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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Save Me
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His pristine white shirt was entirely drenched in crimson. Not just his shirt. His hands... and even his face were liberally splattered with blood. Grand Duke Arteum, without wiping his blood-stained hands, lightly ran them through his hair. The dark crimson blood clung thickly to his hair, gleaming as if polished.
The Grand Duke... killed someone? Unable to stand, Roje was scrambling backward when the Grand Duke approached her. He quietly extended a hand towards Roje. The massive hand loomed, as if to swallow Roje whole. Just as it seemed about to seize her throat, the Grand Duke's hand stopped in mid-air. A strong, metallic scent of blood, carried by his hand, assailed her nostrils. Roje was terrified. She thought she, too, would be cruelly killed, just like the person who had screamed in agony at the Grand Duke's hands.
“Oh dear. It's not polite to offer a lady a bloodied hand.”
Grand Duke Arteum withdrew his hand, his gaze never leaving Roje. Then, he roughly wiped his hand on his shirt before extending it once more. *Grab.* The Grand Duke didn't wait for Roje to take his hand; he simply pulled her up. Startled speechless by his touch, Roje stood up without even a gasp. What on earth was this man trying to do? Pale as a ghost, Roje couldn't grasp his intentions, only swallowing a dry gulp.
“You're quite a sight. Your dress is ruined.”
Her sky-blue dress was covered in mud and completely disheveled. Despite the Grand Duke's words, Roje had no mind to inspect her dress. She couldn't lower her guard in front of him. All her attention was focused on Grand Duke Arteum.
'What's he going to do with me?'
He couldn't possibly not know she was at the murder scene... The place where the man screamed and where Roje stood were only a few steps apart.
'...Is he so relaxed because he can just kill me too?'
Roje thought about what she should say to save her life from the Grand Duke.
'Should I beg for my life? Should I plead that I saw nothing...?'
Maybe. If she pleaded desperately, she might just survive. Roje, trembling, deliberated for a long time on what to say, then gazed at the Grand Duke with wavering eyes. And then, she made up her mind. She would 'gamble' with Grand Duke Arteum.
“I'll pretend I didn't see anything.”
Instead of humbly begging for her life, Roje confronted him directly. At Roje's words, an unreadable, subtle smile appeared on the Grand Duke's face. She was clearly trembling with fear, yet her audacious attitude towards him was perplexing.
“What are you talking about?”
The Grand Duke casually wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, then asked.
“I'm saying I'll pretend I didn't see the scene where you murdered someone, Grand Duke.”
She tried to speak calmly, but the tremor in her voice couldn't be hidden. The Grand Duke stared intently at Roje, who was speaking so directly. In such a situation, to display such an attitude instead of begging for her life...
“Murder...”
Grand Duke Arteum's voice trailed off as he narrowed his eyes. Then he bent down towards Roje and murmured in a low voice.
“My lady... you seem to think I've murdered someone, don't you?”
Struck by his directness, Roje flinched.
“Well...”
Roje was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond to his tone, which asked such an obvious question. When Roje couldn't continue, her expression bewildered, the Grand Duke opened his mouth once more.
“Did you, by any chance, see it?”
“...Pardon?”
“Did you see me kill someone?”
“...No."
She hadn't seen it, but she'd heard a man's scream... And after that, the Grand Duke appeared, covered in blood. Moreover... wasn't there a blood-stained sword at his waist? 'Circumstantially,' the Grand Duke must have killed someone.
“You saw nothing, yet you think I killed someone. What exactly do you take me for, my lady?”
She thought of him as a 'mad Grand Duke, without blood or tears,' but she couldn't bring herself to utter those words. As Roje remained silent like a mute, the Grand Duke shrugged as if accustomed to it.
“Well, my current appearance might certainly cause some misunderstanding.”
“Pardon...?”
So... you're saying I'm completely mistaken?
“Follow me.”
He gestured to the dazed Roje, then calmly set off. Roje, who had been standing blankly, hurried to follow behind the Grand Duke. His strides weren't large, so Roje could easily keep up with him. No, it even felt as if he was walking quite slowly. She walked alongside him. They had barely gone a few steps when they turned a corner, and a scent of blood, stronger than before, assailed them. It was enough to make her instinctively grimace. Roje covered her nose with one hand and looked around. On the grass, there was nothing, let alone a person.
'I definitely heard a human voice.'
She couldn't have misheard. Not such a clear and agonizing sound. But it seemed Roje wasn't the only one who found it strange.
“He's vanished...”
Because Roje heard the Grand Duke murmuring as he looked around the empty surroundings.
“...What happened, Grand Duke?”
“Marquis Bled was being attacked by a monster, so I merely rescued him.”
“Then the blood...”
At Roje's words, the Grand Duke looked down at his own body and spoke softly.
“It must have gotten on me when I was checking if the fallen Marquis was still breathing. And that's when I heard your footsteps.”
The Grand Duke said he approached because he wondered if there might be other victims.
'So, this was all just a misunderstanding?'
Though there were still some lingering doubts, Roje nodded and said.
“...I see.”
Just then. The sound of people rushing towards them could be heard.
“Over there!”
“Arrest the Grand Duke at once!”
Armed knights rushed swiftly towards the Grand Duke and Roje. The knights immediately surrounded Grand Duke Arteum.
“As expected, you were the culprit, Grand Duke Arteum.”
A sneering voice came from behind the knights. The man, with an overbearing expression, pushed his way through the knights.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The Grand Duke, without showing any sign of panic at the knights surrounding him, stared directly at the man before him.
“Grand Duke Arteum. It seems you still don't grasp the situation.”
The middle-aged man, unable to hide his sneering smile, was Duke Pliche. The Emperor's closest confidant and the central figure in the faction seeking Grand Duke Arteum's execution.
“Marquis Bled is dead.”
'Marquis Bled... isn't that the person the Grand Duke said he helped?'
Roje stared at the Grand Duke with wide eyes. It seemed the Grand Duke had finally realized what was happening. That he had fallen into an inescapable trap. Grand Duke Arteum clenched his fist, looking at the Duke who was pressing him.
“I don't need you to tell me what's going on; I can tell.”
The suddenly vanished Marquis Bled and the monster's corpse. It seemed these fellows had conspired to frame the Grand Duke as a murderer. People, standing behind Duke Pliche, began to chime in.
“To kill someone and be so shameless.”
“How long do you think His Majesty the Emperor will turn a blind eye to your actions!”
Without even facing the Grand Duke, they cowardly hid behind the knights' backs and hurled insults at him.
“I didn't kill Marquis Bled.”
“Ridiculous. Your very appearance is the evidence. Evidence that you killed Marquis Bled!”
Duke Pliche pointed an accusing finger at the blood-soaked Grand Duke. His momentum was tremendous. Roje, though still unaware of the Duke's identity, could feel with her entire body that he was no ordinary person. However, Grand Duke Arteum was also not to be trifled with. He didn't yield an inch to Duke Pliche's force and approached him. The knights, as if determined not to let the Grand Duke get any closer to their master, drew their swords and aimed them. Their blades simultaneously targeted Grand Duke Arteum's neck.
Surrounded, Grand Duke Arteum showed no fear even with blades pointed at his throat. On the contrary, it was the knights who were intimidated by his presence.
“How dare you point a sword at my throat. You must be desperate to die.”
Anyone who harms a member of the imperial family is to be executed, regardless of the reason. No matter how great the crime, an imperial family member's transgressions are judged according to imperial law. When Grand Duke Arteum took a step, the knights flinched and uniformly retreated. Although they had drawn their swords, trusting their master Duke Pliche, they could never actually injure the Grand Duke's body.
“Sheathe your swords.”
Any ordinary person would surely crumble when a sword is at their throat. Duke Pliche, who had intended to drag the bewildered Grand Duke to prison, retreated a step when his plan didn't go as expected. Grand Duke Arteum slowly walked towards Duke Pliche.
“I was out for a walk when I found Marquis Bled being attacked by a monster. So I merely helped him. This blood got on me when I was checking if he was still breathing.”
“A monster? Don't make me laugh.”
Duke Pliche let out a mocking laugh at the Grand Duke's words, as if utterly astonished.
“Marquis Bled was being attacked by a mere monster?”
“He was heavily intoxicated and couldn't even stand properly.”
“Even if he was drunk, is he the kind of man to be defeated by a mere monster? He was a member of the Imperial Knights!”
“It wasn't an ordinary monster. It was something I'd never seen before.”
The Grand Duke recalled the massive monster that had invaded his mansion. It had sharp claws and teeth that looked like they could tear a person's throat out in an instant, and strange wings on its back.
'It looked like a wolf... but with wyvern wings on its back.'
Not only was it grotesquely shaped, but its strength was also immense. Even he, skilled in swordsmanship, hadn't been able to avoid its claws and had gotten his hand scratched. The Grand Duke looked at the clear wound remaining on the back of his hand, recalling the monster that had vanished without a trace.
“Ridiculous. If that's the case, where is this 'monster' you speak of?”
Duke Pliche, who had been listening to the Grand Duke's words, stepped forward and asked condescendingly.
“When I returned, it was gone.”
At the Grand Duke's words, snickers could be heard from various directions.
“Our Grand Duke has really gone too far now, hasn't he?”
Duke Pliche placed a hand firmly on the Grand Duke's shoulder and continued.
“You should know who to provoke and who not to. Why did you meddle with Marquis Bled? My dear friend, and His Majesty the Emperor's favored right-hand man.”
Was it Roje's imagination that the man's expression, as he spoke of his dead friend, seemed strangely exhilarated? He gripped the Grand Duke's shoulder with a sneering smile.
“Didn't His Majesty say last time? That if you caused trouble just one more time, there would be no more mercy for the Grand Duke.”
The Grand Duke fell silent, watching the Duke tighten his grip.
'He deliberately set a trap.'
He had said he would live quietly, like a mouse, after moving to the North, but...
'This time, you'll never escape, Grand Duke.'
Duke Pliche glared at the Grand Duke with a crazed look in his eyes. He was the winner of this round. He hadn't left the Grand Duke any room to escape. Cornered, Grand Duke Arteum relentlessly racked his brain for a way out. But no other method came to mind, save for 'that' last resort.
'Must I reveal everything here?'
It's not right to show all your cards... It was just as Grand Duke Arteum was agonizing over this that an unexpected person intervened.
“I saw everything.”
At the sudden clear voice, everyone uniformly turned their heads towards Roje. At the end of their gazes stood Roje, with a resolute, solemn expression. They had been so focused on the Grand Duke that they hadn't even realized she was there. They seemed quite surprised by Roje's presence. Until now, Roje's presence had been nothing more than a speck of dust floating in the air.
“What did you see? And when did you even get here?”
Duke Pliche cast an unfriendly gaze at Roje, who had suddenly intervened.
“I've been here the whole time, from the very beginning.”
Roje felt everyone's gaze suddenly converge on her and took a deep, nervous breath. Then, she continued in a calm voice.
“I witnessed everything: the Grand Duke rescuing Marquis Bled and fighting the monster.”
At Roje's words, the man's expression, which had been smiling moments before, twisted horribly. He had thought he'd won this round...! The Grand Duke stared at Roje, standing in the center of everyone's attention, with a strange look in his eyes. He hadn't even considered that she, who had just misunderstood him as a murderer, would come to his aid.
