YSGD 9

Chapter 9

“!”

For a brief moment, Genos’s eyes—just as he inhaled sharply—flew wide open in genuine surprise.

And it seemed the same was true for the other party.

The person who nearly toppled backward in shock, Renée Blanche, barely managed to swallow a scream as she staggered back a step.

She dropped the basket she had been holding, and the items inside spilled out onto the floor with a loud clatter.

“Eek!”

Her wide, round eyes shone even in the darkness.

As if she had just finished bathing, both cheeks were faintly flushed, looking oddly moist and warm.

Droplets clung to her silver hair, which flowed softly along her slender neckline.

A few strands, still damp, stuck slightly to her cheek.

At the end of his gaze, which unconsciously followed the line of her hair downward, were small, plump pink lips he had never really noticed before.

But then her small hands suddenly covered her entire face beneath her eyes.

With just that gentle movement, a faint scent of roses wafted from her.

“O—oh! Um! Th-that is, Grand Duke… sir?! G-good day to you?”

Whether Renée greeted him in that strange tone or not—

Why was it?

The moment Genos met her red eyes, his heart seemed to drop straight to the soles of his feet, only to spring back up just as fast and begin pounding wildly.

The sound of his heartbeat felt so loud that it seemed like the person in front of him might hear it.

It had been a long time—almost since he first took up a sword—that he’d been startled this badly.

Without even knowing what he was saying, Genos blurted out words as he was swept up in intense emotion.

Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—his tone came out harsh and angry.

“Why are you… coming out of here?”

That was exactly what I wanted to ask.

‘Why are you coming out of here?’

No, more importantly…

‘I’m screwed!’

I never thought I’d be found out this quickly!

A few days ago, under Betty’s leadership, I’d snuck into the bathroom once, and it had been pure bliss.

The cabin where I stayed was mostly satisfactory—but there was just one problem.

It didn’t have a proper bathtub.

I always had to crouch down in a tiny, barrel-like tub and wash myself in a hurry.

Because of the cramped posture, my legs would go numb, making it impossible to enjoy a long soak.

By contrast, the bathtub in the main house was so large that—only slightly exaggerated—it could probably fit five adults.

The guest bathroom tucked away in a corner of the main building looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, but once Betty and the maids got to work, it gleamed brilliantly.

With meticulous care, they’d been secretly maintaining it every day just for me, without the head maid knowing.

And today, too, I’d been enjoying that luxury and was just coming out when…

“What were you doing here? Confess truthfully.”

The Grand Duke’s expression was terrifying.

He was so angry that even in the dark, I could clearly see his face flushed bright red.

‘Even now, he’s ridiculously handsome.’

If you just looked at his face, you’d think he was a tsundere male lead whose heart was racing over the heroine.

But I couldn’t be fooled by that pretty exterior.

Startled, I pressed one hand against my wildly pounding chest and quickly lowered my gaze.

‘Tch. I thought it was the perfect crime.’

Still, in this situation, it felt better to tell the truth rather than lie.

Putting on my most frightened act, I spoke in a voice so small it seemed to crawl into itself.

“I… wanted to take a bath…”

“At this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep. The cabin I’m staying in doesn’t have a bathtub as big or sturdy as the one in the main house. I couldn’t sleep at night, so I just, on my own…”

Somehow, my feet felt itchy, and I found myself rambling on with excuse after excuse—but it was all true, so I couldn’t stop.

Unfortunately, none of it worked on the Grand Duke.

“Who gave you permission to use the bathroom? I never allowed you to come into the main house in the first place.”

At his sharp words, something surged up inside me.

“You never said I couldn’t use it either…”

In the end, I blurted out the words I’d been holding back.

But, as expected, the Grand Duke remained cold.

“Don’t play childish word games to make excuses. Were you sneaking around the ducal estate like a rat, gathering information to sell off?”

The Grand Duke’s expression, which I’d thought couldn’t possibly get worse, turned even more vicious.

But… the more I talked, the more unfair it felt.

“Information? What are you even talking about…? Who would I even give information to?”

“Either the rotten people of your Blanche family, or the Empress. Or both.”

“……”

Even someone like me, freshly transmigrated into this body, could tell that the Blanche family had no affection for me.

Did he really think that way?

‘No, seriously… no matter what, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?’

You insult my parents—to someone from a Confucian country?!

You ill-mannered Westerner?!

Well, they weren’t my biological parents, and I do agree, to some extent, that they’re rotten.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have treated their child so coldly.

I already knew that the Grand Duke disliked me from the start.

But seeing him be this openly hostile made me lose any desire to meekly accept it.

‘All this anger just because I took one bath? What a miser!’

A northern Grand Duke in a romance fantasy should, at the very least, have a broad heart to match his broad chest.

Seeing how petty he was being, I mentally crossed out all the options where he might be a major character in this novel.

‘Male lead or second male lead, my foot. He’s just a villain!’

Why did all this have to happen to someone who just wanted to lie low?

At the same time, my resolve grew even firmer.

‘If he’s a villain, his ending won’t be good… When the Grand Duke gets taken down by the protagonist later, I’d better stay as distant as possible so there’s at least some room for leniency toward me as his duchess.’

It was obvious we’d be worse than strangers anyway, so I needed at least one escape route for myself.

With an irritated expression, I gathered up the scattered bathing tools.

I felt like I needed to curse someone out just to feel better.

“…This is seriously disgusting.”

But since my naturally tiny guts stayed tiny even after transmigrating, I muttered my complaint in the smallest voice possible.

“What?”

The Grand Duke let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief at my muttering.

Whatever.

Clutching the neatly packed bathing basket tightly in both hands, I leaned my body forward.

I was getting ready to bolt.

But perhaps misunderstanding my movement, the startled Grand Duke took a step back.

Thanks to that opening, I roared and dashed off at full speed.

“All this trouble just for taking a bath once! I won’t use it, I won’t!”

Seriously—so petty and cheap! I’m never setting foot in the main house again!

Perhaps chasing after a small woman who had suddenly fled didn’t suit the Grand Duke’s pride?

Thankfully, he didn’t follow me.

But whether it was from running—or from the shock of the sudden encounter—

“Haa…”

My heart pounded wildly at an uncontrollable speed, thump-thump-thump…

That night, I couldn’t fall asleep easily.

A few days later.

My vow to never go back to the main house became reality.

Thanks to Garnet, Nina, Dora, Ria, Marie, and Betty—collectively known as the Ganadan Maid Squad—I lost my job.

“…Tsk.”

According to them, cleaning the library was far too harsh for someone as delicate as me, and they insisted, in unison, that they take over instead.

Well, since I’d been planning to lie low for a few days anyway after that sudden run-in with the Grand Duke, it wasn’t all that bad.

Left alone again in the cabin, I sat leaning back against the bed, my heart fluttering.

With nothing to do, I figured I’d pass the time by reading one of the books I’d brought with me.

Among them, I picked up the one that had instantly stolen my heart—
The Empire’s Ultimate Ultra-Strong Invisible Dragon Roared—and began flipping through the pages.

[“Kuaaaang!!!

Among all dragons, the Empire’s ultimate ultra-strong invisible drag0n roared.

The invisible drag0n was insanely strong and super badass lol
Among dragons it was totally an SSS-rank ultimate powerhouseㅋㅋ

The invisible drag0n was the one and only unique existence in the world anyway it roared.

But n0body could see itㅠㅠ
Because the invisible drag0n was invisible.

Its breath was fired, psh psh…”]

“……”

Ah… my head hurts.