Episode 74

[I understand your concerns.

However, Lady Mindia Reinhardt is an outsider who does not share the blood of the ducal family. She has, in fact, been unfairly treated by them.

Have you all truly not heard of her fall during the hunting festival? Or have you simply chosen to ignore it?

More importantly, the North has received real aid from her.

What of the artisans of the North and the Tanina stalks? What of the newly obtained Koro seeds?

You all know as well as I do that such assistance is not easily acquired.

Being able to receive such help is a great advantage, is it not?

And yet, you bring up the balcony.

You say that I have forgotten it. That I must have forgotten the sorrow left behind there.

But if anything, it is you who have forgotten.

If you truly remember the bloodstains that remain there, then your first priority should be ensuring the revival of the North, making sure such tragedies never happen again.

I am not seeking revenge.

I am seeking to protect and strengthen the North.

Revenge comes afterward.

For revenge carried out by the weak is nothing more than a puppy snapping at a tiger’s throat.

Considering all she has done for us, I can accept her as my partner without hesitation.

I could kneel before her and propose to her as many times as it takes.

Not just as a temporary lover, but as the Grand Duchess of Elzerian. As my wife for a lifetime.

And in that matter, you have no choice.]

As I read the elegantly written letter, my head lowered unconsciously.

‘…Partner.’

My hands trembled slightly at the weight of that word.

Chris spoke again, his voice quiet yet firm.

“I wrote it in strong terms because I needed to make my stance clear…”

“You should just tell your vassals that this was a strategic decision.”

I repeated the words I had spoken upon entering the office.

Chris, as if anticipating my response, placed his hand gently over mine where it rested on the desk.

“If we are to look like lovers… No, if we are to be lovers—”

“……”

“Then this is the right path.”

This was…

‘It really sounds like he’s asking to become my real lover.’

Not a contract-bound arrangement.
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But something real.

‘…Are we really in that kind of situation right now?’

Even though I had been the one to kill him in my past life, could I even deserve such a thing?

And yet, shamelessly, my heart pounded.

I held my breath, afraid he would hear it.

Chris continued speaking.

“If the Koro seeds you provided take root in the North, these letters will likely stop coming.”

“……”

“Securing our own food supply has always been one of our greatest struggles.”

“That’s…”

“Would it be alright if I send this letter as it is?”

I had no response. I fidgeted with my hands before shifting the conversation.

There was something in the letter that had caught my attention.

“The balcony… What does that mean?”

Chris hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand from mine.

I instinctively lifted my head at the absence of his warmth.

Turning toward the window, he finally spoke.

“There is a place in the North that is off-limits.”

“…A monster-infested zone?”

“Of course, such places are restricted as well, but…”

I could sense him taking a measured breath.

He was debating whether to say it.

“If this is difficult for you, there’s no need to—”

“The former Grand Duke died there. On that balcony.”

“……”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

In both my past and present lives, this was the first time Chris had ever spoken about the former Grand Duke.

‘No matter how many times I think about it, his death was suspicious.’

The western wing of the northern Grand Duchy was where the knights’ quarters were located.

Because of that, it was heavily fortified, with defensive measures against monsters. The walls were embedded with expensive magic stones, acting as a protective barrier, and knights patrolled in shifts.

And yet, a monster had made its way inside.

In the dead of night, it had torn apart the former Grand Duke, who had been standing alone, watching over the knights’ training grounds.

A monster that should have only existed far beyond the northern borders.

‘As if someone had deliberately released it there.’

Chris let out a slow sigh before continuing.

“For some reason, the bloodstains there never disappeared.”

“……”

I inhaled sharply, imagining the cold balcony, the stains left behind.

And the young Chris, kneeling beside his mother’s corpse.

Even in the underground prison, he had never once mentioned that balcony.

In fact, he had rarely spoken of the former Grand Duke at all.

All he had ever talked about was the North—how it was, how much he missed it.

“We brought in mages, tried everything we could… But it was no use. Though no one speaks of it openly, some believe it’s a curse.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I think so too.”

Chris gave a bitter smile, his tone calm.

And yet, that composure was what made my heart ache the most.

Because of me, of all people, he had to hear his own vassals accuse him of forgetting the bloodstains left behind.

“In the end… I emptied out the entire western wing, leaving only the knights’ quarters. No one wanted to pass by and see that stain every day.”

“…Are you alright?”

Though there had been no evidence, it was highly likely that Chris’s mother had been murdered under Duke Reinhardt’s orders.

The thought of it again made the Reinhardt name attached to me feel like a brand—a hot iron pressed against Chris’s skin.

Chris remained unfazed.

“I haven’t forgotten. But I try not to let hatred consume me.”

“……”

“As you must have realized from reading my letter, there are things more important than revenge weighing on my shoulders right now.”

As he spoke, he gently brushed his hand over mine.

‘Even now, you don’t blame me.’

He had not only lost his mother so tragically but had ultimately died because of my name.

‘And yet, even now…’

All he did was offer me quiet reassurance.

Just as the former Grand Duke’s blood remained on that balcony, Chris’s last words to me in my past life had remained etched into my heart.

I was still at a loss for words when he spoke again.

“Every time I think of that stain, I remind myself of what I must protect.”

“……”

“The land of the North. The people who live there.”

Then, his gaze settled on me—deep, unwavering.

“And you.”

“Your Grace—!”

I gasped.

Joy and guilt crashed into me all at once.

“You don’t need to protect me…”

“I’ve lost many things that were precious to me.”

“……”

“Each time, the warmth I wanted to hold onto slipped through my fingers. No matter how many times I experience it, it never becomes any less terrible.”

His voice was softer than usual—uncharacteristically vulnerable.

And suddenly, my eyes burned with heat.

He now saw me as someone within his walls—someone to be protected.

The realization filled me with both joy and sorrow.

Sorrow, because he bore all of this alone.

It made me want to cry out on his behalf, to grieve for everything he endured in silence.

“That’s why I refuse to let it happen again.”

“Your Grace…”

“I will protect everything that has come into my embrace. I will never let it go.”

As he spoke, Chris gently took hold of my wrist.

“No matter what is said.”

His fingers wrapped around my wrist, as if forming a bracelet.

“No matter who desires it and tries to interfere.”

‘…He saw it.’

The moment those words left his lips, I knew.

‘He saw the golden corsage.’

That realization, combined with the words in the letter he had just written, made something hot lodge itself in my throat again.

“As I wrote this letter, I thought about the engagement we had discussed.”

“…And have you reached a conclusion?”

“Yes. If you are willing…”

I barely swallowed the breath caught in my chest as Chris reached into his coat.

“I believe it would be best to proceed with it immediately.”

Something was placed in front of me.

A small ring box.

* * *

Aria stood in the middle of the toilette room, gently running her fingers over the letter she had received from the Grand Duke.

“Your Grace…”

It was the reply to the letter she had sent him, one she had barely managed to receive at the end of the summer villa gathering.

All her efforts in persuading the attendants to redirect any letters addressed to Lady Reinhardt to her had finally paid off.

Because the reply had taken so long to arrive, she had not been able to exchange any additional letters with him. Before she even had a chance to read it, the Grand Duke had already arrived in the capital.

Even from the envelope alone, it felt as if the cold northern scent that always lingered around him was wafting through the air.

She wanted nothing more than to tear it open immediately and see what was inside.

But ever since receiving the golden corsage, Aria had been overwhelmed with obligations.

The Duke, eager to make her the next Empress, had assigned her an endless number of tutors, keeping her occupied from morning till night.

And later, when she finally had the time, she found herself hesitating.

After witnessing the Grand Duke embracing Mindia at the summer villa, she had lost the courage to open it.

“……”

Had she opened it the moment it arrived, when her heart was still pounding with excitement, she wouldn’t have felt this fear.

“…But I’m not giving up just yet.”

With a sigh, Aria traced the edges of the envelope.

The Grand Duke was something she had always wanted but never been able to obtain.

“For Your Grace, I would do anything.”

She wished he could see the difference between her and Mindia—that she was not like the woman who only clung to a man for his status.

At that moment—

Knock, knock.

“My lady, it’s time for your lessons.”

The daily lessons were tedious and exhausting, but there was at least one benefit to them.

“You weren’t coming out, so I—”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry.”

Viscountess Durandi, who had come all the way to the toilette room to find her, widened her eyes in mild surprise.

Though she wasn’t exactly the shining star of high society, she had a remarkable talent for spreading information.

Aria purposefully lifted the letter beside her face, letting the Grand Duke’s unbroken seal remain in clear view.

It was the perfect illusion of a freshly delivered letter.

“I’m sorry. I was checking my mail.”

The envelope, still untouched, gave the impression that it had just arrived.

As Viscountess Durandi’s gaze landed on the Grand Duke’s elegant handwriting on the front, her pupils trembled.