The Grand Duchess of the North Was Secretly a Villainess

The moment I found out that Caien opened his eyes, I closed my mouth. When the eyelids repeatedly went up and down several times, the blue eyes, which were full of sleep, quickly became clear.

'Oh... Right, the medicine doesn't work well because he was from the Royal family. I'm surprised.'

I can't just stare at him.  I approached Caien with a smile so as not to show that I was surprised.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

Caien rose, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Perhaps because his hair color, the image of the angel I imagined overlapped.

'He looks like an angel.'

Who would believe that he would torture a person with that angelic face in the future?

'Will it change depending on how I raise him? Ha, there's a long way to go.'

If he regains his memory, he will be more likely to grow up as he was, but in fact, even if his memory does not return, I did not intend to just raise him as a good person.

'The emperor should be a tyrant to his subjects. Except for me, of course.'

After becoming a friendly teacher to Caien and gaining his trust, I was going to protect myself and my people's lives.

"No, it's all right. There's nothing uncomfortable."

Caien said with a pretty smile. The bending smile of his eyes really looked like an angel. Someone might be mesmerized by that smile.

'No, think rationally. Kim Da-kyung.'

It was not the time to be captivated by that smile.

'Don't be captivated by his face. He has a nice face but a bad personality.'

I thought it would be better not to see his face. I turned to Jayden to introduce him as my aide.

Jayden was standing as if he had been nailed to his spot and staring at Caien. The slightly narrowed forehead looked wary of something.

'What's wrong with him?'

For a moment, our eyes met.

I asked with my eyes, 'Why?' but Jayden made a strange expression that I couldn't understand what he was thinking.

"Eloise."

As I looked at Jayden, and Caien pulled at my collar. It must have been an illusion, but it felt like it was meant to look at him.

As I looked at Jayden, Caien gently pulled my sleeves.  It must have been an illusion, but it felt like it was meant to be staring at him.

"Yes, your Royal Highness."

"I had a scary dream.."

"A dream?"

I asked Caien back.

'Dream? Is there anything that comes to his mind?'

The memory of the Imperial Palace may have emerged as a dream.

"I had a dream that someone was chasing me..."

"Do you remember the face?"

"The face... I don't know. I think he had blond hair similar to mine."

Is it Duke Ilysian?

'That's strange.'

I recalled the character of Duke Ilysian in the original story. The possibility that he personally went out to kill the Crown Prince was close to zero. He's not the type to directly make a move despite knowing the risk.

'Besides, it wouldn't have been easy to avoid if Ilysian had chased it himself.'

I was thinking about various possibilities, and Caien pulled my sleeves again.

"I can't sleep because I'm scared."

Did the nightmare make you restless?

"Don't worry, I'm with you, Your Royal Highness."

"Can't you sleep with me?"

'What?'

"Yes?"

I didn't say it. It was Jayden.

Caien and I looked at Jayden at the same time. Strangely, Jayden was looking at Caien, not me.

'Why did his face turn white all of a sudden?'

I thought it was because of Caien, so I turned my gaze back to him, but Caien had a sad face as if he was about to cry.

'Is it because he's the Crown Prince?'

I was thinking about why Jayden's face turned pale, and I heard Caien sullen voice.

"The dream was so vivid, I was scared."

"But your highness. I can't do that."

Actually, I'm not sure if it's disloyal or not, but I said whatever came to mind.

"The only person who can sleep next to you is the Crown Princess."

At my words, Caien nodded quietly with his eyelids half-closed. As I looked at the tip of his drooping eyebrows, I felt a corner of my heart melted.

'Was I too cold in turning him down? Ah, think over.'

He was only fifteen years old, however he was the Crown Prince. It's a little strange to say a child, but it was an age that felt like a child to Eloise, who was 19.

'And I was 20 years old before.'

To me, Caien was still a child.

'Well, it would be scary if I dreamed that someone was chasing after me. He almost died, so it would be even scarier.'

Caien asked again, secretly looking at me, whether he was aware of my conflict.

"Then can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

The innocent eyes were looking up at me as if begging.. A cat with twinkling eyes came to mind, and my heart weakened again.

'Ah. I'm weak with kids.'

Come to think of it, I don't know if this is a good opportunity.

'Young children are easy to open up their heart in situations like this.'

There was nothing bad about getting close from now on. I answered with a nod.

"Then I'll be by your side until you fall asleep."

"Your Royal Highness, I'm sorry, but the Grand Duchess needs to discuss the matter regarding your safety with me."

Jayden. Mind your own business.

"Let's talk later."

"But..."

"It's an order."

"Yes, Your Highness."

As soon as he said it, Jayden stopped talking. Then he slowly stepped back.

"Then I'll put off my greetings to His Royal Highness until later. I'll be in the drawing room, Your Highness."

Jayden's suspicious eyes lingered on Caien for a moment and then looked away.

'It's weird. What's wrong with him?'

She was puzzled, but nodded her head. Immediately, Jayden turned and walked out of the room.

"Is that person Eloise's aide?"

"Yes. His name is Jayden."

"He seems very loyal to Eloise."

His tone was subtle, so I looked at Caien face, but he still looked harmless.

"Because he is my aide."

Caien bit his lips as if contemplating something, and asked in a cautious tone.

"Who is Eloise loyal to?"

It was a surprise question.

"I'm loyal to you, Your Royal highness."

I smiled affectionately and uttered a rather pretentious sound.

'It's not completely wrong.'

I have to make Caien Emperor with my own hands. That way, the future won't end in death.

'To do that, I need to devote my body and mind to be loyal.'

It was a somewhat impure intention, but I was going to do my best to be loyal on the surface anyway.

"Then hold my hand."

"Yes?"

"Can you hold my hand when I sleep?"

Caien said as he went inside the blanket. Because of his angelic appearance, his hands sticking out of the blanket felt cute.

'I can't believe he's going to slaughter people in the future with that hand.'

If it was the original story, I would have been included in it, but I was going to change the original.

'Because it's just holding hands.'

It wasn't difficult, so I whispered while carefully holding a hand that was still smaller than mine.

"I'll be by your side until you sleep."

I wondered what else was better than holding hands with a child who had nightmares.
 

*****

"It's strange."

Jayden wandered around the drawing room frantically. No matter how much he thinks about it, the Crown Prince was suspicious. He gave a menacing gaze only at him, and the way he gently smiled at the Grand Duchess. It was so strange.

"A 15-year-old saying he can't sleep because he's afraid of sleeping alone?!"

He didn't know if it's a commoner's child, but the Crown Prince was a person who had been educated in the Imperial Palace since childhood. It was difficult for him to think of ordinary people as a standard in many ways.

'I've never been too scared to sleep at that age.'

It was a rather inadequate statement, but it looked like a piece of work to Jayden. It also occurred to him that the Crown Prince was intentionally pulling Eloise clothes to attract her attention.

"Ha... That's suspicious."

The problem was the fact that his master did not seem to notice anything strange.

'But I can't just blindly say to Her Highness, the Crown Prince is strange.'

If she asked him specifically what was strange, there was nothing to say.

"At a time like this, it would be nice if sir Eloine was here."

Jayden sighed deeply.
 

*****

Recently, I was in the middle of playing a nurturing game. Since the other person is the male lead, it's not like raising a daughter, but rather, should I say that it's more like raising a son.

'Well, he's only four years younger than me to be called a child, and he's not even really my son'

A very old classic game came to mind. Come to think of it, even that game, the player wasn't his real father.

'If you think about it, taking care of children seems to be a good fit for me. When I went to the teaching practice, it was better than I expected. Am I good at teaching children?'

I checked Caien wounds and pressed lightly on top of it.

"Your Royal Highness, are you all right?"

"Caien."

"Yes?"

"I told you to call me Caien, Eloise."

That's what Caien has been saying to me for days.

'Every time this happens, I feel flustered.'

It's more convenient to call his name than to use honorifics, but can I do this?

'I think Eloise would have said no.'

I felt like I had to refuse in consideration of the position of the Grand Duchess. The Crown Prince and I have a direct relationship between a master and a servant.

"That's a problem."

"Are you going to call me that in front of other people?"

"But..."

That's true.

It was a habit to call someone, so I didn't know if the wrong name would pop up.

'It's convenient to call his name.'

However, I thought it would be strange to accept it immediately, so I closed my mouth pretending to hesitate for a moment.

"So call me by name."

Caien lowered his eyelids and blushed as if he was a little shy.

'If you say it with that face, everyone will fall for it.'

I deliberately paused and called Caien name as if I had no choice.

"Caien."

"Yes."

Caien nodded and smiled. The morning sunlight coming through the window, the sparkling blond hair, and the clear eyes bending gently like a crescent moon looked so pure.

'It's not like acting. If I do well, wouldn't I be able to raise him with that nice personality?'

I watched him for a few days, taking care of Caien. And my thoughts were leaning towards that Caien had really lost his memory.

I swore allegiance and had never done anything to harm him. Is it necessary for Caien to pretend to have lost his memory in this situation? I though.

'It may be that he don't believe me. But, if it's true that he lost his memory, I don't think it would be a bad idea to raise him like he is now.'

But I soon changed my mind.

'No, he should be nice only to me and raise him as a tyrant to others. It's not just a sweet guy for the female lead, bu it's also for his loyal subject.'

"Wound. Doesn't it hurt?"

I secretly speak informally and check Caien wound one more time.

"Yes, It's fine."

"Really? That's a relief."

"I guess it doesn't hurt because Eloise is taking care of it."

Caien replied with his eyelashes hanging down and smile. It was a pure smile.