Chapter 7

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: The Princess Who Wants to Die and the Cursed Grand Duke

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Kain thought his twin brother had a foul mouth, but since it was the truth, he couldn't argue back.

He hadn't seen the slave brand stamped on Roxiana with his own eyes. But being trapped in a slave merchant's crate meant there was a slave brand somewhere on her body.

The Torkan Grand Duchy had banned slavery, but the institution still lingered in other parts of the continent. Even the Kanta Kingdom, Roxiana's homeland, had slaves.

No matter how noble one's birth, the moment a slave brand was seared into the skin, any chance of rising in status vanished.

"Remember the Partan Marquis family from the Bionik Kingdom? The marquis treasured his daughter so much, but when she got branded a slave, he killed her himself."

Adrian's words brought the incident to mind.

It had happened two years ago. The marquis's daughter was kidnapped by bandits while on vacation and rescued months later. At the time, she had been serving as a bed warmer for a foreign count.

The Partan Marquis had been willing to take his daughter back even after she'd lost her purity, but when he saw the slave brand on her back, he shed bloody tears and drew his sword. He couldn't leave a slave in his house.

"The Partan Marquis avenged her by killing the count, but the Kanta princess has no family left to avenge her... Once Gania finds out she's alive, they won't let her be, so she can't settle anywhere. It would've been better if she'd died with her family."

Adrian's words were cold, but true.

Kain hesitated without a retort, and Hexston smacked the back of Adrian's head.

"Why'd you hit me? Wanna die?"

"You really have a talent for saying the worst things, Rian."

"Don't call me Rian."

Adrian hated his nickname because it sounded too feminine. While Adrian and Hexston bickered, Arsen—who had faithfully completed his duty and returned—narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"Been drinking on duty, Hexston?"

Hexston shrugged. Arsen sighed and said,

"Refrain from alcohol while on duty. We've wrapped things up here, so let's head back."

A familiar voice reached her ears.

"Sis. Even if you get married, I'll come visit often. If Crown Prince Lucas Pellur bullies you, I'll scold him."

Roxiana smiled at the mature voice. Our baby brother, my adorable little Lanian.

Roxiana had always been treated like the immature one despite being older, so she was thrilled when her brother Lanian was born. Unlike her mischievous older brothers, she vowed to be a kind and gentle big sister to him.

When his chubby little hand gripped her index finger tightly, Roxiana thought she could die for this child. And she had been young herself at the time.

"Then why are you alive all alone? I died."

The voice laced with resentment struck Roxiana sharply. Reality crashed over her then, crushing her down.

Yes, my family is dead. The brother I was supposed to protect is dead too. I'm the only one left alive. My family died by cold blades while I was oblivious, praying safely somewhere far away.

The weight of unbeatable grief and despair jolted her mind awake.

The first thing she saw was a white ceiling etched with a scene from mythology, ornate carvings where the ceiling met the walls.

Next came the feel of the soft bed cradling her body and the fragrant blanket's gentle touch.

For a brief moment, Roxiana felt like she'd returned to the past. Ider Palace, her own room. The lavish chamber of Princess Roxiana Franche, filled with the finest furnishings.

So it was all a dream?

My family's death, being thrown into the well, the slave brand on me, nearly being sold off in that tiny crate.

All just a horrific nightmare?

"You're awake. Any discomfort anywhere?"

The fragile hope shattered at the unfamiliar voice. Roxiana slowly turned her head to stare at the man sitting by the bed.

Dark brown hair tied back, brown eyes, a man with a gentle face watching her quietly. A face she'd never seen in Ider Palace.

So this wasn't Ider Palace. She wasn't in the Kanta Kingdom or the Grand Temple, but somewhere else entirely. And her family was dead.

Despair clutched her heart. Shards of sharp grief flowed through her veins. Her whole body ached like it was breaking apart.

When Roxiana said nothing, he introduced himself.

"I'm Kirshan. Kirshan Lepe."

"......"

"I'm the Latan Grand Duke's guard knight, and I double as the physician."

"Latan Grand Duke......"

A raspy voice slipped from Roxiana's lips, and Kirshan let out a small sigh of relief. He'd been worried her vocal cords were damaged since she hadn't spoken.

"Yes. This is the Torkan Grand Duchy, in the Lily Palace within the Grand Duke's residence."

Only then did Roxiana recall what had happened earlier.

The crate shattering, locking eyes with the tiger-like giant of a man. Then, for some reason, a massive inferno engulfed her. Cruel, merciless flames that seemed ready to burn everything.

"I thought I died......"

Kirshan nodded at Roxiana's murmur.

"Right. We all thought you were dead. Surviving the Grand Duke's flames unscathed is no easy feat."

Kirshan's eyes scanned Roxiana's hair, face, nape, and forearms in turn.

"But amazingly, you're completely unharmed."

"Why...... why didn't you let me die?"

Kirshan visibly flinched.

"Pardon?"

"Why didn't you let me die back then?"

Roxiana seemed to think someone had saved her from those flames. Kirshan blinked in bewilderment before managing a reply.

"Well... You should discuss that with His Highness the Grand Duke. He asked me to inform him when you woke up."

"I'm no longer a princess."

At a loss for words, Kirshan quickly stood from the chair.

"Yes, you should talk that over with him too."

After Kirshan fled the bedroom, Roxiana clutched the blanket tightly. Everything in her vision was so lavish and beautiful it choked her.

An exquisite vanity, carved chairs, beautiful tapestries, curtains of fine fabric, plush carpets, lace draping the bed's edges.

It all felt just like when she lived as Kanta's princess, suffocating her. The unchanged surroundings only shoved her deeper into agony.

My family is gone, my country ruined, so what am I doing lying in this luxurious bed? My family wanders unrested in a cold, dark well, so why am I the only one wrapped in comfort like this?

"I want to die......"

Roxiana simply wanted this life to end.

"Mom...... Dad......"

Titles she hadn't uttered since growing up pierced her heart.

"I want to die too. Brothers...... Lanian...... I want to be with you......"

She pulled the blanket over her face, but it couldn't stifle her sobs. Tears wouldn't come even as the cries burst out. She was sure the merciless survivor she'd become had dried up her tears too.

She could die if she wanted. Bite her tongue, or leap from that window.

But dying here now might earn her pity, and someone might grant her the Adelia Flower.

Roxiana didn't want to return to the gods' embrace after death. Her family roamed in limbo; she couldn't rest in peace alone.

And so Roxiana continued her harsh breathing, unable even to die recklessly.

Knock knock-

Lost in despair, she hadn't noticed the knock at the bedroom door. Only when it opened did Roxiana sit up and turn toward it.

A massive man was entering the bedroom.

Tall enough for his head to nearly brush the doorframe, broad shoulders, thick neck, tousled reddish-brown hair like it hadn't been combed.

His slow strides were overwhelming. Just his presence filled the spacious room.

He walked to the bedside and picked up the chair Kirshan had sat in moments ago. His bulk made the chair look smaller.

He pulled it close to the bed and plopped down. Sunlight from the window turned his hair a fiery red.

Sitting, he hunched forward, elbows on his knees, fingers interlaced. In that pose, he stared piercingly at Roxiana for a long while.

His gray eyes were sharp, heavy, intense. Roxiana endured his gaze, feeling like her throat was tightening.

She understood why he was called the Red Tiger. Facing him as an enemy on the battlefield would freeze you like confronting a massive tiger.

He said nothing for ages. As Roxiana could bear the silence no longer and opened her mouth to speak, a deep voice rumbled from his lips.

"Princess."

Roxiana flinched, her shoulders trembling at the address.

The moment the slave brand was seared—or rather, the moment the Pellur royal family devoured the Franche—she had ceased to be a princess.

He surely knew that. Calling her princess anyway wasn't kind; it felt like cruel mockery.

But Roxiana hid her displeasure at the jeer, clutching the blanket as she met his eyes.

'Only this man can grant what I desire.'