A Fairy Tale Written by a Villain

Chapter 8

The grand duke walked briskly toward the bed Isabelle was lying down on. The sound of his firm footsteps echoed throughout the quiet room. “Get out.” His cold command came crashing down on the masseuse.

The trembling masseuse burst into tears again and skidded out of the room practically on all fours.

“Explain yourself,” he said. The grand duke stood by the foot of the bed and stared at Isabelle.

Isabelle clamped her mouth shut. This situation looks as if I did something wicked. It was unfair. All I did was just look at the masseuse. Of course, this kind of situation did not feel foreign to her, since even in her previous lives Isabelle was often misunderstood in a similar manner. It was really tiring to explain things to the prince every single time. Here we go again. “I didn’t do anything, Grand Duke.” At Isabelle’s words, the grand duke tilted his head without saying anything. “It’s just that the masseuse started crying...”

“That’s not it. I’m asking why you’re not leaving this tower.” Hold up. What’s this? This is not about why I bullied the masseuse? The grand duke stared directly into Isabelle’s round eyes. With an indifferent expression, he held out what he had in his hand. “Don’t tell me you didn’t leave because you were reading these erotic novels.”

The grand duke recalled the report he had heard most recently. Apparently, the librarian had nicknamed Isabelle, who had become well-read in the adult romance section, the “grown-up bookworm.”

“Wait, where did you get that? And... What are you on about? It’s not erotic, it’s romance, okay?” What’s wrong with reading erotica, anyway? We’re all adults here. Isabelle grumbled quietly and glimpsed at him. She was really curious about how the book she had given to Badelle ended up in the grand duke’s hands.

“You have to answer my question, Princess. Why aren’t you going outside?” With his arms crossed, the grand duke looked down at her. His purple eyes were colder than usual. They were fixed on the hem of the blanket Isabelle was clutching before wandering to her fair shoulders just above. Her oiled skin glistened in the sunlight that came in through a gap in the curtain. He held his gaze. That’s strange, he thought.

The grand duke furrowed his brows. An unknown annoyance rose within him. He did not like the way the woman’s skin glistened and was angered by the insubordinate red lips that were refusing to answer his question. Anger bubbled at the little loose hairs that stuck to the oiled skin on her neck. There was not a single thing he saw that he liked, and he wanted to leave the room immediately.

The grand duke touched the earring on his left ear. Is it possibly because of this? he wondered. The obsidian earring tapping against his fingertips was cold, as usual.

Isabelle’s gaze also landed on the grand duke’s earring. That earring is the mark of the curse. Isabelle remembered hearing that he turned into a beast every night because of it.

“There’s a rumor that the grand duke is getting married repeatedly to break the terrible curse.”

Isabelle recalled Badelle’s words and finally replied, “I was going to go out tomorrow.” Yes, I was going to go out around tomorrow. That seems plausible… Though, she had resolved to do so every day but couldn’t because she was lazy.

“Tomorrow, you say?” The grand duke nodded. “I shall send you an escort. If Snow is with her, no one will try to harm her. “All right then. Get some rest.” And, just like that, he turned around and left the room. Then, the grand duke handed the novel back to Badelle, who was waiting outside. She accepted it politely and quickly hid it under her arm. “Reading this kind of thing should mean that your mistress is extremely healthy,” he said.

“Oh! Well! That, uh...” Badelle became restless and looked at the grand duke cautiously.

“Take good care of your mistress until the wedding. And don’t do anything foolish.” He patted Badelle’s shoulder slowly, whispering the last few words.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Grace...” Her face as pale as a ghost, Badelle lowered her head.

The grand duke turned on his heel and left the tower.

***

Ugh, why can’t I sleep today? Is it because the grand duke saw me like that? Isabelle stirred and got up from her bed. Seeing that the early morning moon had already passed, it looked like she would be up all night.

Isabelle tossed on her dressing gown over her shoulders and left the room. It was so late at night that even the servant guarding the hallway was dozing off for a moment, leaning against the wall. She placed a hand on a long, magic stone, activating a portal that wrapped her body in light and transported her to the tower’s first floor. “Well, here goes my first outing,” she muttered.

The night dew on the grass stuck to the sides of her slippered feet as she dragged them along. She was walking around, slowly taking in deep breaths of the now familiar scent of the sea and dirt when suddenly she heard a noise in the distance.

“Grrr…” She heard a suspicious sound in the wind. A wolf? A dog? I’m sure I heard a bark... With her shoulders hunched tightly, Isabelle took in her surroundings. She only saw the well-maintained garden—nothing out of the ordinary. Is that the sound the grand duke makes when he turns into a beast? If it was this chilling hearing it even from the tower, then how scary must it be in the mansion?

Suddenly understanding the reason why they gave her accommodation so far away, Isabelle returned to the tower quickly. She was going to activate the portal again at the entrance of the tower when she saw a shadow. Badelle? Isabelle stared intently at the back of the tower. Badelle disappeared cautiously through the small door the servants used. What is she doing at this hour? Even as her shoulders shook from the echoes of the beast’s cries, Isabelle unconsciously followed her.

When she went past the small castle door, she saw a new village below it. Huts lined up together in a row. So this is the servant’s quarters. Although Badelle could have been confused as they all looked the same, she found her room. Isabelle stuck her body close to the hut and looked inside through the window.

“Oh my, Rondo! Was the pain so bad that you fainted?”

“Mmmaaamaaahhh,” the child cried out for his mother in pain.

“Rondo, I’ve got you,” Badelle said, lifting her son’s crumpled form from where he had fallen down beside the bed. “Mommy is here now, don’t cry.”

Rondo? Badelle’s son? Isabelle thought. I heard that he has chronic migraines. She remembered Badelle talking about her family on rare occasions. I shouldn’t be watching these things in secret. Isabelle was about to move away and give the family their privacy when Badelle’s next words stopped her in her tracks. “Mommy brought you magical hair, Rondo. Wait just a minute.”

Hair? At that word, Isabelle looked through the small window again. Badelle placed the familiar lump of gold hair on her son’s hand and recited an unintelligible spell. Soon, a bright light swirled out from the clump of hair and seeped into Rondo’s body. “Mom?” Rondo finally opened his eyes and let his hands drop from where they had been putting pressure against his temples.

Oh, my healing ability, Isabelle realized. Her body had the ability to heal ailments. Bodily fluids were more effective than hair with the exception of her blood, which was the most effective. My heart would probably be an all-purpose cure, she thought bitterly. It was an ability she desperately hid so as not to be hunted down if it became public knowledge.

According to Badelle, there were always one or two people who wanted access to Isabelle’s magic. Every time that happened, Isabelle threw a fit and pushed everyone away. I thought that Badelle was the only one who stayed by my side without greed. Her heart felt icy, cold forming on the edges of her heart and making its way to the center.

Rondo smiled thankfully at her mother and lay back down on the bed as Badelle patted her son’s chest, softly singing a lullaby.

Isabelle turned around and stalked away, her mind racing with the sting of betrayal. It felt like a cold piece of metal landed on the back of her head. The reason Badelle stayed by my side was because of my hair. Because she believed that Badelle at least cared for her with an honest heart, the betrayal wounded her deeply.

Forget it. What was I hoping for? I was alone anyway. Every time Isabelle took a step forward, she mumbled quietly to herself about this revelation. I never depended on anyone else after I transmigrated into the story. It’s disappointing but not surprising. Why are you getting hurt for something like this?

Who am I?

“I am Isabelle Dejar.” Taking in a deep breath, Isabelle lifted her chin upright.

The night wind against her cheek felt especially cold that day.

***

Isabelle was almost back at the tower when a growl startled her.

She heard the beast’s cry from a lot closer than before. Was it because she braced herself after finding out about Badelle’s situation?

Even as the sound came closer, Isabelle was not really fazed by it and headed to her destination in a daze. I’m getting sleepy, she thought. I was going to go out to town when I woke up, but I can’t do it today.

The moment Isabelle was going to activate the portal, a dark shadow loomed over her head. Out of fright, Isabelle cried out for her mom—even though she had never known her. A gigantic, four-legged animal was standing in front of her. Covered in black fur, it looked rather like a wolf, but the pair of horns that shot up were definitely not wolf-like.

The grand duke? Amethyst-colored eyes that sparkled in the moonlight and the black obsidian earring on the beast’s pointy ear confirmed her suspicions. “You are the grand duke.” Isabelle was not greatly shocked and just laughed. It was a world with mermaids and magic—why would such a shape be shocking? Could the original tale for this be the Beauty and the Beast? The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Beast… It really was a messy soup of fairy tales.

They said he turned into a beast every night, but he looks more decent than I expected. Isabelle, who imagined something more disgusting, brushed off her posterior and got up. “Are you perhaps sane right now?”

“Grrrrrr…”

“Haha, even if you were out of it, would you really not be able to recognize your bride-to-be?” Isabelle slowly stepped back, cautiously studying the grand duke. She saw ripped clothes and blood on the sharp teeth he bared. “You don’t eat people or anything like that, right...?”

At Isabelle’s questions, the grand duke roared more ferociously instead of answering. I have a bad feeling about this, she thought. It doesn’t look like he understands. As she was retreating cautiously, she felt the portal magic stone against her. She needed more time to activate it. Oh, perhaps…!

Trying to think of something quickly, Isabelle took off her slipper and held it in her hand. “Uh... Beanie. Good boy?” Because his fur was black like a black bean, she decided to go with “Beanie” and called him out affectionately. She felt like she had to call him by some cute name to feel less intimidated.

Isabelle shook the slipper lightly. Unlike his vicious teeth, his purple eyes moved slowly as they followed it. “Here, fetch!” Isabelle skillfully threw the slipper far away. It flew into the air, spinning, and the beast jumped in its direction. In the meantime, Isabelle placed her hand swiftly on the magic stone and activated the portal. Swish! At the same time, the white light wrapped around Isabelle, and she arrived inside her room.

The room was quiet inside. Isabelle let out a sigh of relief and checked below the tower. Did they say that the beast didn’t like heights? The beast did not even glance at the tower and was ripping into the slipper frantically. If she could not run away, she would have been torn into ribbons just like that.

Forget it. Time to get some sleep. Although there were more things to think about, what else could she do? Maybe her thoughts would be more organized when she woke up. Isabelle lay on the bed and closed her eyes.