You are at the End of the Downfall

The maids and head maid were anxious, the doctor silently focused on her work, and even the knights nervously watched over the Grand Duchess.

Following the doctor’s strong recommendation to go out for a walk and move her body, the Grand Duchess who came outside appeared to be a very calm and gentle lady on the surface.

“How has Her Highness been lately?” Secretary Regen asked cautiously.

Sir Renard, instead of answering, pointed for him to look straight ahead.

“I mean, besides what we can see on the surface.”

As if to say, “My good man, is that what I asked? If I only needed visual confirmation, I would have just looked and left,” Regen gave a look to Sir Renard, who merely shrugged in response. How should I know?

“I don’t know. How can one understand what’s inside a person?”

On the surface, there seemed to be no problem at all. But to those who knew her, she was a woman of great pride who couldn’t bear the butler’s false accusations and attempted suicide in front of the Grand Duke.

Officially, it was reported that the shocked Grand Duchess had collapsed, but her close associates inevitably knew the truth. The Grand Duke’s inner circle, including Sir Renard, was unexpectedly included in this group.

“Isn’t it funny? With just two of the longest-serving people gone, the castle is running so efficiently.”

With Doris Windgood and Rolf Anderson, the caretakers of the castle, committing a great crime and disappearing, Lusenford Castle unexpectedly ran more smoothly.

In other words, it meant that the castle was in this state because of them. Moreover, they all seemed to dislike the Grand Duke’s new bride for no reason.

“It’s because Her Highness has experience in managing a castle.”

A month flew by after the Grand Duchess collapsed. The new head maid, new chef, new doctor, and the Grand Duchess’s maids all worked very efficiently and sensibly.

They didn’t unnecessarily clutch their purses and spent properly where needed.

The military and knight sections were already well-organized by Peon, so there were no issues, but there had been many problems that didn’t mesh well with the castle’s internal affairs, which have now all disappeared, making everything smooth.

Even the stable keeper and the armory manager, who used to plead for more money with long faces, now smiled. They were happy to be able to provide the knights with better, safer horses, saddles, horseshoes, and replace old weapons with new ones.

“Everything’s good for us, but…”

Sir Renard watched the Grand Duchess, who walked quietly, led by the hands of her maids, without a trace of color in her face. He was assigned to guard the Grand Duchess today. It was the most important task that the Grand Duke always emphasized.

“Does the Grand Duke really intend to never meet Her Highness?”

“It’s not that he’s not meeting her…”

Regen tried to correct Sir Renard’s words slightly. So, how should one express this?

“Then, is he trying to avoid her continuously?”

But Sir Renard was a bit quicker.

“No, it’s not that he’s avoiding her either…”

Regen, who was trying hard to correct the statement, was an excellent secretary but gave up for now. Because “avoiding” was the most fitting word, and above all, it was the truth.

The Grand Duke didn’t go anywhere near the Grand Duchess.

Whether he was worried she might cause another commotion by attempting suicide again if she saw him, or concerned about harming her recovering health, the Grand Duke, for reasons only he knew, didn’t face the Grand Duchess.

The couple who always used the same bedroom and tried to match their meal times whenever possible was now gone.

“Everything’s fine now, though.”

“Yes. The difficult times are over.”

It was a very challenging task to cut off castle employees, especially those who had been known for nearly 20 years and had worked for even longer. No matter what problems arose, Lusenford had a strong culture of turning a blind eye to most issues.

This was because the people of Lusenford had a strong tendency to band together while being mistreated in Crania. So in this place with such strong local favoritism, it was extremely difficult to touch the Anderson and Windgood families, who were local notables.

They had to break human relationships that had grown close and strong over many years, be prepared for strained relations with all involved parties, and finding new people was also challenging.

Above all, since the Emperor was always watching Peon, even the slightest unusual behavior, whether justified or not, would result in the Emperor tormenting Peon relentlessly.

Why did you do that? It’s because of your mistake that this happened. It’s all your fault. And so on. All kinds of reproaches poured out until Peon admitted his fault and begged for forgiveness.

This was an undertaking made with full awareness of these consequences.

“Honestly, I’m worried to the point that His Highness isn’t even shaving and keeps going in and out of the underground prison.”

“Yes.”

Sir Renard nodded heavily.

“I’m wondering if I should speak to Her Highness. Although the Grand Duke has strictly forbidden it.”

Regen sighed deeply at those words. He felt like he might have to speak to Her Highness, prepared for the consequences.

“The Grand Duke seems too dangerous for that.”

Peon was out of his mind to the point where his closest aides were worried. The once always generous and merciful Grand Duke didn’t even blink an eye at the constant stream of bodies being carried out of the underground prison over the past month.

Something was off. It wasn’t like him at all. This was precisely why Regen and Sir Renard felt uneasy.

But as if to dispel such worries, that evening, the Grand Duke sent a message to the Grand Duchess asking if they could meet.

****

“Her Highness has recovered enough to take short walks and spend some time outside comfortably. We’re gradually increasing her food intake, and she’s at a point where she can start incorporating regular meals.”

After confirming this several times with Darinka, Peon nodded silently. Kaela, who had woken up after nearly a month, was slowly recovering.

“Her mood?”

“Well, it’s hard to tell. She doesn’t speak much, and doesn’t show likes or dislikes in anything.”

In that sense, Beatrice Ravalley was a much easier patient to understand.

“…We shouldn’t give her any big shocks.”

“Is there anything more shocking than this?”

You mean there’s more? Darinka looked at the Grand Duke with a pale face.

“Well. I’m not sure how she’ll take having a conversation with me.”

“It would be better for you to talk to her. That would be much better.”

“Even if it’s about unpleasant matters?”

“Yes. It’s a hundred, no, a thousand times better than keeping silent and bottling things up inside. Even shouting and crying is healthier. It means there’s some release.”

As a sinner, he couldn’t delay his apology any longer. It was also something he should have done.

He recalled the northern tower where he had dealt with Rolf Anderson and Doris Windgood. It was a place that felt cold even in spring. What thoughts might have gone through the mind of that noble princess as she died with her eyes open in the dead of winter?

When Kaela ran towards death for the third time right before his eyes, the shell surrounding him cracked and split. The taboo that had been binding him not to do so had, in fact, been meaningless since the regression, so it couldn’t stop him this time either.

Thus, Peon vividly recalled how he had irrationally ignored Kaela while under the influence of the taboo. He had known it, but now his heightened senses kept bringing back those memories, shredding his nerves.

“Regen.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Ask Her Highness politely when she would be able to meet me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Regen left with a small envelope handed to him by the Grand Duke. The answer came back quickly.

“She says it doesn’t matter when you come, visit at your convenience.”

Going to confess and beg forgiveness for an unforgivable sin, yet she says it “doesn’t matter.” It would have been better if she had flatly refused, saying not to come, how dare you try to meet me. To Kaela, it didn’t matter either way.

Having attempted death twice and failed, she didn’t even get angry. Peon feared that more. Yes, even after coming this far, there was something he feared. But the fear was his burden, not Kaela’s.

That evening, as darkness fell, Peon stood before a mirror for the first time in a long while. His pale face, revealed after shaving off the beard soaked in steam and water, looked even thinner.

His dripping wet body was the same. He tidied up his disheveled hair and put on neat but unadorned clothes.

Kaela would likely be disgusted just by looking at him, but he needed to be at least clean and tidy. Yet, he couldn’t be overly elaborate either.

As a sinner should be, a clean shirt and trousers were enough. It should be an attire suitable for being thrown into prison.

With a heavy heart, he went to meet the Grand Duchess, who had finished her meal. Unlike him in his properly dressed state, Kaela sat in an armchair in comfortable attire, her hair loosely braided.

“…How are you feeling?”

His tone was heavy, serious, and polite, infinitely careful. Kaela responded as if indifferent or uninterested, even in front of her husband who was no different from an enemy.

“I’m fine.”

[I’m fine.]

Even when the maid intentionally brought in ice-cold water for washing and bathing, causing her to catch a cold, even when she was criticized for being picky like a southern woman after enduring and finally changing maids, even when the new maid deliberately did similar things, she always had to be fine.

She had learned that if you endure, be patient, and make an effort, someday there will be a reward. She was glad that there were some people who gradually recognized her true worth. But in the end, that was just a good excuse for the Grand Duke who had decided to ignore her.

Why bother when she says she’s fine?

She says she’s fine. Alright. Don’t do it.

In fact, she wasn’t really fine, and even though it was obvious, he ignored even that. He ignored the sick person, ignored the unfairness of not being properly treated, and kept ignoring until he ignored even her innocence and pleas.

Subject to a taboo that prevented proper thinking, he treated Kaela as a spy without reason, yet he made good use of such words.

He could no longer stand straight and face Kaela.

“Your Highness.”

His knees, which rarely bent even under the Emperor’s oppression, buckled. With a face distorted by guilt, he knelt and prostrated himself before his wife who had now given up everything.

“I have done wrong.”

The sinner rightfully had to apologize. But having committed a sin too great to even ask for forgiveness, all he could do was apologize.

“For what?”

Kaela asked back as if she didn’t understand. She even widened her eyes slightly, tensing her shoulders as if she hadn’t expected him to do this.

“For everything… all the wrongs I’ve committed against you over the past four years.”

That was the only way he could explain it. Thinking about what he had done wrong, it was everything.

“I didn’t believe you… didn’t treat you properly, dared to ignore you and then…”

The more he thought about the corpse with open eyes, the harder it became to speak. But he had to.

“And then, letting you die…”

He didn’t make excuses that it wasn’t his will, that he was completely caught up in the taboo. That had nothing to do with Kaela. He didn’t even hope for leniency. A sin is a sin.

“I’m sorry.”

He prostrated himself and begged.

“I will accept whatever punishment you decide.”

Kaela responded with an expression that suggested she didn’t understand what Peon was saying at all.

“Punishment?”

“Yes. Don’t you want to kill me?”

For the first time, emotion appeared on her face, which had been devoid of life both before her collapse and now. She looked down at her husband, who was speaking such madness without hesitation, with surprised eyes.

“I will make sure it’s done properly, and no one will hold you responsible. Whatever punishment you desire, there will be no repercussions.”

No matter how much he racked his brains, this was the only solution he could come up with. He had to leave everything to Kaela. Even if he couldn’t avenge her here, it was still worth it.

“How could I kill Your Highness?”

“There are many ways. I will tell you various methods that can inflict maximum pain with minimal effort.”

Kaela hesitated, or perhaps she simply didn’t answer.

“I know my life is cheap compared to the sins I’ve committed against you. If not death, there are ways to cut off my limbs or become a criminal of the empire. I could incite rebellion after divorce. It might take some time, but I will surely remain in history as a criminal and face execution.”

This wasn’t idle talk, but a painful conclusion reached after long and careful consideration.

“You won’t face any political danger.”

Peon’s voice, promising to handle even that with calculation, was mixed with a detachment ready for any punishment.

“Why?”

Kaela asked back as if she truly couldn’t understand. Her questioning voice was almost innocent.

“Why go to such lengths?”

Was there some other punishment that Peon’s mind couldn’t conceive?

“You just need me gone, don’t you? You don’t need to do any of that.”

Her dazed voice was nonchalant. So nonchalant and peaceful that it sounded terribly cruel to the sinner.

“Just kill me, Your Highness.”

It was a sentence more harsh and cruel than a cheap death or a long, drawn-out punishment.