So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 21

Chapter 21

— — —

Surprisingly, from the Grand Duke’s softly smiling lips came something even more shocking.

“Will you turn a blind eye to a newlywed couple’s little escape? As my people, you should all have that much tact.”

“Oh my!”

A cheer exploded from the crowd.

Wheee—! Someone even put fingers to their mouth and whistled.

What is this? This forced romance injection that won’t even land?

My mouth fell open at the sheer audacity of the Grand Duke—only for him, now suddenly “a clumsy-but-kind husband,” to close my mouth for me with his own hand.

Then he naturally took my hand.

Unlike his face, which had flushed red earlier, his hand was ice-cold.

With a faint smile, he tucked hair behind my ear and whispered—only loud enough for me to hear.

“Just play along, would you?”

If it was acting, I wasn’t going to lose.

I looked at him with a loving gaze and threw my voice.

“Why should I? Because you’re pretty, Grand Duke?”

“What do you want?”

“I’ll think about that. But you owe me one for this, okay?”

“…Ha. Fine.”

Yes! I didn’t even need anything in particular—still, it felt like I’d landed a clean hit.

I turned to the people and smiled brightly, extra on purpose.

Then, in a chirpy voice:

“Everyone! Please witness our official first date!”

And I topped it off with a wink.

The crowd erupted again.

The Grand Duke froze for a moment, staring at me like he hadn’t expected that.

I grinned smugly.

Service, my guy.

If we’re playing along, we might as well go full drumline—why settle for a weak beat?

“Of course, of course!”

“Hahaha! Our new Grand Duchess is truly adorable.”

“And I never knew the Grand Duke could be that gentle!”

After a good laugh, the people finally lost interest in us and started moving toward the lantern ceremony by the river.

The Grand Duke and I, still holding hands, blended into the flow heading downstream.

His hand was huge.

It looked like he could hold both of my hands with just one.

I came to enjoy a festival and somehow ended up in… whatever this is.

Only now, with my breathing stable again, did I replay the chaos in my head.

Honestly, all I’d done was eat skewers—yet I was exhausted.

I’d wanted to come here so badly, but now I genuinely wanted to go home.

Except… the constant sideways glances made that difficult too.

I dug my own grave.

I brought this disaster on myself and now I was taking it full-body.

When I glanced over with dead-fish eyes, he looked the same.

We walked in silence.

Soon enough, we reached the river.

People who’d arrived first were placing candles inside lanterns and setting them afloat, each making their own wish.

“Waa…”

I stared, spellbound, at the colored lanterns shimmering on the black water.

It was a beauty I’d never seen in my previous life.

Against the pitch-dark sky and the dark river, the lanterns drifted in clusters—an overwhelming spectacle.

Some were already far away, reduced to tiny dots.

The line of lights moving steadily downstream looked like—

the Milky Way, spilled onto the water.

And then—

“Achoo!”

The air had warmed, but rivers were still cold.

When I sneezed, the Grand Duke glanced down and quickly let go of my hand.

Then he pulled off the cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around me.

With our height difference, it wasn’t so much “draped” as it was “rolled.”

I looked like a kimbap.

Ugh.

My pride took a little hit, but…

I’d accepted the reality of our physical stats long ago.

I leaned in and whispered.

“What is this—performance too?”

It was unexpected, but for me, it was a win.

The cloak was ridiculously warm.

I smiled, genuinely pleased by the heat that seeped into my skin.

The Grand Duke stayed expressionless and didn’t answer.

“Lanterns are available over here!”

“…I’ll get them.”

At someone’s shout, he finally reacted—dropped that line—and disappeared quickly.

Huh?

His ears still looked red.

Maybe I imagined it.

“It’s too dark to see.”

Tsk. I smacked my lips and waited.

He returned not long after, holding two lanterns—one red, one blue—dangling from his fingers.

“Shall we float them too?”

We came all this way. It’d be weird if we didn’t.

Maybe he understood what I meant, because he nodded lightly.

We walked to the edge, lit the candles, and set our lanterns onto the current.

The red lantern he’d handed me flickered in orange light, then drifted away.

Finally—the highlight of the festival.

“Pretty,” I murmured without thinking.

Yeah. This was what I’d wanted to see.

The path to get here hadn’t exactly been smooth, but… I’d cleared the first goal.

A smile naturally formed on my lips.

Then an unexpected reply came from beside me.

“I see.”

When I looked over, the Grand Duke was watching me, not the river.

“…Right?” I added stiffly, like a malfunctioning robot.

I couldn’t handle awkward silence. It was a chronic condition.

He didn’t speak for a moment.

Then he gave a small snort of laughter and turned back to the river.

“……”

For a second—

a very strange feeling passed through me.

“This is impossible!”

And there was one person who heard about the couple’s festival outing and nearly exploded.

It was Katharina.

She’d never cared about commoner festivals, but she’d also never once heard of Grand Duke Xavier attending one.

Yet now the castle was buzzing with news that he’d enjoyed a secret date—alone—with Renée Blanche.

If it was this loud inside the Grand Duke’s castle, the territory folk who’d seen it firsthand would be even worse.

Katharina’s beautiful hands trembled as she clenched them tight.

“If I’d known, I would’ve asked the Grand Duke to go with me first! That cunning little—!”

She couldn’t take it anymore.

Seething, she sat at her desk and began scribbling furiously.

[To the esteemed Lady Diana…]

I lay back against the bed and looked out the window.

The bitter winds that had ruled this place only days ago had—like a lie—softened after the spring festival, and warmth began to settle in.

The falling snow had melted into the soil, breathing damp life into the earth.

Pale green buds were preparing to sprout—spring’s first stirrings.

With gentle sunlight tickling my cheeks, I enjoyed a peaceful morning.

“Spring really came.”

“Soon, flowers will bloom too. Did you know most of the trees on the back mountain are flowering trees, my lady?”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yes. There are many kinds, so when spring comes, the whole mountain turns colorful. It’s quite a sight.”

Betty, wiping the window frame beside me, spoke with a smile in her voice.

Hearing that made the approaching full spring feel even more exciting.

I smiled back at her and made a vow in my heart.

Seriously. I’ve been way too reckless these past few days.
From now on: stay out of sight. Shut up and live quietly.

I’d gotten tangled up with dragons and Grand Dukes against my will, and the mental fatigue was no joke.

And to think I’d left this perfect little forest cabin to go crawling into town?

I’d only gone once, but honestly… I’d seen enough.

More than anything, the “one outing” cost me too much.

“Pwaeng-choo!”

“My lady, are you still unwell?”

“No, just a sneeze…”

The weather warmed, but apparently my health melted with it.

That day: an unexpected face-off with the Grand Duke, plus Ternox’s nonsense.

I couldn’t relax for even one second.

And worst of all, I’d underestimated the cold by the river.

No—what I’d underestimated most was this body’s stamina.

I’d gone out for a single day and ended up bedridden with a nasty cold for several days.

What is wrong with this body…?

At this point, unless I built basic fitness, everything would be hard.

Starting today: back to the National Gymnastics routine.

I was making that determination when Betty, noticing me shifting, looked at me steadily and shook her head.

Then she said something that made me want to leap out of bed.

TL Note: I’ll be using Katharina instead of Katarina from here on out!