13 - Valentina's Paradise
It wasn't a confession, but it felt good to get it off her chest. Edeled, perhaps because he already knew, simply wore a calm expression. He didn't press further about the assassination story he had questioned earlier. Valentina couldn't even begin to guess what thoughts were running through his head.
As the conversation lengthened, they moved far from the entrance of the Grand Duke's castle. The day was extremely hot, so Valentina walked along the shady side of the castle walls. The summer in Regio Florida had scorching sunlight, but it was dry and breezy, so it was cool in the shade. Late spring and summer flowers bloomed in various colors along the walls, and sharp-edged grasses grew up to her shins. Lush trees stood in a row, creating a pleasant shady path for a stroll.
"In any case, I did not agree with Duke Edgar's opinion, nor do I have any intention of harming you. I don't know why you thought I would necessarily obey his request."
"Well, I hardly think that's something for the penniless uncle who wholeheartedly helped you usurp my country to say."
Valentina was speechless at the piercing truth.
What he said was true. Valentina had begun supporting Edgar after he left Florida.
Edgar had no support base in Nebulosa. Not an inch of territory. He had to hire a large number of mercenary knights, and he needed to acquire horses, weapons, and food. Enormous funds were also required to win over the minor lords. In order for someone who had murdered a prince-elector to inherit the position of the next lord, the approval of the emperor as well as the recognition of the minor lord knights was essential.
Valentina had thrown a card she couldn't take back. To prove that her choice was right, Edgar had to succeed.
Valentina poured out everything she had without reservation. She gave him most of the family's inherited jewelry and the Mandrake medicine, more precious than gold, produced only in Valentina's Heaven. She also spared no diplomatic support.
Surprisingly, Pepe was the most helpful in that endeavor. She used the Romani wanderers scattered throughout the continent as her hands and feet. The two women's secret letters were delivered quickly and accurately, and the information they provided was always reliable.
And that pain had finally borne fruit. Two and a half years ago, Duke Edgar occupied the Duchy Castle of Nebulosa and murdered his tyrannical brother. And for two years, he persuaded or subdued the loyal minor lords who refused to recognize him as their lord.
And this year, at the imperial New Year's ceremony, he was finally able to be ennobled as the Duke of Nebulosa.
Valentina read his handwritten letter announcing the news alone in her bedroom. There were stains here and there on his letter. Valentina's heart was bursting with emotion, but fortunately, no tears came.
Soon he would come. Riding high on a horse, with many subordinates, waving his flag high, he would return here. All that remained was to open her arms and welcome him. And they would have the wedding they had postponed, bear an heir, and fulfill their dreams together.
And in the shadow opposite their joy and glory, stood a man who had lost everything. Wearing such a cold smile.
Valentina slowly opened her mouth.
"I will not kill you. And I will not unconditionally obey something that is not right just because it is my husband's word. Did I look like someone who would do that?"
"Aren't you?"
"You've got the wrong person. I have already firmly rejected his request. I made it clear that what you are trying to do is a major crime, so please withdraw it. So you don't have to worry about assassination anymore."
His mouth slowly opened. Suddenly, an unfamiliar northern accent popped out.
"You rejected the request... so directly...? Is that true?"
"What, am I supposed to sugarcoat it when I reject it? I do things if I judge them to be right or necessary, and I firmly stop things if I judge them to be prevented. I cannot change right and wrong itself with friendship or blood ties."
"Ah...."
"And, my judgment is that killing you is not right, Gongzi."
Edeled shook his head with a dazed expression rather than a happy one, muttering.
"I've heard rumors that you... have that kind of personality, but really, this is..."
Then, he suddenly looked up and asked again.
"So you thought it was right for my uncle to usurp Nebulosa?"
"......"
Valentina naturally thought so. It was ambiguous to claim it was a righteous act, but at least she was sure it wasn't the wrong direction.
For an illegitimate child to inherit the territory through deception was another kind of usurpation, and in Valentina's standards, that was more evil. Removing a mad tyrant was also justice in her standards. Even if that tyrant was Edgar or herself.
But she couldn't say that outright. Because the man in front of her, who had lost everything and fled to his former fiancée, was too pitiful. As if he had guessed her thoughts, he gave a bitter smile.
"I misspoke. Please pretend you didn't hear it. ...So, did you receive a reply from my uncle? Does he say he will grant the request?"
"The reply didn't contain an answer to that, but judging from the fact that he didn't flatly refuse, you probably don't have to worry too much. I will confirm after the Duke arrives, so I hope you will stay here comfortably."
"Oh, dear."
He started laughing. Ha, haha, ahaha...! The laughter gradually became violent and then suddenly stopped.
In the suffocating silence, he twisted his mouth and whispered.
"To trust your husband that much... are you naive, or is tormenting hope your hobby?"
Her head spun at the sudden mockery. But before she could even get angry, his cold whisper blocked her mouth.
"Now my uncle will kill me himself. Without your knowledge."
Her fingertips felt like they were freezing. In an instant, she realized that she had been interpreting Edgar's silence in a positive light. She was stunned. The belief that Edgar would naturally listen if she spoke was not even naivety, but stupidity.
"There's a saying in the Northern Continent: 'It's okay to love, but it's dangerous to trust.' My uncle is not someone you can trust and rely on."
He added in a tone so firm that it was impossible to refute.
"As a political ally, and as a man."
Valentina was uncomfortable with his accusations, but she listened quietly. Edgar had long ago poured out far more fatal accusations against his nephew and even instigated assassination. So it would be fair to listen to this much criticism.
"My uncle received my mother's help in usurping Nebulosa. My mother had no choice but to ask my uncle for help to save me from my increasingly insane father. That's why my mother's Black Rock Knights spearheaded my uncle's attack on Nebulosa."
Edeled began to explain calmly, though with a reluctant voice.
"But even if my uncle succeeded in usurping Nebulosa, he knew that Petronia in the background would be a major threat. Petronia is poor, but it has the strongest Black Rock Knights on the continent."
"......"
"So my uncle secretly delivered the letter requesting help from my mother to my father during the war, causing my mother to die. I barely survived and was imprisoned in a separate palace and was going to be assassinated."
Valentina's eyes widened. What! Edgar tried to kill not only his brother but also his sister-in-law? She hurriedly shook her head.
"Gongzi! That can't be. Duke Edgar has nothing to do with Petronia. Even if he killed the Duchess and you, Petronia would not fall into his hands!"
"No. Until the time of the rebellion, the two countries were allies, weren't they? ...Besides, my uncle was in a state of being delegated the command of the Black Rock Knights instead of my imprisoned mother."
Valentina felt like she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. Edeled continued his explanation with a light sigh.
"If my mother and I died in battle, my uncle would likely have received the emperor's approval as the Grand Lord of the Nebulosa-Petronia Allied Nations. ...But I survived the battle and the fire, and thanks to that, the two territories were separated to their former state. My uncle must have been kicking himself in regret."
"But I heard that Duke Edgar jumped directly into the burning castle to save you and Countess Margaret."
"If the knights who followed him hadn't been there, would I have survived? Why would someone who jumped into the fire to save me continue to attempt to poison me behind my back, and send you a letter ordering my assassination? Which tune am I supposed to dance to? Huh?"
Valentina was speechless. She had no idea.
But she was ashamed to argue that she didn't know. She was ashamed that she had sworn to be the Owner of the Heart and yet was so completely ignorant. Until now, she thought she knew clearly what kind of person Edgar was, but now it felt like it was covered in a thick fog.
And in that fog, such intense ambition and cruel claws were hidden.
