Chapter 131
When he said that she would likely die as well, Elysia froze. Did that mean Damon would die?
“There’s a high chance that you, too, will die.”
“What are you talking about?”
Previously, Edward had mentioned that the life expectancy of the Grand Duchess was short. However, wasn’t that because of childbirth? She hadn’t had any children.
“Why do you think the Grand Duchy is an impenetrable fortress?”
Fortress. That was a fitting description for the Grand Duke’s castle. She also felt it when she first arrived—high walls, at night as dark as the shadows, an impregnable fortress. On foggy days, it was barely visible.
“Isn’t that… because of its power?”
“They want to hide something.”
“What are they trying to hide?”
“Haven’t you noticed? The people working at the Grand Duke’s palace haven’t been there long.”
That was true. Even Julia, who had been there the longest, only began her significant duties before Damon took over as Grand Duke. Although she said she had worked since the time of the previous Grand Duke, it hadn’t been that long…
“And that’s not all. The knights, too.”
Elysia had never been to the training grounds, though she knew the knights were younger compared to other orders. The oldest knight, the Captain of the Guard, hadn’t been there for more than ten years.
Typically, knights in noble families were passed down through generations. The same was true for the butlers. Sebastian, the butler, was young for his position. He had managed the Grand Duke’s household since Damon’s rise.
“I’ve mentioned it before. The life expectancy of the Grand Duchess is also short.”
“But that’s because of childbirth…!”
“There have been Grand Duchesses who died during childbirth, but there are many who died after that as well.”
Wasn’t it because their bodies were weakened from giving birth?
“Do you know about the black dragon that appears over the empire when the Grand Duke dies?”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”
Estelle had told her that when Grand Duke Raphael dies, the silhouette of a black dragon appears.
“The Grand Duke Raphael’s family is cursed.”
It was like something out of a fairy tale. ‘The man shining like the sun saved the people from the black dragon. The moment the dragon was slain, the curse surrounding the empire was lifted.’
“The curse surrounding the empire is lifted the moment the dragon is slain.”
The suffocating silence filled the room. Neither Edward, who had spoken of the curse nor Sierra, who was looking at him, said anything.
“I’ve seen it mentioned… in the Grand Duchy’s library.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It was just a normal fairy tale… about the founding of the Caesar Empire. I saw a book that mentioned a curse. It had that passage in it. But no other book mentioned a curse…”
If the curse surrounding the empire was lifted, why would the Grand Duke’s family still be cursed? It didn’t make sense.
“Where is that book now?”
“It disappeared… it wasn’t a common book. I tried to find it myself, but… the title was ‘The Hero Who Defeated the Black Dragon’.”
‘The evil dragon’s cursed arrow missed its mark.’ Suddenly, a phrase flitted through her mind.
“…The cursed arrow missed!”
“Elysia?”
“At the end of the book, it said that the cursed arrow missed.”
At that time, she thought the Grand Duke’s family was cursed and that the first emperor had imposed the Black Dragon’s curse onto the Grand Duke’s family. Surely, killing a creature like a dragon would have consequences, and those were directed at the Grand Duke’s family.
“Elysia, the Grand Duke’s family didn’t take on the curse that was meant for the first emperor.”
Edward’s response brutally crushed her hypothesis.
“The reason the Grand Duke’s family is cursed is because they are descendants of the Black Dragon.”
* * *
Elysia was dazed as she returned to the Grand Duke’s estate. She couldn’t believe what she had heard today as shock had taken all her mind. Even now, she just stared blankly ahead.
“Your Grace…? What happened?”
Worried about arousing suspicion, Elysia shook her head and pretended everything was normal. After all, it wasn’t confirmed as fact.
Was it even possible that humans were descendants of dragons?
“What are you talking about? How can humans be descendants of dragons?”
“Dragons are a race capable of changing their form at will. If one took a human as a spouse, it would be possible.”
She knew this from the many novels she had read. Dragons were among the most powerful magical beings. They were fully capable of changing into human form.
“The first Grand Duke wasn’t human. He was a dragon. The founding myth of the empire is true. For some reason, the emperor opposed the dragon.”
“If the Grand Duke’s family descends from dragons… how can they be stopped?”
“That’s all I know. The secrets are all with the Grand Duke’s family. Did you know there’s also some sort of arrangement between the imperial family and the Grand Duke’s family?”
She knew that.
She had heard that the Grand Duke’s family had formed a kind of agreement with the imperial family because of something they had to receive monthly from the Emperor.
“The Emperor knows. He knows that the Grand Duke’s time is running out.”
Elysia unconsciously clenched her fist.
…He was going to die someday.
Knowing this, why couldn’t she contain this feeling? Was it anger? An indefinable emotion was boiling up inside her.
“No, nothing’s wrong.”
Damon said nothing about her sudden outing when she returned. It felt like walking on thin ice. After that day, Elysia didn’t go out anymore.
“I want to go out to the garden again today.”
Lately, she had been feeling incredibly suffocated.
Despite living in the vast Grand Duke’s castle, she felt more confined than when she was in the attic room of the County. It wasn’t that the space was physically smaller. It just felt like she couldn’t breathe, as if her heart was tightly constricted.
“Today too?”
“Yes.”
Elysia had spent more than half of her days recently in the garden. Being outside seemed to relieve the tightness in her chest. She knew it was a psychological factor, though the things Edward had told her continued to haunt her.
“Not human…”
The Grand Duke’s family possessed a power that didn’t seem human. Everyone knew that, but no one had suspected that this power was because they were not human. Who would believe it? Descendants of a dragon.
Yet, the story was too correct to disbelieve.
All the strange details fit if they were due to being dragons—the castle that always cloaked in black, the dragon as the family crest, the appearance of a dragon’s silhouette when the Grand Dukes died, and the supernatural powers.
“…What should I do now?”
She didn’t know anything anymore. There was nothing like this in the original story. Why wouldn’t it mention that the Grand Ducal family was descended from dragons? It seemed like it would fit perfectly into the story.
And both Edward and the Emperor were certain that he would die within a year. There was still so much she didn’t know.
“Edward even said that’s all he knew.”
Edward, who had discovered the secret, didn’t know everything either. All he knew was that Damon was a descendant of dragons and that his days were numbered. Presumably, being a dragon’s descendant means they have some sort of deal with the imperial family…
Still, she couldn’t even begin to guess what that might be.
“I’m going to take a walk around.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because they knew she couldn’t escape from the castle anyway, the guards loosened their watch. Or maybe it was because she had been spending so much time in the garden lately. She wandered aimlessly because the garden was vast.
Her walk stopped as she saw the greenhouse Damon had given her as a gift.
After hearing about it, she felt uneasy and hadn’t returned. She only went when Damon suggested it, and even then, he stopped asking when he sensed that she didn’t like it.
“Ah…!”
Standing in front of the greenhouse, she remembered something.
That day, Damon shared a few secrets about the Grand Ducal family with her, including about the greenhouse. The first act of a Grand Ducal child was to kill its mother. The newborns couldn’t control their power and turned everything into ruins.
“So…”
If birth was accompanied by such destruction, what about death? If they couldn’t control their power and ended up destroying everything, leading to the deaths of everyone in the Grand Duchy, then it makes sense why the palace was like a fortress surrounded by powerful barriers.
He definitely said that. During childbirth, they cast several layers of protective barriers, so it would be the same thing—that similar barriers were also in place for when a grand duke died.
“I need to go into the greenhouse now.”
For some reason, she felt compelled to enter the greenhouse, though she didn’t have the key with her. Elysia knew the greenhouse was strictly managed, so it shouldn’t have been unlocked.
“Please… oh?”
With little hope, she pushed the door, and to her surprise, it opened. She should have suspected the greenhouse first rather than scouring the library.
“The bloodline of the Grand Ducal family loses control when they enter the greenhouse.”
Was there anywhere closer to the secrets of the Grand Ducal family than this greenhouse?
As she entered, the greenhouse looked no different from the outside view. Damon had mentioned that the walls of the greenhouse were made with magic, and several layers of barriers were in place. It was also a privilege given only to the Grand Duchess, who alone had the right to dispose of it.
And this greenhouse was built by the original Grand Duke.
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