So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 62

Chapter 62

In front of a massive, imposing mansion, a line of servants stood in formation, heads bowed.

It wasn’t quite as overwhelming as the Archducal Castle, but the sheer scale alone was enough to show just how powerful House Celeste was within the Empire.

At the very front of the line—

Karl stood there with a gentle smile.

“Huh?! Karl was definitely at the Archducal Castle—”

W-what is this? Cloning? Teleportation?

My eyes practically popped out, and the middle-aged man who looked exactly like Karl laughed lightly and greeted us.

“Your Grace, Archduke. Your Grace, Archduchess. I greet you. I am Phil, the butler of this townhouse. The Karl you mentioned from the Archducal Castle is my twin brother.”

“Gasp. That explains it! You look exactly alike!”

Ohhhh!

So one twin served the castle, and the other served the townhouse.

That was… honestly kind of amazing. The loyalty to Celeste was practically dripping off them.

A carriage arrived behind us, and Lady Diana stepped down. She exchanged a warm, brief hug with Phil, smiling in satisfaction.

“Phil. Have you been well?”

“It is the greatest honor to see you again, my lady.”

“Karl said to send his regards as well.”

“Haha. As you can see, I’ve been doing quite well. I trust Karl has too.”

“Ugh… are we finally here?”

Ternox, Katharina, the Ga-Na maid squad, and the rest of our attendants all disembarked, and the front of the townhouse quickly grew bustling.

“All of the townhouse staff have been counting the days for your arrival. While you stay, we will do everything possible to ensure you lack for nothing, Your Graces.”

“Mm.”

The archduke—Xavier—of course looked as cold and indifferent as ever.

Once all the luggage was unloaded, Phil led us inside.

At that moment, Katharina—who’d been lingering behind—trotted up and clung to me.

“Renée~! I thought I was going to die from missing you!”

The dazzling beauty pouted and rubbed her cheek against my head like a cat.

She’s so pretty…

But also—

that line made no sense.

“We literally saw each other this morning. We even ate together.”

We’d only been in separate carriages. Otherwise, we’d been together the whole time.

Katharina, apparently, disagreed.

“That’s different! I was so bored in a carriage without you for half a day!”

Careful not to let the archduke overhear, I whispered near her ear.

“Ahem… honestly, me too. It was so awkward I just slept the whole time.”

“Oh my goodness!”

She looked absurdly pleased and fully looped an arm around my shoulders.

I’d become her armrest—she was taller than me—but honestly… I didn’t hate it.

“Once we unpack, let’s go shopping! There’s a boutique I love nearby.”

“Shopping? Ah—right, you said you stayed at the Hugo townhouse more than the estate.”

“Yes! To be honest, the capital feels more like home. I, Katharina Hugo, can confidently say I know Albern better than anyone—so trust me and follow along!”

“Wow. I feel so safe already!”

“Ohoho!”

I clapped along with her theatrics, but then—

a flat voice scraped at me from behind.

“Oh, wow. Youth. Youth everywhere. You two rode in a carriage all day—aren’t you tired?”

Of course it was Ternox.

He’d committed to his “human aide” act and insisted on traveling by carriage instead of teleporting.

And he’d regretted that decision in… roughly half a day.

Proof being the way he grimaced, rubbing his entire body.

“Oh my! Sir Ternox—how old could you possibly be compared to us?”

Katharina covered her mouth, feigning shock.

Yeah… only about 580 years, give or take.

I gave Ternox a rotten little smile. His eyes narrowed.

“Well, compared to Lady Katharina, I am rather aged and fragile.”

“You’re exaggerating!”

“I’m not.”

For some reason, Katharina’s face turned faintly red.

Probably because she’d once mistaken him for my “affair partner,” and the memory still haunted her.

At the moment, Katharina believed Ternox was the archduke’s aide—and also a bodyguard secretly assigned to me.

She’d apologized repeatedly for the misunderstanding, but it was clearly still a humiliating black mark in her personal history.

“Stop teasing her and go find Xavier. You’re his aide, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, Your Grace. This frail, sickly man will take his leave.”

Ha. Please.

Ternox peeled away from the group and disappeared, clearly uninterested in the townhouse tour.

If he knew the first archduke, he obviously knew this place’s layout too.

Well… for me, the only place I’d probably spend time was my room anyway.

With assigned attendants guiding everyone, the group dispersed.

“Then I’ll go rest. My dear—good work today.”

“No, Lady Diana. You must be exhausted from travel. Please rest well.”

“Renée! I’m just going to change, then I’ll come to your room! Don’t you dare fall asleep—!”

“Mm…”

I did kind of want to lie down, but she was so excited that… honestly.

Still, since we’d come all the way to the capital, sightseeing wasn’t a bad idea.

Katharina was a count’s daughter who loved dressing up—she’d definitely come back fully styled and sparkling.

In the meantime, I could at least rest a little.

“Your Grace, shall I escort you to your room?”

“Yes, please.”

So I followed Phil down the corridor.

Tap, tap, tap.
Step, step, step.

…The overlapping footsteps behind me were way too synchronized.

I whipped around.

“Why are you following me?”

A week together in carriages wasn’t enough?

Was he seriously coming this far too?

But the one who looked most baffled was the archduke himself.

“You keep forgetting. We’re married. Isn’t it natural we share a room?”

Ah—there it was again.

The incredibly convenient reason, resurrected right on cue.

Hmph. I snorted and shrugged.

“I thought we only slept together.”

“W-what…? You really say things that people could misunderstand.”

“…?”

What is he even talking about?

When his face flushed red, mine heated up too.

Excuse me—your embarrassment settings are broken!

“Hah. Whatever.”

Xavier stopped talking and marched forward.

Honestly, that worked for me. I didn’t add anything either.

“H-heh…”

Maybe our childish bickering had entertained him, because I heard Phil—who looked exactly like Karl—trying to suppress laughter up front.

…I ignored it.

Before long, we reached the bedroom.

“I hope you enjoy a comfortable stay.”

Phil, still fighting his grin, quickly withdrew—just like Karl would.

Ugh. I need to rest. Why am I so drained?

When I opened the door, a bedroom so large and luxurious it rivaled the castle greeted me.

Fully prepared to throw myself onto the bed, I yanked open the curtains around it.

And then—

“……”

“……”

Even the archduke—who’d been peering over my shoulder—froze solid.

“What in the world is this…”

On the bed—easily king-sized—

over a cream-colored silk duvet, red rose petals had been scattered into the shape of a heart.

And beside it, on a small table, sat an ice bucket with a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, and—

a custom whipped-cream cake with chocolate writing:

“We support the eternal love of Their Graces,
the Archduke and Archduchess ♥
—From the townhouse staff—”

So that’s why the curtains were drawn in the middle of the day!

My face burned so hot I couldn’t even look at the archduke.

He didn’t look much better—only a series of flustered coughs echoed uselessly in the air.

“…Ahem. Cough.”

“Uh…”

We were awkward already.

And now the staff had held a full-on ritual to make us even more painfully self-conscious.

Suddenly, being alone in the room with him felt absurdly—unbearably—intimate.

Should I run?

Staying here felt physically impossible.

I turned to bolt out of the room—

and then—

“…Renée.”

The archduke called out, stopping me.