***

“Ah…”

Valetta, who had fallen into a shallow sleep, wiped away the tear that had rolled down her cheek. Her throat was parched with exhaustion, so she reached for a canteen and took a drink.

Just then, the coach stopped and a driver approached the window.

“We’ll stop for a meal before we continue.”

Valetta didn’t answer. She just sank deeper into her seat. She hadn’t slept since the fraudulent marriage. Every time she drifted off she was sure to have nightmares.

“My Lady, no, Her Grace the Grand Duchess. Are you really going to skip lunch too?”

It was Laura who spoke – Laura who had been dragged north with Valetta. Since the day they had left, Laura had beaten herself up every day, bitter at having to leave her lover behind.

But knowing that her fate was now entirely in Valetta’s hands – and that Valetta was the only person she could rely on in the North – Laura had begun to flatter her, just as she had once flattered Irmina.

“I’m not hungry.”

Valetta replied weakly. She had visibly lost weight during the week-long journey to the northern Carnies estate. With little food and sleep, her face had become gaunt and her complexion pale.

“You didn’t even eat breakfast.”

The more Valetta’s condition deteriorated, the greater the chance that Laura would be scolded for being the maid in charge. Worried, Laura bit her lip.

“My lady, at least drink some milk. Please.”

She pulled Valetta to her feet. It was a bold move for a maid to act so aggressively towards her mistress, but Valetta, so used to Laura by now, didn’t even think to object. She allowed herself to be dragged out. Laura quickly shoved food into her hands.

“Please, just eat something.”

Laura looked nervously at the Grand Duke and whispered. Leonard ate silently amongst the knights.

The lower half of his face, exposed under the mask, was covered in scale-like textures, snake-like in appearance, and the colour was far from anything human. And that wasn’t all – the slit pupils visible through the mask…

Laura shuddered, unsure if it was fear or instinctive repulsion.

“I’m not hungry.”

Deep in depression, Valetta picked at her food with little appetite. Since her uncle, Count Dampierre, had beaten her, she had been drowning in despair.

If she couldn’t escape him, she couldn’t escape Leonard, who travelled with trained knights.

“Ahem… Your Grace. It seems Her Grace the Grand Duchess has no appetite.”

The knights approached Leonard cautiously. It wasn’t as if they weren’t as afraid of him as Laura was. His grotesque, dragon-like skin and beastly eyes made their flesh crawl, sent shivers down their spines.

But before he was a cursed monster, Leonard was a hero of the Empire – their commander. They looked at him with awe and reverence, and the curse hadn’t changed that.

“……”

Leonard said nothing, continuing to eat in silence. For a moment – just a moment – his eyes flickered to Valetta, then quickly moved away, lingering briefly on her sunken cheeks and sombre expression.

After finishing his meal, the Grand Duke rose to his feet. Even when seated, his large frame was ox-like, but standing at full height, he was more like a beast – a predator.

He walked towards Valetta with heavy steps. Her eyes, dulled with hopelessness, followed him slowly.

“Valetta.”

At the sound of Leonard’s voice, Laura, who was sitting next to her, jumped. To her, the voice of the Grand Duke of Carnies sounded like a terrible hiss, the sound of a predator about to pounce. But to Valetta it was the same deep, pleasant voice as always.

“……”

Valetta lifted her head. Leonard bent slightly to meet her gaze.

“We’ll be at the estate in two hours.”

Valetta’s lips quivered with injustice. She was the victim of a forced, fraudulent marriage. To live the rest of her life as the wife of Leonard Carnies? The very thought stunned her – almost out of her mind.

“What are you going to do to me?”

Leonard’s golden eyes stared at her as if piercing her. It felt like being trapped under the paw of a beast, and Valetta’s shoulders trembled involuntarily.

“You are not a prisoner or a hostage. You’re my wife. So there’s no ‘plan’ for you.”

Valetta’s eyelids twitched. She couldn’t understand what Leonard was thinking. He had asked her to help him lift his curse, only to suddenly arrange a marriage. She couldn’t see what connection there could be between the curse and the marriage – his actions were incomprehensible.

“Then why did you…”

‘Marry me?’
She couldn’t bring herself to say the word “marry”, her lips moving silently instead. Leonard understood the unspoken words, but offered no further explanation. He just looked at the untouched bread in front of her and let out a soft sigh.

“You must eat if you want to recover quickly.”

“What does that mean…?”

Only then did Valetta realise that he was referring to the bruises the Count had left behind. The realisation that he had noticed – him, of all people – filled her with shame.

Her face flushed and her expression hardened. Without a word, she stood up abruptly.

“I will never live as your wife.”

The bread in her hand was crushed into a mess. Laura, startled by this rare display of Valetta’s toughness, cried out in alarm.

“M-My lady?”

Valetta tossed the crumpled bread at Leonard’s feet. Without hesitation, she turned and marched back to the carriage. The bread hit Leonard’s boot with a thud and fell to the ground. His brow furrowed, though the mask hid it.

Bang!

The loud slam of the carriage door said everything about their relationship. The knights who had been watching quickly turned their heads away. Leonard stared at the closed door for a moment before turning and calling out:

“We leave in ten minutes. Finish eating quickly.”

***

“Aren’t you afraid of Grand Duke Carnies, my lady?”

Laura asked in the moving carriage. Valetta, who had been staring out of the window the whole time, finally answered.

“What I’m afraid of… is having to live as his wife.”

“He may look a little different because of the curse, but you’re the Grand Duchess now, my lady.”

“If it were such a wonderful title, Irmina would have taken it herself.”

At Valetta’s sharp gaze, Laura gave a nervous cough and quickly turned her head away.

As Irmina’s former personal maid, Laura had known in advance that Valetta’s groom had changed. Valetta laughed bitterly at Laura’s evasiveness and closed her eyes tightly.

“Haa…”

Once they arrived at the Carnies’ estate, there would be no escape – she would be forced to live as Leonard’s wife. Running away would be pointless. She had no power of her own and he would easily find her again.

But that didn’t mean she could accept this life. Living as the wife of the man responsible for her brother’s death – how could she?

Worse still, one of the duties of a noblewoman was to produce an heir to carry on the title.

‘How could I ever… share a bed with Leonard?’

The very thought made Valetta’s face flush. The mere thought made her chest tighten.

“My lady.”

Laura’s voice broke through Valetta’s thoughts.

“We have arrived.”

They had reached the northern Carnies estate and Valetta hadn’t even made a proper attempt to escape. The words felt like a death sentence and her heart sank with a heavy thud.

Leonard was feared by the staff of the Carnies household – but not as a bad master. By nature, Leonard wasn’t the type to make a fuss over petty matters or to take out his temper on others.

However, he was cold, inscrutable and emotionally distant – far from gentle or warm.

As the son of a princess and the daughter of the Marquis of Schifmann, Leonard had a bloodline unrivalled by most in the land. He had wealth, honour, power and looks – he lacked nothing.

He never had to curry favour with anyone, nor did he feel the need to. Above all, Leonard was the hero who saved the Empire from the evil dragon. So even when he was cold and indifferent, the staff simply accepted it and treated him with a mixture of mild affection and deep respect.

The knights were no different. When the heroic Grand Duke Carnies was cursed and turned into a grotesque figure, the household staff truly mourned his fall from grace.

At the same time, they watched the situation with a touch of curiosity. Their master, Grand Duke Carnies, had tried everything to break the curse, and just as his despair had begun to seep through to the walls of the estate, he had left for the capital.

And today – after a month and a half – he had returned with a bride. And not just any bride: Valetta Irpman, the sister of the late hero.

“M-My lady…”

Laura couldn’t hide her unease when Valetta made no move to get out of the carriage. The knights unloading the luggage and the servants assisting them all turned to look at her.

“My lady, what are you doing? Come out, quickly.”

Clutching the hem of her dress tightly, Valetta shook her head.

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t accept this marriage.”

“What are you saying after coming all this way?!”

Laura hissed, lowering her voice. The assembled servants began to peer curiously at the motionless bride from the windows of the estate.

“I say this because I’ve come all this way. I… I want to go back.”

Valetta’s voice, stubborn and desperate, reached Leonard’s ears just as he was about to enter the castle. He stopped and turned.

The maid was standing awkwardly at the carriage door, trying to persuade Valetta – and over her shoulder he saw Valetta’s frightened face clearly.

“What’s going on?”

Leonard asked as he approached the carriage. Laura, now visibly pale, stammered an answer.

“M-My Lady, no, Her Grace, seems to be… unwell.”

But before her excuse could land, Valetta gathered her courage and spoke up herself.

“I want to go back. Please… let me.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“If going back to my hometown is nonsense, what about our marriage? Does that make sense?”

As Laura scrambled away from the carriage to escape the confrontation, a visibly distressed Valetta was left exposed.

“If it didn’t make sense, why do you think you’re here?”

“My husband was supposed to be Eric Rigius. Not you!”