The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 60

Episode 60. Lina Carrion

‘Lina Carrion?’

Emilia turned toward the voice. There stood a woman she had never seen before.

As Emilia looked back, the silver-haired woman lifted the hem of her elegant dress and offered a polite curtsey. Emilia stared at her for a while. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about her felt unpleasant.

Lina was a woman with long silver hair reaching down to her waist and round green eyes. The dress she was wearing was one of Madame Bella’s designs, the very brand Emilia had created herself.

With a calm expression, Emilia said, “Welcome, Lady Carrion. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Did you come alone?”

All the nobles attending the banquet had arrived with family members or partners, so Emilia glanced beside and behind Lina. There was no one accompanying her.

“Yes, my father’s health has not been well, so I came in his place. He asked that His Highness and Your Highness forgive his absence.”

“I understand. I wish the Marquess of Carrion a swift recovery. You must have come from quite far away, please enjoy yourself.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Emilia offered her a brief greeting and turned away. She tried to maintain a composed expression, but her heart pounded, and her face stiffened without her realizing.

“But, Your Highness.”

“….”

Just as Emilia turned her back, Lina spoke again.

“I’d like to pay my respects to His Highness the Grand Duke as well. Do you happen to know where he is? I’ve looked around the hall but can’t seem to find him.”

It would sound strange for the Grand Duchess to say she didn’t know where the Grand Duke was, but even if she did, Emilia didn’t feel like telling Lina.

“…The Grand Duke seems to have stepped out for a moment. He’s quite busy, you see. You can offer your greetings later.”

Without turning around, Emilia answered, her voice slightly trembling with tension.

“Yes, understood. Then I’ll see you again later, Your Highness.”

“Alright.”

With a faint smile on her lips, Lina turned gracefully and walked off in another direction.

For some reason, Emilia felt uneasy. She quickly turned her head and scanned the hall. As Lina had said, Louid was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where did he go? He was here just a moment ago….’

Her face clouded with worry.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke, there seems to be a small disturbance at the front gate. It may be best for you to take a look.”

While Emilia was happily chatting with the young ladies, Alex entered the hall and whispered quietly into Louid’s ear.

Louid gave a small nod and glanced toward Emilia, who was smiling and conversing with the young ladies.

If Alex had chosen to report it directly to him in person, it had to be something serious. Without saying a word to Emilia, Louid quickly left the hall.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

Emilia politely excused herself from the countesses and young ladies she had been speaking with and began moving around the ballroom.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Baron Lazia.”

Just as she was busily searching for Louid, a nobleman with an unfamiliar face blocked her path.

“Pleased to meet you, Baron.”

She returned the greeting briefly and tried to move past him.

“Good evening, Your Highness the Grand Duchess. I’m Viscount Scott. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Another noble stepped forward to greet her.

“Nice to meet you, Viscount.”

The hall was crowded, and every noble who saw her came forward to exchange greetings, so it took Emilia quite some time just to circle the hall once.

She was so focused on finding Louid that she didn’t even notice Lina’s gaze following her every move.

“Have you seen His Highness the Grand Duke?” she asked one of the servants carrying wine across the hall.

“Ah, His Highness left through that doorway a short while ago.”

“I see. Thank you.”

The door the servant pointed to led toward the corridor connecting to the main building.

‘Is he working again today? Or is it something else?’

If it wasn’t urgent, Louid would never have chosen to handle work on the night of the banquet. Tilting her head slightly, Emilia began walking toward the door the servant had indicated.

***

When one leaves the ballroom, there’s a long corridor connected to the main building. Emilia walked along that corridor.

Pretending to sip her wine, Lina stood alone behind a pillar and watched as the Grand Duchess exited the ballroom. The Grand Duke had been missing for some time, nowhere to be seen.

Whenever Emilia stopped walking, Lina would circle around to the side and pretend to admire the portraits hanging on the wall. When Emilia moved again, Lina followed quietly behind.

Unaware of being followed, the Grand Duchess looked around as if searching for someone and then climbed the central staircase.

While Emilia disappeared from sight, Lina’s eyes lingered on the steep staircase at the end of the corridor.

It seemed to lead to a basement, dark and steep enough that one could be seriously hurt with a single misstep.

‘That’ll do nicely.’

Before coming to the Grand Duke’s castle, Lina had already planned to set her trap near a staircase. A satisfied smile curved her lips.

Guards were posted along the corridor, but none stood near the stairs leading underground. And since there were many guests tonight, no one found it strange that a noble lady in a glamorous gown was admiring the wall paintings.

A moment later, the Grand Duchess, who had gone upstairs, came back down.

A few minutes earlier, Emilia had gone to Louid’s office on the second floor.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

The attendant on duty before the Grand Duke’s office greeted her politely.

“Is the Grand Duke here?”

“He hasn’t been here, Your Highness.”

“Does he have any other appointments today?”

“No, Your Highness. Aside from the banquet, there’s nothing else scheduled.”

“I see.”

Leaving the office, she asked the other attendants if they had seen Louid. But everyone was busy managing the banquet, and no one knew where he had gone. Eddie was nowhere to be found either.

‘Should I ask Alex? Where was Alex again…?’

To find Alex, Emilia went back downstairs.

“Your Highness, are you looking for His Highness the Grand Duke?”

Just then, as Emilia was heading toward the first-floor lobby, a sharp, high-pitched voice called out from behind. She slowly turned around and faced Lina once again.

“Yes.”

“His Highness went down those stairs a little while ago. I was about to greet him, but he disappeared rather quickly.”

Lina smiled kindly and pointed toward the steep staircase leading underground.

“…Thank you, Lady Carrion.”

Forcing a stiff smile, Emilia didn’t want to face her any longer. She quickly walked toward the stairs Lina had indicated. The staircase was steep and so dark that the end couldn’t be seen.

‘This looks like a passage to the basement. But why would Louid go here during the banquet?’

Looking at the unfamiliar staircase, she hesitated on whether to go down or not.

At that moment, Lina, who was standing some distance away, slowly lifted one hand. On her wrist gleamed a silver bracelet—one her mother, a dark magician, had given her.

“Lina, this bracelet holds magical power. But you must never use it carelessly. If anyone ever discovers our dark magic, we’re both as good as dead. Only use it when your life is truly in danger.”

Her mother’s voice echoed in her head, but Lina smiled coldly and clenched her fist.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, an unseen force shoved Emilia’s back. With a short cry, she tumbled down the staircase. The steps were steep, and there were no guards nearby. The place was pitch dark.

As Emilia fell, Lina’s lips curved in silent delight. Without a sound, she turned away and disappeared into the main lobby. There, she lingered casually, pretending to admire the grand murals as she waited for the Grand Duke to return. He would have to pass through the central lobby when he came back from the gate.

***

“Where’s the Grand Duchess?”

After resolving the commotion outside the castle and returning to the ballroom, Louid asked one of the hall attendants.

It hadn’t been long since her kidnapping incident, so he thought she might have overexerted herself at the banquet. He intended to send her back to her bedroom to rest.

Moreover, he didn’t like how the unmarried noblemen kept asking her to dance.

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess went out looking for you, Your Highness.”

At the servant’s words, Louid immediately left the ballroom and searched the first floor of the main building. But no matter how long he looked, there was no sign of her.

Thinking he should order the knights to search for Emilia, he turned toward the lobby.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke, are you looking for Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”

A strange voice came from behind him. When he turned around, a silver-haired woman was approaching him. It was a face he had never seen before.