Grand Duke, I Like You, But Please Die! - Chapter 21

Ding.

[The villain ‘Kaiel’ feels displeased.]
[Plausibility score increases by 1 point.]

He glared at her harshly, having felt displeasure for the first time in a while, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Are you worried I might catch a cold?”

Normally, he would have ignored her with a fierce look, but today his reaction was different. Looking away, he said,

“……If you’re going to run away, do it while you’re healthy and strong. I don’t want people thinking you were mistreated in the castle.”

“Huh?”

Delia was puzzled by his words.

“What are you talking about?”

She asked again, but he had no intention of explaining further.

Delia, mulling over his words, urgently asked,

“Run away? Who? Me?”

Kaiel just stared at her in silence. Delia’s face soon showed shock.

“Kaiel……. Are you kicking me out?”

Kaiel’s expression changed slightly. He spoke firmly.

“I’m not kicking you out.”

“Then why……?”

A brief silence fell between them. For some reason, Kaiel seemed to misunderstand that she was planning to run away.

Thinking deeply, Delia closed her eyes tightly out of habit before speaking first.

“I wasn’t planning to run away today.”

His eyes seemed to ask what she was doing then, so she answered.

“I was gathering herbs. Since they all look similar, I have to go myself.”

After listening quietly, Kaiel nodded once and continued to look at her. Letting out a low sigh, he spoke in a frustrated tone.

“When you go somewhere, you say ‘I’ll be back,’ not ‘goodbye.'”

When people faced the pressure in his voice, they often felt like soldiers being disciplined for a mistake. But Delia, who liked seeing him angry, wasn’t like most people.

He asked her coolly, seeing her smile alone.

“Understand?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

She still had a smile on her face.

Kaiel, about to head inside, stopped and looked back at her.

“The weather will continue to be unpredictable for a while, so delay gathering herbs.”

Nodding repeatedly, Delia listened as he added one more thing.

“I’ll go with you then.”

***

Delia stood in front of the carriage driven by coachman Ian, waiting for another carriage.

Excited by Kaiel’s promise to accompany her herb gathering, she had been waiting for days for the snowstorm to pass.

“When is it coming?”

When the carriage she was supposed to ride didn’t show up, she asked Ian. He blinked and asked,

“Huh? Didn’t you hear?”

Delia shrugged. He explained excitedly.

“One carriage is enough for today.”

“What?”

“So…….”

Before Ian could explain further, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Get in.”

Kaiel was walking towards the carriage. His stride was always leisurely, but his long legs made his pace very fast.

He quickly reached her side and stopped. Delia looked at him, slightly bewildered. The thick cloak he wore made his already broad shoulders look even wider.

Feeling her gaze, he repeated.

“Get in.”

Delia hesitated, then awkwardly approached the carriage. Just before getting in, she turned back.

“Am I really getting in? I’m getting in. My foot’s on the step.”

When told not to get in, she would stubbornly climb in, like a contrarian.

Delia stood awkwardly, neither fully in nor out of the carriage, watching him.

Finally, Kaiel stepped closer and gently pushed her into the carriage.

“Ugh……!”

She was naturally pushed inside and landed on the seat. Looking up, she saw him entering the carriage, and she closed her mouth.

A cool, dawn-like scent subtly wafted from him.

Bending his large frame, his head naturally leaned towards her. In that brief moment, Delia quickly observed many things.

His thick black hair, eyebrows, sharp and beautiful eyes, eyelashes casting shadows, his handsome nose, and then.

‘Soft, firmly closed lips…….’

Her gaze moved from his hair to his chin, and when it reached his lips, Delia’s face flushed.

‘Calm down, Delia……!’

Just as she pulled her gaze away from his lips, she met his cool gray eyes staring at her.

“Uh…… haha.”

Delia laughed awkwardly and quickly looked away.

“Move over.”

Regardless, Kaiel only wanted to increase the distance between them. At his words, Delia moved to sit as close to the window as possible, and Kaiel finally sat on the opposite seat.

As Ian approached, Kaiel asked Delia,

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a mountain that borders Sheriton. The herbs we need grow along its ridges.”

Ian, listening to their conversation, seemed to recognize the place and chimed in.

“If it’s the mountain that borders Sheriton, it’s Fourpeak!”

He laughed heartily.

“Fourpeak, what a name. Whoever named it wasn’t very creative.”

Delia flinched at his words.

Fourpeak literally means four peaks.

In the original work, the location of the herbs for the lapocia antidote was mentioned only once, so she hastily named it.

“What’s wrong with Fourpeak? It’s straightforward and good.”

Delia said, and Ian nodded in agreement.

“If Miss likes it, then it’s fine. It’s straightforward and good.”

Ian smiled warmly and closed the carriage door before heading to the driver’s seat. His voice, still chuckling about the name Fourpeak, seeped in from outside the closed door.

The carriage soon started moving.

Delia couldn’t figure out why Kaiel decided to ride with her, but she didn’t really want to know.

It was better to think positively.

‘Maybe he’s a bit more comfortable with me!’

Taking advantage of the situation, Delia decided to try something she had been curious about.

“Kaiel.”

She softly called his name. Even that small sound seemed quite clear in the enclosed carriage with just the two of them.

He turned his head slightly and looked at her.

Delia waited for a few seconds.

As expected, no notification sound or alert indicating his displeasure appeared.

“Kaiel.”

She called his name a little louder and more accurately this time. He was still looking at her, his eyes telling her to speak since she had called him.

But she didn’t call him because she had something to say.

“Kaiel. Kaiel. Kaiel.”

This time, she called his name repeatedly. Even then, the system remained silent.

‘Is it really not unpleasant for him no matter how much I call?’

Delia began to call his name continuously.

“Kaiel, Kaiel, Kaiel, Kaiel, Kaiel, Ka…”

“Quiet.”

Unable to bear her nonsense any longer, Kaiel cut her off.

“You’re noisy.”

He added, turning his gaze away again.

That was all. There was really no notification indicating that his displeasure had increased the plausibility points.

She didn’t know how to explain this feeling. It was somewhat disappointing but it also felt good, and while it felt good, it was also disappointing.

As the scenery outside the window transitioned from the village to the mountain path, Delia began to grow bored of the increasing silence. While there were sights to see in the village, once they entered the mountain, it was just the same dense forest repeating over and over.

Delia glanced sideways at Kaiel and carefully scrutinized his face without making it obvious.

No matter how she looked, he had an outstanding appearance. If he had been born in Korea, he would have swept through the entire entertainment industry.

While admiring his face earnestly, Delia suddenly remembered his character in the original story and regretted it.

To give such a handsome face and then make him a virgin character was a mistake on her part as the author.

‘That face should be passed down through generations! It’s a waste of superior genes.’

Even though he was a character in a novel, he was a living human in this world, so he deserved a chance for beautiful love too.

Delia decided to take responsibility for making him a virgin.

‘I need to change his mindset first. I should remove the virgin label before killing him. Otherwise, he might end up as a bachelor ghost.’

Although the list of things she had to do for him before killing him kept growing, Delia didn’t realize it.

Having made a firm decision on her own, she continued to watch him and asked,

“Kaiel, have you ever had someone in your heart?”

She asked, knowing the answer would be no. It was just a prelude to bringing up a topic related to him.

At the unexpected question, he turned his gaze to her, then looked away again.

“That’s a childish question.”

“Why! Kaiel is handsome, has a great body, is tall, and cool, so I’m curious. Really, never? Reeeally?”

Kaiel looked at Delia, who was showering him with compliments, his eyes telling her to stop asking, but Delia didn’t stop.

“Why do you hate it so much? It’s just a question.”

She leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

“Then what about your type? There must be someone you’re at least a little attracted to. Cute? Sassy? Or maybe seductive…?”

At her question, Kaiel glared at her with burning eyes, then sighed and completely turned his head away from her.

“None.”

Delia snorted.

“Boring.”

She straightened her back and leaned against the backrest.

“Being able to love someone is also a skill. You’re good at everything else…”

“…It’s unnecessary.”

“It’s totally necessary!”

Unable to contain her frustration, Delia began a long speech about love until her voice was hoarse.

Her mouth didn’t stop until the carriage reached close enough to see the Fourpeak Mountain in the distance, and Kaiel remained silent. She didn’t know whether he was listening or not.

“We’ve arrived. Please disembark.”

Only when the carriage stopped did Delia finish her long speech. Ian approached and opened the carriage door.