I Refuse This Life, Your Highness! - Chapter 51

In the end, Reya’s brother, Millen Ail, came to the Grand Duke’s estate. The Baron of Ceres’ territory was not far, and as soon as he received the news, Millen eagerly set out, arriving three days later.

In my previous life, Millen and Reya had shared quarters. That arrangement had been assigned by Erma, using my seal. This time, things were different. Millen was assigned a residence far from both my quarters and Reya’s, at the westernmost edge of the estate.

Reya’s quarters were also relocated, closer to mine, to create some distance between her and Millen.

Millen, as in my previous life, was not a pleasant individual. Though handsome, he was lecherous and aggressive, far from being a good or virtuous person. If he had been, Reya wouldn’t have suffered such a miserable upbringing.

Two days after Millen arrived at the estate, Reya proposed a tea time.

Proposed might be too generous a word. As always, she stood in a dim corner of the hallway, waiting for me to pass. Then, suddenly appearing, she asked for my time.

“…Can’t you approach me normally?”

“I’m just a commoner, Your Grace. I can’t speak to you so freely.”

In other words, she would only approach when no one else was around. I sighed and led Reya to the sitting room in my quarters. Resili and Boen quickly prepared tea and refreshments.

In the bright light, Reya’s natural beauty was more evident. Her features, touched with melancholy, gave her the look of a wistful beauty. I couldn’t help but wonder why her demeanor seemed so different now compared to my past life. Then, it struck me: perhaps, in the three years before meeting the Grand Duke and blossoming under his protection, Reya had always been this somber.

“Well, what is it?” I asked.

“I apologize for any impropriety, but I have something to tell you.”

Reya hardly needed to concern herself with propriety now, given all that had passed between us. I raised a brow and sipped my tea. Reya, however, didn’t touch hers. Whether because I had served it or because she simply wasn’t inclined, I couldn’t tell.

“Your Grace, what I’m about to say is…”

Reya, who had been frowning for some time, finally began to speak when—Bang!—the door burst open without warning.

Startled, I turned to the door. I expected it to be the Grand Duke; no one else would dare breach decorum like that. But to my shock, it was not him—it was Millen Ail.

Boen and Resili rushed to the door, visibly alarmed.

“What is the meaning of this?”

There should have been guards stationed outside, yet the hallway was silent. It seemed Millen had overpowered them to barge into my quarters. I was too stunned to speak, unable even to glance at Reya.

Millen sauntered in, grinning as he shoved past Boen and Resili.

“What’s with the looks? I just wanted to join this elegant little gathering.”

“Do you understand what you’re doing?” I asked, striving to maintain my composure. Though he was a guest, I couldn’t tolerate such behavior.

Millen only laughed aloud, reeking of alcohol, and walked behind Reya. The stench of liquor was overwhelming. In my past life, Millen had caused trouble more than once while drunk, but this… this was a new level of madness.

As I watched in disbelief, Millen reached over Reya’s shoulder to pick up a teacup. Then, tilting his head, he leaned toward Reya’s cheek as though to kiss her.

Reya turned pale and shoved him away. My eyes widened further. Were they in that kind of relationship? Or was Millen harassing her?

“Oh, Reya. Must you overreact to your dear brother’s affection?” Millen taunted.

“Who’s your brother?” Reya shot back.

Reya was a year older than Millen and, in any case, both were men. She scrubbed her cheek as if it had been sullied, then stood abruptly, her face a mix of humiliation and rage. Millen, holding his teacup, raised his hands mockingly, his grin unwavering.

“…Reya, come here,” I said, gesturing for her to sit beside me. Boen quickly removed the chair next to mine, and Reya sat down, her expression still furious as she glared at Millen.

I had assumed their relationship wasn’t bad, considering Reya’s insistence on bringing Millen here. But now I wondered—was she keeping him close out of fear of what he might do if left unattended?

“Resili, fetch the guards and knights,” I ordered.

“Your Grace! Is that really necessary? I just wanted to enjoy tea with you,” Millen said, his voice dripping with mockery.

Resili, without a word, gathered her skirts and rushed out. Millen continued to babble like a drunken fool, the smell of alcohol permeating the room.

The guards and knights would arrive within minutes. Until then, I stared at Millen, doing my best to remain composed despite my unease. Dealing with someone so reckless, so deranged, was unsettling. His imposing stature and drunken state only added to my apprehension.

“Let’s see how fine the tea at the Grand Duke’s estate is, shall we?” Millen said, grabbing Reya’s untouched cup and draining it.

At that moment, Reya shot to her feet, realization flashing in her eyes. “No!”

“What?” Millen turned to her, his mocking smile frozen in place.

Clatter.

The teacup fell to the floor, shattering. A heavier sound followed—Millen’s body collapsing with a thud.

“Your Grace!” Boen cried out.

The sound of guards and knights rushing down the hall echoed in the background. When they burst into the room, the first thing they saw was Millen Ail lying on the floor, unconscious, next to the broken shards of the teacup.

“What happened?”

The Grand Duke’s deep, steady voice brought me back to my senses. I lifted my head, realizing I had been sitting in a daze. Yet when I opened my mouth to answer, I hesitated. His sharp gaze wasn’t on me—it was fixed on Reya.

“Was this your doing?”

“No,” Reya replied firmly. “Why would I? If I’d stayed quiet, everything would have resolved itself. There was no need.”

Reya muttered something incomprehensible, her words spilling out in a rush. Why was the Grand Duke asking her what had happened instead of me? What did she mean by “if I stayed quiet, everything would have resolved itself”?

Millen Ail was dead.

He drank tea meant for Reya.

This was exactly what had happened in my previous life.

I was too overwhelmed to process the situation, desperately wishing it to be a nightmare. Time became meaningless; I couldn’t tell if minutes or hours had passed. I knew the Grand Duke had arrived, but I couldn’t respond properly. Everything felt submerged in deep, dark water, and even sounds around me seemed distant and distorted.

“…Vi.”

I thought I heard the Grand Duke’s voice. His head seemed to turn toward me. Nausea surged, and the room spun. My body tilted, but something—or someone—caught me.

“Vi. Yuraine. Yuraine?”

“…”

Everything was dark. A heavy weight pressed on my chest, spreading waves of anxiety and dread like mold creeping in every direction. Only when I heard my own shallow gasps did I realize that part of the sound was coming from me.

“Yuraine, stay with me. Is the medicine ready yet?”

“Almost, Your Majesty.”

Clinking and rustling sounds accompanied the Grand Duke as he tilted my head back gently. A small spoon touched my lips. A bitter, sticky liquid entered my mouth, but I instinctively turned my head, letting it dribble down the side of my face.

The next moment, something soft pressed against my lips, forcing the liquid back into my mouth. I tried to spit it out, but the effort was in vain. A large, warm hand stroked my chin gently, coaxing the liquid down my throat.

This process repeated several times, the bitter taste growing sharper each time. Finally, something sweet and round was placed in my mouth. My teeth closed around it instinctively, releasing the juice of sugarcane. The sweetness washed away the bitterness, followed by cool, faintly sweet water that erased the last traces of the unpleasant flavor.

When I blinked, I saw the Grand Duke wiping my lips with a cloth.

It was disconcerting. He had personally fed me the medicine—hadn’t there been others around who could have done it? But no, that wasn’t the issue.

“Your Majesty.”

The words barely escaped my lips. Like frost melting from glass, my vision began to clear. The Grand Duke was right in front of me, his face etched with worry. I wasn’t seated upright but reclined against a pile of cushions. His hand held mine, warm against my ice-cold skin.

“What… what happened…?”

“We’re investigating. It will be alright.”

Slowly, I turned my head and recognized my surroundings—my bedroom. Boen, Resili, and Reya were present, the latter looking as pale and shaken as I felt.

Gradually, the pieces fell into place.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t do it.” I clung to the Grand Duke, trying to stand, but my legs gave out, and I slumped back onto the sofa. Without a word, he removed my shoes and helped me lie down completely.

“Your Majesty, I swear I didn’t. I…”

The tea had been meant for Reya. If she had drunk it, she would have been the one to collapse, not Millen. A cold shiver ran through me.

“I swear I didn’t. I never meant to harm Reya. I didn’t… Reya, it wasn’t me.”

“Calm down, Yuraine. I know. I know it wasn’t you.”

In my panic, I had addressed Reya as I had in my past life. The Grand Duke whispered reassurances, holding me close and stroking my hair and back. The comfort worked, yet didn’t. My trembling only worsened, the effects of the medicine giving way to a fresh wave of fear.

The Grand Duke slipped two more pills into my mouth and held a glass of water for me to swallow them. I obeyed, and after shaking in his arms for what felt like hours, my mind began to clear.

I must have seemed insane.

Reya spoke softly.

“Please calm yourself, Your Majesty. I know this wasn’t your doing.”

“…”

Hearing Reya say that eased my heart, if only slightly.

In my previous life, Millen had drunk the tea intended for Reya and died. That was the event that had branded me as both a murderer and an attempted murderer.

But that was supposed to happen three years from now. Why was it happening now?

Could it be connected to Reya’s earlier arrival? Or was this proof that fate was truly inescapable? I didn’t know. I leaned my head against the Grand Duke’s chest, seeking solace, when a knock interrupted the moment.

“Come in,” the Grand Duke’s authoritative voice rumbled from above me.

Was it the investigators? The soldiers? Were they here to arrest me…?

“Your Majesty.”

It was Sir Leon’s voice. Relief flooded me for a fleeting second—until his next words shattered everything.

“The autopsy results are in. The poison found in Millen Ail’s body…”

No, it couldn’t be.

“…was Airdren’s Blood.”

The world collapsed around me, plunging into darkness.

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