So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 60

Chapter 60

— — —

When my eyes started darting around on their own, Xavier drew his own conclusion.

“Sounds like they’re not good memories.”

“Well… that family as a whole is like that for me.”

Whew. I managed to gloss over it somehow.

I deliberately ignored the look on Ternox’s face that clearly said, Nice escape skill, and focused on what the Archduke was saying.

“Anyway, I saw the High Priest once—briefly—a few years ago. The aura I felt then was extremely similar to what lingered at the site where they claim the monster appeared.”

“You can read auras too, Xavier?”

“Not enough to make it sound that grand. Ternox would be the one to judge accurately. But…”

He paused, then continued.

“House Celeste donates an absurd amount to the temple every year. A ‘special obligation’ that suddenly became expected of nobles after the current High Priest took the position.”

Sounds like it all went straight into the High Priest’s back pocket.

When I pulled a doubtful face, Xavier let out a short laugh.

“Well, it’s all circumstantial. That’s why we’re going to the capital in person.”

“I see…”

“And,” he added.

“Hm?”

My head was already spinning from the flood of new information when—

“…You also seem like you want to go to the banquet.”

He said it in a voice that trailed off at the end—unlike him.

Wait. What did he just say?

I wanted to ask again, but the way he cleared his throat while proudly displaying his reddened ear made my own feelings turn strange too.

I nodded as if it were no big deal.

So we’re really going to the capital.

Maybe because I’d never once left Celeste territory since arriving here—

my heart felt buoyant, like a child going on her first trip.

It’s not like we’re going sightseeing—we’re going to treat my illness and his madness…

Still, I couldn’t help feeling excited.

I was forcing down a smile when—

“Excited?”

Xavier suddenly hit me with an inconvenient question.

For once, his tone wasn’t mocking, so I answered honestly.

“Well… yeah. I’m curious. A birthday banquet for the Crown Prince… I’ve never been to a banquet before.”

“Oh—there’s something I want to ask.”

His violet-blue eyes glinted sharply.

“Huh? What?”

“Do you know how to dance?”

The word that came out of his mouth was so unexpected that I blanked.

“…Huh. Dance?”

Dance? Out of nowhere?

I mean, sure—banquet arcs usually have things like the first dance…

accidental skinship…

romantic scenes…

But honestly…

I had never once pictured myself doing ballroom dancing.

Up until now, I’d been treating everything in this world like it was happening to someone else.

And it made sense—until Lady Diana showed up, I hadn’t really cared much about noble etiquette.

I’d spent my time farming, reading, or rolling around in the sunshine…

Looking back, my isekai life had been ridiculously smooth.

When my expression turned dead serious, Xavier narrowed his eyes and scolded me.

“So your plan was to just stand there at the banquet and gawk?”

His voice was genuinely incredulous.

Embarrassed for no reason, I puffed my lips into a sulky pout.

Tch. Still talks like that.

And you, sir, look like you’ve never danced a single day in your life either.

That severe face of yours offering someone a hand and moving gracefully to a rhythm?

I couldn’t imagine it.

“Is that not allowed?”

I snapped back out of sheer reflex—but…

…I probably do have to dance, don’t I?

I am the Archduchess, after all.

Would the first dance be with him?

“……”

The idea of standing close to Xavier and dancing sweetly felt so unbearably cringe that my skin wanted to peel off.

I hurriedly added—

“I-I can practice with Katharina. She’s a count’s daughter. She’ll teach me properly.”

Xavier shot it down immediately.

“Perhaps. But do you really think Lady Katharina Hugo has mastered the male part of the dance as well?”

“Th-that…”

Oh. Right.

I fell silent, blindsided by the flaw in my plan.

Katharina had probably only ever danced the women’s part—so the man’s steps might be unfamiliar.

While I was thinking, Xavier—looking bizarrely irritated—murmured low.

“What. You hate the idea of dancing with me that much?”

“It’s not that, it’s just…”

I glanced at him, then spoke honestly.

“I feel like you won’t be able to dance either. What if you step on my foot? My bones would shatter, you know.”

Sure, he’s the Northern Archduke and a Swordmaster.

He’s unbelievably talented at physical combat.

But being good at swordsmanship doesn’t automatically mean you can dance!

And that massive build of his didn’t inspire confidence.

As I looked him up and down skeptically—

“Pfft—HAHA! She’s not wrong!”

Ternox, who had been gleefully spectating, jumped in to poke at Xavier.

“Hey, look at the size difference. If one of you slips while dancing, it’s not a mishap—it’s a one-sided crushing.”

Then he grinned and raised his hand like a volunteer.

“You know what? I’ll teach you. I’m a great dancer. Seriously.”

He proudly offered to be my instructor.

But—

“Xavier or Ternox, you’re both giants to me, okay? And more importantly—I don’t want to dance with you, Nox! I’d rather dance with Xavier!”

If I accidentally stepped on Xavier’s foot, he’d probably just endure it in silence.

But Ternox?

He’d pick a fight about it or tease me about it until the day I died.

“Waaah. So mean.”

Despite being completely unbothered, Ternox put on a pathetic face anyway.

The one who looked truly flustered was Xavier.

“Haah…”

He looked like he had a thousand things to say, but instead he released one deep sigh—

and declared:

“…Starting today, you’re in special training.”

Meanwhile — A Few Days Later, in the Capital, Albern

“Oh? So he really sent a reply?”

A woman with dazzling golden hair—so radiant it nearly glowed—tilted her head with amused interest.

She wore a tiara so ornate she looked like royalty incarnate.

From head to toe—down to her very expression—she was the embodiment of excess.

Her name was Isabella Rembrandt, Empress of the Rembrandt Empire.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Celeste Archducal couple will attend the Spring Banquet together.”

Her chief lady-in-waiting bowed loyally as she reported.

“The Archducal couple…”

A slick, poisonous smile curled on Isabella’s lips.

Xavier Celeste.

The empire’s most powerful noble—an unbending man who would break before he bowed.

Normally, it was best not to make him an enemy.

But he was a pillar of the hardline Crown Prince faction.

More than that… he and Crown Prince Callian had grown up like brothers.

Because of that history, Xavier was deeply trusted by Callian.

Even if the Emperor sat in her palm, as long as the legitimate Crown Prince remained alive and strong, she could not relax.

And Callian had already grown into a young man well past his coming-of-age.

That clever snake was no longer easy to toy with.

And any noble in the empire knew this truth:

House Celeste stood at the center of the Crown Prince’s power.

In other words, the greatest obstacle in Felix’s path.

Her own son, Felix Rembrandt, weak-willed, trembled whenever he saw the Archduke.

He couldn’t build ties, couldn’t even provoke emotional wavering.

So she had tried everything—coercion, bribery, political isolation.

She had even sent assassins several times.

None of it worked.

And yet—

“So he’s a man, after all.”

To think he would fall for the oldest trick:

A woman.

She had already heard through her spies that the Blanche girl she had deliberately attached to him was doing an excellent job of “taming” him.

Still, hearing that the Celeste Archduke—who never attended banquets—would appear publicly with his Archduchess made the change feel newly real.

“Hm.”

If that girl could wrap him around her finger and weaken the Crown Prince’s faction…

Isabella’s perfect mouth curved upward, crookedly.

Her smooth, ageless face held not a trace of mercy.

“Raphael—tell your house to attend the banquet as well. Though… even if I don’t say it, you were planning to anyway.”

At her words, a man who had been reclining with his head resting on her thigh—lazily eating grapes—sat up.

Long, pale-silver hair flowed like silk.

A beautiful man with a presence that felt both holy and decadent.

He kissed her lips naturally and murmured:

“Of course, Isabella. Your will is God’s will…”