I’m in the Arms of the Cursed Grand Duke - Chapter 69

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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 69

Young ladies who acted out without knowing their place would usually run away crying after just this much.

“You might catch a cold doing that. Last time when the caravan people came, most of them had caught colds.”

“Is that what’s important?”

“Then is there something more important than your health, my lady?”

Her attitude seemed to say ‘Your health is the most important thing in the world!’

“So if it’s alright, I’d like to come closer.”

Words asking for permission. However, Clemente was already moving.

The white boundary line between them melted away and disappeared.

Whoosh—

Warmth rushed in.

Physical warmth. All the snow melted. Her surprise at that warmth was brief.

She couldn’t get covered in mud like Clemente. She couldn’t ruin the dignity she had maintained all this time to become the heir. She hated the thought of others seeing her like this.

If even the slightest gap was exposed, the marquis would not allow her to become the heir.

Because he believed his daughter’s greatest happiness was living with a good husband.

But—

“Come on, my lady. Get up.”

Clemente slipped her hand behind Liriart’s neck as she lay there and easily lifted her up.

Before mud could get on her clothes. So it happened in the blink of an eye.

Even so, the little bit of mud that got on the back was wiped away by Clemente’s hand before Liriart could say anything.

“You must take care of your health. You’ll be meeting the master soon, so you can’t be sick.”

What should she say in response? She didn’t know. She substituted her answer with another question.

“…What would you do if I became the mistress and told you I didn’t like you and to leave?”

“Do whatever you want. Oh, but you can’t tell me to disappear from the Northern Region! I’d fight back against that.”

“Ha.”

Liriart let out a sigh filled with helplessness.

“It’s hot.”

“Oh, is it a bit hot? I’ll move away.”

Liriart’s face turned bright red. She pressed the back of her hand to her flushed face and said,

“I came out for a walk and only ended up ruining my mood.”

“Then something equally good will happen to make up for it!”

“Do you still believe such naive words?”

“Of course. I’ll think that way for the rest of my life.”

Liriart let out a light sigh and turned her back.

She didn’t have the energy to say more.

It seemed like Clemente would react unfazed no matter what she said.

This was truly the first time she’d had such a difficult conversation.

“Are you leaving? Let’s go together.”

“You go your own way.”

Liriart walked elegantly and lightly.

Instead of following, Clemente shouted at her back,

“Always watch your step! See you later, my lady!”

At that cheerful voice, Liriart bit the inside of her lip.

“Fool…”

Liriart sighed. In the cold that had returned, somehow only the back of her neck felt warm.

**

And the next day. It was the day of the meeting between Liriart and Zephyrus.

Zephyrus and Clemente were waiting for Liriart in the office.

Zephyrus glanced at Clemente. Unlike when he saw her yesterday, she didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

“Are you feeling better today?”

“About what?”

“You seemed to be in a bad mood yesterday.”

“Maybe you saw wrong, master? There was nothing to put me in a bad mood.”

Clemente tilted her head. Then Zephyrus shook his head. It meant not to think about it further.

“You’ll be seeing the young lady soon. How do you feel about it?”

“Should I feel something?”

“You’re going to see the person you’ll spend your whole life with. And after such a very long time.”

“Oh, about that. Liriart is going to break off the engagement this time—”

Knock knock.

Zephyrus couldn’t finish his sentence.

Liriart had arrived.

Clemente opened the door.

Liriart, with her face wrapped in a scarf showing only her eyes, greeted them politely from outside the door.

The two people’s eyes met.

Clemente, who was watching the two of them, tilted her head and rubbed her stomach.

‘Something feels queasy.’

She had sorted out all her bad emotions yesterday, so it couldn’t be because of that.

‘Ah, I ate a bit too much for breakfast.’

It must be because she overate.

Dismissing it like that, Clemente stepped back and listened carefully to their conversation.

“Liriart Demeter greets His Grace the Duke of Pruina.”

“Right. Is this the first time we’re meeting in 10 years?”

“Perhaps because someone didn’t show their face.”

“There were circumstances.”

“That’s why we’re still engaged, I suppose.”

A cold wind blew between the two of them.

‘Are these… really people who are about to get married?’

The atmosphere was different from what she had imagined.

Zephyrus had emotionless, cold eyes that Clemente had never seen before.

Even when facing Airite the physician, there had been emotion in his eyes. Most of it unpleasant feelings, but still.

“Let’s get straight to the point.”

“That’s what I want too.”

Liriart placed the documents she had brought on the desk while glancing at Zephyrus.

Sparkling silver hair and silver eyes.

Pure white, transparent skin. Unlike his lively eyes from childhood, now they were utterly dry.

“Still, for looking at your fiancée, you’re remarkably… cold.”

“Was there room for emotion between you and me?”

“There would be in the word ‘engagement.'”

“Didn’t we agree not to say useless things.”

Liriart let out a light sigh.

“Fine. As you can see from the documents, the food brought to the duchy this time is more than before.”

“The carriages increased by about two.”

“I brought mainly food items that are easy to store. There are spices too. From now on, you’ll need to purchase them when needed.”

“We’ll do it through the Noven Merchant Guild. It’s not an urgent matter right now, so let’s move on.”

Liriart tilted her head. Her beige hair flowed down over her shoulder.

“What would Your Grace like to discuss with me?”

“There’s something that needs to be concluded.”

“There’s still time. It’s something we can take slowly. Shouldn’t we lighten the mood with casual conversation first?”

“Do you want to have small talk with me?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to become closer.”

When Zephyrus drank the tea Clemente had warmed for him instead of answering, a natural silence fell. An awkward and cold silence.

Clemente watched the two of them, rolling her eyes back and forth each time they spoke. Then, as the atmosphere grew cold with the silence that settled after their brief exchange of only a few words, she pursed her lips.

Though it was an unpleasant situation, somehow her queasy stomach seemed to have settled a bit.

Of course, the atmosphere between Zephyrus and Liriart was still not good.

What should she do?

If she helped the two of them get along, would Liriart give permission for her to continue staying by Zephyrus’s side?

It was impossible to know unless Liriart herself said so.

But she had to at least try to create possibilities.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think it would be better to move somewhere else to have a conversation.”

“Your Highness seems to treat your maids very well.”

Liriart said with an angelically pretty smile.

She had spoken to Zephyrus. However, Clemente thought she was speaking to her and clapped her hands together.

“Oh, that’s right! As expected, someone well-educated can see that!”

Zephyrus grabbed Clemente’s apron and pulled her toward him. Keeping Clemente, who had been dragged to his side, next to him, he asked.

“Clemente. Don’t make strange compliments. The place you’re talking about moving to, is it perhaps Icetas?”

“Yes. And why is it strange? There aren’t many people who can recognize at once that Master is kind. It’s impressive.”

“Outsiders cannot enter Icetas.”

“She’ll become an insider soon anyway.”

As expected. Clemente didn’t know that their engagement would be broken off. Just as Zephyrus, now certain, was about to say again what he couldn’t say earlier due to Liriart’s knocking.

“It makes me a bit sad when you speak that way, Your Highness.”

Liriart interjected, lowering her gaze.

“Why would you be, Lady?”

“Actually, if we look at the time period, haven’t we been in contact for over 10 years?”

“It’s also a relationship formed by contract.”

“Even so, 10 years is more than just a contractual relationship.”

With the case of the Noven Merchant Guild, he felt reluctant to deny it outright.

In any case, when the engagement party was completely unreachable, the House of Demeter continued to uphold the contract terms. Zephyrus had benefited from this, and moreover, he hadn’t accepted Nerhi’s proposal either.

In fact, apart from the engagement relationship, it was right for Zephyrus as the Pruina Duke to express gratitude to the House of Demeter.

However, he had a strange feeling. An odd sense that getting close to Liriart would lead to regrets later.

“Even so, it’s not allowed. Icetas is our family’s secret space, so the Lady cannot enter. Please understand.”

“Can’t that child enter either?”

“Clemente is possible.”

Liriart lowered her gaze and took tea into her mouth.

She washed down with the tea the words that had risen to her throat asking if Clemente was then a member of the family.

She hadn’t even hoped to be treated as a fiancée, but she hadn’t expected that the reward for 10 years of keeping faith would be such cold treatment as an outsider.

“What about other servants?”

“They can enter if necessary.”

Originally, it was the servants who had bottled the Raha to be distributed to the vassals.

Though they selected only a few with long service and trustworthiness to do it, everyone knew of Icetas’s existence.

Zephyrus added words, thinking Liriart had some unnecessary misunderstanding.

“You are a Demeter, aren’t you?”

“I could become a Pruina, couldn’t I?”

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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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