Chapter 8

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 8

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

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Roxiana's earnest wish could only be granted by him, the master of this grand duchy.

So she had no intention of upsetting him.

Since she'd become a slave anyway, a little mockery was nothing.

She could endure far worse.

"How's your body feeling?"

Contrary to her resolve, his voice was kind.

"Kirshan said you've been starving for a long time. You'd probably rather eat than have this conversation with me, right? Tell me if there's anything special you want to eat."

He was polite. So Roxiana harbored hope once more.

'If he's this kind even to a slave...'

He would understand her wish, this desperate plea.

She hadn't eaten properly for a long time. Crammed into a narrow box, every part of her body ached.

Still, Roxiana composed herself and got out of bed.

Roxiana didn't even know what she was wearing. The thin dress fluttered around her ankles annoyingly with every movement. Her stamina was so low she couldn't even lift the hem wrapping around her calves.

Floyd had been watching her with a frown since she staggered out of bed. The moment she wobbled, he grabbed her forearm and steadied her.

"What are you doing? You can't even move properly. Don't be a nuisance and lie back down."

Roxiana let his scolding words slide. Though he glared at her with eyes blazing like a tiger's, even that didn't frighten her.

Roxiana desired only one thing. Her mind was filled with a single wish.

Roxiana finally knelt before the master of the Torkan Grand Duchy, the Red Tiger who exterminated magical beasts.

The strength drained from Floyd's hand gripping her arm. With his brows furrowed deeply, he stared at the hair cascading down her white nape.

"Please allow this lowly one, forsaken by the grace of God, to speak."

As a thin voice slipped from her lips, Floyd's face crumpled. But Roxiana, head bowed deeply in a slave's posture, didn't see his discomfort.

He crossed his arms, lips pressed tight, glaring at the back of her head. Roxiana waited for his response in an almost prostrate position, as if she wouldn't speak until permitted.

Floyd's eyes lingered on her bony back exposed by the dress. An inexplicable irritation filled his chest, so when he spoke, his voice was angry.

"I'll permit it, so speak, Princess."

"I'll do anything. Command me, and I'll do whatever it is, so please grant me this one request."

Her voice, spilling out as if she'd been waiting, was utterly desperate. Floyd noticed her fists clenched on the floor.

Her pale fists, veins faintly blue under the skin, looked firm like those of someone with deep resolve.

He could guess what Roxiana's request was without hearing it.

Revenge, no doubt. Wishing for bloody retribution against those who killed her parents and siblings.

He'd anticipated such a request before entering this bedroom. Having prepared his response, Floyd replied leisurely.

"Anything, you say. Alright, how far are you willing to go?"

"If you command me to be your shield at the forefront of battle, I will be your shield."

"Oh? There are plenty of people who could be my shield in battle—bigger and sturdier than you, Princess."

"If you command me to be the sword guarding your back, I will be a sword unafraid of death."

"There are many swords willing to lay down their lives for me—ones with thicker arms than yours, Princess."

Roxiana slowly raised her head.

Floyd looked down at her, curious to see how far she'd go. Realizing his thoughts, she bit her lower lip gently.

Her green eyes reddened slightly. Worried by her tearful appearance, Floyd set aside his teasing intent.

He was about to tell her to just say what she wanted, but Roxiana lowered her head again and spoke.

"If you command me to be a cheeky fox spirit in your bed, I will be that too."

"Ha!"

Caught off guard, Floyd let out a hollow laugh.

"Ah, yes. You'll protect me in battle, fight for me, and even tend to my bed at night. If you do all that, Princess, whatever you want would be a bargain. Fine, let's say I desperately want that. So, what is it you want so badly?"

Irritation made his tone mocking. As Floyd inwardly cursed himself, Roxiana raised her head and met his eyes.

Only then did Floyd realize her eyes were different from the ones he'd seen in the past.

Back then, her green eyes sparkled like jewels, like sunlight, like a clear lake. Now, Roxiana's eyes had no light. Still green with golden rims, but devoid of their former vitality.

Like a dead person, she gazed at Floyd with lifeless eyes and said,

"If I die living like that, please don't put my body in an Adelia casket—discard it instead."

"What?"

"If discarding me in the sea, tie stones so no one finds me. If on land, bury me deep where no one discovers me."

At Roxiana's desperate plea, Floyd was so astonished he couldn't even laugh hollowly.

Was this woman joking? Or saying something she didn't mean to unsettle him?

Doubting, he examined her face closely, but found no trace of deceit on that small, pretty face. She was simply earnestly, desperately, honestly voicing her wish.

"Don't you know what happens if you're not put in an Adelia casket?"

"I know. Magic might invade and resurrect me. I might become an undead and trouble Your Highness. If so, chop me up and feed me to the beasts."

"Listen, Princess. Even barbarians who don't believe in God carry Adelia flower emblems. Lately, with magic growing stronger, six or seven out of ten dead become undead."

Even his threatening words didn't change Roxiana's eyes.

"Yes, I know that too."

"And yet, you want—not revenge—but for me not to put you in an Adelia casket, even offering to be my bedmate?"

"With my parents and siblings gone from this world, what would revenge gain me?"

"At least it would feel good. You could make those damned bastards kneel and mock them plenty. If you want, torture them until they beg for mercy, brand them as slaves, and sell them to hellish places."

Floyd listed what revenge could bring, but Roxiana's eyes remained unchanged.

This man doesn't know. What happened to my family.

Not being placed in an Adelia casket but discarded was deeply dishonorable. In this world, failing to return to God's embrace was a greater shame than betraying one's lord.

Thus, Roxiana couldn't tell Floyd everything that happened to her family.

"Your Highness, I only wish for my body to be discarded without even smelling any fragrance."

Floyd's anger surged.

Why did this princess, whose life he'd spared, want to die? Sure, she lost family, country, status. Understandable to want death, but not even an Adelia casket?

Nonsense.

If you survive by chance, you must live on somehow. Floyd had done so himself. Struggling through humiliation and despair to reach this position.

"Princess, I don't have the resolve to just toss your body away, so if you want to die that badly, jump into the sea yourself. Don't ask me."

"If I do that, Your Highness? If I do, even if you find my body, can you command them not to cover it with even a single Adelia plank?"

Roxiana's voice was unfeignedly desperate. Her attitude of truly wanting death and not even God's embrace drove Floyd mad with anger.

Floyd shot to his feet, glaring at Roxiana. His terrifying gaze would make even knight captains flinch, but it had no effect on her. Her eyes were already dead.

Floyd ground his teeth and said,

"Princess, it seems you want to make me out as a truly vile and merciless bastard."

Floyd's rebuke was justified.

Ordering no Adelia plank for a corpse would tarnish his reputation. So Roxiana played her last card.

"I heard long ago, when Your Highness had nowhere to go, you sought refuge in our palace. Please remember that kindness..."

"Ah, so the Princess doesn't remember me."

"...I was young then..."

Floyd twisted his lips into a smirk.

"I see. I have no intention of repaying a kindness you don't even remember. I'm not that magnanimous. Nor do I plan to discard your body without even an Adelia flower. I'm not that merciless either."

Floyd strode to Roxiana, knelt on one knee, lifted her chin with his thumb, met her eyes, and said,

"So, Princess, live well here in this comfortable, luxurious palace—eat well, sleep well. That's all I can do for you."