🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 50
“This… If you take off the gown, I could show it to you, but you wouldn’t see only the scar. Are you sure you want that?”
“…Ah.”
The moment Davit realized what the Grand Duchess meant, his face turned bright red.
The area under his ears burned. His eyes darted around wildly, not knowing where to look.
In the end, he covered his face with both hands.
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think… I didn’t mean it that way at all.”
“I know. Who cares what anyone says?”
The Grand Duchess snorted.
Davit bit the inside of his cheek. Once again, he felt as if he were being toyed with by her hands.
“What kind of perfume do you like? I’ll use your favorite scent.”
The Grand Duchess didn’t pay the slightest attention and dragged the perfume box placed next to the bathtub.
Davit remembered the scent she usually carried.
“Freesia.”
“Freesia? Really?”
“Because… it’s the scent I get from you.”
“Wow, when did you ever smell me? Thanks for matching my taste.”
The Grand Duchess laughed, her eyes curved, and poured the perfume into the bathtub.
The sweet scent of freesia spread thickly. It felt like the tip of his nose was warming. Gradually, as his sense of smell dulled, the fragrance became more subtle.
The Grand Duchess scooped up water with one palm and slowly rubbed it along her long, slender arm.
Davit watched her movements absentmindedly.
Then, without realizing it, he began to focus.
Her long, well-shaped fingers. Slightly rough fingertips. The sharp line of her shoulders. Freckles lightly scattered near her collarbone.
The Grand Duchess was bathing right before his eyes. The surreal scene gradually made him feel drowsy.
“Why are you staring so intently? Do I suddenly look pretty to you?”
Her clearer voice pierced sharply into his chest.
Davit snapped back to reality, a strange sensation of contraction sweeping through his stomach.
“No… it’s nothing.”
It wasn’t a sudden thought that she was beautiful.
Her being a beauty was an objective fact. No matter how much the people of Blansk mocked her as a witch from hell, they couldn’t deny it.
“There’s no need to deny it so sharply. I was joking.”
The Grand Duchess returned her playful smile.
Relief washed over him as her usual liveliness seemed to return.
“…Grand Duchess.”
“Yes?”
“Must we… not get wet now?”
“I told you earlier. Respect my hobby.”
Davit shook his head. That, he didn’t want to respect.
“You said you’d protect me.”
“Yes, I did.”
“If you were really struck by lightning, I’d be left a widower.”
The Grand Duchess made ridiculous remarks about divine punishment and hell, and Davit shot back in kind.
“…Pfft. You really make absurd statements. You always acted like that when lightning struck, so if it had actually hit you, it would’ve happened by now.”
“Without you, I wouldn’t be the ruler of Dvorca. Our coronation happened because of the intermarriage between royals.”
“Hmm, why is it coming to that? It’s not divorce or death. He could still remain a ruler. Anyway, we brought him because we thought he needed a Grand Duke.”
“Even if he maintains his position as ruler, wouldn’t he return to the Yorka palace and be trapped in that harem?”
Davit knew this well. It was the Grand Duchess who had taken him out of the palace, which had become like a colonial governor’s seat.
Without her, the crown prince alone would decide Davit’s fate.
The Grand Duchess nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. I can’t bear to see you fall into the crown prince’s hands.”
She muttered this to herself, her expression darkened.
Crown Prince Daimon, the colonial governor of Dvorca.
From Davit’s perspective, the Grand Duchess didn’t seem to view him favorably either.
So he decided to ask.
“…What do you think of the Crown Prince?”
The Grand Duchess’s eyes widened. She seemed a little taken aback by the unexpected question.
Soon, she smoothly lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile.
“Well, since we’ve become somewhat familiar, I’ll give you my personal opinion.”
“Go ahead.”
“In my view, my uncle isn’t fit to wield power. He’s inherently cruel, addicted to drugs, and treats the lives of Dvorcans as worthless. The king knows enough. Appointing him as governor was probably the final test—to see if he has even the slightest aptitude to inherit the throne.”
Her opinion was clear. Davit’s expectation that she might give a vague answer because of their blood relation was completely wrong.
“…Is that so?”
“That test caused far too many sacrifices. Even now, my maternal grandfather firmly believes that his son can be rehabilitated, though.”
“…Do you think the Crown Prince will pass the test?”
The Grand Duchess shook her head decisively.
“Even if he passes, I think he’ll destroy himself, my uncle.”
“Destroy himself…?”
“I want to see that moment come sooner, if possible.”
Davit blinked slowly. It took him several seconds to fully comprehend what she meant—she wanted to hasten the Crown Prince’s self-destruction.
“Hahaha. I’ve said something dangerous, haven’t I? I don’t have a concrete plan yet. Don’t go reporting it or anything.”
“…Of course not.”
The person who could protect him from the crown prince would be her.
Davit had realized at first sight that the crown prince was dangerous.
He had also ordered the suppression of locals resisting colonial rule with force.
Their governing philosophies differed, so she was a natural opposition figure—but he hadn’t realized she harbored intentions like this.
“You look very shocked, Grand Duchess.”
“Anyone would be, right? It’s practically a rebellion plan.”
“Hmm, yes. You could call it a rebellion.”
“…You admit it too easily.”
“I’m not entirely in my right mind today, so I’m talking.”
The Grand Duchess laughed again.
Was it just his imagination, or did her playful laughter carry a hint of madness?
Another question arose in Davit.
“Are you planning to use me for that too?”
“…Well, I could do it alone. I don’t want to involve the Grand Duke in something dangerous.”
“What do you mean by doing it alone?”
“Poshchin and Cheremsky. These were the regions with the harshest colonial rule. Both castles fell due to local resistance. Where did the rebels get their weapons and supplies?”
“…You’re secretly supplying them? The crown prince might notice.”
Calmly, the Grand Duchess shook her head.
“I contracted with corrupt lords to sell weapons and grain at low prices. Then I leaked a little information so the rebels could intercept the carts carrying them. I never directly aided them. My carts were just robbed, defenselessly.”
“….”
Davit was speechless in shock. He hadn’t expected her to support the resistance in such a way.
“You see? The rebels only stole the supplies. But I plan to stop now. Even if indirect aid succeeds, too many villagers die.”
Her words trailed off.
The skin under her eyes reddened again.
What if she cried? Should he approach and wipe them? Davit felt uneasy.
But the Grand Duchess didn’t cry. She raised her chin bravely and continued.
“In any case, the tyrannical lords were either driven out empty-handed or killed. I persuaded the king to seat my people in their place. After the war, the royal treasury was empty, but the diligent granddaughter tried to restore it. Restoration work is ongoing. You know about it, Grand Duke?”
“…Yes. I signed the donation documents for Poshchin and Cheremsky yesterday as well.”
Davit recalled all the donation papers he had signed.
So it wasn’t simple donations at all.
“Hahaha, forget everything you heard today.”
The Grand Duchess winked lazily with one eye.
Suddenly, sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the left side of her face.
The clouds that had blocked the sky were finally gone.
The mist that had lingered in the bathroom began to fade. Her long, slender neck was sharply outlined in the sunlight.
In the bright light, the Grand Duchess smiled even more dazzlingly.
Davit froze completely.
The water he was submerged in wasn’t just the bathtub—it felt as if it were her world.
A dizzying sense of falling somewhere unknown overtook him, despite being in the solid marble bathtub.
The heat rising from the water seemed to swallow his whole body. He felt he couldn’t stay in the same space any longer.
“Yes. Then I’ll try to—”
Davit stopped as he tried to rise from the bathtub.
He realized something unusual about his body.
A certain change had occurred, one he could never reveal to the Grand Duchess.
If he got up now, he wouldn’t be able to hide it.
Reluctantly, he sank back deeper into the bathtub.
“…Why did you stop getting up?”
“I’ll wash a little more. You seem done with your bath, so please go first.”
“Yes, I am done… but why?”
“Please. Go out first.”
Davit’s words were excessively earnest. The Grand Duchess tilted her head, but, tucking her gown, she slowly stood.
“Alright, then I’ll go out first.”
She turned and left without hesitation.
Left alone, Davit shuddered with self-reproach.
He covered his flushed face with both hands, tormented.
The Grand Duchess was dangerous. In many ways.
No, perhaps the truly dangerous one was himself.
