You Said I Was a Persecuted, Terminally Ill Grand Duchess? - Chapter 9

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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 9

“!”

In that instant, Zenos’s eyes, which had widened in surprise after so long, took a sharp breath.

And it seemed the other party felt the same way.

So startled she nearly tumbled backward, Rene Blanche barely swallowed her scream and stumbled back hesitantly.

She dropped the basket she was holding, and immediately the contents spilled out, rolling across the floor with a loud clatter.

“Eek!”

Her wide, round eyes sparkled even in the darkness.

Her cheeks were mysteriously moist and warmly flushed, as if she had just finished washing.

Water droplets clung to her silver hair as it flowed softly along her delicate neckline.

A few strands stuck slightly to her cheek due to the remaining moisture.

At the end of his gaze following her hair were small, plump pink lips he had never paid careful attention to before.

But soon, her small hands covered her entire face below her eyes.

With just that one swaying motion, a subtle rose scent wafted from the woman.

“Oh! Um! Well, that is, Your Grace…?! G-good evening?”

Whether Rene greeted him with that strange manner of speech or not.

Why was it so?

The moment he met her red eyes.

Zenos’s heart plummeted all the way to his feet, then immediately bounced back up at the same speed and began pounding frantically.

The beating was so loud that he feared the person in front of him might hear it.

Being this shocked was almost a first since he had taken up the sword.

Not knowing what he was saying, Zenos was swept up in intense emotion and poured out his words.

Unfortunately or fortunately, his tone was extremely angry.

“Why are you… coming out from here?”

* * *

That was what I wanted to ask.

‘Why are you coming out from here?’

No, more than that…

‘I’m screwed!’

I never thought I’d be caught this quickly!

A few days ago, the bathroom that Betty had led me to try was nothing short of paradise.

The cottage I was staying in was generally satisfactory, but there was just one thing.

It lacked a proper bathtub.

I always had to crouch in a small tub like an oak barrel and wash quickly.

Perhaps because of the crouched position, my legs would go numb and I couldn’t even enjoy a half-bath.

In contrast, the bathtub in the main residence was wide enough for five adults, with only slight exaggeration.

The guest bathroom located in a corner of the main residence seemed to have been unused for a long time, but once Betty and the maids touched it, it gleamed brilliantly.

They thoughtfully maintained that bathroom daily just for me, secretly from the head maid, and I had just finished gratefully enjoying that luxury today when…

“Tell me honestly what you were doing here.”

The Duke’s expression was murderous.

He was so angry that even in the darkness, I could clearly see his face had turned bright red.

‘Still, he really is handsome.’

Just looking at his face, you’d think he was a tsundere male lead getting flustered over the female protagonist.

But I mustn’t be fooled by that exterior.

I pressed down on my frantically beating chest with one hand and quickly lowered my gaze.

‘Tch, I thought it was the perfect crime.’

Still, here it was better to tell the truth rather than lie.

I spoke in a voice that seemed to shrink away, pretending to be terrified.

“I wanted to… take a bath…”

“At this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep. The cottage I’m staying in doesn’t have a bathtub as large and sturdy as the main residence. I couldn’t sleep at night, so I just went by myself…”

Somehow I ended up rambling excuses because my feet were getting numb, but since it was actually true, I couldn’t stop.

But unfortunately, it didn’t work on the Duke at all.

“Who told you that you could use the bathroom? I never even permitted you to come to the main residence in the first place.”

At the Duke’s sharp voice, something inside me surged up.

“You never told me not to use it either…”

In the end, I blurted out the words I had been holding back.

But as expected, the Duke was cold.

“Don’t make pathetic excuses with word games. Were you scurrying around the Duke’s castle like a rat to gather information and report it?”

The Duke’s expression, which I thought couldn’t get any worse, became even more vicious.

But… I felt somewhat wronged as I spoke.

“Information? What on earth are you talking about? Who am I supposed to be giving information to?”

“Either those rotten people from your family or the Empress. Or maybe both.”

“…”

Even I, who had just possessed this body, could see that the House of Blanche had no affection for me.

Did he really think that way?

‘No, even so, that’s going too far. I’ve been listening and listening, but… aren’t your words too harsh?’

You’re insulting my parents to someone from a Confucian country?

This ill-mannered Westerner?!

Of course, they weren’t even my real parents, and I somewhat agreed they were rotten.

Otherwise, they couldn’t have been so heartless to their child.

I naturally knew the Duke had bad feelings toward me from the start.

But seeing him display such openly hostile attitude, I didn’t feel like meekly backing down either.

‘Getting this angry over one bath? What a petty person!’

A northern Duke in a romance novel should rightfully possess magnanimity as vast as his broad chest.

Seeing him act so petty like this, I should probably cross out the option I had considered him as a major character in this novel.

‘Male lead or sub male lead my foot. He’s just a villain!’

Why must I face such trials when I wanted to live quietly?

At the same time, my resolve became even more firm.

‘If he’s a villain, his end probably won’t be very good… When the Duke gets defeated by the protagonist later, it would be better to stay as distant as strangers so there might be some mitigating circumstances for me as the Duke’s wife.’

Since it was obvious we’d be worse than strangers anyway, shouldn’t I have an escape route?

I gathered the scattered bathing supplies with a sour expression.

I felt like I needed to curse him out to feel better.

“…So disgusting, really.”

But since my natural boldness was tiny as a bean even after being reborn through possession, I muttered my complaint in the smallest voice possible.

“What?”

The Duke let out a scoff of disbelief at my muttering(?).

Regardless.

Gripping the neatly organized bathing basket tightly in both hands, I leaned forward.

It was a ready-to-bolt stance.

But perhaps misunderstanding this, the startled Duke stumbled backward.

Thanks to that opening, I immediately roared and frantically moved my feet.

“Getting treated like this for taking one bath! I won’t use it, I won’t!”

Hmph, hmph. It’s so dirty and petty that I’ll never set foot in the main residence again!

Perhaps the Duke’s dignity wouldn’t allow him to chase after and catch a small woman running away?

Fortunately, he didn’t follow me, but…

Whether from running, or from being startled by the sudden encounter.

“Haa…”

My heart was beating thump thump thump at an immeasurable speed… so very fast.

And that night, I couldn’t fall asleep easily.

* * *

And so, several more days later.

My resolution to never go to the main residence again had become reality.

Because I had been laid off by Garnet, Nina, Dora, Lia, Marie, and Betty—collectively known as the Garnet Maid Squad.

“…Tsk.”

According to them, they had all clamored together, insisting that library cleaning was too harsh a task for frail me and asking to leave it to them instead.

Well, it wasn’t such a bad thing since I had been planning to lay low for a few days anyway due to that sudden encounter with the Grand Duke.

Left alone in the cottage once again, I sat leaning against the bed with a fluttering heart.

Since my work had disappeared, I planned to spend time reading the books I had brought.

Among them, I first picked up “The Empire’s Magically Strongest Super Powerful Invisible Dragon Roared,” which had instantly captured my heart, and flipped through its pages.

[“Kuaaaang!!!”

Among all dr4g0ns, the Empire’s magically strongest super powerful invisible dr4g0n roared

The invisible dr4g0n was hella scary strong lol, completely SSS-rank strongest among dr4g0ns lolol

The invisible dr4g0n was the one and only unique existence in the world anyway it roared

But no one could see anything ㅜㅜ The transparent dragon was transparent after all

Its breath was totally fired pew pew…]

“….”

Ah, my head.

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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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