So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 131

Chapter 131

“Pff—HAK!”

At Xavier’s words, Ternox—mid-sip of black tea—choked violently and erupted into a coughing fit.

“Oh my! Are you all right?!”

Katharina hurriedly offered her handkerchief.

Ternox accepted it with a brief nod of thanks, wiped his mouth, and then made a face so blatantly disgusted it could have curdled milk.

Lady Diana turned her gaze aside, clearly suppressing the twitch at the corners of her lips… but somehow I could almost guess what she was thinking.

‘Lady Diana especially loves enemies-to-lovers dynamics!
That classic trope where the rude, prickly male lead ends up hopelessly wrapped around the female lead’s finger!’

Ahem—of course, comparing us to some romance novel couple was so mortifying I wanted to roll under the rug.

But still!

‘And looks-wise? No male lead alive could beat my Xavier.’

And lately, the way he treated me… well.

“Mmhmhm…”

I couldn’t seem to stop my lips from curling upward.

“What are you two doing?”

Ternox narrowed his eyes, glancing back and forth between me and Xavier.

“W-What do you mean?!”

Flustered, I snapped without thinking.

Unlike me, Xavier didn’t seem bothered at all. He simply lifted a hand and gently tucked my hair behind my ear.

His gaze never left me.

As if we were the only two people in the room, his low, warm voice fell softly.

“You tossed and turned all night.”

“Ah… did I?”

“Yeah. So I didn’t wake you. I left early. Thought you should sleep more.”

Then he smiled faintly.

It was unmistakable.

The expression of a man in love.

The way his fingertips moved was drenched in tenderness, and my cheeks heated no matter how much I tried to compose myself.

The man who once struggled to express anything now spoke without hesitation—straight to the point.

‘At this rate, the heart we just fixed is going to explode again!’

I pressed a hand to my pounding chest, trying to calm it when—

“Your Grace, the carriage from the Imperial Palace has arrived.”

Phil spoke gently after receiving word from a maid.

It seemed Callian was taking special care of his brother-in-all-but-blood, Xavier.

When we stepped outside the townhouse—

The garden was filled with golden carriages bearing the imperial crest.

One in particular stood at the front.

More ornate than the rest.

“…Are we… riding that one?”

Please. No.

Slowly, I turned to Xavier.

“…Looks like it.”

His pale expression told me there was no escape.

Because the carriage prepared for us—

was open at the top.

‘T-Those are for state parades! Like ceremonial processions!’

Yes, it was an emperor’s coronation—but still!

We weren’t the ones becoming emperor!

I hadn’t even ridden something this flashy at my wedding!

Seeing our expressions, the coachman cleared his throat.

“Your Grace, Your Grace the Duchess—His Highness the Crown Prince repeatedly insisted you arrive in this carriage. He said today is not only the coronation, but also a ceremony of honor, and that he alone should not stand at the center.”

“Haah…”

Xavier rubbed his face.

I blinked.

“A ceremony of honor?”

“Nothing much. His Highness said he’ll award me a medal after the coronation.”

“Wha—?! How is that ‘nothing’?!”

“Xavier. Is that true?”

“My goodness! Shouldn’t we prepare a banquet?!”

Lady Diana and Phil exclaimed at once.

In the ducal household, this was bigger news than the coronation itself.

“…This is why I didn’t mention it earlier. Damn it.”

The introvert to his core was clearly suffering under Callian’s attention.

‘I knew it. Callian definitely did this on purpose to tease him.
But why am I getting dragged into it too?!’

I hated standing in front of crowds as much as Xavier did.

But what choice did we have?

In the end, we climbed into the open carriage with stunned expressions.

Meanwhile, Ternox, Lady Diana, and Katharina were assigned perfectly normal carriages.

“Pfft! Good luck, you two~”

Ternox grinned shamelessly from behind.

All we could do was clench our fists.

“Departing!”

Hiiiinng—!

At the coachman’s shout, the horses reared and the carriage rolled forward.

As we passed through the gates—

“…!”

My eyes widened.

“His Grace Duke Celeste! Her Grace the Duchess!”

“The hero of Rembrandt passes!”

“Thank you for saving us!”

From the townhouse to the palace, the streets were packed.

People filled every space—throwing petals, waving cloths, scattering flowers.

Their bright smiles blessed our path.

Xavier looked just as startled as I was.

Then our eyes met.

We both smiled.

“Maybe the Crown Prince wanted to thank you… like this.”

“…Seems so. It’s excessive—but I can’t say I dislike it.”

The faces of the people he had protected—without hesitation, without sparing himself—

were the greatest reward of all.

I lifted my hand and waved.

Then—

“Unni! UNNII!”

In the crowd, I saw her.

Sally.

“Oh my gosh—Sally!”

“Mom! I told you! That’s her! She’s the Duchess?! Woooow!”

Clutching her mother’s hand, Sally waved with all her might.

Her little brother—sleeping peacefully in their mother’s arms—didn’t even stir.

Impressive.

Her mother looked between us in shock before quickly bowing.

I waved back with everything I had.

It was only a fleeting moment.

But it would stay with me.

‘Everyone really made it back safely…’

The streets still bore scars of destruction.

But everyone knew those scars would heal.

Soon.

A strange emotion welled up in my throat, and I pressed my lips together to keep it from spilling out.

After a procession that felt both brief and endless—

We passed through the palace gates and into the quieter inner grounds.

Commoners weren’t allowed inside.

The noise faded.

“Phew…”

I exhaled as the tension eased—

When Xavier suddenly leaned close.

“Renée. We’re going somewhere else.”

“H-huh…?”

His unexpected closeness froze me.

His clean, cool scent brushed my senses.

‘Too close. Way too close.’

My heart pounded wildly.

Even after two lifetimes of marriage—

I still had zero immunity to this.

It felt like we were at the beginning again.

Of course I’d be flustered.

Xavier smiled faintly at my reddened face, then stepped down from the stopped carriage.

The other carriages had already gone ahead.

Leaving only the coachman.

And us.

“I will wait here until you return.”

The coachman bowed deeply.

Xavier nodded and guided me toward a building within the palace I had never seen before.

Knights and attendants greeted us formally.

No one stopped us.

Everything had clearly been arranged in advance.

“Where are we going? The coronation will begin soon.”

“You’ll see. There’s still time.”

He opened a heavy iron door at the end of the corridor.

Creeeak—

The door swung open.

Beyond it—

A staircase descended into the underground.