So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 74

Chapter 74

A little while later, at dinner.

“I’ll excuse myself first.”

Having finished his meal in haste, Xavier abruptly stood from his seat.
The main course hadn’t even been served yet.

“Is something urgent?”

Lady Diana asked, tilting her head in mild confusion.

“Yes. There are documents that require immediate attention. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Before Lady Diana could even finish her sentence,
Xavier bowed briefly and hurried out of the dining hall.

I tried to brush it off—

But…

“What?”

Xavier glanced back, and our eyes met yet again.

“!”

The large man snapped his head away far too obviously, like he’d been caught red-handed.

What is wrong with him?

Judging by that reaction… he’d either already done something suspicious—or was planning to.

“Hm…”

Lady Diana, however, didn’t comment.
If anything, she looked like she was holding back a smile…

And with the family elder staying silent, it didn’t feel right for me to say anything either.
Still, the uneasy feeling refused to fade.

To begin with, throughout dinner, he’d flinched every time I so much as lifted my cutlery.

Seriously. What is with him? This is bothering me.

After dinner, I returned to the room.

And sure enough—the bedroom was empty.

The “urgent documents” he’d mentioned were neatly stacked on his desk, untouched.

That’s definitely a lie.

It’s not like I’m trying to play the devoted Grand Duchess, but
it was painfully obvious that he was avoiding me.

Sure, Xavier had always been hard to read, but this level of blatant avoidance was honestly unpleasant.

I’m a person too, you know?

I should probably talk to him.

This is a shared bedroom.
No matter what, he’d eventually have to come back.

So it was just a matter of time.

I killed time reading some of the pulp novels I’d brought from the North.

One book, then another…

Just as I picked up the third, my eyes grew tired and I glanced out the window.

“When did it get this late?”

It was already past midnight.

I lit a candle absentmindedly and yawned so wide it felt like my mouth might tear.

“Yaaawn…”

Sleep washed over me in waves, but I pinched my thigh to stay awake.

After some time passed—

Just as I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I heard the door open.

“…Why are you still awake?”

“Gasp.”

As he entered—having already removed his outerwear—his sweat-damp upper body caught my eye first.

In one hand, he held his clothes, and in the other, the large sword he always carried.
Judging by that, he must have been practicing swordsmanship.

Undried beads of sweat rolled down between his sharply defined chest muscles.

“…Ahem.”

Xavier cleared his throat pointedly, casting me a subtle look.

Ah—right.

I hastily wiped at my mouth and forced my gaze upward.

Oh no.

Above that devastating chest was an equally devastating face.

I got up from the velvet sofa I’d been half-lying on and walked toward him,
carefully fixing my eyes on the space between his brows instead of his face.

“Haa…”

Xavier let out a deeply troubled sigh.

A wife staring at her husband’s chest… yeah, I’d be troubled too.

But if I let him go like this, what was the point of staying up all this time?

I crossed my arms and looked up at him.

“Excuse me, Your Grace.”

“What.”

“Let’s talk.”

Straight to the point.

But instead of responding, Xavier took a step back—
still refusing to meet my eyes.

That, too, was suspicious.

“Talk about what?”

His gaze stayed fixed on a corner of the room, but his voice remained curt as ever.

I went straight for the jugular.

“You avoided me all day.”

“I did?”

His tone screamed absolutely not,
but his lips trembled ever so slightly.

“I’ll go wash up first. I assumed you’d already be asleep…”

With that, Xavier turned away.

Which was unfortunate—because his chest had already been far too distracting.

“Y-Yeah. Sure.”

Still—can you really just strip and walk around like that in a shared bedroom?

Does this man have no fear of women at all?!

Well… canon-wise, he was a lifelong bachelor.

Not that I was in any position to scold him.

“Ahem.”

Lost in thought for only a moment,
Xavier slipped swiftly into the bathroom connected to the bedroom.

Fine. I needed to calm my inner demons anyway.

Fanning my face uselessly, I flopped back onto the velvet sofa to wait.

But then…

“Did he drown in the bathtub or something…?”

Arms crossed, staring out the window, I realized the sky had shifted to deep blue dawn.

At least two hours had passed.

Yet there was still no sign of Xavier emerging.

“Hah!”

So this is how he wants to play it?

I got up immediately and knocked on the bathroom door.

Knock, knock.

“Excuse me? Exactly how many hours are you planning to bathe?”

I snapped irritably.
From inside came a muffled, humid reply.

“I always take this long.”

“Oh please! You’re usually done in ten minutes flat!”

“What? How would you know how long I bathe?”

“How could I not know when we always sleep together afterward? I’m not an idiot!”

“W-Why would you even—”

…Wait.

Now that I said it out loud, that sounded kind of weird.

Why do I know?

Even though no one was watching, my face burned bright red.

“Ahem—anyway! You should come out soon! At this rate, we’ll be up all night!”

“I’m almost done. Wait a bit longer.”

“Tch…”

But that “almost” stretched into another full hour.

And in the end, I lost my valiant battle against drowsiness
and collapsed on the sofa.

Some time later—

Xavier emerged quietly from the bathroom, wearing a loose robe.

His hair—washed who knows how many times—was completely dry and fluffy.

Moving silently, he approached the sofa and found Renée fast asleep.

Carefully, Xavier lifted her up.

Even when he set her down on the edge of the wide bed, she didn’t wake.

“….”

Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, he couldn’t say.

Looking down at Renée, sleeping softly like a baby, Xavier fell into thought.

Renée Celeste was an impossibly difficult opponent.

Facing monsters, hulking bandits, or assassins would have been far easier.

More than anything, she still seemed wary of him.

“Haa…”

Xavier moved to the opposite side of the bed and lay down near the edge.

He lay there, but sleep was impossible.

And this had nothing to do with his madness—
it was because of Renée herself.

When he hadn’t understood his feelings, sleeping beside her never bothered him.

Ever since that day—when he’d confessed without meaning to—
every breath she took, every small movement, set his nerves on edge.

Was I always this despicable of a man?

There was enough space between them to fit another adult,
yet the mere presence of the woman beside him was driving him mad.

Afraid the pounding of his heart might wake her, he barely dared to breathe.

He wanted to pull that slender body into his arms,
to brush back her hair—

to inhale her sweet breath.

Startled by his own increasingly vivid thoughts, Xavier shook his head.

Was it acceptable to harbor such irreverent desires?

He stole a glance at the sleeping Renée.

Thankfully, her breathing was steady—
she seemed fully recovered, with no sign of nightmares.

I’m always surprised, but… she really is small.

Before he knew it, this tiny woman had become unbearably precious to him.

He felt disgusted with himself for entertaining impure thoughts—
and yet, at the same time, a selfish wish surfaced.

If only this moment could last forever.

Lying on his side, Xavier slowly reached out toward Renée.

He gently brushed her disheveled hair aside.

His fingers trembled, moving so slowly—so carefully—afraid she might wake.

“Mm…”

At that moment, Renée—who had been lying neatly on her back—shifted slightly.