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Chapter 08
“I wasn’t thinking anything, okay? I was just looking at your face.”
Oops. Why did I admit I was admiring his face?
Kalli smacked her own mouth.
This stupid mouth is the problem.
A light laugh drifted down from above her.
“That answer was so absurd I never could’ve predicted it.”
“…Please forget it. I was rude to you the first time we met.”
“So, this is the cursed bride they sent me. An amusing little squirrel.”
“What exactly did you think a cursed bride was supposed to be?”
At some point, Leonhardt reached one arm behind himself and simply lay back.
Kalli stared at his profile before moving.
She slapped Leonhardt’s right hand with a sharp smack.
But perhaps because she had no strength at all, it didn’t even twitch.
“Ghk…”
She heard him trying to hold back his laughter.
Kalli frowned deeply and clenched her tiny fists.
He’s making fun of me.
Leonhardt Spencer was far more playful and mischievous than she’d expected.
He never let a single remark go.
He’s not an easy man to deal with.
This time, Kalli climbed onto the back of his hand and stomped on it with all her might.
It was just as ineffective.
“Kalli.”
“What.”
She answered curtly and climbed down from his hand.
Instead, she sat beside his head.
Leonhardt moved his hand and held out a single finger in front of her.
“Let’s get along from now on.”
“For what?”
“For entertaining me as my pet.”
“…Get out.”
Thump! Thump!
She deliberately kicked him hard enough to make noise, but he only laughed.
“Aah!”
“I’m joking.”
Sitting up, he vigorously ruffled Kalli’s head.
Crushed beneath his enormous hand, she struggled wildly, trying to shove him away.
“Anyway… you’re my bride.”
His voice was playful, yet there was a trace of sincerity in it that made her look up.
“Even if you’re only a bride in name, let’s get along.”
A bride in name.
In other words, a wife only in title.
Since the marriage existed solely because of the curse, he was telling her not to attach any meaning to it.
Like I didn’t already know that.
Leonhardt had merely spoken the truth.
But hearing him draw such a clear line between them left her speechless.
Kalli silently stared down into her bowl of stew.
The cloudy broth reflected nothing.
“My Lady. Ah, no… Mistress. Is something wrong?”
“’Mistress’… that title still feels weird.”
“But… it’s better than calling you ‘Your Highness the Grand Duchess,’ isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Just call me Mistress instead.”
She didn’t mind being called Miss.
She’d heard that plenty of times back in Korea.
Student. Miss.
Working part-time, she’d gotten used to hearing it.
But Mistress?
It suddenly felt like she’d been promoted several ranks overnight.
Like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
“Mistress, would you like to eat this and then go for a walk with me?”
“Sure.”
Over the past few days, Levi had been taking care of Kalli together with Jane.
Surprisingly, Levi learned incredibly quickly.
He caught on fast, was perceptive, and absorbed everything he was taught like a sponge.
Because of that, Jane now left almost everything to him.
When Levi wasn’t around, Jane had quietly asked Kalli,
“My Lady… wouldn’t it be better to have a maid instead of a male attendant?”
“I think it’s fine. Besides, as you can see, I’m a squirrel.”
There was no telling when she’d return to her human body.
More than anything, seeing Levi discouraged because he wanted to help but couldn’t do anything made her feel sorry for him.
If she thought about it honestly, it was simply sympathy.
She had made the decision out of pity.
She’d been worried about it, but it hadn’t turned out badly.
Though Levi seems to think of me completely as a pet squirrel.
Well…
She didn’t really mind.
Life as a squirrel wasn’t all that bad.
Though… what if I end up spending the rest of my life as one?
Right. I never actually talked to Leonhardt. We only had that pointless conversation that day.
She shouldn’t be going for a walk after breakfast.
Kalli looked at Levi, who was watching her.
“Levi. Instead of going for a walk after breakfast, let’s do something else.”
“What?”
“First, find out where Leon… no, where His Grace the Grand Duke is. I have something I need to talk to him about.”
“Understood! Should I go check right now?”
“Of course. It’s urgent.”
“Ah! Yes!”
At the word urgent, Levi immediately jumped to his feet.
The moment he opened the door, he took off running.
It’s not actually that urgent…
Watching Levi spring into action the instant she asked made her feel a little guilty.
Leonhardt walked through a dark, pitch-black staircase.
The stairs stretched on endlessly.
Neither the beginning nor the end could be seen.
When he looked down, endless darkness swallowed the steps.
When he looked up, it was exactly the same.
He didn’t know where this place was.
He didn’t know why he kept climbing.
His legs refused to stop, urging him onward as he continued ascending the endless staircase.
No… I know where this is.
At that moment, the candle in the candlestick he carried suddenly flared to life.
Was I holding this all along?
His eyes widened.
Then… where is this place again?
He definitely knew these stairs.
Yet he couldn’t remember.
Or perhaps…
He didn’t want to remember, so he’d deliberately forgotten.
He walked.
And walked.
Eventually, he reached the end.
At the top stood an old rusted red iron door.
That’s right… I know this place.
As a child…
He had climbed these stairs countless times without ever growing tired of them.
The tightly shut iron door opened surprisingly easily, even with the strength of a child.
Pushing it open with the hand not holding the candlestick, he saw someone he had longed for, sitting by the window.
Long crimson hair flowed all the way to her waist, swaying gently in the breeze.
Her pure white dress trailed across the floor.
The woman, who had been gazing sorrowfully out the window, slowly turned her head.
She wore a pure white mask.
“My child… you’ve come.”
Her gentle voice embraced young Leonhardt’s heart.
Drawn toward her like a magnet, he stepped inside.
She spread both arms toward him.
He gladly ran into her embrace.
Then…
The voice of the curse echoed inside his head.
Kill her. Kill her.
Kill her now. What are you waiting for?
Kill her. Kill her. I said kill her!
The witch’s curse spiraled out of control.
The young Leonhardt had no power to resist it.
The voices wrapping around his mind dominated every one of his senses.
All he could do…
was obey.
His small hands wrapped around the woman’s throat.
He forced her backward toward the window.
No… Don’t.
Struggling desperately, she finally managed to push the child away.
Then the woman standing before the window…
Leonhardt jolted upright.
“Hah… hah…”
He sat up, breathing roughly as cold sweat poured from his body onto the blankets.
The corners of his eyes trembled violently.
He covered his face with one hand and let out a long, deep sigh.
Of all the things that haunted him…
This nightmare was the one he could never escape.
It clung to him like an unbreakable shackle.
“Damn… cursed bride…”
Crunch.
He ground his teeth, losing his composure.
The blood he had barely managed to suppress was beginning to boil once more.
Keeping his eyes shut, he desperately used his own mana to calm the curse raging within him.
With immense effort, he barely forced the madness trying to break free back into submission.
“…Hoo.”
It had been a dream he hadn’t seen for a long time.
So why…
Why had it returned?
Was it because of that squirrel?
A tiny, insignificant white squirrel came to mind.
Bold.
Stubborn.
Quick-tempered.
An irritating little creature.
But every time he provoked her…
She reacted exactly as he expected.
She makes the perfect toy.
Nothing more.
A way to pass the time.
A wife in name only.
Nothing beyond that.
Nothing less.
Leonhardt rose from his bed and brushed his hair back.
The windows were completely covered by heavy blackout curtains, allowing not a single ray of sunlight inside.
The moment he pulled one curtain aside, the garden came into view.
A single attendant was walking across the vast grounds.
That boy…
The young servant he’d picked up on a whim not long ago.
Only because the boy had reminded him of his own childhood.
Leonhardt was about to close the curtain again and head to the hunting grounds.
Then something caught his eye.
A fluffy white bundle perched atop the servant’s head.
“Oh… now that’s a new combination.”
His eyes narrowed.
A smile slowly spread across his lips.
His whims began stirring once again.
Instead of the hunting grounds…
Perhaps he should visit the garden.
The very garden he hadn’t stepped foot in since the former Grand Duchess had died.
The Grand Duke’s estate had an enormous garden.
One day wasn’t nearly enough to see it all.
It would take at least three.
Once again today, Kalli enjoyed the stroll while sprawled comfortably atop Levi’s head.
“Mistress, come to think of it… doesn’t it only count as a walk if you’re actually walking?”
“That’s… surprisingly logical.”
“Hehe. Right? Want to come down?”
“But not today.”
“Then tomorrow?”
“No. A week from now.”
“Come on. That’s not fair.”
“My decision.”
There was no way she was giving up such a comfortable ride.
Grinning to herself, Kalli tugged on Levi’s hair.
“Forward.”
“Yes! Ah, besides this garden, there’s another one near the hunting grounds.”
“Isn’t a garden just a garden?”
“Nope. It’s different.”
As they passed through hedge-like paths resembling a maze, Levi continued.
“It’s called the Secret Garden. The entrance is hidden, so it’s hard to find. Once you go through the secret passage, you’ll reach it. There’s even a lake where you can ride a gondola.”
“…A gondola? Inside the estate?”
“Yes. It’s a small one, though.”
“Levi. Take me there immediately.”
“Huh? But we only just came into this garden!”
Levi shook his head as though he didn’t want to.
Naturally, Kalli swayed from side to side along with him.
“Stop shaking already.”
She smacked his forehead lightly.
As if she’d pressed a button, Levi immediately stopped.
“This estate really is huge. There are still so many places I haven’t seen.”
“Right? I felt the same way when I first came here.”
The young attendant excitedly told her everything he knew.
Listening quietly, Kalli tugged on his hair once more.
“Levi… don’t you think His Grace the Grand Duke should be awake by now?”
