The crime was clear, testimonies were abundant, and above all, the Grand Duke was among the witnesses. So of course, the execution would be carried out.
However, as people everywhere have diverse opinions, as soon as the announcement that the head maid would be executed tomorrow was posted, people began to buzz with chatter.
“No, even so, how can they execute her? Isn’t she the one who raised His Highness since childhood?”
“Come to your senses. Didn’t you say ‘They shouldn’t do that’ when they were so disrespectful to Her Highness? If we don’t execute her, the House of Ostein or the Royal family will react immediately. What would we do then?”
A few banquet attendees who understood the implications of the Grand Duchess being forced to eat food that was poison to her and nearly dying, honestly testified about the scenes they witnessed. They also thought the Grand Duke’s judgment was correct.
“Honestly, I thought the head maid was drunk. Even though she’s a baroness, the Windgood family wasn’t that well-known, was it? If that’s the case here, how could she treat the Princess of Ostein like that?”
That was the biggest problem. Before Kaela died, not eating the ferenco containing tour berry was just a picky southern princess being annoying despite having nothing. But now, the Grand Duchess nearly dying after being pressured to eat was a completely different story.
Ostein wouldn’t stand idle, and neither would the Royal family. With Lusenford desperately needing Crania’s support due to the long and harsh winter, they had to handle this matter more decisively.
“Still, wasn’t she practically a wet nurse who raised the Grand Duke on her back, even if she didn’t breastfeed him?”
“What wet nurse? She wasn’t even appointed directly by Her Majesty the Empress, yet she acted like a mother-in-law on her own. She must have been out of her mind.”
“Shouldn’t we show some leniency considering her service until now? She probably didn’t know it would be this serious.”
To the people of Lusenford, the head maid might have “not known better,” and above all, her efforts in raising the Grand Duke since he came to Lusenford seemed to amount to nothing in front of the Princess of Ostein who had just arrived.
For the people of Lusenford, who always felt that they were never recognized by Crania despite their constant fighting, enduring, and sacrificing, this was extremely disappointing.
And Kaela, the outsider who was never fully accepted here, knew this very well.
“Now that the investigation is over, we plan to execute her tomorrow morning.”
Kaela was shocked by Peon’s words as he carefully came in to check on the Grand Duchess’s condition.
Execution? Did he say execution? Who? The head maid?
“I’m truly sorry to have you hear such harsh news so soon after waking up, but it’s the necessary action.”
Peon spoke carefully but firmly. Kaela, who could barely sit up supported by a pile of pillows, looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
Is this man really the one she knew? Doubts kept piling up. How could he speak of execution so easily?
“The head maid?”
Peon nodded.
“Execute her? No, are you saying you’ll execute her?”
He felt a bit disappointed as he watched Kaela unconsciously switch to informal speech and then back to formal.
“We have to start with the head maid.”
“Why?”
She was so shocked that she ended up asking. Increasingly, the person who should be at the center of the trajectory that should unfold according to her predictions, or as she had already experienced, was deviating.
He blatantly deviates from the obvious trajectory and moves forward on his own. Unpredictable situations are frightening.
It was a luxury to even think “It will be better this time,” so she couldn’t even consider it, and naturally, she was only filled with the fear of “How much worse will it be this time?”
“I was the one who ate it…”
A voice that sounded as if her throat was being choked barely came out.
“I could have not eaten it, but I…”
If she had been glared at for years, until her death, for not eating, now that she had eaten, she would pay an even heavier price. This is why she should have died quickly. If she had died properly, wouldn’t everything have been fine?
Lusenford would not be able to escape responsibility for the crime of attempting to murder the Grand Duchess. That’s how it should have been, but Kaela deeply resented Peon for preventing it.
As she glared at him resentfully, she unexpectedly met his very surprised eyes.
Oh no. She had made a mistake.
“…I mean, many people will probably think that way.”
Kaela, finally coming to her senses, barely managed to cover up her words. Of course, how could he understand her, who had thought of nothing but dying since coming to Lusenford? She bit her trembling lips tightly.
“…I know very well that you were very shocked and scared by something you’d never experienced before that day.”
A low voice spoke slowly. His violet eyes, carefully examining her pale face while considering each word, were filled only with caution. The usual coldness or indifference was absent.
“I’m truly sorry for making you go through such a terrible experience that you should never have known in your lifetime. It’s my fault.”
For the first time in her life, Kaela received a sincere apology from Peon.
“And… this is something we need to be clear about.”
Peon paused before emphasizing strongly.
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Your Highness. Nothing at all. So you don’t need to say such things. You have no responsibility to bear, and it’s certainly not your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
The Grand Duchess had done nothing wrong. That was clear. Kaela, her face halved by pallor from severe illness, just quietly watched Peon speak so forcefully.
“You’ve done nothing wrong at all.”
There was only one reason this man had changed.
‘He’s acting this way because Father is still alive.’
Yes. The Grand Duke of Lusenford couldn’t ignore the Duke of Ostein. Kaela, who had never had a strong family backing, now truly felt the power of that support.
She had been miserable without family support, and now that she had it, the head maid who had never been able to do anything about it was going to be executed immediately.
Kaela raised her head to look at the maids who had come with her from Ostein. Yes, while her family was still strong, she needed to at least prepare a foundation to send these girls back safely. She had several titles and people she was responsible for.
“…I heard she raised Your Highness.”
“She did. However, that was merely her duty as a servant.”
“Isn’t that a great service?”
Even Kaela didn’t expect that she would be defending the head maid with such words.
“Please spare her life.”
But the words came out. They came out surprisingly easily.
“We haven’t been married long, and I’m new here. I don’t think it’s good to spill blood so soon.”
The restrained tone and self-deprecating manner were things she had learned to the point of nausea before dying. Or rather, was forced to learn. Kaela had always been looked down upon here.
“I’m grateful for your firm and accurate judgment, but wouldn’t sparing her life at least be a better start than execution?”
In the harsh Lusenford, she needed to create one such incident. Because she had saved a Lusenford person once, it would help her later when she sent the maids back and faced a painless death.
But Peon shook his head.
“It’s a generous proposal, but I can’t do that. I’m not okay with it. How dare they do such a thing to the Grand Duchess? I intend to use this opportunity to straighten out the entire social structure of Lusenford.”
He needed to spill some blood to ensure they would never dare disrespect the young Grand Duchess again. Peon had no intention of showing mercy.
