Save Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
If I must die, perhaps now is the time.
Bianca was utterly sincere.
“If it doesn’t please you, I’ll immediately prepare everything anew as you command.”
Treatment so lavish she’d never experienced even as an imperial princess, and a bedroom so opulent it dazzled the eyes.
The Duke’s demeanor—impossible to read yet unfailingly kind.
The conclusion of a day she’d expected to end in ruin had turned out astonishingly splendid.
As if she were someone immensely precious.
Everything was so flawlessly perfect it felt cruelly like an illusion of being loved.
Bianca drew a deep breath.
She’d thought she’d been constantly and clearly reminding herself of her position—but the human heart proved far weaker than she’d imagined.
Even though she knew it plainly.
Even though she truly, genuinely, undeniably understood it.
The moment she tasted all the warmth she’d yearned for her entire life, every resolution—and reason itself—vanished without a trace.
Bianca looked at Hailey, who was waiting for her reply, and let out a dry, brittle sound.
“It’s already enough.”
This was becoming slightly dangerous.
“I’ve eaten, so there’s no need to prepare anything. Did you say the bath is ready?”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Then I’ll bathe at once.”
She thought her voice sounded calm, but her words trembled at the end despite herself.
It was because of the surge of emotion welling up inside.
She was certain that if she didn’t suppress it quickly, she’d end up in an embarrassing situation.
I need to be alone!
Desperate, Bianca quickly added,
“You’ve done enough—feel free to leave.”
She hadn’t meant to say it so bluntly, but her urgency to be alone made her tone sound harsher than intended.
Realizing her mistake, she glanced back—but Hailey’s expression hadn’t changed.
Her gentle smile and respectful demeanor remained exactly as before,
“Then, may I assist you with changing clothes?”
If anything, her tone had grown even more careful.
At that sight, Bianca nearly burst into tears.
“No. I’ll decline.”
Thanks to her effort to steady herself, her tone returned to normal—but even after sending Hailey away and being alone, her heartbeat refused to calm.
Thump-thump-thump.
It felt as if her heart might burst at any moment.
“Haa…”
Bianca covered her flushed cheeks with her hands.
“Shall I take you straight home, then?”
Deborah silently nodded at her maid’s question.
Her head throbbed, and her whole body ached.
Though basic first aid had been applied, it had clearly been done carelessly.
The bandage around her head had already slipped halfway down just from sitting up.
Since proper treatment was unlikely, returning quickly to the Marquis’s residence was the better choice—even if her body screamed in protest.
To treat her, the former personal maid of the imperial princess, like this…
It was shockingly disrespectful, but Deborah swallowed her sigh as usual.
She’d accepted this fate the day she declared herself the maid of a princess born into sin—and hadn’t she endured this countless times already?
She was used to it by now—but even so…
“So… what time is it now…?”
“It’s just past midnight.”
“Ha…”
She’d hoped against hope when she saw moonlight on her crown—
So she’d been left abandoned in an empty lounge, without even a physician, past midnight.
This was truly going too far.
Grumbling inwardly, Deborah rose and asked the maid who watched her expressionlessly,
“And Her Highness?”
“She has departed.”
She must have hit her head harder than she thought.
The words didn’t register clearly.
Clutching her throbbing head, Deborah asked again,
“Who is attending to Her Highness now?”
“Her Highness has departed.”
“…You are speaking of Princess Bianca, correct?”
Why were her words slipping like this?
Just as Deborah irritably pushed herself up from the sofa,
the maid—who had been staring blankly all this time—silently approached and skillfully supported her.
Though Deborah, as the daughter of a marquis, had received maid service countless times, she swore this kind of support was unprecedented.
The hands under her armpits didn’t feel particularly strong, yet she felt as firmly held as if bound in ropes…
A chill ran down her spine, and her foggy mind snapped sharply into focus.
“Thank you, but I don’t need support…”
“Princess Bianca has left the palace with Duke Valroc.”
Click.
Pressed firmly against her back, Deborah unconsciously took a step forward with the maid.
“What on earth…!”
Both the words she heard and her own body, beyond her control, were equally bewildering.
“The Rosevena Palace collapsed earlier, didn’t it?”
Click.
The sound of her heels striking the marble floor was eerie.
“The palace collapsed? Collapsed? What do you mean…?”
She didn’t want to, but Deborah stammered like a fool.
The news was simply too shocking.
Yet no matter how hard she searched her memory, nothing came back.
Her last recollection was running through the first floor of Rosevena Palace.
At that moment, Deborah had been desperate.
The reason for sending Bianca to Duke Valroc was obvious.
It was called a peace marriage, but in truth, the Emperor intended to sacrifice Bianca to escape.
There was no need to even consider that vile, petty scheme—
He was a monster who’d always been desperate to devour his own daughter.
Did she really not know he’d sent her to die?
That alone tore her heart apart—but in truth, there was another reason Deborah and Marquis Elijah had to act desperately.
Bianca had been blackmailed her entire life.
Chained by the leash called “Marquis Elijah.”
“Did you find any evidence of treason?”
The moment Bianca spoke those words to her, who’d been begging her to flee, Deborah felt that familiar despair.
She was clearly being blackmailed again.
Her father’s hidden ship had probably been discovered too.
All their prepared plans had come to nothing—there was no way left to save Bianca.
Bianca, turning away from her weeping self, had never looked more beautiful.
That was when Deborah finally came to her senses—
Realizing why Bianca, who never wore makeup, had so carefully adorned herself.
Understanding that she’d been desperately trying to win Duke Valroc’s heart for the sake of House Elijah.
So Deborah had started running—belatedly—
Determined to save that pitiful, beloved girl at any cost.
“Someone…! Someone help Her Highness!”
Help!
Her memory ended just before she could finish the cry.
Her skull throbbed dully.
Click.
“How could we possibly leave unchallenged a place that dares slight the future Lady of the North?”
The tone was soft, and movements precise.
Yet Deborah strongly felt this was no ordinary maid.
Though her imperial court etiquette was flawless, it differed from a maid’s.
This was…
“Are you a knight?”
At Deborah’s words, a faint chuckle echoed.
“Valroc?”
“How is your condition?”
No denial came.
Perhaps thinking her identity was exposed, the knight dropped the maid pretense entirely—her movements growing even bolder.
Her stride instantly doubled in length, her body tensed, making her actions lighter and swifter.
“The young lady was rescued. She’d lost consciousness in an explosion and was discovered by chance. Her injuries were so severe she could have convalesced for five years without suspicion—but ‘luckily,’ she suffered no lasting effects.”
“This… is your handiwork, isn’t it?”
No answer came.
Deborah realized the sound of heels tapping the floor had completely vanished—and silently burst into laughter.
She’d never encountered such a monster in all her life.
Then again, wasn’t Duke Valroc said to be no mere human?
He’d single-handedly dealt with monsters beyond the ice walls, after all.
As she walked, her pounding headache made Deborah realize her condition was far worse than she’d thought.
She didn’t know how they’d done it, but she strongly sensed her consciousness would soon fade.
“And my sister?”
“She has departed.”
“She’s safe, right? She’s alive?”
Her mind grew hazy—she couldn’t tell if she was walking or being dragged by the maid.
“Limbs intact, and… alive… right?”
“Who would dare harm the Lady of the North?”
“Well, of course…”
As the floor suddenly rose to meet her, Deborah’s fragmented words cut off abruptly.
In the chilling silence, the ‘maid’ lightly lifted the fallen Deborah and moved with astonishing swiftness—almost as if running.
She stopped where she sensed activity near the main keep.
Setting Deborah down, she hoisted her onto her back and began groaning weakly.
“Is anyone—huff, huff—is anyone there?”
“…Who’s there?”
“M-Mistress Deborah is dying! Huff!”
“Mistress Deborah?”
The knights, who’d been wary at first, rushed over one by one at the familiar name.
Today, Deborah Elijah had become the most famous person in the imperial palace—
the former maid of Princess Bianca, who’d miraculously survived the palace’s sudden collapse.
Since Bianca, her mistress, had left for the ducal residence without taking her, Deborah should have been reassigned to another imperial family—but due to her critical condition, the palace had decided to release her.
The knights helped the maid, who seemed about to collapse under Deborah’s weight, and loaded Deborah into the Marquis Elijah’s carriage.
Everything went smoothly.
Deborah, an excellent ‘hostage,’ should never have been dismissed so easily.
But the imperial physician’s decisive opinion—that her severe head injury would likely leave poor prognosis even after recovery—sealed her fate.
In her weakened state, Deborah held no value.
On the contrary, she’d only incur Marquis Elijah’s resentment.
Thus, her dismissal was finalized.
Today’s events had cost the imperial court dearly in every way.
“Then, I’ll be off.”
At the young maid’s words, the knights carefully added, “Please take care,” and opened a small gate.
The temporary drawbridge had already been lowered—the Marquis Elijah’s carriage vanished from the palace in an instant.
Clack. Clack.
The sound of horseshoes striking the well-paved road rang loudly.
Bianca’s mind snapped awake as she sat in the bath until the steaming water cooled completely.
She began dressing, her hands trembling violently.
She wasn’t one who enjoyed tormenting herself—but today, there was no other choice.
She’d believed she’d long ago abandoned anything resembling hope.
Yet her heart, stirred by the Duke’s kindness and the ducal household’s devoted treatment of her, refused to settle.
Sitting in water so cold it felt as if her whole body would freeze, her excitement gradually calmed—and her forgotten reality resurfaced.
Daughter of the enemy.
Shackles of the imperial court.
“…….”
Bianca stepped out of the tub and ran her pale, ashen hands through her wet hair.
She felt not just cold—her entire body seemed frozen solid.
A steaming cup of chocolate and a thick robe were desperately needed.
Just as Bianca, shivering violently, was about to pull the call cord—
the Emperor’s furious roar thundered through her mind like lightning.
“You, born from murder—how dare you!”
Her lost, white hand dropped limply from the air with a soft thud.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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