Beast of the Frozen Night

Their relationship hadn’t become any better or worse since then.

As Anne’s body gets heavier and her skin became crumbly day by day, the Grand Duke’s face also became rougher day by day. The worse Anne treated the Grand Duke, who was trying to take good care of her, the darker his expression became. Just by looking at his anxious expression, it was obvious how much he was in pain.

However, it was a pleasant picture for Anne.

“Angroanne, I hope you will like this.”

One day, he suddenly came to Anne’s room and held out a small box directly to her. Knowing that she didn’t even look at her gifts, it seems that he decided to deliver them himself.

A small box lined with blue velvet and densely studded with small jewels came in Anne’s eyes.

“Are you bringing boring gifts again?”

Anne blatantly changed her expression to a cold one and responded to him with an unkind expression. The Grand Duke thought he had made a mistake, so he kept quiet.

Nevertheless, he cautiously opened her box in front of her. Inside was a ring with a blue diamond that resembled her pupils.

“The ring….”

Anne’s blue eyes, which were not impressed, shook. It wasn’t because she received the wedding ring late until several months after the wedding. It was because the shape reminded her of the pair of rings she still couldn’t throw away.

“Angroanne, I want to do it right this time. We couldn’t even make a wedding ring… And, I lost my old ring.”

Anne lifted her eyelids helplessly from the ring encrusted with a blue jewel, and looked at the standing Grand Duke with tense eyes.

Did he remember sharing a small ring countless years ago? Did he remember the ring he shared with the human and swearing to be faithful to each other’s feelings, to be together forever and then sticking a blade into her stomach?

The fact that he remembered it made Anne, whose insides had grown dark, widened her eyes.

“Do you think I’ll let it slide if you work this hard?”

Tak!

Anne slapped the box away. The ring bounced out of the box and rolled on the floor.

The Grand Duke’s mouth curled down in disappointment.

Although he was sore inside, instead of going out, he bent over and knelt on the floor. Then he started running his hand through the gray rug, looking for the little ring.

“Ha.”

The Grand Duke crawled on the floor like a slave for something like a ring. As Anne looked at his pitiful expression, his hand caught her attention. His palms, which came into her view, were covered in bloody scars. They looked unsightly. The condition was miserable, as if he had never even got them treated.

Thinking about what he did, I don’t regret anything.

Punishing herself for weakening, Anne chewed her lips until they bled.

He finally got up, holding the ring he had barely found under the sofa. Was their situation reversed now? With a bitter face, he brushed off the dust on the ring. Seeing this, a fire rose from Anne’s heart.

“I don’t need you, so get out. Don’t pretend to be nice with something like this. It’s disgusting!”

“Anne.”

“Who gave you permission to call me that? Don’t call me by my name. It feels disgusting.”

The Grand Duke’s smooth brows creased. With his back to the light, even the worry that hung over his face seemed even deeper. The usual confident and arrogant look from the man was nowhere to be found. Like it was eaten by the shadows and disappeared…

If he was a man who could change so easily, why couldn’t he change then? Far from being happy with him who had changed into a completely different person, she couldn’t stand it when she remembered the man from then.

“Have you gone deaf? Get out of my room right now.”

Anne shouted, telling him to get out. She got even more angry when the Grand Duke stubbornly stood still and did not move.

“Haah… Then I will go, if you won’t.”

In the end, Anne, who couldn’t stand him standing like a wall with a guilty face, passed him and left the room.

As she crossed the hallway, there was a thud of footsteps behind her, and someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Where are you going? It’s not good to get agitated like this.”

“I don’t care as long as you’re not there.”

Anne shook his hand off and entered the main building. But her heavy stomach slowed her steps, and this time he caught her arm.

Anne tried to push him in annoyance, but he wouldn’t let go. She was taken aback. She was a helpless being who couldn’t properly shake off a man’s power.

“I’ll leave, so go back to your room. It’s dangerous to walk around in such an emotional state.”

“Since when have you cared about my body… Let go!”

As they quarreled, the two repeatedly pushed and pulled each other’s bodies on the stair landing for a long time.

To stop her struggle, the Grand Duke grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. The moment her forehead touches his wide chest, the winter-like coolness of his body shook her nose. Her heart pounded loudly at the smell of his flesh, which she didn’t even want to remember.

Anne, who took a deep breath, quickly pulled her body that was being held tightly.

“Don’t touch me!”

Anne shouted sharply and pushed the Grand Duke’s chest hard.

Losing her balance, her body leaned over and she lost her footing.