You are at the End of the Downfall

After starting the fireworks and waving to the people of Lusenford, Peon came in after instructing to distribute plenty of meat and bread.

“Your Highness! Welcome!”

“Oh, didn’t the new Grand Duchess say she couldn’t eat ferenco? So we persuaded her and made her eat it! Hahaha!”

As soon as he heard the word ‘ferenco’, Peon looked up at Kaela, who was eating silently. It’s starting again as soon as he arrived.

She was chewing mechanically with a blank, pale face. Seeing them force-feeding the young Grand Duchess something that even the people here rarely eat because it’s dry and tasteless made his blood boil.

“I see your plates are not yet empty. Does it not suit your taste either? Shall I have it cleared?”

The Grand Duke, who usually laughed it off, sarcastically remarked as he swiftly passed the enormous dining table and went to the Grand Duchess’s side.

“Don’t force yourself to eat it. Stop eating.”

Ferenco. That damned ferenco. It’s Lusenford’s giant deer dish, tough and tasteless. They say it was eaten in times of poverty, but surely they’re not that poor now. Peon suddenly remembered why he detested ferenco so much.

The Grand Duchess originally disliked ferenco. She never ate it or even touched it. Yet now, she slowly chewed and swallowed a large piece, looking at him with a weak face. Then she whispered softly.

“It’s alright.”

Alright? What’s alright about this? Is it alright for a preciously raised princess to be forced to eat something she dislikes for the first time in her life, subjected to this barbaric force-feeding?

“Don’t force yourself to eat. Stop eating, please.”

He said it clearly once again. Disgust welled up inside him.

His disgust was directed at those nobles who insisted on force-feeding this trivial food they themselves disliked to the young Grand Duchess, while disregarding important matters like honor, faith, and loyalty. It was also aimed at the native inhabitants of this castle – the head maid, butler, and chef – who should have been serving the Grand Duchess properly but acted on their own accord. Ultimately, this disgust turned inward.

He was most disgusted with himself, who, before his regression, had subconsciously found Kaela frustrating for not being tactful enough to just eat a few bites of deer meat and avoid drawing more disapproval.

A princess who had only eaten delicate, flavorful food wasn’t being particularly picky about food. She just disliked this one thing, ferenco. That could happen, couldn’t it?

Seeing the head maid’s disapproving expression as she looked at him, he understood what had happened.

Ah. Now he got it.

It felt like the veil over his eyelids had been completely removed and his dull mind was awakening. And the reality he faced was far more miserable than he had thought.

‘From the beginning…’

He had said he would never repeat the same mistakes and do well from the start, but he was still a foolish and pathetic person who had made another mistake. He should have taken the Grand Duchess with him even to the fireworks. First, he needed to replace the head maid.

“Don’t eat it. It’s really alright.”

Peon said quietly as he sat down beside her, thinking about how to deal with these infuriating natives. Come to think of it, Peon was also an outsider, so he couldn’t completely disregard those who had lived here for a long time.

As the Grand Duke, he had to govern these people well, and it was true that they had been ignored and mistreated by Crania, so he had been considerate of many things. But none of that mattered anymore.

If she didn’t like it, he could simply say he didn’t like it either and not eat it. If the Grand Duchess was treated poorly, the Grand Duke should be treated poorly too. Anyone who changed their attitude depending on the person was first on the list to be removed.

“Oh my. Grand Duchess. What’s wrong with your eyes?”

Just then, a voice snickered mockingly.

“They look like they’ve been stung by a bee. Are there bees in this weather? Look at her eyes. Oh my. What should we do?”

One of the ladies, who had been planning to win over the wealthy Grand Duchess from the sophisticated Crania early on, following her husband with the loud voice, pointed at Kaela’s face and laughed.

Something wrong with her eyes? Peon immediately turned to examine Kaela. She was sitting still. No, not still. Her entire body was extremely tense.

“Yes, indeed. Your face is swollen, Grand Duchess.”

Peon reached out amidst the mocking voices. His heart sank, and his blood ran cold.

“…Ugh…”

A groan of unbearable pain escaped along with ragged breathing.

“Kaela!”

In an instant, her face had swollen so much she could barely open her eyes, and she fell backward.

“Princess!”

Marie screamed, and several people jumped to their feet. Her hands, which had been gripping the chair and table tightly to resist scratching her flushed skin and to endure her rapid breathing, fell limply.

A ringing sound filled Peon’s ears. He forcibly held onto his rationality, which was on the verge of panic, as he caught her falling form. He couldn’t lose his composure here.

“Call a doctor!”

Peon shouted loudly as he held onto Kaela, who was barely conscious, and forced her to vomit.

“Kaela, stay with me. Throw up, quickly.”

Peon wasn’t just giving orders when countless wounded appeared on battlefields against the evil dragon Gusalante. Sir Wilberk and Sir Renard rushed over, and the maids shielded Kaela.

“You need to throw up, Kaela.”

Dying is painful. It’s sufficiently painful and agonizing to die. Kaela knew this better, having lived her previous life exhausting all her strength.

So, having forcibly eaten enough ferenco to be sufficiently in pain, she didn’t want to live by forcibly vomiting it out. In this place where kind people were overwhelmed by loud voices, where no effort seemed to make a difference, she needed to die quickly.

But a strong hand firmly pressed down on her swollen tongue and probed her throat. Kaela vomited everything she had eaten. Tears welled up with the convulsions that wrung her abdomen.

“Well done. Don’t lose consciousness. Look at me.”

Her blurry vision was a mess. Even if she tried to look, she couldn’t see. Kaela surrendered herself to the darkness that was happily approaching.

“Open your eyes, Kaela!”

****

The newly wed Grand Duchess had lost consciousness with a severely swollen face. This happened at the welcoming banquet on her first day in Lusenford.

“My, she seems to have a weak constitution.”

After the Grand Duchess was carried away, having forcibly vomited and collapsed, someone tactlessly muttered. It was a serious matter, but just to that extent.

“Why?”

The muttering noble asked back, seeing the glaring expression of another noble. It was someone who usually kept quiet and hadn’t said a word today either.

“Are you that unaware of the situation? What do you think Crania will say when the Grand Duchess who just arrived today collapses?”

“What would they say…”

What would they say? What use would it be for those cowardly Cranians, who don’t know how to fight and are just fat with wealth, to say anything?

Among those blinking in confusion, the few who were quick-witted and politically savvy but had kept quiet were already pale-faced with their eyes tightly shut.

“Everyone, please be quiet! Please remain seated!”

At that moment, the Grand Duke’s knights blocked the banquet hall exits and shouted.

“Please remain in your seats until the situation stabilizes. Do not touch the tables.”

“Why not the tables?”

The knight coldly replied.

“By order of the Grand Duke, an investigation will be conducted as the Grand Duchess’s condition was compromised due to the food.”

As soon as the words were spoken, several knights dragged away the head maid and butler. The chef was also pulled from the kitchen.

The Grand Duke, grabbing the collars of the nobles who had been thinking lightly of the situation, turned everything upside down. He carried the collapsed Kaela to his bedroom and laid her down.

“You say it’s because of the tour berry? But tour berries aren’t toxic?”

The doctor who was summoned and said such foolish things was immediately dismissed. Another doctor was called.

 

“She ate food that didn’t agree with her. It was like poison to the Grand Duchess.”