Chapter 2.4
If there was one thing Archduke Akbar overlooked, it was that just as Caitlyn was the only sister to Edward, Edward was also Caitlyn’s only brother. The knuckles of Caitlyn’s hand, clenched in a fist, turned white. She raised her head and glared at Archduke Akbar.
“Until just a moment ago, Your Grace treated me like a w***e. But now that it’s time to pay the w***e’s fee, it seems I suddenly look like the Baronet’s sister to you.”
The Archduke blinked once. It was a look of surprise rather than being offended.
“I thought the w***e’s fee was already agreed upon, Miss Hardick.”
“At least then, I mixed bodies voluntarily to return the power to Your Grace.”
Caitlyn spoke each word clearly.
“But since I mixed bodies with Your Grace as a w***e today…… I must at least receive today’s price.”
The Archduke laughed. It was a low and dangerous laugh that didn’t seem happy at all. He set the glass of water he was holding down roughly on the table. The glass wobbled, then soon tipped over, and the water inside was completely spilled. Caitlyn, who hadn’t shown it but was quite thirsty, felt that the water was quite a waste, but she decided not to say this aloud either.
“Then shall we hear it? What you want as the fee.”
Caitlyn looked straight at him. Because she had rolled around on a sofa without a single sheet, her naked body was starkly exposed, but she had no intention of covering it. If it were to get what she wanted, she would roll around with him several more times right here and now. Ironically, while having thoughts that were not a bit different from what Roxias Akbar thought her inner feelings were, Caitlyn opened her mouth.
“Tell me how to make people believe my words.”
“……Heh.”
After a brief silence, Archduke Akbar mocked her.
“Is persuading other people not something Miss Hardick should handle on her own? Try looking for a rhetoric teacher or something.”
Caitlyn did not back down. In her mind, if there was a person in the world who could answer her question, it was Archduke Akbar and no one else.
“This foresight I have…… you said it was originally Your Grace’s power.”
“I did.”
“Then you must also know the reason why other people don’t believe my foresight.”
Archduke Akbar did not answer. Caitlyn became even more certain. The Archduke definitely knows the reason. It meant the Archduke held the key to getting her out of this hell. Caitlyn tried to hide her desperate heart, but her voice reached his ears as something close to a plea.
“Tell me.”
The Archduke stared at her.
“What if I won’t?”
Caitlyn turned away from the Archduke and got off the sofa.
“I will not respond to Your Grace’s call until I receive my fee.”
“Then your brother will die.”
Caitlyn’s face hardened. Does Archduke Akbar really think that is a valid threat? When he knows that both she and he are in the same situation.
“And Your Grace will never be able to regain your power again.”
She gathered her clothes scattered all over and put them on one by one. She felt like she could finally breathe a little now that she had a chemise on her naked body. When she pulled up the bright red evening dress she had worn to look good to the Archduke, she felt a bit miserable, but it was better than being in her underwear. Archduke Akbar just watched her, and finally, he spoke.
“……My power is like a curse to humans.”
Caitlyn turned around abruptly. Looking straight at him, the Archduke had a strange expression. She couldn’t read its meaning exactly, but she could tell one thing. That the Archduke’s words were at least not a lie. Even if they didn’t contain the complete truth.
“In that sense, you could say you are cursed.”
“I see.”
Caitlyn accepted that fact calmly. She had thought it was a power no different from a curse even before she met Archduke Akbar. The Archduke’s words were merely confirming that fact once more. If anything, she felt relieved. Because it meant the cause was at least not within herself.
“Since it was a power that wasn’t human to begin with, the reason ordinary humans don’t believe your words is……”
“It’s only natural, then.”
Caitlyn obediently accepted Archduke Akbar’s words. His expression softened slightly.
“You understand quickly.”
“When it is no longer my power, will everyone believe my words then?”
Fortunately, Archduke Akbar’s answer was exactly as Caitlyn expected.
“Likely so. Because your curse will be broken at the same time the power fully returns to me.”
To Caitlyn, they were words that were no different from salvation.
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