You are at the End of the Downfall

“Shall I put you to sleep more?”

A very soft and gentle voice asked. With all the tender actions of stroking her hair and slowly kissing her forehead, drowsiness came over her again.

Peon was lying beside her with his upper body bare. His visible body was smooth without a single scar. He clearly had many scars from when he came to Lusenford as a child, but now there were none.

“Can’t sleep?”

In any case, the husband – the one that the people of Lusenford said should be worshipped like the sky – was speaking, so the Grand Duchess, who was less useful than a pet dog, had to answer. Kaela called him. Your Highness.

“Did oppa wake you up?”

Did her voice come out? She wasn’t sure. It must have, because Peon seemed to correct the title she had used.

“Shall I help you sleep?”

What? Kaela suddenly felt wide awake. A chill ran down her spine. Some strange sense of unease pressed down on her spine. Her survival instinct was signaling her to run away.

The one before her eyes was not human. It was something very frightening. A being that could easily crush someone like her if even slightly annoyed. She should run away quickly, she should…

“You don’t want to?”

But could she run away?

The lips in front of her curled up, and the cool gaze swept over her as if finding her cute. As if knowing exactly what she was thinking.

“Then, shall we do something fun?”

If she didn’t run away, would he kill her? Would she die if she stayed next to this dangerous fear?

The purple eyes narrowed. The smile completely disappeared. The danger signal grew stronger. But for the woman who had ignored this signal for 4 years, it was easier to ignore it this time too.

She should just let it be. She couldn’t run away, and because it was dangerous, she had to get closer. Kaela, lying there helplessly, easily came to a conclusion.

“Should I like this, or should I get angry.”

It didn’t matter either way. She had no choice anyway. It had always been like that.

“Okay, well, I like it. It’s fine. It’s not bad.”

Her voice sounded fierce as she said she liked it. Kaela was afraid of him. Because she was afraid, she liked it too. It wasn’t bad.

“Sleep.”

An irritated voice commanded. Under the touch that stroked her drowsy eyes, she fell into sleep helplessly without being able to resist. There were also lips touching her forehead and cheeks with soft kisses.

“If you try to run away next time after this…”

There were more words, but Kaela couldn’t hear them. Or perhaps they were words that didn’t matter even if she heard them.

****

Publicly, it was known that the fragile Grand Duchess had collapsed from the shock of being falsely accused of attempting to poison the Grand Duke – a preposterous charge supposedly brought by a mere butler.

However, those who served closely knew this wasn’t true. Because they knew, they watched her every move even more closely.

“Your Highness.”

Peon had left expansion plans and blueprints in the morning. It was meant for her to look at if she was bored, but Kaela just threw them far away and stared blankly before turning her head. Marie came and hesitated.

“Um, are you busy?”

Her Highness was especially affectionate towards the maids she had brought with her.

Everyone knew that even though she had become less talkative, her heart for taking care of the maids was sincere. Knowing this, Marie had been watching carefully all day, and when Her Highness was alone for a moment, she quickly approached.

“How could I be? Is something the matter?”

Even her question was so kind that Marie had to hold back tears that were about to burst out. Her Highness had been deeply hurt.

“What’s wrong?”

At Kaela’s question, Marie hesitated, but when Her Highness gave a slight smile, she quickly brought out the package she had been fidgeting with.

“This, I want to return it to you.”

It was the money pouch that Kaela had given to Marie before drinking the poison. She had given the same to Cecile and Denise separately.

“I don’t want to accept it.”

Marie mumbled, lowering her head.

“I know why you gave this to us.”

Her Highness had already decided to take her own life then. Marie, who was chosen as Her Highness’s messenger for her quick wit, realized it immediately.

“I don’t want to accept it. Please don’t give it to me next time either. I don’t like it.”

Her voice trembled, and Marie began to sob. The young girl quickly shed tears.

“I gave it to you because you did well, Marie. As a thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything well. Nothing at all.”

Kaela understood why Marie was shaking her head, saying she didn’t like it and wouldn’t accept it.

Cecile had held onto Kaela and kept saying she did well, she endured well, thank you. Denise had held onto Kaela and cried loudly, sticking close wherever she went. Marie was expressing herself in her own way too.

“The monthly salary you give me is enough. I want to receive that for the rest of my life.”

“It’s too cold here, Marie. Don’t you want to go back to Ostein? You should go back, get married, and live happily.”

Even though she knew from her two marriages that marriage doesn’t necessarily bring happiness, Kaela said the same things others say. She said it with the sincere hope that Marie would be happy.

“I don’t want to. I want to stay by Your Highness’s side. I’ll stick close until I become a grandmother.”

Marie whined, sniffling.

“I don’t want the money. I won’t accept it.”

These were words she hadn’t dared to say until now, under orders to be extremely careful and not to bother Her Highness who needed absolute rest.

Kaela, who was sitting, reached out her hand. Marie quickly moved closer so that hand could reach her and lowered her head.

“You were worried. Thank you.”

There weren’t many people who worried about her. She had to properly express gratitude for the concern and fear deeply embedded in the crying that burst out in her hand.

Although it might be proper for a maid to worry about the Grand Duchess, Kaela knew it wasn’t a given. People are frightening beings who can change their attitudes as easily as flipping their palms, and abandon the masters they once served loyally.

Everyone had abandoned her. Her father couldn’t endure, the Crania social circle pretended not to see her, and Lusenford naturally did the same.

Lusenford included her husband. Having been abandoned once, those who didn’t abandon her to the end were incredibly precious to her.

“Still, keep the money, Marie. I gave one to Cecile and Denise too, not just you.”

“Sisters said they don’t want to accept it either and haven’t spent a penny.”

That was true. Cecile and Denise had also brought back the money pouches as if they had made a promise. Everyone knew what it meant. Consolation money. Or severance pay.

“Still, keep it. Eat what you want to eat, do what you want to do.”

Kaela had learned painfully through the deceased head maid how powerful money could be during her time as a poor Grand Duchess.

“If you insist, think of it as compensation for your emotional distress this time. I felt bad only giving you a salary for coming to this cold place.”

“I can’t do that, Your Highness.”

“It’s not like I’m giving you money I don’t have.”

Marie sniffled and wiped her tears.

“But, Marie, don’t show off that you have too much money. You need to be careful. There are people who do bad things for money everywhere.”

“I know. I’ve kept it well hidden where no one knows until now.”

“Good. You did well.”

“I hope this is the only time you’re giving this to me.”

Instead of answering, Kaela smiled faintly. Marie reluctantly took the money pouch back. It might be given only this time, or it might not. But she couldn’t die right away.

She was with someone 24 hours a day. Maids always stayed by her side, and a guard knight accompanied her. And Peon visited her at every mealtime, and he always shared the same bed with her at night.

Her husband, who couldn’t even raise his head in front of her when she woke up after drinking the poison, seems to have chosen to become rather brazen now.

The poison secretly made and brought from Ostein had fallen into his hands. Though she wanted to retrieve it after confirming that it was painless when drunk, Darinka clearly told Kaela:

–”It’s a stroke of luck. If you drink it again, the Grand Duke will certainly do everything to save you. But in the process, you might survive while losing your eyesight, hearing, voice, or becoming paralyzed in the lower body, or even the whole body.”

The implication was whether she would want to live like that.

–”As a doctor, I think of the possibility of survival first, Your Highness. And if the same thing happens again, there’s a high chance you’ll survive. Because the Grand Duke has a strong will to save you.”

She couldn’t understand why he was so desperate to save her now.

At times like this, her politically sharp mind would automatically list the “benefits Peon gains if Kaela is alive” before she even tried to think about it herself.

In the end, it was because of Ostein. In this complex whirlpool, the Grand Duke of Lusenford, who gained a reliable father-in-law and a wife who is the future Duchess of Ostein, could solidify his unstable position. That was the political reason.

A living father-in-law and a deceased father-in-law are as different as heaven and earth. It was also one of the reasons Kaela felt miserable.

It was greedy to hope that Peon, who had been called a fatherless bastard, would show her a little consideration in this regard. He might have thought she was selfishly trying to share a pain he didn’t want to share.

Had he known he was the son of a dragon before the regression? Maybe he knew and didn’t care about Kaela’s pain at all. These were all just her meaningless speculations.

At that moment, the door opened and Peon entered. At his nod, Marie, who had been sitting, quickly left her seat.

“Did you see it? How is it?”

He came to see her in between his work. The expansion plans and blueprints he had personally left two hours ago were still in the same place.

“You didn’t look at it?”

Peon, flipping through the plans placed at the end of the bed, sat down next to Kaela.

If she was just a political marriage partner who needed to be kept alive for political reasons, there was no need to check on her this frequently.

This was the point that Kaela could only think was strange. Peon often stayed by her side, even doing tasks that maids or guard knights should do.

‘It’s a waste of time.’

He is a busy person. In addition to the kitchen construction, he had finished the big job of water and sewage works, but next was the military reorganization and expansion construction.

He didn’t have time to leisurely come to the bedroom and dally with the Grand Duchess. Moreover, Kaela was a boring person to be with. Especially recently.

Before the regression, she had desperately tried to converse with him, thinking of topics and chattering away, but now she didn’t make such efforts and barely responded properly. Yet Peon kept coming to see her. He came and tried to engage her in conversation.

“You don’t like it?”

“Why did you come?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

It was an answer that made her think again, ‘Is this really necessary?’ He always gave the same answer.

Even if he said he came because he wanted to see her, Kaela had nothing to offer. She wasn’t particularly skilled in conversation to engage in witty banter, and in fact, she had nothing she wanted to say.

Still, he always came to her side as she sat there motionless, and spent quite a long time. He would ask various things and inform her about recent changes.

He chose non-uncomfortable topics, such as the weather, today’s food, or her health condition – subjects that weren’t burdensome.

It must be difficult for a taciturn person to lead such one-sided conversations on these topics, but he spoke quite smoothly.

Almost like a different person.

“What were you doing?”

Kaela shook her head slightly. There wasn’t really anything to answer. Many small things had happened while he was away, but they were too trivial to tell the Grand Duke about, and she honestly couldn’t be bothered to speak.

“I see.”

But Peon nodded with a smile as if he had heard a long and detailed answer. Then he just sat there quietly without asking anything more.

At first, she had wished he would leave. She had even told him to go. But it was unlikely that he would listen to her, and Kaela, who gave up immediately, didn’t care whether he was there or not.

Unlike his overwhelmingly handsome face, having him nearby wasn’t too burdensome. He sat quietly and did his work. Seeing this, it didn’t seem like he had changed that much. Come to think of it, she remembered she had something to ask him.

“Where did you put that?”

Peon turned to her with a “Hm?” His gaze held a question of what she was talking about.

“My medicine bottle. You took it, didn’t you? Give it to me.”

“What medicine?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You take so many medicines every day.”

And Peon was personally taking care of all those medicines.

“Mine that the butler stole through a maid.”

Kaela had to speak firmly and clearly. The face of the man who was pretending not to know turned cold.

“Kaela. Is that medicine?”

His gentle questioning voice was tinged with resentment.