The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 23

Episode 23. The Emperor’s Letter

“How did it go?”

“We carried it out for now, but… it doesn’t seem she is dead.”

The Marquess of Carrion’s aide reported quietly with an ashamed expression.

“Fools. Find another way. It must appear to be an accident. Even staging it as suicide will do.”

“Yes, understood, my lord.”

The aide bowed his head and left the office.

The Marquess of Carrion, though not as powerful as Duke Berthe, held considerable influence. He was one of Duke Berthe’s close allies and had been among those who had sent assassins after Louid over the past ten years.

But after the Crown Prince’s death, the granddaughter of Duke Berthe, whom he had not even known existed, suddenly married the Grand Duke. Feeling as though he had missed the position of Grand Duchess by a hair, he was restless and sleepless with resentment.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

At the sound of the knock, the Marquess shouted in an angry voice.

“Father.”

The one who entered was his only daughter, Lina.

“Lina, what brings you here?”

The Marquess’s face brightened and his voice softened upon seeing his daughter.

“Please have some tea.”

Lina set the tea she had brought down on the sofa table.

“Yes. Sit down as well. Let us drink together.”

“Yes, Father.”

She sat primly across from him.

“How was the banquet? Were there any young lords who showed interest?”

“I received many requests for dances. I couldn’t refuse them all, so I danced with a few.”

She had recently attended a banquet hosted by the Countess of Mayren.

“Good. Of course. Who wouldn’t want to dance with my daughter? Haha.”

The Marquess carefully observed his daughter. Lina resembled him, with silver hair, large round green eyes, alabaster skin, and a delicate face. She was one of the most beautiful women in the empire.

That such a lovely, refined girl had not become the Grand Duchess because of a moment’s lapse—it was unbearable. Now the Grand Duchess was to become the future empress.

When he thought of Duke Berthe’s ghostly granddaughter whom he had seen at the Grand Duke’s wedding, his blood pressure surged even higher. How could that skeletal woman hold his daughter’s place? If Louid were to see Lina even once, he would surely fall for her.

The Marquess now regretted his past efforts to please Duke Berthe by trying to assassinate Louid. Had he instead sided with the Grand Duke and introduced Lina to him earlier, he could have become the father-in-law of the future emperor. He cursed himself for having missed such an opportunity, suffering from sleepless nights filled with regret.

‘Lina, I will reclaim your rightful place.’

He vowed over and over in his heart as he gazed at his daughter.

***

There it is.

After scouring the dark forest, Louid finally found Emilia’s shoe. At once, he felt his headache ease. Even the sick heaviness in his chest lifted as though it had been cleared.

It was all because of that man named Simon.

His eyes burned red in the darkness.

“Emilia Richert, I will never allow you a lover.”

Louid spoke as though making a vow to the dawn sky. Though he disliked that she still longed for a lover left behind at the duke’s mansion, searching for him even in her dreams, he could say nothing when it was because of the shoe he had thrown away that she had been injured.

‘If I return this to her, she’ll be happy.’

From what he had observed, unlike the insidious Duke Berthe, Emilia was cheerful and often smiled. Surely she’d be delighted to have her cherished shoe back. Imagining her smiling face, Louid trudged back toward the castle.

That morning, Emilia returned to the Grand Duke’s castle after undergoing various examinations at the monastery hospital.

It feels good to be home.

The Grand Duke’s castle now felt like her home. Emilia looked around her annex bedroom with relief. Having a place to return to brought her great happiness.

I never knew this feeling while locked in the tower.

Her expression briefly clouded, then brightened again.

“Your Highness, the physician has come.”

“Oh, I see. Helen, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry.”

Helen spun around lightly to prove her health.

“That’s a relief.”

Emilia went to the sitting room and was examined by the physician.

“His Highness the Grand Duke instructed me to treat Your Highness with the utmost care.”

“Did he?”

It was unexpected that Louid, who had stormed out in anger yesterday, would say such a thing.

“Your Highness, your recovery is swift. The bruising on your wrist has nearly vanished already.”

Unwinding the bandage on her wrist, the physician exclaimed in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes, at this rate you will be able to resume normal activities in just a few days.”

“That’s fortunate. Thank you.”

“Yes, please continue taking the medicine I prescribed.”

“I understand.”

Louid had sent the physician directly to the annex as soon as he heard Emilia had returned.

Pacing around the garden near the annex, Louid finally went to his office only after hearing from the physician that the Grand Duchess was in good health and her wrist would soon heal.

“Inspect the carriage and find out if there were any witnesses to the accident.”

“Yes, understood.”

Louid ordered Alex to investigate the carriage accident. There was something unsettling about it being dismissed as a simple mishap.

So Duke Berthe is pressing her to have a child.

Even so, he still suspected that it might have been Emilia staging the accident herself.

***

That evening, Emilia again had dinner with Louid. With Helen’s help she changed her clothes, put on the new shoes bought at Madame Bella’s, and went to the third floor of the main castle.

“Sit here.”

“Yes.”

Last time, she had sat at the far end of the long table, but today Louid indicated the seat diagonally beside him. Moreover, he even cut her food into smaller pieces.

‘Why…?’

Emilia looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“You can’t use your right hand. I can’t just eat by myself.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Do you like the new shoes?” Louid asked casually, as if in passing.

“Yes, I like them. The clothes will soon be finished, and the jewels and shoes too, thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. If you need something, simply buy it.”

“Yes.”

“The shoe that flew into the forest must be precious. Shall I fetch it for you?”

He was searching for an excuse to return the shoe he had found overnight.

“No.”

“……”

At Emilia’s unexpected answer, his expression froze.

“Why?”

That day, she had stomped her feet and demanded the shoe back, and yet overnight her attitude had completely changed. He could not believe it.

“I no longer need it.”

Emilia shrugged as though indifferent. The shoes Duke Berthe had given her were no longer necessary. She now had many new ones.

“…I see.”

What was I doing? Searching the forest all night to find a shoe for the granddaughter of my enemy. Louid swallowed a bitter laugh, mocking himself as he chewed the steak. Suddenly, he lost his appetite.

“It tastes bad.”

“It tastes good.”

Emilia looked at him as if wondering how he could say that. With her fork in her left hand, she was diligently eating the potato salad.

“Eat plenty.”

“Yes.”

“Hah…”

The headache had started again. Having barely slept from his insomnia, Louid let out a long sigh.

If he lay next to injured Emilia and touched her wrist, the pain would wake her.

But sleeping by her side freed him from his torment, and he wavered between the desire to go to her room and the resolve to hold back.

At last, he made up his mind and rose abruptly. Through the secret passage, he entered the annex, hesitated for a moment, then flung himself down on the sofa.

How strange.

Simply being near Emilia eased his headache. He felt himself drifting to sleep.

But before long, he blinked and sat up abruptly.

I am her husband. Why must I sneak in like a thief?

They were lawfully wed. No one could object if they shared a room.

Quietly approaching the bed where Emilia slept, he gazed down at her with a conflicted expression for a long while.

***

“Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has sent a letter.”

A few days later, Eddie brought him a letter from the Emperor.

“I see.”

Has something happened again to my brother? Louid’s face darkened.

“This time it came by carrier pigeon.”

“By carrier pigeon?”

A pigeon was used only for urgent matters, and the note attached to its leg was written in a code known only to the imperial family.

When Louid had suffered Duke Berthe’s assassination attempts, the Emperor had written to him in code, sending the letters by pigeon or messenger.

Unfolding the note, Louid quickly scanned its contents.

Moments later, he slapped it down on the desk with a sharp crack.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

“There must be a spy in the castle.”

His furious voice rang through the office.

“That can’t be. The castle has tighter security than even the imperial palace. What spy do you mean?”

“His Majesty knows that I haven’t consummated the marriage with Emilia.”

“But everyone in the castle knows that.”

Eddie replied calmly. That the Grand Duke and Duchess had not shared a bed was not exactly a secret.

“I mean, why should His Majesty, so far away, know of it?”

“That, I do not know…”

Eddie trailed off.

The Emperor’s note read:

[I know you don’t go to the Grand Duchess’s bedchamber. Until you consummate the marriage with Emilia and produce an heir, you are forbidden from taking part in any battles. If you don’t produce an heir, I will pass the throne to Duke Berthe.]

It had been written in a cipher known only to him and the Emperor.

Who would dare inform the Emperor of the Grand Duke’s private life? Was it Emilia?

Yes. She could very well have done it. She was Duke Berthe’s granddaughter, after all.

Veins bulged on the back of Louid’s hand as he gripped the note tightly.

“Tell the Grand Duchess I’ll sleep in the annex from tonight.”