Chapter 12

***

Isabelle smiled awkwardly when the Grand Duke  asked if they had usually played like this.

“What…… Thanks to you, my stamina has improved, haha.”

“You mean like animals?”

“?”

‘What are you talking about? If you’re sane, if I throw a branch, will you pick it up?’  Isabelle opened her eyes wide and nodded roughly. Then the Grand Duke’s face turned pale in an instant, and he slowly got up, putting his hand on his forehead.

Was it because she was too nervous? Her legs staggered for a moment, but the Grand Duke naturally reached out and supported Isabelle.

“Did you stay still even with a body like this, Princess?”

The Grand Duke glanced at Isabelle’s forearm and calf once.

Red tooth marks from the playful biting of the Grand Duke, who was a beast.

Even though the surroundings were dark, the Grand Duke recognized the marks like ghosts.

“It’s not that painful, so it’s okay.”

“How can it not hurt!” the Grand Duke exclaimed in rare anger.

‘What is wrong with this man?’

Isabelle, startled, flinched her shoulders.

‘It’s understandable that he suddenly became a person and is embarrassed, but it’s not right to act like this to someone who played with him.’

‘Thanks to someone my day and night have changed.’

Isabelle put her hands on her waist and straightened her back again.

“Why do you scream when you should say thank you?!”

Isabelle also tightened her stomach and shouted out loudly. The Grand Duke shut his mouth for a moment and lowered his voice again, apparently in shock.

“Did you risk your life to hear thank you? Are you sane?!”

“You must have misunderstood something, but do I look like a woman who risked her life to listen to it?”

“If this isn’t risking your life, what is it?”

“Are there people who risk their lives while playing?”

The Grand Duke snorted as if he was astonished.

What. How would you describe picking up a few branches if it wasn’t a game? 

‘Okay, I shouldn’t talk. I guess we’ll see if I will play with you tomorrow.’

Isabelle quickly turned and walked towards the tower.

“Princess!” The Grand Duke called her from behind and followed her.

Isabelle turned her head and pointed to the hat in the distance.

“Never mind, pick up the hat.”

Then she went into the tower.

The moment he thought the Princess’s tone of voice like talking to a dog was unfamiliar, the Grand Duke was startled.

‘What the hell, why am I running?’

When he came to his senses, he was already running towards the fallen hat.

****

“Princess, did you go for a walk this morning?” Asked the maid who was wiping Isabelle’s limbs in the hot bath.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Isabelle answered without opening her eyes.

Even taking a bath in broad daylight she was dazed. Thanks to running around with the Grand Duke every night, her weak stamina improved a lot, but her day and night changed.

‘At this rate, I’ll get attached to the beast, not the Grand Duke.’ 

It felt like raising a pet.

‘But when he turns back to human, why is his personality like that?’

‘He only has his face.’

Isabelle sighed as she recalled what had happened this morning. 

“What about the hat hanging on the door today?”

“A hat?”

“Yes. In the morning, I saw that it was placed in front of the princess’s door. Did you drop it in the morning when you went out?”

‘Oh, it looks like the Grand Duke really picked up the hat.’

He followed orders well. Who says he’s not a dog?

Isabelle snorted and waved her hand.

“Throw it away. I’ll go shopping today and buy a new one.”

She didn’t intend to use the hat that rolled on the dirt twice.

“Are you going out today?”

“Yes. To relieve stress.”

She was planning to use the Grand Duke’s money to relieve the stress she had accumulated from arguing with him. Isabelle put her head in the bathtub and closed her eyes.

As she fell asleep, she didn’t hear the gossip of the maids, which would lead to a great misunderstanding.

“The princess is always sleeping when the sun is up.”

“Is it possible that she’s pregnant?”

“Watch your mouth, Laura! She hasn’t even had her first night yet.”

“But Daisy said she had spent the night in the Grand Duke’s bedroom last time.” 

“Well, then maybe… …… ”

“I was told to report her every move, so let’s report this as well.” 

The two maids looked at each other meaningfully and then nodded.

***

“Lord?”

Snow called the Grand Duke who was training on the deck.

It was rare for him to train the soldiers himself.

He was sweating profusely, wielding a sword the size of a woman. 

“What’s going on?”

Whoosh, the tip of the sword he was wielding pointed towards the sea. The sharp wind split the waves.

“What happened? You seem to keep thinking differently.”

“…”

“Snow.”

“Yes.” 

Clank.

The Grand Duke put his sword on the deck and stopped talking.

Although he swung that large sword for nearly an hour, there was no sign of difficulty. Sweat-soaked shirt stuck to his body and showed the perfect upper body tightly woven with muscles.

It was uncomfortable, but he never took his clothes off. He would just roll up his sleeves to just below his elbows.

He didn’t mess around with his clothes under any circumstances.

“If you have any concerns, please tell me. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll try to figure it out.”

“It’s something you can’t solve.” 

“Don’t underestimate my abilities.” 

“Pregnancy.”

“What!?”

‘Oh, that’s something I really can’t do.’

Snow jumped from his seat and looked around quickly.

Fortunately, the soldiers shouted loudly and were busy training. The Grand Duke gestured with his chin at some of the disorganized soldiers and then headed back to the commander’s office.

“At the same time, you have good eyesight.”

Snow swung the magic staff in his pocket in the air.

After confirming that sandbags had formed on the ankles of the soldiers pointed to by the Grand Duke, he diligently followed him.

“What kind of woman is she? The woman who dared to rush to the daytime Grand Duke.”

“It’s night.”

“When did the Grand Duke change?”

Crazy. Snow shook his hand and fiddled with the frame of his glasses.

“When did you have an accident? There were no broken magic circles around the Grand Duke’s residence.”

Snow, at the request of the Archduke, commissioned the magic tower to design a magical defense wall that starts up every night.

To prevent the Grand Duke who has turned into a beast from going outside. Of course, there were days when accidents occurred because he broke it, but these days were rare.

But he (Snow) didn’t know such a major accident would happen. 

“Is it a woman in the castle? Is the woman alive?” (Snow)

Although he bit people, the beast Grand Duke didn’t show any special interest in women. What kind of change was there?

“She’s alive and well. According to the woman, I think we met every night.” (GD)

“You two met regularly?” (Snow)

Did such an unusual woman exist? (*Snow doesn’t know the rumored pregnant woman was Isabelle ????)

“Hmmmm, you must have been bored all night, my lord.” (Snow)

“Don’t talk nonsense and send a doctor right away.” (GD)

The Grand Duke clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

The maid’s report that the Princess was suspected of being pregnant because she was taking more naps still lingered in his mind.

“Where should  I send the doctor?” (Snow)

“To the tower.” (GD)

“Okay. To the tower right now… Wait, the tower? The woman is Princess Isabelle?”

Snow’s eyes widened.

The Grand Duke only nodded his head without answering and then gently rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Oh my God.”

Snow, who was full of imagination, trembled his eyes, and immediately sent the doctor to the tower.

But less than 30 minutes later, even more surprising news came.

“Your Highness, something has happened!”

Grand Duke Bashke, who was sitting sadly in the commander’s office, jumped up from his seat.

“Is she pregnant!?”

“No, the doctor couldn’t see her because she was away.”

“?”

“The Princess went out shopping without problems!”

A woman who seemed to collapse when touched, stays up all night and goes shopping?

“She’s in good shape.”

The Grand Duke smirked in exasperation.

“Where is she?”

“What? Are you going to see her?”

“I want to see that face myself.”

****

Grand Duke Karl Bashke was absent for a while.

Snow White sat at the desk in the corner of the commander’s office with his arms crossed.

On the monotonous desk, a gorgeous tabletop mirror occupied by noble wives was placed. Snow took his wand and tapped the mirror.

A small light from the tip of the wand permeated the silversmith mirror.

“Mirror, mirror.”

Snow, who started talking to himself looking at the mirror that could not answer, stared at his reflection in the mirror.

“Who is the most perfect man in the world?” ????

The hard mirror surface fluctuated like water, and a man’s voice came out. 

“After all, I am the most perfect.”

Snow smirked as he simply dismissed the call of his name as an answer.  ???? 

The mirror was Snow’s secret means of communication with Chaiman, the master of the magic tower as well as Snow’s teacher.

Chaiman spoke ill of many countries by type.

“I’ll get to the main point, Master.”

Snow cut his master’s words familiarly.

“My lord is strange these days, Master. Ever since he met Princess Isabelle Desar.” 

“He seems to have met the Princess every night.”

“…”

Through the mirror, Snow could hear the swear words of his Master and the sound of the thin bracelets rattling. Chaiman seemed to be flapping his arms in panic.