She could only bow down before the enormous power that was too great to even consider revenge against. No matter how much she lowered herself, it still oppressively bore down on Kaela and threatened to crush her, so she eventually gave up everything and tried to die easily. That’s just how life was.
The human heart is truly fickle. Or perhaps it was because Peon cared for her too much. Kaela, who had been wary of everything and distrusted even those around her, had changed before she knew it.
Very calmly, she looked at Beatrice and, most fearfully, the emperor, speaking her honest thoughts that she had kept deeply hidden. She insulted them to their faces. She wasn’t afraid. Her hands didn’t tremble, and her legs didn’t shake.
They were nothing to her. They could no longer have any influence over her. She knew they were just foolish and impossibly arrogant humans.
“Tell me more. How did it all happen?”
Beatrice desperately asked Kaela. Would she, who had been the queen of social circles, understand?
That death was better than living. Kaela looked at those frantic pink eyes. Ah. She doesn’t know. She still doesn’t know about the life more miserable than the death Kaela had experienced.
“Is it the evil dragon’s power? Where did my magic go wrong? Huh? That merchant! Did you make Peon disguise himself as a merchant?”
I shouldn’t have said that. I should have acted like this. Would Father have lived if I had? Would my husband have hated me a little less? Would the people of Lusenford have treated me even a little bit like a Grand Duchess?
The numerous questions scattered within Kaela were ultimately useless. Until she realized they were useless, she had worried and worried until she was exhausted and drained.
“What happened with the poison? Did that stupid Crown Prince’s mother mess it up?”
“You should have thought of that earlier.”
“Back then, back then I was too busy…?”
Beatrice mumbled absently as if talking to herself. When would I have had time to think about that? The Marchioness of Schroz had gone mad right then, and we were about to be caught. If we didn’t attack, we were about to lose everything.
“Normal people think about everything. You didn’t. Now you have plenty of time, so you can think about it now.”
She would never teach her that when problems arise, the right approach is to properly recognize the problem, analyze the cause, and execute the next plan based on that. Beatrice wouldn’t change even if she knew.
“You and I are going to live for a very long time.”
“That’s good.”
Beatrice, who had been dazed until now, showed her teeth in a fierce smile.
“Is it really good?”
Kaela asked back without expression.
“Of course it is. Just wait and see. Did you think I’d rot away here like this? You’ll regret keeping me alive. Wait. Someday, I’ll…!”
“That’s fortunate.”
Beatrice, who had been about to spew curses while breathing heavily, somehow felt chills. Why isn’t she showing any sign of fear? Why is she so calm by herself?
“It’s truly fortunate that you still have such energy. You have hope for the future, and determination.”
Kaela smiled as if she really thought it was fortunate.
“Keep having hope. Dream of the future. Use your magic as much as you want. Think that you’re clever, and try to prove it.”
Kaela knew very well that this was the real curse. The thought that one could escape through effort would become the noose that would keep one living forever in this terrible hell.
“You hated me because I was the only smart girl who didn’t worship you.”
“Ah, no. You were someone who didn’t know your place, who coveted what was mine…”
“My husband, Beatrice Ravalley.”
Kaela smiled.
“That man was never yours.”
She wouldn’t say things like ‘take care’ or ‘rot here forever.’ Because this person wasn’t worth exchanging farewells with. Kaela got up and dusted off her seat.
“If you keep thinking like that, you might go mad like the Marchioness of Schroz. Be careful.”
She looked down at Beatrice one last time.
Would Beatrice’s heart have felt the same when she looked at her lying in the Northern Tower? Well. That’s something she’ll never know. She only hopes that Beatrice will feel frustrated seeing her still perfectly fine despite trying her desperate best.
Kaela, who had drunk poison and fallen into water, left without any lingering attachment.
“Hey! Where are you going! You should explain! Why are you talking such nonsense! Why! You bit—, ack!”
The various noises from behind suddenly stopped the moment the cursing began. Any normal person would have turned around, but Kaela didn’t look back.
If she had to say why, it was because her husband didn’t want her to look back. She walked calmly to the escort guards who had been standing separately and gracefully expressed her gratitude.
“You’ve worked hard. I’m grateful for your time.”
“It-it’s nothing, Your Highness.”
The carefully selected escort guards didn’t know how to react to the gratitude expressed by the highest-ranking lady of the imperial family.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine.”
The Grand Duchess of Lusenford suddenly appeared, praised the escort guards, and provided them with plenty of necessary supplies.
It would be quite scandalous that someone of the Grand Duchess’s status came to meet a woman famous for being her husband’s former lover, but Kaela wasn’t afraid at all. That too was something Peon would take care of.
“I hope you have a safe journey to Perunel. May your path be peaceful.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Thank you!”
Kaela spoke little, gave generously, and quietly disappeared. She was the perfect superior to the escort. They carefully approached Beatrice, who was suspected of being a witch, as they had been instructed beforehand. Then they tilted their heads in confusion.
The Grand Duchess had been quiet and composed throughout, so why was the prisoner spitting out more teeth along with blood?
“Get up. We’re leaving.”
But the escort guards tucked away their questions and forcibly put Beatrice, who was groaning in pain, back into the carriage, checked her handcuffs and shackles, and locked the door.
Meanwhile, Kaela slowly walked away from the escort. It was quite a strange sight.
A Grand Duchess coming alone without any attendants. But the escort guards didn’t even notice that. They didn’t recognize any potentially problematic facts.
Kaela looked at the autumn plains and the high mountains visible in the distance, then took off her gloves. Her hands, adorned with a large engagement ring, wedding ring, and guard ring, were very fair and soft.
Her smooth, well-manicured nails were hard and glossy. This was because her husband, who always quietly took care of everything related to his wife, regularly applied precious oil cream mixed with rare oils he brought from those hot regions.
These were the hands of a noble lady who had never experienced cracking or even dryness despite spending winter in Lusenford.
They looked like hands that had never touched water. In reality, Kaela knew how to remove small stains or adjust water temperature instead of disobedient maids. She still knew how.
A black-gloved hand appeared from somewhere and gently took her smooth hand.
“Kaela.”
Kaela stared at the large hand that was twice the size of hers.
“Your hands will never…”
His voice cracked slightly, but he quickly composed himself.
“Never be damaged again. Ever.”
Only then did Kaela look up at her husband. He was the man who had new autumn dresses, gloves, boots, and hats tailored for her saying it would be cold towards the north, and who had quietly stepped back when she said she wanted to meet privately here.
He was so tall that Kaela had to tilt her head far back to see him.
“Did you hear everything?”
She asked, though she knew.
“You didn’t tell me not to listen.”
He answered, though he knew. While doing so, he carefully examined his tiny wife’s complexion.
He was terribly indifferent to subjects he wasn’t interested in, and disgustingly sensitive to those he cared about. He needed to check if she might be upset, if she had been frightened by how he had slightly dealt with Beatrice.
“Are you upset about what Beatrice said?”
Kaela’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. Noticing this, Peon’s voice became more careful.
“Or did I do something too terrible? Were you scared? I’m sorry.”
Being honest is still not easy. Kaela had thoroughly learned the habit of thinking carefully two or three times before speaking, and she had often missed the timing to answer because she thought too much. That’s how much she had to be mindful of others.
“Am I the same as her to you?”
Such a person blurted out words without thinking. Peon could only look down at Kaela without responding. What does she mean?
“I’m uncomfortable because it feels like you’re treating us the same way.”
After saying it, she really felt uncomfortable. And she was terribly embarrassed for being honest.
Kaela pouted her plump lips and walked forward aimlessly. Without saying anything, and without a carriage, she just walked. No, she still couldn’t bear it. She stopped and turned around. She had to check if Peon was laughing.
He was good at reading the atmosphere and wasn’t laughing. Rather, he looked surprised. Ah, he doesn’t understand what I mean.
“I know you call her by name because you were close for a long time, even if it wasn’t intentional. But in this situation, you still call me by name, and you call her the same way…”
Peon hid his smile that was trying to rise naturally. As soon as she saw that, the proud Princess became terribly embarrassed.
“I would like it if you didn’t call her that way, um…”
This should be enough to wrap it up, right? Let’s just say that’s it. Kaela turned around abruptly and started walking wherever her feet took her. But all her attention was focused behind her.
“I won’t call her that. I was wrong.”
You’re laughing! You’re laughing! There’s laughter hidden in your voice! Kaela’s face turned bright red as she squeezed her eyes shut and walked faster.
“I’ll only call you by name. I was thoughtless. I didn’t know it would make you uncomfortable.”
Peon was already walking beside her.
It’s because my legs are short! Because they’re short and my stride is narrow, I take small steps, so Peon can catch up with just two moves. She kept her eyes tightly shut from extreme embarrassment and shame, but she could feel his gaze pouring down on her.
“I’m sorry.”
“I hate her. I hate her so much.”
Everything she was saying was childish, so Kaela was half giving up now.
“I hate that she did those things to you, and I’m so ashamed that I’m jealous of such a woman, and I know it’s nothing, but I… I… I…”
If she had to say the carefully chosen words, she should have finished them perfectly, point by point, without any excess or gaps.
She should have said just the right amount of clear, organized words that couldn’t be criticized at all. But the words were scattered everywhere, and her mind was confused. Between shame, embarrassment, and Peon, she lost her way.
More precisely, she wanted to speak honestly to him even if she was embarrassed.
“I should be the only special one…!”
Kaela, who had spat out the words like a machine gun, opened her tightly closed eyes wide. Then she quickly turned her head to look at her husband, whom she hadn’t dared to look at.
“Right? Since I’m your wife, I should be the only special one! Right!”
That’s correct, isn’t it? After saying it, she realized it was perfectly correct without a single flaw.
“You are special.”
But when her husband came closer, smiling and lowering his head, it made her heart flutter. The perfectly correct words were hidden behind embarrassment.
Beatrice would have said this elegantly, no, no. Kaela now erased even her familiar habit of comparison. Beatrice wouldn’t have been able to do anything, wouldn’t have known anything. Now she knows.
“You’re the most precious and special to me. I carelessly called that person I dislike by name because I was used to it. I’m sorry.”
The taciturn man looked down at the woman who had been holding these words for so long. She was only half his size, with a frame that could be completely covered by his body, and her face was flushed red from being upset and embarrassed.
“Never, ever again, I promise.”
He promised seriously.
“I’ll only call you by name. I’ll never make you upset about this again.”
He said this while taking the gloves from her fidgeting hands—she couldn’t even make proper eye contact—and putting them back on her.
“I really hated it.”
“I see.”
“That time, when Beatrice Ravalley threw a teacup at me and I threw tea back and chased her out…”
“I called her by name then too. I’m sorry.”
In the distance, the escort began moving toward the Perunel mines. Peon turned his gaze to Kaela, who was shaking her head.
“No. Just don’t call her the same way as me from now on.”
Though her words were prim, her actions were shy and embarrassed. Kaela shook her head vigorously and then lowered it.
“Just that is enough.”
“Alright. I’ll do that. I’ll definitely do that.”
Kaela, who had been staring down, didn’t speak for a while. But she could feel the intense gaze fixed on her crown. So she brought her hands together, fidgeting while looking at the ground, and gave permission.
“You, you can laugh now.”
“Just laughing isn’t allowed?”
At the voice already mixed with laughter, Kaela squeezed her eyes shut again.
“Everything is allowed.”
Peon didn’t ask twice. The moment permission was granted, Kaela’s feet left the ground, her lips were captured, and her waist was firmly locked. A low voice laughed, vibrating against her neck.
Kaela received the kisses that were frantically showered upon her, or rather the joy and affection contained within them. She received them fully. Though still embarrassed, it felt good. So good.
It felt so good that she had to shrink her shoulders from the tickling sensation, and yet she was so proud she didn’t know what to do.
When their lips finally parted and she barely opened her eyes a little, Peon was smiling brightly. With her face red, Kaela mumbled while looking at him.
“I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“I didn’t either.”
“You know what?”
He focused all his attention on listening to what she was saying.
“My heart feels very light.”
After looking down at Beatrice with contempt and saying words that would become thorns for a long time, her heart felt light. Peon’s smile deepened.
“I didn’t know it would be like this.”
“Feels good to have done it, right?”
It really did. Kaela opened her arms and tightly hugged his neck.
🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️