When the Emperor became a motionless stiff doll, Beatrice and the Duchess of Monde were driven to the north where autumn had already arrived. Since the imperial decree was already involved in this judgment, no one could change what had been determined.
Beatrice, locked in a prisoner transport carriage, ground her few remaining teeth. The prisoner transport was terrible.
She couldn’t even wash, and she had spent all her jewels trying to bribe guards and hire lawyers to somehow get a favorable verdict, leaving her with no resources to do anything more.
Yet this is how it ended up. Tied up in a hard, uncomfortable, dirty, and smelly carriage, not even receiving proper food, wearing prisoner’s clothes, and being dragged away.
‘A mine, of all places!’
Isidore Dakiten seemed really displeased with this verdict, but Beatrice was equally displeased! She didn’t want to go to the mine.
The work to be done in the mine, a life imprisoned for 30 years, her miserable state with no money and all titles stripped away – she hated it all. She desperately wanted to return to how things were before.
What Beatrice wanted wasn’t just ‘to live’ or ‘to improve things slightly.’ She truly wanted to return to how things were before. She wanted to return to that situation where she dominated social circles and sat in the highest position.
So from the moment of the verdict, she had been racking her brain trying to figure out how to survive and escape somehow. If she wanted to escape, now during transport, before entering the Perunel Iron Mine, was the optimal time.
But the magic she had been diligently using no longer worked, and the transport guards who were immune to her feminine wiles watched her meticulously. Strange. Why wasn’t the magic working?
At that moment, the transport convoy briefly stopped. Beatrice tried to awkwardly move her body, heavy and sore from injuries, to somehow see what was happening outside.
But the more she moved, the more her broken limbs creaked and hurt, bound by cold shackles and handcuffs.
“This way.”
“It might be unpleasant, would that be alright?”
The transport guards who had been roughly handling Beatrice were now asking very respectfully.
What’s this? Who came? Beatrice leaned her tired body against the carriage wall, worn down from the grueling prison life, trial, and transport.
“It’s fine.”
Her pink eyes that had lost their strength suddenly turned. She knew that voice. The carriage door swung open, and light and cold air poured in without warning.
“Come out.”
Beatrice was thrown out of the carriage, pulled by rough hands that showed no consideration for her fractures at all.
Although she should have gotten used to such treatment by now, pain was still pain, and the anger that came with humiliation was still immense.
When she managed to raise her eyes, she saw the hem of an immaculate dark green dress without a single wrinkle or stain. It was a color difficult to pull off, but it suited the woman wearing it perfectly.
Having never had to struggle, her skin was white and clean from avoiding sunlight, and her platinum blonde hair, carefully styled by others, met the dark green to create an exceptionally splendid noble color.
The Grand Duchess, Princess of Ostein, who wore a hat perfectly matching her dress, looked down at Beatrice intently.
“Thank you. Attend to your duties.”
Kaela said to the transport guards.
“For safety, we should remain present.”
“No, I am safe. Don’t worry and give us some privacy. Nothing will happen.”
“Yes. We will do as you say.”
They couldn’t refuse when the high-ranking Grand Duchess insisted. As the transport guards withdrew with discipline, Beatrice hurriedly surveyed her widened field of vision.
She checked if Peon, who had become a fearsome presence to her now, was present or not, and when she realized Kaela was alone, she finally found her voice.
“W-what, why did you come? Did you come to gawk?”
The violence her body remembered was very clear.
Beatrice, who had broken her own hand when she struck out violently according to her temperament, stuttered even while speaking to Kaela. But her eyes, full of anger and grudge, still retained their venom.
“Yes. I came to gawk. I was curious to see what you’re like after trying every last desperate measure.”
Kaela, who had been the most naive and easiest to push around among all the women Beatrice knew, nodded nonchalantly. Instead, it was the one who asked that was left speechless.
“Hah, really, ha! Fine. Gawk all you want.”
Her pink eyes were full of hatred from the humiliation. She wanted to at least speak properly, but it was impossible to gather the strength to speak with the poor food rationed daily. Her missing teeth would be clearly visible.
She must look so shabby and ugly. Looking at Kaela’s dress, her elegantly draped shawl, hat, and sparkling emerald earrings, Beatrice felt miserable. Being miserable made her extremely angry.
“Are you satisfied?”
Kaela just looked down at Beatrice intently. That was even more humiliating.
“Are you satisfied after using Peon to reduce me to this state? You were always inferior to me and just harbored petty jealousy! Are you satisfied now?!”
“Why are you leaving out how you used magic to do bad things to my husband, went through my belongings, pushed me into water, and tried to poison me multiple times? You did lots of bad things to other people too, not just me. Why are you leaving that out?”
Those innocent eyes and that kind voice asking while knowing everything had always made Beatrice angry.
“Why do you forget all your crimes when you’ve committed so many? Are you really that stupid?”
“You, you…, you b*tch…”
“When you have nothing to say, all you can do is curse.”
Kaela never raised her voice from start to finish. That ladylike, noble attitude made Beatrice even angrier. Whenever she faced Kaela de Chasser, her cooled anger would boil up again.
“Fine! I only know how to curse! So did you come here to be cursed at? Go ahead, let me really give it to you?”
When Beatrice finally raised her voice, the transport guards on the other side immediately tried to approach with grim expressions, but Kaela waved her hand to stop them.
“Teeth are important. When they’re all pulled out, there really won’t be much you can eat then, will you be okay?”
At those calm words, Beatrice flinched and pressed her lips together. The one looking down at her intently is the mad dragon, the son of the dragon who toyed with her. However, even when Beatrice felt scared, she ended up spitting out one more piece of venom.
“How do you manage with such a terrible husband? You should be careful not to get beaten too.”
Kaela smiled.
“Ah, so it was him after all.”
Beatrice furrowed her brow. What is she saying now?
“Did he break your ankle too?”
“Didn’t you know? He did it! He came to gawk just like you. The couple together!”
But Kaela laughed. She laughed faintly at something that wasn’t funny. Beatrice felt chills for some reason. She must be following after Peon.
“That person, my husband.”
Kaela emphasized once more. As expected, Beatrice hated it. Thinking of how Peon detested her to the point of disgust, it was revolting.
“He doesn’t really tell me about doing these things to you. He thinks it’s not something I should see.”
Recalling her husband’s subtle expression when he finally nodded after hesitating at her request to see Beatrice one more time, Kaela smiled.
“I’ve seen much more horrific sights than this though.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
There’s no way the gently raised princess could have seen horrific sights, what is she saying?
“So that’s why he kept meeting you separately. He probably didn’t want to show me the sight of him breaking your bones, pulling out your teeth, and you spewing venom.”
Having just realized this, Kaela laughed. Because it looked just like the expression of a woman who was too loved, Beatrice felt even more twisted inside.
No matter how much magic she cast, Peon had been extremely plain, and rather Beatrice had to be the one to initiate kisses. And even then, she couldn’t even use tongue. It was no different from children’s pecks. How could such a man make that kind of expression?
“You’re playing house like children. The naive princess and the fool who doesn’t even know how to use his lower half. You match perfectly.”
“Thank you for openly showing that nothing happened between you and my husband like that.”
This time, Beatrice couldn’t even scream while swinging her handcuffed hands. Looking at her as she couldn’t say anything and her widened eyes, Kaela sighed.
“Sleeping with men really is that important to you. No, that’s not it.”
Kaela narrowed her eyes and looked at Beatrice.
“You’re angry that I have the man you desperately wanted but couldn’t conquer.”
What is she, how can she instantly grasp and make Beatrice realize something about herself that she hadn’t even been aware of? She felt extremely angry and at the same time, shame came pouring down.
“I came to look at you. I was thinking of visiting once you adjusted to the mine, but my husband said not to go because it would be cold. I don’t like the cold either, and honestly, I thought by then you might look pitiful enough to inspire sympathy, so I decided not to.”
“Oh, really?”
“I don’t want to feel that way about you. I don’t want to stop because I might feel sorry for you and think this is enough.”
“Do come. You should see what state I’ll be in. I really hope you come.”
So that she might make the very Kaela-like mistake of letting Beatrice go out of pity. Her pink eyes gleamed with venom.
“I learned this visiting from you. You came to visit me too. When I was dying.”
Suddenly, Beatrice recalled the Emperor’s bedroom. Then too, Peon had smiled and said to the Emperor.
[You killed your brother, and your niece too.]
“What does that mean? Huh? What does that mean! You’re alive aren’t you!”
Those words grated on her nerves too much. But she couldn’t understand. Beatrice had kept recalling those words in prison, but would push them away to ruminate on other new desires, anger, and grudges.
“Don’t you remember?”
Kaela bent down to meet Beatrice’s eyes.
“I was imprisoned in the northern tower of Lusenford. I was starving to death, and you came then. You came and told me everything. I learned this from you.”
“What, what nonsense…”
Her pink eyes shook violently.
“You mocked me, stabbed me with daggers until the very end, and even put that poison you handle so well in my mouth.”
The prisoner wanted to ask when she had ever done that. But her mouth was stuck shut and wouldn’t open.
“So I wanted to return exactly the same to you. I really dislike having anything remaining between us.”
Kaela recalled that final moment when Beatrice had appeared.
She had regretted worrying about Peon until the end, but now she doesn’t regret it. She worried about someone who deserved to be worried about, someone who is still suffering even now.
“Your hands are ruined.”
The hands in handcuffs flinched and quickly curled up. The other broken hand couldn’t even do that.
“Hands and hair are hard to maintain.”
That’s why methods for maintaining clean and beautiful hands and feet, and glossy hair were always featured in ladies’ magazines.
Especially hands, which were protected even with gloves, were the easiest part to instantly determine someone’s status and wealth.
“They’ll get worse in the north. The dryness will cause hangnails, and when you pick at them, they’ll bleed. Your fingertips will crack and bleed too.”
These were things that a woman with delicate hands, who applied rose oil cream and always kept her nails prettily trimmed, never dipping them in water except when washing, shouldn’t know.
“The back of your hands will crack from the cold, and your nails will keep breaking.”
But Kaela spoke as if she knew exactly.
“But hands won’t be the main problem. The cold has already started from beyond the border. They say Perunel Iron Mine is cold. Of course it is, being close to Lusenford. The rations are two hard pieces of bread, a pinch of salt, and two cups of water per meal.”
Kaela knew more about what Perunel Iron Mine was like than the average noblewoman managing territory.
“That’s quite a lot actually. I had nothing.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Kaela looked down at Beatrice coldly.
“Listen well to what I’m saying now. Remember everything, don’t miss anything. Do you know where things started to change?”
Beatrice listened to the incomprehensible words while understanding them. Without knowing why she was desperately seeking an answer, she stared frantically at Kaela’s lips.
“I won’t tell you that.”
Kaela smiled brightly.
“But I’ll tell you this. You had so many chances. We weren’t even trying to hide it, we were showing everything. We deliberately left it out carelessly. If you were going to notice, you could have noticed right away.”
Really? What are you saying? The pink eyes shook violently.
“I’ll teach you this.”
Some revenge is terrifyingly calm and very well-aged.
“It was me. While showing displeasure to my husband who said he would burn everything and kill everyone right away, I stopped him. While stopping him, we came this far.”
Kaela recalled her father with gentle eyes. She recalled her husband, and herself.
“Because I wanted you, your beloved ‘Vincent’ to end up exactly like this. I stopped him.”
Beloved Vincent. She returned exactly the Emperor’s pet name that she had heard while dying in the northern tower. Beatrice gasped in surprise. It’s this easy. It was such an easy thing.
“Think well while breaking stones in Perunel. Since you’ve lived without thinking until now, start thinking from now on.”
Both you and the Emperor. May you live unable to die while watching the peaceful world crumble.
“At first you won’t have time to think. Mine labor is unspeakably hard. You’ll be too exhausted to do anything but collapse and sleep. You might even be too tired to sleep.”
And with hands and feet that healed crooked without proper treatment, it will be even harder.
“Then at some point, when you get used to that humiliation and know the tunnels well enough, you’ll start thinking. What am I doing here? How did I end up like this?”
Beatrice couldn’t even respond due to the sense of dissonance. Kaela was speaking as if she knew too well about things she couldn’t have experienced.
“Keep ruminating. I should have done that differently then, I should have done this. Would my debt have been reduced if I did this? Would the secret of killing my father have been covered up if I did that? Could I have become Empress if I had prevented this? Could I have had the dragon’s son as a lover too if I had prevented that?”
And she mercilessly exposed all the dreams she had harbored.
“Keep recalling, chew over every moment again and again until your bones dissolve away. Only recall the past, and regret. Go mad. Just as I did until I died.”
Just as Kaela had done.
“That’s why I left you, and the Emperor alone to come this far for such a long time. Because somehow I felt I should.”
Her calm voice mixed with the autumn chill.
“I stopped the dragon who wanted to burn everything down and end it, and sometimes even let myself be hurt while waiting for a long time.”
Some things are realized much later. Perhaps, that’s what it was.
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