Chapter 38
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I possessed the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 38
Who is it?
That question didn't linger long.
"It's Liam."
I had been meaning to ask him about Poleta leather anyway, so I brightened and pushed myself upright.
"Oh, Liam! I actually had something I wanted to ask you about—"
But the atmosphere felt decidedly off.
He stood half-wedged in the doorway, not fully entering, and rubbed the bridge of his nose as though exhausted.
Hmm, he seemed burdened by something. I wondered why.
'He's the type to just blurt things out if he has something to say. What's going on?'
"Liam?"
When our eyes met, his expression grew troubled.
His answer didn't come immediately, but my instincts were already screaming. There was definitely something wrong.
"Would you mind clearing the room for a moment? Especially the 'escort knight'—please make sure he leaves."
"Oh, of course."
At this unusual request, I sent both Bonita and Ian out of the chamber.
Once the surroundings fell silent, Liam finally revealed his purpose.
"An invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace."
"Ah, for the Grand Duke, I presume?"
That made sense.
I nodded inwardly.
It was only natural that someone of Blaire Grand Duke's standing would frequently have occasion to visit the Imperial Palace.
But why was Liam telling me this?
I desperately tried to ignore the ominous premonition and asked again, but his answer was truly beyond my expectations.
"No. The invitation is for the manga production participants."
"Ah... is that so?"
My voice wavered slightly at the end.
Surely I wasn't included among those 'manga production participants'?
I wanted to deny reality, but faced with Liam's silence, I found myself asking again.
"Surely... not me too?"
It seemed that when people panicked enough, they could only repeat similar questions.
After all, I had no grounds to refuse an invitation from the Imperial Palace.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Do I really have to go? Must I?"
"You must. The Grand Duke will explain the details more thoroughly—"
Liam glanced at the clock on the wall.
"He seems to be running late."
What? Had the Grand Duke made an appointment to come to my chamber?
Just as I tilted my head in confusion, the Grand Duke burst through my door, breathing heavily as though such an appointment had indeed been made.
"That's... well, allow me to explain."
"Then I'll leave the rest of the explanation to Your Highness, and I shall take my leave now."
"Pardon?"
What on earth was this situation, like some sort of baton handoff?
Leaving me bewildered and the Grand Duke looking as though he'd just run a marathon, Liam bowed gracefully and withdrew from the chamber.
"Hmm...."
Left alone with the Grand Duke in this awkward atmosphere, I felt the sandwich I'd eaten earlier threatening to come back up from sheer nervousness.
"W-what sort of explanation are you referring to...?"
Was he displeased? Or had some problem I was unaware of arisen?
Just days ago, I'd thought we'd escaped that unreasonable relationship of kidnapper and hostage... but now it seemed that wasn't quite the case.
After some time had passed, he finally answered, having maintained his silence until his breathing steadied.
"Princess, you must go as well."
"D-do I really have to?"
To the Imperial Palace?
That was my first thought.
'I don't want to...!?'
Staying within the Blaire Grand Duke Territory, which protected my safety, could even be considered advantageous.
But if the setting shifted to the Imperial Capital of Cletan, things would be different.
Kaian Blaire.
This man was the biological son of the Emperor who had become a vegetable, and while he'd naturally withdrawn from the succession struggle upon inheriting the Grand Duchy, he still possessed the legitimacy of "Imperial blood."
Given that he'd likely draw attention simply by existing, wouldn't the entire social circle's curiosity pour down upon the woman appearing beside him?
'If even my appearance becomes the subject of rumors, the situation will become troublesome.'
Such thoughts were inevitable.
As I writhed in distress, the Grand Duke had already stepped closer to me.
Before I could even express my alarm at the narrowed distance, a quiet voice reached me.
"After all, you are the one responsible for creating this comic."
"But I...."
I just want to stay home.
I'm just a homebody....
But as though my thoughts were of no consequence whatsoever, the Grand Duke did not easily soften his stern expression.
"Insulting the Imperial Family is a capital crime punishable by execution. If you cannot provide proper answers to their questions, innocent artists may end up bearing false accusations of deception."
At those words, I too could not help but stiffen my expression.
As the Grand Duke said, I was the one who knew best about the comic's settings right now.
And I had no confidence in simply standing by while innocent artists became entangled in trouble for giving incorrect answers.
Then.
'In any case, as long as I'm not exposed, it should be fine, right?'
If I cannot resist, I have no choice but to comply.
Recalling how I'd managed to live without any presence even in the Salt Royal Palace, a brief visit might not become such a great problem.
After much deliberation, I turned my head toward the Grand Duke, who was gazing at me persistently.
"If I'm going as a distant relative of Your Highness the Grand Duke..."
Barely managing to suppress my reluctance, I forced out an answer.
"Yes, I should go."
"Then I'll take that as your consent."
With those words, the Grand Duke simply nodded and turned as if to leave.
But then, quite suddenly.
Truly, quite suddenly.
Something welled up from deep within my chest, a sensation that threatened to overflow.
To think I'd end up going all the way to the Imperial Palace in Cletan without even being able to settle my affairs here.
A wave of indignation swept over me unexpectedly.
And naturally, my thoughts traced back to the root cause—that I had become indebted to the Grand Duke.
'Perhaps the time has finally come to execute that plan....'
Though the blackout curtain business expansion had recently drained a considerable sum, I currently possessed a rather comfortable financial cushion.
While a grand mansion in the heart of the Grand Duchy was beyond my reach, I could manage a modest residence, I supposed.
The moment that thought crystallized, I impulsively opened my mouth toward the Grand Duke, who was just stepping through the doorway.
"W-well, I have something I'd like to tell you...."
"What is it?"
His question made me feel a flutter of nervousness, but I straightened my instinctively hunched shoulders and spoke.
"Don't you think it's about time I considered independence...?"
"...Princess. Did you just say 'independence'?"
But the response that came back was decidedly cold.
'What? Why does he look displeased?'
His expression and tone remained unchanged, yet I had a remarkable talent for detecting negative emotions.
But I couldn't understand it. Surely it would be less bothersome for the Grand Duke to let me go than to continue feeding me.
Was he worried about losing an obedient servant?
As that question arose automatically, I tilted my head briefly before resolving to convey my intentions more clearly.
Though I'd been forced to live here due to unavoidable circumstances, I was originally an independent person, after all!
"Yes, my status is rather ambiguous anyway, so it's becoming difficult to remain..."
That much was true.
Initially I'd been a kidnapping victim, but once I realized the wrong person had been taken, my position became considerably strange.
In truth, to eliminate evidence, it would have been cleaner to dispose of me. However, my voluntary declaration of servitude had rendered that moot, and now...
'I'm neither a hostage nor a slave, but rather treated more like a young lady.'
Yet something felt wrong about this arrangement, as if it shouldn't be this way.
It felt as though I were acting as the mistress of someone else's house.
Moreover, despite having no desire to work, I kept finding myself entangled in projects, and I sensed that remaining here would mean an endless stream of troublesome incidents.
'This won't do. It absolutely won't do.'
My peaceful, secluded life would only grow more distant.
"In any case, I've imposed upon you greatly, and I feel it would be an imposition to stay any longer."
"And then?"
"Well, once I return from the Imperial Palace, I'll move immediately. Since I'll be relocating within the Grand Duchy, it shouldn't take very long."
Bow.
I lowered my head decisively, as though driving a wedge into place.
Since the Grand Duke himself had called me a "guest," there was no justification for him to detain me, regardless of where I went.
After a moment of silence, his voice reached my ears.
"Is that so? Well, if the princess insists so firmly, I have nothing more to say."
Excellent!
At his regretful tone and the apparent willingness to let me go, I lifted my head with brightened spirits.
But then.
"...Eh?"
In that moment, I saw it.
The Grand Duke's handsome face was suffused with a radiant smile.
Simultaneously, goosebumps erupted across my entire body from head to toe.
'Something is terribly wrong.'
Through repeated experience, I had learned with bone-deep certainty that whenever he smiled so brilliantly, disaster descended upon me.
Footsteps.
The Grand Duke approached me with unhurried composure, lowered his gaze to meet mine, and spoke.
"But before you depart, princess—shall we settle our outstanding accounts?"
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