IWS Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 

Unlike usual, I was dressed in extravagant clothing as I boarded the prepared carriage to my destination.

Naturally, I assumed I was being transported for education, but the place we arrived at was a remote, deserted area. On the other side, another carriage—completely unmarked—was waiting for us.

‘They really went all out with the preparations.’

“Get off here and transfer to that carriage over there.”

Without a word, I walked over and stopped in front of the other carriage. When its door opened, the interior was revealed—plush cushions lined the seats, and curtains covered the windows.

It was clearly different from usual—a luxury carriage, as if to emphasize how important this trip was.

“Once you board this carriage, you’ll arrive at the education location.”

“…?”

My goodness. Our caretaker has changed!

Normally, he would have shoved my shoulder or roughly pushed me inside while barking at me to hurry up. But today, he simply gave the instruction to board, like a man chewing on bitter fruit.

I had always thought of him as someone who acted first and thought later, but apparently, he was capable of patience—he just had selective anger management issues.

‘He really is treating this differently.’

Even the air felt heavy with the weight of his caution. He had even unfolded the carriage’s small, collapsible steps to make it easier for me to get in.

‘His expressions scream, “You better not come back as a failure.”‘

But despite the special treatment, their faces were filled with dissatisfaction. As I stepped onto the carriage, I didn’t bother thanking them.

Well, fine. I won’t be grateful either.

“We won’t be accompanying you. For your return trip, take the carriage they provide.”

“Understood.”

I nodded in satisfaction. Unlike usual, they wouldn’t be hovering around me the entire time. Since they were willing to avoid an uncomfortable situation, I had no reason to refuse.

Click.

The manager shut the door, and for the first time since my enslavement, I was alone.

I stretched out my body onto the cushioned seat, letting the soft jolts of the moving carriage lull me into relaxation.

‘Probably… the cursed Grand Duke of the North…’

Recalling the educator Grand Duke whom I would soon meet, I briefly clicked my tongue.

‘Honestly, isn’t this too much?’

The Grand Duke who appears in every romance fantasy novel and, of course, the inevitable curse.

Not only that, but the setting that he temporarily left the north to come to the capital to break the curse, and the rumor that the curse is contagious, preventing people from approaching him—honestly, it was all too much setup.

After employing all these settings, existing and non-existing, the Grand Duke dies before the original work even begins.

‘The curse was the type that naturally breaks with time. The reason he died in the original work was due to another slave sent by the slave shop owner.’

Before being cursed, the Grand Duke had pushed for policies to abolish the slave system and free enslaved people, which had made him a serious threat to the slave shop’s owner.

In retaliation, the owner chose to humiliate him in the worst way possible—by using a slave to assassinate him. It was a villainous move, through and through.

‘Alright! Then let’s save the Grand Duke, get the slave system abolished, and aim for full emancipation!’

And if I played my cards right, I could even ask him to buy all five of us as gratitude for saving his life.

If this worked out, it wouldn’t just be two birds with one stone—it would be four!

Clunk.

‘We’ve arrived!’

At the sound of the carriage coming to a stop, I quickly sat up. Hearing faint voices outside, I opened the door and stepped out.

Waiting for me was a crowd of servants and maids, each with very different reactions to my arrival.

“I can’t believe we’ve stooped to using a slave! This is blasphemy!”

“And you still won’t stop complaining! If you’re so against it, why don’t you go in and tend to him? Oh, that’s right—you’re too scared of the curse to even approach the door!”

“Both of you, enough!”

Two people were arguing, and one person was stepping in to mediate.

If I had to guess, the ones fighting were likely the butler and the head maid, while the one stopping them was a noblewoman with an air of authority.

After silencing them with a sharp glare, the noblewoman stepped forward and addressed me directly.

“Do you know where you are?”

Her voice was cold, like she was testing me.

I glanced back at the unmarked carriage before answering slowly.

“I have not been informed.”

“Not even who you are meeting or what task you must perform?”

“No. I was told nothing.”

I spoke honestly.

It was true—I had no idea where I was, who I was meeting, or what I was supposed to do.

The noblewoman narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing me, as if trying to catch a lie. But all she found was my wide, innocent gaze, shining with pure ‘I don’t know anything~’ energy.

“…Very well. Follow me.”

After a brief silence, the noblewoman finally spoke in a much lighter tone.

She seemed to be the one in charge here, so I quietly followed her lead.

‘I feel like an animal at a zoo.’

As I walked behind the noblewoman, making my way through the servants, I could feel their piercing gazes fixated on me. I had never received this much attention in my life, and it made me feel slightly embarrassed.

“From now on, you will be taking care of a certain person.”

As we walked, the noblewoman kindly explained my duties.

“Everything you need has been prepared, so you will need to clean his body, feed him, and keep his room tidy.”

“Yes, I understand.”

She referred to the Grand Duke as a certain person, maintaining strict secrecy, and I obediently responded.

The Grand Duke had been cursed by the so-called ‘Black Witch’ of the North. Because of this, his entire body oozed with pus, and his skin cracked in agony. While the curse wasn’t actually contagious, rumors of the witch spreading infectious curses in the past made people fear that they might also be affected. As a result, he had been abandoned for a long time.

“If you have no further questions, you may enter this room.”

The noblewoman stopped in front of a door, concluding her guidance.

Having nothing more to explain, she simply stood a little distance away from the doorway, waiting for me to step inside. I glanced at her briefly before moving forward and entering the room.

“Ugh….”

The moment I opened the door, the stench—so putrid it could be mistaken for rotting flesh—hit me like a wave.

I instinctively raised a hand to cover my nose, but the heavy thud of the door shutting behind me made me snap my eyes back up to survey the room.

The bedroom before me was luxurious. It wasn’t ostentatiously gilded with gold, but each piece of furniture was undeniably of the highest quality. Most of all, the room was massive.

‘The Grand Duke must be over there.’

In the vast space, an equally enormous bed stood at the center. It was large enough to fit at least four people lying down. On top of it lay a man, as still as death.

I cautiously stepped closer to his side.

“Hello?”

I carefully greeted him, but there was no response.

The man lay motionless with his eyes shut, so still that he could easily be mistaken for a corpse. His exposed skin was cracked and oozing with pus, and some parts had dried, leaving crusted remnants behind.

‘He is alive… right?’

If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, I truly would have thought he was dead.

Remembering the noblewoman’s instructions, I scanned the room to gather what I needed to clean him up. Near the door where I had entered, I finally noticed a bucket of water, some towels, and a tray of food.

“Just bear with it for a little while. I’ll have you cleaned up soon.”

You can’t die yet. This isn’t a curse that kills.

Moving my short legs swiftly, I carried the water and towels back to the Grand Duke’s bedside and took a seat beside him. His long, black hair was spread haphazardly across the bed, adding an air of mystery to him.

One of the classic tropes: ‘The Grand Duke of the North is stunningly handsome.’ This setting seemed to be in place as well.

‘Let’s hurry up and save the handsome Grand Duke so I can go home.’

Rolling up the cumbersome sleeves that got in my way, I dunked a towel into the water.

Finishing this quickly and safely returning to the children—that was my only priority.

With that thought in mind, I firmly wrung out the soaked towel with both hands.

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