“Episode 73”
Lucian chuckled briefly before opening the awkwardly folded book. Then, he gracefully invited the duchess to take a seat. As if performing in a play, Juliana nodded and sat down.
The secluded palace had few attendants. Watching one of the attendants rush over, she lost all desire for a cup of tea. Juliana shook her head before the host dismissed the attendants and got straight to the point.
“Why does the prince believe he can mediate the Walter family? The Emperor seems intent on eliminating the children he needs to cull.”
“My father does wish to take this opportunity to deal with the idle princes like me. The duke, loyal as always, seems to have guessed that intention correctly―.”
Lucian paused appropriately before continuing calmly, like a pious priest. He was modestly expressing his own situation.
“……And it’s true that he wants to send me to the north. However, my father surprisingly also likes to handle things gently.”
Juliana gave a graceful, encouraging smile.
“For example?”
“Replacing the head of the Walter family, who unnecessarily provokes the barbarians, would solve half the problem.”
“Even the imperial family can’t interfere with the succession rights of the nobility. Are you seriously thinking of marrying into the Walter family?”
Juliana frowned as she listened to Lucian. She had come to listen to avoid sending her husband to a future war, but this was too absurd. Evan, sitting beside her, also laughed at the idea.
Evan, leaning his chin on his hand, spoke slowly to emphasize his point.
“A royal marrying into a noble family is unprecedented. Even if you are a prince born out of wedlock―.”
“Evan, you misunderstand my father.”
Lucian, gently calling his old friend by name, spoke softly.
“The great Emperor wouldn’t bat an eye if I became a noble family’s dog. And sending a bastard to appease the northern barbarians is cheaper than war, isn’t it?”
“A cheap way to prevent a future war, huh? It’s tempting. But can you really stop the Walter family from provoking the barbarians like a cunning fox? The north has its own ways, even if it’s under the imperial rule. It’s such a harsh land.”
Evan, who had roamed the northern lands for a year before the return, spoke coldly. In the oldest northern mountains, cracks in the demonic realm older than human civilization opened, spewing all sorts of monsters.
The Walter Barony, a frontier noble family, had long survived in such a land. The harsh and impoverished land required all Walter family relatives to help with farming and living.
Could a poor prince suddenly entering such a land prevent a future war? Evan laughed openly, mocking someone who had once been Emperor and had been used helplessly in that position.
“I know. I can’t do it.”
Lucian smiled bitterly at Evan, who looked down on him from above.
“But the woman who was my wife will change everything.”
* * *
The northern land.
A place where snowstorms raged year-round, covering half the view. Though it occupied the largest area of the empire, few noble families owned the land.
It was a place where survival itself was difficult. In a land where all resources were scarce, the weak and naive were scorned.
And the eldest daughter of the Walter family, who had survived in that harsh land, was no exception.
After her mother’s death, the eldest daughter, Elaina Walter, became a stutterer. Though she was the legitimate heir of the Walter family, her weak nature made her untrusted. People secretly said she would one day be found on a cliff in a snowstorm.
But something strange happened. The Emperor’s son proposed to that eldest daughter. Although he was an illegitimate child.
Amid the surprise and astonishment in the northern territory, distinguished guests appeared at the long-unused portal of the Walter family.
Lucian Bül Ariacne and his longtime friends, the Duke and Duchess, arrived, drawing all eyes. They were immediately guided to the Walter family mansion.
The old castle had many parts needing repair. Even the best guest room let in the wind. Because of the year-round snow, the guest room windows were covered with frost and snow.
Looking at the desolate estate through the mottled window, Juliana muttered.
“Is it true?”
“Hm?”
Evan, who had been poking at an old tapestry in curiosity, turned around.
“That His Majesty said Lucian shouldn’t return unless he succeeded in his proposal.”
Juliana, losing interest, moved away from the window and looked at the refreshments prepared for the esteemed guests. She picked up a cookie and said leisurely, “This is good.”
In the quiet room, only the sound of chewing echoed. Evan, watching his wife with affectionate eyes, spoke.
“It seems he negotiated with my father. To replace the head of the Walter family, who causes trouble with the barbarians, and to marry into the family, renouncing his claim to the throne.”
“But, the Walter family is technically a branch of the royal family, isn’t it? Even if people hardly recognize it.”
Munching on the cookie, Juliana squinted at a painting depicting the Ariacne Empire’s symbol, the red gemstone.
The ‘Ariacne Magic Stone,’ depicted in the painting, was a legend now buried. The Emperor’s stubbornness in choosing his successor, even if his methods were harsh, remained the same. Perhaps the magic stone had been an excuse for their actions.
Briefly lost in thought, Juliana soon began pacing the large room. Evan, perhaps finding it amusing, spoke.
“The Walter family is merely a branch that has long been removed from the line of succession. They have no power to influence the central throne. The fools who openly provoke the barbarians for their daily sustenance are the Walter family.”
Evan smiled. Tired of pacing, Juliana sat down and buried her head on Evan’s shoulder.
“Can Elaina really control those fools? Elaina…….”
Before the return, Elaina had been someone who couldn’t move without a trigger. Although Juliana had helped her overcome her depression and inexplicable guilt, she didn’t want to do it this time.
Elaina was certainly her friend. But Lucian Bül Ariacne, who loved her, was not. In fact, he was the main culprit who had put them in danger, albeit not in the way they wanted.
Since the return, she had often thought about what should happen to him. And having accompanied him to the north, that thought remained unchanged.
However, a slight curiosity arose. Could Lucian Bül Ariacne, now with nothing, really change his wife, Elaina Walter?
“……I don’t think so.”
