Chapter 87
You’re the foolish one.
Why can’t you see that the Grand Duke back then and the Grand Duke now are different? How can a person think of only one thing like this? I should have said that, but by then my mouth had already gone rigid.
“Then shall I prepare a new carriage to welcome him when he comes? Bring her along.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps he realized I was being dragged away by force—Rex’s voice rang out from afar.
“Where are you taking Lady Aisha!”
“Drag that one off and lock him up as well.”
“Yes.”
I could hear the voices of the knights who had been there. I couldn’t even turn my head. I should have told Rex that I was fine, told him to leave this place immediately—but that was impossible. I was merely being dragged along wherever the Grand Duchess led.
‘Has she lost her mind?’
That was the thought that came to me as I looked at the Grand Duchess while being pulled along.
Her life had always gone exactly the way she wanted.
Is that why? Does she see life—this world—far too easily? If I suddenly disappear, the Grand Duke will suspect the last place I went. Naturally, that would lead him to suspect the Grand Duchess. And then it would come to light that she was the one who did this to me.
‘That would only be worse for her.’
“You look quite unable to understand.”
Clicking her heels as she walked, she glanced back at me following behind and let out a faint smirk.
“……If he…… finds out…… I came here…….”
“Ah. That he’ll know you came here? Of course he might. But most of the people in the Grand Duke’s household still follow my orders. So there won’t be anyone to tell him you came here.”
That won’t do. Just in case something like this happened, I even wrote a letter directly to the Grand Duke before coming.
Of course, there’s no way she would know that.
“Even if he does find out, nothing will change. I’ll simply deny you ever came. And even if he searches my palace to find you, he won’t be able to. The place we’re going—no one will ever find it.”
As if to prove her words, while I was being dragged along in a daze, the world suddenly alternated between bright and dark. The only thing I could distinguish was that my legs thudded against the ground as if we were heading underground. Because my whole body was paralyzed, I couldn’t move my head properly—so that was all I could tell.
“And your knight will also disappear, so everyone will end up suspecting him.”
“…….”
“Don’t worry. I’m not a fool—I have no intention of ending this too simply. That knight will grow more foolish by the day as he consumes the medicines I personally concocted. It’s quite amusing. The stronger a person is, the more easily they succumb to drugs. But once they fall for it, they’re filled with nothing but happy memories. They won’t want to wake, they grow increasingly addicted, and before they know it… they become a fool.”
As if already entertained by the thought, the Grand Duchess began humming softly.
“Those half-clever ones are the most amusing. They think they’re something special. That’s precisely why they fall so easily.”
“…….”
It was then. Suddenly, not only the ones holding me but the Grand Duchess as well came to a halt.
They took something and began covering their faces with cloth. Of course, no one did the same for me. I was left abandoned midway on the stairs, and before long—once their preparations were done—they grabbed me again.
Even though I was paralyzed, I could still feel the pain. Every time my legs struck the floor with a hollow thud, it hurt. But I didn’t even have time to dwell on that before a door underground opened.
After passing through a dark—so very dark—corridor and descending treacherous stairs again and again, the door at the end opened surprisingly smoothly. As if people came and went often.
And at the sight that greeted me, I almost let out a gasp.
Though even if I had tried, no sound would have come out.
“Well? My garden.”
“…….”
“Ah. I suppose you can’t speak now.”
It was beautiful. That much was true. This was undoubtedly underground—where not a single ray of light should enter. Yet this place seemed to possess its own season; high above, something glittered across the lofty ceiling. Perhaps because of that, the underground was brighter than expected.
And in that vast space… just as I had anticipated, countless flowers were in bloom.
“You know what this is, don’t you?”
“…….”
“You, who are half-clever, surely know. And this place is to become your grave.”
Just as she had done to Lari, she intends to kill me with this. By making me ingest an excessive amount.
“Still, you’ll have a beautiful dream. It’s quite a beautiful death for someone who caused me trouble—but… I do like beautiful things. Farewell, child.”
At the Grand Duchess’s nod, those who had dragged me here threw me into the middle of the flower field and quickly exited. Their steps were hurried, as if they couldn’t remain here long. The Grand Duchess was the same.
They left just like that. I lay there quietly, staring up at the ceiling.
‘It is beautiful.’
The glittering lights on the ceiling looked like fireflies. Twinkling. And the densely blooming flowers were soft—so soft it almost felt like lying on a bed.
‘A death like this… might not be so bad.’
The thought suddenly crossed my mind. To leave this world while dreaming a pleasant dream, with nothing more to think about. But I have things to protect. The twins—their future. I cannot die like this.
Yet because of the paralysis, my body wouldn’t move. And with every breath, the fragrance released from the flowers and their seeds filled my body.
‘No matter how much my body heals, isn’t this a bit dangerous?’
In truth, my mind was growing hazy. I felt like I mustn’t lose consciousness—but my eyes kept closing.
In the end, I couldn’t overcome that endless drowsiness and shut my eyes.
But the Grand Duchess’s wish did not come true. Perhaps God truly favors me—or perhaps there is a reason I must live. In proportion to the amount I inhaled, my body began to recover.
I could feel it. Each time I breathed in, my body fought against the sleeping agent entering me, recovering rapidly—and gradually, the paralysis began to fade.
Before long, I regained my senses. I could even move my body.
“What do I do now?”
I had gotten up, but what came next was the problem. I moved my body with extreme caution. Thankfully, it seemed I was alone inside. Since it was a sleeping agent—a poisonous substance—there appeared to be no one guarding the interior.
Not only that, the door wasn’t locked. Just as the Grand Duchess had said, it seemed no one believed anyone could enter here; security was more lax than expected. Most likely, there wasn’t even anyone guarding the stairs leading underground. I hadn’t seen anyone while being brought here.
So I carefully opened the door and stepped outside. A place without a single window.
‘If there are no windows, then… this isn’t a tower, is it?’
If it were a tower or connected to the outside, there would be windows or at least some draft seeping in through the walls. But there was nothing of the sort. By touch, the walls seemed to be made of stone—yet they felt strangely light for stone. As though constructed of such material for some specific reason.
When I was brought here, I thought there had been stairs stretching endlessly like in a tower. But now that I walked, it didn’t feel like there were that many stairs. It seemed more like certain raised sections—as if something had been remodeled.
‘It’s not a cylindrical structure, yet there are raised sections as if remodeled….’
The overall impression was that of a long, straight corridor.
‘Very simply… is this just the underground of the Grand Duchess’s castle?’
Had they broken through the walls or removed doors to create this shape?
It was at that moment that I heard voices.
“This is the one who just came in?”
“So I heard. They’re leaving him alone for today, and then they plan to administer poison depending on the situation.”
“The situation, huh.”
“If the external situation isn’t favorable, they might give an excessive dose. But since that could kill him, they’ll see how things go.”
“I see. A pitiful fellow.”
The two men clicked their tongues as they spoke.
“I heard someone came underground as well?”
“No need to worry about that one. They’ll die on their own anyway.”
“That’s what I’m saying. What a sudden mess this is.”
“I heard things aren’t going well for Her Grace the Grand Duchess these days.”
“Should we run away after assessing the situation…?”
They didn’t appear to be members of the Grand Duke’s household. Hearing them talk about running away, they seemed like outsiders. From behind a pillar where I hid, I observed that even their clothing was unfamiliar.
“Anyway, let’s go eat. We won’t be staying here long.”
“Right.”
With that, the two men quickly disappeared.
After watching until they were fully gone, I looked at the person they had mentioned—the one newly brought in. His arms and legs were bound, and even his eyes were covered.
It was Rex.
‘Ah….’
The moment I saw him, an idea struck me.
“If it’s that… I can save Rex.”
