Translator: Nox

Chapter 25

After that embarrassing yet strangely sensual first night, Kaella opened her eyes and tried to regain her composure quickly in the bright, clear morning sunlight.

What had happened with Pheon yesterday was something she’d never experienced before, but in their one-sided relationship, which had been so tedious and foolishly lopsided, wasting her emotions on such things would only hurt her in the end.

‘Don’t forget. He’s someone who originally had high popularity. He’s only being kind to me because my father is still alive and my title is still secure…’

As she continued her thoughts and resolved to pull herself together, Kaella paused. Had the Lüsenford Duke always been the type to change his attitude based on who he was dealing with?

While she was lost in thought, people came out to see off the newlyweds heading to Lüsenford. Pheon greeted the Emperor first among them.

“Thank you for taking care of everything, Your Majesty.”

“What do you mean, me taking care of it?”

Indeed, he wasn’t the type to exchange pleasantries so smoothly with the Emperor either. Thump, thump, her heart began to race with unease.

“Kaella.”

She turned toward her father. Adeo warmly embraced his daughter, who would soon be leaving for Lüsenford.

“You’ve been so busy these past few days, haven’t you? Are you feeling alright?”

With all the banquets, receptions, the main ceremony, and even the public wedding attended by citizens, the wedding schedule alone had lasted three nights and four days.

Even though it had been scaled down because the Empress had collapsed, the Emperor had insisted on full imperial pomp since it involved the Ostein Duke’s daughter and the Lüsenford Duke, both part of the imperial family. As a result, Kaella, who had a frail constitution, had endured an incredibly grueling schedule.

Adeo worried about his daughter, who, like her mother, would take to her bed the moment hardships piled up.

“I’m fine.”

With the others at a suitable distance and Pheon occupied in conversation with the Emperor, Adeo seized the chance for a private word with his daughter.

“Kaella. I haven’t had the chance to say this, but I’m honestly glad you’re marrying the Lüsenford Duke.”

She looked up at her father, who spoke cautiously.

“To be honest, I wanted you to marry someone you loved, like your mother and I did, but in times like these, that’s really hard.”

Adeo’s voice dropped even lower. When the Emperor had arranged the marriage for the Lüsenford Duke, he’d played the part of a dignified head of the imperial family, but the general consensus was that no one knew how he’d lose it once the wedding was over.

“I’m not saying the Duke is the perfect groom. But he’s definitely the best option we could find right now. I never dreamed he’d write the marriage contract with such excessive consideration for you.”

“I’m glad you approve, Father.”

“He seems very prudent and decent. And above all…”

Adeo glanced around before lowering his voice so only Kaella could hear.

“He’s strong.”

That one word encompassed everything. Lüsenford possessed a military might that Ostein lacked. The Emperor regarded him as a thorn in his side yet kept him as the strongest shield against the Evil Dragon Kaslante.

“But as I’ve always said, my approval doesn’t matter. You have to like it. I hope you’ll be happy there.”

Kaella knew well that after the tedious traditional procedures and minor events, she’d end up in frigid Lüsenford, which was why she’d been mostly silent these past few days.

The fact that Pheon was a little—no, very—strange only made her more uneasy. Her fear would build until she thought of death as an escape, and then it would fade. If she was going to die anyway, why worry?

“Yes, Father. Thank you for your blessing.”

“I worried so much about what would happen to you without me.”

That worry had intensified after the Emperor pulled the trigger on Adeo, troubling him even more. What would become of his only daughter? The Emperor, who could hardly be called a brother, certainly wouldn’t leave her alone.

“I hope you’ll be very happy.”

Every word brimmed with worry and love. The gazes watching her were filled with affection. Kaella knew that her father’s love, which had promised to fill both his role and her mother’s absence as he raised her himself, continued to this day.

Unlike nobles who remarried right away, her father had never remarried and raised her personally, so she regretted not being able to show him a happier face.

To Kaella, who constantly pondered when she would die and when she needed to die without harming Ostein, her father was the only one who made her hesitate even slightly about thoughts of death.

“Live as yourself in Lüsenford too. You’re wise and intelligent, so have confidence. You’ll do well. Write often. Come down in the summer.”

“Yes. I will.”

Kaella made promises she couldn’t keep as she watched Pheon approach. It was time to depart now.

“Father, you’ll head straight back to Ostein, right?”

“Of course. Naturally.”

Adeo knew exactly why his daughter was so sensitive about his whereabouts.

“Stay healthy. You ride horses too, so please, avoid anything dangerous.”

Before Adeo could reply, Kaella quickly stepped back from her father. Then Pheon approached right away.

“I’ll keep in touch often. Take care of your health.”

“I’m fine, but this one gets sick often, so I’m worried.”

At those words, Pheon’s cool eyes turned to Kaella.

Did he find it annoying? Well, it didn’t matter anymore. Lüsenford wasn’t a place where the weak survived anyway. Someone as sickly as Kaella would die right away in the harsh cold and raging blizzards.

Before dying, she had planned to grit her teeth and endure somehow through sheer willpower. She believed that if she fulfilled her duties as Duchess with dignity and honor, someone would eventually recognize it.

But not only had no one recognized it, by the time she faced the road to Lüsenford, Kaella no longer had the strength to endure. It must have all been exhausted when she rushed to save her father after opening her eyes again.

“I’ll watch her more carefully and always keep an eye on her.”

“Good. Thank you.”

Pheon looked back and forth between the nearby Emperor and Adeo.

“Your Majesty and Your Highness must stay healthy as well.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’re still spry.”

“If you’ll permit, I’ll visit often.”

“Permit? Come as often as you like. Fill the palace with your presence. It’ll be lonely here again once you two leave. And Adeo is heading to Ostein too.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once the wedding ended, the son-in-law would go north, the father-in-law south. Kaella, who had confirmed this fact multiple times, felt relieved that her father wouldn’t remain in Kline.

“Tsk tsk, father and daughter will be even farther apart. Write letters often, and stop by Ostein now and then.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Go on now. The sun will set.”

The Emperor waved them off, acting like the groom’s father to the end. The newlyweds, who had paid their final respects politely, boarded the carriage.

Kaella waved to her father with a genuine smile only in that moment. But once the carriage departed and her father was out of sight, she lost her smile.

*

The journey to Lüsenford was very long and tedious. In the vast Kranian Empire, it took days of travel by carriage.

She had thought it would be an exhausting, or perhaps insane, journey that would take another week to cover the distance. Back then, Kaella had been so seasick she needed help to be supported out of the carriage.

The carriage, which had left Kline quickly, raced along. At least the roads around the capital were decent. But racing like this as they headed further north was madness.

“Aren’t you cold?”

No matter that it was a warm spring wedding season, the temperature dropped the farther north they went. Pheon asked Kaella, who sat silently.

“I’m fine.”

It was a phrase she would repeat endlessly from now on. So what if it was cold? She’d die soon enough.

“We’ll stop often. We’ll still arrive early, so don’t worry too much.”

Kaella listened quietly before looking up at Pheon.

“I’m not worried.”

“You seem tense.”

“I’m fine.”

Fine again. As they left Kline, Kaella’s expression had noticeably dried up, and she quietly repeated the same words.

Mom’s fine.

I’m fine, Your Highness.

His mother the Empress, and Kaella before her regression when she had died—they had all said the same thing.

The ones who said they weren’t fine were Beatrice, the Emperor, and the traitors in the north. They had complained, made a fuss, and pressured him.

In the end, those who said they were fine died, and only those who said they weren’t survived. Pheon had said he was fine too, enduring everything alone, so naturally he died.

That was why her “I’m fine” sounded so ominous to him. He couldn’t just take it at face value and move on.

It was more likely she was saying it out of indifference, annoyance, or because she had nothing more to say. There was no way someone with such a parched expression truly meant it.

“Carseasick?”

He had specifically ordered soft cushions piled on the carriage seat and even a pillow for her to lean on comfortably, but given her fragility, she was surely suffering.

“No.”

Kaella shook her head, her face pale.

“Really, I’m fine.”

If she just meekly said yes, yes, it reduced the tiring and annoying hassle.

Pheon was taciturn anyway, so he didn’t say more to her. But she noticed the carriage slowing down once they were some distance from the capital.

When the sun set, the massive Lüsenford Duke’s entourage arrived at an inn as if it had been planned, and it was one fit for the Duchess to stay in.

It was something the Duke, who had scrimped and saved to bolster military funds, would never do. And they departed late, after sleeping in.

“Won’t we travel at night too?”

On the fourth day at the inn, Kaella finally asked Pheon. Pheon, who had been anxious the whole time because she was so quiet and he couldn’t tell if she was comfortable, was utterly bewildered. That didn’t seem like something a Duke’s daughter, raised delicately, would say.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I heard it’s standard for northern knights.”

Which bastard had said something like that to the Duchess on the road? Pheon, already planning to weed out traitors the moment they returned to Lüsenford, turned his eyes calmly cold.

“Which northern knight would say such a thing to Your Highness the Duchess?”

It sounded like a joke, but at the chilling question, Kaella blinked wide-eyed before answering.

“Just… somewhere.”

She couldn’t say she’d heard it in Lüsenford when she’d never been there.

“Marching at night is only for emergencies. The new Duchess’s journey must be comfortable; speed isn’t the priority.”

Which bastard had said that crap? Pheon forcibly smoothed his furrowed brow and managed his expression.

This time, he would ensure Kaella received proper Duchess treatment. A proper Duchess had no need to know about nonstop forced marches day and night.

“But how did you think we’d travel at night, Kaella?”

Most noble ladies wouldn’t even consider it. Beatrice alone would recoil in horror. Yet she thought they would? Especially a young lady as frail as her?

“Just… …Just.”

Pheon quietly watched Kaella as she averted her gaze and mumbled. A chill crept up his nape. Some trivial inconsistency tugged at his nerves.

“No matter how much northern knights train hard and are elite picks, they wouldn’t do that while escorting the new Duchess. They’re just ordinary knights like any others.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No, I didn’t say it to get an apology.”

Did she take his words as criticism? Beatrice had often pointed out, ‘You’re too brusque.’ Pheon swept his mouth and shook his head.

“There can be no hardships for the Duchess. Don’t worry about things like that.”

Kaella, who had been blinking slowly, looked up at him with slightly wider eyes.

“Yes.”

Pheon looked down at her and chuckled softly. Kaella stared at him, puzzled, but he turned away with a grin.

“Rest.”

“Yes.”

Why was he laughing? Every action of Pheon’s was a mystery. Had he laughed like that often? Was her response amusing? Kaella, who had been touching her face, dropped her hand.

No, why bother caring when she’d die anyway? Death was the place she avoided and fled to, and now it was close at hand.

*

One morning, draped in the cloak Pheon had given her—insisting she wear it now that it was cold—Kaella gazed out the carriage window at the familiar Lüsenford scenery unfolding before her.

The people waving to the returning Duke on horseback, the citizens eyeing the new Duchess in the carriage with curiosity—it was all familiar.

The Lüsenford city streets still blanketed in snow that had only just begun to melt, the northern architecture with its sharp roofs and thick pillars due to the snow, the castle boasting deep moats and menacingly high walls—it was all familiar.

So, her first day entering Lüsenford felt anything but novel.

“Welcome, we greet you.”

Northern nobles and castle stewards came out to receive the Duke married to the new Duchess. Kaella glanced briefly at the north where she had been confined and met her death, then stepped out of the carriage.

“Watch your step. And keep the cloak on properly.”

It was her first meeting with the nobles. He spoke in a low voice, deliberately softening his tone, and offered his hand. She took it and descended, facing faces she already knew.

“We welcome you to Lüsenford, Your Highness the Duchess. Congratulations on your marriage.”

Faces she all knew. Her breath caught slightly. But this was fine. Yes. Fine.

“Allow me to introduce. This one is…”

“In this cold?”

As the fur-clad figures began their tedious power play of one-by-one introductions and greetings, leaving the young Duchess standing outside in the biting wind, Pheon abruptly cut in.

“Don’t do something foolish. Let’s go inside first. She must be tired from the long journey; it hasn’t worn off yet. Inside will be warm.”

With those cold words, he pulled the heavy Duke’s cloak higher on the Duchess’s shoulders and walked inside.