In This Life, I'll Assist You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
“Hold on tight, don’t let go.”
But my hands wouldn’t obey as I wished.
Was it sweat from tension? My hand, gripped by the Grand Duke, felt as if it might slip away at any moment. Was this how I would die—plummeting to my doom?
In that instant, the Grand Duke leaned into the chute.
His face descended right before my eyes. Seeing those blue irises, I froze. Those were the very eyes I thought I’d never see again—the ones I knew so well—now staring straight at me.
He yanked my arm hard, and I shot out of the chute like a grasshopper with wings.
I was alive.
When I came to my senses, I was lying on a blue carpet. The first thing I saw upon lifting my head was the Grand Duke kneeling on glowing embers.
“Your Grace! It’s scalding hot!”
The hearth’s ashes near the stove still held a reddish glow, as if the fire had only just been extinguished.
I crawled toward him on my knees, but he raised a hand, halting me. Then, as though nothing had happened, he stood and walked past me.
He sat down on a blue velvet chair edged with white pearls.
His gaze fixed on me. He wore an unfastened white shirt with wide lapels and black trousers, his armor removed.
Grand Duke Zion Belfast, twenty-two years old.
He regarded me with eyes as cold as ice.
Had the fiery intensity I’d seen moments ago, when he saved me, been merely my imagination?
I stared blankly at him, forgetting even to speak.
He watched me without blinking. I quickly bowed my head to the floor.
“I, the nameless one, pay my respects to Your Grace.”
“What is your name?”
He pressed the question again, insistently.
“As I mentioned before, I’m simply called ‘Worm.’”
“I do not trust those without names.”
I looked up at him. His eyes held mine unwaveringly.
“Estelle. My name is Estelle.”
I’d spoken the name before I even realized it.
In the vision shown by the dagger, my mother had called me that—“Estelle.” It must be my true name.
In my previous life, I’d claimed my name was Bella—but even recalling that name now filled me with dread.
It was a leash Meadeia had tied around my neck, cloaked as affection—a deceit offered to control a monster starved for love.
The Grand Duke said nothing. When I raised my head, I saw his face strangely stiffened. His pupils slowly scanned me.
Did he think I was lying?
At last, he spoke—his voice faintly trembling.
“So that is your real name, then?”
“Probably, yes.”
“‘Probably, yes.’”
Why was he fixating on my phrasing? The Grand Duke I knew wouldn’t nitpick like this.
Then I nearly laughed inwardly.
Had I been so familiar with him as to judge what was or wasn’t “like the Grand Duke”? What basis did I have to think that way?
“Why have you come seeking me, Worm?”
He called me Worm.
He didn’t trust me.
“Judging by where you emerged, you must have used a secret passage. Who are you, and why have you come to me? It would be wise to speak truthfully.”
I glanced slightly at the sword placed beside him—the one he deliberately showed me.
I needed to tell him the truth—something he could believe.
“I am a retainer of House Lahert, Grand Duke of the South, and a servant of Lady Medea Lahert. She is my mistress, and I was raised to carry out any task she commands—to eventually become an assassin.”
Without checking his reaction, I continued.
“But I no longer wish to be an assassin. I’ve come to understand that the House of the Grand Duke of the South does not always act rightly.”
“What is right, and what is wrong?”
It was an unexpected question.
Was he testing me?
“I believe it is wrong to defy natural order or inflict suffering on others for one’s own desires. And… that is why I have come—to stop Lady Medea from committing such wrongs.”
His blue eyes pierced through me.
I lowered my head again.
“She maintains her own garden of poisonous herbs. Today, I saw the keeper of that garden visiting her. That person always comes whenever poison will be used.”
“I see.”
“I overheard their conversation in secret. They are targeting Sir Arcadia Nugent. They likely intend to poison him.”
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
I was startled by his excessive calmness. He asked again.
“Why Arcadia, and not me?”
I was flustered.
What should I say?
I couldn’t just tell him—as the one who’d returned through reincarnation—that it was destined to happen and he should simply believe me. Who in their right mind would accept such a claim?
Moreover, his indifference wasn’t toward the fact that poison was being prepared, but specifically toward Arcadia being the target. Wasn’t the very existence of this plot surprising enough?
Or did he already suspect something?
“I asked why Arcadia.”
“…”
Arcadia Nugent’s father, Count Hern Nugent, had been assassinated by the Black Worm.
Count Hern Nugent had ruled the North for seven years in place of the young Grand Duke, who was held hostage under the imperial system. When the count died under circumstances disguised as an accident, chaos engulfed the North.
Yet because of that, you—Zion Belfast—were able to return to the North, as your regent was gone.
And seven years later, Arcadia Nugent of the House of the Grand Duke of the South would die by “suicide.” Though I was the cause, the case was closed as him jumping voluntarily from a balcony—
officially ruled as a tragic end following secret depression caused by his father’s death.
After losing their patriarch, the Nugent family was further enraged when they lost Arcadia, the count’s beloved second son.
—As the First Vassal House, they had shouldered the hardest times—the bitter winters of the North—on behalf of the young Grand Duke.
And when the young Duke was sent as a hostage, they had even sent their second son, Arcadia, along with him—to serve as the Duke’s companion, right hand, and most trusted aide. Yet even that son perished.
What had the Grand Duke been doing while both his lord and his closest aide died?!
Their grief turned into fury toward Grand Duke Zion Belfast of the North. This became the seed of the North’s fragmentation.
The Grand Duke of the South had woven webs of deceit and division, slowly corroding the North until its unbending virtue made it easy prey for the spider.
I have come to stop that, Your Grace.
But I cannot tell you all this now—not to you, here and now.
What should I say?
“Directly targeting Your Grace carries great risk, but your retainers are different. Sir Arcadia bears the pain of his father, the late Grand Duke’s Regent, Count Nugent. If anything happens to him, they could exploit that grief to fabricate the incident. After all, the death of the Nugent family head shook the entire Empire.”
I spoke slowly, carefully shaping my thoughts into words. It wasn’t easy, but I managed.
Would my words reach you?
I lifted my head to look at him again. The Grand Duke slowly rose from his seat and took a step toward me.
“You said you serve Lady Meadeia. Then why bring this message to me?”
His blue eyes shimmered differently now—like waves.
“…Because I believe it is wrong.”
“Was that important to you?”
It was a sharp, piercing question. But I had to answer.
“It became important—to me—at some point.”
It was the truth.
To you, I will speak only truth and facts.
In my previous life, I’d heard it said:
The Grand Duke of the North possessed the power to see through people—to discern good from evil, truth from falsehood, within their souls.
That was the power of Belfast blood.
I did not flinch from his gaze. He stepped closer.
At that moment, footsteps approached from outside the guest chamber.
Instantly, the Grand Duke tossed his outer coat over me and pushed me toward the bedroom behind.
‘!?’
He stood before the black curtain shielding the bedroom just as the door opened.
The Grand Duke spoke.
“Knocking is basic civility for civilized people, Arcadia.”
“Oh, come now, Your Grace. Why so startled? It’s not as if I’m the Grand Duke of the South. Though, admittedly, with our guards swarming everywhere, those southerners couldn’t peek in even if they tried.”
“The problem is you keep peeking at me.”
“It’s for your safety, Your Grace—safety! Those southerners are as slippery as snakes, after all.”
“Well then, to catch snakes, I suppose I need the North’s very own fox—namely, you.”
“You flatter me too much, Your Grace.”
“Arcadia, I need my own time too. I was just about to change clothes—and nearly jumped out of my skin thinking some strange woman had barged in.”
“Oh, Your Grace, you sly one! Was that what you truly hoped for?”
“Arcadia.”
The Grand Duke enunciated his name in sharp, staccato syllables—a playful threat. Arcadia chuckled and stepped back.
“Yes, yes, this fox of the North shall take his leave. By the way, dinner will be held at the main keep.”
“Good to hear.”
“It took some effort to dissuade those southern fools from insisting on coming here.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. A little meddling is only fair play.”
With an exaggerated bow, Arcadia left. I recalled the Arcadia of my past life—platinum-blond hair, green eyes gleaming, an ethereal and graceful man.
But beneath that, he was clearly playful.
The two of them were very close.
Then it struck me—I was standing just behind a curtain, pressed against the Grand Duke. He stood shielding me, one hand gripping the curtain to keep it closed.
He’d hidden me.
A scent faintly familiar—like the northern winds—rose from him. A blend of grass, trees, and snow.
A shiver ran down my spine.
If I could smell him this clearly, surely he could smell me too?
I froze, inhaling my own odor—earthy, metallic, reeking of underground passages.
How embarrassing.
Unbidden, my cheeks flushed hot.
Then the Grand Duke spoke.
“You’re still covering the side of your face that hasn’t healed.”
My heart dropped.
He remembers me.
“You cannot leave through the front, so you must return the way you came. Will that be alright?”
“Y-Yes, it will.”
My voice sounded like that of a wooden puppet. But I had one last thing to say.
“Your Grace, please be cautious in all things. I don’t know when or how they’ll administer the poison.”
Instead of words, the Grand Duke simply nodded.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
They are deeply concerned and confused and hurt from the past….they just can’t overcome their fear from the past…it is deeply rooted…it will take time…in the mean time they are hurting each other…and Arcadia is also feeling twisted inside…what are all they can do…
This chapters sentences were really weird to read so maybe someone should proofread to verify. It was a lot of broken up words to complete a sentence. like they were talking on a radio.
why did we switch into caller her a he again. Does anyone Proofread. I love the novel but I really wish that you guys would pay better attention. I paid for this novel, I expect it to atleast be done correctly