Chapter 39
Fortunately, the Grand Duke had stopped smashing the furniture, but by then there were already far too many broken pieces for just one to be replaced.
For example, in the Grand Duchess’s bedroom, where a hideous hot pink mixed chaotically with green and a sickly faded gold, removing just the hot pink curtains, sofa, and bed wouldn’t make the room suddenly acceptable.
At this point, it would actually be cheaper to replace everything moderately.
“The investigator is coming—do you really think we can manage without a head maid? We’re in the middle of preparing for spring planting, and manpower is already short. If we start the kitchen renovations on top of that…!”
The butler clung to Pheon, whining, but Pheon soothed him gently.
“The Grand Duchess has gotten up and started working, hasn’t she? The furniture Bi chose was reasonably priced and of superior quality.”
“Yes, you hired an excellent carpenter.”
That was something even the butler had to concede. While everyone had been too busy to pay attention, the Grand Duchess had somehow quickly summoned a skilled carpenter and placed orders for the furniture one after another.
“Since things have come to this, let’s leave the castle’s refurbishing to Bi. You focus on the spring planting preparations and receiving the investigator. We need to divide the tasks.”
That wasn’t what the butler wanted. He had been hoping for a head maid to be appointed quickly—one he could control at his whim—yet the Grand Duke was instead stripping authority from him and redistributing it.
“You need to think about your health, too. If you want to keep working long-term, you can’t handle everything alone anymore. Accidents are common during the thaw season, aren’t they?”
“That’s true.”
“So from now on, start handing things off little by little. We need to manage your health so we can work together for a long, long time.”
But to hear such words from this gruff Grand Duke! Butler Rolf Anderson, who had served for over twenty years, had always known the extremely taciturn Grand Duke had a kind heart, but he never imagined he’d hear something like this. He was deeply moved.
Working together for a long, long time—that was exactly what he wanted, and to think the Grand Duke understood his feelings. He was truly delighted.
“What if we postpone the kitchen renovations, Your Highness?”
“No, we can’t. It’s better to show the investigator that we’re taking Bi’s collapse so seriously we’re tearing down and rebuilding the entire kitchen.”
“Ah! I see!”
The butler had a major realization. Right! The emperor’s rod struck hard enough just by existing, but showing that Lüsenford had nothing to hide was a different matter altogether. He needed to prepare diligently for that, too.
He had been so focused on using shock tactics on the Grand Duke that he’d overlooked the important part.
“Better to show them we’re renovating thoroughly.”
“It’ll be even better if the investigator arrives right in the middle of the work.”
Pheon nodded.
“I’ll oversee the renovations personally, so don’t worry too much and carry on as you were. I have no intention of burdening you with too much.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Still, I’m perfectly hale and hearty.”
“I know. But isn’t this just the time when overdoing it is tempting? Be careful, and leave anything that can go to Bi here.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll do that. Thank you for looking out for me.”
Pheon gazed quietly at the tasks the butler left behind. Little by little, without them even realizing it—swept up in the moment or swayed by kind words—the rights they set down would all flow back to Kaella.
*
Work you’ve done once becomes familiar. If you gave it your all the first time, pouring in every ounce of effort, the second time you can handle it more efficiently, conserving strength while performing skillfully.
The task of selecting materials and commissioning furniture—personally walking the floors of Lüsenford without shame, sketching designs for the carpenters and artisans she’d eyed—progressed remarkably quickly. And with that, her work was more or less done. Wasn’t it?
“Already finished?”
“Yes.”
Kaella nodded toward Pheon.
“One furniture artisan is handling my bedroom and Your Highness’s bedroom, and another is doing the study. The two of them will coordinate so the three rooms harmonize.”
It was best to report precisely and withdraw cleanly to avoid any backlash later. Pheon watched Kaella, who reported even more perfectly than his secretary Lezen, and replied slowly.
“It’s a relief from my position as the one requesting it, but don’t push yourself too hard, Bi. The reason I’m asking you to handle this is because it’s also within your authority.”
He paused for a moment.
“I just hoped you’d have some distraction to keep from being bored while recovering.”
Along with that, he wanted the Grand Duchess’s bedroom decorated to her taste. Forcing an unwanted marriage on her and leaving her bedroom in that state was too much.
“It’s not pushing myself. Choosing furniture is enjoyable.”
“Don’t forget to furnish it properly.”
Pheone slyly pulled out the tasks the butler had left behind.
“As you know, the investigator is coming. It’s still distant, but with the kitchen repairs underway and planting season approaching, there’s a lot to do. Shamefully, I’m not a refined person, so I’d like you to take charge of refurbishing the entire castle and receiving the investigator.”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s naturally your duty.”
Kaella hesitated before speaking.
“We should… appoint a head maid soon.”
“A head maid is just a head maid.”
Receiving the emperor’s envoy was always the lady of the house’s role. Pheon emphasizing two or three times that it was her duty felt unfamiliar. The unfamiliarity was frightening.
“It’s spring anyway. The season for deferred repairs and improvements, so tour the entire castle and tend to any places that need it. I leave it to you. These are the related documents from the butler. Let me know if anything’s missing.”
She had planned to just swap out the furniture moderately and step back. She had meant to use this as an excuse to send Mari back to Ostein. Kaella stared at the documents on the table, unable to reply.
“And from now on, please use the Grand Duchess’s study.”
“No.”
Kaella shook her head firmly before her words even finished.
“B借り your desk temporarily is more than enough for me.”
It had to be that way. Her place shouldn’t exist here at all. That way, when the emperor’s investigator arrived, they could see how the Lüsenford Grand Duchess was being treated.
Once the investigator left and her life ended, no misfortune would befall Ostein Duke. He would simply be a tragic victim who had lost his daughter to a vicious blizzard-ridden land.
Being the perfect victim was the one goal Kaella was devoting herself to now.
“Bi. I’m not enough.”
She resented this man who spoke softly, lowering himself to meet her eyes. He was kind in everything—except to her, the sole exception to his kindness—which made her feel wronged and hateful. Her heart had hardened from exhaustion.
The wound remained a wound; seeing her remarried husband treat her kindly too wouldn’t heal it. On the contrary, his normal behavior terrified her.
He could never forgive the wretched woman who had stolen his lifelong love’s place. That was the common sense and absolute truth Kaella knew. Pheon’s rage would drive her to the most miserable death.
“I have no face to show, having been negligent in preparations and putting you through such hardship from the start.”
She wanted to scream, Why are you doing this? Just get angry if you’re angry. Why craft his expressions and words so cunningly? What was he trying to gain from her? What horrific death was he planning next?
“That’s why I want to solidify your position even more.”
Was he picking words she’d desperately wanted to hear before dying, just to swallow her whole? Pheon extended his hand to her.
Kaella could neither refuse nor take it, only stare. The outstretched hand reached out and grasped hers.
“You are my one and only wife, ruling Lüsenford at my side.”
The words soaked her ears and even her parched, brittle heart in an instant—too frightening.
“Don’t refuse what’s natural. The power and wealth I have are yours as well, aren’t they?”
Pheon finally took her trembling hand and pressed his lips to its back.
*
Had dying once driven her mad?
Kaella stared at a few ledgers—only a tiny fraction of those recording Lüsenford Castle’s income and expenditures.
The butler wasn’t that meticulous. He must have thought handing these over was fine. In Lüsenford, there was a strong sentiment against ignoring the frail and delicately raised, so he probably found her laughable.
Even so, Kaella looked down at her ink-stained hands, now more smudged than before.
Flipping through and organizing ledgers—symbols of the Grand Duchess’s authority—not even all of them, just a portion, with such enthusiasm. She must truly be mad.
’You said you wouldn’t do anything? You didn’t even have the strength.’
What are you, Kaella de Shasser? She had no answer for herself; she’d already eagerly scoured the growing stack and found all the suspicious parts.
Well, fine. It felt good to confirm the butler’s corruption she’d suspected before dying. Dealing with such a sloppy opponent had been infuriating. But what did it matter? She needed hard evidence.
Kaella glanced at the completely darkened window outside, then quietly rose from her seat. It was the hour when everyone slept—especially in Lüsenford, where nights were deep. Having dismissed her maids early, Kaella rose without further hesitation.
No candlestick; she groped through the pitch-black corridor to search a vitally important place for evidence. She might not expose it, but she wanted confirmation that she was right. If caught, she’d make up some bizarre excuse.
’I was hungry, I got lost—something like that. What could they say? If it goes wrong…’
Creeping down the dim corridor, Kaella touched the small, round vial in her pocket.
It held poison—enough that a sip would kill painlessly. Just feeling the vial, divided from her mourning supplies, eased her worries. Kaella carefully chose deserted stairs and descended.
The castle had places absolutely forbidden to Kaella. In fact, many. So she had to steel herself and search the most suspicious spot inferred from the ledgers. Even the Grand Duchess couldn’t go there.
Patting the pocket with the poison vial, Kaella passed down a corridor where her soft slippers might echo otherwise and reached her target: the butler’s study.
In Lüsenford Castle, only four people had studies: the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess, the butler and head maid who acted as castle proxies in their absence.
The butler, handling finances and estate management, wielded tremendous authority.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say more than the Grand Duchess. Unthinkable in Ostein or most of the Kranian Empire, but that was Lüsenford.
’I got the key. Doesn’t that mean use it?’
What Pheon had given her this time wasn’t just tasks and ledgers, but keys too. Being granted access to most of Lüsenford Castle meant exactly that.
Something given naturally. She didn’t know what trap it was, but Kaella planned to use it to resolve the curiosities that had plagued her during her tower imprisonment. She’d die with her injustices and questions settled, even if it killed her.
She intended to test first if these keys opened the butler’s study.
That would gauge the extent of the power she now held. She glanced around once more, too dark to make out details, then inserted the key.
Will it work? …It does!
With a click, the key turned, the handle yielded, and Kaella’s heart pounded uncontrollably. Heavens, it worked? This was the moment she dared enter the butler’s study.
The small, musty room, piled with dusty old documents, held two chairs, a desk, a few bookshelves—and another door behind. Kaella’s goal wasn’t the study itself, but that small door inside it.
’Putting it in the butler’s study doesn’t make sense to begin with, but this is Lüsenford.’
Did she have permission to enter that small door and check the item she’d suspected? She’d find out by trying. She inserted the master key again.
It turned smoothly once more, and Kaella nearly wept. So I’ve been recognized this much. Pride filled her, even knowing the trap potential was huge.
The inner room stored more precious items. Every drawer was locked, the cabinet too.
Kaella stood before the firmly shut cabinet and tried the door. Locked, of course—and the keyhole too small for the master key. Damn.
’Of course they wouldn’t give a key for something this important.’
She’d gotten ahead of herself. Kaella’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. It was a prime chance to uncover one of the things that had maddeningly nagged her before dying. She couldn’t sleep without confirming it.
Then footsteps echoed in the darkness. Kaella wasn’t startled. Shoulders hunched, eyes blazing with wariness—no, venom and murderous intent—she glared into the dark and slipped behind the door she’d entered.
Her hand rested on her poison vial pocket. For the pale-faced Kaella, only poison and malice remained. If things went wrong, she’d drink and die without fail.
The closed door opened, and someone entered. Her heart thumped wildly, but Kaella wasn’t afraid.
Who was it? The butler? In the pitch black where she had to grope to confirm, a large hand reached for her. Her mouth was abruptly covered.
The moment she recognized who it was, Kaella froze in terror.
