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Chapter 1
“Why do I have to wear this?!”
Yulikyan shouted, flinging aside the long, frilly wig and dress.
For Grand Duke Yulikyan Kun Rondeynes, who had lived his entire life as a noble—though admittedly unlucky—crossdressing was an absolute impossibility.
Maddy looked him over with a bored expression.
She haphazardly threw a maid’s uniform over the thin shirt and pants she was already wearing and replied.
“Oh, then don’t wear it and just go along shouting ‘Arrest me, why don’t you!'”
“Do we really need to go this far with the disguise?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not a place just anyone can waltz into. First of all, getting you, Your Highness the Grand Duke, out of the capital is the main issue. What are you going to do about that flashy silver hair?”
“…Hah.”
The Grand Duke let out an exasperated sigh and pulled the wig over his head.
After putting on the dress with all its fluttering lace, he was an absolute sight to behold.
Maddy immediately came over, flipped up the hem of the pants he wore under the maid’s uniform, and pulled out a comb.
“Are you a general store or something? All sorts of things come out of you.”
“If you’re curious, you can strip me and find out.”
“You really are…! Hah, forget it, forget it.”
Frowning deeply at the nonsensical, incomprehensible babble, Yulikyan eventually waved his hand dismissively.
Maddy’s mouth would sometimes run wild like that, with no end in sight.
‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten married.’
Unaware of Yulikyan’s inner thoughts, Maddy quickly brushed the long wig and braided the hair thinly, tying it up halfway.
“Wow. You really look like a noble lady from a good family.”
Taking some hope from her words, Yulikyan looked in the mirror and was horrified.
“Are you crazy? Anyone can see it’s a grown man in drag!”
“Don’t be fooled by what you see on the outside; look with your heart. Can’t you see that beautiful young lady in the mirror there?”
Yulikyan held his forehead and staggered.
“You insane…!”
“Shh.”
They heard the sound of someone passing by in the corridor outside the room. Maddy quickly blew out the candle in the room.
After the footsteps faded away, Maddy moved swiftly, picking up a dark-colored shawl from the luggage scattered on the floor.
The cheap inn didn’t let in much moonlight through the window either, but Maddy seemed accustomed to the darkness, moving without hesitation.
Covering Yulikyan’s broad shoulders with the shawl, Maddy tied a scarf around his neck to hide his Adam’s apple.
Maddy looked straight into Yulikyan’s blue eyes and spoke.
“Your precious nephew’s life is at stake for you, and for me, it’s my lifeblood—1 billion. So stop whining and follow me right now. We have a long way to go.”
“…Can we really find him?”
Maddy grinned and replied.
“Honey. I’m Maddy.”
Somehow, it was reassuring.
At that moment, from far outside the window, a faint vibration of hooves striking the ground could be felt.
Yulikyan, seemingly not hearing the sound, slightly squinted his large eyes and just stared at Maddy.
Maddy placed her index finger to her lips, then carefully gathered her bag.
They quickly slipped out through the back door of the inn.
Not long after, uninvited guests stormed into the inn.
“Have you seen a man in his mid-twenties with silver hair and a woman with brown hair and green eyes?”
With a sharp blade pressed right below his chin, the innkeeper trembled as he replied.
“I-I don’t know! I truly haven’t seen them!”
“No unusually distinctive or unfamiliar guests have come by either?”
“Of course, strangers always come to an inn… Ah. Come to think of it, there might have been a noble lady who looked like she was running away.”
“A lady? Was she a brunette?”
“No? When she left, I saw she was blonde.”
The pursuit team thought it was useless information and suggested searching other routes, but their leader, ‘Lambda’, thought differently.
“She’s disguised.”
Unable to contain his rage, Lambda, upon exiting the inn, immediately decapitated the horse he had ridden. The large horse fell limply to the side without even a kick.
“Damn it, damn it!”
As Lambda clenched his fists, a creaking sound came from his leather gloves.
A cold smile instantly appeared on Lambda’s face, flushed red with excitement, as he swept back his sweaty hair.
“…Maddy, just you wait.”
Lambda cut the throat of a subordinate from the pursuit team who had just arrived late, took his horse, and mounted it.
“To the train station! Follow me!”
Despite his violent actions and arrogance, his subordinates couldn’t offer a single word of protest.
The sound of the pursuit team’s hooves thundered against the ground once more.
At that time, Maddy and Yulikyan had already given the pursuit team the slip, changed carriages twice, and boarded the train.
This time, transformed into a neat gentleman, Maddy tied her brown hair back and crossed her legs. As if that weren’t enough, she leisurely unfolded a newspaper and read it.
Yulikyan was still in his blonde wig and fancy dress.
He tried hunching his back to hide his naturally large build, but it was hard to ignore the stares from the people in third class.
Pressing close to Maddy so his low voice wouldn’t be heard, Yulikyan clenched his teeth and asked, as if using ventriloquism.
“…You get to crossdress as a man, so why am I stuck in this getup?”
“Honey, your hair color stands out too much.”
“Damn that ‘honey’…!”
Yulikyan, who nearly raised his voice without realizing it, quickly lowered his head.
Maddy silently unfolded the front page of the newspaper and showed it to Yulikyan.
**The Grand Duke of Rondeynes’ Wedding, Transcending Class Barriers**
Grand Duke Yulikyan Kun Rondeynes had revealed a romantic relationship with a woman from the slums a few months ago.
…(omitted) Despite opposition from those around him, Grand Duke Rondeynes ultimately held a lavish outdoor wedding with the woman from the slums.
‘Maddy,’ who became the Grand Duchess as of yesterday, attracted attention by wearing a blood-red dress to the wedding.
(Photo attached)
Maddy slightly adjusted the black horn-rimmed glasses she had stolen from the dozing old gentleman in front of her and said.
“I look good in that photo.”
In the newspaper photo, Yulikyan, holding Maddy in her red dress, was smiling brightly, looking proud of his lover.
Passengers in the third-class section were talking as they looked at the newspaper.
“So the Grand Duke of Rondeynes ended up marrying this commoner woman?”
“It’s a shame to even call her a commoner. I heard she’s from the slums.”
“Her face is pretty nice, though.”
“He must have fallen for her looks.”
“A friend of mine in the Rondeynes territory said they’re madly in love with each other. But apparently, the woman is a bit crazy.”
“What do you mean by that? Crazy?”
“Just a bit, you know, up here. But I hear she has a good heart.”
The male passenger raised his index finger to his temple and twirled it.
“So His Highness the Grand Duke married a crazy woman?”
“But they say the Grand Duke changed too after meeting her. He’s also gotten a bit… together, you know.”
The man who had twirled his finger by his temple now shook his head as well.
“…Well, anyway, since they’re married, I hope they live well.”
“You can go crazy with love. They’re young people, after all.”
The passengers turned the page and started talking about other things.
Yulikyan lowered his head even further, hiding his face behind the yellow wig.
He was terrified that someone might recognize him.
“…How much further do we have to go?”
“We get off now.”
Getting up from her seat, Maddy strode towards the very last carriage of the train.
Maddy casually took a beret from the overhead luggage rack, put it on, and took off the glasses, placing them on top of someone else’s baggage.
It all happened naturally as they moved to the next carriage.
While Yulikyan was once again amazed by her sleight of hand, Maddy said calmly.
“You can take off the dress soon.”
“Really?”
That was welcome news.
“Yeah. We’re getting off now.”
“…But the train is still moving?”
“That’s why I told you to dress warmly.”
Maddy opened the door at the very end of the train.
The strong wind whipped her hair around wildly. The noise of the train speeding along the tracks was so overwhelming that Yulikyan couldn’t quite process her words.
Hoping he had misheard, Yulikyan asked back.
“You want us to get off *now*?!”
“Why are you making that face? You’ve never jumped off a train before?”
“Have you?! Have you ever?!”
“You always yell when you’re flustered. I’m going first. If you don’t jump now, you’ll miss the chance.”
Just then, the train passing through a junction began to slow down gradually. Maddy jumped without hesitation.
Even after tumbling several times, Maddy sprang up from the dust.
That’s insane…
Yulikyan cursed inwardly several times before finally gathering his courage and stepping out of the train.
At that moment, he was thankful he was wearing those multiple layers of dresses.
—
* * *
—
According to Maddy, they needed to cross the border.
Hiding behind a rock, Yulikyan silently watched what Maddy was doing and swallowed dryly.
“Maddy. That’s a protected zone.”
“I know that too.”
“Your claim that Astrid might be in a protected zone where no one can enter carelessly… How much of that should I believe?”
Maddy laughed softly as she disassembled a few stolen guns and then reassembled them, modifying them.
“If you can’t trust me, you shouldn’t have married me.”
“Marriage… we had a deal.”
“Right.”
Maddy aimed the rifle’s sights into the distance, then lowered it, turning her gaze towards Yulikyan.
“I keep you alive and safe, and you pay me. That was our contract. But you said it would all be meaningless if your beloved nephew isn’t there. So here we are, looking for him.”
“…What I mean is, is Astrid really there? We’ve searched the entire country and couldn’t find him. Why would he be in a nature reserve spanning the border…”
“Since we couldn’t find him anywhere in the country, we have to cross the border. You won’t find him just by asking around. We have to move ourselves. The Emperor’s side must have deliberately hidden him.”
“…Astrid is only seven years old. Is he even still alive?”
“I don’t know. Since we’ve come this far, we might as well find his bones and go back.”
It was a callous answer. Not wanting to talk to her anymore, Yulikyan turned his head away.
Soon, as deep night fell, Maddy and Yulikyan began to move, keeping their bodies as low as possible.
Maddy quickly struck the soldiers standing guard.
They didn’t even have time to let out a final scream.
“Maddy. Not using the guns?”
“Save those for later. If we use them now, it’ll attract too many people.”
Maddy slung the rifle over her shoulder and walked ahead. Yulikyan followed in her footsteps as they entered the deep forest together.
—
* * *
—
Just before they managed to cross the Durzel Mountains surrounding the border, the two were captured by soldiers.
Struck on the back of the head, they both lost consciousness. Fading in and out of awareness, they heard the soldiers’ voices.
“What are these?”
“They just had to pass through here. Unlucky bastards.”
“What should we do with them?”
“What do you mean, what? They saw us coming in here. We have to dispose of them over there.”
Hours later, Yulikyan and Maddy, mixed in with garbage and corpses, passed through a long pipe and fell endlessly down, down.
Yulikyan instinctively covered his nose as soon as he came to.
The stench of rotting garbage pervaded everywhere. It was even stinging his eyes.
Because of the walls that rose as high as if touching the sky, sunlight didn’t seem to reach ‘this place’ well.
Yulikyan groped around in the dim shadows and stood up. Everywhere he stepped, he felt an unpleasant squelching sensation.
“…Ma-Maddy. Where are you?”
Yulikyan awkwardly felt his limbs, which had lost sensation, and walked over the garbage.
Thankfully, despite falling from such a height, nothing seemed to be broken.
Fortunately, Maddy was sitting atop another pile of garbage. Judging by her posture, she seemed to be okay.
“Maddy… Are you alright? Please answer me.”
Filled with worry, Yulikyan reached his hand out to Maddy.
Her gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, shot upwards. Maddy threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Damn it! Getting dumped in this godforsaken place twice!”
Her booming voice echoed, bouncing off the surrounding cliffs.
*Getting dumped in this godforsaken place twice~*
*Dumped twice~*
*Twice~*
*Ice~*
Regretting that he had even for a moment worried about her, Yulikyan spoke to her irritably.
“Get up, Maddy. We don’t have time.”
“I know. …Hah.”
“I’ll give you a separate bonus when we get back, so try to pull yourself together.”
“‘When we get back,’ you say.”
“…We can get back. We absolutely have to.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Your Highness.”
Dusting off her bottom as she stood up, Maddy slowly surveyed the garbage town.
It truly was a place she never wanted to return to.
“Hah… My luck is rotten. Shit.”
Maddy blankly sighed, recalling her first encounter with him.
