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Chapter 35
There was bird poop all over a stone slab, so I was scrubbing it hard with my robe hem when…
I suddenly felt the cold presence of metal against the back of my neck.
Guess I had been too focused for my own good. I hadn’t even noticed a blade pointed at me.
I had sensed someone approaching earlier, but since I was busy reading the epitaph, I thought it was just another mourner.
Turns out, it was someone who came to harm me.
“Who are you? State your identity.”
The man behind me spoke.
Strange. A deep, smooth baritone voice. I’ve heard it somewhere before.
I quickly drew my sword and spun around to face him.
And the one pointing a blade at me was…
A tall man with striking silver hair.
Broad shoulders, long and lean legs. His eyes glared at me coldly…
Purple?
Wait a second.
That’s my husband.
Am I seeing things right now?
I blinked several times to make sure.
Even as I parried his swift strikes, I studied his face. No matter how I looked at him, it was indeed the Grand Duke.
Well, since it came to this—why not test his swordsmanship a bit?
Two-on-one was a little tough, but I could still defend myself just fine.
Oh, his footwork is pretty sharp, huh?
The Grand Duke had the essentials of swordsmanship—balance and agility. His movements were clean, without any unnecessary waste.
So when he worked as a knight on Pardons Island, it wasn’t because of his title, but because of actual skill?
Meanwhile, my movements were restricted by the robe I had on.
As I blocked the guard’s strikes, the Grand Duke suddenly slashed through my robe with his sword.
The moment my identity was revealed, he froze in place.
“…Grand Duchess?”
“Haha… you’re really good with a sword. You’ve got talent. Could even make a career of it.”
He looked so shocked that I tried to smooth things over with a forced laugh.
The Grand Duke rubbed his eyes a few times before sheathing his sword.
His guard, having seen my face, immediately threw himself flat on the ground.
“M-my deepest apologies, Your Grace!”
“It’s fine, get up.”
Just then, someone came rushing in between me and the Grand Duke.
It was Katarina.
She noisily drew her blade and took a defensive stance in front of me.
But once she recognized the Grand Duke’s face, she flinched and turned awkwardly to look back at me.
“Lady Alisa, why is His Grace here…?”
I did tell you I had urgent business to handle and let you go ahead. But why are you showing up late and panicking now? …And you’re supposed to be my personal maid and knight.
“I was just about to ask the same. Your Grace, what are you doing here? Weren’t you touring Blansk with Sir Julio?”
“This was our final destination. But why is the Grand Duchess here?”
The Grand Duke swept a hand through his hair as he asked.
Sweat was beading on his forehead.
He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of realizing who he’d just been fighting.
“Why would I come to a memorial park? To pay respects, of course.”
I gestured toward the stone slab where I had been.
The chrysanthemums I’d been holding earlier were now scattered messily across the grass—I’d dropped them when I drew my sword against him.
I had been placing them one by one on the slab. I had about ten left, which I planned to take home and put in a vase.
And then—this whole mess happened.
“But you weren’t mourning. You were crouched on the ground, doing something.”
The Grand Duke looked down at me coldly, pressing me for answers.
“So I mistook you for a grave robber. I’ve heard that valuables are sometimes buried under these slabs.”
“Ha! Do you really think I, someone who has more money than I can spend, would stoop to grave-robbing? What kind of trinkets would even come out of there, worth a few coins at best?”
I couldn’t help but snort.
“Then why were you down like that?”
He stepped closer, peering intently into my face.
It felt like his gaze was brushing against my skin.
He gently tilted my chin upward and leaned in close—almost like he was about to kiss me.
Why is this man acting like this? With that unreal face of his closing in so aggressively, I swallowed hard.
“…Doesn’t look like you were crying.”
“Ugh, who said anything about crying? I was just putting flowers down, seriously.”
Smack!
I slapped his hand away from my chin and took a step back.
The Grand Duke tilted his head.
“Who lays flowers in that kind of crawling position?”
Persistent, aren’t you?
Fine. Forget pride. I wasn’t doing anything wrong anyway.
“There was bird poop on the epitaph… I was wiping it off with my robe.”
The Grand Duke stared at me.
Then shook his head slowly, as if it was the most absurd thing in the world.
“Why on earth would you use your clothes for that?”
“I forgot my handkerchief. Clothes can be washed. Not that it matters now, since you shredded them.”
Seeing my cherished robe torn and scattered on the ground left me feeling hollow.
It was one of my favorites lately—light enough for summer, and the little weight on the hood kept it from slipping back.
“…Let’s go.”
The Grand Duke let out a heavy sigh and offered me his arm.
So he really did plan to escort me back to the estate.
Not my first choice, but it was the way home.
I set my hand on his arm.
He scrubbed his face roughly with his free hand.
As we walked toward where the horses were tied, I noticed his chest heaving, his face dark with anger.
“Your Grace… are you mad?”
“…”
“Could you at least tell me why you’re so mad? Because I fought you without revealing who I was?”
“…Haa.”
He turned his head sharply the other way, like he didn’t even want to look at me.
His neck and ears were bright red.
Wow, he’s really upset.
Well, sure—running into your wife in the middle of the night at a cemetery, brawling with her, and realizing it was her after slashing her clothes… I guess that could sour anyone’s mood.
“Anyway, sorry for startling you.”
“I almost…”
“Hm?”
“I almost… hurt you!”
Eek.
That shout nearly burst my eardrums. Why so loud all of a sudden?
When I flinched in surprise, he immediately lowered his voice again.
“Why on earth… were you wandering here alone without proper guards?”
His voice was low, but the rage was palpable.
Like a wolf growling at a threat.
Coming from someone usually so quiet, it was a little scary.
“Katarina was with me.”
“Lady Katarina is not a guard.”
“Did I never mention it? She’s not just my maid. She’s also my personal knight.”
“…One person isn’t enough. You need at least three escorts at all times.”
“At official events, I’m surrounded by twenty or more guards front and back. This was a discreet outing. And Katarina is as strong as two or three put together.”
It’s not widely known, but Katarina’s martial skills are no joke.
I first met her when I was sixteen, sneaking into a slave fighting ring out of curiosity.
She looked like a skinny girl, but she knocked out a man five times her size and won the tournament.
Intrigued, I bought her freedom with a hefty sum. She turned out to be two years younger than me, from the Dvorka tribe.
She has a gentle face now, but back then her eyes were sharp with malice, shaped by the need to survive. Every movement of hers was predatory.
…Though she does get carsick a lot.
The Grand Duke glanced at Katarina.
Sensing his look, she straightened her posture proudly.
But he only shook his head disapprovingly.
“One isn’t enough. And she needs to stay by your side at all times.”
“Look, Your Grace. I’m strong too. I wasn’t even fighting you seriously earlier—I was only defending, to gauge your skill.”
“…Don’t be stubborn, Grand Duchess. With your position, having just one guard is unacceptable.”
“With my hood up, no one even knows I’m the lord here. And I’m tall enough that most mistake me for a man.”
“Hah. And what if someone tries to hurt you again?”
His breath was rough, his words harsh.
Again?
Why “again”?
Does he know someone has already tried?
My left side suddenly throbbed faintly.
Sebastian Julio. Did you tell him I’d been stabbed?
“T-that’s not certain, but…”
Why do I feel so cornered?
I never imagined the Grand Duke could be so forceful.
“Enough bickering. Even in disguise, you must have at least three guards. Blansk may be safe for residents, but it can still be dangerous for you.”
His deep voice rumbled in my ears like a warning bell.
At last, we reached the horses.
Sir Julio was also mounting his, a short distance away.
His face was pale as paper—he didn’t look well. I should give him a day off tomorrow.
While I was thinking that, my body suddenly lifted off the ground.
“Wahhh!”
In the blink of an eye, I was seated on a horse.
The Grand Duke had picked me up and set me in the saddle.
“You’re not some child by the water’s edge.”
He muttered under his breath.
Did he just call me a child?
Says the man who’s eight years younger than me.
I was too dumbfounded to speak when something solid pressed against my back.
The Grand Duke had mounted right behind me.
He took the reins with one hand and wrapped his other arm around me, careful not to touch my stomach directly.
As the horse galloped, I sat stunned. I had never ridden like this, held in a man’s arms.
Strangely, it felt suffocating—like I was under some kind of invisible pressure, even danger.
When we reached the estate, the Grand Duke escorted me all the way to my room in silence.
At the door, I pulled my hand back and looked at him.
“Uh… Your Grace. You didn’t follow me here to sleep with me, did you?”
“Do you really wish to joke with me right now, Grand Duchess?”
“Well, otherwise why follow me all the way to my room?”
What, a wife can’t make jokes?
Honestly, he’s so stiff and rigid it’s exhausting.
The Grand Duke looked down at me, still cold, like he had more to say.
This man really knows how to keep people on edge.
“You said so yourself—you’d protect me.”
“…Yes, I did.”
“Then start by protecting yourself. If the one who swore to guard me gets hurt, how could I possibly be safe?”
With that, he turned and walked away without another word.
Watching his retreating back, I crossed my arms and shook my head.
“He sure makes a big fuss over worrying… Fine, fine. I’ll increase the guards.”
