You are at the End of the Downfall

Always sending a knight to take care of Kaela was also a mistake, which ended up upsetting her, and he had done it again. How pathetic.

The only noble ladies he knew were the fussy Duchess of Monde, Beatrice who always had ulterior motives, and his mother who loved him unconditionally while maintaining her dignity. The preciously raised Kaela was too difficult for him.

He should have at least spoken to her before the regression. He didn’t even know what she liked or what kind of person she was. Not knowing her well, he avoided her out of fear she might take a place in his heart. It was laughable considering he was already under a curse.

Being afraid meant that she was already etched in his heart.

“What did she say?”

“She said it was too much. That His Majesty the Emperor would be displeased.”

How much must Kaela fear the Emperor to say that first? Since the day Duke Ostein was almost killed by the Emperor’s gun, Kaela had been terribly afraid of the Emperor.

Peon, who had met her in front of the monster’s garden that day when she had rushed out in her home clothes without properly dressing, kept wondering. Didn’t she seem like someone who knew what would happen to her father?

Perhaps…

“Ah, is that so. Then give her one finished product at a time, starting with the smallest.”

At Sir Renard’s words, which cut off his thoughts, Peon’s gaze went to the smallest stone. Even the smallest was close to 6 carats, good for a ring or pendant.

What did Beatrice do? He didn’t know. The next time he saw her was right before death. At least for Kaela, he wanted to do something different from what he had done. He wanted to give her a special, more special, new, and beautiful gift.

Even if they would part someday, and even if she was someone he should never see again.

“Send it back to the jeweler. We’ll start with the smallest one, as you said.”

“Yes, Your Highness. What should be made?”

No matter how much Peon criticized himself for knowing nothing about women, he had been observing what jewels his mother wore during the few times he saw her each year since childhood.

The discerning eye and knowledge accumulated over a long time cannot be obtained even with vast wealth.

“Start with a ring. Let’s hear the jeweler’s opinion for the rest. Whatever suits the Grand Duchess…”

The long-used title slipped out habitually again. Kaela had been gradually erased in the many days of referring to her not as Kaela, but as ‘Grand Duchess’. Would that title have been welcome to Kaela?

Sir Renard looked slightly bewildered at the Grand Duke calling Princess Ostein, who wasn’t yet the Grand Duchess, by that title. It seems our Grand Duke is thinking of the Princess more than expected.

“No, something that especially suits the Princess.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It’s not something to be passed down for generations to the future Grand Duchess of Lusenford. He hoped it would be a property for Kaela to take with her after the divorce.

That way, he wished there was at least one proper thing to take from Lusenford. It wouldn’t even come close to compensating for the time and reputation she was losing, but he wanted to make up for it, even a little.

He had to send her away quickly. So the Emperor would have to handle it faster too. Peon’s mind became even more complicated.

“I will handle it as you ordered. And Your Highness, news just came in that the Duchess of Monde has been banned from entering the royal palace for three months. It hasn’t been announced yet, I’m told.”

Was this what the Emperor meant by ‘resolving it’? Peon rubbed his lips with his fingertips, originally long and delicate but now thickened from holding a sword.

Sir Renard took out a thin piece of paper from his breast pocket and placed it on Peon’s desk. Peon unfolded and read the copy of the official document written by the Emperor’s secretaries.

“…A member of the royal family who will soon become the Grand Duchess of Lusenford.”

The status of the Grand Duke of Lusenford had risen quite a bit. When was it that they were treated as mere human shields and mercenaries, struggling on the frontlines?

“Everyone is trying to raise the status of their titles, so isn’t it good that His Majesty the Emperor officially says this?”

The people of Lusenford, while hating the Emperor, were desperate for recognition. The ostracized northern region couldn’t help it. They claimed their pride was so strong that they didn’t need outside recognition, but they would still get angry if they weren’t acknowledged.

“It’s a good thing.”

Peon muttered after a long while. Whether it was good or not to rise when the Emperor lifted you up, and then to plummet down when he struck you down, he wasn’t sure.

Anyway, the Duchess of Monde was now prohibited from entering the royal palace by royal order. For three months, which meant she was not to attend the upcoming wedding of the Grand Duke of Lusenford and the Princess of Ostein.

“All sorts of people will be talking about this.”

The social circles would surely pounce on this juicy gossip, especially since the Duchess of Monde, who was thought to become the mother-in-law of the Grand Duke of Lusenford, received this punishment after ignoring Kaela’s greeting–Kaela, who had taken Beatrice’s place.

How delightful and easy to consume this gossip must be. For the Duchess of Monde, who had no wealth, her only lifeline was her social standing, and now that was cut off – a fatal blow.

If only Peon could go back to when he was thirteen or fourteen, or even earlier.

Then he might not have inflicted such humiliation on Kaela, burdened with the label of Beatrice. He knew well how great a sacrifice he had made to turn back time, yet he still felt regretful.

“It will pass soon.”

Sir Renard hesitated before speaking, as if to comfort him.

“There’s no need to comfort me.”

It was just fate, or a fated connection. Peon was a man too inadequate and flawed for Kaela, and Kaela, despite her noble birth, was pitifully entangled with him – a one-sided, difficult relationship for her alone.

“I wouldn’t dare to comfort Your Highness inadequately. It’s just something I heard. They say all sorts of rumors circulate before a wedding. If the bride cries a little, they say she’s being sold off. If the groom squints a bit because of the bright sunlight, they whisper that it’s because the bride is ugly. That’s what weddings are like.”

Peon couldn’t even laugh, expecting to hear that the bride was being dragged to the North.

“But I heard that once they have a child, all those words disappear, so it’s not worth worrying about. Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“Who said that?”

“My grandmother.”

The situation is similar in the upper class. Whatever happens, if the marriage succeeds in its purpose of producing an heir, it was considered a proper and sacred marriage.

But this was far from Peon’s reality. An heir? As a full-grown adult, he couldn’t even properly protect his mother and wife, let alone a child. If he couldn’t even be a husband, how could he be a father?

Peon, who had never even thought of mentioning an heir to Kaela, decided to accept that at this point, a quiet divorce would be a success for his marriage.

But no matter how doomed a marriage might be, it should be him alone who fails, not the bride as well. That’s why he visited the mines early, working for the happiness of just one person.

For a wedding where only the bride needs to be beautiful, money was the most necessary thing.