I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke
Grace
저주받은 대공의 아내가 되었다 Jul 06, 2026 75 views
Chapter 27
Although the door was always open and there wasn't even a warning telling people not to enter, Evelyn had never once stepped into the glass greenhouse.
'Because they said it's the place where Kallian likes to be alone with his thoughts.'
She rarely had a reason to visit the mansion in the capital, and after hearing the butler's subtle warning, she had become even more reluctant to go inside.
Who would have thought such a secret was hidden in a place like this?
Still, judging from the maids' conversation, it didn't seem that Kallian had brought "that woman" into the mansion.
'Since she didn't come to the capital with him, she might be someone from the North.'
In any case, she couldn't keep feeling anxious over some unknown, faceless person forever.
It was unpleasant enough to keep being compared to someone she had never even seen.
'Whether it's her face or her name, I'll find out. It's better than being jealous of empty air.'
Thinking that, she stepped into the greenhouse.
Boom!
A deafening clap of thunder shook the entire building.
"Ah!"
Startled like a thief caught red-handed, Evelyn hurriedly fumbled along the wall until she found a candle and lit it.
The tension that had made her entire body break out in goosebumps gradually eased as the greenhouse came into view.
The scent of moisture-laden plants filled the air from every direction, and among the colorful flowers stood a pergola where one could comfortably rest.
Tap. Tap.
As she carefully looked around the greenhouse, her steps came to a halt before a dark-colored curtain that completely covered one wall.
'Could this be it?'
She raised the candlestick to eye level.
As though under a spell, she slowly drew the curtain aside.
Rustle.
"Ah..."
A single painting hanging on the hidden wall was revealed.
A corner of Evelyn's heart seemed to collapse as she stared at it.
"They really do look like me."
Silver hair.
Green eyes.
A woman wearing the dark green dress she had once seen in the wardrobe smiled brightly while resting in Kallian's arms.
"But the atmosphere is completely different."
Perhaps because their impressions were so different.
Unlike herself, who was crushed beneath the weight of life, the woman looked flawless, beautiful, and noble.
Her lively green eyes held nothing but Kallian.
And the same was true for him.
Black hair.
A black uniform.
Black gloves.
His appearance was still wrapped entirely in darkness, but unlike the weary, cynical gaze Evelyn knew, the eyes in the painting shimmered with countless emotions as they looked upon the woman.
"So much that even a painting can convey it."
Kallian's eyes had once looked at her that way too.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, emotions she thought had long grown numb sharpened into needles and painfully pierced her heart.
"Ha..."
Pushing aside her tangled thoughts, Evelyn lowered the candle to illuminate the bottom of the canvas.
There, an engraving—presumably the woman's name—had been carved.
It was obviously not her own.
'D. Lindberg.'
Staring blankly at those words, she recalled the day she had first met him at the tower.
"Why did you only come now...?"
That strangely persistent gaze.
That sorrowful voice, as though he had finally reunited with the lover he had been separated from for years.
Now that she thought about it, it had all been very strange.
The first time their eyes met, he had treated Evelyn as though he already knew her.
"Maybe... he mistook me for this woman..."
If so, had the Kallian from her previous life married Evelyn because he could never forget this woman?
She had heard of people posting notices looking for someone who resembled the person they had loved.
For example, a man unable to forget his deceased wife hiring a maid with the same hair and eye color.
But why would Kallian do something like that?
She couldn't deny that seeing her had reminded him of this woman.
But there would be no reason to deliberately seek out someone with a similar appearance.
Unless...
...he could never meet that woman again.
"Even so, it doesn't change anything. She isn't me."
Still, aside from mages, silver-haired people were exceedingly rare throughout the Empire.
Other than her own mother.
'If that's true... maybe she isn't completely unrelated to me...'
Just as that uneasy thought lingered in her mind—
"Ugh..."
Without warning, her vision blurred, and a stabbing headache struck her.
Startled, Evelyn frowned and pressed a hand against her throbbing temple.
"Ah..."
Perhaps seeing the painting had unsettled her.
As she reached to close the curtain—
She suddenly froze.
A faint light was seeping through the wall behind the painting.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, she pushed aside the thick rose vines.
A pitch-black door appeared before her.
"...!"
When she pushed it slightly open, damp air flowed out through the narrow gap.
Looking down, she saw a faint light illuminating a staircase descending into darkness.
A chill ran down her spine.
"I don't think... I should go in there."
This was the place where the woman's portrait hung.
Whatever lay below, she felt certain it wasn't something she wanted to see.
An ebony coffin.
Gloomy candlelight surrounding it.
Blood scattered around a magic circle.
Images like those drifted uneasily through her mind.
'Evelyn... what are you thinking?'
Brushing away those disturbing thoughts, she rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
She was just about to shut the door and leave.
Bang!
The door to the indoor garden burst open with a loud crash.
Her heart nearly stopped.
No way...
"Kallian...?"
Frozen like stone, Evelyn stared blankly as he approached.
She was so startled that every tiny hair on her body seemed to stand on end.
Unable even to breathe properly, she stood there with her lips slightly parted while the man steadily walked toward her, opening the greenhouse door as well.
Rain-soaked black hair.
Thunder rumbling against her ears.
The damp scent of the underground.
And mixed within it...
...the faint smell of blood.
Her heart tightened.
He wore the same clothes as when he had left.
As always, he looked immaculate.
Yet after walking straight through the pouring rain, he exuded an even more decadent and dangerous aura.
Step.
Step.
Finally, their toes nearly touched.
A sticky liquid pooled beneath where he stood.
Even in the darkness, where colors were impossible to distinguish, she felt as though crimson blood was rippling before her eyes.
He spoke.
"At this hour of the night."
His voice was low and heavy.
It reminded her of the night he had lost control and rubbed himself against her like a wild beast.
The back of her neck turned cold as though drenched in icy water.
"Hiding here like a frightened rabbit."
Was it because she felt guilty for seeing something she shouldn't have?
His cold, emotionless gaze merely rested on her, yet overwhelming fear surged through her body, leaving her unable to move.
Clasping her hands together, Evelyn finally managed to speak.
"I-I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk..."
Then she cautiously looked up.
His thick, neatly shaped brows.
His sharp golden eyes beneath long lids without double eyelids.
He didn't seem to be injured...
"So, you got lost in the mansion you've walked through every day? Or perhaps... you suddenly became curious about this place."
Watching her with an unreadable look, Kallian removed the black cloak draped over his shoulders and nodded as though reaching a conclusion.
"It seems you took advantage of my absence to snoop around the mansion."
The large cloak gently wrapped around Evelyn's body.
The leather brushing against her bare legs made her shudder.
"N-Not snooping— Ah!"
The familiar scent filled her lungs.
At the same moment, her body was suddenly lifted into the air.
"W-What are you doing?"
Eyes wide in shock, Evelyn instinctively wrapped both arms tightly around his neck.
Holding her effortlessly in his arms, Kallian opened the hidden door beneath the woman's portrait and strode down the stone staircase.
The underground chamber was clean...
...and dark.
The stone walls were decorated with magnificent tapestries.
A golden carpet spread across the floor, reflecting the torchlight fixed to the walls.
Had it not been for the iron bars and shackles hanging from the walls, it could easily have been mistaken for a sacred prayer room.
'Wait... iron bars? Shackles...?'
As panic filled Evelyn's eyes, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward without the slightest hint of a smile.
"You seemed curious about what was down here."
She had expected him to scold her for entering the place dedicated to the woman he loved.
Instead, what lay before her was something entirely different.
Compared to worrying about traces of dark rituals...
...the objects in front of her were far more dangerous.
She would rather he had simply asked what she thought of the portrait.
At least then she'd have known what to say.
"W-What do you mean...?"
Just as the increasingly anxious Evelyn reached out to stop him—
Creak.
At the end of the long corridor.
He stepped into a dim underground prison and gently set the trembling woman down on top of an antique console table.
In truth, it resembled a torture device more than a piece of furniture.
But thinking of it that way was the only way she could endure this oppressive place.
A cold stone wall pressed against her back.
Barely managing to perch on the narrow surface, she gripped the edge of the console with trembling hands as though clinging to it for support.
Had she remembered the underground fortress in the North, she might have easily guessed what this place truly was.
But Evelyn had no room for such thoughts.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Above her bowed head, his low voice echoed.
"Has your curiosity been satisfied now?"
Opening her eyes at Kallian's question, Evelyn looked as though she might burst into tears.
She frantically shook her head.
Watching her almost resentful expression, he leaned down and placed his gloved hands on either side of her thighs.
