I’m in the Arms of the Cursed Grand Duke - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14

Gwen shouted loudly.

“Your Grace! Did you have a good meal?”

“…Has mealtime passed?”

Oh, it seems you were with Clemente and lost track of time!

It was fortunate that he brought Clemente when he first met her.

That would be the best thing he’d ever done in his life.

Gwen chuckled and subtly moved away from the door.

Since he had to say something that might displease him. You never know what could happen.

If he stayed close and got frozen, he might die without seeing Clemente and His Grace get married. That would be very unfair!

“I’m sorry, but I think I need to fetch Clemente!”

“Why are you looking for Clemente here?”

Gwen felt something strange at this point.

“What? Wasn’t she with Your Grace?”

“She must be somewhere else.”

“The head maid said she wasn’t anywhere else, so I came to see you as a last resort…”

“Then that means… Clemente has disappeared?”

Crack!

The door froze.

Was it just the door?

Suddenly it became as cold as being outside.

‘Well, anyway, it was good to stay away…’

Gwen drew up his aura to protect his body and shouted from afar.

“P-please calm down, Your Grace! I’ll search for her right away. She might be sleeping somewhere, she looked tired lately!”

Instead of an answer, Gwen saw the ice chunks on the wall growing even more and sat down between the 3rd and 2nd floor stairs.

‘I hate the cold…’

Still, his situation of having to guard this place in preparation for any possible circumstances was pitiful.

Gwen hugged himself with his muscular arms and sighed deeply while looking out the window.

The snowstorm showed no signs of stopping and was still battering the entire world.

Was it snowing like that all day in Zephyrus’s heart too?

‘Clemente, where did you go?’

He hoped she would come quickly and calm His Grace down.

**

Zephyrus was in a bad mood.

It seemed like lunchtime had definitely come, but Clemente hadn’t arrived.

He couldn’t tell the time by looking out the window.

Fierce snowfall was blocking his view.

Tapping the table with his fingers, looking out the window, looking at documents.

Like a dog waiting for its owner, he felt anxious and couldn’t concentrate.

“…”

No. Seeing that the meal hadn’t come either, it must not be time yet. It was just dark outside, so he was mistaken.

Clemente was not someone who should disappear without a word.

‘She said she would stay by my side…’

Then he heard a knock.

‘Is it Clemente?’

As soon as she comes, she starts by removing what covers his face.

Still, after a week has passed, he should be able to do this much by himself. That way, even those helping would want to help more.

From the position of having to contain everything about Clemente within himself, he had to show effort to shorten even that time.

So he steadied his breathing and brought his hand to his face covering.

His resolution was to show her removing it as soon as she entered.

But.

“Did you have a good meal!”

A completely different voice carried completely different content than expected.

“…Has mealtime, passed?”

Really? Zephyrus reluctantly turned his gaze to the clock on the back wall.

Lunchtime had long passed.

Yet she hadn’t come.

The more he conversed with Gwen, the more floating ice fragments increased.

“Then that means… Clemente has disappeared?”

Crack.

In the end, he couldn’t overcome his agitation.

‘Escape.’

That was the first word that flashed through his mind.

He had been denying that it couldn’t be true since earlier.

He had been trying to console himself that she was just a little late due to some circumstances.

If they still didn’t know her whereabouts by now, there was no way to explain it other than escape.

Crack.

The thin documents began to freeze and crumble first.

Zephyrus clenched his fist tightly while watching this.

He knew.

That this shouldn’t happen.

But it wasn’t going as his heart wished.

She said she wouldn’t quit.

After reassuring him like that.

After showing him how warm the act of sharing body heat was.

‘You give me hope and then run away?’

Unacceptable.

“Your Grace, please calm down!”

Then Gwen defended Clemente and said he would go find her.

‘Right.’

It wouldn’t be difficult to find Clemente in this cold place.

He could just go to places warmer than usual.

When Clemente comes like that.

‘What should I do?’

He didn’t want to let her go.

Then there was only one method.

Surveillance.

Or, confinement.

Zephyrus lowered his eyes and let out a faint sigh.

She was a free woman.

If he tied her down, that vitality might disappear.

Thinking that way, it was an unappealing method.

‘…Is it really escape?’

As his intense emotions subsided, reason returned.

She didn’t seem like such an irresponsible person.

It was only a week, but she had done her best.

She worked diligently enough for even Zephyrus to see and helped him diligently.

If she had planned to escape while doing all that, that would be shocking in its own way.

Zephyrus collapsed completely onto his desk.

He didn’t want to do anything.

How long had he been like that?

He had no choice but to get up.

“…Haa.”

The harshest period in the Northern Region. To safely get through the nightmare of the snowy mountains, he had to start preparing now.

He didn’t want to see his domain’s people die because of his laziness.

No matter how cursed he was, a duke had to take responsibility for his people.

Just as he was about to start working again.

“I’m la- Huh? Why is it cooler inside than outside?”

Clemente appeared on her own two feet.

**

When Clemente arrived, the castle was bustling.

She didn’t know the reason, but her friend seemed to be having a hard time.

Judging by how it was colder inside than outside.

“Clementeee! Where on earth have you been! Huh?”

Gwen, who heard the news of Clemente’s arrival, came running at full speed.

She quickly examined Clemente’s physical condition, and despite having come from the blizzarding outside, she was in an unbelievably fluffy state.

“Huh? Eh?”

“Not ‘Huh? Eh?’ If you were going somewhere, you should have said you were going!”

“No, I didn’t know it would turn out like this either!”

Just as Clemente was about to explain the detailed circumstances, Gwen covered her mouth.

“I’m not curious. Please go to His Grace and tell him very, very thoroughly!”

And she threw her into Zephyrus’s room and disappeared.

Click.

The door closed.

Clemente, who noticed the completely frozen room, awkwardly waved her hand.

There was no response so she lowered it, but it was certain he was looking at her.

Creak, Zephyrus got up from his chair and slowly approached.

‘Oh, this is the first time he’s approached first.’

Her heart was beating a little. She was looking up at Zephyrus as if watching a child take their first steps.

Zephyrus suddenly collapsed to the floor with a thud.

“Master!”

She reflexively reached out and caught Zephyrus.

“Tell me.”

“What?”

Zephyrus roughly removed the fur hat that covered his face. His hair cascaded down and brushed against Clemente’s cheek.

“Where were you?”

The silver-gray eyes visible right in front of her were fluctuating with various emotions.

“Without saying anything at all…”

“I’m sorry. Were you worried?”

“Worried…? No. I thought you had, run away.”

“Run away! Like a bug or, am I worse than a bug?”

Seeing Zephyrus looking at her as if speechless, Clemente noticed her own excitement and took a small deep breath.

“Anyway! I’m not a bug. I won’t, run away!”

Zephyrus nodded blankly.

Roughly 10 years since receiving the curse.

During that time, the Ducal Household hadn’t failed to make efforts to break Zephyrus’s curse.

Especially after the previous duke’s disappearance and death, they became even more active in breaking the curse.

Since they couldn’t do it openly, they gathered various rumors and invited different people under the guise of satisfying the Dowager Duchess’s curiosity.

However, less than 10% of the invited people actually came to the Northern Region.

Even those who came with difficulty ran away immediately after experiencing the manor freezing over.

For a while, rumors circulated in the capital that the people of the Northern Region were monsters who didn’t even feel cold.

The reason was that it was as cold as being outside even while inside the manor.

Since several strange rumors derived from that also circulated, the Dowager Duchess thereafter strictly restricted access to the duke’s manor.

Even the merchant groups bringing food couldn’t enter, so the strange rumors spread like wildfire.

‘The Northern Region’s isolation deepened from that time.’

All of that was because of Zephyrus himself.

The bug that Clemente spoke of was a word that suited him better.

Not someone who ran away out of fear.

It suited him better, someone who would even consider confinement to somehow hold onto a person who said they were scared.

“But running away isn’t really something to be blamed for, is it?”

Clemente flinched and stared at Zephyrus with an expression he’d never seen before.

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