The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 42

Episode 42. The Child in the Portrait

These days, Louid came to the bedroom every night after she had fallen asleep, but today, for some reason, he came early.

“Oh my, Louid. You’re here early.”

Emilia, who had been about to change her clothes, looked startled.

“I have something to give you. I’ve been watching your training, and it’s clear you have no talent for swordsmanship.”

Does he not know I defeated Count Asher?

Emilia thought she must have misheard. Many had witnessed the sparring, but apparently no one had informed the Grand Duke.

His words stung a little, but it felt wrong to boast about her win herself.

“R-really? Was I that bad?”

“Yes. Terrible. Very… much so.”

Louid tilted his head toward her, meeting her gaze as he spoke in a cold voice.

“….”

Emilia glared at him with hurt eyes, pressing her lips tightly together.

‘Seriously. If I’m that terrible, then what about Count Asher?’

Anger bubbled inside her.

“Emilia, from tomorrow stop sword training and practice with this instead.”

Louid handed her something. He didn’t seem to care whether she sulked or not.

“What’s this…?”

Emilia’s eyes widened at what he held. It was a small sword wrapped in a golden sheath.

“A dagger. I think this suits you better.”

Then he should’ve given it to me from the start. Emilia accepted the dagger with a sullen face.

All the grueling time she had spent training in swordsmanship flashed before her eyes.

“Do I have to train with Sir Jamie for this too?”

She turned the dagger over in her hands as she asked.

“There’s nothing to train aside from stamina. Just learn a little from me each evening.”

Whether it was Asher or Jamie, he didn’t like anyone being close to her.

“In the bedroom?”

Emilia tilted her head. Louid was always so busy, she hadn’t thought he’d have time to teach her himself.

“Yes.”

“All right.”

“Hold it like this.”

Louid took the dagger from her, drew it from the golden sheath, and held it out.

“Here, try.”

After demonstrating, he returned the dagger to her. Emilia imitated what he had shown.

“No, like this.”

Louid wrapped his hand around hers, gripping the dagger together. His large hand completely enveloped her small one. Strangely, his hand was warm and soft, not like a swordsman’s.

“You hold it like this and stab the opponent. Grip it tight so you don’t drop it. Daggers are small, so they slip easily if you don’t hold them firmly.”

“Yes.” Emilia nodded.

“Enough stabbing. Try this.”

Louid took the dagger from her hand and threw it at the wall.

“Gasp?”

In the blink of an eye, the blade pierced the wall, striking the ornate frame of a painting hanging beside the fireplace.

Why stab a perfectly fine frame? That looked expensive….

His throw was flawless, but using a valuable frame as practice felt wasteful.

“Throw it. Be careful not to hurt your hand.”

Louid pulled the dagger from the frame and handed it to her.

“Yes.”

Emilia threw the dagger the way he had shown her just moments ago. But the dagger hit the frame weakly and dropped to the floor.

“Do it again.”

Louid picked up the fallen dagger and gave it back to her.

Taking a breath, Emilia aimed at the frame again and threw the dagger.

“Ah!”

In that moment, she cried out. The sharp blade had grazed her finger slightly. A small trickle of blood welled up from her middle finger.

“…?”

In the blink of an eye, Louid had taken her hand into his mouth.

Why is he sucking the blood! Emilia’s eyes widened in shock.

“I told you to be careful.”

He released her finger and frowned as he examined her hand.

“I-it’s fine.”

With Louid holding her hand and inspecting it so intently, she suddenly felt embarrassed. Her face flushed as she gently pulled her hand away.

“Wait here a moment.”

Louid went to his bedroom and came back with a white cloth and scissors.

He wrapped her finger with practiced ease and tied the knot neatly. It was clearly not his first time doing this.

“Shall we stop practicing now?”

“No. I want to keep going.”

Throwing the dagger had turned out to be fun. It reminded her of playing darts she had read about in books. She picked up the dagger again with her injured hand, carefully aimed at the frame, held her breath, and threw. The dagger stuck narrowly into the edge of the frame.

“Wow. I did it.”

Emilia pulled the dagger from the frame and turned around with a big laugh. But unexpectedly, Louid’s broad chest was right in front of her.

“Ah!”

He blocked her in, arms braced around her. From up close, she could feel the heat radiating off him.

Startled, Emilia looked up, and Louid smiled faintly, the corner of his lips curling. She found herself staring, entranced, into his face.

“Um….”

Her eyes were caught by Louid’s ruby-red gaze.

‘Beautiful.’

Those jewel-like red eyes held her entirely. But she couldn’t tell what emotion filled them.

He only looked at her deeply, and Emilia felt like she might be pulled in completely.

The standoff dragged on, leaving her flustered and unsure what to do.

When she nervously shifted her eyes, his face moved closer. Emilia thought he was about to kiss her and closed her eyes. But behind her, the wall slid open without a sound.

“Oh? How did you do that?”

Emilia’s eyes flew open.

“I’ll show you.”

As soon as he spoke, the wall closed again.

“Press here with your hand. Like that time.”

Louid reached behind the frame. He must have meant the time when they first met. Turning around, Emilia followed what he did, fumbling along the wall hidden by the frame.

“You don’t need to use force. Just place your hand on the hollow part of the wall behind the frame for three seconds.”

He guided her hand to the recessed spot.

“All right.”

Emilia placed her hand on the slightly indented spot behind the frame and silently counted one, two, three. Just like magic, the wall slid open.

When the wall opened, Louid took her hand and led her inside.

“Once you’re inside, press here.”

With one hand, he pressed a dragon-marked brick on the inner wall. The wall closed silently behind them. The place they entered was dark, but not so dark they couldn’t see.

“I installed magic stones for lamps all along the way. Just follow the lamps.”

Holding Louid’s hand, Emilia slowly descended the stairs.

“Follow the red lamps and you’ll reach the annex chamber. Follow the green lamps and you’ll reach the forest behind the castle’s back gate. Follow the yellow lamps and you’ll come out far from the castle gates. The Imperial Palace secret passages are the same. Remember this.”

“Yes.”

Emilia was nervous and trembling, so she answered briefly.

Since he was teaching her a secret passage only he knew, it felt like she had become someone important to him.

Since they hadn’t divorced yet, she thought it was all right to believe she was important to him for now. Emilia decided to let herself enjoy that illusion for a little while.

The two walked hand in hand down the underground passage. Drip, drip. She could hear the sound of water dripping, and a chilling breeze blew from somewhere.

‘Scary. What if a ghost appears?’

The eerie atmosphere made her clutch Louid’s arm tightly, shivering as she walked.

Because the castle was so large, it took a long time to reach the end of the secret passage.

“This is the forest behind the back gate.”

At the end of the passage, just like at the entrance, there was a dragon mark on the wall. Louid placed his hand on the mark, and the wall opened with a soft sound.

Beyond the wall was a dark cave. Passing through the cave, they emerged into the pitch-black night sky and the forest. Looking down the slope of the forest, she could see the castle’s back gate in the distance.

“If you follow the forest path from here, you’ll come to the harbor. Walk a bit farther and you’ll find stables.”

“I see.”

The route was similar to the one Louid had shown her in the Imperial Palace, so it was easy to understand. It seemed this passage was made so one could reach the harbor by horse and escape by ship, or hide at the harbor.

“The Prince’s Palace chambers are the same as here. There’s a passage beside the fireplace.”

“Then that building back then….”

“It was the Prince’s Palace. That’s where I grew up.”

So that’s how it was. The child in that portrait had been adorable.

‘It was Louid!’

Emilia pictured Louid’s face overlapping with the child’s in the portrait. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but the child had been him.

‘He grew up just the same.’

The stern expression in the portrait was exactly like Louid’s. She looked at him with an expression of awe.

“There are a lot of stars here. When I want to see them, I come here.”

Louid, who had been gazing at the sky, spoke to her. Emilia’s gaze naturally followed upward.

“It’s so beautiful. I can see all the stars. It’s amazing.”

When she had been locked up in the tower at the duke’s estate, she could only see one side of the sky, and the stars had always looked the same. Here she could see every star in the sky, and it amazed her.

Louid’s gaze dropped to the nape of her neck. His head lowered closer and closer.