You Said I Was a Persecuted, Terminally Ill Grand Duchess? - Chapter 12

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

Chapter 12

But well, seeing him flailing around like that, he definitely didn’t seem like a transparent dragon…

It seemed that the transparent dragon was once his pursuit of beauty and his deep, dark history.

“Who else saw it? Is there anyone else besides you?! Argh! Don’t tell me you shared it with others!”

It must feel like discovering a novel you wrote during your turbulent middle school syndrome phase.

Usually it would be a black flame dragon.

But a transparent dragon seems quite extraordinary.

Looking at it this way, whether dragon or human, kicking blankets and throwing punches in the air while thinking about dark history doesn’t seem much different.

I pressed down my twitching lips and replied solemnly.

“A-ahem. No one knows except me.”

“…I can see you holding back laughter.”

“N-no, I’m not. Originally, everyone goes through a period of harboring their own darkness in their hearts as they grow up.”

Having said that, I gave a thumbs up in sympathy.

The man in front of me seemed even more irritated by this, burying his face in both hands and muttering through gritted teeth.

“…I’d rather you laugh outright. That would be less humiliating…”

“Puhahaha!”

“…”

“S-sorry…”

He told me to laugh outright, but if I did, he really looked ready to cut my body in half.

When I immediately shut my mouth and bowed my head, I heard a deep sigh from across.

“Haah… Where are those things now.”

“Yes? Which…”

“This seems to be the silver cup.”

The man picked up the silver cup rolling at my feet and suddenly gestured in the air.

Following the man’s fingertips, the air opened like a zipper creating a space, and the man put the silver cup inside.

“Huh.”

He really is a dragon!

It was a sight that made me realize anew that this was indeed a fantasy world.

“What. First time seeing subspace?”

“…? Of course. I’m just a human…”

His hand, which had been casually closing the subspace, paused for a moment.

Our eyes naturally met as he turned to me.

After that, he stood as if nailed in place and looked me over from head to toe.

His narrowed eyelids were full of questions.

“Human?”

“I suppose… that’s right?”

“You don’t seem to know much about yourself.”

Well, of course.

I’ve only been possessing this body for less than a month.

I don’t even know what novel this is.

This guy is quite perceptive…

Not knowing I was thinking such comfortable thoughts, the man smiled as if he had figured something out on his own.

“You’re a ‘fragment,’ aren’t you?”

Again, it was incomprehensible words.

“Is that so? I see.”

“…You didn’t understand what I said, did you?”

“No.”

Honestly, even if anyone else from this world came and listened, they wouldn’t understand this author’s words.

At my confident reply, the man let out a hollow laugh as if somewhat bewildered and shook his head.

“Right. Well, that’s not immediately important to me either. Just guide me for now.”

“Where to?”

“To… where the book is.”

He said this through gritted teeth, looking ready to tear the book apart right away.

I spoke without hiding my troubled expression.

“That’s not mine though.”

“Right! It’s mine! Of course it’s not yours.”

“That’s not what I mean… it has a different owner.”

No matter how neglected it had been, that book was ultimately something taken from Duke Jenos’s library.

Since I had also brought it with the mindset of borrowing from the library, somehow handing it over to this green-haired reptilian man without permission felt quite unsettling.

“So that owner is me?”

“How can I believe that? Would you believe the words of an unknown man who suddenly appeared in a cave wearing matching silk pajamas, shouting and threatening?”

“This girl is really funny?”

“I hear that quite often.”

Shameless. Bold. Outrageous.

Those three sentences were floating on the man’s face.

As if wondering how such a precious child could exist, the man’s eyebrow shot up, not hiding his exasperated expression.

Then a mischievous smile soon appeared.

“Right… You’re correct that I’m a dragon.”

Snap.

“?!”

It was the moment right after the man finished speaking and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly my vision shook rapidly and blurred, then my body floated slightly in the air before settling down.

And… with just one finger snap from the man, we were standing in front of my cottage!

“Wh-what!”

“What do you mean what, it’s the great magic of a dragon.”

That’s not all.

In the man’s hand was now the book that was surely his autobiography, 『The Mighty Transparent Dragon Roared in the Empire』.

“How did you even…”

“I’ll handle this hideous thing.”

It was somehow a smile intoxicated with victory.

‘Like an elementary school boy…’

I’m not sure how old this man is, but from his first appearance until now, his behavior has been so childish that it seems difficult for him to escape from his transparent dragon phase.

I said sourly.

“When the owner asks where the book is, I’ll say a green-haired reptile stole it.”

“Go ahead~”

Ugh! Somehow that’s irritating.

I was about to bare my teeth and start growling as Betty had taught me.

“Well then, I’ll be going. See you again sometime?”

Seeming quite pleased, the man who had been grinning disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived.

This time too, he seemed to have used teleportation magic.

“…Absolutely not.”

Somehow I felt like things kept getting tangled up.

I just want to chop firewood in a countryside cottage…

I became so envious of the simple life of Dolsoe that I saw in some drama.

“Haah…”

Somehow I feel uneasy… it must be my imagination.

Right. It must be my imagination.

I rationalized desperately and hurriedly moved toward the cottage.

Hoping no more issues would arise.

* * *

“!”

And a little while ago.

There was someone who witnessed two figures arguing in front of the cottage.

‘My goodness, what did I just see?’

It was Katarina, who had stubbornly put on her frilly dress and come looking for Rene.

Katarina clutched her wildly beating heart and hid behind a tree.

Lately, Rene’s maids who had been so spirited weren’t going to the cottage today for some reason, so she had come out of curiosity.

The path to the annex was an unpaved dirt road, so her beautiful dress had become a mess.

But what did that matter?

She had witnessed something far more incredible!

‘Who is that man? Could he be a secret lover?’

There was some distance, so their voices couldn’t be heard clearly.

Still, it was certain that Rene Blanche was with another man.

When she carefully looked again, the man had already disappeared, but…

‘Ha! That cunning little wench. How dare she sneak a man in through the back door?’

After the shock, a sneer crossed Katarina’s face.

For her, this was a green light to turn the tables.

The face of Zenos, who had always ignored her with his indifferent attitude, came to mind.

Katarina habitually started to bite her lips but stopped herself.

In front of him, she always had to show only a perfectly beautiful appearance, so even the slightest wound would be a disaster.

‘Zenos, you’ll clearly understand too. That I’m the one who truly suits being the Grand Duchess!’

* * *

A few days later.

Katarina gathered the maids assigned by House of Hugo and put on her most cherished dress, rearranging her appearance.

As soon as Katarina witnessed that scene at the cottage, she immediately headed to Zenos, but he postponed their meeting for several days with the excuse of being busy.

Only after Katarina tearfully pestered the butler, insisting it was truly an important matter, was the meeting finally permitted.

‘How frustrating…’

Why won’t he listen to what I have to say?

Katarina was about to tear up but held back firmly.

It would be a disaster if her makeup smeared.

Then, holding out a jewelry box, a maid said.

“What gemstone would you like for the necklace? A sapphire that resembles you, as usual?”

“…I’ll go with ruby.”

It wasn’t particularly because she was trying to imitate that woman.

She was just drawn to the ruby’s brilliant light that burned red today.

With slight exaggeration, Katarina wore a ruby necklace the size of a baby’s fist and looked at herself from various angles in the mirror.

‘Perfect as always. With beauty like this, he won’t be able to resist listening to me, right?’

She confidently headed to Zenos with such thoughts, but…

“Stop talking nonsense and go back.”

What returned was an utterly cold rebuke.

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