So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 13

Chapter 13

— — —

Xavier didn’t even lift his eyes from the documents spread across his desk.

“…Pardon?”

Lady Katarina stood frozen, blinking rapidly, her long lashes fluttering uselessly.

Only then did Xavier raise his gaze—and let out a slow, tired sigh.

His blue-violet eyes held nothing but irritation, contempt, and cold displeasure.

How could someone be that cold?

To be fair, this wasn’t new.

Katarina had grown up near him, dreaming of becoming the Grand Duchess. If anyone understood how frigid his temperament could be, it was her.

But this time, she had brought news so shocking that even he shouldn’t be able to ignore it.

Renée Blanche—that fox—had committed adultery.

And the proof was—

Me. I saw it.

She had witnessed it with her own two eyes.

Ordinarily, testimony without evidence would be dismissed as slander. But Katarina was so consumed by her desire to erase Renée Blanche that any trace of reason had evaporated.

Puffing out her lips, she gathered her courage and spoke again, louder.

“I saw it—clearly. Renée Blanche was standing in front of the annex with a suspicious man!”

“Not a castle attendant running an errand?”

“Of course not!” Katarina snapped. “If there were a servant that handsome, there’s no way I wouldn’t know!”

“…?”

Xavier’s gaze slid back to her, disbelief flickering faintly.

Only then did Katarina realize how that sounded.

Her cheeks flushed.

“Ahem—AHEM! That isn’t the point! The man had green hair—long, straight hair down to his waist. And as far as I know, there isn’t a single attendant in this castle with hair like that!”

“Karl,” Xavier said flatly. “Is that true?”

Standing nearby with impeccable posture, the head butler answered at once.

“Lady Hugo is correct. There are no attendants within the estate with long green hair.”

“See?!”

Katarina’s eyes lit up as if she’d just won a court verdict.

So why won’t you believe me?

Her lips trembled, injustice burning in her chest.

If she weren’t standing before Xavier, she would have stomped her feet.

“Haa…”

While Katarina quivered with indignation, Xavier wrestled with his own irritation.

Katarina Hugo.

He’d known her since childhood. Vain. Dramatic. Prone to exaggeration.

She had loudly declared she would become Grand Duchess—then stormed into the Celeste estate under the pretense of being a “lady-in-waiting” the moment another woman arrived as Grand Duchess.

Her intentions were painfully transparent.

And Xavier disliked even that.

But—

House Hugo had been loyal vassals to House Celeste for generations.

Xavier had lost his parents early. The only elder left to him had been his strict grandmother.

In those years, Count Hugo and his wife had treated him like family—kind, protective, unwavering.

If there was a flaw, it was that their indulgence had raised a daughter who believed the world would bend for her.

Still…

They are my benefactors.

That debt made it difficult to cast Katarina out completely.

And his grandmother—who doted on Katarina not as a future granddaughter-in-law, but simply as another grandchild—only complicated matters further.

Katarina, naturally, mistook that affection as approval of marriage.

To Xavier, it had always been—

uncomfortable.

Marriage had never existed in his plans.

With the curse running through his blood, he intended to end everything with his own generation.

So it didn’t matter whether the candidate was Katarina or anyone else.

He had never once—not even for a moment—considered taking a Grand Duchess.

“Haa…”

And yet—

the moment his thoughts brushed against marriage, one woman surfaced unbidden.

Renée Blanche.

Silver hair like moonlight. Wide, red eyes. A quiet, unassuming expression.

On the surface, she looked like an ordinary noble lady.

The problem was her family.

House Blanche—decadent, extravagant, soaked in corruption—had even produced a High Priest.

If that didn’t speak to rot in the bloodline itself, what did?

Even the High Priest seemed eager to erase his own origins.

Xavier’s thoughts were sharpening into something darker when—

“Your Grace!”

Katarina’s voice latched onto him, refusing to let go.

“Please believe me. That woman is disgraceful—unfit to be Grand Duchess. The only one truly suited for the position is—me…”

“That’s enough. Leave.”

“Xavier!”

Her shrill cry pierced the study.

In the next instant, Xavier’s gaze snapped to her.

Killing intent flooded the room.

Katarina froze.

T-that pressure—

It felt like standing before a predator, one step from being torn apart.

Her nerves went numb. Every hair on her body stood on end.

Only when her knees began to tremble did Xavier finally withdraw it.

For a woman to face a swordmaster’s killing intent head-on was no small thing.

That alone should terrify her into obedience.

With his composure restored, Xavier spoke again, voice cold as frost.

“When did I ever permit you to call me by my name?”

“……”

“Stop acting insolently. Unless you wish to return to House Hugo immediately.”

“…Hic!”

Like a tragic heroine, Katarina burst into tears and fled the study.

Xavier didn’t stop her.

He had no intention of doing so.

He merely lowered his gaze back to the documents, as though nothing had happened.

“Hm.”

And yet—

the words refused to register.

Instead, a memory from a few days ago replayed itself.

Silver hair damp with moisture.

Red eyes, bright and unsettled.

The faint scent of roses.

—

“I… wanted to take a bath…”

“At this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep. The cabin doesn’t have a bathtub as big or sturdy as the one here. I just… by myself…”

At the time, he hadn’t cared.

But he hadn’t realized her circumstances were that poor.

And technically—

he had never explicitly forbidden her from entering the main residence.

Logically speaking, her words had held weight.

He barely remembered what he’d said afterward.

But for some reason, Renée Blanche’s face had burned itself into his memory—irritatingly vivid.

I spoke without thinking… unlike myself.

She’d looked genuinely hurt.

The rest of her shouting had been absurd, but—

“I take one bath and this is what I get?! Fine! I won’t use it! Ever!”

A small woman—pitiful and stubborn all at once.

He couldn’t read her.

If forced to choose, he would say he disliked her.

And yet—

for several days now, Xavier had been wavering.

He didn’t understand the source of this strange tremor in his chest—and not knowing only worsened it.

The sleepless nights continued.

As if his endless dawns weren’t exhausting enough, even the intrusion of her face into those lonely hours felt oppressive.

That innocent expression—

Was it real?

Katarina’s ridiculous claim—and the way his heart had twitched at it—

he hated all of it.

“Your Grace,” Karl asked quietly, ever perceptive.
“Is something troubling you?”

With an irritated motion, Xavier set the documents aside.

“It’s nonsense. She must’ve said it simply to disgrace House Blanche.”

“That may be so.”

“……”

But—

it was strangely specific.

Katarina Hugo was not a clever woman.

Yet she had described the time, the place, and the man’s appearance with unsettling precision.

“Shall I summon the maid stationed near the annex?” Karl asked.

Xavier paused.

“…Yes. And—”

He hesitated, then continued.

“I’m going to the last room at the end of the West Tower.”

“!”

For a brief instant, surprise flickered across Karl’s face.

“…Understood.”

By the time the words left his lips, that expression was gone—as if it had never existed.