Chapter : 02
“…Have we ever met before?”
It was the most natural question I could have asked.
I didn’t know all the details, but the northern territory where Laindart lived was incredibly far from here.
Even the imperial capital—where he’d once stayed because of his feelings for the heroine—was more than a week’s journey by carriage.
There was no way someone like him and someone like me could have crossed paths.
Yet, at my perfectly reasonable question, his expression crumbled with hurt.
“…Do you resent me that much? So much that you’d pretend not to know me?”
“Huh? No, that’s not what I—”
Thud.
Before I could even finish speaking, he suddenly dropped to one knee.
The people around us had gone beyond surprise.
They were utterly horrified.
Including me.
“Y-Your Grace! What are you doing?! Please stand up!”
I desperately tried to pull him to his feet, but no matter how much strength I used, I couldn’t even budge Laindart.
Then—
“Urania!”
A frighteningly familiar voice rang out.
Turning around, I saw Daisy.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears, unable to contain her anger.
Oh, come on! Why are you crying now?!
Handling one crying person was hard enough.
Now there were two.
“You… what do you think you’re doing? Why is someone as low and vulgar as you standing in front of His Grace?!”
“Miss, you’ve misunderstood! His Grace just made a mistake—”
Before I could finish explaining, Laindart disappeared from in front of me.
“AAAH!”
The scream made me whip my head around.
Laindart had drawn his sword and was holding it against Daisy’s throat.
“What did you just call her?”
“Y-Your Grace…”
“You called my wife… low and vulgar?”
“…What?”
The instant those words left his mouth, the entire hall fell silent.
His wife?
Did the word “wife” have another meaning that I didn’t know about?
“You.”
His gaze returned to me.
“Have you been living here… treated like this?”
Only then did I realize…
No.
He had meant exactly what I thought he meant.
“Raiden.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Kill them all.”
“As you command.”
The moment Laindart finished speaking, the towering knights behind him all drew their swords.
“W-Wait!”
I hurriedly stepped in front of the advancing knights.
“What are you doing?!”
“Killing them.”
His voice remained frighteningly calm.
“You should step aside.”
I’m going insane.
At this point, I didn’t even know where to begin untangling this misunderstanding.
Everywhere I looked, terrified eyes were fixed on me.
Daisy included.
“Do it.”
At Laindart’s second order, the knights resumed walking.
The atmosphere became one where a single spark would ignite disaster.
“Stop!”
At my desperate shout, both Laindart and his knights halted.
“Is there a problem?”
“A problem?”
You’re asking because you genuinely don’t know?
Sure, the novel had portrayed him as insane…
But this is way beyond insane!
His crimson eyes were now consumed by something close to madness.
A madness born from grief and rage.
“Even someone who knows nothing can see how horribly they’ve treated you. And you’re telling me to endure it?”
“Because I’m this family’s maid!”
“Then why are you serving as a maid in this household?”
Tap.
He gently took one of my hands.
“A hand that even I could barely bring myself to hold…”
“And they dared make it do housework?”
Thump.
My heart skipped a beat.
That wasn’t intentional flirting…
Probably.
No wonder black-haired, red-eyed male leads are so popular.
For a split second, his sculpted face nearly captivated me.
But I quickly regained my composure.
“Your Grace, let’s leave first. We can talk outside. I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”
“Not before dealing with them.”
No matter what I said, Laindart’s anger refused to cool.
The knights were now only a single step away from Daisy.
Finally…
The words escaped before I could stop them.
“If you kill them… I’ll never see you again!”
Everything stopped.
The knights froze.
So did Laindart.
He looked at me with wounded eyes once more.
“…How can you say something like that so easily?”
“Huh?”
“You were like that back then, too.”
His voice trembled.
“You always spoke as though you could leave me at any moment.”
Seriously… what has he been talking about this whole time?
“Your Grace… I’ve been trying to tell you. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“Enough.”
He closed his eyes.
“This happened because of my own mistakes.”
No, that’s not the point!
Will this guy please listen for once?!
“Raiden. Lower your sword.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The swords pointed at everyone were finally sheathed.
The butler and Daisy collapsed to the floor, their legs giving out in relief.
“Come with me, Lailit.”
Laindart looked at me quietly.
“I believe it’s time… we had a proper conversation.”
“So… you’re saying you aren’t Lailit. Your name is Urania?”
“Yes!”
“And you’ve never been to either the North… or the capital?”
“Exactly! That’s completely right!”
“……”
Despite my sincere answers, Laindart continued staring at me as if he didn’t believe a single word.
Then why even ask?
I wanted to say it.
But after witnessing what he’d almost done earlier…
I wisely kept my mouth shut.
“So… has the misunderstanding been cleared up now?”
Suppressing my growing irritation, I forced a smile.
“If you’re trying to avoid me, then simply tell me you hate me, Lailit.”
His expression remained unwavering.
“But don’t lie to me like this.”
Something inside my head snapped.
“I came all the way here because people reported seeing you. You still call me ‘Your Grace’ instead of speaking to me the way you used to. So stop lying and—”
“Excuse me, Your Grace.”
I finally interrupted him.
“I wasn’t planning on saying this… but do you realize you’ve completely ruined my life?”
His brows furrowed.
“…What do you mean?”
“I am not the person you’re looking for.”
I pointed to myself.
“I’m not Lailit, the Grand Duchess of the North.”
“I’m Urania.”
“A maid serving the daughter of a provincial baron.”
“……”
“You can leave here and nothing will happen to you.”
“But what about me?”
“I finally managed to get a decent job, and things were going well!”
“If you leave after causing all this chaos, I’ll probably get fired!”
“And what about all the rumors that’ll spread around town?”
“…I.”
“And even if I really were your wife, wouldn’t this still make things difficult for her?”
“How could you act so thoughtlessly without considering that?”
“……”
The expression on Laindart’s face completely froze.
Only then did I realize I’d gone too far.
I hadn’t meant to say it so harshly.
I’d simply gotten carried away by my emotions.
This was a man who could literally have my head chopped off.
Then—
“I’m sorry.”
The apology caught me completely off guard.
“You’re right.”
“I failed to consider your position.”
“My thinking was short-sighted.”
…What?
He’s admitting it that easily?
In the novel, Laindart had always been portrayed as cold, ruthless, and uncompromising.
Yet here he was…
Offering a sincere apology without hesitation.
“Well… it’s not like you have to apologize…”
As I awkwardly accepted his unexpected sincerity, something suddenly felt strange.
There had never been any mention of a Grand Duchess in the novel.
Not even once.
In fact, she’d never even been described.
Which made sense.
Laindart had been the second male lead, hopelessly in love with the heroine.
There shouldn’t have been any wife.
Judging by Daisy’s reaction, it didn’t seem like anyone in society knew of such a marriage either.
…Then what exactly is going on?
But those questions quickly faded.
None of that mattered.
After all…
I wasn’t the woman he was looking for.
Someone else’s mysterious wife had nothing to do with me.
My own situation was far more important.
“I’m sorry, but I’m really not the person you’re searching for.”
“No one can know that for certain.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I still cannot believe that you aren’t Lailit.”
His voice softened.
“It’s possible you’ve simply… lost your memories because of the shock.”
Looking at the desperate expression on his face, I finally let out a long sigh.
“Then… what would convince you?”
“There is a way.”
Oh, thank goodness.
So he actually came here with some sort of plan.
For a brief moment, I felt relieved.
Then he spoke again.
And immediately reminded me that this man was completely out of his mind.
“Come with me to the North, Lailit.”
