After introducing all her children to the Grand Duke and Duchess, the new head maid inspected the Grand Duchess’s office and bedroom, as well as the Grand Duke’s bedroom and office, all of which “needed attention,” before leaving arm in arm with her husband.
“Your Highness.”
Hearing the call, Kaela looked up at Peon, who was much taller than her and required her to crane her neck to see.
“Don’t pay attention to what the new head maid says.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“I mean about children.”
Ah. He means the “good news.” Kaela hadn’t paid any attention to it in the first place, knowing full well that such talk had nothing to do with her. But Peon seemed quite bothered by those words.
“It’s typical talk, but right now, your health recovery is more important. And…”
He looked around, and after confirming that everyone was at a distance, he lowered his voice to a whisper.
“We will strictly adhere to the contract regarding our marriage.”
Ah, the contract. Kaela had immediately forgotten about that prenuptial agreement, knowing it was already ineffective.
“About my successor…”
“Your Highness’s successor.”
Kaela interrupted him. Peon immediately closed his mouth and listened to the small voice speaking.
“That’s for Your Highness to decide, not me.”
I wonder how you, who have become so affectionate lately, will respond to this. Will you just let it slide? Or will you think I’ve grasped the situation well?
Kaela, who had been standing still and wondering for a moment, abandoned the thought. It didn’t matter either way, as long as it could bring temporary peace to this precarious marriage.
“Then if I say I want to have an heir from you, will you comply with that decision?”
His usually calm voice sounded strangely irritable. He seemed to be upset.
Kaela couldn’t understand. Peon was saying things he wouldn’t normally say, in a voice that wasn’t like him. The two lords of Lusenford stood facing each other in the vast, rough, and desolate hall of Lusenford Castle.
In Peon’s violet eyes, suppressed emotions flickered, but Kaela couldn’t tell if it was anger or irritation.
Various emotions, difficult to define as one, were pouring out solely towards her. Before she could instinctively step back to defend herself, Peon quickly said, as if to grab her.
“Don’t speak like that when you don’t even want it. And the matter of my successor is not for me to decide alone, but clearly something we should decide together.”
“Then do you want to have an heir from me?”
This time, Peon looked at her as if he couldn’t understand. He seemed surprised by the unexpected words.
Kaela felt a certain satisfaction in rendering him speechless.
The powerless Kaela, who was merely an object of indifference to Peon and an obstacle that hindered his marriage to his lover, had caught him off guard. He probably didn’t expect such words from the emotional underdog who had always been docile, calm, and pliable like the tongue in one’s mouth.
Although it was far off-topic, she just wanted to say it once. Even knowing full well how Peon would react, she wanted to shake him up, just this once.
“It’s common sense to people that I should bear Your Highness’s heir, which is why Sir and Lady Silenster say such things.”
Honestly, it was surprising to hear such words, as if she had died and woken up to a different world. These were words that had nothing to do with Kaela.
Before she died, everyone knew that the Grand Duke neglected the Grand Duchess and never even went to her bedroom. No one expected the Grand Duchess to bear the heir of the Grand Duke of Lusenford.
“But just because others think it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s natural between Your Highness and me. I don’t care about talks of ‘good news’ or whatnot. I’m not interested in whatever people are gossiping about.”
She was tired of hearing what others had to say. By now, she could maintain an expressionless face even in the face of most insults. Would you, who now have no sins but wear the face of a sinner, understand that?
Kaela smiled. She smiled while tightly gripping the pocket of her dress containing the poison vial.
“So, regarding the heir, it’s up to Your Highness to handle it. If you have a child elsewhere, bring them when they’re born. The heir of Your Highness should rightfully grow up in Lusenford. I’ll raise them as much as I can.”
Though she didn’t know how long she could raise them, given that she would die soon anyway.
Was the wine she drank today too much? Or had the prospect of death burned away some of her fears? Seeing Peon’s surprised face, words that had been bottled up, never properly expressed before, came tumbling out. It felt refreshing to say them.
“And if that doesn’t suit you either, I won’t interfere, so don’t worry.”
A child. In Kaela’s memory, still vivid from the past four years—four years that don’t exist at this point in time—Kaela had lived with her heart in her throat, waiting to hear news of Beatrice’s pregnancy.
If she heard news of a pregnancy, she would think, “So, it has come to this.”
If she heard news of a birth, she would pathetically wonder what the child was like. Knowing all too well what kind of person Beatrice Ravalley was, she would needlessly worry whether the child would receive proper upbringing.
How much would they resemble Peon? She’d want to see them just once. And even if she ended up taking care of that child, she would surely feel a small joy.
She would look for Peon in the child’s face. She would be happy just to be able to raise the child. She would be glad to be able to do something for Peon, even in this way.
If she could occupy even a small positive part in his life, she could do anything. Really. She could do anything. There were such days. As for Kaela’s own child…
No, no.
“Then I’ll go in first…”
“I’m not interested in other women besides you, Kaela.”
Kaela’s words were cut off abruptly as she was about to turn away, cutting off her flowing thoughts. The smile disappeared from her small, pale face. Instead, she flinched in surprise.
“I detest illegitimate children.”
The words that rushed in shook her roughly.
“But if you want to have a child, I’m willing to cooperate to the best of my ability.”
His eyes, always indifferent and cold towards Kaela, were now swirling with all sorts of emotions. They were not eyes that were unreadable because there was nothing in them, but eyes that one could get swept away in because there was too much to read.
“I’m glad you say you don’t care about what people say.”
He bowed his head, swallowing many words. The black cloak covered and hid the white fur. In an instant, the tiny Grand Duchess was swallowed up in the Grand Duke’s embrace and disappeared from sight.
“Then you should get healthy soon. After all, we need to create an heir, right, Kaela?”
****
Sometimes there are things that become irreversible if you think about them too much. Or perhaps they’re things that yield no answers no matter how much you think about them. It was all useless, so she should have buried it in distant memories and never dug it up again.
But Peon made her confront that issue.
“Change the furniture as Your Highness wishes. I’m sorry, but it’s really a mess. How could they use such cheap things, how…”
The new head maid, Fabiola Silenster, was disgusted, saying that even common households in Lusenford don’t use such things these days.
“This is wrong from the wallpaper, Your Highness. It all needs to be changed. It’s too embarrassing and shameful.”
Kaela smiled.
“I’ll hand over to you the furniture I’ve ordered.”
Finally, it was time for her to step back. The opportunity had come to defer most matters to the head maid and focus solely on sending back the maids she had brought. This was the chance Kaela had been waiting for.
The chance to face death squarely after doing nothing and dealing with just one problem. She wanted to be in a carefree state where she could die without regrets whenever a crisis struck.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will prepare everything with the utmost sincerity, but I will proceed only after getting your approval for everything. As a person from Lusenford, I’m quite inadequate when it comes to entertaining envoys from Crania.”
