You Said I Was a Persecuted, Terminally Ill Grand Duchess? - Chapter 11

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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 11

The maids’ heads gathered in a circle around my head.

Above the surface of the silver cup filled with dark red wine, some kind of image was truly reflecting.

At first it showed our backyard, then the scene changed vividly as if someone was holding a camera and moving.

It passed through the backyard, went up the mountain path a little, crossed several ridges, and showed an open clearing and a cliff.

Inside that cliff, a massive cave was visible, and it stopped there.

Then it repeated the same scene again, retracing the path from our backyard to the cave inside the cliff.

“That place is…”

It looked like it was guiding the way.

As if telling me to follow the path it showed.

I was staring at this mysterious repeating path guidance video(?) with a serious expression.

“Pfft! What is that supposed to be?”

“Oh my. What is it? A dragon?”

“It seems to be a transparent dragon. Goodness.”

“The transparent dragon is roaring!”

“…?”

I quickly raised my head and looked around at the group of maids.

It seemed the scene they were seeing was completely different from mine.

I carefully asked Betty, who had been giggling the most enthusiastically.

“Betty, what do you see?”

“A transparent dragon is roaring. You can’t see the transparent dragon because it’s transparent, but you can tell because it’s breathing fire! Puhaha!”

“…”

What exactly is funny about that?

No, setting that aside… a transparent dragon?

It was uncomfortably familiar content.

I wanted to ignore the persistent intuition, but… I could no longer avoid it.

‘It seems like it’s asking me to come to the cave alone.’

Actually, until just a moment ago, I had no intention whatsoever of going to that sinister-looking place alone.

That would be the obvious repertoire of a stupid death in a horror movie.

What’s the difference between me and a supporting character who does everything they’re told not to do and dies first!

‘But…’

Hearing the maids talk about transparent dragons and such somehow made me feel deflated.

Could it be that the author of 『The Mighty Transparent Dragon Roared in the Empire』 and the owner of this silver cup are the same person?

‘The transparent dragon the maids saw earlier too…’

Even if they weren’t the same person, there was definitely some connection.

Above all, my curiosity was surging.

That silver cup, and the transparent dragon… too.

It felt like they were desperately calling out to me.

Sigh, I have no choice.

‘Let’s go quickly tomorrow morning at dawn and come back.’

After making that resolution, my heart felt much lighter.

And so I fell asleep peacefully for the first time in a while.

* * *

The next day.

I left the house wearing a splendid hooded cloak that Garnet had skillfully made with her dazzling needlework.

The sun hadn’t completely risen yet.

Originally, I planned to move after dawn had completely broken, but…

Thinking about it, there was no way the maids would leave me alone.

‘I did tell them I’d sleep in and not to wake me, but… to avoid those zealous ones and come back, I have no choice. I need to go and return quickly.’

I looked at the mountains beyond that were gradually turning crimson and took a step.

There was no time to delay.

Above the problematic silver cup, the same video as yesterday was still repeating.

Even in the still-dark mountains, the silver cup glowed on its own and illuminated the ground beneath my feet like a flashlight.

It truly was no ordinary object.

Following the silver cup’s guidance, crossing small streams and ridges.

“Oh, is that it?”

Finally, I could see the cave I had seen in the video.

Perhaps because I had climbed the mountain for quite a long time, when I arrived, the sun was already hanging at the edge of the mountain ridge.

Whew, somehow I feel like I’ve lived a productive life.

‘Not bad, right?’

If only it weren’t for this damn cursed silver cup.

I roughly wiped my flowing sweat with my cloak and looked at the cave before me.

Gulp.

“It’s bigger than it looked in the video?”

And it’s dark!

So it’s scary!

“I think I came alone for nothing…”

The cliff was higher than I thought and the cave was too deep.

I just thought it was the rear mountain, but I didn’t expect to do such serious mountain climbing.

What kind of place is this duchy anyway?

For no reason, I wanted to throw punches at the air as the face of that guy who’s not my husband but someone else’s came to mind.

That bastard would never know I’m doing this on his family’s rear mountain.

Of course, I didn’t want to tell him either.

“I must be crazy.”

What wind suddenly got into me to come here alone?

Should I go back even now?

Just as my internal conflict was deepening.

The slowly moving clouds cleared and sunlight shone down strongly, hitting the silver cup directly.

That intense sunlight was soon reflected by the silver cup and shot straight into the cave.

‘It’s not even a laser. What is this?’

It was a rather absurd situation to be a natural phenomenon.

‘I’d better go back after all. I’d rather go in surrounded by maids hanging all around me.’

Just as I had made up my mind and was about to turn around.

“Argh! My eyes!”

???

A thunderous voice echoed from inside the cave.

The booming sound echoed as if spreading from the cave to the edge of the cliff.

All the hair on my body stood on end.

“Who is it! I just opened my eyes but I can’t see!”

Could it be… is that because of me?

But I felt wronged too.

I had merely followed the silver cup’s guidance, and the sunlight just happened to pour down directly.

I absolutely had no intention of committing light terrorism against someone who had just woken up!

It was something the owner of that thunderous voice might call long-winded, but it was true.

‘I’m screwed if I get caught.’

I suppressed my presence as much as possible and stealthily set the silver cup down on the ground.

I planned to slowly back away and then run away.

Fortunately, the inside of the cave was still quiet.

Alright, I’ll run when I count to three.

One…

Two…

Three…

“Hey.”

“Eeeeeek!”

Suddenly I heard someone whispering right in my ear!

I literally jumped up from where I stood.

“You scared me!”

“Are you the one who woke me up?”

I spun around in shock to see a man standing there, rubbing one eye with his hand.

His attire was completely out of place with the natural scenery behind him.

As if he’d just gotten out of bed, he wore a flowing silk shirt and bottoms.

Long green hair swayed around his waist.

‘This is highly suspicious.’

A man coming out of a cave wearing pajamas.

‘He’s definitely crazy at minimum.’

Though I thought that, I couldn’t easily move my feet as if overwhelmed by something.

And…

The moment his closed eyes flashed open between his slightly parted index and middle fingers.

“…!”

‘His eyes…’

His flashing eyes were like those of a snake.

Narrow vertical pupils over bright yellow irises.

Definitely reptilian eyes – the eyes of something inhuman.

Looking again, he was overwhelmingly intimidating overall.

A height that towered more than two heads above mine.

Though he had a slender build, lean muscles made him look anything but weak.

His fairly smooth jawline and narrow lips were twisted in displeasure.

“Who are you?”

The man swept back his bangs with an irritated gesture and spoke crookedly.

His gaze alone seemed capable of stabbing someone to death with murderous intent.

I swallowed dryly and asked back.

“Are you… the Transparent Dragon?”

But he’s green though?

Does he become transparent later?

Just as I was cautiously speculating about his identity.

“Wh-wha-what-what-what did you say?”

An unexpected reaction came back.

He apparently hadn’t expected such words to come out of me at all either.

The man jumped up like a spring and clutched his head.

His face, which had been pale beyond white, turned bright red.

Gone was his earlier booming thunderous roar, replaced by a trembling voice like a goat’s.

“How do you kn-kn-know that?”

“Huh? I saw it, so I know.”

“What did you see, exactly!”

“Books and… a silver cup…”

When I answered hesitantly, his face turned blue this time.

He literally turned red and blue, and bewilderment showed transparently across his complexion.

“Damn! I burned all of that ages ago!”

“Did I see something I wasn’t supposed to see…?”

“Yes! Damn! That’s stuff I wrote when I was only fifty!”

‘Only fifty…’

His unusual way of counting age confirmed it.

“Mm.”

This guy is a dragon.

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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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