Die Melusine - Chapter 29

From the moment she had seen the pink-haired woman in town, Estelle hadn’t been able to get her out of her mind.

She was well aware that, like many powerful and wealthy noblemen, the Grand Duke had women who briefly passed through his life. But they were fleeting affairs—never lasting—and the fact that he had never kept a mistress brought her some comfort as his betrothed.

In her eyes, no man in the Empire could rival the Grand Duke in stature or masculine allure. Some compared him to the herald of hell itself, but what Estelle coveted most was his untouchable, noble aura, which no one dared approach.

People said that the pink-haired woman wasn’t even a woman to him—merely a pet. And yet, since that day, an inexplicable unease had taken root in her chest.

It wasn’t just the woman’s beauty, which was striking enough to captivate anyone. There was something about the way she seemed to belong so naturally in his arms.

“Melusine.”

Her name. And the deep, resonant way the Grand Duke had murmured it lingered in Estelle’s ears like an unwelcome melody.

That was why she had approached Melusine. Estelle, convinced the woman must be of little importance, had even come to this garden on the chance she might encounter her again.

“So… are you saying that you’re a mermaid? Not human?”

“Oh… no,” Melusine stammered, clearly uneasy. She suddenly grabbed Estelle’s gloved hand, clasping it tightly, before gently prying open her fingers one by one.

“The flower… it’ll get hurt,” Melusine said earnestly.

Bewildered, Estelle allowed her palm to be opened. She found herself staring down at Melusine, who inspected her hand carefully to ensure the petals hadn’t been damaged.

“Oh, it’s okay. That’s a relief.”

Then came that radiant smile again, so pure and guileless that Estelle instinctively brought a hand to her mouth, her lips parted in disbelief.

Is she just… an idiot?

In that moment, Estelle felt her composure and determination evaporate.

She had always known she was unmatched. Her father, a close friend of the late emperor and the current emperor’s right hand. Her beauty, the subject of gossip even before her debut in society. A life destined to shine brighter than anyone else’s—like the star her name implied.

“Well… I suppose. I like flowers, too. Thank you, Melusine.”

With effort, Estelle calmed her earlier excitement and regained her usual composed expression. Perhaps this was some ploy to lower her guard and strike later.

The claim of being from Verses? Unbelievable. A likely fabrication to attract attention.

A pretty face and some minor tricks might have caught the Grand Duke’s eye for a moment, but Melusine was no match for someone like Estelle. She was confident of that.

“So, does His Highness treat you well?” Estelle asked.

She assumed that even someone as simple as Melusine would know about her engagement to the Grand Duke. She expected the question to make the woman shrink back or feel intimidated.

“Yes, very well! But lately, I don’t see him much. Oh! What’s your name?”

“…My name? It’s Estelle,” Estelle replied, almost automatically.

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Why did she feel like she kept getting drawn into this woman’s rhythm?

How could anyone in the Empire, especially at the Grand Duke’s castle, not know her name? Melusine must have been pretending not to know, feigning innocence. Perhaps she was finally revealing her true colors.

Straightening her back, Estelle prepared to deliver a subtle but cutting remark.

“Wow… Es-telle. What a beautiful name,” Melusine said with sincere admiration, her mispronunciation adding an unexpected sweetness to the words.

Caught off guard, Estelle turned her gaze away and began fanning herself with her lace fan, though the day was neither hot nor stifling. She felt an inexplicable tension, like she was losing control of the conversation.

“Oh, I’m curious!” Melusine suddenly exclaimed, her cheeks turning a delicate pink.

“…About what?” Estelle asked cautiously.

“Have you also spent a night with Kieron? Together?”

Estelle froze mid-step. Her worst fears had come true.

She turned to face Melusine, who seemed entirely unaware of the implications of her question—innocent, even animal-like in her oblivion.

Never before had Estelle encountered someone so devoid of tact or propriety.

And calling His Highness by name so casually?

Estelle clenched her fan tightly, making a silent vow. If she became the Grand Duchess, the first thing she would do was restore proper order and hierarchy in the castle.

“Hmm? Was it good?”

“Of course… who could possibly know him better than I?” Estelle responded, caught in Melusine’s innocent but relentless questioning. The words slipped out, almost tripping over themselves, and she realized she had just lied outright. A slip she hated more than anything.

Despite being engaged for four years since the late emperor’s passing, she and the Grand Duke had exchanged only a handful of words. Their most intimate moment had been a single dance at last year’s official engagement ceremony, and that was it—certainly no shared nights.

“Right? I was so surprised. That feeling… it was my first time, truly, truly amazing,” Melusine said, clutching her chest as if reliving the moment in bliss.

Standing beside her, it was Estelle whose face flushed red.

But she couldn’t let that show. Turning her head gracefully, she used the brim of her hat to cast her face in shadow, masking her reaction.

A woman casually recounting intimate moments with her betrothed in front of her? It was beyond anything Estelle could imagine in her world of decorum and propriety.

Melusine. Just being near her for a few minutes made Estelle’s head throb and her energy drain.

“Well, he’s good at everything, isn’t he? Anyway, enjoy yourself while you can. It won’t be long before you’re cast aside, so savor that amazing feeling until then.”

For once, Estelle allowed her true feelings to slip through her composed mask, driven by irritation and frustration.

She had initially aimed to maintain her poise and dominance, but with Melusine’s blank slate of a mind, nothing seemed to land. Instead, she felt like she was losing ground, dragged into foolishness herself.

“Cast aside…?”

Melusine’s blue eyes widened, her expression a mix of confusion and innocence. Estelle narrowed her gaze, scrutinizing her reaction before elaborating.

“Yes, cast aside. Was that too difficult? I mean abandoned, tossed away. Soon.”

Finally, a shadow of understanding—or perhaps hurt—clouded Melusine’s previously clear eyes. Estelle felt a thrill of satisfaction.

Even the most naive and idiotic creature would have a weak spot. Estelle chastised herself for approaching someone so simple with overly complex tactics. This is too easy.

“And… what about the baby?”

The question hit Estelle like a slap, leaving her stunned.

While Imperial nobles often kept mistresses, they rarely muddled succession by producing illegitimate heirs. This careful balance preserved both familial power and the absolute authority of the monarchy.

“A baby? Surely you don’t mean… are you pregnant?”

Instinctively, Estelle’s gaze dropped to Melusine’s flat stomach.

“Not yet. But soon,” Melusine replied, her voice filled with certainty. She gently stroked her lower abdomen, as if cradling a child already there.

Oh, this is ridiculous. Estelle nearly burst out laughing but managed to stifle it, fanning herself lightly to maintain composure.

It no longer mattered to her whether Melusine was truly a mermaid or not. The woman wasn’t just naive—she was hopelessly idiotic. No wonder the Grand Duke treated her like an animal.

Feeling a sense of relief, Estelle spoke in a soft, elegant tone, ready to shatter the mermaid’s delusion completely.

“He’ll kill you.”

“…What?”

“If you ever truly have His Highness’s child,” Estelle said, smiling with genuine malice.

Melusine’s long lashes trembled, and a faint breeze carried the scent of the sea.

“Both you and the baby. He’ll kill you both—with his own hands.”

Or perhaps my father’s, Estelle thought with a cruel inward smirk.

This time, her smile was the most sincere it had been during the entire conversation.

The Grand Duke, with his black hair and golden eyes, had long been rumored to be an illegitimate child due to the significant age gap between him and the late emperor. His resemblance to the late emperor only fueled speculation, especially as the current emperor, with his platinum hair and dark eyes, bore more resemblance to the late empress.

“Estelle, you will one day become the Empress of this Empire. I will make sure of it.”

Her father, the Marquess of Hesnal, had nurtured this ambition since Estelle was a young girl. He had long dreamed of pairing her with the crown prince, believing his steadfast loyalty to the late emperor would ensure this union.

If she couldn’t claim the emperor, the Grand Duke—the second-highest authority in the Empire—would do. And Estelle wasn’t about to let anyone, let alone a creature like Melusine, get in her way.

When the marriage pact with a neighboring kingdom’s princess had been finalized, the Marquess’s long-cherished dream of pairing Estelle with the crown prince was crushed. Instead, he turned his sights on the Grand Duke, emphasizing one point:

Compared to the notoriously unfaithful crown prince, the Grand Duke would make a far more loyal husband. Especially given his trauma over the rumors of being an illegitimate child, the Grand Duke would be careful never to recklessly father a child out of wedlock.

Whatever aspirations the pink-haired woman before her held, Estelle was certain they would come to nothing.

“Any delusions you have about bearing His Highness’s child would be best abandoned entirely,” she said sharply.

With a soft snap, Estelle folded her fan and tapped Melusine lightly on the shoulder with its tip before brushing past her. Straightening her back even more as she walked, the silk ribbons on her hat rippled like waves.

Melusine remained frozen, staring at Estelle’s retreating figure.

Another breeze swept through, and the pink petal Melusine had been holding in her palm fluttered weakly to the ground.