âWhat does that matter, mind your own business. I thought you said you didnât care about the spirits.â
[I donât think youâre interested in spirits. Youâre going to kill a person for nothing].
âWhat do you care, youâre the one who sent me here to live.â
[Ah, look at you saying this, when did I just send you to live here? I sent you here because I want you to want to live!]
âThatâs it.â
If I could just live when I wasnât living, thatâs the life I want to live.
This crazy old ladyâs plan was a success in another sense.
I, who was strictly confined to the corner of my room, living and breathing, am here, complaining here of not wanting to die.
Living like that is also wanting to live.
That is also life.
It was funny to see myself struggling not to let go.
[I brought you here because I didnât want to see you stuck at home with your head in your handsâŠ].
âWho the hell wants to be sent here? Youâre the one who one-sidedly sent a perfectly fine person here!â
I donât think anyone would have wanted to come here.
Who would want to come to a place like this, where thereâs no TV, no smartphone, no ramen noodles?
She thinks I donât know that she brought me here to use me as a vessel.
[You said youâd rather die than receive me, so I sent you here to wake up].
âYou sent me here to enlighten me, after all.â
[Tsk tskâŠ. If youâre not grown up yet, youâre a long way off].
âIf youâre going to say something weird, just go.â
Iâm tired from lack of sleep and confronting the spirits, and now Iâve got to deal with this old lady.
Even if I was living like a cripple in the corner of my room, it would be a hundred times better than this.
Itâs better than here, where every time I blink, something happens.
[I canât fix that crap, anyway, ugh].
The old lady, who had been rambling on, said she didnât feel like arguing anymore and walked away.
I donât know where she went.
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and climbed the stairs, reaching my bedroom.
âMy wife is very busy as soon as we arrive.â
An unexpected enemy lurks in my doorway.
Sitting lazily on the couch in a soft silk shirtâŠâŠ.
A nervous knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I realized Iâd been caught out in the hall with the spirits.
âWhy are you here?â
âBecause itâs my bedroom.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âHave you forgotten that weâre a married couple in love?â
Oh, yeah.
I replied in a numb voice, throwing my tired body onto the bed.
âCome here.â
The Grand Dukeâs voice sounded so much like a loving husband in the moonlit night.
His voice was sweet and seductive, and I glanced up to look at him.
No, no, no, no.
He must have known what I was doing.
âIâm tired, Iâll go to bed first.â
âIf you prefer to talk in bed, then so be it.â
Without hesitation, the Grand Duke rose from his seat and walked to the bed where I lay. Step by step, my heart pounded as he got closer.
âI thought I made myself clear.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âPost a report before you act.â
It was useless to tell Hardin to look out.
The manor was in the hands of the Grand Duke anyway.
I tried to bury my face in the sheets, but his stare was too much for me, so I lifted myself up to face the Grand Duke.
âYou told me this was the Marquis Heliâs mansion, and the first thing I saw when I got here were the evil spirits.â
âSpirits? Spirits of the dead?â
âYes. They were servants who had been wronged by the Marquis, and a little while ago I sent Hardin to kill him.â
âAt whose behest?â
His sharp, piercing eyes were chilling, frightening.
The Grand Duke had eyes like that.
Eyes that could make a man cringe with a single glance. Eyes so deep and dark that you couldnât see into them.
âWas there ever anyone who could look away after hearing such a thing?â
âWho pities whom?â
A sickening mockery turned toward me.
I felt sorry for myself, sitting in this darkened bedroom, being treated like this.
âYouâre not Bevenia, youâre Noctis. Floaty Noctis.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âWith that name comes so much responsibility.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âWhat will you do if they find out you were behind the Marquis of Heliâs death?â
There was no sincerity in the Grand Dukeâs voice.
If he really wanted House Noctisâ honor to remain intact, he wouldnât be laughing like it was so funny.
âThat wonât happen.â
âYouâre so confident after last time.â
âIâm sure.â
In their darkened bedroom, thereâs an odd tension in their stare-down.
âFrom the moment she sees her husbandâs death, the Marquess will begin to panic.â
Sheâll be begging the imperial guard to come out and catch the killer.
Why?
Because their sins were so great that they would abandon the mansion and flee to the estate.
Theyâve done more than kill a whole bunch of people, theyâve done a whole lot to get caught.
âThe culprit will not be caught, and the madamâs fears will grow by the day. The guards will not investigate the case for long.â
âFor what reason?â
âBecause heâs a marquis in name only, whoâs lost his fortune in debauchery and gambling, and has retreated to an estate on the outskirts of the empire.â
Hardin was a competent enough assassin that the Empress had kept him around.
If he had been an easy target for the guards, I wouldnât have tried to talk to him in the first place.
âThatâs my plan, for her to be eaten alive by the fear she nurtured.â
And with that, I silenced the spirits of the mansion.
Now that they have safely returned to the heavens, the sinister aura of this place will dissipate in the morning.
âThat concludes my report. May I retire for the night?â
âYou may as well be a saint from heaven, wife.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âYou must be a saint, given your ability to foretell, see spirits, and serve them.â
The Grand Duke had a perfect sense of my abilities.
Not surprising, since Iâd overused them to survive.
I figured it didnât matter, since I was going to use my powers to help him anyway.
âI donât know what youâre trying to say. I only moved just enough to avoid harming Noctisâs name.â
âItâs curious, a princess with such extraordinary abilities is treated as a pariah by her family.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âDid you hide it on purpose, because you didnât want to be taken advantage of by the Duke?â
The Grand Duke asked insistently, his eyes shining. Like he was trying to get to the bottom of something.
âThatâs what it means to be different.â
If you think you can use me, use me until Iâm no longer useful.
And when you donât need me anymore, you point your finger at it and dirty it.
âYouâve heard the rumors, that Iâm a cursed child.â
So Iâve lived a disgusting life, and so has Bevenia.
Disgusting lives, despised for doing nothing to harm others.
âMaybe Iâm just cursed, like the priest said, not some great saint.â
The Grand Duke asked me no more questions as I tucked myself into bed under the covers.
He merely said,
âI didnât mean to be sarcastic, so donât take it to heart.â
It was an unnecessarily thoughtful thing to say.
Once the darkness cleared, a normal day at the manor began.
It was an uneventful day, as if I hadnât moved to the capital to capture the empress who threatened my life.
âMy lady, some fragrant tea has been brought in, would you like a cup?â
âThe sun is shining today, so why donât we have tea in the garden?â
âHis Excellency has asked me to tailor your dress, so let me take your measurements, maâam.â
âSeafood is not to your taste, is it?â
âIt is only harvested in the south. I hope it fits your taste.â
What a peaceful life.
Perhaps this is what it must be like to be the beloved wife of the great Grand Duke Noctis.
Dresses of the finest fabrics, ornaments inlaid with colorful and precious jewels, delicious food always freshly prepared, and refreshments at every turn.
It was like the life of a tycoon on a European vacation.
A large, ornate mansion, beautiful gardens with loving touches, and people who might be snooty behind your back but are very friendly on the outside.
Was this really the life of a Bevenia, a contracted marriage partner meant to capture the empress?
âMy lady, His Excellency asked you to stop by his office for a moment.â
âYes, tell him Iâll be there soon.â
It was so peaceful that I could barely see the face of Grand Duke Noctis, the man who had offered me a contract marriage.
He comes in when Iâm asleep, and goes out before I wake.
âWhat kind of wind will blow today?â
This was the first time Iâd seen him in the daylight since coming up to the capital.
âMy lady, Iâll help you with your dress.â
Sheâd already gotten up.
I meekly accepted the maidâs touch as she gave me one last tidy up before I went to see my husband.
She tied her downy hair into a neat bun and finished with a pretty piece of jewelry.
âItâs done, maâam.â
âThank you. It looks beautiful, Leah.â
Blushing, Leah felt embarrassed by my compliment.
âNo, maâam. Iâm ashamed of my workmanship.â
Leah was the maid who had been nearly taken over by the spirits on her first day at the manor.
Word had gotten out among the servants that Iâd saved her, so sheâd offered to be my exclusive maid, much to everyoneâs reluctance.
âThen I hope you have a good time, my lady.â
âYes.â
Even my one-word answer is not that good.
Leah disappeared from the room with a light step.
âYour Excellency, the lady has served.â
âCome in.â
In the sunlit throne room was the Grand Duke, surrounded by piles of papers, his face tired.
âYou look even more beautiful in the daylight.â
If he can pull off an act like this, maybe heâs not tired.
The man flashed a wide, bright smile until the butler closed the door behind him, and then his mouth tightened into a straight line.
âWhat did you call for?â
âYouâve had enough rest, and now you must do your duty.â
What was coming was inevitable.
My days of leisurely play and eating were over.
âFirst mission, or something like that?â
âSomething like that.â
The Grand Duke smiled leisurely and held out a gold-encrusted invitation to me.