Of course, I had expected Lisid to react this way. I knew very, very well that he had intended to seek help from a priest.
Which meant I had come prepared too.
“How could that be… I truly didn't know.”
I furrowed my brows as if I were being sincere.
“I'm sorry, Your Grace…! I never imagined you were planning to ask a priest for help. The entire temple is under His Majesty the Emperor's control, isn't it?”
As I desperately covered my mouth in shock, I noticed the Grand Duke hesitate ever so slightly.
That's right. You can't let the Emperor discover your weakness. The moment you ask a priest for help, it'll reach his ears.
“And, Your Grace, there's one thing you've misunderstood.”
I slowly shook my head.
“Why would I hand you over to the father who hates me? He doesn't even consider me family…”
That Irel, the Duke of Blandiche's illegitimate daughter, had a distant relationship with her father was common knowledge among the nobility.
So Lisid had no choice but to believe me.
I sniffled softly before continuing.
“And lastly… Your Grace already knows.”
“…Knows what?”
“That I've loved you all this time.”
For a split second, the red eyes of the Grand Duke trembled.
I didn't miss the opportunity.
“So please... just trust me this once. No matter what happens, I'll protect you before I protect myself.”
“…You? Protect me?”
“Yes. I promise I'll do everything I can to help you. And if you ever see even the slightest sign that I might betray you... don't hesitate to stab me with that sword.”
Because if that day comes, I'll already be destined to die anyway.
“So? Do you trust me a little now?”
I smiled confidently, glancing at the sword pointed toward me.
As the Grand Duke studied my face, something subtle flickered across his eyes.
“Lady... what happened to you? Why do you look like that? Did you get into another fight?”
As soon as I returned to the mansion, Jenis looked at me in alarm.
“My face? What's wrong with it?”
Only then did I walk over to the vanity and look into the mirror.
Messy silver hair and pale, dry lips greeted me.
...Good grief.
I talked to the male lead looking like this the whole time?
Of course, the original novel had spent countless lines describing Irel's beauty, so I didn't look completely terrible...
Still... I feel a little bad that I ended up confessing my love looking like this.
It was probably the first time she'd ever confessed so directly.
Sorry, Irel...
But I'm cleaning up all the mess you left behind, so please forgive me a little.
As I silently apologized to Irel, Jenis stepped over and began brushing my hair.
“It's strange. You've really been acting unlike yourself lately.”
“Unlike myself?”
“Yes. You don't seem interested in dressing up anymore. And you even went out carrying that strange little bag you made yourself. It's really not like you at all.”
“Ah.”
I flinched slightly and looked down at the pocket bag.
The Grand Duke, who had ultimately agreed to come with me, was glaring at me from the pitch-black darkness inside the bag.
His crimson eyes gleamed ominously.
Startled, I quickly sent Jenis away.
“Oh dear, I'm so tired! You can leave for today, Jenis. Thanks for taking care of me.”
“So early?”
“Mm. I want to rest. I'll prepare my bath and bed myself, so tell all the maids to leave too. Please.”
Jenis looked puzzled by the request, but thankfully nodded after a moment.
“Very well. Have a pleasant evening, then.”
Only after I heard the door click shut did I finally let out a long sigh and remove the pocket bag.
“Phew... You can come out now, Your Grace!”
I gently placed the bag on the bed.
The bag wriggled.
“Oh, right. Your shoes!”
Just as the Grand Duke climbed out of the pocket and was about to stand, I hurriedly grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“…What exactly are you trying to do?”
He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes filled with killing intent.
“N-No... I just meant you should take your shoes off first.”
Who wears shoes on a bed?
I certainly don't.
Afraid dirty footprints would stain my snow-white bed, I pointed toward his shoes.
“Hah.”
After staring at me for a moment, the Grand Duke let out a cold laugh.
“You really are troublesome, Lady.”
“B-But if you leave footprints behind, it'll be troublesome for you too! The maids will become suspicious. Then my father will hear about it...”
As I rambled on with one explanation after another, he curled one corner of his lips upward and casually kicked his shoes off behind him.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“Perfect!”
I gave him a thumbs-up before releasing his sleeve.
The crimson eyes looking at me carried an expression that clearly thought I was ridiculous.
“Well then, please take a look around, Your Grace. If you need anything at all, just let me know!”
Pretending not to notice his gaze, I smiled brightly.
“I shall.”
Nodding once, the Grand Duke stood at the edge of the bed and looked around the room.
It took him only five seconds to judge it.
“For someone so obsessed with cleanliness, it's excessively cluttered and chaotic. Your sense of aesthetics is also rather dreadful.”
“Urgh…”
I winced.
The Grand Duke wasn't wrong.
Irel's room was filled with decorations.
And that was entirely my fault.
I thought he'd like flashy things since he's royalty.
Did he know how much effort I'd put into decorating this enormous room? Jenis had even started looking at me as if I'd gone insane.
“Well... you caught me off guard.”
“I couldn't very well stab you somewhere else.”
“……”
Watching Lisid turn away with a cold smile, I clenched my fists.
For a second there, I'd almost punched him.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke had drawn his sword and was pulling back the curtain covering the wall behind the bed's headboard.
“Lady, why is this covered?”
“Ah, there...!”
I threw myself toward the curtain in a panic.
Heat rushed to my face.
“No! Please don't open it, Your Grace. If you do, I might actually get angry with you.”
“I'm not particularly frightened. Is that supposed to be a threat?”
“N-No, it's not a threat...!”
I shook my head frantically.
Looking up at me, the Grand Duke lowered his sword with a faint smile.
“If it's not a threat... then it's a request.”
“Yes! Exactly—a request!”
I nodded with all my might.
Ahem... I absolutely cannot tell him what's behind that curtain.
I'd been shocked enough myself when I'd first seen that wall after transmigrating.
“A request…”
His crimson eyes shone as they fixed on me.
I swallowed nervously and met his gaze.
For a brief moment, an odd silence hung between us.
“Very well.”
After watching me suspiciously for a long while, the Grand Duke finally stepped back.
Phew... At least when I called it a request, he didn't insist.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
In the original novel, Lisid had always been the type to charge ahead without caring about the consequences, so I'd been afraid he'd simply ignore me.
The cold and ruthless Grand Duke of the North.
Whether human or monster, if someone was his enemy, he would cut off their head without hesitation.
That was Lisid Epenterion.
...And yet, the fact that he became unbelievably gentle only toward the heroine, Seria—as if he'd pluck the stars and moon from the sky for her—was exactly what drove readers crazy.
That's why I liked him too.
I wonder what Lisid will be like after the curse is lifted.
Lost in thought, I looked at him.
He was tiny.
The Lisid standing before me was only about the size of a baby doll I used to play with as a child.
Basically, a chubby little bean-sized doll.
He wasn't unbelievably small, but he certainly wasn't big either.
So no matter how much he frowned, he only looked adorable.
It's fascinating.
How could such a deep voice come from that tiny appearance?
For a moment, I found myself thinking that even if everything went wrong and I died, I wanted to see Lisid's true form at least once.
“Then, Lady.”
The Grand Duke casually sat down on the bed and asked,
“Where am I supposed to sleep?”
Steam rose gently from a tiny wooden tub.
Cloud-like bubbles softly wrapped around Lisid's body.
Looking down at himself submerged in the little tub, Lisid frowned.
...So small.
His hands.
His feet.
His body.
Everything was incomparably smaller than before.
Even his proportions were different.
Lisid frowned as he rubbed his face.
A curse...
What kind of ridiculous trick is this?
