Episode 2
I quietly slipped out of my room and retrieved a discarded imperial gazette that the duke’s household had thrown away.
I also managed to stash some food away.
Around the time Aria first arrived, my treatment in the duke’s household was not good. They only provided meals at their whim. I had to fend for myself.
“You need to eat to endure.”
I hastily grabbed some hard bread and thin stew meant for the servants, but it was enough to fill my stomach.
As I ate, I couldn’t take my eyes off the portrait of Grand Duke Chris Elzerian in the imperial gazette.
Black hair, unreadable eyes, a cold and sculpted face. His side profile and sharp jawline were strikingly handsome.
“…I need to look closer.”
I had only heard his voice before, never seen his face. This time, I had to memorize it properly.
“So I can recognize him from afar and approach him.”
The Elzerian Grand Duchy had long been the dominant power in the North. They were closely tied to the imperial family. The previous grand duke even married the emperor’s younger sister.
However, the relationship soured drastically starting with the previous generation.
The previous grand duke refused the imperial demand to send his heir to the capital for education.
The official reason was to study in the capital, but everyone knew it was a ploy by the imperial family to keep the growing power of the grand duchy in check.
‘That’s why the grand duke refused.’
The one who criticized the grand duke on behalf of the imperial family was the Duke of Reinhardt.
—
‘How dare you defy the imperial request! Is the Grand Duke Elzerian planning treason?!’
—
‘When it was he himself who was plotting rebellion.’
But the Duke of Reinhardt had always acted like a loyal lapdog to the imperial family. That’s why everyone believed him when he framed me.
In any case, the Elzerian Grand Duke took the duke’s words as an insult.
—
‘How dare you accuse me of treason? This concerns the autonomy of the North…’
‘Autonomy! That’s proof enough that the North dreams of independence from the empire!’
—
The imperial family, agreeing with the duke, was displeased with the grand duke’s defiance. With the grand duke’s husband, the emperor’s younger brother, having died from illness, there was no one to mediate between the grand duchy and the imperial family.
As a result of the ensuing conflict, relations between the Duke of Reinhardt and the grand duchy deteriorated rapidly.
‘It became irrevocably hostile when the previous Grand Duke Elzerian died at the hands of a demonic beast.’
That beast was not the kind that typically ventured into the territory. There were many unnatural circumstances surrounding the grand duke’s death.
However, no proper investigation was conducted.
The northern region’s petition for a thorough investigation was blocked in the noble assembly, orchestrated by the Duke of Reinhardt, who was the assembly’s chairman at the time.
While the north was reeling, the precious magickite mines in the grand duchy’s territory were seized under the guise of a lease by the duke’s forces. It was a lease in name only, effectively a forcible takeover.
The north had every reason to despise the duke.
Amidst these events, the current Grand Duke Elzerian, who succeeded the title at the age of ten, was now known as Chris Elzerian.
After the previous grand duke’s death, Chris spent five years in the capital as per the imperial family’s demand.
Then, at the age of sixteen, instead of debuting in society, he went to the northern frontlines against the demonic beasts, earning significant achievements. Despite his young age, he fought like a demon and survived, restoring the Elzerian Grand Duchy as the dominant power in the north.
Outwardly, he seemed to follow the imperial family’s directives strictly, to avoid giving them any pretext for action against his family.
“But it was all in vain.”
When I was arrested on charges of treason, there was a man in the cell next to mine in the underground prison.
—
‘No matter how mighty he was in the north, now he’s just a traitor!’
‘Confess what you’ve been plotting immediately!’
—
Chris had been arrested on the same charges as I had been.
One of the fabricated treason letters from the Duke’s family included a letter supposedly written by me to the grand duke. It was clear the duke intended to eliminate Chris.
Because my name was involved, I was wracked with guilt for a long time.
At least we were both chained to the wall in our respective cells, so I couldn’t see his face. It would have been much harder if I had to look him in the eye.
One day, to my surprise, he spoke to me.
—
‘…Lie on your side.’
—
I was groaning and crying through the night due to the torture wounds on my back. Despite being falsely accused because of me, he didn’t blame me. Instead, he whispered advice.
—
‘Lie on your side… count to three and breathe slowly.’
—
I had heard rumors that he was a very cold person.
Regardless of whether he was my family’s enemy or not, he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would enjoy hearing a helpless lady suffer.
Or maybe my sobs just annoyed him.
—
‘It will be less painful…’
—
In any case, I managed to turn onto my side and finally fell asleep.
A few days later, I spoke to him first, right after he returned from being tortured.
—
‘Does it hurt a lot?’
‘…….’
‘At least I took the brunt of it first and wore the torturer out. How was it for you?’
—
Our conversations started like this and continued every day. No matter how trivial the talk, it helped us forget the pain and fall asleep.
—
‘I’m glad you’re here.’
‘…….’
‘You know so much about handling injuries. If it weren’t for you, Your Grace…’
—
I once said this as a joke, and his response was…
—
‘I feel the same.’
‘…….’
‘I’m… not alone. Because you’re here…’
‘Your Grace?’
‘…I can endure it.’
—
It sounded as if he was asking me to hold on as well.
Telling me not to give up, not to die.
Hearing such words from someone for the first time in my life…
That’s why I held on.
—
‘Ugh!’
‘This wench! Bring more branding irons!’
‘Huff, huff, huff…’
‘So, stubborn…’
—
As each day passed, I started to believe that maybe both of us could survive. We could endure because we had each other.
…But that was just a hopeful fantasy.
—
‘Today is the day.’
‘…….’
‘Thank you for everything.’
—
He was executed a day before me.
—
‘Your Grace, Your Grace!’
‘Silence her! Gag her!’
—
Even as the guards gagged me, I couldn’t stop crying out. Chris was dragged away and killed.
I wished I had died a day earlier. Enduring that day without him was unbearably painful.
For the first time, instead of feeling the emptiness of this endless cycle, I cried real tears.
I touched my now-dry cheeks.
“…The Grand Duke’s victory banquet is next week.”
This was a celebration of his recent successful defense against the monsters in the north. This banquet was a significant event in the original novel.
It was where the heroine, Aria, and the male lead, Crown Prince Albert, met for the first time.
‘And Chris gets poisoned there.’
He doesn’t die, but he suffers severe aftereffects. His movements become impaired, preventing him from returning to the north. He remains in the capital, getting entangled in political strife and falsely accused.
“……”
Simply preventing him from being poisoned isn’t enough.
‘I need to give him the upper hand.’
To cut off the Duke of Reinhardt’s influence, or better yet, the duke himself.
I clenched my fists.
* * *
A homing pigeon soared through the sky and lightly landed on someone’s arm.
The person who received the pigeon untied the note attached to its leg and started walking briskly.
Sweat beads formed on the back of his neck, a stark contrast to the northern climate he was accustomed to. This level of sweat had become familiar due to the capital’s different climate.
“Your Grace!”
However, as he reached his destination and opened the door, the refreshing scent that wafted through made Jade, the lieutenant of the Northern Order, feel slightly embarrassed.
“You’ve arrived.”
“What is your secret, really?”
“Secret?”
“When I’m with the other knights, we always reek of sweat.”
Despite his grumbling, Jade’s face was full of a proud smile, as if he wanted to boast about his commander’s perfection in even such trivial matters.
Chris’s face showed a faint smile in response. It was so slight that you had to look closely to see the corners of his mouth lift.
“See, when you smile, you’re even more handsome. It’s your usual stern demeanor that’s the problem.”
“Enough of the nonsense.”
Chris approached his lieutenant and took the note, unfolding it.
“The North is holding up well.”
“It’s truly unfair. We get reports like this while the imperial family is leisurely hosting banquets. Who knows when the monsters might come south again.”
“Calm down. If someone hears you, you’ll be accused of treason.”
“But why do you look like that?”
Jade’s face filled with concern.
“Did you not sleep again?”
Jade lowered his voice as he asked.
“Did you have that dream again?”
“Don’t worry.”
“How can I not? If someone has cursed you… There are many enemies of the Grand Duchy in the capital.”
“That’s not it.”
Chris firmly denied it. Jade, frustrated, clutched his chest.
“How can you be so sure?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Chris looked out the window.
Although spring was approaching, the capital’s warm air, compared to the North, reflected the sunlight, creating a shimmering haze.
‘If it were a curse.’
There wouldn’t be such a kind voice.
—
‘Does it hurt a lot?’
—
A voice in the dream, asking him gently.
His restlessness stemmed from the pain felt before and after hearing that voice. It was a pain as if his flesh was being cut and his bones scraped.
However, at the end of the dream, that voice allowed him to wake up peacefully, as if it had driven all the bad energy away.
Thus, it didn’t feel like a curse at all.
It felt more like the afterimage of a battle returning in a dream once the fight was over—a way of tracing an old scar.
Chris shook his head lightly and dismissed his lieutenant.
“In any case, we must ensure there’s no trouble this time. Inspect the knights’ formations for the banquet preparations.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Today, too, there was much to be done. Especially with the banquet just around the corner, it needed to go off without a hitch.
‘You need to know how to play along with the imperial family’s whims properly.’
To protect his territory and his people.
The note from the homing pigeon crumpled lightly in Chris’s hand.
