Your Grace, It Was a Mistake! - Chapter 1

The bedroom was dark. Only the faint, flickering light of a dying oil lamp illuminated the space. I blinked vacantly, then suddenly snapped to my senses.

What was I doing?

Confused, I looked down and felt something firm beneath my thighs. It was far too hard to be a bedsheet.

‘What is this?’

I slowly lowered my gaze. Soon, a familiar face came into view: shimmering silver hair, sky-blue eyes, and delicate, sharp features.

‘G-Grand Duke Glenn?!’

Why was this man here? Worse, I was straddling his waist. Oh, my god!

“Aaaaakh!”

I quickly scrambled away, rolling to a far corner of the bed. My startled heart beat like crazy. I could feel the Grand Duke’s gaze fixed intently on me.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Could this be a dream? With a tearful face, I looked up. The Grand Duke merely stared at me in silence, saying nothing. Had he lost his mind?

Trembling with fear, I examined him more closely. Now that I looked, he was lying on my bed with his hands tied and—

‘Crazy.’

He was half-naked, his shirt stripped off. Good heavens. I was so shocked that I lost my balance and tumbled right off the bed.

Thud! The sound of my body hitting the floor was heavy. I think I bumped my head, but I was too flustered to even feel the pain.

‘Oh, my god. What have you done? Vivian Lewis, you’re insane! Seriously!’

Kidnapping the Grand Duke! And tying him to the bed—what was I planning to do? Ahaha.

I was letting out a hollow, crazed laugh when I heard a rustle from the bed. I froze reflexively. Then, his voice drifted down.

“Why? Why aren’t you finishing what you started?”

Pardon? Thinking I had misheard something so insane, I just blinked at him vacantly. Grand Duke, what did you just say? I must have heard wrong, right?

“I’d like it if you finished what you were doing, Lady Vivian Lewis.”

At that moment, only one thought crossed my mind: I’m doomed.

Vivian Lewis, age twenty-one. While not in her right mind, she kidnapped Grand Duke Glenn and, thanks to that, she was caught! She was caught for the fact that she had been fan-girling over the Grand Duke for seven long years.

‘Aargh!’

Internal screams echoing, I clutched my head. My bedroom was filled with paintings, tapestries, and cushions—all featuring the Grand Duke.

I first saw the Grand Duke when I was fourteen. It was at a debutante ball, a place overflowing with the dreams and hopes of young girls. I, too, had been fluttering with excitement, wondering if I might meet someone wonderful and start a romance.

—Look over there! It’s Grand Duke Glenn. —My goodness, he’s so handsome. —Oh no, I think I’ve fallen for him.

Hearing the girls my age whispering, I grew curious and glanced in the direction they were looking. There he was: Lennox Elpidion Glenn. At the time, he was eighteen years old. He was a man who had inherited his title at seventeen and was already treated as a proper noble.

Surrounded by the bright light of chandeliers and the sound of laughter, he shone like a diamond. Shimmering silver hair, eyes as blue as the autumn sky, porcelain skin—he was literally glowing with beauty!

‘Incredible.’

In that moment, I fell in love. That’s right; I was the type to fall in love instantly. I fell for him at first sight that day, and thus began my seven-year journey as a devoted fan.

I followed him wherever he went, diligently sketching his likeness in my notebook. It was a blessing that I was good at drawing. If I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have been able to record every single one of his expressions.

‘And I was able to enjoy them secretly, without getting caught by anyone except my family and my best friend.’

If I had brought in an outside painter and asked for a thousand—no, ten thousand—portraits of the Grand Duke, I would have looked like a madwoman.

‘To be honest, I don’t think I’m sane now, either.’

I looked around my bedroom with glazed eyes. The tapestries on the walls, the frames, the cushions, the photo albums—everything was covered in pictures of the Grand Duke.

‘Truly, this is heaven!’

“Kyaaa!”

I flopped face-down onto the bed and hugged a large body pillow featuring a full-length portrait of the Grand Duke. This bedroom was a paradise just for me. Surrounded by the Grand Duke on all sides! It’s the best! It’s thrilling!

‘I want to live like this forever without ever getting married.’

I squeezed the cushion tight. Sadly, marriage proposals had been coming in from all over lately, and it seemed my parents were considering my marriage as well.

‘Ugh, I don’t want to get married.’

I just want to spend my life looking at the Grand Duke!

“I don’t wanna get married!”

“Are you saying that again?”

As I was whining face-down on the bed, my friend Marina, who had entered the room soundlessly, asked.

“Marina!”

I hopped up and ran into her arms. Though we were the same age, Marina felt like a much older sister. She shook her head and said, “How long are you going to live like this, obsessed with the Grand Duke? You should meet a good person, get married, and live happily.”

“But fan-girling over the Grand Duke is the happiest thing in the world to me. Drawing him, writing stories about dating him—”

“Are you going to grow old and die alone like that?”

“W-why would I be alone? I have my younger brother! I have Cassian!”

“Doesn’t Cassian say you’re pathetic?”

“Ugh.”

At Marina’s always-painful truth bomb, my shoulders slumped. Fine, I’m a Grand Duke fanatic! But what can I do when I like him so much? I looked at Marina with resentful eyes.

Marina let out a long sigh, patted my shoulder a couple of times, and handed me a bag. “I have to go somewhere for a bit, so please watch this for me.”

“What is it?”

“My things. There are some dangerous items inside, so don’t you dare open it.”

“Okay.”

Marina was a mage studying at the Academy in the Imperial Capital. However, her hometown was very far from the capital, so she was staying at my house since our families were close. Standing at the doorway, Marina looked back at me and said, “I’ll be back later. Absolutely do not open it!”

“Yeah.”

Since she told me not to open it, I wanted to open it even more. Would it be okay to peek just a little? I could just look and close it right back up.

‘As long as I don’t touch the stuff inside, it’ll be fine!’

My curiosity was piqued for the first time in a long while. I set the bag on the floor and carefully opened it. My heart thumped. What could be inside? Marina often showed me magic or magical tools, but they were all boring things. It felt like she was intentionally hiding anything even remotely dangerous.

‘I’m a full-grown twenty-one-year-old, after all.’

Honestly, no matter how much she sees me as a younger sister, how long is she going to treat me like a child?

‘Don’t worry, I’ll just look at the things in this bag for a second and keep them safe!’

I grinned and pulled the bag wide open. And in the next moment—

Poof!

“Aaaaakh! What?!”

Something seemed to explode inside the bag, and the items began to pop out in all directions like popcorn.

“No! My Grand Duke merch!”

I scrambled around in the chaos to protect my precious treasures. I don’t know how much time passed.

“Haa. Crazy. Is it finally over?”

I looked around. The room was a total mess, and some of the Grand Duke merch I couldn’t save was ruined.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

I’m trash. To think I couldn’t protect my precious treasures! I don’t deserve to be the Grand Duke’s fan.

“Sniff.”

Crying, I began to clean the room. Since it was embarrassing to call a maid after causing such an uproar, I had no choice but to clean it all by myself. After cleaning for a long time, the room was thankfully as clean as before, and all of Marina’s things were back in the bag. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stretched lightly.

“Phew. I thought I was going to die.”

Born as a noble lady who had never done manual labor, cleaning was exhausting.

“Still, I’m glad I managed to fix it somehow.”

As I let out a sigh of relief and moved to close the bag, something sparkling caught my eye.

“Huh?”

What’s that? I crept toward it. It seemed to be one of the magic tools I had missed.

“This is a pitch-black marble?”

It was a marble so black it felt unsettling. After a moment’s hesitation, I reached out and picked it up. As I stared at it, I felt strangely enchanted, as if it were casting a spell on me.

‘Better put it back in the bag quickly.’

Whatever it was, it looked dangerous. I rushed back to the bag and tried to put the marble inside, but in an instant, it slipped from my fingers.

Shatter!

It hit the floor and broke into pieces.

“O-oh no.”

‘This is Marina’s!’

This is bad. How do I fix this?

‘Huh?’

I froze. Black smoke emerging from the marble began to slither and wind around me.

“Ack! What is this?!”

I tried to run away, but the black smoke was faster, enveloping my body.

“He—!”

Soon, my vision was dyed black, and I lost consciousness.

‘Right. I remember that much.’

Returning to the present, I was facing the Grand Duke I had kidnapped. Crazy, what do I do?

‘It’s all because of that marble!’

No matter how I think about it, that marble is the cause. What else could it be? That damn marble—wait, now that I think about it, it’s my fault. If only I hadn’t opened Marina’s bag like an idiot, this never would have happened!

I slumped over, my hands on the floor in a pose of despair. But then, a low chuckle came from above me.

G-Grand Duke? Did you just laugh at me?

‘Sir, you are currently in a kidnapped state, you know!’

Wait, in the first place, how could someone like me kidnap the Grand Duke, who is a Sword Master? And did I tie him to the bed?

“Lady Vivian Lewis, why are you so gloomy?”

“T-that’s because—”

I stammered. Why am I gloomy? Isn’t it obvious? My life is completely over! A twenty-one-year-old Grand Duke-kidnapper! Soon, the Imperial investigators will burst in. And they’ll look around my room and say, “There are pictures of His Grace everywhere. How chilling.”

Vivian Lewis, twenty-one. Her life is ruined. I’m finished. Now I’ll be dragged away as the Grand Duke’s stalker and locked in a dungeon.

“There’s no need to be so gloomy. Here, come here, Vivian.”

Eh? Suddenly, the Grand Duke called me “Vivian” familiarly by my name.

‘W-what?’

Blinking in bewilderment, I slowly pushed myself up at his gesture for me to come closer. Well, whatever it is, I should just do as I’m told. No, wait. Before that, I have to untie his hands! What have I been doing?

“Your Grace, I am so sorry! I’ll untie you right away!”

“What? Ah, I’m fine.”

“Fine? Oh, this is a rope!”

I’m trash! To think I caused a wound on the Grand Duke’s precious body! I carefully untied the rope. It was tied so tightly that my own fingers hurt.

‘I think this is going to leave a mark.’

Once I finally got it off, sure enough, vivid red marks were left on both of the Grand Duke’s wrists. Your Grace, I’m so sorry. Your Grace’s beautiful wrists—I was heartbroken.

As I hung my head with teary eyes, I heard his voice.

“It’s alright, Vivian. This is nothing.”

Unexpectedly, he stroked my hair with a gentle expression. I jumped like a startled rabbit. Your Grace, you were just kidnapped! I am that kidnapper!

“Actually, I quite liked being tied up.”

Pardon? I must have heard that wrong, right?

“If being tied up is your preference, Vivian.”

I completely lost my mind. A silence fell for a moment, and I stammered, “Y-Your Grace—”

“Yes, Vivian.”

No, why do you keep calling me “Vivian” so familiarly? Since when have we even talked properly?

‘I think the Grand Duke has lost his mind!’

Did he go a bit crazy because I kidnapped him?

‘I’m in trouble! What do I do?!’

“Your Grace! Look here!”

“?”

I have to diagnose his condition right now! I urgently held up one finger and asked, “Your Grace, how many is this?”

The Grand Duke scanned me with a suspicious look, then gave a smirk and answered, “One.”

“T-that is correct.”

I quickly moved to the next question. “Then, what is your full name?”

“Lennox Elpidion Glenn.”

“Y-you know it well.”

The Grand Duke wore an expression that said “obviously.” While I was relieved that he was sane, I was also anxious. If he were sane, he should be angry at me for daring to kidnap him, saying something like, “You dare kidnap me? You must have a death wish.”

‘Why is he so docile?!’

Is it just my imagination that he seems to be enjoying this situation? It must be a mistake, right?

“Vivian.”

“Y-yes!”

At his call, I answered with the posture of a disciplined soldier. The Grand Duke laughed again and suddenly pulled my hand. Wait, excuse me?

“W-why my hand?”

Flustered, I glanced back and forth between my hand and the Grand Duke, who gave a sweet, melting smile and asked, “Don’t you remember?”

“Pardon?”

Remember? What? My mind is currently as blank as a white sheet of paper! I don’t remember anything that happened after I broke that marble!

“You said you wanted to make a mess of me?”

“Cough, w-what? M-me?”

I choked on my own breath and started coughing until tears came to my eyes. No, I said I wanted to do what to the Grand Duke? A mess of what?

“N-no! I—”

“You said you’d wanted to do this since the first moment you saw me.”

The Grand Duke said so, then placed a soft kiss on my palm. I jumped back in horror. What just happened? The Grand Duke just kissed my—

“Hieeeek!”

I quickly snatched my hand back and pulled it to my chest, hugging it tight. My heart was beating so violently it felt like it would jump out of my chest. The Grand Duke looked amused watching me in my state of shock.

What on earth has happened?

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