So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 39

Katharina’s vision filled with Renée, smiling playfully.

Her heart still thumped hard.

Why…?

Strangely, Renée overlapped with someone else in Katharina’s mind—
the person she respected and admired more than anyone in the world.

That can’t be. Katharina Hugo, get a grip. Are you really going to get played by this woman?

But her pounding heartbeat refused to calm down.

It didn’t stop even after they climbed into a tiny ferry boat.

“Wow… the sunset’s coming in. Katharina. Dusk has its own kind of charm.”

“Y-yes…”

Even Renée’s ticklish whispering made Katharina’s mind a tangled mess.

Then—

Whoooosh.

“Oh!”

A sudden river wind blew Katharina’s hat clean off.

Thankfully, it didn’t fly far… but it snagged on a tree branch over the water.

Too far to reach from land, too awkward to grab from the boat—an annoying distance either way.

“No! My hat! That’s this season’s newest model!”

For once, Katharina looked genuinely devastated.

It was a freshly purchased piece, bought together with today’s dress.

She’d worn it for the first time because she refused to lose to Renée.

“Really?”

Renée immediately rowed closer.

Then—without hesitation—she stood up.

Katharina panicked.

The small boat started rocking.

“Lady Renée! It’s fine—just forget it! Consider it gone!”

“It’s new, you said. Didn’t you like it?”

“I did, but… I’ll do it.”

“No. I’m closer. Ugh, if only I were a little taller. Still… I think I can grab it…”

Renée stretched hard.

Her body tipped—toward the stern.

In that instant—

A black voice whispered inside Katharina.

Should I just shove her? There’s no one to save her.

But at the same time, a white voice argued back.

But you know it too, Katharina. What did that tiny girl even do wrong?

That voice was probably her conscience.

“….”

Meanwhile, Renée was still wobbling and reaching.

“Ugh, just a bit more—I think I can—!”

From the shore, the maids screamed in alarm.

“My lady! That’s dangerous!”

“We’ll get the hat! Please sit down!”

“It’s fine! Katharina, could you row just a little? I think the boat keeps drifting the wrong—”

And then—

Splash!

The boat flipped.

“Kyaaa!”

It happened in a blink.

And at the same time—

It felt like time slowed to a crawl.

“Oh no! My lady! Our lady fell in!”

“Lady Katharina—what do we do?!”

“Report to Karl at once!”

Even the maids, who normally lived in a constant state of rivalry, were united in shock this time.

Katharina thrashed in the water, unable to process anything.

What happened? Did I… actually push Renée Blanche?

But the thought didn’t last.

The current swallowed it.

“Puh—kyaa! Help!”

Katharina was a noble young lady.

What she knew was embroidery, writing pretty letters, sometimes playing an instrument.

So of course—

She couldn’t swim.

Am I going to die?

When she couldn’t tell if what filled her eyes was tears or river water—

“Ugh… Ka—Katharina!”

A weak cry reached her.

Something drifted toward her.

A paddle.

Katharina grabbed it like a lifeline.

“Relax your body!”

She clung to the fragile voice and obeyed.

Before long, the overturned hull brushed her arm.

“I—I’m alive!”

She hooked both arms around the boat, clinging like it was salvation, finally able to breathe.

Even then, she whipped her head around, searching wildly.

“What do we do?! Renée—where are you?!”

She didn’t even realize she was calling Renée by name.

But no matter how hard she looked, Renée was nowhere.

“My lady! My lady!”

“Oh no—what do we do?!”

Panic exploded everywhere.

Worse, the wind only grew stronger.

Then—

“Renée!”

From far away, Xavier Celeste came charging in on horseback.

His face was paper-white—like Katharina had never seen before.

Xavier…

That was Katharina’s last memory.

Umm…

With her eyes closed, all she could feel was a hazy drifting sensation.

Like floating underwater, weightless, gravity gone.

So light… so comfortable it felt like she could drift forever.

Am I a jellyfish this time…?

If I could, I want to stay like this for a long time.

Floating, floating…

Time felt frozen—

Then—

Huh?

Someone pulled her into a tight embrace.

Her eyes opened naturally.

And filling her view—

“Renée… please…”

Those cornflower-violet eyes, wet with tears.

The Grand Duke.

W-wait. Is he crying?

He wore an aching expression she’d never seen before, tears falling openly.

Heavy drops fell onto her cheek. Tap. Tap. Tap.

What is happening?

It was so unbelievable she couldn’t make sense of it.

Why was Xavier crying in front of her, calling her name like that?

Then an even stranger sensation hit.

My body won’t move.

At first she thought it was sleep paralysis, but it wasn’t.

There was no pressure, no fear—none of that.

More like…

Out-of-body. Like I’m not inside myself.

She was the one being held—

but she wasn’t.

And the proof was that her mouth opened on its own.

A thin, fragile voice flowed out.

“Xavier… why are you crying…?”

It was her voice, but everything felt wrong.

Because she had never once called him Xavier.

Is this a dream…?

Like dreaming,
or watching a first-person film—

all she could do was observe.

And still, her hand trembled up, gently cupping Xavier’s cheek.

The wrist was far thinner than hers—
bony, frail… like someone close to death.

“Renée. Please don’t die.”

Xavier overlapped his large hand over hers and sobbed.

Die? Me?

His hydrangea-colored eyes, once sharp and shining, were losing their light.

The Renée who wasn’t her forced a smile.

And Xavier’s eyes darkened, burning.

“I’ll save you. Hold on. I’ll tear this world apart if I have to. I’ll find medicine to heal you. So please…”

His voice was low—almost feral.

There was something like madness inside it.

And yet, maybe because she was being pulled into Renée’s feelings—

that ominous voice didn’t feel scary at all.

It felt heartbreaking.

Like watching a wounded young beast baring its teeth out of fear.

“Xavier.”

“…”

“You know too… I don’t have much time left.”

Renée looked like a dried flower—
body and soul.

So fragile it seemed she’d crumble if touched.

“No. That’s not true.”

Xavier snapped back, firm.

But he had to know.

Right now, Renée’s life was like a tiny candle before a storm called fate.

Renée’s faint smile returned.

“You’re the person who hurt me the most in this world. You’d admit that yourself.”

“I’m sorry…”

“But even that clumsy side of you… is so you. So… how could I not love you?”

Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

The watery haze made everything swim.

And the moment Xavier saw it—

his breathing hitched.