From last night until this morning, and even now, Kaela hadn’t felt cold once. It was partly because the weather had started to improve, but also because nothing fills an empty heart like the warmth of someone who has touched you.
As soon as Kaela realized this, her heart became even more complicated.
She looked at the diamond ring that was weighing heavily on her finger.
She had reluctantly accepted it as an engagement ring along with the Empress’s ring that Peon had insisted she wear, but honestly, she wanted to take it off now.
‘What does it matter to me if war breaks out in Lusenford or not? If I die before that, it’s all over anyway!’
She snapped at herself, but her brain, which only seemed to work cleverly at times like this, immediately found a proper excuse.
‘As the Grand Duchess, I have no choice. If the Emperor declares the Grand Duke of Lusenford a traitor, Ostein, my family’s duchy, will also be labeled as traitors.’
Convenient words. Ridiculous words. Coming from someone who was ready to abandon her father and just die.
Then how was she any different from Peon, who had contributed to her father’s murder? At least Peon was a stranger without a drop of shared blood, but she was his own daughter. So why would she want such a man to live?
‘He’s different from that man before she died. This time, he saved Father! He did it at great personal sacrifice. Are you going to blame your current husband for a crime he didn’t commit?’
It was confusing. Having died once, an uncertain future was terrifyingly frightening, and yet she was bewildered by desires she didn’t even know she had.
‘Above all, are you going to believe what Beatrice said when she came just before you died?’
All sorts of thoughts occurred to her because of the rational judgment that she shouldn’t believe what Beatrice said.
Is it okay to do what she wants? Would it be alright?
Can someone like Kaela de Chasser do what she wants?
“Your Highness, Lady Ravalley has arrived. Shall I let her in?”
Kaela nodded, fidgeting with her neckline as the dress that came up to her neck felt suffocating.
She would have preferred something wrapped around her neck rather than a dress that came up so high. She had to wear it because Lusenford was so cold, but it was still uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
As she did so, her eyes met Beatrice’s as she entered the Grand Duchess’s office.
‘She looks annoyed again.’
No, she also looked a bit unwell. She must have had a terrible night sleeping in the Grand Duchess’s bedroom without any curtains.
Even with two or three layers of blankets and a fireplace, it must have been miserable with the draft coming through the stone walls.
“Welcome.”
By protocol, Beatrice should have greeted first, but Kaela kindly initiated the greeting again this time. Having never harmed anyone in her life, she could at least greet first, considering she had left Beatrice in a freezing bedroom.
Moral sensibilities become quite dulled after experiencing terrible events.
Kaela, who could never have imagined harming anyone, could now easily make Beatrice spend a night in a cold room after experiencing a tragic death.
She felt no hesitation because Beatrice had done many bad things to Kaela even in this new life.
She had learned and become that way.
“A doctor…”
Kaela, who had been looking at documents, raised her head. Beatrice’s voice, once said to be like a nightingale’s, was terribly cracked and sounded like scraping metal. She seemed to have caught a bad cold.
“I need to see a doctor…”
“Yes. I hear a new room has been prepared.”
Kaela nodded and finally unfastened the collar pin that was holding her dress neckline in place. It was too suffocating to bear, and the Grand Duchess’s office was warm enough that she didn’t need to keep the neckline tightly fastened.
Her extremities, like her hands or feet, had always been pitifully cold, but perhaps because Peon had held and caressed her feet with his large hands last night, they weren’t cold at all.
“I’ll have a doctor sent to that room.”
Would Darinka have time? She had heard that most of the urgent cases among the children in the castle had been treated. As the established Grand Duchess’s physician, she should have time to prescribe some cold medicine for Beatrice.
Honestly, Kaela cared more about the children in the castle than Beatrice. Even though she had known Beatrice since she was very young, such relationships can exist.
When she heard no response, Kaela looked up. Unexpectedly, Beatrice was staring at her intently.
“Is there another problem?”
Problem? There were many problems. Very many. Beatrice had thoroughly realized why Kaela had given up the Grand Duchess’s bedroom without protest, shivering all night. It was intentional. That was deliberate.
If she was going to give such a hideous place as a bedroom, she shouldn’t have given it at all! And now Kaela, who had brazenly taken over Peon’s bedroom, was showing shock after shock.
Beatrice, who dominated the most sophisticated social circles of the Crania Empire, actually knew well that wherever she went, the games nobles played were all the same. It all came down to money.
Money was the most important, and if backed by status and fame, one could buy young lovers as much as they wanted. Yes, even people and love could be bought with money.
In that sense, Kaela, the daughter of Duke Ostein who was officially recognized as the late Emperor’s son despite being illegitimate, had just shown with a single gesture what she possessed.
“…Thank… you.”
Her head was heavy and her throat hurt. She was getting increasingly irritated from the discomfort, and having to be polite and respectful to Kaela, that girl who had everything but was foolish, was torture for Beatrice.
Meanwhile, on the hand that removed the collar pin, there were two rings.
One of them was the Empress’s ring given directly by the Emperor, symbolizing authority itself, and the other was a diamond that Beatrice, who couldn’t resist jewels, had never seen before.
It was so large that it had turned halfway around, covering an entire segment of Kaela’s particularly small finger with room to spare. It symbolized wealth.
High-ranking ladies would subtly show off their heavy rings while removing their gloves or fluttering their fans.
Whether it was to boast about belonging to an ancient family, how much their husband loved them, or how wealthy they were, all sorts of bragging rights ended with a single ring.
Beatrice herself was wearing a quite large ruby ring at the moment. But of all the rings, no, all the jewels she had ever seen, none were larger or more beautiful than the ring Kaela was wearing now.
‘Is it an heirloom of the Duchess of Ostein?’
That couldn’t be. If it were, Beatrice would have known immediately.
That’s why she reached the final conclusion she had been trying to ignore and deny.
If Kaela hadn’t removed just the collar pin, Beatrice would have denied it. But the moment she removed the pin, the vivid red marks visible between her collar pushed Beatrice into reality.
Kaela de Chasser had gained her husband’s love, that difficult thing, in addition to her original bloodline and wealth.
Despite being from the south, her fair neck that hadn’t been exposed to sunlight was covered in red marks that were clearly more than just one or two at a glance. Only a persistent and vigorous lover would do such a thing.
‘How?’
Even though her throat was terribly swollen, Beatrice, distracted by Kaela, couldn’t comprehend it.
She couldn’t understand how Peon, who had awkwardly received even the slightest kiss from her, had suddenly become such a mature and skilled man. The sight of Peon entering the bedroom last night had surprised Beatrice.
…He was a man at the peak of masculinity, enough to surprise her. All women would be at a loss, their bodies heating up.
What was most regrettable was that this man, who even caught Beatrice’s eye, shared a bedroom with Kaela, who was far inferior to her. A married couple in a political marriage sharing the same bedroom.
Beatrice kept staring at Kaela. Her gaze was so blatant that Kaela had to look up. Beatrice’s eyes were fixed not on her, but on the diamond gifted by Peon.
‘So that’s why he told me to wear the ring.’
