So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 16

Chapter 16

— — —

“Gasp!”
“Oh my—!”

Before I could even shout, the old wooden door creaked open with the most ominous sound imaginable.

Standing there was Garnet, one hand holding a tray, the other holding the doorknob—halfway in a ready-to-charge stance like she’d been about to sprint inside.

Next to her, Ria stood frozen with her mouth hanging open, panic written all over her face.

“Madam! You’re safe!”

“Y-Yeah, obviously. I just dozed off for a second and… missed the timing to answer, that’s all…”

I shot up and lunged forward like a bullet, positioning myself between them and the room.

Only then did Garnet seem to fully register I was fine. She lowered the hand holding the knob and hurriedly apologized.

“I thought you might be in danger and I—I completely lost my head. I’m so sorry, Madam!”

Garnet looked like she was about to cry.

I rushed another step closer, waving my hands frantically.

“It’s okay! Haha… honestly the knob was already ancient. This is perfect—now we can replace it with a new one. More importantly, are you hurt? Did any splinters fly? Did you get stuck by a thorn? That would be really bad.”

“Ma—daaaam…!”

The girls looked deeply moved.

What they didn’t know was that my dramatic gestures were actually a desperate attempt to keep their eyes from drifting toward Ternox.

While they were busy melting into soft feelings, I stole a glance back at the table.

And there he was—still sitting in the same spot—bold as daylight, not even pretending to leave.

You insane dragon. You’re really going for “we both die today,” huh?

At this point my internal rating of him had officially become: Insane Dragon.

Oblivious to my suffering, Garnet spoke in a teary, heartfelt voice.

“Madam… your generosity makes me fall in love all over again. Thank you, truly. And I’m fine—what matters most is that you eat.”

“And today we made potato stew—your favorite! You have to eat it before it cools!”

Garnet and Ria talked like rapid-fire machine guns, their words tumbling out nonstop.

How do they even speak that fast?

Is this… the power of love?

The direction of that love being aimed at me was both warm and wildly burdensome.

Okay. They’ll listen to me… at least a little.

Back in my old life, I got blamed for things that weren’t my fault or got misunderstood all the time.

Maybe that’s why I’d learned to shrink in on myself without realizing it.

I took a breath and gathered my courage, stepping slightly aside.

Garnet and Ria slipped smoothly into the cabin, trays in hand.

“…Huh?”

“Madam, sit down. You must be hungry.”

And then they started laying out the food on the table—without reacting at all.

As if there weren’t a complete stranger—no, a whole dragon—sitting right there.

My eyes went wide.

Ternox crossed his arms and snickered.

[Are you dumb? I’m a dragon.]

Judging by the way the maids didn’t even twitch, it looked like only I could hear his voice.

“Yooou—”

So it’s invisibility, then?

He really became the Invisible Dragon after all.

Congrats on achieving your childhood dream.

I kept my sarcasm safely inside my head and trudged over to sit down, feeling weirdly hollow.

By now, the fact that my meal lineup had doubled since day one didn’t even surprise me anymore.

I scooped up a big spoonful of steaming potato stew.

That’s when I met Ria’s eyes—she was standing politely across from me.

Ria smiled gently, like something had just occurred to her.

“Come to think of it… the territory festival is soon.”

“Festival?”

“Yes. In Celeste, around this time every year, we hold a small spring-welcoming festival.”

It was still cold, but apparently once a certain date passed, the weather would flip like a lie and spring would suddenly arrive.

Kind of like Ipchun back in Korea, maybe.

Garnet added that Celeste had a tradition of holding an event to “call” spring closer.

So basically: an Ipchun festival.

…Just hearing that made me excited.

Noticing the life returning to my previously dead-fish eyes, Garnet smiled.

“Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I didn’t even know there was a village. I mean, of course there is—people live here—but still.”

“Well… you’ve stayed in the cabin the whole time since you arrived. You’ve never even seen the village. It must feel stifling.”

Wait, I didn’t say I was stifled—

Turns out even after transmigrating, my indoor-goblin nature doesn’t disappear.

Maybe my relaxing little retreat looked like house arrest to other people.

But a festival in a romance-fantasy world—the kind I’d only ever read about?

There’s no way I wouldn’t want to go.

My cheeks twitched with anticipation—and at the same time, the dragon’s expression went… oddly subtle.

Then, slowly, a crooked smile formed.

What now?

But the overgrown-lizard-uncle wasn’t my priority right now.

I poked at my salad with a fork, thinking hard.

“But… would I even be allowed to go?”

“…Wouldn’t it be proper procedure to get the Grand Duke’s permission?”

Ugh—my “husband” (more like some guy I’m legally attached to) was blocking my path again.

I was trying to stay out of sight like he ordered, but to be honest… I hadn’t left the ducal grounds even once since arriving.

The Ga-Na Maid Squad could guide me, sure, but…

That was also part of the problem.

They were aggressively overprotective.

If I hesitate for one second, they rip off doorknobs and storm the place.

At this rate, am I going to end up traveling in a circle of hand-holding maids like some kind of folk dance formation…?

The fact that this scenario felt realistic was insane.

But then again, maybe it wasn’t the worst thing.

In romance-fantasy worlds, festivals are basically guaranteed to come with an incident.

I didn’t think I was “main character” material… but caution never hurts.

Somewhere during that thought, my decision fully snapped into place:

I am absolutely going.

“Should I ask through the head butler?” Ria offered carefully, worried.

But I was still the Grand Duchess.

I couldn’t dump that kind of errand on the maids.

And honestly, this didn’t feel like something I needed to politely “hover nearby” and request.

When it comes to schemes like this, my brain runs fast.

I let out a smug little “muahaha” in my head and grinned.

“Nope. I’ve got a way.”

* * *

A few days later—festival day at Celeste Castle.

“Hi, Tia.”

“Hi! Are you going to the festival today too?”

“Of course! I’m basically done—just need to change and then I’m going.”

“Go with me! Want to meet at the side gate?”

“Sounds good.”

The maids were brighter than usual, chatting cheerfully as they carried laundry baskets.

Maybe because of the festival, even the normally quiet castle had a low hum of excitement.

It was the time of day sliding from afternoon toward evening—when most servants would usually look exhausted—yet their faces were full of energy.

Because today, their generous lord had granted almost everyone an afternoon off.

Only essential staff remained on duty. The rest were heading to the festival, and the atmosphere had heated up.

“…Hah.”

And the one who gave everyone vacation—

Grand Duke Xavier Celeste—

was sitting in his study, still working.

Even as the lord of the territory, the festival was ultimately for the common people.

His job was to ensure it stayed safe and joyful, so he’d just finished arranging extra knights for security around the square.

“Already this late…”

Through the wide office window—curtains fully open—the bright sunlight was fading.

Soon the world would be swallowed by the red fire of sunset.

The spring-welcoming festival normally began at noon and continued until midnight.

After full dark, the festival’s highlight—floating lanterns—would begin.

Xavier had never personally released a lantern…

But from his office window, he could see the colorful lanterns drifting down toward the river every year.

Watching them silently, alone, had become one of the small pleasures of being a lord.

He’d been working since before dawn, and as he finally set his pen down to rest—

“…?”

Something caught his eye.

A small envelope, wedged into the gap between documents.

Hidden in the pile as if it didn’t want to be found.

“…What is this?”

Xavier had been “slipped a note” without even noticing.

At this point, he still didn’t think much of it.

The letter wasn’t even sealed, which made him frown for half a second.

Then he opened it and skimmed the contents without hesitation—

“….”

And slowly, Xavier Celeste’s expression turned… complicated.