His gaze pierced through me like a blade.

My body hair stood on end at his deep voice, dark as the midnight blue shadows.

“Answer me.”

“……”

My heart clenched tight, making it impossible to move my lips.

All I could manage was a slight trembling of my eyelids as he stared at me with an unnervingly calm gaze, freezing my body even more.

“You should have dodged.”

He glanced at my shoulder exposed by the loose chemise and spoke mockingly.

“Didn’t you once say you’d rather die than let my hands touch you?”

Lea had said something like that?

“If you’re hoping I’ll test how far you can go, I might not stop.”

“……”

“Answer me.”

“Ah!”

The Grand Duke suddenly hesitated when he saw my face contort with pain.

It was because his grip on my leg had tightened.

Pausing his cold rebuke, he slowly lowered his gaze.

The place he’d grabbed happened to be the shin where Countess Azanie had stomped repeatedly with her heel days ago.

“……”

After seeing the bruise on my leg, he completely removed his upper body from mine.

When he increased the brightness of the lamp on the bedside table, the sudden light made me squeeze my eyes shut.

“Sit up.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said sit up.”

Stiff as a wooden doll, I awkwardly raised my body.

The man’s cold gaze never left me.

“Ow!”

No sooner had I leaned back against the pillow than his hand lifted the hem of my chemise and grabbed my leg.

Startled, I tried to stop his hand, but beyond the fabric, his gaze remained fixed only on my shin.

“……”

After slowly examining my leg where the dark red bruise had not yet faded, he met my eyes again.

His face showed little change, but somehow a terrifyingly ominous aura seemed to have been added, making my heart sink.

“Are there others?”

At his question, I stared at him blankly for a moment before belatedly recalling where else I had bruises.

“Ah… on my side and ribs… and my thigh too…”

“Tell me only the places you can show now.”

“Then… only my shin.”

Looking at the large bruise that remained, his face clouded with displeasure as he turned his gaze to the air and slightly furrowed his brow.

A cold, oppressive silence enveloped the bedroom.

I was fidgeting with the innocent bed sheet, unable to speak carelessly in the heavy atmosphere.

“Was that from being hit then?”

“…Yes, from that time.”

The Grand Duke, who had been watching me with tightly closed lips, looked down at my bruised leg again.

He certainly didn’t seem concerned about my leg, but I could clearly sense his mood was beginning to twist, so I carefully spoke up.

“…Then does this prove I wasn’t lying that day?”

I felt I shouldn’t miss this opportunity.

Now that I’d shown my injuries, wouldn’t it prove that I wasn’t lying about being hit by Countess Azanie that day?

“I can’t be certain.”

“What…?”

My eyes widened involuntarily at his unexpected response.

Could he really not believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes?

The Grand Duke indifferently rose from the bed and walked to the side table.

He drank some water that had been prepared and set the crystal glass down with a sharp sound.

“You might have done it to yourself.”

“WHAT?!”

My voice shot up from sheer disbelief.

The man’s gaze was so impassive, as if devoid of emotion, that it now frightened me.

Feeling indignant, I got out of bed and quickly walked toward the Grand Duke.

The closer I got to him, the narrower his eyes became, clearly showing his displeasure, but accepting this was unthinkable.

When I stood right in front of him, the Grand Duke’s gaze felt even colder.

“Step back.”

“Why would I ever do this to myself?”

I looked up at him stiffly and asked.

“Are you saying that, as my mother claimed that day, I hurt myself to create these bruises?”

“……”

“How could I do this? What would I use? My fist? A hammer? And on my shin? Is it even physically possible to hit my own shin like this? Would you like to try?”

“Don’t get excited.”

“I’m not excited, I’m outraged!”

After blurting this out, I realized I was huffing with my shoulders heaving.

The Grand Duke slightly wrinkled his brow and instead took another step closer to me.

“Is there any reason I should believe you?”

“That’s…!”

My words caught in my throat at the suddenly narrowed distance and his scathing response.

Moreover, his words were right.

The man standing before me had no reason or obligation to trust me even the slightest bit.

Even if the attack wasn’t my doing, the original owner of this body, Lea Azanie, had indeed tried to do something terrible to him.

I was the most likely suspect, and he had only kept me alive to use as bait to find my accomplices.

“There’s no reason, of course.”

“……”

“But…”

“Leave.”

I looked up at him blankly, startled by his cold response.

A long silence hung in the air.

Leave…?

The Grand Duke’s shadowed gaze, half-lowered as he looked down at me, was icy.

Rationally, I knew it made sense for him to treat me this way, but facing such open contempt and coldness made the tip of my nose sting.

Right, how often have I been welcomed in my life anyway?

This doesn’t hurt at all.

“…I understand.”

“……”

“Good night.”

I greeted him silently and turned away.

I absolutely wouldn’t look childish.

“……”

I had crossed the carpet, passed many ornaments, and reached the door.

Just as I was about to grab and turn the doorknob, I realized I had overlooked one important fact.

Sigh. I turned around awkwardly while holding the doorknob.

He was still standing in the same place, perhaps still watching me.

“By the way.”

“Speak.”

“…Where is my bedroom?”

His face noticeably faltered.

I didn’t want to say it because it might sound like an excuse, but what choice did I have?

“I’ve been staying in that hospital-like room until now, and I don’t even know where it is. Is that my bedroom?”

“No.”

“Then where should I go?”

“……”

He firmly kept his mouth shut, seemingly determined not to answer.

“Don’t tell me you don’t even know where my room is?”

“…Third floor, west end.”

“West like this way, or west from the opposite side?”

As I turned my body back and forth asking for directions, he lowered his head, pressing his forehead.

“I’m really sad to have to ask like this. It must seem like I’m being a nuisance. But I don’t know which way is north.”

You kept me locked up the whole time!

“Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not asking you to take me there. I know you have no intention of doing that. But I have no memories, and I don’t know where to go from here… When I woke up, I didn’t even know who I was, then suddenly I’m told I’m a married woman, and the mother who came to find me hits me with her shoe. So it seems my only support is my husband, but it’s so obvious that Your Highness doesn’t like me. I already feel pathetic and upset about my situation, but I have nowhere to turn for help right now…”

“Ugh, you’re noisy.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and strode toward me with large steps.

Since his upper body was bare, revealing firm muscles, I quickly turned my head in another direction.

“Follow me.”

He growled as he flung open the bedroom door.

“It seems your hobby is wasting time.”

The Grand Duke, walking down the endless corridor, suddenly turned to look at me.

His words sometimes make you wonder what he means, only to realize later that they’re extremely elegant insults.

“Are you saying I’m too slow?”

“You keep looking around, making your pace slow.”

“Oh my, was I doing that?”

“The entire time.”

“I’m sorry.”

I stuck my tongue out at his back as he resumed walking.

His profile seemed to pause momentarily, making me wonder if he’d caught me, but he continued forward without looking back.

He had every right to complain. In truth, I was enjoying the walk, taking in the magnificent statues lining the corridor and the open windows.

Plus, I was curious about the mysterious rooms behind the many closed doors, which seemed to be waiting for me.

I thought I’d been keeping up with his pace as I followed behind him, but the distance between us had widened again.

“Your stride seems a bit too large. Look, it’s not easy for me to keep up. But it’s okay, I’ll run. Just look at our height difference. That’s really it, right?”

“What?”

As he let out a sharp laugh and started to stop walking again, I hurriedly said:

“I’m sorry! I’ll go quietly.”

I ran with all my might to walk alongside him, looking up at the man’s broad shoulders that seemed to emit a cold wind.

“Is this it?”

Eventually, the Grand Duke stopped, reached out, and twisted the intricately crafted doorknob.

When he opened the door, a raw chill rushed out.

But it wasn’t just the cold that froze us.

You devilish woman!

Someone like you should burn in hell!