Grand Duke, I Like You, But Please Die! - Chapter 33

“What the…….”

It happened in an instant.

Whether she intended to undress him or not, Delia reached out, but Kaiel quickly restrained her.

“Stop.”

Kaiel gently held her hand but soon pulled it away, startled.

The temperature from her hand was abnormally high.

Kaiel’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Delia.”

He urgently set her down. Delia looked at him blankly. Sighing, he briefly apologized.

“……Just a moment.”

He then grabbed her shoulders and turned her halfway around.

Facing her back towards him, he carefully reached for her dress.

Due to the trip to Prolene, Delia was wearing thick winter outerwear. Wearing such thick clothes while burning with fever was foolish.

Delia shuddered as his fingertips touched her back.

“It’s okay.”

Hearing his soothing voice from behind, Delia took a deep breath and straightened her posture.

Soon, her dress started to loosen and slip off.

Kaiel untied the complicated knots and occasionally pulled the dress apart roughly. When something snapped, he paused momentarily but eventually tore the dress completely.

“……Sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.”

Not understanding what was happening or having the mental capacity to comprehend, Delia stood on her knees on the bed once he finished.

She wobbled on the soft bed and, turning to face him, her torn dress slipped off.

The cold air hit her exposed skin more directly.

“Cold, cold, cold…….”

Unable to bear it, Delia climbed onto Kaiel like a baby seeking its mother’s warmth. Startled, Kaiel tried to push her away, but Delia was immovable.

“I won’t move! I won’t! It’s warm and nice like this.”

“Delia.”

The problem was that Kaiel couldn’t treat the small, fragile, and unwell Delia harshly. It would be easier to shake off a tenacious wolf.

Misinterpreting Kaiel’s sigh, Delia clung to him even more.

“It feels like I won’t get to hug you again if not now. So I’ll stay like this.”

Kaiel stood frozen in disbelief. Something soft and round pressed against his chest.

Before he could identify it, he felt as if the blood vessels in his eyes were about to burst.

He spoke in a trembling voice.

“……Get off.”

Delia moved slightly, but the sensation grew stronger. The thin fabric of her dress was the problem.

Unable to do anything, Kaiel flailed in the air until he lightly grabbed her hair. But removing her hair revealed her exposed neck, shoulder, and collarbone.

The sight etched itself into his mind like a gentle ripple.

Kaiel swallowed hard.

“This is…….”

Kaiel quickly turned his head. He couldn’t bear to look at her soft, exposed curves.

Ultimately, Kaiel pushed Delia onto the bed. She looked at him with a resentful expression.

“Again, again……! Pervert!”

A low, rough voice spoke.

“Lie down.”

Lying on the soft bed, Delia buried her face in the pillow. It wasn’t long before she was overwhelmed by sleep.

When sleep came, an unpleasant headache hit her senses. Her limbs felt heavy, as if weighed down by stones.

Was it because of the unfortunate realities she experienced and the burdens she carried in this place? Worries that weighed down her heart flashed past like a revolving lantern.

Just when it seemed like the endless darkness would continue, her body and mind suddenly felt at ease. Instead of darkness, she saw a blue sky, clouds, and a grassy field. In that place, Delia went on a picnic with Kaiel, enjoying a delicious lunch and having a pleasant time.

“Hehe…….”

With a pleasant laugh, she opened her eyes and quickly realized she was lying on Kaiel’s bed.

“Huh?”

Delia’s eyes widened, and she almost screamed. The blanket carried his faint scent.

With a face devoid of spirit, Delia muttered.

“Why…… why am I here? Did I…… did I sleep in Kaiel’s bed?”

Then, realizing she was only wearing a thin dress, she was shocked.

“What…… what is this…!”

A sense of injustice surged within her.

“I don’t remember……! This is a historic event!”

She had slept in Kaiel’s bed, but the fact that she couldn’t remember it was frustrating.

Delia hurriedly climbed down from the bed and finally regained her senses when she saw the antidote bottle on the table.

Seeing that the bottle was empty, it seemed Kaiel had given it to her last night. Since she felt fine now, the antidote’s efficacy was proven.

“I managed to succeed…….”

Holding the empty bottle and examining it, Delia suddenly shifted her gaze to her arm.

‘What is this?’

Her arm had faint reddish marks.

After pondering for a moment, Delia’s heart sank.

‘Could it be scars from the lapocia……?’

Delia urgently began searching for her outer clothes. She needed to talk to Kaiel as soon as possible.

But no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find her clothes.

Of course, she wouldn’t find them. Last night, her clothes had been regrettably torn apart by Kaiel.

Giving up on finding her clothes, Delia discovered a clean black shirt on a table near the bathroom. It was large enough in both width and length to adequately cover her.

“Alright.”

***

When Delia arrived in front of Kaiel’s office, she heard voices from inside.

“The texture is too rough. Don’t you have anything softer?”

“Then how about this…….”

“It’s too old. Something else.”

“Your Grace, this design is a new release…….”

“Something else. It’s not pretty.”

Not knowing what the conversation was about, Delia waited until it ended. The occasionally passing servants were startled and whispered, but she paid no mind as usual.

‘I need to get inside before Lisa shows up and starts nagging…….’

If Lisa appeared, she would surely be furious seeing Delia’s current outfit. Delia lingered a bit more near the office until she heard the sound of brisk footsteps from afar.

‘Show me the Character List!’

Delia flipped through the Character List window provided by the system and gasped.

‘Lisa……!’

Just as Delia, who didn’t want to get scolded in the morning, was about to hide behind a pillar, she made direct eye contact with Lisa, who had just turned the corner.

Seeing Delia’s outfit, Lisa squinted to confirm who it was, then lost her composure and screamed.

“Miss……!”

“Ahaha……. Good morning!”

“Missssssss!”

To avoid the charging Lisa, who was like an angry bull, Delia had no choice but to barge into the office. If she stayed with the Grand Duke, Lisa wouldn’t be able to scold her.

As Delia closed the door and sighed, the conversation inside abruptly stopped. There was also a soft thud as something plush fell to the floor.

A low voice came from behind her.

“Delia? You…….”

The voice trailed off.

When she turned around, she saw a man with his mouth wide open and Kaiel frowning deeply at her.

“Ah…… hello!”

At her greeting, the man, who was hurriedly picking up the fallen clothes, cleared his throat and greeted her politely, though he averted his gaze.

“Good morning…… Miss Delia.”

But his voice was cut off by Kaiel’s shout.

“Delia!”

Surely, he was angry about her attire. It was understandable. She was wearing a thin dress, almost like underwear, with a black shirt that was obviously the Grand Duke’s.

But she had plenty to say in her defense.

“When I woke up, my clothes were gone, and I had nothing else to wear, so I put on Your Grace’s shirt. Why!”

Kaiel pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I didn’t expect you to wake up so early…….”

“So I ran to my room, but my…… my room was gone! Completely……!”

“…….”

Delia, shocked to find her room completely empty, had hurried to the office.

After a moment, Kaiel removed his hand from his face and spoke in a low voice.

“I forgot to tell you. Your room has been moved to the same floor as mine. Across the hall.”

“What?”

The floor where Kaiel’s bedroom was located had only a few rooms. There was his bedroom, the small room where he had treated her before, and one empty room across the hall. That meant, late at night, the only people on that floor, aside from a few servants, would be Kaiel and herself.

‘This is……!’

For someone who had to kill him, it was quite advantageous. Especially since her room was right across from his! Could she visit him anytime now?

Delia couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from lifting at the thought.

“Then what about my clothes? Where did they go during the night?”

“Your clothes…….”

Kaiel glanced at the man beside him. The man, still looking elsewhere, picked up on the cue and spoke.

“Oh, you can take whatever you like from here. These are clothes from the most famous store in Tranade, so the quality is guaranteed!”

Delia excitedly approached the clothes.