Chapter 15
The people at the Ostein Duke’s townhouse were utterly shocked to see the Duke’s Daughter return with the Lüsenford Duke in such a horrendous state. When on earth had she slipped out?
From the circumstances, it was clear she had run away because she didn’t want to get married. She had even stolen a maid’s outfit, smeared her face with dirt and ash to cover it, and carried a considerable amount of jewelry and money.
But the Lüsenford Duke immediately sealed the lips of the butler first.
“There was no incident today.”
His heavy words and resolute gaze were more than enough.
The townhouse staff, who only wished for their lady to be healthy, knew that keeping their mouths shut was their top priority, so they locked their tongues accordingly. However, this story had to reach the ears of the master of the Ostein household.
Right after the Lüsenford Duke left, Kaella silently allowed herself to be bathed without a word and returned to bed, even taking the bitter medicine.
She felt no remorse, but she wouldn’t cause any more trouble. She simply sat still, as if quietly awaiting some horrific end.
Or perhaps bracing herself for her father’s scolding.
“Kaella.”
It was a time closer to sunrise than sunset. Just before dawn, when pitch-black darkness blanketed everything, Ostein Duke Adeo de Shaser entered his daughter’s bedroom with a candle in hand. His calling voice held not a trace of anger, only affection.
“Did I wake you, Daddy?”
Her father sat by the bed of his daughter, who shook her head. For the first time in her life, she had run away, only to be brought back by the very man who was the reason for her flight.
Adeo gazed silently at his daughter, whose face had grown half its size in just a few days from constant illness, then asked.
“What can I do for you?”
Having pushed her body to the limit after lying unconscious for three days straight, Kaella lacked even the strength to lift a finger and shook her head. She wanted nothing from her father.
“Do you hate getting married?”
Adeo asked with utmost caution.
“Or do you dislike the Lüsenford Duke? Should I go find you a new groom?”
At his words, Kaella let out a hollow laugh, as if it were a joke.
“It’s fine.”
Her raspy voice, hoarse and mingled with labored breaths, came out in a whisper.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. I won’t do it again.”
“Kaella.”
Adeo closed his eyes for a moment.
“You must have hated it terribly to do that. You’ve never rebelled or complained once until now.”
Suddenly, Kaella had the absurd thought that at least she could run away because her father was still alive.
Yes. She had done something she’d never tried before dying, so this new life already held meaning. She didn’t ask for much.
“Any parent would feel the same, but I wanted to find you the best possible groom. But I was too picky, and you seemed utterly indifferent, so things dragged on vaguely until we reached this point.”
Kaella, who had never discussed marriage with her father before, lifted her heavy eyelids with effort and looked at him again.
“He’s not the best, but he’s the optimal choice. I’m sorry I have to put it that way.”
Kaella shook her head.
“But if you still don’t want to marry, I’ll do everything in my power. I can come up with any excuse.”
“No.”
Kaella shook her head.
“I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”
In front of his daughter, who kept her head bowed low and repeatedly apologized, Adeo let out a long sigh instead of relief.
“I’m sorry, Kaella. I was too complacent.”
Complacently trusting his brothers, complacently letting his daughter decide her own marriage without making any decisions himself.
How desperate must she have been to collapse like that? A vague regret washed over him that he should have prepared some countermeasures in advance. No, he shouldn’t have expected the Emperor to have any humanity or common sense.
The Emperor seemed to believe that doing good deeds and so-called “virtuous acts” for the Empress, who remained in a prolonged coma, would wake her. That was why he kept pushing the Lüsenford Duke and Kaella together so oddly.
“Since I had a love marriage, I believed you could too. I was so naive. I’m sorry.”
Adeo blamed himself again and again.
“I hate to say this, but the Lüsenford Duke is a decent man, just as you said. In fact, I felt relieved. The Duke is faithful and honest. And strong.”
There was no expression on his daughter’s face as she heard those words. Adeo muttered bitterly.
“That’s enough to trust and rely on for life. And you have me, Kaella.”
She reached out and took her father’s hand. Adeo gripped it tightly and covered it with his other hand.
“I’ll pull myself together even more. Don’t forget you have a solid family to return to. You always have a home to come back to.”
“Daddy.”
Kaella, who had been staring blankly downward, bowed her head even lower.
“I’m sorry for doing something so stupid. I… I’m so foolish, and I don’t know how to do anything properly.”
“No, why are you saying such things?”
“It’s true. I don’t know how to do anything. Something like… Lüsenford Duchess—that’s not for a fool like me.”
“Kaella, Kaella. You’re my daughter, and you’re very smart. Why are you suddenly like this?”
The flustered Adeo patted her shoulder, but she believed she knew her place all too well.
“So, if you hear that I’m not doing well there, just pretend you don’t have such a worthless daughter.”
That way, even her father could survive.
“What nonsense is that!”
But Daddy, I’ve spent the last four years experiencing just how foolish I am.
*
Was there no way to avoid this marriage somehow? More precisely, was there no way to cleanly call off the marriage without tarnishing Kaella’s honor, and furthermore, without drawing the ire of both Ostein and Lüsenford?
Pheon devoted himself to finding such a method, forgetting sleep, but he kept arriving at the same impossible conclusion. After her obvious failed escape attempt, the limp Kaella must know it too. The precious Ostein Duke’s Daughter had no options.
And the Ostein Duke knew it as well.
“You’ve come.”
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
Even in such circumstances, Pheon could not refuse the Ostein Duke’s summons. No matter how busy he was, if the Ostein family called for him, he had to make time to go.
“Thank you for handling the matter quietly. And I’m sorry at the same time. You saw an unseemly sight.”
Upon hearing that Pheon had brought back his runaway daughter, Adeo hadn’t shown it to her, but his vision had spun. Of all people, for Pheon to know about Kaella’s elopement—it was no different from having a weakness seized before the marriage even began.
“Not at all. I consider it an honor that I was there.”
Adeo looked at Pheon in slight surprise at the word “honor.” This inflexible duke never spoke idly.
“Do you mean that sincerely?”
“I do.”
Even the mild and ordinary Adeo had some eye for people. Pheon was sincerely saying it was an honor to serve the lady as a knight. A disbelieving laugh escaped Adeo’s lips.
“It seems my daughter has quite captured your fancy?”
The man who wouldn’t dare apply “captured his fancy” to Kaella hesitated for a moment.
“I have no right to say such a thing. The Duke’s Daughter is a lady far too noble for me to even gaze upon.”
“You can’t even look at her? Good heavens. You’re too modest.”
“It’s the truth.”
Kaella was a person who held light within her. Even if he turned away or buried it in darkness, it shone beautifully, forcing him to turn his head and look in the end.
“…Honestly, when His Majesty decided on the marriage, I worried for you as a father with a daughter. But now I feel ashamed of that.”
Adeo, who had never imagined Kaella attempting to run away, sighed deeply.
“Your Grace and the Duke’s Daughter had every reason to do so. I apologize.”
“They say it’s natural for a woman to follow an outstanding man.”
Pheon detected a subtle discomfort in Adeo’s words. It was as if others said that, but Adeo didn’t think so.
Of course. Adeo was famous for marrying his first love and never remarrying even after his wife’s death. For such a man to send his precious only daughter to a man who had a long rumor with another woman—how bitter must he feel.
Pheon thought Adeo was remarkably courteous and polite. If he were Kaella’s father, he would have already drawn his sword.
“I’m not that outstanding, Your Grace. And there will be no cause for concern.”
“His Majesty said today that he will personally announce the marriage tomorrow.”
Pheon wanted to squeeze his eyes shut but couldn’t dare in front of Adeo. A marriage announced by imperial decree could not be undone without beheading the Emperor.
“Now we are one family. We must cover up the past and move forward in harmony together.”
It meant covering up Kaella’s elopement, as well as Pheon’s relationship with Beatrice Lavalle, and looking only ahead. With things as they were, he had no choice but to say it.
“Your Grace.”
Pheon struggled to keep his vision clear as he spoke. His sight was blurring. No, turning black.
“I have no qualification to become Your Grace’s son-in-law.”
Too busy surviving alone, he had abetted his father’s death and coldly neglected his daughter until she died miserably—he had no face to show this father and daughter. He wasn’t qualified; he was a criminal who didn’t even deserve to sit across from them.
“I could not dare accept this marriage beyond my station. It wasn’t just the Duke’s Daughter who wanted to avoid the wedding.”
So don’t think of it as leverage seized, Pheon managed to move his parched, stiff lips.
“But if it’s a marriage that must happen, I will do my utmost to protect Ostein and serve as a husband to the Duke’s Daughter…”
The words wouldn’t come. They caught in his throat like a fishbone. The word “husband” was excruciatingly hard. How could a husband who killed his wife say such a thing again? But he had to say it. He had to, in front of this anxious father.
“I will do my best. The Ostein Duke’s Daughter will receive the treatment she deserves.”
No matter who Kaella married, it was only right. If a married Kaella wasn’t happy with another man, Pheon would gladly take up his sword as the knight serving the lady. And so he laid down his hand willingly.
“If the Duke’s Daughter wishes, I can even divorce.”
Adeo, who had been listening without much hope, assuming it was mere formality, widened his eyes.
Divorce? In Crania, divorce meant a massive loss of honor. Infidelity might be overlooked, but divorce was unthinkable.
The Emperor, obsessed with the Empress, had his reasons too. For the Lüsenford Duke to mention divorce first was astonishing.
“When His Majesty loses interest after time passes.”
Or when he had amassed full power and severed the Emperor’s head.
“If the Duke’s Daughter desires divorce, we will do so. The terms will be as she wishes. I will include this promise in the prenuptial agreement.”
Even though it would leak out and he’d be mocked as a man under his wife’s thumb, the Ostein son-in-law, he said it anyway.
“That’s quite unexpected, but an offer I can’t refuse.”
As the lord of prosperous Ostein, Adeo knew how advantageous this was.
Even if his daughter faced finger-pointing for divorce, he would warmly welcome her back and position her as the next Ostein Duchess. Whatever she lacked, her father would fill it.
“Thank you. With only one daughter, my worries are great, but for you to go that far—truly grateful.”
So he seized the promise of divorce if his daughter wished, without hesitation.
“Lüsenford is cold and harsh, so I’m sorry I can offer no more.”
“No, this is a tremendous gift. Don’t worry about the wedding preparations. I’ll handle everything.”
“Lüsenford will do its utmost as well.”
Pheon shook his head, saying he couldn’t allow that. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if this Emperor-pushed marriage fell through. He already knew well how Adeo, Kaella, and he himself would end up—what more was there to consider?
But soon after, Pheon witnessed once more exactly how the Emperor dealt with anyone interfering in this marriage.
*
A marriage announcement stamped with the Emperor’s seal was posted at the main gate of Kline Imperial Palace. A sudden wedding at this point, with the Empress in a coma—everyone was greatly shocked.
But the shock was fleeting, followed by a flood of varied reactions. Some were surprised, some intrigued, others outraged.
“The Lüsenford Duke before Crown Prince Highness?”
“Isn’t it just a great match for Lüsenford? Good grief, all of Ostein’s gold is heading north.”
“No, Ostein gets a boost too. No matter what anyone says, Lüsenford is the elite frontline troops.”
“The Duchess of Monde must be disappointed. I thought the Lüsenford Duke would marry Lady Lavalle.”
“Come now, mind your words. The Ostein Duke’s Daughter outranks Lady Lavalle and is a far better match. Besides, the Lüsenford Duke is a grand duke after all. He can’t marry just anyone. Of course.”
The social circles, quiet due to the Empress’s health, erupted in fervor over this juicy news. And the Duchess of Monde’s reaction wasn’t mere fervor—it was an explosive blaze.
“How dare he touch my daughter and then do this!”
The Lüsenford Duke had been impeccably chaste, so he had never “touched” Beatrice, but to the Duchess of Monde, it was all the same.
The Lüsenford Duchess position was hers by right—second only to the Empress and Crown Princess in prestige—yet handing it all to that Ostein Duke’s Daughter alone? Unforgivable.
So the Duchess of Monde charged toward the townhouse where the Lüsenford Duke was staying at a speed she usually reserved for dodging creditors. She was a mother who would do anything for her child.
