I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke

It is widely known that he can be awakened through a saint, but the matter of his successor is a closely guarded secret.

 

As soon as the words left her mouth, a secret that is only passed down in the immediate family line, Kalian’s face turned cold.

 “You’d better shut that mouth…” 

The man’s eyes narrowed, the flesh he’d been consciously grinding away, the gaze that pierced through them sharp.

 

But there was no backing down now.

 “I once saw a strange book in the Count’s library, and it said something like this.” 

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut and summoned all the courage she could muster. She was never good at looking someone in the eye when she was lying.

 “Those born with the Mark of the Guardian will carry on the family name only through a relationship with a holy woman who has received the oracle.” 

The Grand Duke was the supreme ruler of the vast north.

 

Though he had never been brought to his knees in the war against the demons, it was important for him to have several children to ensure a worthy successor in the unlikely event of his death.

 “Isn’t that why you’re so reluctant to marry? Because if it became known that you were restricted from having an heir, it would be a problem in more ways than one…” 

Kalian was a proud man.

 

Evelyn knew how humiliating this curse would be for him.

 

Perhaps that was why he had taken her as his wife in his past life, to escape the imperial pressure to marry.

 

After a long moment of reflection, Evelyn met his gaze and spoke softly.

 “I don’t think there’s a young lady in the world who’d rather be a half-duchess who can’t carry on the family name, but I’m…!” 

But she couldn’t finish her sentence.

 “I thought I told you to be quiet.” 

She stood up in discomfort, but Kalian was on her heels in an instant and grabbed her wrist.

 

His hands were as large as his height. They were large enough to cover Evelyn’s face.

 

The fear of being grabbed by the wrist by a man who could crush a solid golem’s head with one hand is indescribable.

 

But the pain she’d been expecting didn’t come, not even a dull ache.

 

Realizing that he was struggling to keep his grip on her hand, she pushed herself up calmly, unflinching.

 “I’ll be your shield, Grand Duke, and if you marry me and don’t have an heir, there will certainly be unholy rumors, but if I take all the blame…” 

It would buy him some time, at least until the holy woman showed up, she said, trying to win him over.

 “I’m not going to hear any more of this.” 

He yanked Evelyn hard around the waist.

 

Then he shoved his thigh between her bucking legs and drove her up against the wall like a hunter driving his prey.

 

It happened in a flash.

 

The ferocity of his thrusts crumpled the hem of her skirt and pulled her loosely braided hair loose.

 “Ugh!” 

Before Evelyn’s body could be slammed against the cold stone wall, a large hand wrapped nimbly around the back of her head and small of her back.

 “You read about it in a book? If you’re going to lie to me, you might want to be a little more sincere.” 

He spoke coldly, pulling the veil off the top of Evelyn’s head.

 

His voice remained calm, even as his golden eyes flared with fierce emotion.

 “I have enchanted it with a seal of promise, so that no one who knows the family secret may speak or write it down. Except for me.” 

‘Pardon?’

 

Evelyn’s head snapped up.

 

In her previous life, she had heard this from his own lips.

 

She knew it was a top secret, passed down only in the immediate line, but she hadn’t known it was a seal of honor.

 

‘If I had known that, I wouldn’t have given you this excuse…’

 

‘Did that mean he trusted her that much?’

 

Enough to think he didn’t need to use magic to keep her mouth shut?

 “A mole, then.” 

The thought crumbled away.

 “You wouldn’t know this much about me otherwise.” 

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Evelyn swallowed her anxiety as she rubbed her wrist where his hand had touched it.

 

She thought she’d made her point, but perhaps her manner was questionable, bringing up a matter of such importance that she had to seal his mouth with magic.

 

‘How could I get out of this?’

 

Her heart raced. Trapped between the wall and his body, she desperately tried to catch her breath.

 “I’m not a spy. There’s no way I could do such a thing, having never stepped foot outside the estate since I was born.” 

A long finger cupped Evelyn’s chin.

 “What a lame excuse. From the gate opening in Ferum to the matter of Hussar. How am I to believe you when I know you inside out?” 

Kalian closed the distance between their faces, his eyes glaring as if the gentlemanliness he’d been displaying was a lie.

 “And to think that you snap like a snapped-necked beast at the mere touch.” 

Hot breath mingled. Pausing just inches from her lips, he prodded her heartlessly, as if to intimidate her.

 “I don’t see how you could do that to me.” 

He took a step back, as if to give her room to breathe.

 

Air rushed in through the gaping hole, releasing the tightness in his chest. Evelyn gulped down the air she couldn’t get enough of.

 

He swept a stray strand of hair off his forehead and looked down at her with a cold stare.

 “As you can see, I am very rude and vicious. If someone gets in my way, I’m used to taking them out and taking what I need.” 

The vicious rumors surrounding him are plentiful, and the forces seeking to tarnish him in any way possible are numerous.

 

Anyone under someone else’s thumb should have been scared to death and backed off.

 “Now get out of here before you get yourself in trouble…” “What if you’re ready?” “What?” 

Kalian’s gaze sank deep as she looked at Evelyn, her lips parted in an abyss.

 “If I was afraid of that, I wouldn’t have stayed by your side that day…” 

As she spoke, a streak of emotion appeared in his eyes, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

 “Because the moment I touched the black mass, I felt as if my insides were on fire and my whole body was melting.” 

Evelyn glanced up at him, unmoving.

 “Also, if you don’t like me, you can slit my throat right now for insulting you.” 

A faint stirring could be seen in the elusive golden eyes. At the same time, the air shifted strangely.

 “The fact that you, the rude and greedy one, couldn’t do that… means you recognize my usefulness, doesn’t it?” 

Hearing Evelyn’s retort, Kalian paused in thought for a moment before letting out a shallow sigh.

 “Let me ask you this: if you’re right, marrying me would be nothing more than a futile endeavor, what’s your real purpose in getting involved with me?” “Purpose?” 

Memories of the past flashed through her mind quickly.

 

Her mother’s smile, beaming back at her.

 

The helplessness of knowing her mother was dead.

 

And the lonely death she’d faced, leaving her beloved behind after a brief period of happiness.

 

Her eyes reddened. There was only one way out of that hellish past.

 

‘Just keep moving forward.’

 

Evelyn took a step toward him.

 

The man’s expression was serious, as if he could see right through her.

 

To make her purpose clear, Evelyn held her scarred wrist out in front of him.

 

He stared at her wrist for a long moment, then raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t like what he saw.

 “What is this, a wound?” 

Evelyn swallowed hard at the sharpness in his voice.

 

She tried not to be intimidated, but she couldn’t stop her shoulders from slumping.

 “It is the reason I was forced to flee from the Count’s estate.” “You mean evidence of abuse.” “Yes, because the Countess would slash my wrists and draw blood every other day.” “Since when?” “Three years ago, that is… since my mother was taken to the temple.” “Why?” “Well, do you know anything about the spirit stones?” 

His usually rounded brow quirked at the question.

 

But instead of retorting sharply, he listened to what Evelyn had to say.

 

Evelyn’s arrogant consideration gave her the courage to ask.

 “I don’t know what the Spirit Stone was used for, but I believe it was refined using… mine and my mother’s blood.” 

Her chest tightened at the memory of her mother.

 

Reddening, Evelyn clung to his cuffs as if they were a lifeline.

 “Please help me. I need your power.” “You want revenge.” “I want to… live.” 

Evelyn’s shoulders sagged, and she tore her hands from the man’s clothes.

 

Then, clasping her trembling hands together, she spoke as blandly as she could.

 “I overheard the Countess talking to someone, and she said that the refinement of the Spirit Stone is nearing completion, so they have to make sure it doesn’t leave any aftereffects.” “You mean, I’m the one who needs to be dealt with in a way that leaves no trace.” 

Evelyn nodded slowly.

 

Kalian’s gaze lingered for a moment, reddened by tears, then dropped.

 “Do you know the identity of the person who spoke to the Countess?” “I didn’t see his face, sir, but I’m sure it was a man of high standing, judging by the way the countess was so stiffly polite.” 

He paused for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought.

 “I have a duty to protect the continent. If it is truly a dangerous mineral, I cannot turn a blind eye to it, but I cannot make a shrine and a pretense out of psychosis.” 

She knows it. The temple and he are inseparable.

 “I’m being supplied with a purifying agent to heal my wounds from the demons. 

Demon wounds are poisoned by magic, just as normal wounds become infected with bacteria. And the only thing that could cleanse them was healing or sexual power.

 

But there weren’t enough healers to cleanse hundreds of knights.

 

Unless they were seriously wounded, they were beyond the reach of healing, so purifying agents were an important supply.

 

He couldn’t just take it away from them if he wanted to fulfill his own desires.

 

‘The opportunity will come, I’m sure. He has many contacts with the temple.’

 

After a long silence, she spoke.

 “I promise you, I won’t do anything that would make me a liability to the Grand Duke. After my time is up, I will not seek… any unfair advantage.”