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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Northern Duke Cyrus Karha (1)
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"Karma really does exist, doesn't it?" Isaac said, sounding pleased.
The wind, blowing just then, rustled his magnificent golden hair, making it gleam brilliantly.
Yet, no one in the ducal mansion seemed to notice he was up in the tree.
This was because Isaac and Cyrus were using a concealment technique passed down only to a select few in the Northern Territory.
"I like that young lady."
Isaac, who easily accepted others, already seemed fond of Ariana, but Cyrus was not.
'That's a sixteen-year-old?'
No matter how he looked, there was nothing about her that suggested she was sixteen.
Her appearance was youthful and small, looking barely over ten, but the way her eyes led the situation, or her subtle changes in expression, were not something an innocent, naive girl could manage.
Ariana knew how to conjure the perfect expression at just the right moment and conceal it swiftly, even altering her voice's tone freely depending on the situation.
These changes were so subtle and discreet that one wouldn't notice them without close observation.
Now alone, Ariana discreetly hid the packet of medicine from the nightstand beside her bed into her skirt pocket.
Seeing this, Cyrus's red eyes deepened to a dark hue.
'She's not an ordinary woman after all. What exactly is she hiding?'
Ariana's presence at the ducal mansion, where he had come to find a connection between the Eastern and Western Dukes, was an unexpected turn of events.
He had only intended to observe briefly, hoping to find some weakness of theirs in preparation for future negotiations with the Eastern or Western Duke, but he had witnessed something entirely unexpected.
"Anyway, we can't just keep watching that young lady here forever. What are you going to do now?"
At Isaac's voice, Cyrus averted his gaze from Ariana.
"Tonight, we'll explore the mansion."
"Is there really anything worthwhile to gain? Duke Bronte is just a timid man who only cares about appearances."
"Even if not Duke Bronte, Rachel Bronte might know something. She happened to marry the Eastern Duke precisely at that time, so she might still possess evidence related to him."
+++
Having secured the sleeping pills, Ariana lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
'This is all I can do right now.'
Luigi would be confined for a few days in a room similar to where Ariana had been imprisoned, after getting whipped.
She didn't know if Rachel would punish Helena for this stunt, but she probably wouldn't.
Helena was Rachel's Achilles' heel; Rachel would never reprimand her, not unless she killed someone—no, even if she did, Rachel wouldn't scold her.
'This is enough for now. With the power I have in this mansion, this is the best I can do.'
Since her birth mother, Rachel, didn't cherish Ariana, it was unlikely her stepfather, Duke Bronte, would treat her any better.
To them, Ariana was merely a pawn to be sold off for the family's benefit.
'Only a few months left.'
A few months later, Rachel would marry Ariana off to Ingo Alfrehi, a Viscount from the Western Territory.
At sixteen, she was of marriageable age, though recently it had become common for people to marry past twenty.
Yet, as soon as Ariana turned sixteen, Rachel seemed to have been waiting, and promptly got rid of her from the Bronte ducal mansion.
To a man sixteen years her senior, and of a lower status.
Rachel must have insisted on taking Ariana when she divorced for that very reason. After all, in this world, daughters were raised to be married into good families and contribute to the household.
'I have to get out of this mansion before then.'
The terrible days spent at the Alfrehi household vividly resurfaced. Back then, she had foolishly endured it with a smile, not even realizing how hard it was. She never wanted to return to that life again.
'I need the Eastern Duke's power.'
Her father, Eastern Duke Russell White, with whom she had never exchanged a single word.
Ariana had only ever seen the Eastern Duke once, at an Imperial Ball several years later.
Even then, their eyes had merely met; they hadn't spoken.
When their eyes met, the Eastern Duke had frowned and turned his head away, as if he had witnessed something unpleasant.
For the timid Ariana, her birth father's cold demeanor had been a deep wound.
'The Western Duke and Rachel hate the Eastern Duke. And the Eastern Duke has no good feelings for the Western Duke either.'
The vassal states of the East, West, South, and North surrounded the Camellia Empire under the pretext of protecting it, but constant power struggles to expand their influence had always existed among them.
The Northern and Eastern Dukes, in charge of the northern and eastern regions where barbarians and heretic remnants existed, held the strongest power, followed by the Southern Duke, with the Western Duke's forces being the weakest.
That's why the Western Duke had sent his daughter, Rachel, to keep the Eastern Duke in check.
'Back then, the Northern Territory's power was weak, so they wouldn't have expected the Northern Duke to grow so quickly. The Eastern Duke's influence has weakened due to Rachel, but it's still not negligible.'
Rachel had described the Eastern Duke as 'a very cold, calculating, and cruel man.'
She constantly instilled in Ariana how terrible life in the Eastern Territory had been, and how ill-mannered and wicked the Eastern Duke's family was.
"So, Ariana, you should be grateful that I brought you out of that hellish place. Compared to the Eastern Territory, this is paradise."
She had truly believed it. Foolishly, she had trusted those words.
Not knowing that this place was just the same kind of hell.
'No matter what kind of place the Eastern Territory is, if I'm useful to the Eastern Duke, he won't cast me aside. Since his relationship with the Emperor has soured because of the Western Duke, he'll accept me if I bring him something that can be the Western Duke's weakness.'
She didn't wish for her father's love.
Ariana desired only one thing.
Her status as the Eastern Duke's daughter.
If she could only obtain that, she didn't care what the Eastern Duke or his family thought of her.
'Everyone will go to the capital for the April social season, won't they? Will the Eastern Duke attend this year's Imperial Ball?'
Ariana had never been to the capital during the social season before her marriage, so she didn't know whether the Eastern Duke would attend at this point.
As far as Ariana knew, the Dukes, except for the Western Duke, only sent their families to the Imperial Ball and did not attend themselves.
'It would be fortunate if I could meet even the Eastern Duke's family. No, it doesn't matter if I meet no one. If I can just find a way to get to the Eastern Territory, somehow it will work out.'
Two months remained.
'Before then, I need to find evidence that would tempt the Eastern Duke. And I also need to prepare to escape on my own, just in case things go wrong.'
To Rachel, Ariana was a useful daughter. A pretty and obedient daughter would be a great help to Rachel's future plans.
Marrying her off to Viscount Ingo Alfrehi, the biggest arms dealer, was just the beginning. So, Rachel wouldn't simply let Ariana escape.
'The more I move, the more the future will change. I need to be able to cope with sudden situations.'
Ariana pulled her arms out from under the blanket.
A sigh escaped her as she looked at her terribly thin arms.
With a body like this, she wouldn't be able to run far if something happened.
Time passed, but no meal arrived.
It seemed everyone had forgotten about Ariana.
Even the old lady stopped bothering with Ariana once the earlier incident was over.
Since it was expected, she wasn't particularly upset.
Ariana waited for night to deepen, then quietly slipped out of her room and headed to the kitchen.
+++
While everyone slept.
Navigating through the darkness, Ariana reached the kitchen and groped around with her hands until she found the pantry.
Since she had occasionally helped in the kitchen, it wasn't hard to figure out what was in the pantry.
The large pantry held various fruits, grains, hams, and cheeses, all neatly arranged by type.
As befitted a ducal mansion's pantry, fresh, high-quality ingredients were piled high, yet Ariana had never properly eaten such things.
She had always only eaten the leftovers from the ducal family's meals.
Ariana took out some ham, cheese, and a few fruits—items that didn't require cooking—and sat down on the pantry floor.
Since no one would come to the kitchen at this hour anyway, she planned to eat her fill and then take some items with her.
Having not eaten properly for a long time, she decided to start with the fresh fruit.
She peeled an orange and put a segment into her mouth; the fragrant, sweet-sour juice spread across her palate.
Ariana closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the aroma.
'I should have done this sooner. What was I so afraid of, enduring hunger every time?'
After finishing one orange, Ariana unwrapped the ham.
There was no knife to cut the ham, so she took a whole bite and chewed it, savoring the salty, savory ham scent. Even as she ate, her stomach rumbled.
Ariana quickly swallowed, then took another bite of ham. This time, a bigger one than before.
Rustle—
It was at that exact moment that she sensed a presence.
Ariana froze in the middle of biting the ham, glaring into the darkness.
'A person? At this hour? Or... a rat?'
Unable to even blink, she stared into the darkness with her sapphire-blue eyes, when another rustle sounded.
Ariana's hands tightened around the ham.
She had been careless. Even if no one was expected in the kitchen at this hour, she should have acted more cautiously.
As she was regretting this, a low, deep voice spoke.
"The second daughter of Bronte dines in a peculiar manner, I see."
The husky low voice was one Ariana had never heard before.
"And with a large mouth, too."
Only then did Ariana realize she was still holding the ham half-eaten in her mouth.
As she slowly lowered the ham, a figure hidden among the pantry shelves revealed himself.
Just then, the clouds that had been obscuring the moon parted, and moonlight streamed through a small window, dispelling the darkness.
With the moonlight behind him, he was silhouetted, preventing Ariana from making out his face. She could only tell that he was tall and broad-shouldered.
Click—
With a small click, the small lantern on the pantry shelf lit up.
Only then did Ariana make out his face, and the moment she realized who he was, she stopped breathing.
Hair more brilliant than moonlight, skin as white as pearls, enchanting peach-blossom eyes with captivating lines, filled with blood-red pupils. Features so perfect they seemed painted, and a gaze so cold it sent shivers down her spine.
Seeing the man, whose beautiful form seemed as if the Moon God himself had descended, Ariana swallowed hard.
'Why is the Northern Duke here?'
In her previous life, Ariana had only seen the Northern Duke in portraits; she had never met him in person.
Although she had gathered information about the Northern Territory for Third Prince Herald, she had never encountered the Northern Duke himself. She had only heard rumors about him.
The Iron-Blooded Duke, with hair like brilliant moonlight and ruby-like red eyes.
Many women and young men admired him, yet simultaneously feared him, and his power and military might were so immense that even the Emperor had to concede to him.
It was said he allowed no one near him except those he chose, and kept people at a distance to the extent that rumors of him having mysophobia circulated.
There was also a story that a certain Duke in the capital, in an attempt to gain his favor, secretly sent his daughter to approach him, but the Northern Duke had beheaded her right in front of her father.
Northern Duke Cyrus Karha was renowned for his unwavering swiftness in drawing his sword, and for his blade making no distinction save for its master.
He rarely left the Northern Territory unless for important matters, so Ariana had never had occasion to encounter him.
Therefore, Ariana hadn't even considered the existence of Cyrus Karha. She had believed that in this life, too, she would never get involved with him.
She had never dreamed that she would encounter the Iron-Blooded Duke just a few days after her regression.
And in such a situation.
