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~Chapter 127~
“Is it true? Did the Grand Duke really return?”
“Yes. And he even brought the Grand Duchess.”
“When did they even hold the wedding?”
“They say the Duchess came from the capital? At this time?”
Whispers spread through the tightly gathered crowd.
Between the ruined buildings scarred by monsters’ claws, the people of Saint Portu filled the streets, waiting nervously for the castle gates to open.
Most of them had just come out from the underground village, where they had stayed without sunlight for days.
“When will he come in?”
“Not sure…”
“He won’t refuse to appear, right?”
“Shh. How much does His Grace care for us? Didn’t you see the monsters were all killed?”
“But was that really the Duke’s power?”
Even as the people squinted under the sunlight, they never took their eyes off the road.
Anxiousness, complaints, hope, and optimism all battled inside their hearts.
“……It’s opening!”
Rumble—
The huge white castle gate slowly opened with a heavy sound.
Clip, clop. Clip, clop.
At last, the parade began.
At the front, two people rode in together on a fine horse.
Like a wave, everyone’s gaze turned toward them.
“……”
The crowd fell silent all at once.
Even though so many had gathered, silence pressed heavily around them.
Before the descendant of the dragon and his partner, a carpet of stillness spread.
The question was—would that carpet turn into a path of thorns or a path of flowers?
“Is that…?”
“……”
Some recognized the Duke and Duchess with surprise, while others frowned with dissatisfaction.
Someone muttered cautiously,
“Sending a Duchess from the capital at a time like this… it’s not good.”
“Did His Grace accept her without a single word of protest?”
“We are grateful he destroyed the monsters, but still…”
Just then, when hostility and gratitude were being carefully weighed—
“……Your Grace, the Duchess!”
A trembling voice broke the air.
A woman clutching a tiny shaking dog, herself trembling, shouted out with all her strength.
“Duchess! Your Grace, the Duke!”
The flow began to change.
Next came the voices of a child and a middle-aged woman.
“Your Grace, the Duchess! Your Grace, the Duke!”
The call spread to merchants, to the poor, and even to back-alley thieves.
And at the very height of the roar—
“……!”
The Duke slowly raised his arm.
His fist clenched tightly and then powerfully struck upward into the sky.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Your Grace, the Duke!”
“Your Grace, the Duchess!”
The silence shattered into an explosion of cheers.
Even those who had harbored doubts were swept into the chanting.
“Protection for Saint Portu!”
“In the name of the dragon!”
No one noticed.
The Grand Duke, still holding his arm high, leaned his whole body quietly against the Duchess in front of him.
The parade passed through the castle gate, the square, and the streets, ending at the Grand Duke’s mansion.
The entrance was decorated more solemnly than usual, making it look both familiar and different.
Even until we reached the front, the cheers behind us echoed like waves.
“Your Grace, the Duchess!”
“Your Grace, the Duke!”
Inside the noise, maybe because I was tense, I hadn’t realized how loud it was.
But once outside the crowd, my ears rang and my skin tingled.
I was overwhelmed—surprised, happy, heavy-hearted all at once.
“……Karl, did you hear it?”
From the end of the march, all my nerves had been focused on him.
I had expected it, but when no answer came, my heart sank.
‘Quickly.’
Quickly, close the gates!
Bang.
The mansion gates closed behind us.
And the moment the citizens could no longer see us—
“……Karl!”
I spun around, grabbing him.
“Doctor! Call the doctor!”
“Your Grace, the Duchess?”
Jeremy, who was attending us, went pale and ran over.
Clark and the head maid, waiting at the gates, also rushed forward.
“Hurry!”
I shouted as I jumped down from the horse, holding Karl’s face in my hands.
I slapped his red-hot cheeks over and over.
“If you die, I’ll kill you—no, I’ll remarry! I’ll marry an even better man, richer and more handsome, and live happily ever after!”
I clung to Karl until the doctor arrived, even as the blood from his lips soaked my silk sleeves.
“He is stable for now.”
The doctor, who I had been seeing too often lately, sighed as if he had aged years.
“Hah.”
I finally sighed in relief.
‘…Damn it.’
I had noticed something was wrong during the parade.
His body, holding me, had grown heavier. His proud head, which had been held high, slowly drooped onto my shoulder.
‘I can only hope people thought it looked like a loving couple.’
Looking around the bedchamber now, the scene was chaos.
Jeremy sat on the floor, pale, comforted unconsciously by Beth.
Clark sobbed loudly, while the head maid wore a calm face but trembling hands.
“Please calm yourself, Your Grace, the Duchess.”
The doctor addressed me first.
“…Alright.”
It made sense. After all, I was the one holding a musket.
I awkwardly lowered it.
It wasn’t like I had planned to threaten the doctor like a thug in the emergency room.
But while he checked Karl, I had pointed the musket at Eyeball, shouting that if Karl didn’t return, I’d shoot.
‘To others, I probably looked like a madwoman Duchess.’
The doctor bowed his head.
“I understand how deeply you care for His Grace.”
At least he thought it was out of love, not madness.
“Then I shall take my leave…”
“…We’ll also leave. Please rest.”
The others followed the doctor out, giving us space.
Beth lingered last.
“If it becomes too hard, my lady…”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
When everyone left, I sat beside Karl’s bed.
“……”
Looking down at him, lying like the dead, I felt speechless.
Why did this man have to be cursed with a fragile constitution?
“It doesn’t suit you at all.”
A body that looked so strong, yet a pale face that couldn’t open its eyes.
“Karl. I meant what I said earlier.”
I stroked his hair gently and whispered,
“If you die, I really will remarry. I’ll find another monster hunter—stronger, more handsome, richer than you.”
“……”
“If I can find one, anyway. But who knows.”
“……”
“Maybe next time, the Crown Prince will sneak in pretending to be a monster hunter.”
“……”
“So… don’t die.”
I don’t want to lose you again. I’ve already been through it once, and it was terrifying and unbearable.
With a sigh, I lay down beside him on the bed.
And a few days later…
“……Those damn bastards in the capital!”
A sudden urgent message made me leap to my feet.
