I Unintentionally Cured the Grand Duke’s Insomnia - Chapter 99
50. — The Shackles Placed on Him (1)
Meeting the man’s cold eyes, Cus quickly slammed his head onto the floor. His heart pounded loudly as he saw the man’s eyes meeting his.
…Was he really Grand Duke Destro? Why was the Grand Duke here?
Could it… could it be that he was really here to capture him? He felt that his escape had come to an end like this. At the same time, he thought that if there really was such a thing as God, he wouldn’t do this to him, who couldn’t even eat properly and drank only water before dying.
As he lay flat on the floor, he could hear the voices of the children above him.
“We just wanted to ask if this man knows anything about Adelia.”
“That’s right. I told Brother Ed to ask! I’m sorry for worrying you, Michael.”
“…It’s fine if nothing serious is going on.”
As he lay flat and tried to grasp the situation, Cus tilted his head when he heard something strange.
…Michael? Not Grand Duke Destro?
Cus, who had been lying flat on the floor, discreetly raised his gaze to look at the man. As soon as his indifferent black eyes met him, he quickly dropped his face back down to the floor.
‘Black eyes?’
Something was strange. Surely, the eyes of Grand Duke Destro, as he knew, were as red as blood. So, every time he saw his red eyes on his face, he would get goosebumps all over his body.
“Irene is preparing a meal. You two should go back to the village now.”
“What about Michael?”
…Irene?
Once again, the name sounded strangely familiar. Hoping to find some clues in the conversation among the three, Cus pricked up his ears.
“I think I have something to talk about with this man.”
“Do you know him?”
“I don’t know, but he seems to know me.”
“Hmm… I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, but okay. Michael, don’t be late! Today is supposed to be the last meal in the village.”
Soon, the footsteps of the children grew faint as they moved away.
Cus chewed on his lips, thinking that nothing was really going to help him. His heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to burst out of his mouth at any moment.
‘Think, please think, how can I get out of this!’
“Hey.”
“….”
“How long are you going to keep your head on the ground?”
At the sound of the man’s voice calling him, Cus tightly closed his eyes. When he overheard the conversation among the three just now, he gathered that this place was within the territory of Winder Village.
Winder Village, where shapeshifters lived, was a quiet, secluded place.
Of course, it had been reported not long ago that Adelia and Grand Duke Destro had saved the village of Winder from danger. However, the anger and resentment towards humans who had illegally kidnapped and traded them may not have completely disappeared yet.
Recalling rumors of outsiders who had intruded into the territory of Winder Village and returned as corpses, Cus rolled his head again. Despite the fact that the man standing right in front of him was unmistakably human, for some reason, his relationship with the shapeshifters didn’t seem to be bad. So, he blurted out, praying that he could get out of here safely.
“I-I didn’t know this was the territory of Winder Village. With your permission, I won’t reveal anything, and I’ll leave—!”
“Why don’t you raise your head?”
“…Yes?”
“Haven’t you learned that making eye contact is basic when talking to people?”
Cus clenched his fist at the man’s low voice. While he was pondering on what to do, he heard a cold voice from the man.
“Or is it that I look like a wild animal to your eyes, so you can’t even make eye contact with me?”
He immediately raised his head sharply at the man’s scornful voice.
As he finally got a proper look at the man’s face, Cus took a sharp breath. It was because the man looked so much like Grand Duke Destro, almost too much alike. He thought that the resemblance was particularly striking in the dark, bluish hair and their fierce eyes. The energy emanating from his entire body, the chilling atmosphere, and the emotionless gaze that seemed to pierce through all felt the same.
Could… could there really be someone who looked this much alike?
“As expected, you seem to know me.”
“Yes, yes?”
“It’s a face that seems to have just remembered someone.”
Cus gulped nervously at the man’s question.
Certainly, there was someone who came to mind, just as the man said… from the moment he first laid eyes on him until now. However, it was unlikely that Grand Duke Destro had a family. His parents had already passed away when he was young, and his only sibling, a younger brother, also perished in the war five years ago…
“Michael!”
Cus froze in the same posture as he looked at the man as he was seized by a hypothesis that suddenly occurred to him. On the other hand, Michael, who had been silently observing him, turned his head towards the person who called him.
“Come quickly and eat. We need to finish quickly and return to Aren…?”
Irene glanced blankly at the man who was kneeling in front of Michael. His appearance was pitiful, as he hadn’t been able to bathe or eat for several days.
Michael let out a shallow sigh as he looked at her frozen face.
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