in the box, waving her hands wildly, my heart gave a sharp pang. What’s more, as if she were used to it, she even pulled the lid shut with her tiny fist.
Who on earth would make a child not even get to rest in peace!
My anger flared, though in truth I already knew who it was. Even if I’m only a shield, I’m still going to be the Grand Duchess. For someone to come looking for me at this late hour without so much as a word beforehand, there’s only one person it could be…
Bang!
The moment the door swung open, the eyes that had been resting on the shabby wooden box turned toward it.
It would have been better if I’d at least changed my clothes, but the water was already spilled and that man had already opened the door. Lowering my eyes, I lifted my skirt slightly, stepped out from behind the table, and bent my knees.
“…I greet you, Your Highness the Grand Duke, Lord of the North.”

…This is the right way to do it, isn’t it?
Everyone who meets him in the novel calls him the Lord of the North without fail. I’d found the title a bit embarrassing to read, but now that I was face to face with him, I could understand why they addressed him that way.
A pressure that seemed to press down on my shoulders.
I hadn’t even gotten a proper look at his face yet, and the gloomy aura spreading through the room made me shrink in on myself without meaning to.
Is the male lead supposed to be someone like this? Or is it because the Beast’s Curse still lingers?
Oh, right. The curse!
The thought came late, and I swallowed hard. Given the title, he had to be a true “beast” in every sense. A being that everyone feared and revered, a hero and, at the same time, a figure who was despised.
Knowing he was standing right in front of me, my cheeks trembled faintly, even though I had prepared for this.
“I… am Eliya of Viscount House Mayfield.”
“……”
With a deliberate step, he came one pace closer.
His black boots suited the dim room well, but there was nothing else particularly striking about him yet. A beast, I thought, and naturally the man I’d seen in the animated version came to mind, but the more I raised my eyes, the drier my throat became.
“Ah……”
The moment I finally met his gaze, my breath caught in my chest. The same overwhelming, dizzying feeling I’d felt when I first laid eyes on the Grand Duke’s Castle wrapped around my entire body.
He was far from the beast people had so often described. Yet I couldn’t say he wasn’t one, either.
His body, clad entirely in black, was taut and sleek, fitting for a hero who had swept across the battlefield. But his face… I couldn’t make it out. From the bridge of his nose up, it was covered by a black mask, and I could not tell a thing about him.
A beast, or a man.
Calling him merely a man in a mask felt wrong, for the aura he exuded went beyond the realm of humans. Whether you called him a person or a beast, both titles made sense. To the innocent, he would inspire reverence; to the guilty, their knees would simply give way.
For the record, I was the latter, so I hastily pulled my gaze away from where I had been staring, as if entranced.
“……Well, I hope you’ve had a good look around.”
“Ah, no, not at all.”
How could I possibly have a look around when everything was covered up?
If he’d at least shown himself as a beast outright, I could have pretended I was visiting a zoo and found it fascinating. Instead, all I could do was feel crushed and fidget awkwardly. His low, sinking voice blended seamlessly with the Grand Duke’s Castle itself.
“I should have been the one to greet you personally today, but I couldn’t manage it.”
“Excuse me?”
Wait. He’s the polite-speech type? The unexpected detail threw me off for a moment. Then again, the first time he spoke to his first wife was after Eliya had cheated on him. A man who had stormed over with a blade in hand, his rage at the boiling point, wouldn’t be polite to a woman.

“……Come out.”

Two cold, clipped syllables. That was all there was, so I had no room to guess further. Still, judging by the way he spoke to the female lead Cecil, I assumed he’d be casual or outright condescending toward me, too.
Anyway, seeing that he at least showed this much courtesy, a sliver of hope bloomed that we might get along better than I’d expected.
“……It’s fine. The Count has been exceptionally kind in showing me around.”
“Hmph.”
When I conveniently passed the credit to the Count, a bashful cough came from the old man. Two birds with one stone: I’d also earned a few points with the strategist.
I looked at him again.
“……”
Beyond the mask, crimson eyes stared straight into mine. I could only make out the color of his eyes, yet for some reason a chill ran through me.
He was merely looking, and yet it felt like a web of blood slowly closing in around a person. I could understand a little better why he’d earned the name of a beast. After all, one doesn’t have to take the form of a monster to be a monster.
“I suppose my appearance isn’t very surprising to you.”
“Well… I’ve already heard about it.”
If I had strongly denied it, insisting I wasn’t frightened at all, it might have backfired. Anyone could see I was terrified, and claiming otherwise when my hands were trembling so badly would hardly convince him. Yet collapsing in tears wouldn’t help either him or me.
What kind of man is he, really? I needed to understand his character to figure out how to win him over, but the Kiers I remembered was focused entirely on the Adult Novel scenes. He hardly ever left the bed, so there was no information about how he treated other people.
Overwhelming yet chilling, and yet with an unexpected courtesy. One thing was certain: he was neither the bashful, smiling youth Lord Jerome was, nor the dignified, seasoned gentleman like the Count. There were far too many hidden things about the Grand Duke for me to decide rashly how to deal with him.

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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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