I Accidentally Tamed the Duke

Chapter 9

His eyes looked like jewels or rare mana stones, too. Yurania chewed on her lip. I wonder what kind of person I am in his eyes right now. A ball of guilt? A useless duchess?

She wrote on his palm,

—Please divorce me. You won’t have to get angry like now if you do.

“I’ve already told you before, but I cannot give you a divorce.”

—Is it because of guilt?

Casius raised his eyebrows. “Guilt?”

—The accident that day couldn’t be helped. Losing my voice and sight was a misfortune nobody could prevent. It’s not something for you to take responsibility for, Your Grace.

Yurania had been looking Casius straight in the eyes at some point, as if she had nothing to hide.

Casius silently swept his bangs back. “Telling me not to feel guilty… Do you know how cruel you are?”

Yurania’s heart dropped in her chest. It was then she realized—the former Duchess Euclid hadn’t been able to recover from the accident and eventually passed away a few years later. He could’ve been reminded of the accident and felt guilty whenever he saw her. To be honest, it had only occurred to her that she could’ve unintentionally hurt him over the past few years after she’d come back to life. She hadn’t felt even a little sorry for Casius because she’d been too busy wrapped up in her own pain when he must’ve been agonizing from the forced marriage too.

“Yurania, I’m warning you: Never bring up the word ‘divorce’ again.”

Yurania was too weak to follow him as he heartlessly went out the door. She walked to the basket with her clothes so she could hold onto the man getting further away from her every second. She rummaged through her clothes to find the crystal whistle, then blew on it as hard as possible. Though only a weak wheeze sounded initially, it soon became something more like a whistle.

Phweet. Phweet.

She blew once more with everything she had.

Phweet. Phweet.

Yurania sank to the ground, drained of energy after blowing the whistle with all her might. Thinking that Casius would be too angry to return made the exhaustion drag her down.

“You should stop upsetting me any more than I already am.”

Casius’ voice fell over her head. He’d come back without her knowing and wrapped his arms around her waist to help her. Yurania’s face glowed as she stood, lightly leaning against the shelf behind her, and looked up at him.

“Yurania, divorce is the one thing I can’t give you. No matter how many times you ask.”

“Y-Your Grace—”

Casius’ eyes crumpled with every unclear word Yurania squeezed out.

“Your Grace.”

“Did you just… speak?”

Though she felt breathless as if her lungs were constricting from nervousness, Yurania nodded affirmatively. Her voice came out clear and precise.

“Yes. So you can let go of your guilt now.”

“It really is your voice,” Casius said.

He then turned his head and swept a hand across his face. Meanwhile, Yurania held the cape so tightly that her hand turned pale, and her body shook so hard that her teeth chattered. It was the result of her withdrawal symptoms combined with fear.

“I’ll do anything you ask me to. So for my life, stop trembling,” he said.

His promise to do anything she asked him to instantly pierced through her ears. Casius didn’t immediately doubt her even after she’d spoken. If that was the case… She quickly opened her mouth to speak.

“Then I want a divorce…!”

“Yurania.”

It looked like Casius was pleading as he called her name.

“Can you see me right now? Is your vision back, too?”

At Yurania’s nod, he breathed a deep sigh. It sounded like he was relieved.

“Then you must be able to see the dumb look on my face.”

“Your Grace.”

“Yes.”

“Will you really do anything I ask?”

Yurania doubtfully waited for his answer as someone who’d been tricked all her life.

“As long as it isn’t divorce or Sade Kalisto.”

“Sade? Why are you talking about Sade all of a sudden?”

“Never mind if it’s not him. Is there anything else you want to have?”

“Then… Can you give me some money?”

She’d been frustrated, pondering how to handle Sade, who was much like a corrupt dealer. It would be even better if she had enough money to find a doctor and a way to continue living. Casius will soon be free from his guilt too now that I’ve regained my sight and speech. Although he was determined not to fail the marriage he’d consented to out of responsibility at the moment, she was sure he’d let her go someday. There would be no reason for him to hold on to her once she fully recovered.

“It would be nice if you could give me a lot of it if you’re going to give me the money anyway,” Yurania wickedly asked, not missing her chance. I could use it to get revenge on Count Vincent if I had any money left over.

Was it her imagination, or did Casius’s lips stretch a little?

“Is that all you need? Will you stop going on about getting a divorce if I give you that?”

“Yes.”

It somehow ended up looking like Yurania had thrown a tantrum to get money, which embarrassed her but also relieved her. She was grateful Casius didn’t suspect her recovery or even get angry at her.

Casius’ face was a little redder than usual as he tightened the cape around her. Was the bathhouse hot?

“Wrap your arms this way. First, we should get out,” he said.

“Can you call Lina for me first? I don’t want to go out looking like this.”

“As you wish.”

Lina came in a few moments later, then rushed to Yurania’s side, looking surprised at her state.

“Your Grace! Why are you dressed like this? Isn’t this His Grace’s cape?”

Lina pulled the cape back and suddenly started to hiccup. Then she glanced back and forth between Casius and Yurania with narrowed eyes.

That’s not what this is, Lina. Though Yurania did her best to speak with her eyes, Lina went into her own world and blushed. It seemed like her lady’s maid was prone to delusions.

“Lina, I want to wash properly before I go out.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Huh?”

Lina covered her mouth with both hands and stared at Yurania.

“Your Grace, your voice!”

“Yes, Lina. You won’t have to feel frustrated from now on.”

“Y-Your Grace!”

The moved look on Lina’s face wasn’t fabricated but genuine. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Lina was the only person who truly cared for her.

Lina turned to Casius and bowed after barely calming down. “Your Grace, could you please excuse us while Her Grace takes her bath?”

At that moment, Yurania and Casius’ eyes locked, and an awkward tension belatedly filled the air. Lina didn’t shy away from saying everything she needed to, even though she was plainly afraid.

“From what I know, you have yet to have your wedding night. Her Grace would feel uncomfortable if you stood there like that, Your Grace. Please understand that Her Grace is still closer to being a maiden.”

Though they were a married couple, all they’d done until now was to hold hands. Everybody knew they were far from the custom of sharing a bed from the day they married.

“I was planning to,” he said.

Casius turned around and went out the door indifferently. Yurania was greeted by a silent peace when she came out wearing fresh clothes after bathing. Even a quiet coolness reminiscent of the ruins left behind by a furious dragon that might’ve swept through the place.

Zyle was beside Casius and Talia, and two servants were on one side, their heads bowed like sinners. Only the rhythmic sound of Yurania’s footsteps rang through the dense, suffocating air.

“Yurania.”

Everybody’s shoulders flinched at Casius’ deep voice. That was when Talia, who’d bowed, sprung toward Yurania.

“Your Grace! Your Grace! I didn’t know that you’d gone into the bath—I didn’t know!”

“I emphasized time and time again that insulting the duchess is tantamount to tarnishing my honor, Talia.”

Casius’ voice as he reprimanded Talia was as frigid as a judge giving a death sentence.

“Your Grace, I—”

“Your arrogance is piercing the sky. Since when was a maid allowed to spit out excuses?”

“Your Grace, it’s all an act! She’s acting!” Talia cried to him.

“An act?”

“Yes! She’s wearing a mask! Her Grace— Her Grace can speak! She’s pretended to be mute until now to ignore her duties as the duchess! So that she could comfortably eat and rest!” Talia passionately sputtered as if she had an unfair story to tell, which was precisely what Yurania hoped to see.

“Is that really what you think?” Yurania asked.

Talia’s eyes shook madly. She hadn’t expected that Yurania would speak up.

“H-how can you be so shameless after fooling us all this time? Look at her, Your Grace! She isn’t an easy one to deal with.”

Yurania had expected Talia to react this way. She’d been sure that Talia would try to rip into her once she was cornered into a tight spot. That was why she’d told Casius about her recovery just minutes prior.

Yurania stood her ground as boldly as Talia.

“Talia, can you take responsibility for saying I fooled everyone?” she said.

“Your Grace, it’s all a part of her scheme. I-I’m sure she has some devious plot. You said so yourself, Your Grace! That there are more than a few things that bother you when it comes to her.”

“Talia, as soon as I started investigating the personal fund, I found that your relative runs the merchants catering to Euclid Castle.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Talia retorted, the whites of her eyes red and glowering.

Feeling tired, Yurania took a deep breath and continued, “We’ll have to look further into it to determine its relevance. But I did see that you paid more than thirty times the actual price it costs to plant new flower seeds in the garden.”

Talia looked at Yurania with a shocked expression, as if questioning how she’d found out.

After hearing that Talia had spent money on designing the garden, Yurania had assessed its surface area and calculated the leftover stock in the storage. She was knowledgeable in various fields because she read many different books. She had lost easy access to books after Erika stopped her from reading at some point, but she was still proficient at arithmetic and sums. She wasn’t so foolish as to be ignorant of what ridiculous amount had been spent on tending to the garden.

“May I confine Talia and take my time to investigate further, Your Grace?” Yurania asked Casius.

Talia pounded her fist against her chest and screamed, “No, Your Grace! That isn’t it! Your Grace, I’ll explain everything!”

“I believe the basement in the East Tower would be fitting,” Casius suggested, agreeing with Yurania.

“Y-Your Grace! “Y-Your Grace! But the East Tower is—”

Talia’s face turned pale as she passed out on the ground, overcome with emotion.