So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 33

Chapter 33

A sudden knock made everyone turn toward the door.

Then—

“Grand Duchess, it’s Karl. May I come in?”

A neat, elderly gentleman’s voice came from the other side.

“Yes—no, I mean—yeah!”

Crap. He told me to speak casually now, didn’t he?

Karl had asked me to drop the formal speech since I’d be living in the main manor from here on out, and the memory hit me a beat too late, so I scrambled to fix it.

A moment later, the door opened—and Karl stepped in.

The second he saw me all dressed up, he couldn’t quite hide his surprise.

“Grand Duchess… you look truly beautiful.”

“Thanks. But what is it?”

Even as I asked, a bad feeling crawled up my spine.

If Karl was looking for me, that usually meant…

“The Grand Duke requests to see you.”

Yep. Of course.

What, like I’m free? I’m busy. I’m supposed to go boating.

I didn’t bother hiding my unimpressed face.

“Right now?”

“Yes. I’ll escort you immediately.”

At this point, Xavier Celeste had a special talent: flipping my mood without even being physically present.

Why are there so many people determined to sabotage my first date with a gorgeous woman?!

I swallowed a sigh and tried one last time.

“Um… Karl. Actually, I’m so busy right n—”

“Oh my goodness, greetings to His Grace!”

Marie’s voice cut in, weirdly sparkling with excitement.

“Ah!”

I whipped around—and there he was.

Standing there like he’d been there the whole time.

Xavier Celeste.

What the hell. When did you get here?

No footsteps. No presence. Nothing.

And yet his violet-blue eyes—when they met mine—were shaking slightly, like he’d been thrown off.

Is he… embarrassed about that midnight disaster a couple nights ago?

Heh. Maybe I should tease him.

The second that thought crossed my mind, Xavier’s expression tightened like he’d read it straight off my face. He scowled hard, then snapped his gaze away.

Fine. Be like that. Hmph.

Seeing him avoid my eyes made me petty, so I turned away too—just to spite him.

And that’s when I caught Marie’s face.

She was looking at us like she’d just witnessed her favorite ship become canon in real life.

Marie, it’s a misunderstanding… He’s only here because he knew I’d run if he summoned me through Karl…

But my silent screaming wasn’t reaching her at all.

“Your Grace! You weren’t even in your study—”

Karl’s voice joined in, startled.

Judging by his reaction, even Karl hadn’t expected Xavier to come here personally.

Apparently, His Grace couldn’t even wait the few minutes it would take for Karl to escort me to the study—so he’d come running over himself.

Xavier let out a short, cold laugh, like he’d predicted the whole thing.

“I didn’t think you’d come quietly. I figured you’d make excuses and slip out like a rat. It’s faster if I come to you.”

“……”

Ugh. He’s not wrong, but still.

The strangely gentle man from that night was gone without a trace.

This was the same rude, sharp-tongued Grand Duke I knew.

Right. Of course.
So that’s why yesterday felt too peaceful.

I was biting back my irritation when—

“Does that mean Milady is like a tiny hamster, and that’s why she’s cute? Oh my! His Grace really can’t be honest.”

Marie, no.

That is not what he meant.

Marie’s eyes were full-on hearts.

Different flavor from Betty, but still completely deranged…

I was too tired to stop her anymore.

Ignoring Marie’s commentary with sheer willpower, I spoke to Xavier.

“Fine. Since you came all the way here, I’ll ask directly. What do you want?”

“Karl.”

He didn’t answer me—he just called Karl.

Even that was obnoxious.

Karl gave a silent bow and calmly ushered every maid out of the room.

“Please, speak comfortably.”

Then he shut the door.

Silence.

Just the two of us.

Xavier paced once around the room, then dropped into the sofa like he owned the air itself.

“Katharina Hugo wants to go boating with you?”

His eyes were dark with unmistakable irritation.

And somehow, it felt like he was annoyed at me, like I was an idiot for even considering it.

That hit a nerve.

So I answered with extra bite.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“I’ve always thought this about you—you have no sense of caution. Katharina Hugo openly claimed she’d become the Grand Duchess the moment you arrived. She even framed you. And now you’re going on an outing with her? Do you have no pride?”

“……”

Oh, so we’re doing this?

I’ve always thought this about you too—your mouth is a horror story.

Is “basic social skills” something you’ve never heard of?

Heat crawled up my chest. I was getting angry—fast.

And honestly? Between the midnight nonsense and today’s behavior, none of it made sense.

Is he seriously… wary of me getting close to Katharina?

If Xavier actually had feelings for Katharina, that would… explain some things.

Ex-girlfriend and current wife becoming friends would look ridiculous, sure.

But even if that were true, it didn’t justify him talking down to me like this.

I don’t deserve this.

I opened my mouth to fire back—

“!”

—when Xavier’s icy expression flickered. Just for a second.

Confusion. Alarm.

And I understood why immediately.

Tears were spilling down my cheeks.

Without warning.

Like my body had betrayed me.

What the hell?! I’m furious—why am I crying first?!

I don’t even want to cry right now.

I have a whole list of things to argue!

My thoughts were cold, clean rage—boiling.

But this body wouldn’t obey me.

I tried to steady my breathing.

“Sniff—th-that’s… h-huh…!”

Instead, my broken breath turned into humiliating hiccups.

This is insane. He’s going to look down on me.

Of all people, I’m really going to do this in front of Xavier Celeste?

My pride cracked in real time.

“You… why are you—”

Xavier’s face went pale as he took an uncertain step toward me.

I panicked and jumped backward.

“Listen—sniff—I have no idea why I’m supposed to hear things like that! It was a misunderstanding from the start, and Katharina apologized! She’s my maid anyway—what’s wrong with getting along?!”

“……”

Xavier’s voice lowered.

“Being that soft… how can you become the Grand Duchess of House Celeste?”

Even softened, it made me want to scream.

“And did I have a choice—hic—in becoming one?”

Honestly.

I woke up and I was basically in a wedding hall.

What “choice” was there?

Xavier flinched like something in that finally landed.

I didn’t let him recover.

I sank my teeth in like a cornered animal—words tearing out of me, messy and pathetic because of the crying.

“Yeah… I’m not someone who fits the role. I know that.”

I know.

I’m the random impurity that fell into someone else’s story.

I don’t even know what my role is supposed to be.

Maybe I look stupid.

But—

I’d been trying, in my own way, to live brightly.

Because that’s the only way I know how to survive.

Whoever I used to be here, I thought I could still live as me.

“And you’re the one who told me to stay quiet and keep my head down, remember? Sniff—I did what you wanted. All of it. So why do you keep—”

The emotion surged again.

I never wanted to catch Xavier’s attention in the first place.

I just wanted to live peacefully in my little cottage with the maids—grow vegetables, live quietly, be happy.

Yes, we’d bumped into each other a few times—

but I had never gone out of my way to hover around him. Not once.

And that night… what was that? He shows up, shakes up my whole brain, then acts like this again. He’s completely inconsistent. What am I even supposed to match?

Tears still flowing, I clenched my jaw.

All that makeup. This fancy dress.

It all felt stupid.

Like everything was falling apart.

“You told me not to expect anything like a husband’s duty. Fine—I don’t. I’ve never asked for it. But what about you? Do you want me to become your real wife now?”

Xavier didn’t answer for a long time.

That silence made me even angrier.

“I just want to live quietly. So stop interfering. I’m not going out to disgrace your precious family—I’m just going on an outing!”

I stomped away on purpose, loud enough to make my frustration audible.

God, this is so embarrassing. This body is useless. Why am I crying? Over him? My tears are wasted on him.

I took a deep breath—

and nothing got better.

I yanked the door open.

The maids were waiting in the hallway, fidgeting like they’d been listening.

“Milady…”

I forced my voice to sound normal.

“…Can you call Katharina for me?”

If I’m going to explode anyway, I might as well do it at the river.

I needed air.

I needed water.

I needed my brain to cool down before I said something that would make this worse.