So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The maids’ heads clustered tightly around mine.

On the surface of the silver goblet—filled with dark red wine—an image was clearly reflected.

At first, it showed the backyard behind our cabin.

Then the scene began to move.

Smoothly, as if carried by unseen hands, the view traveled forward—past the yard, up a narrow mountain path, over a few ridgelines—

until a wide clearing came into view.

And beyond it—

a cliff.

Set deep into the rock face was a massive cave.

The image stopped there.

Then it reset.

Once again, it began from our backyard, tracing the exact same route. Over and over. Again and again.

Like it was trying to carve the path directly into my mind.

“That place…”

It looked like directions.

Like guidance.

Like an invitation.

I stared at the looping, silent “navigation video” with a serious expression when—

“Pfft! What is that?”

“Oh my. Is it a dragon?”

“It must be the Invisible Dragon.”

“The Invisible Dragon is roaring!”

“…?”

I snapped my head up and looked around at the maid squad.

Whatever they were seeing was clearly very different from what I was seeing.

Carefully, I asked the one laughing the hardest—

“Betty… what do you see?”

“The Invisible Dragon is roaring!” she said between laughs.
“It’s invisible so you can’t see it, but you can tell because it’s breathing fire—puhahaha!”

“……”

What part of that is funny?

No—more importantly—

Invisible Dragon?

The words felt uncomfortably familiar.

Alarm bells rang loudly in my head, and this time, I couldn’t ignore them.

What I’m seeing looks like it’s telling me to come to that cave.

Alone.

Just moments ago, I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near that ominous place.

This was textbook horror-movie logic.

“Let’s split up!”
—and then someone dies.

The do-not-do-this list exists for a reason.

But…

Hearing the maids casually joke about an Invisible Dragon somehow drained the fear right out of me.

Instead of terror, what I felt was—

absurdity.

And if I was being honest…

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the author of The Empire’s Ultimate Overpowered Invisible Dragon Roared and the original owner of this goblet might be connected.

Even the Invisible Dragon they were seeing—

Maybe not literally the same being, but there had to be some link.

And more than anything else—

my curiosity was burning.

This goblet.

That Invisible Dragon.

It felt like both of them were calling to me.

Urgently.

I let out a long sigh.

“…Fine.”

I looked up at the maids and spoke decisively.

“Tomorrow morning. When it’s light out. I’ll go—and come back quickly.”

The moment I made the decision, the tension in my chest eased.

And for the first time in days—

I slept peacefully.

The Next Day

Wearing a stylish hooded cloak Garnet had whipped up with her dazzling needlework, I slipped out of the cabin.

The sun hadn’t fully risen yet.

Originally, I’d planned to leave after dawn—but there was no way the maid squad would let me go quietly.

I had told them not to wake me because I planned to sleep in, but… if I wanted to avoid their overzealous concern, I had no choice.

I needed to go and come back fast.

As the mountains beyond slowly flushed crimson, I set off.

There was no time to waste.

Just like yesterday, the same image looped endlessly across the surface of the silver goblet.

Even in the dim forest, the goblet emitted a faint glow, illuminating the ground at my feet like a camera flash.

Definitely not an ordinary object.

Guided by its light, I crossed a small stream, climbed a ridge, crossed another—

“Oh. Is that it?”

At last, the cave from the vision came into view.

I must have been climbing for quite some time. By the time I arrived, the sun was already brushing the edge of the mountain ridge.

Whew…
Why does this feel like I’ve lived a virtuous life today?

Not bad, honestly.

That is—if not for this damn cursed goblet.

I wiped the sweat from my face with my cloak and stared at the cave ahead.

Gulp.

“It’s way bigger than it looked in the vision…”

And dark.

Which meant terrifying.

“…Coming alone was a mistake.”

The cliff was higher than I’d expected, and the cave ran far deeper than I’d imagined.

I’d thought this was just the back mountain, not a full-blown hiking course.

What kind of place even is Celeste territory?

For some reason, my husband—no, someone else’s husband—popped into my head, and I felt the urge to punch the air.

That guy had no idea I was doing this in his backyard.

Not that I wanted him to know.

“I’ve lost my mind.”

Why did I come here alone, of all things?

Should I turn back now?

As my internal debate spiraled—

The slow-moving clouds parted.

Sunlight poured down, striking the silver goblet head-on.

The reflected light shot straight into the depths of the cave like a beam.

What is this, a laser?

This was way too dramatic to be natural.

I should go back. I’ll bring the maid squad next time—hang them all off me and go in together.

Just as I made up my mind and turned to leave—

“Argh! My eyes!”

???

A thunderous voice echoed from inside the cave.

The sound reverberated through the cavern, rolling all the way across the cliffside.

Every hair on my body stood on end.

“Who is it?! I just woke up and I can’t see a thing!”

…Was that because of me?

That felt deeply unfair.

All I did was follow the goblet, and the sunlight just happened to line up perfectly!

I had absolutely no intention of flash-bombing someone who’d just woken up!

If I get caught, I’m dead.

Carefully, I set the goblet down on the ground, suppressing my presence as much as possible.

The plan was simple.

Back away slowly… then run.

Thankfully, the cave went quiet again.

Okay. On three.

One…

Two…

Three—

“Hey.”

“Eeeeeek!”

A voice suddenly whispered right next to my ear!

I jumped straight up.

“You scared me to death!”

“Are you the one who woke me?”

Startled, I spun around—

and saw a man standing there, rubbing one eye.

His outfit didn’t match the surroundings at all.

Like he’d just rolled out of bed, he was wearing loose silk pajamas, the fabric flowing lightly around him.

Long green hair spilled down to his waist.

Suspicious as hell.

A man in pajamas coming out of a cave?

Minimum requirement: certified lunatic.

That’s what I thought—yet my feet refused to move, as if something invisible was pressing me down.

And then—

The moment his closed eye snapped open between slightly parted fingers—

“…!”

His eyes.

They gleamed like a snake’s.

Bright yellow irises with narrow, vertical pupils.

Unmistakably reptilian.

Eyes that did not belong to a human.

Looking closer, his entire presence was overwhelming.

He was more than two heads taller than me.

Slim, but packed with lean muscle—nothing about him looked weak.

His sharp jawline and narrow lips twisted in irritation.

“Who are you?”

With an annoyed flick of his hand, he swept his bangs back.

Even his gaze felt sharp enough to cut.

Swallowing dryly, I asked—

“Are you… the Invisible Dragon?”

But you’re green?

Do you turn invisible later?

As I cautiously voiced my guess—

“W-W-W-W-What did you just say?!”

The reaction was completely unexpected.

He jumped like a startled cat and grabbed at his hair.

His pale—nearly bloodless—face flushed bright red.

Gone was the thunderous voice from before; in its place came a trembling, goat-like squeak.

“H-How… how do you know that?!”

“Huh? Because I saw it?”

“What did you see, exactly?!”

“A book… and the goblet…”

When I answered hesitantly, his face turned blue.

Red to blue in seconds—his expressions cycling so fast it was almost impressive.

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

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

“Yes! Damn it! That was something I wrote when I was only fifty!”

Only fifty.

That peculiar way of counting age sealed it.

“…I see.”

The author—

was a dragon.