Chapter 5
Of course, I had expected Lishid to react like this. I knew very, very well that he had intended to seek help from a priest.
Which meant I had prepared my own counterargument.
“How could that be… I truly didn’t know.”
I furrowed my brows as if I were genuinely shocked.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace…! I never even imagined that you would seek help from a priest. The temples are all under His Majesty’s control, aren’t they?”
I covered my mouth in alarm, putting all my acting skills into it. I could feel him hesitate slightly.
Yes, exactly. You can’t let the Emperor get ahold of your weakness. If you ask a priest for help, it’ll reach the Emperor’s ears immediately.
“And there’s one more misunderstanding, Your Grace.”
I shook my head.
“Why would I hand you over to a father who dislikes me? He doesn’t even consider me family…”
Everyone in high society knew that Airel, the Duke of Blandiche’s illegitimate daughter, had a distant relationship with her father.
So Lishid had no choice but to believe me.
I sniffled softly and added,
“And lastly, Your Grace, you know this too.”
“…Know what?”
“That I’ve loved you all this time.”
For a brief moment, his red eyes flickered.
I didn’t miss that chance.
“So please, just trust me once. No matter what happens, I will protect you before I protect my own life.”
“…You will protect me?”
“Yes. I promise to do my best to help you. And if you ever sense even the slightest hint of betrayal from me, you may stab me with that sword without hesitation.”
If that day comes, I’ll be doomed anyway.
“Well? Do you trust me a little now?”
I smiled confidently, glancing at the sword pointed at me.
His gaze, which had been studying my face, shifted subtly.
***
“My lady…? What happened to you? Did you fight with someone again?”
When I returned to the estate, Jenis looked at me in shock.
“My face? What’s wrong with it?”
Only then did I walk over to the vanity and look into the mirror.
My silver hair was a mess, and my lips looked pale and dry.
“…Oh my.”
I talked to the male lead looking like this?
To be fair, the original novel had described Airel’s beauty in hundreds of lines, so I didn’t look terrible…
“Still, I feel a little bad confessing my love with this face.”
It was probably the first time she had ever confessed so directly.
“Sorry, Airel…”
But I’m cleaning up the mess you made, so please forgive me a little.
While silently apologizing to Airel, Jenis stepped forward and began brushing my hair.
“You’ve been acting strangely lately, my lady.”
“Strangely?”
“Yes. You’ve shown no interest in dressing up. And you even went out carrying that strange bag you made yourself. It’s not like you at all.”
“Oh.”
I flinched slightly and glanced at my pocket bag.
Inside the dark pocket, Lishid, who had decided to follow me, was glaring up at me.
His red eyes gleamed sharply.
Startled, I quickly dismissed Jenis.
“Oh dear, I’m exhausted! You can go now, Jenis. Thank you for your concern.”
“Already?”
“Yes. I’m going to rest early. I’ll prepare my bath and bed myself, so please dismiss the maids too.”
She looked puzzled by my request, but fortunately, she nodded.
“Alright. Then have a good evening.”
Only after I heard the door click shut did I let out a long sigh and remove the pocket bag.
“Haa… You can come out now, Your Grace!”
I placed the bag gently on the bed. It wriggled.
“Oh, right. Your shoes!”
Just as he stepped out, I hurriedly grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“…What are you doing?”
He placed his hand on his sword hilt, eyes sharp.
“N-No… Please take off your shoes before stepping on the bed.”
Shoes on the bed? Absolutely not.
At least not for me.
I gestured at his shoes, worried about black footprints staining my snow-white sheets.
“Ha.”
He stared at me, then let out a cold chuckle.
“You are quite troublesome.”
“B-But if there are footprints, you’ll be in trouble too! The maids will suspect something, and then my father will hear about it…”
As I rambled on with explanations, he smirked slightly and kicked off his shoes.
“Satisfied?”
“Perfect!”
I gave him a thumbs-up and let go of his clothes.
His red eyes looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
“Feel free to look around, Your Grace. If you need anything, just tell me!”
I pretended not to notice his stare and smiled brightly.
“I shall.”
He stood at the edge of the bed and surveyed the room.
It took him five seconds to deliver his verdict.
“For someone so concerned about cleanliness, this room is excessively cluttered and chaotic. Your sense of aesthetics is severely lacking.”
“Ugh…”
I had been secretly hoping for praise, so that stung.
As he said, Airel’s room was full of decorative elements.
And that was entirely my fault.
‘I thought, since he’s royalty, he might like something flashy.’
Did he know how much effort it took to decorate this large room? Jenis had looked at me like I was insane.
I closed my mouth and slumped my shoulders.
“You’ve struck where it hurts.”
“There were no other places to strike.”
“…”
Watching him turn away with a cold smile, I clenched my fist.
For a moment, I almost punched him without thinking.
Meanwhile, he drew his sword and pulled back the curtain covering the wall behind the headboard.
“My lady, why is this covered?”
“Ah, that’s—
I threw myself forward and grabbed the curtain.
Heat rushed to my face.
“No. Please don’t open it, Your Grace. If you do, I might really get angry.”
“I’m not particularly frightened. Is that a threat?”
“N-No, not a threat…!”
I shook my head desperately.
He looked up at me and casually lowered his sword.
“If it’s not a threat, then it must be a request.”
“Yes, exactly. A request!”
I nodded vigorously.
Ahem. I absolutely cannot tell him what’s behind that curtain.
I nearly fainted when I first saw that wall on my first day here.
“A request…”
His red eyes gleamed at me. I swallowed hard and met his gaze.
For a brief moment, something subtle passed between us.
“Very well.”
After studying me suspiciously, he finally stepped back.
‘Whew At least he respects a request.’
I let out a breath of relief.
In the original story, Lishid was known for being reckless and relentless. I had worried he might ignore me completely.
The cold and ruthless Grand Duke of the North.
A war fanatic who would cut down any enemy in an instant, whether human or monster.
That was Lishid Epenferion.
‘…And yet, with the female lead Seria, he was so gentle it drove readers crazy.’
That’s why I liked him too.
‘I wonder what he’ll look like once the curse is lifted.’
The thought crossed my mind as I looked at him.
He was small.
About the size of a baby doll I used to play with as a child.
‘Like a chubby little bean.’
Not extremely tiny, but definitely not big either. No matter how much he frowned, he just looked cute.
‘It’s fascinating.’
How does such a deep voice come from that tiny body?
For a moment, I thought that even if everything went wrong and I died, I would at least like to see Lishid in his original form once.
“Then, my lady.”
As if it didn’t matter at all, he sat casually on the bed and asked,
“Where am I supposed to sleep?”
***
Steam rose gently from a small wooden tub. Soft white bubbles wrapped around Lishid’s body.
He looked down at himself submerged in the tiny bath.
“…Small.”
His hands, his feet, his body.
So much smaller than before. Even his proportions felt slightly off.
He frowned and ran a hand over his face.
“A curse…”
What kind of absurd trick was this?
