You Said I Was a Persecuted, Terminally Ill Grand Duchess? - Chapter 2

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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 2

Inside a cargo carriage where wooden crates and piles of straw were scattered about.

Having briefly fallen asleep and awakened, I rubbed my eyes vigorously and sprawled out on the pile of straw.

Was the sun gradually setting, or were we heading to a cold region?

Or perhaps both?

As the gradually seeping cold made me unconsciously wrap my arms around myself, silver hair flowed down and tickled my arms.

I absentmindedly played with the fine-textured hair, briefly recalling when I had changed clothes before boarding the cargo carriage.

‘How shocked I was when I looked in the mirror while changing out of that dress earlier.’

Silver-white hair that flowed past my shoulders down to my waist.

And most striking of all, bright red eyes.

It was an appearance that brought to mind a white rabbit on snow.

A thin, youthful girl too young to be called an adult was staring back at me from the mirror with wide, round eyes.

“My goodness, this is… me?”

Hehe. To think the day would come when I’d say such a line!

Having anticipated possession, accepting it wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought.

What was more difficult was the attitude toward dealing with subordinates.

As they say, those who’ve tasted meat know how to eat it well.

Having been a lackey… ahem, I mean, a graduate student who bowed and scraped to my advisor daily in my previous life, I couldn’t just boss around the maid who looked troubled while delivering the news that I’d have to ride in a cargo carriage.

Of course, I neither wanted to nor needed to do so.

“For Her Grace the Grand Duchess to ride together in the servants’ carriage…”

“It would be uncomfortable for you too, right? I’m fine with just riding in the cargo carriage.”

In any case, to the maids, the Grand Duchess would be like the highest-ranking boss in modern society.

No matter how long it took to reach the Duke’s Castle, having to squeeze in with an unfamiliar high-ranking person the whole way?

That was something I absolutely wanted to avoid as well.

It would be awkward and uncomfortable for me too!

And most importantly…

“Please speak comfortably, Your Grace.”

“Mm, right. Anyway, I’m very tired right now and don’t care about anything and just want to lie down. There’s plenty of straw over there. It looks soft. Don’t you think?”

I so desperately wanted to sprawl out without watching anyone’s reactions…

“Right, that’s what happened. So I got in the cargo carriage and fell asleep as if fainting.”

Had we still not arrived at the Duke’s Castle?

The surroundings were quiet without a single horse’s whinny, and only the rattling sound of wheels rolling over the road broke the silence.

In that white noise, I carefully retraced my memories.

Wait. Come to think of it!

“What happened to me in the original world?”

To only now remember such an important matter!

As soon as I realized this, the vivid final memory from the original world that I’d rather forget flashed through my mind.

It felt like it had happened just yesterday.

If this place was reality and the original world was a dream, then it would be a nightmare.

“…”

My doctoral dissertation, which I thought was the end of all my suffering, was ultimately discontinued.

The reason was absurd.

My advisor had gone to prison for embezzlement.

Could there be another unfortunate graduate student besides me whose graduation was delayed for such a ridiculous reason?

“So yesterday, um…”

So yesterday, having gone to my studio apartment for the first time in ages, I declared I’d rather die, and with no one to stop me, I threw a solo pity party.

I fell asleep in my 16-square-meter studio that had become no different from a garbage dump after being neglected while I lived at the research lab for months…

What happened after that?

I vaguely remembered shivering terribly from the cold before losing consciousness.

I’d been so busy I could die for months that I didn’t even notice the seasons changing, and though I had gone home for the first time in ages…

…Did I die?

Don’t tell me I got drunk and froze to death in 21st-century Seoul?

“Your Grace the Grand Duchess.”

“Ahhh!”

“Eek!”

While I was seriously pondering alone, someone suddenly called out, startling me into screaming involuntarily as I turned around.

Beyond the cargo carriage’s canvas that had been pulled back stood a maid with a face twice as shocked as mine.

Was her name Betty?

The girl with plump cheeks that suited her cute name composed herself from her confusion and spoke again.

“…Ahem. Your Grace, we have arrived at the Duke’s Castle.”

Having said that, Betty stepped aside as if telling me to get down.

Beyond her, the massive Duke’s Castle revealed its imposing presence.

As I got down from the carriage, servants who had come out from the castle began organizing the cargo carriage.

“I shall escort you to your quarters.”

Having finished speaking, Betty took quick steps ahead.

Passing through the splendid main gate that appeared to be the Duke’s Castle entrance, she headed toward some forest path that branched off to the side.

Had it snowed recently?

The cheerful crunching sound of lightly accumulated snow being stepped on was pleasant.

Seeing that Betty’s and my footprints seemed to be the first, it appeared to be a path people didn’t frequent often.

‘The first to step on the snow!’

Making fresh footprints on white snow is always delightful!

I silently giggled to myself as I followed Betty.

But my good mood was short-lived, as the biting wind that came rushing in felt like it would cut my cheeks, freezing even my smile solid.

I wrapped the shawl draped over my shoulders tighter, but it was insufficient to block the cold wind.

“You should return in attire befitting you, shouldn’t you?”

Before boarding the cargo carriage, Marchioness Blanch had taken me aside away from others’ eyes under the pretense of helping me change clothes.

Then she stuffed the wedding dress I had been wearing, along with the shoes and accessories, into her own bag.

Afterward, she threw me nothing but an old dress and a pilled wool shawl.

At the time, since I didn’t even know where the Duke’s Castle I was going to was located, I just went along with it…

“Achoo.”

It’s too cold here!

Humanely speaking, wasn’t giving me just one shawl in this bitter winter too much?

She must have known we were heading to a cold place!

‘Still, being separated from parents who hate me right after possession is completely lucky.’

Looking at other novels, they go through all sorts of hardships because of family.

Considering that, I was quite fortunate.

It was literally like being handed a free pass from persecution.

“Be careful, there might be small branches underfoot.”

I was even assigned a maid who, despite her blunt manner of speaking, was quite kind.

The quaint little path was filled with the natural, pristine beauty of nature.

What could be bad about it!

How long had we been walking like that?

“This is where Your Grace will be staying from now on.”

At the end was a pretty cottage made of logs.

The place, with its cozy and pastoral atmosphere, sat quietly under the softly glowing moonlight.

‘Amazing.’

Rural life right after possession?

My modest dream from when I was stuck in the research lab just pounding on keyboards had become reality!

Moreover, it was a pretty cottage that seemed like it would appear in Little Forest movies or fairy tale books.

I suppressed the urge to jump around foolishly in joy and turned to look at Betty.

However, Betty spoke with a somewhat troubled expression for some reason.

“We’ve finished basic cleaning, but this annex has been empty for so long that it’s quite inadequate for Your Highness, who was a marquis’s daughter, to use…”

“What are you talking about? It’s such a pretty house.”

“…Pardon?”

“Is there a bed over there?”

“All the basic furniture is provided, but…”

“Perfect.”

After all, I’m born to be a commoner.

I’m a cost-effective person who finds great joy in small things.

Actually, I was quite pleased with the current situation.

When I grinned while looking back and forth between Betty and the cottage, her expression became peculiar.

It seemed like she was trying to gauge whether my words were genuine or subtly sarcastic.

Hey, I’m not that twisted of a person!

It was when I was cheerfully throwing open the cottage gate.

“Betty! Betty! That young lady has arrived! Everyone says she just passed through the Duke’s Castle gates in an incredibly lavish carriage…!”

“Dora, shh!”

Another voice rang out from behind me.

When I turned around, it was a maid who appeared to be around Betty’s age.

She seemed unaware that I was there and was startled, bowing deeply.

“Oh! Your Highness was here too… My apologies!”

“That young lady?”

Could she possibly be talking about me?

When I asked back, feeling somewhat puzzled, the maid’s face turned red and blue.

Betty stepped forward.

Her face looked a bit tense, but her tone was firm.

“Your Highness need not concern yourself with such matters.”

“That young lady isn’t me, right?”

“Of course not, of course not!”

Betty widened her eyes and insisted on her innocence.

Hmm, I see. Okay!

I nodded briskly and continued opening the door.

Well, the other maid said she came in an incredibly lavish carriage, so it definitely wasn’t me.

‘But is there any reason for another young lady besides me to come here? It’s not like there’s a banquet or anything.’

Such a question briefly crossed my mind.

‘Well, it’s none of my business. Let me lie down for now.’

Even though I had been lying on straw the whole way here, nothing beats a real bed!

It was when I was about to head inside while contentedly examining the cozy cottage interior.

“…”

Somehow, with blank expressions, the two maids were still standing in the yard as if nailed there.

I asked without hiding my puzzlement.

“Wasn’t there something urgent? Go ahead and check it out.”

“Your Highness. Are you perhaps angry because of us…?”

“What are you talking about?”

The maids had been saying incomprehensible things since earlier.

Meanwhile, I kept sneaking glances inside the cottage.

In the living room, had they lit a fire in advance? Wood was crackling in the fireplace!

I wanted to dive right into that picture-perfect peace immediately, but…

‘Hmm, I suppose sending away those frightened little lambs should be the priority?’

It seemed that to them, I was like a top-ranking boss, so they got scared over everything.

They didn’t need to be.

I tried my best to put on a harmless smile and spoke again.

“I’m not angry. It seemed urgent, so go ahead and check. Please give my regards to that young lady you mentioned earlier.”

But strangely, their complexions became even more pale.

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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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