Chapter 3

Fortunately, she was still alive. Several days had passed since she drank the medicine the butler had brought, and, if anything, she felt a bit stronger than before.

She had also grown quite accustomed to Donna, the maid personally assigned by the Grand Duke to taste her food for poison.

“Um, what kind of person is His Grace the Grand Duke?”

Donna’s eyes widened. Her gentle face, which didn’t match her intimidating physique, became thoughtful.

Escape seemed impossible for now, so she decided to study ways not to offend the Grand Duke.

She didn’t know who had assassinated Iris, but if the Grand Duke sided with her even a little, things would be much better.

After all, once the wedding was held, she would have to face him whether she liked it or not; it was best to gather as much information about the Grand Duke as possible in advance.

“His Grace the Grand Duke can slaughter monsters barehanded.”

Donna seemed eager to tell heroic tales. To her, the stories were shocking.

‘Why does he tear monsters apart with his hands instead of using proper weapons?’

Her husband’s strange tastes made her uneasy. The Grand Duke turned out to be an even more intimidating man than she’d expected.

“When His Grace was still a boy, a horde of monsters attacked a village. It was a truly vile ambush.”

Donna gritted her teeth softly, her drooping eyes flashing with anger.

“The head of one family had gone deep into the forest for firewood and was caught by monsters. They killed the children’s father and mimicked his face. Then, pretending to come home early, they visited the house.”

“Ah…….”

“The children, thinking their father had returned, joyfully opened the door. Then, all at once, monsters with their father’s face burst into the house.”

Donna huffed. She didn’t need to hear what the monsters did next to know it was horrifying. Her head throbbed and she pressed her forehead.

“Ah……. That must have been truly terrible.”

“Yes. But His Grace the Grand Duke paid them back many times over.”

“How?”

“He shook off all the other knights and found those monsters alone. Then, while they were still clumsily mimicking humans, he broke their necks with his own hands. All twenty of them, by himself, without a single weapon.”

‘Wait, alone and unarmed? Wasn’t the Grand Duke the real monster here?’

Unlike her, who was horrified, Donna looked immensely proud of the Grand Duke.

“And then he tore the bodies apart with his bare hands and threw them toward the monsters’ lair as a warning.”

“Hmm…….”

“He showed overwhelming strength to the monsters. And he was extremely furious, too.”

“Wait, do monsters understand that?”

“Yes, monsters differ individually, but they do have intelligence. They must have been frightened, because they stayed quiet for a while.”

So that’s how it was……. Her husband felt increasingly terrifying.

“Northerners admire strength. All of us would have respected His Grace even if he weren’t the Grand Duke.”

Then, as a sickly Grand Duchess, she would surely seem insignificant. Donna’s innocent, cow-like eyes didn’t seem to hold any mockery, but that was just because Donna was kind; other unsociable Northerners would surely think differently.

It seemed that no matter how much she probed, she’d only get stories about the Grand Duke’s strength. She set her teacup down on the table.

“I think I’ve been sitting too long……. I need to lie down now.”

“What? Already? Oh my, Your Grace! You can’t just keep lying down like that!”

Donna rushed over. Ignoring Donna’s attempt to stop her, she tried to get up from her chair. Or at least, she tried.

“Ah! Are you all right?”

Her vision went dark and she sank back down. Donna panicked, unsure what to do.

“Your Grace, may I come in?”

At that moment, the butler’s voice came with a knock. She managed to nod, her eyes half-open. Donna understood and opened the door for the butler.

“What’s the matter?”

She leaned back against the chair as if lying down and asked. The butler, with his stern face, began to speak.

“I’ve come to deliver some news. I’m sorry for the suddenness, but you’ll need to go out now.”

“…What? Suddenly, where to?”

‘Did the butler not see how unwell I was?’

She let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“The physician found no particular abnormality in your body, Your Grace. According to his opinion, being overly sensitive to minor symptoms and pains isn’t healthy either.”

‘Was he accusing me of hypochondria? But I really had been sick! Was coughing up blood just a minor issue in the North?’

“The physician says building up your strength should be the priority.”

Donna nodded enthusiastically, seeming to agree with the butler.

“On the physician’s orders, starting today, you should exercise regularly with Donna.”

“So… you’re telling me to work out now?”

“As expected, you’re wise.”

‘Were they mocking me? Were they going to treat her near-death tea incident as mere exaggeration?’

“You really can’t just lie down all the time! Trust me. I, Donna, will make sure you get healthy!”

Their unreasonable insistence made her head throb. She looked over Donna’s body, which could have made her a knight-commander in the South. What was light exercise for Donna would be extreme training for her.

Moreover, Donna’s large eyes sparkled with an incomprehensible, and frankly unwelcome, desire.

“I refuse.”

“You can’t, Your Grace. Your health is important to all of us.”

“No, I’m really not in any condition to exercise right now.”

“It might be hard at first, but once you build some muscle, you’ll feel a big difference.”

“It’s absolutely too much right now.”

“But you must walk at least a little. Lying down all day is even worse for your health!”

“No, I haven’t been lying down all day!”

Her struggle with the health-obsessed Northerners showed no sign of ending.

* * *

“Ha…….”

In the end, she promised the butler to take a walk at least once a day. But even walking was a problem, as her body was terribly vulnerable to the cold.

Her solution was the greenhouse. The greenhouse would surely be warmer than outside, and she remembered Demian saying that the servants rarely entered it.

“Ah, I really hate this.”

Her muttering echoed in the empty greenhouse.

She insisted to the butler that she be allowed to spend her daily walk alone. Donna didn’t seem like a bad person, but she was still someone the Grand Duke had placed at her side, so she couldn’t help but be wary.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah!”

She’d thought the place was empty, but a man’s voice sounded close by, making her heart nearly stop.

“Sir D-Demian?”

“You remembered my name.”

Demian’s deep eyes curved with delight. He looked more relaxed than before, as if he’d just finished training.

His jet-black hair was slightly tousled, and his sleeves rolled up to his forearms and loosely open collar were quite provocative.

She fought the urge to scan him from head to toe and asked sharply,

“Where did you suddenly come from?”

“I happened to see you enter the greenhouse while passing by.”

“Oh…….”

“I followed right after, but you were so deep in thought you didn’t notice. I wasn’t trying to hide my presence.”

She hadn’t heard a thing—was he telling the truth? She narrowed her eyes and looked at Demian.

“How have you been, Your Grace?”

He ignored her suspicious gaze and asked.

“We just saw each other a few days ago.”

“That wasn’t exactly a normal parting.”

Oh, right. She’d told the man who saved her to jump out the window.

“Hmm… You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“Well. You’re the first woman to urge me to jump out a window, so maybe my heart’s a little scratched.”

Demian chuckled. He seemed so relaxed that any guilt she felt faded away.

“Seems you’re just fine. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I never said I was fine yet.”

“To me, you look perfectly well.”

Demian smiled with genuine amusement, which somehow irritated her, so she turned and walked deeper into the greenhouse.

“You walk surprisingly fast. May I dare to join you?”

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Why?”

Even with a leisurely pace, Demian quickly caught up.

“Obviously… I don’t want to cause any misunderstandings.”

“Misunderstandings? With whom?”

She simply walked faster, not bothering to answer.

“Could it be… you mean His Grace the Grand Duke?”

His words suddenly made her angry, especially since he sounded genuinely surprised.

She knew well enough her husband neglected her, but it still felt miserable to be reminded. She stopped and turned around.

“Yes, that’s right. Even if I haven’t seen his face once since coming North, I am still his wife.”

“…….”

“I don’t want him to misunderstand. I don’t want either of us to get into trouble because of it.”

“Hmm……. Well, I doubt he’d ever misunderstand our relationship.”

“How can you be sure?”

Demian hesitated briefly before speaking slowly.

“If you need me to, I can guarantee it. He doesn’t even know we’ve met.”

“What if there are rumors? Or if someone walks into the greenhouse right now and sees us…….”

“No one will come in.”

Demian said firmly, running a hand through his hair. His certainty carried a hint of boredom.

“This place hasn’t functioned as a greenhouse for a long time. Even the dull Northerners avoid it, almost instinctively.”

Looking around, she realized the plants were all wilted, as if they were slowly dying.

And the air felt much heavier than outside, almost as if the dying plants were releasing toxins.

“Anyway, the greenhouse isn’t what matters right now, Demian.”

There was no time to waste talking about the greenhouse. As she redirected his attention, Demian gazed quietly at her.

“I’ll be honest. I want to get along with my husband.”

He bit his neat lips slightly, wearing a strange expression that was both upset and trying not to smile.

“I’m really grateful you saved me. As the Grand Duchess, I won’t forget it and I’ll make sure to repay you.”

“I didn’t do it expecting any reward.”

“But I don’t want us to be alone together like this again.”

For the first time, Demian’s usual composure broke at her declaration.