YED Chapter 164

Among those touring the Crania Empire, Prince Elkanan was likely the only one who had to hide his twitching lips at the news of His Majesty the Emperor’s collapse.

The ominous news made the empire more unsettled, and even seemed to break the fierce summer heat.

On the surface, everything didn’t look too bad. While His Majesty’s collapse was sad, the Crania Empire had begun preparations to welcome the era of the next emperor.

Around the time when the Regency Council’s orders were being posted everywhere and late summer was starting to retreat, nobles flocked to the courthouse without exception.

Just as theaters bustled in the evenings with plays, ballet, premieres by famous composers, and operas, the daytime entertainment in Craine these days was the tragedy of the Monde ducal family.

Inspector Isidore Dakiten, who received his appointment from the Regency Council, unlike when he guarded the capital’s gates, now carried enormous public attention as he thoroughly investigated the Ravalley mother and daughter.

The Duchess of Monde appeared with a pale face, hanging her head low and exercising her right to remain silent.

But her daughter glared at Sir Dakiten with flashing pink eyes. The courthouse was packed with people coming to see these terrifying women who had allegedly murdered their head of the household after indulging in luxury and accumulating debt.

Today, the courthouse was even more crowded than usual. It was the day of the final verdict.

“They’ll be executed, won’t they? They’re nobles who killed their own family members.”

“Of course it’ll be execution. Haven’t you seen how thoroughly Sir Dakiten searched Monde Castle to get a death sentence?”

“His momentum was fierce. The crime is severe, with murder and cover-up.”

The lawyers spoke about their views on the case to reporters and acquaintances with an air of importance.

Even in this heat, people stared intently at Beatrice Ravalley as she limped in, wearing long clothes and desperately trying to hide her twisted left hand. Beatrice still held her head high.

Today, there was no need for Sir Dakiten and the lawyers to waste time arguing. The court clerk began moving his pen dipped heavily in ink, and reporters started working their pencils on their notepads.

“Defendant Maria Louisa Ravalley, Duchess of Monde.”

Even the judge who called out the name and read the long list of crimes below it occasionally fluttered his robe, seemingly affected by the heat. In the courthouse, still retaining late summer’s residual heat, the sound of fans was quite loud.

“Defendant Beatrice Ravalley.”

When her name was called, Beatrice had an almost fanatical conviction. This wouldn’t be the end. She wouldn’t end her young life with mere execution. Surely not.

“For the crimes of patricide and concealment, death penalty.”

Even as everyone wore expressions suggesting this was the expected outcome, Beatrice didn’t blink once. Looking at Inspector Isidore Dakiten’s expressionless face, she sensed something.

“…However, by special decree of the Regency Council representing the great Emperor’s will, and His Highness the Crown Prince’s merciful command, the death penalty is suspended.”

The Crown Prince, who would soon ascend to the throne, needed to show mercy first. Criminals would receive reduced sentences, and food and medicine would be distributed to poorhouses.

“The Monde duchy reverts to the imperial family. Both defendants are removed from the nobility registry and sentenced to 30 years of labor in the Perunel mines.”

The Perunel mines. The cold and hungry northern iron mines.

As the judge left, people poured out discussing whether it would have been better to just die or to cling to life even while serving 30 years in those terrible iron mines.

Since it wasn’t their own fate, they could engage in such refined discussions.

Isidore Dakiten hurried back to the imperial palace with an expression of disgust he couldn’t hide. Though he conducted the investigation, the verdict came from the judge, or rather, the Regency Council. Isidore put a cigarette in his mouth inside the swaying carriage.

The streets were still bustling with newspaper sellers, children selling flowers, busy workers, ladies and gentlemen out shopping, and carriages all tangled together.

These days, Prince Elkanan must be the only happy person. That somewhat irritated Isidore.

“Is His Highness the Grand Duke inside?”

“Yes. He ordered that you should be let in whenever you arrive.”

While every room in the imperial palace was filled with the thick cigarette smoke of bureaucrats nursing headaches, the office where the Grand Duke of Lusenford sat was clean without a trace of tobacco smell.

The Grand Duke, whom Isidore evaluated as incredibly neat at least on the outside regardless of what lay within, was elegantly sitting and examining documents today as well.

The majority of those documents were likely related to the coronation ceremony rather than military matters that the Grand Duke oversaw. That he was looking into his wife’s duties out of concern for her health was something Isidore had noticed early on.

“I’m here to report on the verdict, hyung-nim.”

“Sit down.”

But Isidore somehow wasn’t in the mood to sit comfortably.

“Is this really how it ends, hyung-nim?”

Sir Isidore Dakiten, now a member of the Regency Council, asked his cousin who had become adept even at political matters.

“They murdered a noble. Their own family member at that.”

“A terrible thing indeed.”

His hyung-nim, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the documents, wore an expression suggesting it wasn’t terrible at all.

“But no matter how terrible, with the coronation coming up, the new emperor needs to show some charity and mercy, don’t you think?”

The timing had aligned in the worst possible way. It was the worst for Isidore as the inspector. He had prosecuted demanding nothing less than execution, but with the emperor’s collapse, he had no choice but to consider the empire’s overall atmosphere.

Isidore detected a hint of sarcasm in his hyung-nim’s words about “showing some charity.” So hyung-nim isn’t pleased with this either? Then could his personal feelings have influenced this verdict?

“Both avoiding execution. How fortunate they are.”

Peon nodded. In fact, though Isidore had no way of knowing, this was Peon’s will.

Whether the new emperor ascended or not, whatever happened, the mother and daughter who murdered Duke Monde would have avoided execution. No matter how much their crimes warranted death, they would have avoided it.

“…There must be more crimes. People who commit such acts couldn’t have avoided committing other crimes.”

After Beatrice Ravalley, who had risen without knowing her limits, became a criminal, many victims belatedly appeared claiming they too had been wronged by that woman.

“Indeed.”

Isidore, who had been grinding his teeth, looked at Peon.

He couldn’t understand at all how his hyung-nim, famous for his various connections with Beatrice Ravalley, was taking this. He just sat elegantly, processing work at an incredible speed, leaving unwavering signatures.

“May I continue investigating?”

“Do you need my permission?”

“There’s a world of difference between having your permission and investigating independently without it.”

Peon briefly laughed and finally lifted his eyes from the documents. He held in one hand the lives of someone who had been like an aunt who cared for him in childhood and his playmate.

“Didn’t I tell you to return to Alemichi once I’m finished?”

Isidore increasingly furrowed his brow until he was frowning. Though he always maintained an expressionless face while working, he was quite bad at managing his expressions in front of his older cousin.

“I really don’t understand what you’re thinking, hyung-nim.”

Isidore finally spoke honestly as he slumped into his seat. Unlike with others, Isidore at least didn’t try to scheme in front of Peon. In fact, even Isidore himself didn’t fully realize how beneficial this was for him.

“Are you sympathizing with Beatrice Ravalley, or…”

Peon just turned his eyes to look at Isidore while still holding the documents.

“Or?”

“…Isn’t Perunel mine under your jurisdiction?”

“Perunel mine is state property. Perunel is just one of my territories.”

“Did you deliberately put them there?”

Those sentenced to labor are scattered all over. Places handling labor are spread throughout the vast empire.

Among them, while Perunel iron mine was infamous for being so harsh that people died there, it wasn’t the ‘only’ place with such notoriety.

“If you’re not satisfied with Perunel, why don’t you investigate more and add to their charges?”

“They’ll die there first. Unless you’re watching over them, that is.”

Today’s result must have really displeased him for words that the usual Isidore Dakiten would never utter suddenly spilled out. Peon laughed.

“They won’t die.”

Isidore was now truly cursing Peon with his eyes.

“Does Kaela know you’re doing this?”

“I get Kaela’s permission for everything.”

“Isn’t it permission she doesn’t really mean? What will you do when people outside whisper about how they’ve tarnished Kaela’s honor, your honor?”

“My honor is already tarnished.”

Isidore, who had been getting worked up, flinched.

“That’s something that can’t be restored no matter how hard one tries. Because the past is so clear.”

Peon spoke quietly as he turned back to the documents and left his signature.

“Even if my name becomes blurred in history, the stigma you’re now pointing out and worrying about will follow after my name.”

Centuries later, some persistent historian finding records from this time would find interesting the peculiar relationship between the Grand Duke of Lusenford and that scandalous woman who eventually became a criminal and disappeared from records. They would say the two once had a special relationship.

How would such people interpret Kaela? Would they write about her as a quiet and docile perfect wife, a woman with no opinions of her own who just endured and tolerated even her husband’s mistress through submission?

“It’s unavoidable so I’m just letting it be. You too, think what you will.”

“Are you letting me be as well?”

Peon quietly nodded. Isidore stood from his seat.

“After today’s verdict, everyone was discussing this matter as they left. I’d like to ask you too.”

He looked at Peon one last time.

“Do you think death is mercy, or punishment?”

His hyung-nim looked up and answered with a smile.

“It’s mercy.”

Peon knew well someone who had desperately longed for death.

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Go straight to Alemichi after the coronation.”

“…Yes.”

Isidore Dakiten, who left immediately, would probably listen. He wasn’t stupid enough not to. Peon threw down his pen after looking over matters that were too easy to be tedious. They weren’t worth putting in sincere effort to handle.

How miserable could you make a person, and how much pain and suffering could you inflict? Where was rock bottom?

At least Peon knew very well. He had seen everything and experienced everything directly. He had seen his wife who stayed quiet as a mouse even with broken legs, suffered from periodic fevers, and finally died with her muscles and organs all dissolved.

Since he had done that even to his wife, he could handle his mortal enemies even better. With all his heart and soul, with complete dedication.

He dried people up completely, killing both body and spirit. His first experience of such perfect murder was his wife. Damn it. His wife.

No matter how much he coaxed and fed her medicine, and now even cut off his innate energy and life to feed her, his wife in his arms was just a handful.

The very small and delicate woman was weak, and what was poured onto the weak was petty and vile violence. Peon actually knew he didn’t even deserve to close his dead wife’s eyes.

She must have wanted to eat many things while carrying a baby in that small body. Since it was his seed, it surely resembled him and only tormented Kaela.

That’s why she died faster. For the noble princess who had everything she could want in life without needing to long for anything, she secretly stole what she couldn’t have. But in the end, it only became poison.

So Peon, who knew well how miserable that life was, could drag down Beatrice’s life and the Emperor’s remaining life exactly that much.

“…Kaela endured for 4 years.”

They should endure longer than that. But the more greedy humans are, the easier they die. Since they had nothing to their name yet couldn’t even live long, he intended to kindly extend their lives for them.

Until the words “I want to die” naturally spilled out and finally became a habit. No, until they went mad at the sight of blades and tried to stab their own necks. Even long past such times, until they completely gave up and lost even that terrible will.

Just as Kaela had done.

Peon hoped the Ravalley mother and daughter, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince would endure the first hell well. While he was slowly crushing them by preparing various hells, if they burst too easily, he didn’t know what he might do then.

‘I need to be good.’

Then Kaela would love him more.

He sighed and raised his bored body. It was lunchtime.

From another room on the same floor came steady, regular heartbeats. Peon left his office counting each of those heartbeats one by one. He walked slowly through the corridor that was starting to heat up in the summer sunlight.

He passed by portraits and paintings displaying the honor of the Crania Empire, and wall decorations without any emotional response.

Clerks and secretaries busily passed by, and occasionally paper, cigarette smoke, and arguing voices spilled out through wide open doors. Everyone wanted to stop him and ask his opinion, but strangely they couldn’t catch him.

Peon had already reached the end of the corridor. The door of the third office was also wide open.

Inside the large office with both doors wide open sat the owner of the heartbeats he had been counting. She was sitting properly in her chair working on documents.

Her neat forehead was clean. Her posture of concentration hadn’t wavered at all. Unlike Peon, she was giving her all to all of this work. She had to do her best to move one step further away from the shadow of the dark past.

That’s good. But Peon wished she would take her eyes off that trivial work and notice him. Even if she was startled and instinctively rejected him. Peon shook his head at Cecile who was trying to announce his arrival.

I wish you would look at me.

You said you wouldn’t abandon me.

When I’m always only chasing after you.

Whether she felt the hot gaze fixed on the top of her head, or she had finished the documents, Kaela suddenly looked up.

“Oh?”

Her eyes widened, and her cool lips curved slightly upward. He too smiled back while leaning against the doorframe. Thank goodness. She smiled at him.