The Grand Duchess Escape - Chapter 128.2
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This was the first time.
Until now, Asella had never had a meal with her husband. The Grand Duke’s residence was divided into separate buildings for the Duke and the Duchess, almost perfectly separated into the north and south.
As a result, she would usually have meals with Mariel in the dining hall dedicated to the Grand Duchess or in the parlors attached to their bedrooms.
‘Dinner… All of a sudden? Why…’
If there had been a special reason, she wouldn’t have felt so uneasy. Along with a strange sense of discomfort, fear crept in.
“Please have a seat.”
Calix pulled out a chair and helped Asella to it, then he took the seat across from her. It was a fairly gentle gesture, but it only deepened Asella’s unease.
In the midst of her restlessness, she heard his voice.
“I asked them to prepare your favorite dishes.”
“Thank you.”
Asella responded like an automated doll, and at that moment, a scene from her dream flashed through her mind.
‘I prepared something sweet since you don’t seem accustomed to alcohol. Does it suit your taste?’
‘Yes, thank you for considering me.’
The cold gaze that pierced through while handing over the wine. The lips that twisted eerily. The cold mockery and contempt towards her fading self.
“Is this place uncomfortable? If you don’t like it here, we can have the meal in your dining room or the drawing room.”
“Oh, no.”
Asella replied with great effort, tightly gripping both hands.
‘It’s just a bad dream. No need to be nervous.’
Even as she tried to calm her mind, her chin trembled. She bit down on her inner lip discreetly to not raise his attention.
“The young lady said this was your first outing together.”
Asella flinched at the sudden remark. Slowly raising her head, she cautiously looked at him. His expression remained expressionless, difficult to read. Yet, his attitude seemed to wait for an answer. Carefully choosing her words, she replied.
“Yes. There were circumstances that prevented us from going out together until now.”
“So, did you have fun?”
The questioning voice was not just dry but chilling. His face remained indifferent, yet for some reason, his gaze felt fiercely intimidating. It was an eerie feeling as if numerous razor-sharp blades filled the air around him.
“It seems like you enjoyed it.”
When Calix’s lips curved into a mocking smile, Asella’s heart sank.
She felt like she had done something wrong. However, she couldn’t figure out what had angered him. She curled her lips in nervously.
Calix remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. The uneasiness felt like walking on thin ice, making Asella’s body stiffen. Under the table, the hem of the dress she had been clutching was already too wrinkled to recognize its original sleek form.
If the sound from outside had come a little later, perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to withstand this suffocating tension and collapsed.
“Your Highness, the meal is ready.”
The taut tension crumbled in an instant, and Asella quietly exhaled the breath she had been holding.
“Bring it in.”
The quiet meal began. Asella lowered her gaze onto the neatly arranged plate. Despite the appetizingly cooked steak in front of her, she couldn’t feel any appetite.
As she picked up the utensils out of habit and brought the knife to the surface of the meat, it happened.
“Ah!”
With a suppressed gasp, Asella dropped the knife.
The thick blood oozing through the severed surface stained the plate. The contrasting colors of the pristine white dish and the blood’s vivid red hue were unnerving.
***
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