~Chapter 7~
Pale blue moonlight illuminated the Grand Duke’s bare face for the first time.
The sculpted, elegant lines of his face were distorted in anguish.
His strong brows and furrowed brow, which emphasized his masculinity, trembled with fury.
A flicker of disappointment passed through his deep amethyst eyes—like shattered gemstones.
“Go. Now.”
The curse writhed across the left side of his face, from the corner of his eye to his cheek.
His right eye, once meant to gleam with the same vibrant purple as the left, had turned black and murky from the curse, leaving only a faint trace of violet.
Shhhh—
The curse oozed tar-like blood and stretched like a shadowy limb. The Grand Duke clenched his teeth in pain.
“If you’re going to run, better you do it early.”
I never imagined that behind his cold, expressionless mask lay a face capable of such emotion.
And of all those emotions, the first I saw was—
“Your Grace.”
—sorrow.
He turned away silently, as if to say I should leave him.
“Your Grace!”
I ran toward him. Startled, he froze.
“Wait—it’s dangerous—!”
The curse lashed out again.
Dodging it, I placed both hands gently on his cursed face and whispered:
“Disappear.”
Poof—
The curse exploded, raining foul-smelling black blood. Dazed, I stood still until someone pulled me away.
“Your Grace?”
He shielded me, letting the blood soak him instead.
When the rain stopped, he slowly straightened.
“Are you alright?”
His silver hair, dripping black blood, shimmered under the moonlight.
“Your face…”
I reached out and brushed aside his hair. The massive, tumor-like curse was gone.
Only a faint trace of darkness remained in his left eye socket.
I stared into his now-matching, beautiful eyes before realizing—
“Ah, sorry. I know you don’t like showing your face…”
He seemed like he wanted to say something but stayed silent.
“Your Grace?”
Finally, in a quiet voice:
“Why did you help me?”
“Huh?”
“You must’ve been terrified…”
His eyes trembled with confusion.
I gave him the truth:
“You looked sad.”
He froze, hands mid-air as he fixed his sleeve.
“That’s all. You just looked sad.”
He seemed desperate to understand. I answered honestly.
His eyes widened.
“Anyway, we should go back now. You should change, and I need to sleep.”
“Yes…”
“And the gate—we should close it.”
I pointed to the open door.
“I saw it while walking. It felt dangerous, so I was going to close it…”
The Grand Duke looked at the gate.
“…Ah.”
Covering his face with both hands, he muttered:
“I wasn’t… trying to run away…”
“Pardon?”
I couldn’t hear clearly.
“No, it’s nothing.”
He shook his head and approached me.
“Sorry. You had to see that.”
His ears were red with embarrassment.
“No need to apologize. Really.”
We turned to the mansion—our shared home now.
“Let’s go back, Your Grace.”
“Yes.”
He extended his ungloved hand.
Now that we were married, even a short walk deserved a proper escort.
I smiled and took it. He gently guided me back.
The cold night breeze brushed past. The scent of blood clung to him.
Stains still streaked his silver hair.
He looked every bit the “Bloodthirsty Grand Duke.”
But those gentle, amethyst eyes—filled with guilt and relief—told another story.
“And about what to call each other…”
“Yes?”
“Please call me Damien.”
His voice was dry.
“We’re married now.”
But the words felt warm.
“Then, could you call me Ruby too?”
“Ruby?”
“Yes. That’s what my mother used to call me.”
He matched my steps in silence.
When we reached the mansion—
“Alright.”
“Goodnight, Ruby.”
The words were awkward, his voice stiff, posture tense—
But still, for some reason…
“Goodnight, Damien.”
…it made me happy.
“Hehe…”
Today was undoubtedly the best day ever.
I didn’t get to follow through with my plan to explore every corner of the mansion from the front gate during my nightly walk, thanks to the unexpected commotion…
But I got a little closer to my contract husband.
And then—
[I… hate… you…]
When I returned from the walk, there was a curse clinging to the window of my room!
“I loved the haunted mansion atmosphere, but I hadn’t seen a single curse in three days, so I was a little disappointed…”
When I poked the retreating curse with my finger, it wiggled and quickly transformed—
Into the form of a wide-mouthed old woman screaming loud enough to split ears.
[I’LL KILL YOU!!!]
The scream was so loud it felt like it could burst my eardrums, but I still smiled.
“Not bad. It actually startled me.”
The curses I saw outside just fled from me—
But this one was scarier than those. I couldn’t help but wonder…
“If this one is already scarier, how terrifying must the others be?”
[Huff… huff…]
The curse wheezed, exhausted from the screaming, and sagged onto the cabinet like a rag doll.
I had been amused, but now I felt a little sorry for it.
“Alright. I won’t bother you anymore. Go home.”
But the curse didn’t move. It just drooped in place like it had no strength.
“What do these things even eat?”
I was wondering whether I should bring it some food when—
Knock knock—
“Come in,” I said, assuming it was a maid.
But even after a while, the door didn’t open.
“Strange… Did I hear that wrong?”
I tried to refocus on the curse, but then—
Knock knock knock—
“You can come in!”
I called out louder this time.
Still, the door didn’t open.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
It was louder this time, full of pressure.
“This is weird. Why don’t they say anything? Why just knock?”
[Hehehe…]
A creepy giggle came from the other side of the door.
The only sound echoing in the silent room was that laugh.
Creak—
The door slowly opened. A woman stood on the threshold.
“So you’re the one…”
Her bloodshot eyes gleamed through her messy blonde hair.
“The new woman?”
“What?”
“Damien…”
She grinned. In her hand—
“…is mine.”
—was a bloodstained kitchen knife.
