Lusenford was a vast territory, most of which was rugged mountains, and it was bitterly cold as it occupied the northern part of the empire. By the end of October, snow was pouring down.
That day was no exception. Having a sturdy horse was useless going to the northern tower that was far from the Lusenford Castle, the Grand Duke had to climb up the tower himself where the wind was blowing so hard that the snow couldn’t pile up but instead flew. It was a harsh snowstorm.
She should be alive. He wanted to believe that the woman he had imprisoned himself should still be alive. Since he had never ordered her to die, she had to be alive anyway.
That woman. His wife, forced upon him by the emperor. Princess of Ostein and the Grand Duchess of Lusenford, or the emperor’s spy.
‘She’s not a spy. She wasn’t.’
The belief, or brainwashing, that had been clouding his brain for over 20 years, had been shattered. It was a powerful curse that could only be barely shaken off by facing a catastrophe. His whole body trembled with the belated shock.
He had confirmed several times, with all sorts of evidence, that his wife was a spy, and he had also personally ordered her disposal. But it was too late, only now when the emperor’s army had advanced to his doorstep did he finally uncover the truth.
The real traitors had sold all the information and pinned all the crimes on her. The truth had to be that terrible for the brainwashing to be undone, for the curse-like taboo to be broken.
So he ran to save her, leaving behind the burning Lusenford Castle. He had nothing left. He pushed hard on the door that should have been locked from the outside. The door, which should have been locked, opened easily as if to mock him.
The moment the door swung open, the Grand Duke felt again that something was terribly wrong.
“…la, …Kael, Kaela!”
The name he had never properly called during their marriage was belatedly spat out like faint ashes. It was too hard to call, and once he started calling, it was shamelessly a familiar name. He had called it several times in his mind.
“Kaela!”
The Grand Duke rushed into the open door. Blood dropped heavily following his steps. The worn-out door was as good as non-existent. Even a weak woman, a woman living with illness, could have gotten out at this point. She should have already left.
A foul smell engulfed him.
“Kaela…”
He tried to tell the figure lying on what was too embarrassing to call a bed to get up. No, if she couldn’t get up, he could carry her.
Kaela, who he had ignored and neglected throughout their marriage, thinking she was a spy sending all sorts of information to the emperor, was very small.
“Kael…!”
But the woman, that small woman, who didn’t move even when a giant man in clanking armor entered, was staring wide-eyed. Her exposed arm in this cold weather was frozen blue.
Her desirable platinum hair had fallen out sparsely due to lack of proper nutrition, and her parched face was completely ruined. Kaela, who was only twenty-five, lay there with only skin and bones left.
It was a corpse he had made. A corpse that had died looking at the door, the only exit, huddled up without eating for a long time.
The noble princess Ostein, who had the precious blood of the royal family flowing in her, had died. Peon, who had seen enough corpses, immediately recognized the cause of death.
She had starved to death. She had collapsed and died from the cold and hunger with her weak body. Although he had not ordered to cut off her food, Lusenford had already completely collapsed and even ignored the Grand Duke’s orders.
No, they wanted to kill this woman even if they had to ignore him.
“Oh, she’s dead.”
Peon turned his bloodshot eyes around. Beatrice Ravalley, with her silver hair disheveled and her eyes as bloodshot as his, was grinning.
She was his first and only love, a childhood friend with whom he had shared dreams and hopes. And she was the biggest reason Kaela was neglected. That was the case.
“She starved to death. Poor thing. She was innocent.”
But Beatrice Ravalley was the vanguard who came to arrest the scapegoat on the emperor’s orders. Or she was a horse that the emperor had used to check and oppress Peon and then thrown away.
“The noble and just Grand Duke has starved his innocent Grand Duchess to death? Is this the justice you speak of, Peon? Is this justice? Innocent people should not die. What was our Kaela’s crime?”
Sometimes words can hurt more than swords or magic. Peon couldn’t even retort against the onslaught. He just stared blankly at his wife, who couldn’t even properly close her eyes. She was so young and tender, but she died without a single place of refuge.
“You’re a hypocrite. You’re a stupid fool. If you’re so noble and great, you shouldn’t have said you loved me after marrying her.”
The woman who had whispered that she loved him together was completely gone and was criticizing him. Then she opened her eyes wide.
“Oh, did I make it like this?”
Why would a noble lover who seemed to have nothing to do with the war be the vanguard? In her hand was a dagger stained with blood turned blue. Red smoke gathered around the dagger.
It was strange. Strange meant that she was a magician who wielded strange power. The poison that had filled Peon’s brain fell drop by drop from her mouth.
“It’s a pity. You were my first test subject and the most carefully crafted spell. A taboo that was so simple and foolish, yet built to never break in a lifetime.”
Once broken, he’d realize how foolish he was.
He must protect Beatrice.
Why? Because he loved her. Why? She was already the flower of the social world, they hardly met, and every time they did, she would say, ‘Peon, you must not betray me. You have to protect me. I love you.’ Why her?
In the end, those three phrases were a kind of spell that made the taboo placed in his brain even stronger.
“Peon, you must not betray me. I flirted with Vincent in Crain and protected you!”
With those words, the smoke of the poison that had been flowing from her red lips reached Peon. It had always been like this.
Peon swept away the smoke with his sword, creating a gust of wind. The weakened spell and lie disappeared in vain. Losing power meant it was completely destroyed, which in other words, meant Beatrice was powerless against Peon.
Why would the emperor send her as the vanguard? Because she was useless and he wanted her to die at Peon’s hand. Her face twisted in fear.
“What’s the problem? I meticulously created evidence to make you believe that she was a spy and sent it to you. So anyway, you put her here. That’s it. You should have bowed your head and stayed quiet, why did you prepare for war so defiantly?”
Beatrice, with her eyes turned away, ranted at him, but Peon was no longer paying attention to her. When the smoke and noise in his head cleared, the desolate and cold surroundings came clearly into view.
He loosened the worn-out cloak he was wearing. His seven-year-old wife, who died without even closing her eyes, was too small. She looked too powerless to be wary of as an enemy.
“Why did you think of rebelling, you stupid fool! If that failure of a woman had just disappeared, you should have lived as before, when she wasn’t there! I’ve been your closest, only friend since we were young, and even played family with you, how dare you ignore me?”
Peon reached out to close Kaela’s eyes.
“You should have only looked at me! I told you not to turn your eyes away! If I put a taboo on you like that, you should have obeyed, why were you shaken by that stupid woman and rebelled against the taboo and made this mess!”
The husband with many sins could not even hold a funeral for his wife. Peon covered Kaela with his cloak, which was stained with not only others’ blood but also his own.
Her dirty and faded clothes caught his eye. He wanted to cremate her so that her body wouldn’t fall into the hands of the invading imperial army, but there was no time.
“Who would have thought that you’re a dirty bastard, your taste is cheap. After all, where would the blood go? You’re not satisfied with one like your mother? You’re a test subject under a taboo, how dare you push me away and turn your eyes to that woman? Know your place. If I graciously said I would take you, you should have been grateful, where do you dare to refuse!”
A man who had no reason to refuse rebelled and disaster struck. Beatrice, who was shouting loudly, was left with only nausea. She knew well that this was the end for her here.
Peon was pleased that Beatrice didn’t get what she wanted.
“Should I have put a stronger taboo on you because you’re not human? After all, if it’s going to be like this, I should have put more collars on you!”
Peon, who couldn’t understand what Beatrice was saying, grabbed his sword and looked at the imperial army closing in behind her. Anyway, he was branded a rebel, so he had nowhere else to retreat.
“Anyway, your family ends here. There’s nothing to call a family, but the daughter-in-law is already dead, the son will die too, and all this time your father didn’t know anything…”
Then, from afar, there was a sound of something huge crying. Beatrice’s face turned pale at the sound filled with anger.
“Not knowing…”
It was the sound of a wicked dragon rampaging.
The Grand Duke of Lusenford, who had faced the wicked dragon several times, instead of running to stop the wicked dragon, cut down the enemy in front of him. There was nothing left but to fight and die. The sound of the rampaging wicked dragon was getting louder from afar. Arrows and spears poured down like rain.
****
