- The Final Fate of Those who Break Taboos
“Do you need a hand? Can I help?”
As if anticipating, Viter extended the basket.
“We’re dividing it by family. Put the Marquise and Counts families on the left, and put the families with titles higher than a Baron on the right. Just do that for now, and I’ll choose later according to priority.”
The left side seemed to be for the documents. It was a pity to see pristine paper go to waste, unable to be opened and likely to be burnt. These weren’t ordinary letters from the viscount’s family, but meticulously crafted ones, written on high-quality paper with names elegantly inscribed. It was regrettable to see such delicate paper.
As they began to separate things little by little, the partition suddenly collapsed.
Deon was leaning forward.
“What are you doing?”
“Well… I’m choosing a fiancée for the prince.”
He furrowed his brows. Deon snatched the engagement proposal I was holding.
“What does Young Lady know?”
“You saw it last time. At the banquet in the north, you admired my insight.”
Did it not please him? His eyes narrowed even further.
“If you tell me your ideal type, I’ll carefully consider it this time.”
“Young lady…”
He slammed the book he was holding onto the table loudly.
You should buy items for the charity auction soon. If there’s nothing suitable in the estate, get what’s needed.
“Do you want to go together?”
“Go with Edan.”
Edan, who was carrying the luggage, stepped forward.
“I’ll go alone. Just assign Suren and one other guard to accompany me. We’re short on manpower.”
“Don’t worry. From now on, Edan will always accompany you. I’ve appointed him as your personal guard.”
Edan was his bodyguard and closest aide. Was it okay to attach such a person to me?
It was difficult to read his thoughts from his consistently expressionless face.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Leonie… I heard the news. Please don’t worry too much.”
“What news?”
The rumors in the capital spread astonishingly fast. Elizabeth had reached the stage of pregnancy where she often declined invitations to big parties. If the rumors had already reached the ears of the ladies, it must have been circulating for quite some time. It seemed incredible that the gossip that had been heard through the Ladies in the ducal palace had spread to the capital even before the start of the banquet.
“The Duke… is choosing a new fiancée.”
“He must have his reasons. Surely he wouldn’t marry someone else before Young Lady? Especially when he loves her so much.”
Well, my lady. We’re not that close. Besides, Deon doesn’t love me.
Seeing my silence, she placed her hand on the table, perhaps interpreting it differently.
“I’m the witness. I’ve seen the way he loves you enough to rush to your rescue at dawn. I’ve explained it every time at the ladies’ tea parties. He’s not that kind of person. Don’t worry about baseless rumors.”
Tears welled up in Elizabeth’s eyes.
During the short time we spent in the northern estate, Deon and I didn’t show such affectionate behavior. It was strange to hear about witnessing the love of the century.
Lately, when I visited the Count’s estate, I often encountered Elizabeth and the Count standing side by side.
The relationship between the couple wasn’t as bad as one might think. It was just subtly awkward.
Even holding hands didn’t come naturally to them. While there was mutual respect, love wasn’t present.
Despite being a couple soon to have a baby through strategic marriage, they still seemed awkward. Somehow, it seemed like the love for Deon was greater than the love they had for each other.
Perhaps that’s why they easily handed over the young child to the ducal palace. If their relationship had been deeper, they might have poured more affection into the child.
Perhaps they even hid the fact that the child born out of love was the successor of the ducal lineage.
“What about the charity auction? Have you decided what to put up for auction?”
Her visit today wasn’t for cheap sympathy or comfort. She couldn’t grasp what kind of items were usually offered at charity auctions in this world.
“I’m considering it. And you, Leonie?”
“I don’t have much… so I’m thinking of putting up some jewelry.”
Despite my efforts, I couldn’t find anything of value to me except for jewelry. The dress I got from the Baron’s estate was already worn out, leaving me with only one decent item: a bracelet adorned with poorly crafted and inexpensive gems, passed down from the Baron’s family. Who would be willing to purchase a bracelet bearing the Baron’s emblem?
“It doesn’t have to be something expensive. Some young ladies even put up items they’ve made themselves, like handkerchiefs they’ve embroidered.”
But I wasn’t exactly a great artist who could put up a scarecrow for sale. There were limits even to packaging it as performance art.
“I don’t have anything particularly valuable either… I have some fabric left over from making dresses, and I’m thinking of putting that up. Trends change after childbirth, and I think this fabric will be out of fashion soon. It’s quite valuable as it was imported, so I don’t want to just let it go to waste.”
She adjusted her clothes. She had newly tailored clothes suitable for a pregnant woman. Elizabeth, wearing custom-made clothes, looked much more comfortable than she did when she was in the north.
“Isn’t there anything else? We could bring some of the things that originally belonged to the Count on your side of the family, like something old enough to be called an antique….”
Isella’s belongings were considered valuable antiques. Before it came into Deon’s possession, the sword had been mere old, rusty, and insignificant.
“Antiques? There aren’t any at the Count’s estate…”
She trailed off.
Think carefully. There’s a sword, isn’t there?
“Well, what about treasures? Aren’t there any old items that could be passed down through the family?”
At my urging, she answered. Her expression seemed to brighten a bit.
“The Count’s treasures? Well… hmm… Originally, it belonged to my younger sister. But now, isn’t it my childs?”
She absentmindedly stroked her swollen belly.
Something more tangible than that!
I always appreciated her sensitivity, but today it wasn’t helping.
I desperately wanted to bring up the topic of relics directly and search every nook and cranny of the house, but I suppressed the urge.
At least I had to maintain some dignity. Right now, I was supposedly an unmarried noblewoman and Deon’s fiancée.
T/N: It really said fiancée not sure
“You could go to an antique shop, Young Lady. There’s a decent one in the city center. Shall I tell you about it?”
Elizabeth said kindly, unaware of my frustration, and rummaged through the drawer, pulling out a map. It was a map of the capital.
I responded with a sigh.
“Yes, please do.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
With Edan, I headed to the shop Elizabeth had mentioned.
An old antique shop.
I could just pick out some decent items and loosely assign meanings to them.
There wasn’t a suitable item that could inflate the price with a narrative as old as the items themselves. Aging could be wrapped in a sense of elegance. And I could actually pick out some really good items.
Clang.
The clear sound of a bell echoed.
While Edan parked the carriage on the rack, I decided to go in and browse through the antiques.
On the shelves were various items that looked reasonably old. I casually examined the items, picking up and then setting down the decent ones.
Then, a certain antique caught my eye.
It was a rabbit figurine on the second shelf. It held a carrot in its left hand and a sword in its right, reminiscent of a depiction of a goddess of judgment.
Its perky ears were adorable. It was a small figurine that could decorate a bedroom even without being put up for auction.
“Excuse me.”
I called the clerk. She was wiping the antiques with a dry towel at the counter, which only staff could access.
But the woman didn’t respond.
“Excuse me!”
When I spoke a little louder, she turned around.
She looked familiar. Where had I seen her before?
“Is this item for sale?”
She stared at me without a word.
Her gaze was peculiar. It seemed cloudy and vague, yet she was staring at me sharply.
I set the item down. She was unpleasant. But oddly familiar.
I stared into her eyes. She didn’t avert her gaze and looked straight back at me. Our gazes clashed in midair.
Then, it clicked. I remembered where I had seen her.
Her long wavy hair was now cut short, making it difficult to recognize her at first glance.
How could I forget that face? It was her.
The head maid of the blood department that had betrayed me.
As I looked back with surprise, she opened her mouth. Her tongue was cut.
Her tongue looked neatly cut, as if it had been sliced off.
As memories of her flooded back, I remembered other things as well.
The pact Edan had mentioned in the carriage before.
<The pact would come into effect in case of external disclosure, so even the maids wouldn’t be able to gossip freely.>
And here she was, saying things she shouldn’t have said.
I didn’t know the extent of the pact’s influence or what the taboo words were, but I could guess.
She spoke. Perhaps about the relationship between me and Deon, or maybe even about the existence of the blood itself.
I strongly felt that it must have been an accident or some other event that had caused her tongue to be cut.
Perhaps her tongue was cut due to the whims of some eccentric noble. But her face had been perfectly fine until she boarded the carriage. I couldn’t imagine what could have happened in such a short time.
Would she remember me?
The woman facing me didn’t seem angry or fearful.
She just seemed listless, like someone guarding a shop at the end of life.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“I-I was just asking about the price of this figurine… I’m sorry.”
I tightly pressed down my hat. It was fortunate that I was wearing a hat with a wide brim.
She stubbornly kept her mouth open.
It seemed like she wanted to say something. I tried to scrutinize her lip movements, but my eyes kept shaking.
Even she seemed to be not yet accustomed to her own situation. Her forehead wrinkled, perhaps due to the tongue being recently cut. It may not have been long since it happened.
Frustrated, she grabbed a notebook from the counter.
Flipping through pages filled with scribbles, she wrote something with large letters.
Scratch, scratch.
Each stroke of her pen made a squeaky noise.
It felt like my tongue was being sliced little by little. No, was it my throat?
I could have ignored her actions and walked away. But my body froze, refusing to move. I felt I had to see what she was writing.
She turned the notebook around and pushed it towards me.
[You still haven’t escaped.]
I stared blankly at those words as she grinned.
Did she know what I had said before? This time, it was crystal clear.
[How do you like the duke’s meal now?]
She said that and chuckled.
A chill ran down my spine.
As if being pushed aside by the crooked writing, I took a step back. My breath quickened. I felt a latch behind me. I hastily turned around and fled from the shop.
The bell rang. The clear sound now seemed like a warning bell signaling danger.
TL/N: I made a list of names, so we should follow that from now on to avoid further confusion.
Fl: Leonie Sien Baron
Duchy: Arnett
Ml: Deon de Larote Kirventia AKA Asmodians
OG FL: Isella Snowa
Maid: Suren
Friend Countess Elizabeth Arin
Aide: Viter Oakom
Julia Oakom
Bodyguard: Edan
TL/N: I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will be making changes to the chapters and adding more names. As I focus on editing, please feel free to inform me in the comments if you notice any errors. Thank you for your understanding.
