I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 47

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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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With my mood finally lightened, I turned my attention to the picture Rose was drawing. Art has no business being left out of early childhood education. A child as sensitive as our Rose can put a single line on paper and still mean something profound by it.
“Oh my, Rose. What are you drawing?”
I pointed at the topmost of several overlapping sheets. Rose, who didn’t yet know how to hold a colored pencil and was clutching it with her whole fist, was busily scribbling black over the edges.
Let me see. It seems to be a person, more or less, but judging by how she’s coloring everything black…
“Ah, I know! It’s the Grand Duke, isn’t it? Still, Rose, if you draw him so much like a beast, the Grand Duke might be hurt. He’s the one who let us live here, after all.”
“Hm? This is my sister, though?”
“…Hm?”
“It’s when Sister went off to gather firewood! See the trees here?”
“…Mm-hm.”
Well. It’s hardly fair for someone to be this gifted at art, too.
Rose pointed at the black scribbles and declared them trees, so I went along with it with a rather unconvincing nod. Yes, they do look like trees. But then, your sister’s face does look a little too much like a tree, doesn’t it?
“Sister, do you like it?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“Hmph.”
The moment Rose received my forced praise, she wriggled her shoulders and put on a coy little air. No matter how much she’d drawn my face as a lump of trees and a beast, this very sight was a gift and a joy in itself. I smiled brightly and flipped to the next page.
Having confirmed that she had no artistic talent, I’d given up on expectations, and if I just watched the colors come out of her pencils for fun…
“…Rose, who’s this handsome big brother here?”
“Hm? Oh, that’s the Grand Duke’s brother-in-law.”
“….”
The gap was so vast it went beyond mere difference in skill and left me with a sting of relative deprivation.
Honestly. Who on earth is this handsome man?
Compared to the heap of firewood that passed for my face a moment ago, the figure of a man with glinting golden hair stood out in sharp detail.
“…You say this man is your brother-in-law?”
“Mm. Isn’t he cool? Do you think the Grand Duke’s brother-in-law would like him if I gave him this?”
“Rose…”
Look at this thoughtfulness!
I was moved before I’d even thought it through, and I nuzzled Rose’s cheeks over and over. I’d thought she was still just a baby, yet here she was, able to read people’s hearts even through a drawing!
That she wasn’t frightened by Kiers’s appearance was already commendable, but I hadn’t expected her to portray the cursed Kiers so splendidly. Creating him as an entirely different person was a small flaw, but I’d let it slide on the strength of being her big sister, of course.
“When you grow up, you could become a painter, Rose. Your sister will get rich and buy every last one!”
“Hmph, really? Then I’ll draw more pictures!”
“Can’t you sleep?”
“Nope. Not one bit!”
Well, after sleeping that much since morning, how could she possibly be sleepy?
Judging by her bright, wide eyes, Rose’s real night seemed to be only just beginning. I rested my chin in my hand and simply watched her earnestly coloring with her pencils.
“Sister, why hasn’t the Grand Duke’s brother-in-law come today?”
“Ah, because you’re not sleeping, no, that’s… He has training, apparently.”
“Training? It’s nighttime, though?”
“Yes. It’s a tradition of the Grand Ducal House.”
“Ahh, I see. Rose is too scared at night.”
Swapping to a different pencil, Rose nodded along with my words out of habit. Still, after thinking it over, she seemed a little disappointed, and she kept glancing toward the door for no reason.
“You said you were drawing, so why do you keep looking back? The Grand Duke will be coming late tonight.”
“Hm? I know that, but…”
“Don’t be like that, draw your sister again. Look. You haven’t even drawn clothes for her yet.”
“Mm. But… can I draw a dress?”
“A dress?”
“I want you to wear a pretty dress, Sister. Like a princess.”
Rose glanced at my face timidly and picked up a pink pencil.
Come to think of it, I’d never once dressed up properly in front of Rose. At the wedding, all I’d had was a single old-fashioned dress, so I could understand why she was agonizing over what color to use.
“Rose, would you like it if your sister wore a dress?”
“Nope, you don’t have to. Even without one, you’re the prettiest, Sister!”
“…Oh, you.”
I’m living only because of you!
When I hugged Rose’s little body and rolled about with her, the paper behind her rustled like laughter. The moment she’d been wide-eyed, insisting she couldn’t sleep, was long gone; after a few rolls she was worn out and nodding off.
Honestly, babies are something else.
Without saying anything, I patted her chest gently, humming a lullaby, and she yawned as her eyelids grew heavy.
“Haaam.”
Watching her fall asleep still pouting at the very end made me smile without meaning to. You were going to all this trouble of worrying me, and now look at you sleeping so soundly, my princess.
Afraid she might catch a cold, I’d tucked the blanket snugly up to her chin, but now my own sleep had fled.
I lay beside Rose, eyes wide open, staring up at the gray ceiling.

“Please go to sleep first, my lady. I doubt I’ll be back tonight.”
“…Then I’ll just stay in my own room.”
“Denied. There’s no telling when training will end.”
“…Training? At this hour?”
“It’s tradition.”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
I remembered Kiers smirking as if I needn’t know anything more, then walking out without a backward glance. He’d barely deposited us in this room before leaving, yet his scent lingered everywhere.
Why are you thinking about that man at night, Bella?
“….”
Feeling restless for no good reason, I ended up getting to my feet. I looked around for something to do, but there was nothing in Kiers’s room I could possibly lay a hand on. Aside from a few swords and spears mounted on the wall, it was so spare that anyone could tell it belonged to a man who lived alone.
While I’m up, maybe I’ll take a look at the map.
I rose carefully, mindful of waking Rose, who had only just fallen asleep. I’d heard that all my belongings had been moved to the Grand Duchess’s room yesterday. It still felt unfamiliar, but since it was officially my room, there was no reason I shouldn’t go in.
Click.
I opened the connecting door and stepped through with light feet. Feeling along the wall, I tugged the cord, and the light of the chandelier flooded the room.
“Ah…”
I squinted at the sudden brightness and blinked, but my vision still swam. To be precise, it wasn’t that I couldn’t see; the scene before me was simply unfamiliar. My eyes trembled as I took in boxes that shimmered faintly, like afterimages of light.
…Where is this?
Pastel-colored boxes were stacked high against one wall, and for a moment I thought I’d wandered into a different room entirely. Why are these here?
The room already felt like someone else’s, and now it felt even more like I’d sneaked into it. Still, these colorful boxes weren’t entirely new to me.

“I’ll have them brought in. If you’re curious, feel free to open them whenever you have a free moment.”

Right. That’s what that man had said.
“Hm…”
And here I am with nothing to do.
I can assure you I didn’t manipulate my own brain into this. Kiers had gone off to train, Rose had fallen asleep, and I was left alone.
With every condition for boredom in place, I drifted forward as if under a spell. The boxes that had reached nearly to the ceiling in the hall nearly filled half of the Grand Duchess’s room.
“What on earth are these?”
Each box was as tall as Rose. Unsure where to begin, I finally pulled out a purple one that looked easiest to slide free. Its color alone was so elegant that I wasn’t afraid, like I’d be opening Pandora’s box, but my hands trembled regardless.
Click. Since I’d already taken it out, I lifted the lid carefully.
“Wow!”
The gasp slipped out, and I clapped a hand over my mouth in case Rose heard. A dress, more elegant and luxurious than the box itself, unfolded gracefully, and the room seemed to grow brighter.
“It’s a real dress!”
The one I was wearing now was also a house dress, but whether it counted as a shirt or a dress was just a matter of classification. It had been passed down to me after two older sisters had worn it, so the sleeves and hem were a mess, and above all it had faded. When I held my arm against the one in the box for comparison, the dress inside was so white it was almost dazzling.
Like a wedding dress.
“….”
My hands lifted the dress on their own. Beaded embellishments spread delicately over the well-cut lines of the gown. The chiffon layered beneath it whispered as the pieces brushed against one another, and for a moment my ears were enchanted.
Sarak-sarak.
I’d gladly drown in that sound like a graceful song all night, but this was the Grand Duke’s Castle, where the ultimate final boss lived. It hadn’t been long since I’d realized that life was the real battlefield. I couldn’t let my guard down so easily.
Then… could it be!
I jumped to my feet, leaving the dress where it lay. I grabbed another box at random and opened it, then pressed a hand to my forehead and held my breath.
“…I think I’ve lost my mind.”
A dress beside another dress.
Every time I opened a box, dresses of different shapes and colors showed off as if to prove a point. I’d thought I was in a fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, but it turned out to be the tale of Heungbu. And in the middle of all this, how could the swallow be so utterly indifferent?

“It’s nothing special, so don’t trouble yourself over it.”

Nothing special? Then what on earth would be special?
He’d said it so offhandedly, but Kiers wasn’t the sort of man who’d do something just to startle someone. Surely there had been something far more important on his mind in that moment.
No matter how I think about it, if that’s what he was looking at…

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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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