Episode 25
“No, does that even make sense?”
“It’s nothing else but destiny.”
Knowing better than anyone else what it meant, my head rang as if struck.
I fled the place filled with cheers and excitement as if escaping.
* * *
Returning to the room in the Duke’s residence and lying on the bed, I murmured while looking at the ceiling.
‘Is this real…?’
I even doubted whether I might be hallucinating due to excessive consciousness.
In a different way than the original, Ludwig would soon receive the delegation of the Duke as planned. At the same time, he would overthrow the Council of Elders.
Yet, there was a void that could not be filled for him.
A void he hadn’t been able to fill since his mother was assassinated.
That presence was none other than Jena.
The girl who suddenly revealed herself at the New Year’s party would soon become the responsible purifier, taming the violent male leads.
Among the male leads in her fishery, Ludwig was the most difficult to tame, but he also became completely on her side starting from the moment he was imprinted due to some incident.
In Ludwig’s life, imprinting played a quite important pivotal role.
The first time he discovered the red moon pattern from Ludwig was during the awakening celebration.
If that’s the case, imprinting should have occurred before that…
Could it be the moment when I saved Ludwig just before he went berserk, pouring rain at that time?
Doubt only existed at that moment.
As I thought about it, a knocking sound on the door was heard, startling me.
“Sierra.”
I suppressed my surprised feelings at the voice coming from beyond the door.
Then, smoothing my voice, I casually said, “Oh, Ludwig. Come in.”
With my permission, the door opened, and Ludwig entered the room.
“I didn’t see you at the meeting, and I was worried that you went in first because you weren’t feeling well.”
“Oh, well, I do have a bit of dizziness…”
“Oh, dizziness. I’ll call the physician right away.”
“No, no! It’s not that serious. I’ll be fine after a good rest.”
As I spoke, waving my hands, Ludwig gave me a skeptical look. However, when he looked at me as if I were innocent, he nodded.
He sat down on the sofa in the room.
“Isn’t it the time to be surrounded by people trying to impress the future Duke?”
“I barely escaped the whole day of being held captive.”
Ludwig nodded as if it had been tough.
Seeing him look tired, I couldn’t help but burst into a soft laugh and said, “Congratulations on achieving your wish.”
“Thank you. I never imagined I would be the winner, but it seems I was lucky.”
Ludwig said so, but it was definitely not just luck.
With the sword already swinging, who else could become the winner if not him?
Ludwig must have already planned to demand the position of the Duke in becoming the winner today.
Although there was an unexpected variable with the poison in the middle.
Moreover, even though granting any wish was a tradition, demanding the position of the Duke was close to unthinkable.
If it was deemed an unreasonable request from the Duke’s perspective, they could easily refuse.
However, there might have been other reasons behind Ludwig’s demand for the position of the Duke.
“Were you confident that the Duke would grant even an unreasonable wish like stepping down from the position?”
Ludwig nodded as he replied, “My father has been feeling tired in his duties lately. He mentioned feeling burdened by running the family with the Council deeply involved.”
“Has he expressed a desire to step down from the position?”
“Yes, just recently. Originally, my father had no ambitions for power, but due to the premature deaths of his brothers, he had no choice but to become the Duke. He endured the unwanted position as someone’s puppet for quite a long time.”
“Perhaps he was waiting for the right opportunity.”
“My father needed a clear chance. A moment where he could officially pass on the succession without the Council’s interference.”
I nodded in agreement with Ludwig’s words. It seemed that what I had thought was close to the correct answer.
He, who had been elusive, recently started showing up officially in his position. His unusual attendance at the Karsian banquet, where he even asked me to be his partner, all paved the way for the official declaration of succession in today’s hunting ceremony.
In the original work, due to a rampage, things took a different direction from his intentions, which he had planned so carefully.
Whether it was a good thing that it unfolded the way he wanted or a bad thing that the original story went awry, I didn’t know.
At that moment, pretending not to know, I asked Ludwig, “By the way, Ludwig. Why do you think the rampage stopped earlier?”
I added, trying to control my voice as much as possible without trembling, “I’ve heard that it’s rare for a rampage to stop midway. It happened last time, and today too. Is there something I don’t know?”
Ludwig hesitated for a moment in response to my words and then looked at me.
Despite having seen him a lot before, he felt strangely unfamiliar now.
“Do you want to know the reason?”
I swallowed hard at his low-toned voice and nodded firmly.
* * *
Thud-thud, thud-thud.
The rhythmic sound of hooves echoed.
At the Karsian Grand Manor, a procession of carriages was leaving in an orderly fashion.
The two-day-long banquet had come to an end, and the large-scale guests were returning to their respective territories and countries.
They spared no words about the unprecedented winner of this event.
By tomorrow, the world would be buzzing with the birth of the young Duke.
I sat in the carriage, watching the Karsian Grand Manor grow distant.
Ludwig’s words continued to linger in my ears.
“Because I met the Imprinter and was saved.”
“…The Imprinter?”
My heart thumped.
“I won’t say who it is. All I can say is that the presence of the Imprinter alone allowed us to avoid the danger of a rampage.”
“…”
Ludwig acknowledged the existence of the Imprinter himself.
That alone was already a shocking revelation.
Although he didn’t reveal who it was, his gaze conveyed everything.
I deliberately didn’t ask further.
It felt like driving in a wedge might not be a good idea.
Everything about what emotions he harbored towards me and what I thought of him was unclear.
Declining Ludwig’s offer to accompany me, I rode alone in the carriage.
“I’ll be busy with succession issues from now on. We might not see each other for a while.”
It was actually a relief.
Sitting in the swaying carriage, I sorted through my complicated thoughts.
* * *
It felt like a long time since I arrived at Drenihan, even though it had only been two days.
As expected, the atmosphere at the mansion was chaotic in all directions.
The gazes of the servants looking at me felt sharp, as if the news had spread everywhere.
“Where could Jerria be? She should have arrived before me.”
Along with the events at the Grand Manor, Jerria was immediately sent to Drenihan.
As I was about to grab a child and inquire about her whereabouts, a familiar voice came from behind me.
“You’ve returned, Sierra.”
“Grandfather!”
I took a step towards him and greeted him.
Then, his gaze lingered on my face, and his eyebrows furrowed.
‘What’s this? Is there something on my face?’
I had already washed away all the dirt at the Grand Manor, and with the new clothes that Ludwig had provided, my appearance should have been fine.
He brushed his hand across my cheek.
As his hand lightly touched, I squinted my eye at the slight tingling sensation.
“You’ve got a wound.”
I seemed to have developed a bruise unknowingly.
“I’ve heard everything about Jerria. Most importantly, it’s a relief that you’re unharmed.”
“Where is Jerria now?”
“I’ve had her rest in a room for now. Tomorrow morning, I plan to send her down to the Dermian Territory.”
The Dermian Territory.
It was the most remote and desolate place owned by Drenihan.
Throughout the year, harsh snow fell, and the citadel stood like a fortress in the midst of wilderness, as if welcoming sinners.
“Jerria committed an unforgivable act. It might be too lenient of a punishment, but…”
I nodded at his words.
“No, I’m okay. I originally intended to leave all decisions to you, Grandfather. I’ll follow your intentions.”
Jerria was also his granddaughter.
Among the penalties he could impose on his family, he had chosen the most stringent method.
Grandfather smiled at my words and patted my head.
“You must have had a hard time. Go up and rest soon.”
* * *
As I was heading back to my room, the person I encountered in the hallway was none other than Mrs. Beth.
She seemed urgent, as if she had just heard the news about Jerria, hastily walking down the corridor.
In a brief moment of eye contact, Mrs. Beth stopped and stood in front of me.
“What on earth did you do, you.”
Mrs. Beth looked like she was suppressing her anger as her face turned red.
I wanted to quickly lie down on my bed and rest, so why was she bothering me like this?
Not being able to leave someone alone seems to be a hereditary trait in that household.
“I didn’t do anything. It was Jerria who caused the trouble.”
In response to my answer, her eyes narrowed sharply.
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