So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Do I seriously not know anything?

In other novels, the transmigrated protagonist knows the original story inside and out, changes the future, and stylishly bulldozes through everything.

Maybe the author of the original story is somewhere out there, hearing that a clueless noob like me possessed their heroine, and quietly crying.

It was a ridiculous thought, but that was exactly why the self-loathing hit harder.

I was sulking to myself when—

The Duke was staring at me, and the look in his eyes was not normal.

“Renée.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you truly want that dragon to become my aide?”

Huh? Out of nowhere?

It had been a casual suggestion, so why was he being this serious?

I blinked, flustered, and answered with whatever came to mind.

“Well… the decision is ultimately yours, Your Grace…”

But the Duke was relentless.

Like he was determined to wring an actual answer out of me, he pressed on.

“I’m asking whether you believe he can cure my madness, and further, whether he can restore the damaged covenant.”

“That… I mean, Nox is one of the covenant’s parties, and he probably knows more than we do, at least.”

“So you trust him.”

“Y-yeah… I guess.”

I nodded, half against my will.

But seriously, why wouldn’t I trust him?

I had already spilled my guts to that creep about being a transmigrator, down to the tiniest detail.

Did I mess up?

No. I had literally seen him use magic.

And the Duke had experienced it firsthand too.

I was getting even more confused by his weird line of questioning when—

“More importantly… ‘Nox’? You’re on nickname terms now?”

“…?”

Nickname? Since when is that a nickname?

He’s the one who told me to call him Nox!

Before I could explain—

“It seems you two have quite a bond.”

The Duke’s sarcasm hit like a slap.

And just like that, he was back to the Duke I knew.

What? He’d been behaving lately. Guess that temper didn’t go anywhere.

Whether my expression soured or not, he looked between Ternox and me and said coldly,

“Aide or not, we need to settle this first. Before I came in, what exactly were you two doing alone?”

“Oho. Your husband’s jealous,” Ternox snickered, completely tone-deaf.

No. He knew. He was doing it on purpose.

At this point, it was obvious he was poking the Duke just because it amused him.

“Ugh! Are you seriously putting me and that dragon in the same category?!”

That, I could not tolerate.

I jumped up so hard it was almost excessive, so much so that the Duke looked briefly thrown.

“Cate—what?”

“It’s disgusting! I’m still young, okay?! And you’re linking me with some thousand-year-old grandpa?!”

“I’m not that old!”

“Nox, please shut up! And Your Grace, did you forget? I’m the Archduchess. Your wife!”

“Ahem. So you do have some awareness.”

It must have worked, because the Duke turned his head sharply, looking flustered in spite of himself.

“G-grandpa?!”

Apparently that word was super effective on Ternox too.

At this point, whatever. If we’re going down, we’re going down swinging.

“Am I wrong? Then I’ll call you uncle!”

“You little shrimp—!”

Their childish bickering was about to spiral when the Duke sighed heavily and cut in at the perfect time.

“…Enough. Then tell me why you two were pressed up against each other like that.”

That question hit even harder.

“Th-that’s…”

The moment my mouth clamped shut, the Duke’s gaze sharpened.

“You said it was disgusting, so what’s the reason you can’t say it?”

He was way more persistent than I expected.

Ah, damn it.

I couldn’t exactly say, “I’m terminal, so Nox was checking my condition.”

“…She’s terminal, so I was checking her condition.”

“Why would you just say that out loud, you stupid dragon?!”

No warning. No hesitation. Just transparent. Again.

Is he nostalgic for his Transparent Dragon era or something?!

I mean, thankfully he didn’t blurt out the transmigrator part. For that, I was grateful.

But I still ended up yanking at my own hair in frustration.

I wanted to yank that glossy green hair of his instead, but the last scraps of my civilized upbringing barely stopped me.

You should be grateful I’m from Korea, you reptile.

Somewhere along the way, Nox’s status in my head had plummeted to reptile, at best.

Meanwhile, the reptile in question just shrugged behind the Duke like it wasn’t his problem.

“Huh? It’s trueee.”

I didn’t dare add more. What if he spilled my transmigration too? So I just glared at him with all the fire I had.

Then—

“…What?”

The Duke, looking more shaken than I’d ever seen him, sprang to his feet.

“Is that true?”

He spun and fixed Ternox with a glare, voice low and vicious.

“If it isn’t, I’ll kill you.”

It was colder than anything he’d said so far.

His hand slid toward his sword hilt.

Even Ternox lost his playful air. Calmly, he replied,

“If I were the kind of person to joke about that, why would I come all this way?”

Ah…

The air turned to ice again so fast my knees nearly went weak.

I hurriedly wedged myself between them.

“Wait, wait! Why are we doing this again? Let’s talk. With words. I’m going to die of fear!”

And I wasn’t exaggerating.

Crushed by both of their pressure, my whole body was trembling like a leaf.

“…!”

The Duke noticed my shaking and stepped back immediately.

“Whew. Gives you chills, doesn’t it, my descendant.”

Even with Ternox’s taunt, the Duke stayed locked on the main point.

“Then can you cure the Archduchess’s illness as well?”

“I can’t be sure. Funny, isn’t it? Even after living this long, there are still things I’ve never seen. The world’s amazing.”

“Just answer,” the Duke snapped.

His patience sounded like it was snapping along with every clipped syllable.

Ternox let out an uncharacteristic sigh.

“Fine. Either way, both of you definitely have one twisted thing stuck in you. So I’ll have to keep you close and observe. Now, are you finally willing to accept my offer?”

It sounded like a final question.

The Duke didn’t miss the opening.

Slowly, heavily, he nodded.

“…I’ll take you in as an aide.”

“Good. Wise choice, my descendant. Ah! Should I start calling you ‘Your Grace’ now? Technically I’ll be your one and only aide, won’t I?”

Ternox grinned and thrust out a hand.

“You’re shamelessly good at acting.”

“I used to enjoy a fair bit of play in my youth.”

Wow. Neither of them gave an inch.

The Duke wasn’t exactly silver-tongued, but Ternox’s mouth was on a whole other level.

No wonder I’ve never beaten him in an argument. Is this… experience?

I was finally exhaling in relief when—

“We’ll skip formal appointment procedures. I’ll delegate the details to Chief Butler Kal. Not that you plan to work much anyway.”

“Accurate.”

The Duke reluctantly clasped Ternox’s hand, then quickly let go.

Then he turned to me.

And strode over.

And suddenly bent down, bringing his face close to mine.

“?!”

What is he doing? Why is his face right here?

My heart dropped clean through the floor.

Ever since we became a sleep-in-the-same-bed-but-nothing-else situation, the Duke had started acting like personal space was a myth.

Like right now.

That face is not something you get used to, even if you see it every day. And he has somehow gotten even prettier lately. Why is he coming in so close again?

And somehow, I was still the only one awkward about it. It felt unfair.

Is he… is he trying to kiss me?

Why isn’t he stopping?

I squeezed my eyes shut like, fine. Whatever. I’m done.

The world went black.

And then, instead of my cheek, his lips hovered near my ear as he murmured,

“Even so, don’t be alone with that suspicious man. There are too many eyes watching.”

And unlike how slowly he’d approached, he pulled away in an instant, clean and cold.

“Now go.”

What… was that?

I opened my eyes, stunned.

“Khhm…”

Ternox was blatantly barely holding back laughter, mocking me with his eyes as he followed behind the Duke out of the room.

A kind of peace settled over the ducal castle.

But it didn’t last long.

“…Hm? Not a single person comes out to greet me? Kal!”

Because a noblewoman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat you almost never saw in the North, had just marched into the castle without warning.