Chapter 7
“What is that child’s identity?”
As soon as they got into the carriage together, Maya asked as if she had been waiting for the moment.
“Please tell me at least a little about what is going on.”
Reina swallowed nervously.
She had already planned to tell Maya, but the intensity in Maya’s eyes made her hesitate.
“Well…”
Carefully watching Maya’s expression, Reina told her the truth.
That she had secretly taken in a terminally ill child from the Ingersoll Grand Ducal family—a child they were keeping hidden.
She expected Maya to be angry.
Instead, Maya lowered her head silently.
‘My lady… the kind and soft-hearted lady I only ever worried would be hurt too easily…’
Has become a kidnapper.
“My lady.”
Maya spoke in a strained voice and took a deep breath.
“You know why Lucius Ingersoll is called the Monster Grand Duke, right?”
Reina nodded.
There were all kinds of rumors—he felt no pain, he didn’t eat or sleep, and at night he hunted and devoured people.
Those rumors had originally followed the first Grand Duke of Ingersoll.
“And you know the first Grand Duke was insane.”
The first Ingersoll Grand Duke had been a hero who led the Empire to victory in war.
The people praised him as a hero but also feared him as a monster.
After the war, he changed.
He barely ate or slept and always carried a sword.
Eventually, he began cutting down anyone who approached him.
As if he believed someone was constantly trying to kill him.
“And have you heard about the curse he was said to have?”
“A curse?”
It was a secretive rumor. Without being told, Reina would never have known.
The first Grand Duke had died suddenly.
His death was suspicious—and so was his body.
“They say his entire body was covered in black stains. No matter how much they wiped, the stains wouldn’t come off.”
Reina’s eyes widened.
She remembered the black marks that had covered Calix’s body.
“People believed those stains were the blood of everyone he killed in battle.”
They said the resentment of those he had slain had clung to him, rotting with him in black decay.
“The later Grand Dukes’ bodies were normal, so the curse rumor died down… but…”
Maya felt Reina needed to understand the danger.
“Do you really think a curse born from resentment would disappear so easily? It’s best not to get involved with such an ominous family at all, my lady.”
But instead of being frightened, Reina’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s it! That curse must be the cause! It didn’t feel like an ordinary illness. If the curse is lifted, Calix can recover.”
This was not the reaction Maya expected.
“My lady, even if it’s a curse, it can’t be undone.”
“Why not?”
“If there were a way to break it, the Ingersoll family would have done it already!”
Maya didn’t want Reina wasting effort on something hopeless—or putting herself in danger.
“So please, return the child to the Ingersoll family, even now.”
“I can’t. From the moment my brother brought Calix here, we can’t avoid responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
“You know the Empire’s winters are getting harsher every year.”
Of course she did.
Land and rivers froze solid. Animals and people died overnight.
“But the Ingersoll family rules the coldest, most barren northern lands.”
Maya’s eyes slowly widened.
“What easier way is there to gain new territory than a war between families?”
A new land to replace the failing one.
That was Lucius’s hidden intention.
“He can’t just declare war without reason. But if someone killed his direct family member, that would be convincing.”
Calix was terminally ill. His death seemed inevitable.
And when he died, Lucius could easily blame whoever had been sheltering him.
“That’s why I have to cure Calix.”
If Calix didn’t die, Lucius would lose his excuse for war.
“Maya. Believe me.”
Reina’s voice was firm.
“If Calix lives, we live too.”
Only then did Maya understand.
Reina already knew.
She understood exactly what kind of family the Ingersolls were—and what they were capable of.
Maya clenched her fists.
‘Idiot. My role isn’t to scare her.’
Her role was to protect her lady with her life.
From now on, that was all that mattered.
***
The carriage carrying Reina and Maya arrived at the capital’s shopping district.
“By the way, what happened to your hand?” Maya asked, looking at the bandage wrapped around Reina’s left hand.
It was an injury from the night before.
When Calix’s fever dropped, Reina had become convinced her hands had special powers.
For a moment, she had even wondered if she was a newly awakened bearer of divine power.
If she transmigrated, she should at least get some special perk.
Excited, she had tested her theory by cutting her palm lightly with a paper knife.
‘Divine power, my foot.’
It hurt terribly, and no matter how much she rubbed it, it didn’t heal.
Embarrassed, she had quietly wrapped it in bandages.
“I cut it by accident.”
Maya didn’t look fully convinced but let it go.
“Are we here today because of that child?”
Reina nodded as they entered an antique shop.
It was the largest antique shop in the capital, often visited by the Count and Countess.
They had a hobby of collecting rare and expensive items.
Most were suspicious smuggled goods.
‘Things that couldn’t be obtained legally.’
Thanks to their bragging about illegal dealings, things were easier for Reina now.
For the first time since transmigrating, she felt grateful to them.
The shop looked ordinary, but its “Master” was not.
He was a black-market dealer who could obtain anything—if the price was right.
Reina had contacted him in advance.
He said the item would be hard to find and take time.
When she doubled the fee, he promised to have it ready today.
“How may I assist you?”
A clerk asked as she approached the counter.
“I’m here to collect an item reserved under the Master’s name.”
The clerk’s expression changed.
“What is the reservation name?”
Reina hesitated.
The clerk’s tone sharpened.
Just as Maya’s hand tensed—
Reina leaned forward and whispered in a small voice,
“Violet blooming under the moonlight.”
Ugh. So embarrassing.
Her face burned.
The Master assigned ridiculous nicknames to protect anonymity.
‘I don’t even know him, and he gives me something like that.’
He had to be eccentric.
“Please wait.”
As the clerk disappeared, Maya grabbed Reina’s arm.
“My lady. Is it a weapon? Poison?”
“What?”
“You said it’s for that child. This is clearly a suspicious deal.”
Maya quickly reached a conclusion.
“You’re buying something to eliminate witnesses, aren’t you?”
“…What?”
“It’s fine. I was thinking of getting rid of the witnesses anyway.”
To buy time for Calix, no one could find out he was here.
“Who saw him? Tell me. I’ll handle it quietly. A gentle lady like you shouldn’t—”
She froze mid-whisper.
Through the glass storefront, her eyes widened.
“Maya?”
Reina followed her gaze—
But Maya suddenly pulled her behind a shelf.
“What is it?”
“Shh.”
Maya peered through the gap.
A man had just entered the shop.
His features were sharp and refined, like a sculpture.
His hair was black as night.
His eyes were bright gold.
His expression was cold, but rather than frightening, he looked striking.
“Do you know him?” Reina whispered.
“He’s the Monster Grand Duke.”
Reina’s eyes went wide.
‘That’s Lucius!’
He looked exactly as described in the novel.
She had been too distracted by his handsome face to recognize him immediately.
“Why—why is he here? Because of me? No, that can’t be, not yet…”
As Reina started babbling in panic, Maya quickly covered her mouth.
Lucius’s footsteps were getting closer.
