I Don’t Want the Obsession of a Twisted Archduke

Chapter 10 – Marina (1)

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” I blinked at his unexpected question.

“You don’t know anything about my condition,” Kyle muttered. “You’ll only get hurt if you stay beside me.”

I paused, unsure of how to respond to his statements.

“There may come a time when I will be filled with the desire to cut your ears, gouge out your eyes, and break your neck.”

“…”

“What if I suddenly want to torment you?”

He had calmly posed these scenarios at me, yet somehow I felt threatened. I could sense the strength underlying his words, and the intensity was enough to make me shudder. An awkward silence fell between us. Kyle laughed at how sharply the nervous tension in the room had risen.

“Isn’t that a stupid question?” he sneered.

“Of course I would be scared,” I retorted.

We ended up blurting our responses at the same time, but I quickly continued explaining my answer.

“Think about it,” I said. “Who wouldn’t be scared when they’re being threatened with torment like that? People who wouldn’t be afraid must either be saints or already carry a death wish.”

Why was he suddenly asking me these questions, anyway? Was he concerned about my safety? I glanced curiously at him as I pondered to myself the purpose behind his impromptu interrogation.

“But,” I began again, “I know that you’re not going to kill me.”

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He continued to scowl but did not immediately refute my assertions.

“I know that you don’t want to kill anyone. You’re not a murderer at heart.”

“…”

“And I’ve already told you during our first meeting that I didn’t marry you because I wanted a husband who would die quickly. I truly want to get along with you. You understand what I mean, right?”

Kyle’s expression became unpleasant upon hearing my words. I briefly wondered if I had inadvertently said something wrong or offensive to him.

“You-”

“No, not ‘you’. My name is Riddel.”

“…”

“I’ve also told you this before. My name is Riddel. Have you already forgotten?”

His cold glare met my fierce gaze.

“That’s not important,” he snapped.

Kyle put an end to our conversation and turned his attention back to the stack of papers on his desk. I sighed at the fact that nothing had changed.

Still, why did he ask me those questions?

When I realized that he didn’t intend to speak anymore, I decided to focus again on my books and continue my search for information about curses. At that moment, I noticed something peculiar. Somehow, the atmosphere between us had strangely become lighter than before. The room was still as quiet as it had been before we started arguing, but the silence felt different now. Rather, the mood seemed to have shifted away from tense awkwardness and more toward a peaceful calm.

Isn’t this another opportunity for me to strengthen our relationship?

Now that the mood was more pleasant, I told myself I should definitely take advantage of this time. I glanced at Kyle, who was still focused on his papers, and tentatively broke the silence.

“Archduke, can I also come here tomorrow and read a book from-”

“Don’t talk to me.”

I guess I was too excited and misinterpreted the situation. What a nasty guy.

***

Night had already fallen by the time Kyle finished his work. After wrapping up my studies, I left his office and decided to take a stroll around the mansion. I had already informed Jean in advance regarding my plans. As I strolled through the halls, I encountered a strange commotion.

“Hey,” I called out, “what are you guys doing?”

“Yo… Your Highness…”

An unusually large number of maids were crowded around one of the most sparsely populated places in the mansion. When they noticed my appearance, they became startled and bowed their heads. I peeked past them to glimpse what they were up to.

It looks like they have been bullying a maid they don’t like.

I frowned at the sight. When I made eye contact with the victim, I almost lost control of my facial expressions. Why were they ganging up on her, of all people? In the center of the crowd was a scared, petite maid with cherry-colored hair and brown eyes. Judging from the redness of her cheeks, she had likely already been slapped multiple times. As I examined her appearance, I faced the maids with a cold expression.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” I stared them down, demanding answers.

“That…”

The maids nervously glanced at each other, silently trying to figure out what to say to me. Usually, nobility were known to turn a blind eye to the abuse happening amongst their domestic workers, so the maids probably thought they could come up with some random excuse.

Well, sorry, but I don’t want to be an ignorant bystander in this kind of situation.

I looked over their frightened expressions.

“Isn’t it a shame that the maids of Archduke Romani’s mansion are doing something so low?” I reprimanded them with an authoritative tone. “I’ll remember all of your faces, so please keep that in mind. I will not let you off easy a second time.”

The maids were so overwhelmed by my threat that they didn’t dare to say another word and just kept their heads bowed. I was satisfied with that reaction. I then ignored them and focused my attention on the petite maid whose face was still wet with tears.

“… Marina,” I whispered softly, “come here.”

The young maid’s eyes widened when she heard me call her name. As she hesitantly approached me, I took her by the hand and motioned for her to stand by my side.

Only

“Oh, and starting now, Marina will be working exclusively for me, so please be aware of how you treat her.”

Marina was visibly taken aback by my announcement, while the other maids’ faces stiffened and paled.

They must be really surprised that I chose her to become my personal maid.

Truth be told, my actions were not entirely because I pitied the girl for being bullied. I did have another particular reason for why I defended her and chose her as my maid. It was because Marina was actually the heroine of this novel.

That’s what happened in the original story.

As I recalled, Marina was born into an impoverished, peasant family. Life in her household was unpleasant, to say the least. Marina’s father, who was a drunkard, had beat her since childhood. His constant abuse traumatized the poor girl, and she was so frightened by the threat of pain that she never dared to rebel against him. One winter day shortly after she had turned sixteen, Marina was sold to the slave market by her own father because he needed the money to buy more alcohol. During her time in servitude, Marina happened to meet a slave who turned out to be a lost member of the royal family. Subsequently, he became the male lead of the novel, and the two inevitably fell in love. Together, they faced their hardships and defeated the novel’s villains.

Riddel Spencer, the unfortunate side character, was destined to later meet the hero and heroine and try to help them. But, as fate would have it, she would be framed for siding with the main characters, ultimately leading to her execution.

I had immediately recognized that this maid was the heroine of this novel by her appearance and the fact that she had the same name as the female lead. It was truly fortunate that I had encountered the novel’s heroine in this mansion, especially so early on. I grinned at the unexpected turn of events.