Chapter 9

Grand Duke of the North

Sellen took a long time, but she finally finished her share of the apple, leaving nothing but the core.

The fruit had been so large that eating just one left her completely full.

Since she had come to eat apples together with him, it was time for her to return to her room.

Sellen stole a glance at the taciturn man who had neither chased her away nor spoken much, simply sitting beside her until this late hour.

The first thing she noticed was his broad shoulder, towering well above her own.

Beyond it she saw a jaw that looked harder than a crocodile’s hide and tightly pressed lips. Then, following her gaze upward, she met a pair of ruby-red eyes fixed on her.

She had no idea how long he had been looking at her.

Even after their eyes met, his gaze did not waver in the slightest.

“You should return now.”

Startled by the improper thoughts that had suddenly crossed her mind, Sellen’s face flushed red. She quickly straightened her clothes and stood up.

Varas remained motionless as he watched Sellen blink in confusion, rise from her seat, and leave the room.

If she had hesitated even a little, or if he had made the first move, that woman would not have been able to leave this room until morning.

For several minutes that had felt both long and short, he had exerted superhuman restraint just to keep himself from moving a finger.

Now he no longer understood himself.

He had been prepared to treat her exactly as planned if she tried to run away.

But now, when he imagined the woman who laughed brightly while handing him apples running from him, he felt as though he would be unable to contain his anger.

As he finally released the breath he had been holding, a sweet scent seemed to linger around him as though sugar were hanging from the tip of his nose.

He walked toward the window to air out the room.

Then he noticed the half-closed window and the cloak lying beside it.

The memory surfaced immediately.

He had acted without thinking because he feared she would leave if he did not open the door quickly enough.

The faint gap in the window made him feel as though her sugary scent was escaping through it.

So he closed the window first.

After doing the exact opposite of what he had intended when he came to ventilate the room, he returned to the fireplace and collapsed onto the spot where she had been sitting.

At this point, even he no longer knew what he wanted from that woman.

Back in her room, Sellen briefly wondered whether the novel she had entered was really Monster Grand Duke.

When she first arrived and looked in the mirror, her appearance had matched the novel’s heroine perfectly.

The next day, the appearance of Varas had also matched exactly.

So why?

Why, exactly?

Three nights had already passed.

Why hadn’t the original story begun?

She couldn’t understand why there was still no sign of her imprisonment beginning.

At first, she had been happy.

She thought the delay meant he was being considerate toward her.

But after a day, then two days, and then more time passed, she began to feel anxious.

At this point, wasn’t it less consideration and more that she simply lacked charm?

The novel had never gone into much detail about Sellen’s personality.

Of course it hadn’t.

The novel was basically a smut romance.

Perhaps the original Sellen hadn’t been timid like her.

Maybe she had possessed the lively, sparkling charm typical of romantic-comedy heroines.

Perhaps she had been so irresistibly captivating that he simply couldn’t bear not to lock her away and keep her all to himself.

If that was the case, then she was doomed.

The atmosphere earlier had definitely felt like the kind of moment where a kiss might happen.

And yet—

“You should return now.”

Did he truly feel nothing?

Not even a desire for a kiss or an embrace.

At the very least, didn’t he want to hold her hand?

Had those feelings been hers alone?

She wanted to get along with him.

She felt like they could get along well.

But she had no idea how to begin.

Her gaze landed on the shoes he had given her as a gift.

Back in Korea, there was a saying that when lovers gave each other shoes, the recipient would run away.

Surely he hadn’t given them to her because he thought they weren’t suited for each other and wanted her to leave… right?

Day 5

Varas, who had spent the entire night lying in the place where she had sat, turned his head toward the fireplace.

The warm flames were gone.

Only black charcoal, ash, and soot-stained gray stones remained.

Burned out completely, leaving behind only ugly traces.

It felt strangely similar to himself.

Zart entered from the study connected to the bedroom.

He looked utterly exhausted, as though he had spent the night awake.

Then again, could Zart’s servant Ogreus really look this worn out from missing only a single night’s sleep?

“My lord. We found a young man last night.”

Varas did not react.

His expression clearly asked, And what of it?

Swallowing nervously, Zart moved his lips several times before finally continuing.

“He’s from a village called Kimmerlin in the southwest. He says he came all the way here searching for his fiancée, Sellen, who disappeared.”

For a long moment, Varas simply stared.

He needed time to process what Zart had just said.

Zart’s heart sank as he watched his lord.

Just when it seemed spring had finally arrived, it turned out the woman already belonged to someone else.

“He says they weren’t formally married yet, but they had promised to marry each other—”

“Lately.”

Varas cut him off.

After thinking quietly for a moment, he raised his head.

“Hasn’t the ground been thawing lately?”

The frozen earth of winter had indeed begun to soften.

After all, spring had started over a month ago.

Varas nodded to himself.

“Makes digging a hole much easier.”

He murmured it casually.

His intention was obvious.

He planned to bury the man without a second thought.

“My lord.”

Varas barely listened as Zart called to him.

After all, that man wasn’t leaving this castle alive.

The only thing left to decide was the method.

And how much courtesy to show afterward.

Ignoring Zart’s worried gaze, he continued thinking.

He knew this would happen.

Of course it would.

Anything beautiful in his eyes would be beautiful in others’ eyes as well.

It didn’t matter.

Whether they had shared bodies or merely feelings.

Even if she already had a child, he didn’t care.

The fault lay with himself for finding her too late.

How could beauty itself be a crime?

“…”

Still.

He should at least see the man first.

No matter how blinded he was by love.

What kind of fool would come searching for her here?

He wanted to see the face of someone carrying such extraordinary courage in his gut.

***

Robin slowly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on a cold stone floor.

After seeing the iron bars imprisoning him, he closed his eyes again.

The last thing he remembered was wandering around a northern fortress, asking every armored guard he encountered whether they knew a woman named Sellen.

He had always known Sellen’s father was a nobleman.

But one day he overheard something from an older laborer working for the family.

The news had left him stunned.

Sellen had married some enormously wealthy man far away in the North.

Robin knew perfectly well that love alone couldn’t put food on the table.

He understood better than anyone that Sellen suited a life of wealth, leisurely admiring flowers and elegantly drinking tea in a rich household.

Still.

He wanted to see her just once.

He didn’t care about wealth.

He simply wanted to ask one question.

Are you happy now?

Just to hear her answer, he had traveled all the way to the North—a place he had never visited before.

Sellen was the sort of woman whose beauty could never be forgotten.

Especially her softly shining pale blonde hair, a color rarely seen anywhere.

So when he set out searching for her, he thought he would find her quickly.

***

Holding reports detailing Sellen’s past, Varas entered the underground prison.

The man beyond the bars looked like someone who had traveled a great distance without even caring for himself.

His clothes were shabby and dirty.

Yet despite that, he had a handsome face.

The kind women would probably like.

The man slowly opened his eyes and blinked several times.

Sensing someone’s presence, he suddenly sprang to his feet and hurried toward the bars.

Then he saw Varas.

He froze instantly.

As though he had become tangled in an invisible spiderweb.

Fear filled his eyes, and he immediately looked away.

Seeing that familiar reaction, Varas gave Zart an order.

“Begin.”

Zart unlocked the cell and entered.

He began tying Robin to a chair.

Robin’s face twisted with panic and terror.

“W-What?! What’s going on?! Why are you doing this to me?! What is this?! Let me go! L-Let me go!”

Zart then pulled a small long-necked glass bottle from his coat.

Inside was a purple-tinted liquid.

The moment Robin saw it, he struggled even harder.

“N-No! Don’t! Don’t do it! D-Don’t—!”

Terrified of what was about to happen, Robin screamed.

Zart grabbed his cheeks roughly and forced the bottle into his mouth.

The drug was called Abelanon.

It temporarily robbed a person of reason and placed them into a hypnotic state in which they would speak only the truth.

What reason would Varas ever have to exchange pleasantries with Robin?

All he needed was one answer.

Varas looked into Robin’s unfocused eyes and asked:

“In the village of Kimmerlin in the southwest… were you and the woman named Sellen lovers who had confessed your feelings to each other?”

Robin stared blankly into space.

Then he reacted to Sellen’s name.

Within the depths of his hypnotized mind, a beautiful blonde woman smiled.

His face turned bright red.

In a voice so quiet that no one else could hear it, he had once told her:

I want to live for you.

I will work diligently for the rest of my life for you and for the children we might one day have together.

It had been the awkward confession of a man who possessed very little.

Yet his sincerity must have reached her.

She had smiled brightly and thanked him.

Recalling those memories, Robin answered in a voice filled with longing.

“Sellen and I love each other. We promised to stay together forever.”

A strange sensation seized Varas.

It felt as though the ground beneath him had disappeared.

He lowered his head and looked at the floor.

The solid stone was clearly supporting his feet.

So why did it feel as though he were falling endlessly?