“When I regressed, I knew who my father was.”
Peon said while calmly brushing Kaela’s long hair. Grooming long hair was no small task, and since Kaela had collapsed from poison, he had taken complete charge of this duty, spending considerable time brushing her hair.
“From then on, I became…different in many ways. My eyes grew sharper, my hearing improved, and I realized there was a power within me that I hadn’t known about…”
He murmured while slowly brushing the gleaming platinum blonde hair.
“I also realized I had been forcefully suppressed all this time. You could say I was bound to prevent myself from recognizing the power within me.”
If Kaela had asked, he would have explained in more detail, but she just listened silently. So he didn’t ramble on asking her to understand more about it.
“Once you start to realize it, it gets faster after that. Gradually…,breaking free from being just ‘the Grand Duke of Lusenford.'”
Her blue eyes, now free from drowsiness, looked straight at him.
“Your Highness is a dragon.”
“I’m also your husband, Kaela.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“It’s too important an identity for me. Every time something went wrong with you, I broke away from being human more quickly.”
Kaela understood what the unfamiliar dissonance in those purple eyes meant. It was the dissonance felt when a non-human being disguised itself and acted like a human. She was freshly reminded that he wasn’t human.
“When that happens, you stop feeling the need to follow human ways.”
And that dissonance always brings fear to humans. Fear of a being possessing overwhelming power that humans have no way to handle.
“That’s why the first Emperor tried every method to get a promise from my father not to use magic. After all, it’s not pleasant to have a being who could crush them underfoot just because they got a little angry.”
“…Do you want to crush them?”
“Sometimes.”
Peon answered honestly. His purple eyes were dark.
“Don’t be scared since I won’t do anything to you.”
He smiled kindly. Especially for Kaela, who was very timid, she could have been frightened by this bizarre story and the atmosphere Peon was subtly giving off. She was very sensitive and had already noticed that his casual words weren’t just idle talk but potentially dangerous.
However, after thinking quietly, she answered:
“I think it’s too late to be scared now.”
She was already sharing daily life with Peon, and even now was sitting in his arms. It was too late to run away out of fear.
He held Kaela closer and kissed her.
“Very late.”
“Do you still want to crush them?”
“When we go to Craine, I’ll want to more often. Because I have reasons to be angry.”
Peon had sufficient reasons, having endured all kinds of abuse including insults and contempt since he was very young.
“When I regressed, I swore to get revenge. I also thought I would correct all the wrong things. Wasn’t I different in Crania?”
He was different. Very different. It was different from the start – silently marrying Kaela without any resistance and cutting ties with Beatrice. No, it was different even before that, starting with saving the Duke of Ostein.
“I regressed around that time. My goal was to survive well first and plan for the future. But as I move further away from being human, survival becomes effortless, and other thoughts keep coming.”
Kaela looked at his emotionless purple eyes and anticipated his next words.
“It would be easier to just kill them all, so why am I putting on these formalities?”
Just as she had thought. Peon was a natural disaster. An inevitable calamity. Kaela had known this even before the regression.
“Can you kill them all?”
“I can.”
“Like in a war?”
“No, you wouldn’t want to know.”
“Then I’ll stay ignorant.”
“Good.”
Peon chuckled.
“Can I ask something else?”
“You can ask anything.”
“Then why are you holding back?”
“After regressing, I learned many new things.”
Even after hearing such frightening stories, sleep came easily. Her weakened body tired quickly from the long journey. Kaela was already limp in her husband’s arms.
“Don’t worry. It’s somewhat amusing. It’s funny watching them create their social circles and politics, oppressing each other with all sorts of complicated rules and squabbling among themselves.”
She wanted to say that was exactly the kind of statement that showed how far he’d strayed from being human, but Kaela didn’t even know if she had said it or not. She fell into a deep sleep without even realizing she had closed her eyes.
****
After bidding farewell to Count and Countess Soros at Papihill, where wild poppies bloomed profusely, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Lusenford hurried toward Craine, a place overflowing with rumors and people. They would soon meet the Count and Countess again in Craine.
The Grand Duke and Duchess arrived in Craine after a considerably long journey. While this was expected given the distance between Craine and Lusenford, the journey was further delayed by the Grand Duke’s particular attention to the Grand Duchess’s health.
A long carriage journey is difficult for anyone. The Duchess, emerging from the carriage that had stopped at the Lusenford townhouse in Craine, couldn’t hide her fatigue. The Grand Duke helped her down by holding her waist and carrying her completely.
“Welcome, Your Highnesses the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess.”
The townhouse employees skillfully maintained neutral expressions even as they watched the Grand Duke carry the Grand Duchess inside.
Before departing from Lusenford, the Grand Duke had taken “appropriate precautions” regarding those working in the townhouse. In short, he had ensured that there would absolutely be no insubordination or unreasonable behavior toward the Grand Duchess.
The employees underwent complete retraining, and the butler in charge was specially appointed by the Empress. All employees here were people from Craine, chosen to make Kaela feel more comfortable.
“Has anything happened?”
“Nothing except His Majesty the Emperor’s order to present yourselves at the palace upon arrival.”
Peon’s brows instantly furrowed. At times like this, he felt like crushing the entire palace. It wouldn’t be wrong to storm in right now and break the legs of the Emperor who showed no consideration for his niece’s exhausting journey.
Peon looked down. Kaela was staring up at him.
“Ah, I’m sorry, My Lady. You must be tired.”
His small wife was very sensitive. She immediately sensed when his mood quietly twisted. Peon quickened his steps, coaxing his wife to go inside. The townhouse butler was secretly surprised to see the usually taciturn Peon become talkative with his wife.
“It’s late, so we’ll go to the palace tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“We’ll rest.”
“Yes.”
After dismissing the butler, Peon looked down at Kaela again.
“What is it?”
“Let’s just go to the palace now.”
The temperamental and narrow-minded Emperor would likely make a fuss if they didn’t come when summoned.
“If we go to the palace now, I might completely sever this imperial family, Kaela.”
The man who never boasted muttered this fact calmly.
“I want you to rest.”
“I will.”
Kaela made an extremely rational and wise choice as a human. Her instincts told her that his words weren’t just bluster. The entire Crania Empire should have thanked her for quietly averting a crisis.
The sun was setting anyway. Kaela fell fast asleep in Peon’s arms before she could even recall her old memories of the Craine townhouse.
****
The next day, Peon gazed at downtown Craine with emotionless eyes. While he used to be always happy returning here, wondering and hoping if he might see his mother this time, the sight of Craine now stirred no emotion in him.
Despite being a metropolis of hundreds of thousands, a city every diplomat dreams of, and a beautiful city where art flourished, Peon turned away from the balcony, appearing bored with the view.
“Your Highness.”
Before Kaela could call him, he turned around, his eyes gleaming. Peon erased his indifferent expression and smiled.
The moments he spent away from his wife were few, mainly when preparing for outings. He was gradually starting to help his wife dress as well.
While the maids were responsible for styling her complex hairdos and applying makeup, Peon wanted to possess everything about his wife.
“Are you ready?”
Though she could have slept in, Kaela, despite her exhaustion, woke up early and hurriedly prepared for the palace. It was obvious the Emperor would be angry about their not coming immediately.
Unlike her now indifferent husband, Kaela, who had the imperial hierarchy and royal order ingrained in her bones, thought it better to arrive at the palace as early as possible.
“Yes. Let’s go quickly.”
Wearing just a necklace she often wore as the Princess of Ostein and her engagement ring that was once the Empress’s ring, she gave an overall modest impression. Her face was half-covered, and despite makeup, shadows lingered under her eyes.
Peon suppressed his discomfort, wishing he could let her sleep until afternoon and then treat her to her favorite Craine foods when she woke.
“Alright. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
The couple boarded the waiting carriage and headed to the palace. It wasn’t far from the townhouse to the palace. The long wait would be in getting an audience with the Emperor.
The Emperor, already irritated they hadn’t come immediately yesterday, would surely not see them right away. They’d brought gifts, knowing they couldn’t come empty-handed, but still had to prepare to wait for hours.
“Please wait here.”
The palace, visited after the change of seasons, remained unchanged. Everything was boring. Kaela quietly sat in the waiting room as guided by the attendant. Now they had to wait for the Emperor’s summons without doing anything, not even eating or drinking.
Peon suppressed his rising irritation as he watched Kaela, whom he had carried, fed, bathed, and put to sleep since yesterday evening in the carriage. The fragile Grand Duchess was clearly exhausted from waking too early.
Even in Lusenford, while he kept her occupied with ducal duties so she wouldn’t have other thoughts, it was only one or two tasks per day. After collapsing from poison following tour berry, and only recently awakening after a long time, she was too weak to endure the Emperor’s temper.
‘Should I drag the Emperor here?’
Peon was different from his father Gusalante. He could freely use magic anywhere in Craine. It would be nothing to sit here and mess with the Emperor’s mind wherever he was in the palace.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, My Lady?”
His gaze, which had been searching for the Emperor somewhere in the void, immediately turned to Kaela.
“The weather… is nice, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s warmer and nicer than Lusenford. I heard it rained yesterday morning.”
The palace had many listening ears, including servants who moved silently. Therefore, Peon always used formal speech in such settings.
“I’ll probably have many duties at the townhouse, won’t I?”
Kaela, who would normally show no interest in such things and for whom just getting out of bed would be an achievement, asked first. Her manner of repeatedly making conversation with wide eyes was uncharacteristically persistent.
“Well. Tasks only become numerous if we make them so. I would prefer if you focused on resting and taking care of your health.”
As he spoke, Peon’s lips curled slightly upon realizing why Kaela was acting this way.
“No. I had many duties in Lusenford, so here too, um, I’m sure I’ll have many things to do. Does Your Highness need anything?”
She had noticed that he was having dangerous thoughts, thoughts impossible for humans, and was almost about to act on them.
So she was desperately trying to divert his attention with conversation. She especially tried to guide him into responding by adding questions at the end of each statement.
“Well. It’s enough if you’re healthy.”
“I… I think I’m healthy.”
Kaela spoke with wide eyes, trying to appear as composed as possible.
“A healthy person who couldn’t even maintain consciousness last evening?”
How cute. Peon played along with Kaela, who was desperately trying to distract her non-human husband, smiling slightly.
“At least I didn’t faint.”
“You slept as if you had.”
Kaela could tame him with a single word. If she told him to stay still, he would obey, but Peon deliberately didn’t teach her this. It was rare for Kaela to try so hard to converse with him. He needed to savor this opportunity that wouldn’t come again, not missing a single moment from beginning to end.
The boring waiting time had become enjoyable.
