Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 2



Chapter 2: Weak Heart

She, Erina Trotsky, was a little nervous.

Hoo.

So, to calm her trembling heart, she took a deep breath in and exhaled, making a fuss.

And soon,

Clench!

Like a true romance fantasy heroine, she tightly clenched both fists and strengthened her resolve.

Noich, the butler of the Grand Duke's residence, who was watching her, narrowed his eyes.

‘Hooh. This is quite…….

If she becomes our Grand Duke’s wife, it will be quite a sight in many ways.’

Noich recalled the fuss the Grand Duke had made over the years and tried to assess whether Erina Trotsky was also ‘that kind of person.’

And before that brief investigation could even conclude, a maid arrived from the great hall of the Kraubitz Grand Duchy.

“The Grand Duke requests the presence of Lady Trotsky.”

It seemed the moment had finally arrived when the prospective bride and groom would meet for the first time.

Hoo.

As Erina Trotsky walked following the maid, she recalled the past few turbulent months.

Count Trotsky had gone bankrupt and received relief from the imperial family.

As a condition of that aid, she had been designated as the Northern Grand Duke’s wife.

Because of that, she had rushed to take bridal lessons in an attempt to win the Grand Duke’s favor.

It had been nothing but a series of dramatic events.

And finally…….

Creak.

At the end of that journey, beyond that door, stood the man who would become her husband.

Erina Trotsky, wearing a hat with a veil covering her face, slightly bowed her head as she walked.

The man she was about to meet was the King of the Duchy of Axen and the Grand Duke of the Empire, Johan Kraubitz.

So she had to greet him not as a ‘prospective groom’ but as the Grand Duke first.

Step.

She slowly walked across the great hall. Then…….

Swoosh.

Soon, her eyes caught sight of the Grand Duke’s legs clad in black combat boots.

Long and sturdy legs.

At a glance, she could tell how tall the Northern Grand Duke was.

“Raise your head.”

A cold voice from the Northern Grand Duke rang out.

Erina Trotsky slowly and properly lifted her head.

In that fleeting moment, she saw Johan Kraubitz’s large and solid physique…….

‘Oh my…….’

A brief moment of admiration passed through her mind…….

‘?!?!?!?!?!?!’

And then, she was met with a face that looked like a poorly drawn bitmap image.

In that fleeting moment…….

“Ah, fu—”

She let out a dying scream, unable to hold it back, as if it were an uncontrollable sneeze.

‘Hmmm. Impressive.’

The moment Erina Trotsky entered, Johan Kraubitz immediately decided on marriage.

This foreigner from the distant world of South Korea…….

He had a gut feeling that Erina Trotsky was his destiny.

Of course,

‘She’s fucking useful.’

Johan did not, even for a moment, fall in love at first sight with this poor woman or anything like that.

He was merely impressed by the ‘effect’ she showed the moment she stepped into the great hall.

“Hoo. Ha. Hooooo~”

Johan breathed heavily, inspecting every inch of his body.

“……?”

Seeing this bizarre scene unfold before her eyes, Erina almost let out a second round of curses.

Oops.

However, she quickly brushed aside that bizarre sight and immediately sought forgiveness for her earlier rudeness.

After all, he was the Grand Duke.

“My apologies, Your Grace. I didn’t mean to……. The truth is…….”

“Ah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Then…….”

Erina was relieved.

Despite looking like a wild boar, the Grand Duke seemed to have a gentle heart.

So it seemed he didn’t mind a bit of profanity.

Thus, she planned to subtly express her refusal of marriage and return to Count Trotsky’s estate as soon as possible.

That face was simply too much to handle. She calculated that it would be better for her father to go bankrupt instead.

But then, the Grand Duke spoke.

“Then, when shall we get married?”

She immediately erased all prior thoughts.

It seemed this Grand Duke bastard had a conscience as wild as a hog.

“What?!”

Erina unconsciously shouted in disbelief.

And then, after clearing her throat a little, she spoke in a trembling voice.

"I... I am not qualified to be the Grand Duke's bride. I have not received proper bridal education, and compared to the Grand Duke's family, our Trotsky Count family is nothing but lowly..."

"Ah, it's fine. Isn't that just a trivial issue that love can solve?"

"..."

Erina was utterly bewildered by the Grand Duke's boundless generosity and consideration.

At the same time, a deeply rooted sense of unease began to creep up inside her, making her feel as if she had met a formidable opponent.

And then,

'Grand Duke, no matter what...'

The servants of the Grand Duke's estate looked at his fierce face and realized one thing for sure from his expression.

'His Grace has taken a liking to Erina Trotsky. However...'

Yes, however...

'It's not love, but rather, he's found some other use for her.'

Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz kept stepping closer to and away from Erina Trotsky, all the while maintaining a wicked smile that seemed to have no end.

The Mana Heart, which had been aching so intensely all this time, suddenly became completely calm the moment that woman appeared.

'As expected, just as it was described.'

From what I remember, in the novel Fascinated by the Beastly Northern Grand Duke, there was a clear reason why Johan Kraubitz kept Erina Trotsky close.

From the beginning, Johan despised Count Trotsky for throwing away his honor and selling off his daughter.

But the moment Erina arrived at the Grand Duke’s estate, the chronic angina that had tormented him his entire life was miraculously cured.

Johan had no intention of marrying Erina, yet he kept her at the estate.

According to the early story settings, Erina was a mysterious woman blessed with divine protection.

So, I had been waiting for Erina my entire life.

Even while suffering the agony of feeling as if my heart were being squeezed every single time...

'Once Erina arrives, everything will be solved.'

I knew she would fix this all in one go.

So, no matter what, I had to keep her here.

And that didn’t necessarily have to mean marriage.

"My Lady. For now, stay at the Grand Duke’s estate and have many conversations with me. At least for a few days."

"..."

Erina Trotsky was too taken aback to respond.

Since she had come as payment for her father’s debt, there was no way she could outright reject the Grand Duke.

"Servants, take Lady Trotsky to the guest room—no, escort her there."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

The robust maids of the Duchy of Axen rushed toward Erina Trotsky. And soon,

"My Lady, please come with us. We will escort you."

They safely took Erina away.

It was a great decision to hire only maids who were over 180 cm tall, just for situations like this.

Kwang!

The door to the hall slammed shut, and the butler, Noich, adjusted his glasses as he looked at me.

It seemed he had noticed something suspicious.

However, the good thing about that old man was that he did not pry excessively.

Soon, he let go of his curiosity and asked me subtly,

"Your Grace, shall I assign a watcher to Lady Trotsky’s room?"

It seemed he was worried about a possible midnight escape.

A highly realistic concern, considering the master he served.

"No, there’s no need. If she wants to leave, let her. Soon enough..."

Yes, soon enough.

"She’ll come back on her own."

"This can't be happening..."

Seriously, this was beyond absurd.

"How could my husband look like an ogre's d*ck..."

Lying on the bed, Erina Trotsky stared up at the checkered ceiling and imagined dying twice.

Ha...

No matter how much he was her father, selling off his own daughter just to repay his debts and throwing her into this cesspit—it made her feel utterly hopeless in this barbaric reality.

Of course, she knew it too.

That Grand Duke had done nothing wrong.

But that didn’t mean she, a woman as beautiful as a flower, could willingly go and marry that o.g.r.e.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

She tried to calm herself down and force herself to think of the positives in this marriage.

But the moment she imagined sharing skin-to-skin contact with Johan Kraubitz...

"F*** this!"

Before she knew it, she had gathered all the curtains in the room and was tying them together to make an escape rope.

'Yes, let’s leave.'

Even if she couldn’t live as a duchess or a count’s daughter...

A commoner’s life could still be happy.

So, instead, she would escape from here and live the rest of her life wandering the world.

She decided to use the classic method she had heard of before.

And so, she forcefully pushed open the window and began climbing down the escape rope...

Whooooosh!

There was one thing she had failed to consider.

That this place was the notorious 'Duchy of Axen,' famous for its harsh cold...

And that it was now the 'beginning of winter,' a season so brutal that even the residents of Axen struggled to endure it.

Whooooosh!

The wind howled.

Perceived temperature: minus 47 degrees Celsius.

It felt as if someone had punched her face, with blood vessels bursting across her skin in a sharp sting.

For a brief moment, she could feel what a cerebral hemorrhage must be like.

Shiver.

Her hands trembled, and she nearly lost her grip on the rope made of curtains. But there was no turning back now.

Climbing back up was impossible.

She had no choice but to descend all the way.

Drip. Freeze.

A single strand of snot dripped down and froze instantly.

Her breath and the moisture near her eyes turned to frost in an instant.

If the noble ladies saw her now…

"Oh my, is this a new makeup trend? Hohoho."

Whooooosh!

The wind howled again.

Erina Trotsky realized that escaping was no longer the priority—getting to the ground safely was all that mattered now.

If she fell from here, she would surely die.

This had become a battle for survival.

Thud. Thud.

A noise came from outside the window.

A shadow moved along the outer wall of the building.

Slurp!

The Grand Duke sipped his warm tea as he watched the fool perform her reverse climbing stunt.

Thud.

Finally, Erina Trotsky touched the ground.

Her blistered hands.

Her body, on the verge of frostbite.

From that moment, she began crawling toward the entrance of the Grand Duke's estate to survive.

Fwaaaah!

Light seeped through from a distance.

That must be the entrance to the estate.

She had to go back.

Trying to escape in this weather was madness.

For now, she needed to stay there to stay alive.

And so, only ten minutes after her escape attempt, she knocked on the estate’s grand door once more.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

"...Excuse me."

"Who is it?"

"I... I am Lady Trotsky..."

"Oh dear! Why are you outside?"

The sheer disbelief in that voice filled her with deep humiliation.

But Erina, desperate to live, cast her shame aside and shouted.

"It's too cold! Please, open the door!"

"..."

And then, the estate's doors opened.

Fwaaaah!

The heat pouring out from inside felt like salvation.

But then,

Duuuuuung.

The moment the door opened, she realized whose voice had been speaking from within.

A man with the face of a wild boar, looking like an ogre’s appendage.

Johan Kraubitz stood there with a cold expression.

In a low voice, he said,

"Running away is not an option, is it?"

"...No."

"Return to your room."

"...Yes."

Two days after suppressing Erina Trotsky’s little rebellion…

'Ah, it should be happening around now...'

I was feeling a bit anxious.

'I just can’t remember exactly when.'

It was understandable.

I couldn't recall the precise details of Fascinated by the Beastly Northern Grand Duke, so I had no idea when the upcoming event would take place.

At best, I could only estimate the timing based on Erina's arrival at the estate.

And,

'It’s one of the few events I do remember.'

The content of the novel I had read only covered up to Chapter 5.

Within those five chapters, two major events had taken place:

The premature revelation of the novel's conclusion...

And the pivotal early incident that occurred shortly after Erina arrived at the estate.

At the very least, I needed to handle these two events properly.

And then...

"Your Grace! Your Grace!"

The knight, Krum, rushed into the hall, panting.

With a breathless voice, he reported,

"Hundreds of bandits are approaching from the outskirts of the duchy!"

Smirk.

It was finally beginning.

The first major event for Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz was about to unfold.


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