🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 20
“Didn’t that woman run away on her own?”
“How could you say such a dreadful thing?!”
It was now infinitely awkward to claim she’d just been under the bed this whole time.
Time to retreat—tactically.
Holding her breath, Pricia stayed quiet and listened to the conversation between the head maid and Fieldram.
“It’s strange. Wil said he had no interest in marriage.”
“How immature of you to say that. Everyone, hurry! Gather the soldiers—she must be found no matter what!”
The anxious head maid dismissed everyone and then pulled Fieldram aside to explain.
“Her Highness the Princess has discovered the master’s secret.”
“His secret? How?”
“I don’t know that part either. She tried to force a marriage using that secret as leverage. Just when things were dire, Lady Pricia appeared and saved the master.”
It felt like hearing something she absolutely shouldn’t, yet definitely needed to know at the same time.
So, the Princess somehow knew a secret about the Duke—a secret not even Pricia knew—and tried to blackmail him into marrying her.
The conversation she’d overheard by accident at the ball now made sense. But the rest of this story was hard to relate to.
“The master personally chose her. She’s got a good nature and is so sharp and modest—young ladies like her are rare even in the capital.”
Modest?
Had she misunderstood the meaning of that word?
She’d literally threatened to bring back a supposedly lost sacred jewel—the Ruby Eye. That was outrageous and extravagant, not modest.
Yet, the head maid continued praising her in ways Pricia never expected, scolding Fieldram in the process.
“She even risked her life to save His Grace. How could you treat such a precious person so rudely?”
“She saved his life?”
“Out of deep love, she threw herself in front of a flying arrow to protect him. Even while suffering immense pain, she never once snapped at the maids and endured all the wedding preparations. Why on earth would you…!”
Pricia was so overwhelmed by the excessive praise, she felt like she could never crawl out from under the bed again.
Maybe the maid’s emotional plea worked, because Fieldram went silent for a long while.
“To think it was like that…”
“If she hadn’t saved His Grace, we’d be holding a funeral instead of a wedding. Oh, my lady… where could she have gone?”
Tears welling in her eyes, the head maid also ran out to search for Pricia.
Only one more set of footsteps should’ve followed, but strangely, Fieldram said nothing and simply stood silently in front of the window.
Pricia could see his feet from under the bed and tried to gather her thoughts.
So everything she’d done until now…
All those little complaints and comments to try and make people hate her, to get thrown out—those made her look like a practical, capable young lady instead.
Clearly, her plan to get kicked out had failed completely.
And now Fieldram had stormed in, declaring he’d kill her… She was stuck in a real bind.
“She jumped out from here?”
Suddenly, Fieldram’s feet disappeared—and a loud thud came from the garden below.
Only then did Pricia confirm the room was empty and slowly crawled out from under the bed.
“My lady! Where are you?!”
Not sure how to explain this ridiculous situation, Pricia closed her eyes and made a decision.
When cornered—play dumb.
She clipped the Ruby Eye back onto her ear, as if it had never been lost, and lay down on the bed like nothing had happened.
“Jumping without a support rope is impossible. Unless she had a strap or something…”
Fieldram re-entered the room and found Pricia pretending to be asleep on the bed.
Now, how would he react?
“W-What is this?!”
“I found the lady!”
As if she’d just woken up, Pricia rubbed her eyes and smiled at the pale-faced head maid.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“My lady?!”
“Why is it so noisy this morning? Did something happen?”
While Pricia remained calm, the others—who had seen the empty bed—were speechless, as if they’d seen a ghost.
How would the God of Destruction, Fieldram, deal with this?
Pricia faced him with an innocent expression, acting like she knew nothing.
* * *
After a late breakfast, Pricia put on her dress and began preparing to receive guests.
“I heard you should rest today.”
“I have duties to fulfill. I feel much better after a good sleep.”
When she mentioned she’d slept straight through the night, Fieldram felt as though he’d been possessed by a ghost.
He had planned to scold her properly now that he’d seen her face—but her sudden disappearance and reappearance left him clueless.
“No men are allowed past this point.”
“Says who?”
“I have to change dresses.”
As Pricia casually reached for the knot of her nightgown, Fieldram bolted out of the room. Then he began recalling the events of the morning.
“What on earth happened…?”
There hadn’t even been an ant on the bed.
If anyone had entered or exited, there would’ve been traces—but every witness swore no one had entered the room.
“What the hell is going on?”
Of course, if she had really disappeared, that would’ve been even worse.
After an hour of brooding, Fieldram saw the fully dressed Pricia and felt his breath catch.
“This is cheating.”
“Call it art. Our job is to bring out Lady Pricia’s natural beauty.”
Her once youthful features were now more refined. Wearing a dress the color of dried roses and with her brown hair elegantly pinned up, Pricia lightly extended her hand to Fieldram.
“Won’t you escort me?”
“Uh, that is, I mean…”
“Making a lady wait is very rude.”
Maybe she was a beast wearing human skin. Otherwise, her actions made no sense.
He tried thinking it through, but his not-so-great brain gave him nothing.
Wilfred, who normally greeted guests with a stoic face, was startled when his unexpected wife appeared and quickly rushed over.
“I told you to rest today.”
“I’m your wife. I want to do my part properly.”
Her sweet smile was surprisingly charming, and just as Wilfred approached, he casually pulled Pricia’s hand from Fieldram’s escort.
“Why are you two arriving together?”
“I thought he was assigned to escort me.”
With her innocent smile, Fieldram’s situation grew more awkward.
Even as he backed away, Fieldram’s eyes stayed locked on Pricia.
“Something’s definitely not right.”
Wilfred never left her side, gently placing his hand around her waist, offering her light food and chatting closely—anyone would think they were genuinely in love.
“Honey, say ah—”
Watching them act lovey-dovey on purpose made Fieldram’s insides twist.
Pricia dramatically fed a piece of fruit to the Duke and beckoned him closer.
“Honey, actually…”
After whispering something in his ear, the Duke glanced at Fieldram’s direction.
No doubt she was talking about him—but he had no proof.
“She’s definitely some kind of monster in disguise…”
“Honey, say ah—”
With cheerful eyes, Pricia looked at the Duke, who fell silent in a moment of inner conflict.
Just a while ago, he’d shown clear signs of not even wanting to look at her.
Even though he told her to rest, Pricia deliberately showed up to flaunt their affection in front of guests.
“I actually have something to tell you.”
With a mischievous smile masked as shyness, Pricia glanced at Fieldram in the distance.
He was simple and brutish—but his destructive power was unmatched.
And he clearly disliked the Duke’s wife. If she played this right, she might be able to use him as an excuse to escape Wilfred.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
She didn’t really have anything to say—but it was enough to create a misleading scene for Fieldram to misinterpret.
She gestured him closer and, once he leaned in, whispered so only he could hear:
“I think Lord Fieldram is incredibly attractive. Is he seeing anyone?”
With an innocent flutter of her eyelashes, Pricia smiled sweetly.
“Not that I know of.”
“I see. It’s nothing really—just thinking of introducing someone to him.”
She’d never actually introduce the God of Destruction to anyone. That was asking for disaster.
But this vague comment would do wonders to stir Fieldram’s anxiety.
Seeing Pricia so oddly excited made the Duke’s brow furrow.
“You have peculiar taste.”
“He’s handsome! He might seem standoffish at first, but I think he’d become a devoted husband once in love.”
“A henpecked husband?”
Right now, Fieldram was probably trembling, sure they were talking behind his back.
Leaning her head against the Duke’s arm, Pricia peeked at Fieldram, who was clearly losing his mind with unease.
