The Grand Duchess Escape

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Asella blinked her eyes slowly, trying to clear the fog that clouded her vision. As her surroundings gradually swam into focus, a look of confusion spread across her delicate features.

‘Where am I…?’

Taking in the luxurious furnishings, she realized she must be in the Duchess’s private sitting room, though how she had come to be there eluded her. 

Asella attempted to rise from the chair, only to find her body strangely unresponsive.

‘My body won’t move.’

Though it was undoubtedly her own body, she had a strange sensation as if she had entered someone else’s body and was observing what happened from the outside.

Catching sight of her pallid reflection in the full-length mirror, Asela was startled by the empty gaze that stared back. She appeared more like a ghost than a girl. A growing sense of unease rose within her at this unnatural state.

‘Whom am I waiting for?’

Her eyes drifted down to the table setting beside her. Wine and food were laid out for two, seemingly a romantic dinner for two lovers spending the night together, yet she sat alone. Who was meant to be joining her here? And why could she not remember herself?

Just then, the turning of the doorknob made Asella jump. As Calix entered, her pulse quickened in spite of herself. He wore a simple attire of a white shirt and black pants. However, he didn’t seem plain at all when he wore it. The thin shirt could not hide his sculpted physique, and he had a few buttons undone, giving it a slightly carefree feel. Stray locks of hair fell rakishly across his brow as he regarded her with those intense eyes.

“Asella,” was all he said, but somehow, his voice cut through the fog in her mind, offering no answers but stirring further questions in its wake.

The man sitting in the chair facing her leaned back against the backrest.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No.”

The answer slipped out on its own as her lips parted. Asella felt like she had become a marionette. Her body moved as if someone else was controlling it. Only her thoughts were free.

“That’s good.”

Calix picked up a wine bottle and poured it into two glasses. The red wine that fell into the glasses through the transparent glass looked like blood.

“Drink.”

His arm raised, and his slender fingers held the glass.

‘I’m not supposed to drink…!’

Asella urgently shouted in her mind.

She couldn’t handle alcohol well. Just a sip would make her head spin and make her dizzy. The amount in the glass would completely intoxicate her and leave her blackout drunk!

However, her body in this dream didn’t move as she wished. Asella could only watch as her own hand brought the glass of wine to her lips.

“I prepared something sweet since you don’t seem accustomed to alcohol. Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes, thank you for considering me.”

Calix’s perfectly shaped lips drew a flawless curve. However, Asella felt a sense of eeriness in his smile. Behind the wide smile, his red eyes were chillingly cold, contrasting with the twisted corners of his mouth.

‘Something feels off.’

A deceitful smile on top of a relentless poker face. It was an incredibly strange impression. It was indescribably unsettling, and Asella’s body trembled with an inexplicable sense of unease.

“You’ve barely had a sip. Drink more.”

“I’m not good at drinking.”

“I personally selected it. Can’t you have at least one glass for my sincerity?”

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