You Said I Was a Persecuted, Terminally Ill Grand Duchess? - Chapter 3

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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 3

‘Was my last statement too obviously a lie?’

Honestly, asking them to send regards and such was just empty words.

Young lady this, young lady that… forget it!

Right now I just want to warm myself by that bonfire!

My patience had already hit rock bottom thanks to this freezing weather.

“…Then we shall withdraw.”

Did they finally read my true intentions?

The two maids who had been hesitating bowed so deeply their faces couldn’t be seen, then quickly disappeared.

I closed the thick door and let out a light breath.

The interior, now blocked from the cold wind, was warm, and soon my heart became incredibly warm as well.

‘Yes! A campfire right after coming home.’

I’ll stare at the fire and then sleep.

Possession is the best!

* * *

Before long, dawn was faintly breaking.

Despite not getting a wink of sleep, the man who sat upright with perfect posture had been gazing out the window the entire time as the sky, once as black as his hair, gradually changed to a blue-violet hue resembling his eyes.

More precisely, outside the window.

His gaze was fixed on the annex visible in the distance.

In that old, cramped annex was his new bride.

The man—Zenos Celeste—muttered to himself with self-mockery and fell into deep thought.

“How ridiculous.”

Rene Blanche.

No, the woman who had now become Rene Celeste.

The woman was exactly as he had heard.

No, she was far more beautiful than what he had heard.

As if proving she carried the blood of House of Blanche, her silver hair that flowed down in waves looked softer than most silk…

In contrast, her burning red eyes stood out against her overall delicate impression, drawing one’s gaze.

Those enchanting eyes, like rubies crafted by a master jeweler, held a strange moisture.

“…”

Eyes that had widened, perhaps from being thoroughly frightened.

An unwelcome burden who had arrived in the desolate north by boarding a cargo carriage that even the servants avoided.

Her small, delicate frame couldn’t be hidden even by the voluminous wedding dress.

Perhaps it was because of her naturally frail and tender appearance.

It was hard to believe she had been an adult for quite some time.

“…Foolish woman.”

Acting like she had become the tragic heroine of some story, trembling like that.

In many ways, she was a woman incompatible with him.

He had returned first by carriage with the intention of breaking her spirit from the start, but Rene’s choice was an unimaginable eccentricity.

‘A marquis’s daughter riding in the servants’ carriage? And a cargo carriage at that? Does she have no pride?’

What on earth was she scheming?

House of Blanche was a representative family supporting the Second Prince, son of the current Empress.

They were clearly at odds with House of Celeste, which supported the Crown Prince, son of the deceased former Empress.

However, there was a more important issue than this political conflict.

‘After taking a new empress, His Majesty has certainly lost his edge.’

The current Empress, Isabella Rembrandt.

She was not someone who hid her ambitions.

It began when she gave birth to the Second Prince shortly after being crowned Empress.

After that, the Emperor’s once-robust health gradually deteriorated.

At some point, he began postponing state affairs and staying in the Empress’s Palace bedchamber until late afternoon.

Not only that, but the Emperor had no hesitation in making confusing statements about the Crown Prince position that had been firmly held by the First Prince, saying things like ‘I might give the Second Prince a chance.’

How many could confidently say Isabella had no hand in this?

The Empress, who kept the weakened Emperor under her skirts, was shameless.

Moreover, she allied herself with the Temple, a considerable political force, to solidify her position and that of the Second Prince.

Today’s marriage was part of that scheme.

‘Though I couldn’t refuse His Majesty’s command and held the ceremony… this is clearly the Empress’s way of keeping us in check.’

Even setting that aside, House of Blanche was full of greedy people who only pursued their own interests.

Thinking of that disgusting family made anger surge up again.

At the same time, the face of that rabbit-like woman overlapped in his mind.

Red eyes said to bring misfortune.

‘There were even rumors that she’s the marquis’s illegitimate daughter…’

Judging by the atmosphere at the marquis’s house during the wedding, those seemed to be more than just baseless rumors.

“…Ha.”

Zenos, who had been standing as if nailed in place, turned away from the window with an irritated gesture.

In noble society, married couples are worse than strangers anyway.

Especially when it’s a woman from House of Blanche.

She would never form any attachment with him.

So he would absolutely never let her close.

Above all, Zenos had a more urgent problem than Rene.

Knock knock.

“Your Grace, it’s Cal.”

“Yes.”

With the knock, the neatly dressed head butler Cal entered the study.

In both hands, he carried a tray containing medicine bottles.

“As expected, you’ve been awake all this time today as well.”

“Sleeping is a more torturous affair.”

“But you must get at least some rest.”

“That medicine has no effect, Cal. Just like all medicines in this world.”

Below Cal’s monocle, only worry rippled.

Zenos swallowed the rising sigh and snatched the medicine bottle, pouring it into his mouth.

As he swallowed the thick medicine, both his mouth and heart felt bitter.

“…As if there could be medicine for madness.”

It was a disease that had manifested since his father’s generation.

They couldn’t even know the name of the illness, so they simply called it madness, but perhaps that word was indeed the most fitting name.

‘Yes, it’s actually for the best. Something like becoming a real married couple with that woman… will absolutely never happen.’

Zenos intended to end everything with his generation.

Everything that flowed through his blood. All of it.

* * *

Day seven of being possessed into an unknown novel.

“Wow. The sunlight is coming in.”

Surprisingly, each day passes peacefully.

I gazed at the sunlight pouring through the window and leisurely sipped my herbal tea.

The small garden where winter had settled was tranquil.

In the completely white world, a cozy morning with mountain birds chirping in the distance.

The snow flowers that had settled on the coniferous trees and the long row of icicles under the eaves sparkled in the sunlight.

In the fireplace next to the table where I sat, firewood crackled as it burned, melting the cold air.

I put down my teacup with a satisfied smile.

“Perfect.”

Truly perfectly pastoral!

The very life of returning to farming that any city-weary office worker would have imagined at least once!

The leisure I couldn’t enjoy in my life before possession.

After enjoying leisure at my own pace for several days, both my body and mind had become drowsily relaxed.

But…

‘Being like this for a whole week is getting boring…’

It’s peaceful.

In other words, it was the same as saying there was damn nothing to do.

Moreover, having been a renowned workaholic in my previous life, the lifestyle of just staying still was far too unfamiliar.

Rather, the… eons of time waiting in a rental car to pick up my advisor’s son who thought of me as some errand manager was more entertaining.

“Isn’t there anything to do?”

I stretched as I got up, feeling somewhat stiff for no reason.

Though I had said the cottage was simply cleaned, perhaps it was because no one had lived here for a long time.

There were quite a few corners that needed fixing here and there.

Of course, compared to the 5-pyeong studio I lived in during my previous life, this was an incredibly generous place.

Moreover, perhaps because I was fixing it myself, I seemed to grow even more attached to it.

Whenever I was in trouble needing something, Betty, the round-cheeked maid, would bring exactly what I needed as if she could read minds.

Since I had plenty of time anyway, and it felt wrong to just stay idle, a week passed in an instant as I swept and cleaned the cottage, but today was the problem.

There was nothing left to sweep and clean.

‘It would be difficult to tend the garden since it’s winter…’

But when spring comes, I can spend my days creating a wonderful garden!

Thinking that I could achieve the life I had always longed for next season made me naturally hum.

As I hummed and took a stroll around the garden, I saw a small storehouse in the backyard.

I had just decided to spend time organizing that place today.

“Oh?”

Right next to the storehouse, I saw short-cut logs and a neatly placed hand axe.

It seemed to be for splitting firewood.

“…Should I try it?”

Suddenly, baseless confidence surged up.

‘The firewood consumed overnight is too much anyway.’

While I had no major complaints about living here, was this perhaps the limitation of a medieval setting?

Since heating relied solely on the fireplace, the pile of firewood that had been stacked up was diminishing faster than expected.

‘It’s a bit awkward to ask someone else to do it. I don’t have anything to do anyway… I’ll just do it myself.’

Action was instantaneous.

Opening the storehouse door, I selected the sturdiest-looking firewood and carefully placed the rascal on top of a log base.

I already felt proud.

‘Today’s jam content.’

Hahaha! I’ll spend all day chopping firewood today.

I took a deep breath and gripped the axe with both hands determinedly.

But…

“Ugh!”

The axe I lifted with great vigor was heavier than expected, and my body was pulled along with it!

Following the shifted center of gravity, my body flipped over like a back tumble.

“Oww…”

It hurts so much!

Tears were even welling up in my eyes for a moment.

“Good heavens, Your Highness!”

In the distance, I could see Betty screaming and dropping the tray she was holding.

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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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