The news that the Monde Duchess’s carriage had stopped at the Lyussenford Grand Duke’s townhouse before heading to the Imperial Palace spread through Krain like wildfire. The rumor was that the Duchess had chased the Grand Duke all the way to the palace, as he was currently too swamped with work to even stop by his home.
High society was dying to know if the Duchess had managed to meet the Grand Duke, and if so, what they had discussed.
Of course, the Duchess had pushed her way through with sheer persistence and succeeded in seeing Peon. It was possible if one threw away all face and decency to bully their way in.
“How could you do this? Our Beatrice only has eyes for you! How could you just cast aside a perfectly innocent maiden like that!”
Peon stared at the Monde Duchess with weary eyes. She had been a great beauty in her youth, and while she still possessed remnants of it, her face had suffered from the grinding years spent running from creditors.
That, however, was not her fault—it was the burden of the Monde Duke and his ancestors, who had accumulated vast gambling debts. But in the process, the Duchess had discarded all shame, becoming incredibly brazen, and had begun to view other people’s belongings as her own. Her own spending habits were nothing to scoff at, either.
“Do you know how old Beatrice is? If I were going to marry her off, I would have already. Do you have any idea how many marriage proposals she gets?”
He knew. They just weren’t men with enough wealth to settle all the debts the Monde family had accrued. Only the reputation and fortune of someone like Lyussenford could save the house of Monde while simultaneously upholding their dignity. This point was crucial. The Duchess didn’t just want the debts paid; she wanted much more.
“And yet, she turned them all down and stayed put until this age—why do you think that is? Huh? Isn’t it because I let her be, knowing how much you, Peon, adore her!”
Her voice grew shrill. Deciding that this had crossed the line, Peon gestured for his adjutants, whose faces had hardened, to stand back. He then received the bombardment the Duchess poured out in her desperation. Or rather, he simply watched her quietly. At this point, she would inevitably drag the Empress into it to poke at Peon’s weak spot.
“And don’t I think of you as my own son? If Her Majesty the Empress hadn’t fallen ill, she would have agreed with me. I raised you with such care, just like my own son.”
That was merely the Duchess receiving personal financial help from the Empress and using that money to purchase necessities for Peon. It was something anyone could have done, not just the Monde Duchess.
“Our Beatrice only looked at you, Peon! And yet, you discard our girl like a stray dog on a rainy day? How can you be so cruel, Peon!”
Peon felt his already frayed nerves nearing a breaking point. He had heard enough.
“I believe there is a misunderstanding, to begin with.”
“A misunderstanding! The Emperor wouldn’t have announced the marriage if you hadn’t said you wanted it!”
He tilted his head back slightly and leaned against the backrest. When the cold, purple gaze of the Lyussenford Grand Duke, who had kept his mouth shut, fell upon her, the Duchess flinched. She realized she had been too agitated.
“Anyway, isn’t that true?”
As expected, Beatrice hadn’t told her mother that Peon had been the one to ask for the marriage. That was why she had come charging in, screaming and fuming. The flushed Duchess looked as if she were waiting for him to offer a defense.
Peon toyed with several cards in his mind. He could say that he was the one who asked Beatrice to marry him, and that he had told the Emperor as well. But if that reached the Duchess’s ears, it would be gossiped about everywhere; the Emperor would be criticized for tearing apart a happy couple, and furthermore, Kaella would continue to live in Beatrice’s shadow. It would be a repeat of everything.
Yes. Up to this point, it was similar to what he had experienced in his past life.
“I am grateful for your concern during my childhood, Duchess. But you have already received compensation for that from my mother. A significant amount was paid from the Empress’s palace to the Monde Duchy. It would be troublesome if you thought I were unaware of that.”
When someone who was like a child to her pointed out the money exchanged between the adults, the Duchess’s face turned beet red.
“Peon! How could you say such a thing!”
In his past life, when the Imperial decree to marry Kaella was handed down, he had immediately proposed to Beatrice. Or rather, he had intended to. Before he could even propose, Beatrice cried, saying it couldn’t be helped because of the Imperial decree, and he, in despair, had only wept with her. And the Duchess had come then, too, turning everything upside down and demanding answers.
Back then, Peon had acted as the sinner, kneeling and apologizing for hours. He had always been stupid, powerless, and lacked the understanding of what was truly important. He was sick of it now. He was suffocating from self-loathing.
“It is the truth. And above all, if someone was to come, it should have been Beatrice, not you, Duchess.”
“Our daughter doesn’t even have the strength to walk! She collapsed the moment she heard news of your marriage! How can you be so heartless, Peon!”
She didn’t lack strength; she was likely unable to wake up during the day because she was sneaking in and out of the Soleil Palace all night.
“If you are dissatisfied with my marriage, it is proper to go to the Emperor who ordained it. If I refuse the marriage, it is an act of defying an Imperial decree. Are you asking me to defy an Imperial decree, Duchess?”
Everyone tends to bully the easy targets and shrink back before those stronger than them. The Monde Duchess was no different.
“How can you interpret it that way? My point is that as a man and a knight, you should show responsibility for a lady!”
“Then please petition His Majesty to that effect. If it is an Imperial decree, I shall obey.”
“You are cowardly, Peon! Cowardly!”
“Yes. I am a coward. And one more thing, Duchess.”
He decided to say something he hadn’t planned on declaring so early in this life.
“Your daughter and I are no longer in any relationship.”
In truth, he had intended to use even his relationship with Beatrice. He would have used anything to drive the Emperor to ruin.
But if that relationship hurt Kaella and damaged her honor, he had to give it up, no matter how useful it might be. That was the right thing to do.
“We are merely a relationship that cherishes old memories and wishes each other happiness; I will not tolerate anything beyond this. Wilberg.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Please show the Duchess to the exit.”
“Yes, Your Grace. Duchess, this way.”
“How dare you, Peon! You!”
When the Duchess couldn’t contain her rage and shrieked, Sir Wilberg’s expression instantly hardened.
“Please show respect to His Grace, Duchess. This is the Imperial Palace, ruled by His Majesty the Emperor, and he is the only Grand Duke invested by His Majesty.”
Of course, the Duchess caused an even bigger scene at those words, but neither Peon nor his adjutants paid any mind to what she said. The expelled Duchess went out, furious, and spread what Peon had said across the entire city of Krain, asking how he could do such a thing.
And so, Peon became a bastard who abandoned his childhood sweetheart, who was burdened with debt and profligate habits, to choose a wealthy heiress.
He thought that was much better than the title of a fool who couldn’t forget his sweetheart and mistreated his wife out of loyalty.
･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･
Preparations for the wedding began in a rush. If the engagement period had been long, they could have prepared step-by-step, but everyone was racing headlong toward the wedding at an unprecedented speed for an unprecedented event.
“Grand Duke?”
Sir Wilberg, who had been reporting, called to Peon cautiously.
“Shall we stop if you are tired?”
The Lyussenford region had also been turned upside down by the sudden news of the engagement. Years ago, whenever creditors swarmed the Monde estate, Beatrice would often flee to Lyussenford. From then on, people in the North assumed the Grand Duke would naturally marry Beatrice.
But suddenly, a marriage to a lady from the South? Because it was a marriage decided by the Emperor, the people of Lyussenford were upset, saying their Grand Duke was being dragged around by the Emperor again.
“No, I am listening, continue.”
“Yes. The minerals from the newly discovered mine are indeed diamonds, just as you said, Your Grace.”
Even the experts brought in secretly were stunned and excited, saying they should be celebrating, but the Lyussenford Grand Duke, who had accurately pointed out the mine’s location for investigation, remained calm. He actually looked tired. Perhaps it was because he was preparing for the wedding.
“The scale is immense.”
“Keep it hidden for now and begin mining in absolute secrecy. What of the diamonds mined initially?”
Instead of answering, Sir Wilberg opened the large chest he had brought in front of Peon.
“A total of twelve diamonds were produced after cutting 4,300 carats.”
It was said the artisan brought in secretly to cut the massive stones with such caution had lost a great deal of weight. Peon looked down at the twelve giant diamonds the Emperor would undoubtedly covet.
This mine would be a great strength to Lyussenford’s finances. Sir Wilberg cautiously predicted that the other three mines the Grand Duke had ordered investigated might also be of immense value.
Around the time Her Majesty the Empress collapsed, the Lyussenford Grand Duke he served had changed somehow. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he seemed more confident and relaxed.
“Good. And?”
The report was quite long and very covert. In addition to the movements of Lady Lavalle, who was under constant surveillance, and the suspicious activity of regular visits to the Soleil Palace, investigations into the interior of Lyussenford had also been conducted.
The final investigation had been truly incomprehensible, but Sir Wilberg, along with Sir Renard, was as good as Peon’s own limbs. He simply carried out the orders and reported them silently.
“…And so, all of Lyussenford is taking the news of your marriage quite as a shock.”
“That it is a marriage forced by the Emperor, right?”
“Yes.”
It was uncomfortable, but because it was the truth, Sir Wilberg had no choice but to answer. In his past life, Kaella had arrived in Lyussenford already branded as someone on the Emperor’s side. Peon knew well how closed-off the North’s high pride was. And he knew it was much cruder than the capital.
“Still, we must properly prepare to welcome the bride.”
Sir Wilberg watched Peon stand up. He had grown thinner in the last few days, his face looking haggard. Serving him closely, he knew that Peon was neither eating nor sleeping properly. It was clear he was distraught over the Empress’s collapse and the marriage issues combined.
“If I may be so bold, do you intend to go through with the marriage?”
It was revolting. Peon found himself so revolting he couldn’t stand it. No matter how he looked for a way out, he was most disgusted by the fact that he couldn’t avoid the marriage in this situation.
“They say a bastard must marry the daughter of a bastard.”
“Have you heard such things?”
“How could I not, when the marriage is being pushed precisely so that I hear them.”
The Emperor was an insidious human, even when he appeared to be smiling. He blocked the House of Ostain from ever marrying foreigners, and while he maintained a semblance of duty toward the Empress’s child for whom he had grown fond, he had ultimately bound them together mockingly, as if linking two bastard bloodlines. It was a sneer. Peon, being especially sensitive to insults, couldn’t have missed it.
“The Lady is hearing things she shouldn’t have to because of me.”
Peon muttered, closing the box containing the twelve diamonds. Sir Wilberg immediately caught the respect and courtesy toward the Lady of Ostain embedded in Peon’s words. At the same time, there was no sign of the memories built up from childhood.
“Even if the engagement period is short, we must have everything in order. Tell them to prepare properly.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“I will not tolerate any foolish antics.”
“Yes.”
The Emperor was driving them like sheep or pigs to ensure the Lyussenford Grand Duke wouldn’t dare marry Beatrice or concoct any other plan. The date had been announced arbitrarily, and Peon knew that, coldly speaking, this marriage was profitable for Lyussenford and for him. Knowing that made it even more painful.
Then what good was there for Kaella? A husband who would respect her sufficiently and divorce her later as promised?
The precious Lady of Ostain needed a better man than that; she did not need a man who had already been entangled in scandals with other women.
He had returned to take proper revenge this time, but on his shoulders rested the happiness of Kaella, which he had destroyed himself. Revenge still needed time, and it would also take time to rebuild her happiness.
Peon covered his agonizing face with his hands. He had no face left to shamelessly stand in the light.
･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･
Whenever Kaella went to the Imperial Palace, she could see groups of people huddled in corners or across corridors, whispering as they watched her.
Such things had been common even before she died. Being the uninvited guest who broke the century’s great love, she was used to it by now.
Her father was preparing for the wedding, but Kaella had no interest in it. She simply tended to the palace affairs the Emperor had entrusted to her after the Empress collapsed, as if by rote. She had been ill and left things aside for a few days, so she had to make an appearance, if only briefly.
“Hello, Countess.”
“Hello, Your Grace.”
“The weather is lovely today, Lady of Ostain.”
“It is, Marchioness Tulenan.”
Still, when meeting people, one had no choice but to exchange greetings. She also received congratulations on her marriage. Ah, yes, thank you. Yes. Busy with preparations. Yes. She walked on, mumbling empty, formal words.
Leaving the ladies who had gathered to pray for the Empress’s recovery, Kaella walked further inside with an indifferent expression. Given that things were turning out this way even after she had died and come back, it seemed that marrying the Lyussenford Grand Duke was Kaella’s fated destiny.
‘And then I will die. Convenient and easy.’
Since she had died once before, she could perhaps die even better next time. Thinking that, Kaella walked on, only to encounter the Monde Duchess sitting on a chair near the doorway.
“Hello, Monde Duchess.”
Polite greetings between nobles were basic, and Adeo had particularly taught her strictly that she must greet elders properly. It was a natural greeting.
However, the Monde Duchess stared at her coldly, then closed her eyes and turned her head away sharply.
After watching the Duchess for a moment, Kaella turned and began to go on her way. What use would it be for that foolish woman to argue? It was better to just leave it be. Besides, she was tired. As she walked, for some reason, she felt as though she had been struck hard across the cheek for no reason, and long after the fact.
It was a feeling she was used to and could skillfully brush off, but it was one she could never forget.