The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 19

Episode 19. The Man in the Dream

‘How can I persuade him?’

Emilia, dressed in a thin slip, sat in the armchair staring vacantly at the fire in the fireplace. Her face was clouded with worry. She had barely managed to muster the courage to speak, yet Louid had not budged an inch, as immovable as a boulder.

‘Nothing in the world is easy.’

Marriage had seemed the right choice, but she hadn’t expected divorce to be so difficult.

“……?”

As she sighed, her eyes caught sight of a strange book. It was a book Helen had placed on the round table beside the armchair.

“Madame Bella?”

Was it the name of a boutique? Curious, Emilia picked up the book and slowly turned the pages. It contained drawings of various dresses and outfits, with the designers’ names written beneath. Her blue eyes shone as she gazed intently at the illustrations.

Past midnight, in the deep of night, a section of wall in Emilia’s bedroom opened without a sound. A black shadow entered silently and strode straight toward the bed without hesitation.

Louid, glancing absentmindedly toward the fireplace, stopped in his tracks.

Emilia was slumped in the armchair, not moving, and a book had fallen to the floor beneath it. Judging by the steady rise and fall of her chest, she seemed to be asleep.

He walked over to the fireplace and lifted Emilia in his arms. His brows furrowed at once. Her body was far too light, like holding a bird’s feather.

‘So frail…’

Holding her, Louid stood still for a moment before carefully laying her on the bed.

She seemed to be in a deep sleep, not stirring even when moved. His gaze lingered briefly on the gentle rise and fall of her chest, like waves.

Covering her with the blanket, he removed his robe and lay on the bed, keeping as much distance from her as possible.

‘So weak she tumbles down the stairs or collapses even while standing.’

Resting his head on one arm, he clicked his tongue inwardly.

He knew noblewomen often ate little to maintain a slim figure, but Emilia looked as though she had been starved of even gruel. The sight displeased him.

Perhaps because he was used to facing knights of sturdy build, she seemed even frailer to his eyes. In this land, with its long winters and piercing cold, one needed a strong body to survive. Both the servants and the people of his domain were robust and hardy.

But Emilia was different. If she were to fall ill and die before the divorce, it would be troublesome.

‘Still, something has changed in the past month.’

On the day he had returned from the monster hunt, he had felt a strange dissonance when he saw her in the lobby. It was because of her changed eyes.

At their first meeting and at the wedding, her gaze had been empty. But within a month, it had become clear and bright. Her body was still thin and weak, but her eyes alone made her seem like a different person, leaving him momentarily unsettled.

He had hoped she would live quietly and then agree to divorce when he suggested it years later. For now, with the Emperor’s health in decline and because she was Duke Berthe’s granddaughter, whom he resented, he had no intention of granting her request.

‘I’ll have to feed her properly.’

If he meant to torment Duke Berthe through her, then first he would have to make her strong.

***

“So cold…”

In the dark dawn, a faint sound reached him. Louid, who had dozed off at some point, opened his eyes wide.

‘How long has it been?’

His headache had vanished, and he felt he had slept deeply.

Lifting his head, he looked down. Emilia was lying against his chest, shivering. He certainly had not held her; she must have moved on her own. He carefully shifted his body aside.

“Mmm.”

Emilia made a small sound and burrowed back into his arms.

“Ha…”

Letting out a deep sigh, he moved aside again. But once more, like glue, she clung to him.

‘This wasn’t my intention…’

He glanced at the fireplace. Though the fire had burned low, the room was still warm.

He rose, added more logs to the fire, and quietly approached the bed.

Standing over her, he looked down. Her thin slip had ridden up, exposing her pale, slender legs, while the blanket clung only to her feet.

Though he had not meant to look, his breath caught and his body tensed. Below his navel, his body stirred rebelliously, beyond his control.

“Sigh…”

He tried to calm it with deep breaths, but it was useless.

Like a lust-driven beast… what was this?

As he struggled, Emilia reached out blindly, as if searching for someone.

If he lay down again in this state, there would be no turning back. Louid turned toward the bathroom.

“Simon.”

“……”

“Bring more firewood.”

At the sound, Louid froze. He turned back, arms crossed, and let out a displeased sigh.

‘Simon?’

He had heard clearly. A strange man’s name from Emilia’s lips.

She continued groping beside her as though seeking someone. A vein throbbed on Louid’s forehead.

After watching her for a moment, he grabbed an extra pillow and placed it in her arms. Then, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, he wrapped her snugly just as he had on their wedding night. Without another glance, he strode off into the bathroom.

***

The Grand Duke trained with his sword every dawn. But today, before even the first light, the sound of a blade slicing through the air echoed in the dark training hall.

His body was in perfect condition. He had slept well and felt no headache. Yet, for some reason, he was deeply unsettled.

When Louid had already exhausted himself for hours, Alex and the knights gathered for their morning training.

“Alex.”

Louid tilted his chin toward the group of knights. It was a signal for a spar.

“Ah… really…”

His fellow knights patted Alex on the back with sympathetic expressions. With a grim face, Alex picked up his sword.

At the center of the training hall, the duel began. No battle cries were exchanged, and the speed of the clashing blades was faster than light, invisible to ordinary eyes. Wherever Louid’s sword passed, a silver trail lingered.

Louid was the strongest Sword Master in the empire. Alex was also highly skilled, but he never wanted to spar with the Grand Duke if he could avoid it.

Before long, the massive Alex collapsed.

“Aaron.”

As Alex fell in exhaustion, Louid called for Aaron.

“Ah…”

With a groan, Aaron, wearing a deathly expression, stepped forward. Louid swung his sword until Aaron, too, collapsed, then left the training hall without hesitation.

“Ha, truly heartless.”

Alex muttered, sprawled flat on the ground. Aaron, who had just fallen, lay gasping for breath, mouth open wide.

They had only just returned from a month-long monster hunt, and yet this.

The knights who had been watching shook their heads and helped the two up.

***

Around noon that day, Eddie entered Louid’s office.

“Your Highness, this is the budget for maintaining Her Highness’s dignity. Will you sign it?”

“Yes.”

Louid signed the document Eddie handed him without protest.

“Call in a jeweler within a few days. And a dressmaker as well.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And find out who Simon is.”

“Simon? Do you know his family name?”

“I don’t. But he should be a young man living in Duke Berthe’s territory.”

Louid spat the words as though they were poison. His eyes blazed red.

“Yes, understood.”

To enter her bedroom at dawn… just how close must they be?

‘A lover? Perhaps a paramour?’

In the Richert Empire, even noble ladies were permitted to take lovers.

Even so, though he did not like her, she was still his wife. He couldn’t stand to see her in an affair with another man.

Such things might happen after divorce, but no—not even after divorce would he allow it.

When Eddie left, only the grinding of Louid’s teeth filled the office.

The thought that Simon could be a mere servant never once occurred to him, blinded as he was by anger.

***

The northern spring sunlight seeped through the curtains, waking her from her deep sleep.

As always, Emilia woke at her usual hour. After a sound night’s sleep, her head felt wonderfully clear.

She turned her head toward the space beside her. It was because of the strange dream she had had the night before.

‘Strange. I thought I saw him. It must have been a dream.’

In her dream, she had been held in a solid, broad chest, wrapped in arms as thick as her waist. The only man she knew was Louid, so the muscular man in her dream must have been him.

It was only a dream, and yet it had felt so vivid.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

As she was recalling the dream, Helen entered carrying tea. Helen always seemed to know exactly when she woke, as if by magic.

“Helen, where is the Grand Duke?”

“His Highness should be in the training hall.”

“The training hall?”

“Yes, His Highness trains with the knights every morning.”

“I see.”

So, it really must have been only a dream.

Emilia convinced herself it had only been a dream. Yet that very night, just past midnight, the wall of her bedchamber opened without a sound.