Reina's face turned red with shame. As an awkward silence filled the reception room, her stepmother cleared her throat.
"Don't put me on such a pedestal, Fereshati. I didn't come here to fight."
"If talking about your ex-boyfriend to someone who is enjoying their honeymoon isn't fighting, then what is it?"
"You suddenly got married, didn't you? We were so surprised that we couldn't follow any proper procedures for your wedding, and we feel regretful about that."
"Procedures?"
"Yes."
"Is there a procedure that you need to follow for my wedding?"
Frowning, her stepmother seemed embarrassed and fanned herself, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, when you get married, you should give a dowry to the bride's side, did you know that?"
"What? What kind of money?"
"You're taking me away, so you should show your gratitude to us who raised you. But what is this?"
As she spoke, her stepmother's anger seemed to rise, and she clicked her tongue.
"This is as good as ignoring me."
"Ignoring you?"
Her stepmother put down the fan and firmly grabbed my hand.
"I felt bad seeing you being ignored."
"I feel even worse now that you're holding my hand."
I said this with a tone of displeasure and coldly pulled my hand away. Despite the icy atmosphere, her stepmother remained persistent.
"Fereshati, how can you not understand my feelings? Without my first daughter, the mansion feels so empty and hollow. I often look around your bedroom."
"So, you came here to fill that emptiness by asking for a dowry?"
"It's because the Laphilion family seems to be ignoring you..."
"Are you trying to make a business deal with me?"
Her stepmother and Reina's faces turned red and pale, as if they had been caught off guard.
"Sis! Why are you talking like that?"
"Are you short of money? Is the family's fortune declining, Mother?"
"We're doing this for your sake..."
"Yeah! We don't want you to be ignored!"
Watching them speak rapidly, I felt exhausted. I had indulged them enough.
"You two are the ones ignoring me right now."
"What?"
"Do you not know who the only Grand Duchess of the Empire is?"
Their shoulders twitched.
"Her head is held high, as if she doesn't know the sky is above. Let me ask again. Who is ignoring me?"
At my question, her stepmother and Reina slightly lowered their heads.
'This is why I proposed a contract marriage to the Duke of Laphilion.'
Seeing them unable to say anything, I felt a sense of relief.
"Now, go back, Mother. This is the last time I will meet you two, listen to you, and show you courtesy."
"Fereshati! We are your family! How can you do this?"
Her stepmother raised her voice in a mournful tone. Beside her, Reina took out a handkerchief and wiped away tears as if she were heartbroken.
"Your act of pity won't work anymore."
"Fereshati!"
"Would you like to leave gracefully? Or should I call someone to drag you out?"
Her stepmother clenched her fists tightly. The mask of kindness, pity, and being a good mother had fallen, revealing a face full of hatred and contempt for me.
"Sis, what about Sir Siph? Sir Siph is so pitiful. Can't you at least let him take the promotion exam for the Royal Knights? After all, he was there for you when you were struggling."
"Reina."
"Yes, sis."
"Go tell Siph."
"Huh? What should I say? Just tell me!"
Reina's face brightened instantly. What a fool. Does she really think I'm still so naive?
"If he doesn't want to lose what's left, tell him not to cause trouble and to live quietly."
With that, the conversation ended.
"You'll regret this day. Just wait and see."
"Let's see who will regret more."
"Just because you inherited the estate, do you think this is over?"
I grimaced as if I had taken bitter medicine. I had expected them to find another way to obtain the estate since they couldn't marry me to Siph. Indeed, people don't change easily.
"Why are you bringing up the estate?"
"If you have a disqualification reason for inheritance, you'll have to return everything you've used, do you know that?"
She must have been thinking hard.
"Just wait and see."
Realizing that I wouldn't engage in further conversation, the two of them abruptly stood up. At that moment, the door to the reception room was rudely flung open without a knock.
"Is the 'just wait and see' you just said directed at the Grand Duchess?"
Celsius, with his head tilted arrogantly, walked in, patting his shoulders. Her stepmother and Reina, taken aback by Celsius's sudden appearance, bowed their heads in confusion. Walking up to them, Celsius looked at them alternately and snorted.
"I never thought I'd see someone say 'just wait and see' to the Grand Duchess."
"That, that was a misunderstanding."
"Was it?"
Celsius's face, which had been smiling, quickly turned as stiff as a statue. Having lived his life as the arrogant young master of the Laphilion family, he exuded an aura that couldn't be ignored.
"You're being brief."
Celsius muttered coldly, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor when dealing with me.
'Good job, Celsius.'
I watched the situation unfold, sipping my tea calmly.
"I was short-sighted..."
Her stepmother finally submitted, her voice small and meek. Celsius walked over to me and said indifferently.
"You should apologize directly to the Grand Duchess, not to me."
Sigh, how well-mannered and responsible.
"Are you not going to?"
Celsius urged her to apologize in a commanding tone. This was the Laphilion mansion, and the people in front of us were the Laphilion young master and the Grand Duchess. In the end, they bowed their heads to me.
"I, I'm sorry, Your Highness, Grand Duchess."
Seeing their bowed heads in front of me, I felt as if I had eaten a sweet dessert, and my mood improved.
"How dare you speak to the Grand Duchess like that. You should be grateful that the Grand Duchess, who is so kind, is letting you off."
"......Yes."
"Your Highness, Grand Duchess, shall I send them away?"
Celsius remained true to his role until the end. Nodding in response to my question, Celsius waved his hand, signaling them to leave. After they left, Celsius and I left the reception room with relieved expressions.
"By the way, your family is really something."
"Did you hear everything from the beginning?"
"Vaguely. I have good hearing. If they come again, call me. I'll make sure they don't cause any trouble."
It felt like I had gained a reliable ally. I nodded and smiled broadly.
"Shall we ask the kitchen to bake a chiffon cake and share it?"
At my question, Celsius's steps halted. No matter how much he tried to hide it, he was still a child. The dignity he had just displayed seemed to vanish as his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Where is Terdeo? Let's call him to join us."
"The Duke is at the palace."
"At the palace? Why?"
"He was a key figure in the recent war, so there will soon be a festival in the capital to celebrate the Duke and the Emperor."
"Ah..."
"The Emperor called him to the palace to discuss the festival beforehand."
Terdeo had led the war to victory thanks to the curse. He said that just by slightly cutting the enemies with his sword, they would die.
'Key figure... Terdeo wouldn't have wanted that.'
The rumors that he enjoyed war and loved blood and slaughter were all false. At least, that's what I saw. He had no choice but to excel in war due to the curse, and his entire body was a weapon. Celsius, who was standing beside me, seemed to recall an unpleasant memory and frowned. Then, he composed himself and said,
"In the place I lived, many children lost their parents due to war. That's why I don't like war."
"......"
"Now that we've become such a powerful nation, why does His Majesty still have such greed..."
"Celsius."
I quickly cut off Celsius's complaint about the Emperor and looked around. There were guards protecting the mansion, and maids and servants working. If it became widely known that the Duke's family was criticizing the Emperor, rumors of treason might spread. It's best to be careful.
"I understand how you feel."
I smiled wryly and stroked Celsius's head. Blushing, Celsius muttered, "Don't do that, why are you stroking my head?" but didn't pull away.
"Let's share the cake, Celsius."
*** That night, Terdeo returned looking exhausted. He immediately came to me and asked about my well-being.
"The butler said your family visited today."
"They did."
"Are you okay? Did anything happen?"
Terdeo seemed to ask out of habit. I felt a strange sense of warmth knowing that someone was concerned about me. I nodded reluctantly and quickly changed the subject.
"Celsius told me that there will be a festival in the capital to celebrate you?"
"It's just a useless formality."
As expected, he disliked it. He seemed to dislike it even more than I had anticipated.
"Do you dislike war? Or do you dislike being in the spotlight?"
"Both."
He answered immediately without any hesitation, which seemed genuine. According to rumors, Terdeo was a 'war enthusiast' who enjoyed war and bloodshed... but none of the rumors were true.
"Do you know what rumors are circulating about you?"
"What kind of rumors?"
"They say you enjoy war and bloodshed. They also say you're a barbarian who sent your only heir, Celsius, to a remote place and ignored him."
And there were rumors that he didn't let him out of seclusion, but I'll keep that to myself. Despite my blunt words, Terdeo's expression remained unchanged. He seemed indifferent, as if listening to someone else's story.
"So, did you believe those rumors?"
"Why don't you correct them?"
"What?"
"Like someone is deliberately spreading bad rumors about you. Right now, the rumors about you make you seem like the worst person."
Yes, unless someone is deliberately spreading these rumors, it's impossible for them to be this bad.
"I don't care about others' opinions."
"Even if people call you the worst man?"
"Yes. And, to be honest, it's not entirely false."
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Terdeo's lips. With a face devoid of emotion, he looked down and muttered.
"Someone who carries a poison that can kill others in their body is the worst kind of man."
Seeing Terdeo's self-loathing, I frowned. It occurred to me that perhaps he himself had spread these terrible rumors.
'I didn't expect the atmosphere to become so heavy!'
To lighten the mood, I raised my voice in a playful tone.
"You should care now."
"Why?"
"You're married to me. Since I have you as my strong support, it will be difficult for me if I'm plagued by such strange rumors."
Terdeo didn't respond. Or rather, he seemed unsure of how to respond. The silence continued. Feeling awkward after my attempt at a joke, I quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, right. You went to the palace. Did you see Princess Dodelea?"
As soon as I asked, a murderous aura emanated from Terdeo's face.
'Oh, what happened?'
He looked so cold that he could really kill someone at that moment.
"That princess... is definitely insane."
"What happened?"
Seeing him release his pent-up anger with such a serious expression, I couldn't help but worry.
'Did she do something strange again?'
My anxious concerns turned out to be true.
"She wrote in blood."
"......What?"
Did I hear that wrong? What? What did she write? My mouth, which had opened in shock, wouldn't close.
'She's a rare lunatic.'
"What did she write?"
"It was strange."
"What?"
"She wrote something, but no one could understand the characters."
Terdeo frowned, as if recalling the memory.
"They looked like ancient characters. And she wrote them secretly every night."
"Every night in blood?"
A chill ran down my spine. Something was definitely wrong with her. Dodelea had not received proper education due to her illness. She had never attended an academy and had no contact with the outside world, so she didn't even have a tutor.
'Writing in blood with ancient characters?'
Something was very off. But the shocking part didn't end there.
"When she burned the blood letters, she insisted on burning my hair with them and came at me with a knife."
I jumped up at Terdeo's words.
"Did you get hurt?"
"Do you think I couldn't stop her? I just pushed her away when she approached from behind. Even the Emperor couldn't say anything."
She was even more crazy than I had imagined. I suddenly remembered the day we left the cathedral, when Dodelea had glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
'I must avoid her at all costs.'
"Enough. Let's stop talking about this. I don't even want to think about it. Here."
Terdeo, who had shuddered, handed me something.
"I almost forgot."
"What is this?"
"Tomorrow's newspaper. ...Or rather, the newspaper that was supposed to be published tomorrow. It won't be published now."
"......?"
I unfolded the newspaper Terdeo handed me. The top headline was about Princess Dodelea. Below it, a headline caught my eye: ['Grand Duchess Fereshati Laphilion'! Abandoned a common knight and reached for power!]