‘Oh my God. Where am I?’

Isabelle blinked as she stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.

A room in which the heavy musk scent subtly lingered.

Despite the spaciousness of the room, the interior was so simple that not a single decoration was visible.

Furniture and carpets smelled like new.

The marble floor exposed between the carpets was full of animal scratches.

‘Oh, no way. This place…… !’

“Are you awake?”

The Grand Duke, who had just finished bathing, entered the room.

A solid chest was seen through the roughly worn gown.

Wet hair was neatly raised above his forehead, and his handsome features were drenched in moisture and gleamed in a peculiar way.

“Oh no, why did you wash up all of a sudden…?”

Confused, Isabelle grabbed the blanket tightly.

“I had to, so I did.”

“What do you mean you had to wash up?”

Did they ‘do’ it?

Isabelle glanced down at her own body.

Fortunately, she was wearing the same nightgown she had worn last night.

Isabelle closed her eyes tightly.

“Didn’t we promise to ‘do’ it after the wedding?”

“Oh my.”

Unlike Isabelle, who was very nervous, the Grand Duke omitted many words and let out an emotionless exclamation.

He frowned and then moved to the back of the dressing screen. In the first place, his destination was not a bed, but that place.

Servants with a military uniform and shoes entered the door that was soon open and helped him get dressed from behind the screen.

‘What. Now I look like his woman.’

Isabelle, who realized the situation belatedly, slipped into the covers.

After a while, the Grand Duke in military uniform came out of the screen.

The man who looked so good in a uniform that seemed to tailor to fit his broad shoulders perfectly.

The moisture in his hair had not gone away yet, but the majesty he exuded was great. He approached Isabelle, who was only sticking her eyes out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t live up to the Princess’s expectations.”

“I didn’t. No expectations.”

“Is that so? I misunderstood since you read such racy novels.”

“Wow, really!”

Isabelle was not able to refute the fact that she read those novels consistently, but she felt resentful.

And she realized it later.

‘Wait, is he making fun of me?’

This blunt man?

Isabelle looked at the Grand Duke carefully, but his handsome face was serious without any playfulness.

‘What a joke.’

Rather, his gaze was stinging, so Isabelle secretly turned her gaze away.

“I have a question for you, Princess.” (GD)

“What….What?” (Isabelle)

‘Oh, why is my voice so loud?’

Isabelle cleared her throat and hid back under the blanket like a hermit crab.

“Why were you sleeping next to me?” (GD)

 “Ah…”

Isabelle was speechless.

‘What do I say? Should I say I make him fetch the branches every morning?’

It was embarrassing to even think about this.

He was the one who approached him with his tail first, so why should she panic?

If she didn’t play with him, she felt bad that he would go around the tower like an abandoned dog, so she went out to see him every day.

But what came out of the Grand Duke’s mouth was an absurd guess.

“Maybe when I turned into a beast… … … Did I scare the Princess out of the tower?” (GD)

He was traumatized by heights.

So even when he turned into a beast, he had never climbed a high place.

The Grand Duke pressed his temple firmly and made an impression. Even his voice was gloomy as if he imagined something terrible.

Isabelle quietly removed the blanket and sat her upper body straight.

“Oh, it’s not like that.” (Isabelle)

“Then, did I knock you out when you did your morning walk?” (GD)

“We just played together.” (Isabelle)

“Play….?” (GD)

He made an impression like a person who had heard something ridiculous.

It didn’t make sense. With his roar, everyone would be terrified and run away…

But they played together?

This Princess must have lied about it.

“How did you play with a beast?” (GD)

“We played well.” (Isabelle)

“Ha. You mean that the Princess saw me and didn’t run away?” (GD)

“Why did I have to run away?” (Isabelle)

Isabelle shrugged her shoulders with her characteristic arrogant expression.

“I was a monster…” (GD)

“What monster? You were just an angry puppy.” (Isabelle)

‘He must have thought he was scary. It’s funny.’

Isabelle mumbled those words a little and snorted.

The Grand Duke, who seemed to not budge even if a large cannon was pushed behind his back, flinched. He looked confused without answering back.

“I heard you suffer because of the curse too.” (Isabelle)

“…”

“I have a similar situation. What’s the point of being afraid when I already accept death?” (Isabelle)

“…”

“Anyway, people may misunderstand. Because I spent the night in the Grand Duke’s bed.” (Isabelle)

Ah. There were rumors that were truly unbearable. It didn’t matter 

even if they were going to get married anyway. This world was strict about that.

‘I don’t know.’

Isabelle lay flat on the Grand Duke’s bed again and covered herself with a blanket.

She was tired because she stayed up all night.

The servants took turns looking at Isabelle once and then at the Grand Duke.”

“Princess?”

A call to urge her to get up.

But Isabelle was troubled by everything.

“Close the curtains over there. I can’t sleep because it’s too bright.”  (Isabelle)

“What?”

The Grand Duke looked at Isabelle and the curtain alternately and asked. It was so absurd that he forgot about honorifics.

“Stop talking. I’m tired from playing with you, so I need to sleep more.”  (Isabelle)

Isabelle closed her eyes.

The Grand Duke, who looked at Isabelle with a puzzled expression, gestured at the servants.

The servants quickly pulled the curtains to darken the room, but were bewildered. It was the first time in broad daylight that a living woman had taken over their master’s bedroom.

****

‘The servants gossip, I wonder.’

As rumored, Snow rubbed his eyes once more as he saw Isabelle Desar, sleeping in his master’s bedroom.

Seeing her clearly again, it seemed that she was not an illusion.

“Wake up, Princess with strong courage.”

Snow lifted his glasses and woke Isabelle from the bed.

Twelve people died in this bed, but she seemed to be having a good sleep.

Did this evil woman with a dirty temperament see through the ghost and they ran away?

“Princess, shouldn’t you have dinner?”

The Grand Duke’s bedroom was not accessible to the maids, so Snow came to wake up the Princess. This little princess, who fell asleep when the sun was up, didn’t even think about waking up in the evening.

‘Is she dead?’

Snow gently placed a finger under Isabelle’s nose.

“What are you doing, Sir Snow?”

Flashed. Like a scene in a horror play, Isabelle opened her eyes wide.

“Oh my god, I was surprised!”

Why did her eyes turn so big? Surprised, Snow stepped back and almost fell on his bottom.

“I’m the one who was surprised, Snow.”

“I was checking whether the Princess was dead or alive. What country’s royal family sleeps until this hour?”

Snow nagged and reached out his hand to Isabelle rudely.

“If you’re going to escort me like that, don’t do it.”

Isabelle slapped Snow’s hand and got out of bed on her own.

“The bed was comfortable.”

“You must be comfortable with my Master’s beautiful face.”

“Sir Snow, I will be happy to live a positive life.”

Isabelle, who was accustomed to the Grand Duke’s face, glanced at Snow’s appearance, and started to stretch.

‘Oh, it’s refreshing.’

Every time she stretched, the soft pajamas revealed Isabelle’s body curvy lines.

Snow quickly wrapped the robe he had on her shoulders.

When did the Princess who was skinny at first exude such a mature feeling?

 “Are you tempting me with that outfit, Princess?”

“What do you mean? Who woke up the sleeping person?”

“If you are bored, please tell me. You can meet me every Tuesday.”

“What?”

“I’ll be good to you.”

Snowed explained that one seat was vacant on Tuesday because he was dumped, and a compliment was added that he liked the short women and that the Princess was cute.

“Why Tuesday?”

“Oh, I was dating a woman on Tuesday, but I couldn’t remember her name, so I called her that.”

“But why do women like you?”

“Of course. The women are always enchanted by me.”

Snow tapped his face. 

‘This crazy punk.’

Isabelle, who swallowed the curse, smiled crookedly and twisted her hair.

“Nephew Snow.” (Isabelle)

“What is that? It sounds like an insult.”  (Snow)

“Don’t forget that I am your aunt.” (Isabelle) (Isabelle’s sister is Snow’s stepmother)

“!”

“I’ll have to ask the Grand Duke. Does he know about the proposal you made?” (*Isabelle meant the proposal Snow made that she can meet him every Tuesday)

“Huh, princess?”

“Why are you looking at me like that, nephew Snow?”

Isabelle stared at Snow with a natural expression.

“…… I misspoke. Forget it.” (Snow)

 “Okay then, what’s on the menu for dinner tonight?” (Isabelle)

Was his proposal less interesting than the dinner menu?

Seeing the Princess with her eyes twinkling in anticipation of the meal, the answer came out a beat behind.

“We prepared top-quality meat by type.”

“By type?”

“Yes, the master said he was concerned about the Princess’s health…”

Even Snow was puzzled. The Princess had a thin waist, but she didn’t look particularly skinny enough to worry about.

However, the Grand Duke asked the chef for a special meal as if he was worried about the Princess dying of starvation. 

“Yeah, people need to eat to live. Grand Duke knows something.”

“Huh….?”

“Well, there’s something like that. Let’s go, Sir Snow.”

Isabelle reached out to Snow as if it were natural.

“You just kicked off my escort earlier.”

Snow grumbled and held out his arm.

“It’s because you were not sincere. This time, do it with all your heart.”

Isabelle slowly glanced at him like a cat and headed to the dining room.

heh heh heh.  Snow smiled in embarrassment and politely escorted her as Isabelle ordered. 

It had been a long time since he had listened to orders from anyone other than his master.

It wasn’t as bad as he thought.