“Your Grace, whether handsome or otherwise, looks are never a measure by which one should judge a person.”
For now, I opted for the gentle old grandfather route. Flattery was unlikely to work, but it was certainly better than blurting out demands for alimony right off the bat.
“……Is that so?”
At his intrigued tone, as if he had just learned something entirely novel, I crept my gaze upward. Though his face was still hidden beneath the mask, the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch faintly.
……Huh? I felt as if I had seen that somewhere before. Tilting my head at the sudden bout of déjà vu, I quickly shook it off. There was no way. If I had ever met someone like the Grand Duke, I couldn't possibly have forgotten. It wasn't a matter of wanting to remember or not. The stifling pressure and those piercing crimson eyes had seared themselves into every corner of my being. If someone could lay eyes on such a man and forget him, that person would have to be a beast themselves.
“Yes. It does not bother me in the least, so Your Grace need not fret over it either.”
“Rather than fretting……”
“……”
“I would say it is regrettable.”
Oh, I truly loathed people who trailed off like that. Freezing up every time he opened his mouth only to exhale in relief a moment later, I felt like a dried fish hung out in the winter chill. Regrettable? What could possibly be regrettable? I certainly don't think so. Even as I protested timidly under my breath, the Grand Duke's black boots remained firmly planted right before me.
“……”
While this was certainly preferable to him drawing a blade on sight, enduring such suffocating silence was hardly fit for human nerves. Crackle, pop. Only the sound of the blazing fireplace grew steadily louder.
As he tilted his chin upward, his gaze looked down upon me from a slightly higher angle.
“Do you truly think that way?”
“Pardon? Ah…… of course.”
“It is somewhat unexpected. Normally, it is hardly a matter one can take so lightly.”
“Not at all. It simply depends on how one chooses to view the world.”
Whew, my tongue was finally loosening up.
Having him ask questions was infinitely better. Though I had chosen the gentle elder approach, I layered it with extra care so it wouldn't sound overly hypocritical.
“I believe that people see others as they wish to see them.”
“Hmm……”
“My late mother always told me so.”
This, at least, was the truth. It was what our poor mother had said right before passing away after giving birth to Rose. In our dire circumstances, she had borne four children and ultimately failed to rise from her sickbed. Back then, when I had still been nothing short of sweet and innocent, I resented Father just once, and Mother had spoken those very words.
“In the end, I think what matters most is what lies within one's heart. Just as a flower sees a flower, and the wind sees the wind.”
“……How impressive. I shall keep that in mind.”
“Don't mention it.”
Briefly lost in sentiment as I thought of Mother, I dipped into a slight curtsy. It seemed he was finally preparing to take his leave. Ah, I desperately wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but now was not the time. The Grand Duke turned at an angle, the hem of his black coat billowing slightly.
“Let us discuss the specific details of the wedding again soon.”
“As you wish.”
Just what I was hoping for.
I was so grateful that he brought it up first that I began reassessing my opinion of him. Thanks to that, I could now relax and browse for the site of my future summer palace in peace.
“Ah, are you experiencing any inconveniences during your stay here? Anything you need…… or perhaps something more left unsaid?”
“No, none at all. As for what I might need, well, I shall take my time to consider it.”
Instead of an outright refusal, I strung him along with an open-ended answer. My, how thoughtful he was being.
Now that the time had come for him to depart, my lips twitched with what felt like a genuine smile. What was that all about? He was surprisingly unremarkable, wasn't he? From his polite speech to his dignified demeanor and prompt departure, I had to rethink his terrible reputation. Perhaps the rumors of his cruel nature were merely conjured by some clueless author……
“Yet it appears this single trunk is all the luggage you brought……”
“Pardon?”
Abruptly, his gaze drifted toward the crate set before the fireplace. The faint smile that had barely returned to my face vanished in an instant.
“It is far too modest to be a Grand Duchess's dowry. It seems sorely lacking.”
“……”
How could I have forgotten? The cardinal rule of fiction was that trouble strikes the exact moment you let your guard down and think everything is fine.
“Not at all. Everything I need is already provided here, and that is merely…… trifling sundries.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes. I simply brought a few items I used at home, and I have already unpacked and put them away. It is just an empty box now, so you need not pay it any mind……”
“Then allow me to dispose of it for you.”
“What?”
What kind of out-of-the-blue bolt from the blue was this?!
My finger, which had been pointing toward the miscellaneous books on the desk, swerved toward him. I quickly clasped my hands together before he could notice, but the Grand Duke was hardly the type of man to wait on anyone. Stroking his chin with one hand, he strode forward with long, sweeping steps.
“For a task of this size, there is hardly any need to trouble the servants. I shall carry it out myself.”
“……”
None of what he was saying registered in my head. All I knew was that when I blinked, he had already come to a halt right in front of our Rose.
“……Uh, wait.”
Blinking in sheer panic, I dashed toward him. What kind of expression looked desperately urgent without appearing suspicious?
“There is no need for someone of your stature to……”
“If it is empty, there is no reason for the Grand Duchess to soil her hands either.”
“N-No! By that logic, there is no need to borrow Your Grace's hands either……”
“Then it would be best to dispose of it right here.”
“……Excuse me?”
I'm sorry, what did you just say?
While I was busy gasping in horror, his massive hands had already hoisted the wooden crate—no, our Rose—straight up into the air. His chin tilted slightly at the unexpected weight, but that was all. The Grand Duke moved forward effortlessly, as though lifting a tuft of cotton candy.
Toward the crimson, roaring fireplace, of all places.
“Y-Your Grace?”
“……Come to think of it, it is made of wood. Just as you said, there is no need to go far.”
“N…… No. You need to go far. You definitely do, so please.”
“Why are you acting this way? Something like this, I can simply cast into the flames—”
“Put it down! You beast!”
“……”
Pant, pant. In this vast space, only the ragged sound of my breathing echoed. Even the crackling flames of the fireplace couldn't keep pace with my gasps.
For a moment, the entire world went black and spun wildly. Through my blurring vision, I could at least see that he hadn't thrown or dropped the crate, but set it down gingerly.
Creak. The old wooden crate popped open, and like a chick hatching from an egg, our Rose poked her disheveled head out, tilting it with utter innocence.
“……Huh? Do I come out already?”
◇ ◆ ◇
Bella, wearing the guise of Elijah, screamed violently at the Grand Duke. The terror of impending death was more than enough to drive her mad. A sharp blade sliced through the air, framed against the Grand Duke's smirking visage and blood-red gaze.
“……”
Why did that passage seem so familiar?
Like a film reel flashing before someone on the brink of death, black lines of text drifted abruptly before my eyes. Was this the Hyperbolic Time Chamber or something? In this suffocating silence, only I and that man were……
“Huh? Not yet? Do I go back inside?”
“Rose!”
My baby! The moment my grasp on reason threatened to snap, I caught sight of Rose blinking from inside the large crate and wrapped my arms tightly around her. To think she had to go through this because she was stuck with an incompetent older sister. Like a mother bird shielding her chick from a predator, I covered Rose with my entire body.
“Mmm.”
“Rose, hic.”
I should have just left her back at the cabin. She might have suffered hardships, but at least she wouldn't have died. A stinging warmth rose in my nose as a wave of regret washed over me. I should have held back. I should have just dropped to my knees and begged. The terrifying thought that he might actually throw our Rose into the fire had momentarily driven me out of my mind.
Calling a beast a beast to his face, of all things. If I had simply hurled a regular curse at him, I might have come up with some excuse, but now my vision blurred with feverish dread at the future ahead. For all I knew, I was about to go down in history as the most foolish extra in the novel. If I had just kept quiet, I could have lived for at least two more years, but by my own doing, I had flung wide the gates of hell and practically begged for death. Never in my life did I think getting flayed alive would sound like an appealing alternative.
Still, that was my own life and my own karma. It had nothing to do with our Rose. I had to make sure he didn't lay a single finger on her.
“P-Please spare us! Our Rose hasn't done anything wrong!”
“……”
Casting all shame aside, I grabbed the hem of his black coat and clung to him. I wasn't trying to look pretty or pathetic. What room was there for calculations in a situation like this? If it meant saving our Rose, I would have crawled on the floor a thousand times over.
“Rose is just a child! She only did what I told her to do! Haa, please just send our Rose back!”
“……Phew.”
“I beg of you! What wrong has a child done by coming to her sister's wedding!”
Truly, I wanted to rip my own heart out just to prove Rose's innocence. How intimidated must the poor child have been to not utter a single word even now, merely breathing softly against my chest?
“Haa, I was the one who insulted you!”
“……I am well aware of that.”
“……”
Crackle, pop. With every passing second of his silence, my lifeline burned away alongside the wood. My chest heaved as I stared at his lips, my endurance swiftly reaching its limit.
