The news that the Monde Duchy’s carriage had gone to the Grand Duke of Lusenford’s townhouse and then headed to the imperial palace spread quickly throughout Crania.
Rumors said that since the Grand Duke was too busy working at the palace without time to even stop by his home, the Duchess of Monde had chased him all the way to the palace.
The social circles were eager to know if the Duchess of Monde had met with the Grand Duke of Lusenford and what conversation they might have had.
Of course, the Duchess of Monde succeeded in meeting Peon by forcefully pushing her way through. It was possible if one threw away all decorum and manners.
“How could you do this? Our Beatrice only has eyes for you, how could you discard such a pure maiden so easily!”
Peon stared at the Duchess of Monde with tired eyes. She had boasted great beauty in her youth and still retained some of it, but her face had been much damaged by years of being chased by creditors and living through hard times.
It wasn’t her fault. It was the fault of the Duke of Monde and his ancestors who had accumulated gambling debts.
But in the process, the Duchess of Monde had lost her sense of shame and become extremely brazen, even beginning to consider others’ possessions as her own. And her spending habits were not insignificant either.
“Do you know how old Beatrice is now? If we were going to marry her off, we would have done so already. Do you know how many marriage proposals she receives?”
He knew. It was just that none of the men were sufficient to pay off all of Monde’s debts.
Only Lusenford’s reputation and wealth could save Monde and maintain their face. This point was really important. The Duchess of Monde didn’t just want to pay off debts. She wanted much more.
“Despite all that, do you know why she’s still sitting around at that age? Huh? Of course, it’s because I knew how much you liked Beatrice, so I left her be!”
Her voice was rising. Peon, sensing that a line was about to be crossed, sent away his aides whose expressions were turning grim.
Then he endured the bombardment the Duchess of Monde was unleashing without restraint. Or perhaps he was just quietly observing. At this point, she would cleverly bring up the Empress and probe Peon’s weak spots.
“And don’t I think of you like my own son? If the Empress hadn’t collapsed like that, she would have agreed with me. How I raised you like my own son with such care.”
That was because the Duchess of Monde had received personal financial help from the Empress, and used the extra money she was given to buy and provide things Peon needed. It was something anyone could have done, not just the Duchess of Monde.
“Our Beatrice only had eyes for you, Peon! But you abandon our child like a dog on a rainy day? How could you do this, Peon!”
Peon felt like his already strained nerves were about to snap. He’d listened enough by this point.
“First of all, it seems there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding! His Majesty the Emperor announced the marriage because you agreed, didn’t he!”
He tilted his head back slightly and leaned against the backrest. As the cold purple light leaped from the eyes of the Grand Duke of Lusenford who had closed his mouth, the Duchess of Monde belatedly flinched. She realized she had gotten too excited.
“Anyway, isn’t that right?”
As expected, Beatrice hadn’t told her mother that Peon had proposed marriage. That’s why she came chasing after him, panting and excited like this. The Duchess of Monde, her face flushed red, looked as if she was daring him to speak if he had anything to say.
Peon considered several cards he could play. He could say that he had proposed to Beatrice and also spoken to His Majesty the Emperor.
But if that reached the Duchess of Monde’s ears, rumors would spread everywhere, the Emperor would be criticized for separating legitimate lovers, and moreover, Kaela would have to live in Beatrice’s shadow constantly. It would be a repetition of what had happened before.
Yes. Up to this point, it was similar to what he had experienced in his past life.
“I’m grateful for your care during my childhood, Duchess. But you’ve already been compensated for that by my mother, haven’t you? A considerable sum was paid to the Monde Duchy from the Empress’s palace. It would be troublesome if you thought I didn’t know about that.”
When a son-like figure pointed out the money that had passed between adults, the Duchess of Monde’s face turned bright red.
“Peon! How could you say such a thing!”
In his past life, when the royal decree to marry Kaela came down, he immediately proposed to Beatrice.
No, he was about to. Before he could propose, Beatrice cried saying it couldn’t be helped because of the royal decree, and he ended up crying together with her in despair. And the Duchess of Monde came and overturned everything, demanding answers just the same.
Peon just apologized on his knees for hours, feeling like a sinner. He was always stupid, powerless, and didn’t properly know what was important. Now he’s sick of it. He was suffocating in self-loathing.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? And above all, if someone were to come, shouldn’t it be Beatrice? Why are you here, Duchess?”
“Our daughter doesn’t even have the strength to walk now! The child fell ill as soon as she heard the news of your marriage! How can you be so cold-hearted, Peon?”
It’s not that she lacks strength, but that she can’t get up during the day because she’s been in and out of Soleil Palace all night.
“If you’re displeased with my marriage, it would be right to go to His Majesty the Emperor who decided on it. If I refuse the marriage, it would be defying the royal decree. Are you now asking me to defy the royal decree, Duchess?”
Everyone tends to treat those they see as easy targets roughly, while being timid towards those stronger than them. The Duchess of Monde was no exception.
“How can you interpret it like that? What I mean is, as a man and a knight, you should show responsibility towards a lady!”
“Then please petition His Majesty to do so. I will follow if it’s a royal decree.”
“You’re a coward, Peon! A coward!”
“Yes, I am a coward. And one more thing, Duchess.”
He decided to say something he hadn’t intended to declare so early in this life.
“Your daughter and I are no longer in any kind of relationship.”
In fact, he had intended to use even his relationship with Beatrice. He could use anything to drive her and the Emperor to ruin.
But if that relationship would hurt Kaela and damage her honor, he had to give it up no matter how useful it might be. That was the right thing to do.
“We’re just two people who cherish good memories from the past and wish each other happiness, so I won’t tolerate anything more than this. Wilberk.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Please show the Duchess the way out.”
“Yes, Your Highness. This way, Duchess.”
“How dare you, Peon! You!”
As the Duchess of Monde shouted, unable to contain her anger, Sir Wilberk’s expression immediately hardened.
“Please show respect to His Highness, Duchess. This is the Imperial Palace ruled by His Majesty the Emperor, and that person is the only Grand Duke appointed by His Majesty.”
Of course, the Duchess of Monde caused an even bigger scene at those words, but neither Peon nor his subordinates paid any attention to her words.
The expelled Duchess of Monde immediately spread what Peon had said throughout Crania, raging about how he could do this.
As a result, Peon became known as a bastard who abandoned his debt-ridden, extravagant childhood friend for a wealthy heiress.
He thought this was much better than being called an idiot who couldn’t forget his childhood friend out of loyalty and mistreated his wife.
****
Wedding preparations began in a hurry. If there had been a long engagement period, they could have prepared step by step, but everyone was rushing towards the wedding at an unprecedented speed for this unprecedented event.
“Grand Duke?”
Sir Wilberk, who had been reporting, carefully called out to Peon.
“Shall we stop if you’re tired?”
Lusenford was also in an uproar at the sudden news of the engagement.
Years ago, when creditors swarmed Monde, Beatrice often took refuge in Lusenford. Since then, people in the north had assumed the Grand Duke would naturally marry Beatrice.
But suddenly he was marrying a duke’s daughter from the south? And it was a marriage decided by the Emperor, so the people of Lusenford were upset, saying their Grand Duke was being dragged along by the Emperor again.
“No, I’m listening. Continue.”
“Yes. The mineral coming from the newly discovered mine is indeed diamond, as you said, Your Highness.”
