Chapter 8
“Poor kid, all skin and bones. Those previous masters really never fed her, huh? I thought she was only thirteen, but she’s actually an adult? And yet she ended up dragged all the way here. Truly a miserable fate… miserable.”
The female knight Mia covered the mouth of the chattering Katukan.
“Anyway, there’s nothing special besides that?”
“Yeah, nothing. Just a normal maid.”
“But why in the world does he never hurt that child?”
For the past three years, they had done everything to lift the curse.
They had dug through the affairs of the nobles who had tried to frame him as a scheming usurper despite his absolute loyalty to the emperor. They had hunted down every so-called sorcerer and beaten answers out of them. Nothing had worked. They couldn’t even find the person who had cursed him in the first place. The temple only spouted nonsense about taking in a bride as a way to break the curse.
And then Lanya had appeared.
As days passed, the man who people claimed was turning more and more into a bloodthirsty monster had, for the first time, spared his bride.
To be honest, after three long years, I had begun to lose hope that the curse could ever be lifted. But thanks to Lanya, my determination flared up again.
“I like Lanya, my lord! I just know she’s the one—your real bride!”
Katukan was convinced. Lanya would be the only one capable of saving his master.
Mia stared at him in disbelief.
“So you’re already on a first-name basis?”
Katukan grinned brightly and nodded.
“Yep! She even said my name sounded cool.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“What the—!”
Katukan’s expression turned fierce at Mia’s taunt. The two of them glared at each other like sworn enemies, but before their argument could escalate, Routh spoke up.
“What if it’s the opposite?”
Katukan froze mid-squabble and turned to Routh. Mia also looked at him, as if wondering what nonsense he was talking about.
“We’ve taken in twenty brides so far, and all of them died before they could lift the lord’s curse. But this child is the only one who remains unharmed. Is that really coincidence?”
“……”
“And most importantly, she isn’t even a true bride sent by the priests.”
Routh spoke coldly. Katukan frowned, clearly displeased.
“You always jump to the worst conclusions. Shouldn’t we be clinging to whatever hope we have left?”
“And you always talk nonsense.”
“What? You little—!”
“It doesn’t matter whether that child is the true bride or a fake.”
Katukan stopped mid-grab, letting go of Routh’s collar. Both men and Mia turned toward Richtlich.
He stood silently, gazing out the window. His eyes rested on Lanya, who, oblivious to everything, was happily chatting with the stern head maid Jasmine while helping hang out laundry.
“Prepare to take her as my bride.”
Richtlich said, tearing his gaze away from Lanya. His words shocked Routh, who hurriedly objected.
“Your Highness! But we still don’t know whether she truly is the bride or one of their agents. If we perform the ritual recklessly and something happens to you—”
“What worse outcome could there be? Besides, you already reported that there was no connection between her and them.”
“But—”
“You told me to try something, didn’t you? And if you turn out to be right, it might actually be a chance to find the one who did this to me.”
Richtlich cut him off with an order.
“Bring the child to me.”
It was a sudden summons. Nervously, Lanya entered the grand duke’s study. He sat at his desk by the sunlit window, working on something. She approached carefully and bowed.
Was this the moment her fate would be decided? Please, she prayed, let it not be a return to the Roan Count family. Being sent back there would mean death. Lanya watched his expression cautiously and spoke.
“You called for me, Your Highness.”
Richtlich looked at her with an unreadable gaze before standing.
“Sit.”
“Yes, sir!”
She nodded and moved to the sofa he indicated.
After leaving the desk, the grand duke followed and sat beside her. Lanya fidgeted, clutching her hands together as she endured the weight of his stare. Her nerves tightened—what punishment awaited her? Finally, he spoke.
“You came here as a bride, one way or another.”
The unexpected words left Lanya dumbfounded.
“Pardon?”
“Therefore, you must fulfill your duties as a bride.”
What was he talking about? He already knew she wasn’t the real bride—yet he still spoke of duties? And she was merely a maid, not some noblewoman.
“But as you know, my status—”
“Your status is irrelevant. What matters is that you survived two days.”
“……”
“If you spend ten nights with me, I will grant you wealth and a home where you can live in comfort for the rest of your life.”
Ten nights.
What did he mean by that?
Her expression turned vacant as she stared at him, trying to grasp the implication. If a woman was born into a lowly position, she often endured humiliations far worse than men. The worst of those humiliations was usually being trampled by greedy men.
Just as the local lord had once done to my mother.
Was he demanding the same of her?
He had spared her life despite knowing she was a fake bride. Even if that were not the case, she was in no position to refuse his will. She should simply submit and do whatever he asked…
But anger surged within her.
“If I refuse?”
When her mother had refused the lord, he had raged, claiming that a lowly woman had no right to deny him, that she owed him anything he desired. Lanya expected Richtlich to react the same way—to throw a fit about her insolence.
“If you refuse, I will send you back to the Roan Count family.”
Instead, he neither forced her nor showed anger. But his words were no less cruel.
Being sent back to the count’s estate meant death. Lanya understood that, and so did the grand duke.
“If I return to the Roan Count family, they will kill me.”
“Not only you—the entire Roan Count family will be destroyed. For daring to insult His Majesty and me with such a petty scheme. They will lose their heads at the execution grounds.”
Richtlich did not finish the thought, but Lanya understood: she would be among those whose heads would fall.
“So either way, I die if I refuse.”
A strange sense of disappointment tightened her chest, though she had known him for only a few days. Had she begun to hope because he wasn’t the bloodthirsty monster everyone claimed? Or was it because he had shown unexpected kindness that night?
Objectively speaking, the grand duke had treated her with at least some humanity.
To be honest, she and the entire Roan Count household could have been executed on the spot without anyone raising an objection. Yet he had not done so. He had proposed the ten nights while offering her the status of his bride and a life of comfort.
There were only two choices.
Accept his proposal, or return to the Roan Count family and die at their hands—or even face execution for insulting the imperial family.
“Take your time to decide.”
He rose from the sofa and left with a cold expression.
Lanya watched him go, her eyes reddened with anger.
“Take my time to decide?”
It sounded like a choice, but it was nothing more than a veiled threat! He had seemed different, but in the end, he was no better than the nobles who treated the lower classes like beasts. Sitting in a secluded corner of the castle, biting her nails in frustration, Lanya swallowed her rage. Could she escape in secret…?
