Chapter 6.1

It was when they arrived at a city just a day’s journey from Rahvain that they received the news. Having lingered at a hotel they liked and being delayed by rain along the way, it was exactly the eighth day since their wedding.

“The marriage certificate burned…? What on earth does that…”

– Terdis, calm down.

A magician sent by the Duke was waiting in the city. He connected them with Carlyle through a communication crystal ball. Carlyle said that a contact from the Order had arrived two days ago.

– The Order has apologized to us. They expressed deep regret… and said that the Pope himself would come to the Empire to bless your marriage.

“The Pope is coming?”

Terdis looked at Leticia with a bewildered face. Even if the Pope was a high-ranking noble, it was rare for him to bless the marriage of someone who was not of royalty or the imperial family. Unless they were citizens of the Holy Kingdom, it was almost unheard of for nobles of other countries.

– It likely means they acknowledge this incident was the Order’s fault. They say the person responsible has already been apprehended and is being held accountable.

“Then what happens? We are already… married, and we have a copy of the certificate.”

They had even sent it to both families. Since there were witnesses, the marriage itself would not vanish just because the original certificate was destroyed.

– They claimed it was before the registration. It’s surprising, but it seems to be a ploy by the Pope himself to try and buy time. If it’s a marriage blessed by the Pope, a ceremony of matching stature must be held, and preparing for that would take about a year.

“Just because it wasn’t registered doesn’t mean the marriage itself disappears! We clearly held the wedding in front of a priest! There are witnesses!”

– I know. But Terdis. You must consider that you and Leticia are nobles. A noble marriage is different from that of commoners.

Commoners’ weddings were sometimes held with a village elder officiating without a priest. Since not every village had a priest, such methods were often tolerated. However, the situation was different for nobles; the principle was that they must go to a temple or call a priest to hold a wedding.

Since Leticia and Terdis were children of high-ranking noble families, they could be looked down upon in high society on the grounds that they were not registered with the Order.

“Those who claim to believe in the Goddess used such dirty tactics…!”

Even if the original marriage certificate was lost, the marriage was clear and there were witnesses, so all the Order had to do was register their names on the list of married couples. But they were stalling under the pretext that ‘The Pope will attend your wedding and bestow his blessing.’

Rejecting this would mean taking a stand against the Order, so they could use that excuse to delay listing them as a couple, and if they accepted, they would have to wait a year.

“Ter, it’s not like they’ve set a condition that I have to enter the Order. What could happen just because the Pope comes? We are still husband and wife.”

As she spoke soothingly while holding Terdis’s hand, his expression softened. Leticia was right, but he feared they might pull even dirtier tricks than this.

“Tisha…”

– Ahem. Anyway, since it has come to this, stop and come back. I’d like to give you more time, but holding the ceremony as soon as possible will help resolve this situation.

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

The light of the communication crystal ball faded, and the magician withdrew. Leticia sat close to Terdis, who was clearly upset. When Terdis met Leticia’s eyes, he pulled her into a sudden embrace.

“Unpleasant wretches…. No matter what tricks they play, I won’t let them take you away.”

“The Order won’t use force or anything, so it’ll be fine.”

What could the Order do? At most, it would be an attempt to persuade her that she should use the Saintess’s power for the sake of the world. Such persuasion would not work on Leticia, who was thoroughly steeped in capitalism due to the memories of her past life.

At Leticia’s remark, Terdis loosened his arms and met her eyes.

“The people of the Order are dirtier than you think. They might pull tricks no less than the nobles of high society, so you mustn’t let your guard down.”

‘But it’s the Order?’

Leticia thought, but she nodded slowly. The journey to Rahvain was now as good as over.

‘I wanted to try and meet Isella…. I guess I won’t be able to.’

She would be coming up to the capital soon anyway. Under the status of Aaron’s adopted daughter. At that time, they would be preparing for the wedding…. A faint thought occurred to her that if that marriage was destined to be broken, it might be for the better.

Terdis couldn’t have known what Leticia was thinking, but he tightened his grip around her as if anxious.

***

Carlyle liked this young man named Cesare, even though they had only met twice. It was true that he had done a great wrong to Leticia in the past, but his attitude toward that mistake was unlike others his age.

‘If a young man like this is to become Duke Tesseia in the future, it wouldn’t be bad to continue the exchange with House Tesseia.’

Thinking that Aaron might have been indifferent to his children but was a lucky man, he thought of Leticia, Aaron’s other child.

“Leticia…. Was she not very shocked?”

He was asking about the recent contact Carlyle had with his children. Cesare wore a very cautious expression.

“She is on the calm side. As you know better than I…. The one who was very angry was Terdis.”

At Carlyle’s words, Cesare’s gaze sank a little.

“Shamefully, I do not know much about her. Seeing her a few times was all…”

With just a word of warning—no, a threat—he could live as if she didn’t exist in the same mansion unless his father specifically called for her. Thus, the Leticia Cesare remembered was from when she was very young.

“Reconciliation depends on Leticia’s heart, but do you have the intention to apologize?”

Carlyle worried if he was meddling unnecessarily, but unexpectedly, Cesare did not resist. Perhaps it was because he was now Leticia’s father-in-law and not an outsider. Cesare looked at Carlyle with a worried face.

“I am looking for the right time, as I hope the apology doesn’t just become my own self-satisfaction…. But Leticia doesn’t seem to want to interact with any of us.”

“Mmm…”

He hadn’t misjudged. Right after that accusation, Leticia had returned to House Lyon immediately and had not opened any letters from House Tesseia. She hadn’t burned the letters, but as if she didn’t even want to keep them, she had put them in a lockable box and shoved them into the attic she received from Carlyle.

She seemed quiet, gentle, and… not picky, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been hurt. It wasn’t that she wasn’t in pain while carrying the wounds. She just hadn’t said it hurt. Or she had been kept silent by the will of others so she couldn’t say it hurt.

Carlyle liked Cesare, but he felt troubled when thinking of Leticia. He couldn’t force her to reconcile with her brothers or father for the benefit of House Lyon.

“She… seems to think she will soon become the perpetrator.”

“The perpetrator?”

“She says that because you are family and didn’t know the truth, the people around her will pressure her to forgive them. She thinks she’ll be criticized for not forgiving and holding onto hatred.”

It happened frequently that the victim was pressured to forgive the perpetrator. The perpetrators were usually those who had more than the victims, and they tried to be easily forgiven by wielding that power. So the victims continued to suffer even after being harmed. It wasn’t because they were holding onto hatred or resentment, but because it wouldn’t go away.

Since some wounds do not disappear just because the perpetrator is forgiven, it was natural for the victim to hope for the perpetrator’s suffering to continue.

“I don’t think Leticia’s thought is wrong. Since your father and your statuses are high, Leticia will be pressured by those around her to forgive. Saying it’s unavoidable since you are blood relatives.”

“……I am sorry.”

“I don’t think I’m the one who should receive the apology. As you saw, Leticia does not want to receive an apology. But the time will come when you have to face her. Do you intend to apologize to her then?”

At Carlyle’s question, Cesare gazed at him quietly.

“I have no intention of bullying Leticia again. I hope that even a little… my apology and regret can help her many wounds. Recovery of the relationship with her…”

After uttering the word ‘recovery,’ Cesare’s lips contorted. This was because there was nothing that could be called a relationship between them. If he had held that small hand reached out to him when they were young, perhaps there would have been some relationship, but there was nothing between them.

Bloodline might seem powerful, but that bloodline wielded no power when it came to pushing that child away.

“…I do want to create a good relationship with her, but if that is painful, forcing it would also be violence.”

“I do not know exactly what you did to her. I only know a few things that were revealed externally. Leticia, that child, did not speak of what happened in the Tesseia Ducal Mansion.”

There were only two major incidents that were revealed. That Leticia almost died after being attacked by hunting dogs, and that she suffered a major injury after falling down the long stairs in front of the imperial Library. Both were major incidents that threatened Leticia’s life, and from the point that they were committed against a young child, they were unforgivable. Because of this, Carlyle’s feelings toward Cesare’s other brothers were very poor.

“Father hated remembering Mother. He provided generous financial support and had people monitor if that support was going properly…. But servants easily notice when a master is indifferent to a child.”

Young Leticia lived in a fine building, wore good clothes, and ate good food, but she seemed to recognize that she was in a floating state, not knowing when she might be kicked out. She watched the servants’ reactions and acted as if she were dead to avoid upsetting the Duke. What she took comfort in was the temple, but even that seemed to have disappointed her.

“I denied that Leticia was my younger sister and feigned ignorance. I knew my two other younger brothers were bullying her. It seemed to be at the level of severely bullying someone they didn’t like at a private school. I did tell them a few times to stop, but…”

He knew they wouldn’t stop. Cesare thought to himself that if Leticia got seriously hurt, the two of them would stop. But it wasn’t so. Something more horrific than the major injury he had imagined happened, and there were incidents even after that.

Cesare realized then that neither his father nor he had expressed it outwardly, but they had thought it couldn’t be helped if Leticia died. Isn’t someone who leaves another to die while knowing they will die the same as a murderer? Even if one didn’t wield a sword to kill, someone who stands in that position and turns away while knowing they will be struck by a sword was, in the end, the same as a murderer.

“…Weren’t you young then? The ones who committed the wrong were the adults. They shouldn’t have let the situation get to that point.”

Carlyle said this, but Cesare bowed his head.

“Childhood passed a long time ago. And…. I don’t think there’s anyone among us who truly didn’t know that it was a sin.”

One doesn’t necessarily have to be slapped by someone else to recognize the fact that ‘hitting someone else is bad.’ He thought even Sebastian, the youngest, would have known. How could they not? They were humans capable of thought. Even children over the age of five know fairness and distinguish between good and evil.

“I would like to thank you once again…. for understanding my father’s self-righteousness and accepting it generously.”

“Not at all. Isn’t Duke Tesseia’s heart also understandable?”

Leticia’s rights as a guardian were returned from Carlyle to Aaron, Duke Tesseia, through agreement. It was a result derived through lawyers between the families without the need for a lawsuit. From Carlyle’s perspective, he also wanted to avoid unnecessary lawsuits since Leticia had already married Terdis.

“I ask you to take good care of my younger sister, Leticia, in the future as well.”

At the sight of Cesare bowing politely, Carlyle nodded. It was something that would have surprised Crown Prince Edward if he had seen it. There was no way Cesare would have bowed his head with such a submissive expression.

“Not at all. When Leticia comes up to the capital…. let us meet again.”

He patted Cesare’s shoulder as if to comfort him and parted from him, leaving the inner chamber of the club. It was a fortunate thing for House Tesseia to have someone like him as the Young Duke. Aaron, though he might regret, seemed unable to completely consider Leticia’s position, and the other two young lords…

‘I have no idea where to start untangling this.’

Carlyle let out a deep sigh and ordered the servant to bring the carriage.

***

“I’ll have to break off the engagement with you.”

At the words spoken in a casual voice, as if canceling a menu at a cafe, Sebastian’s fiancée Nastasya’s expression contorted.

“That’s nonsense! Why? How can you do this so suddenly!”

“You must have heard the rumors too. Tisha has become my real younger sister.”

At him calling her by a nickname, which was unlike him, Nastasya looked at Sebastian with an uncomfortable expression. Leticia was the only daughter in House Tesseia, but she was a person who had been no rival at all because she was illegitimate.

“I know. What does that have to do with anything?”

“You insulted Tisha to your heart’s content in front of me. So isn’t it natural that I can’t marry you?”

At that, Nastasya’s expression contorted mercilessly. All of her badmouthing Leticia had been to cater to Sebastian’s mood. Even though he was the son of a high-ranking ducal family, he was the third son who couldn’t even become the Young Duke, and he was so picky that he ignored her even though they met as fiances. While bringing up various stories to pique his interest, Sebastian was the first to start badmouthing when the topic of Leticia happened to come up.

Nastasya’s face flushed red with shame and anger.

“That…! Lord Sebastian, you’re the one who started it! I was only trying to match you…”

“Would you say anything just to cater to me? That’s why I’m saying I have no intention of marrying you. I’ve already told Father, so know that.”

Sebastian was getting up from his seat with a face that showed he was no longer interested in her. Nastasya couldn’t let that happen. She was 18, and she had been trying to marry Sebastian since she was 17. Each time, Sebastian had used the excuse of his eldest brother Cesare, who hadn’t married yet. But hearing the news that Leticia had run away and held a wedding this time, she had planned to persuade Sebastian and hold the ceremony.

The age of majority in the Empire was 20, but in the case of noble women, marriage was possible from age 16 with parental permission.

“No! How can you do this! I’m 18 now…!”

All the good matches were already taken. She would have to find a partner among young lords who had their engagements broken like her, and even the thought of it was shameful.

“What are you saying? You knew I disliked you from the first time we met. I warned you then too.”

‘I dislike you. Even if you get engaged to me, it’ll be broken off eventually anyway, so do you still have to do it?’

The only reason Sebastian had left Nastasya be was because he knew that even if he kicked her out, another fiancée would be pushed on him. He also thought it was convenient because Nastasya’s personality was quite something, so she chased away all the women who approached him.

“Do, do you think I’ll just stay still?! If it’s not me, you won’t be able to marry anyone!”

“That’s funny. Who do you think I am?”

Whether Nastasya screamed behind him or not, Sebastian got up and left the Renain House garden. Actually, it was a hassle for him to come all the way to this mansion, so he had intended to call her out to a restaurant or cafe and tell her, but his servant had strongly dissuaded him.

“If it’s Lady Renain, she will surely wail and scream even if it’s the imperial palace.”

‘He was right.’

Hearing Nastasya’s voice shouting “Come back, Sebastian!” behind him, he called a servant of Marquis Renain. It was to order his own servant to bring the carriage. He looked at the servant running in a flurry and thought about what he would do after this. The wedding gift for Leticia had been completed a long time ago, and all that was left was to wait for her return.

***

The Spring Festival ended. It was an end that could be called a success, so the imperial Family seemed very satisfied. The nobles also seemed satisfied with the scandal that broke out on the day of the Spring Ball.

Godfrey thought of his former fiancée, Christine, as he returned home from work at the imperial palace.

‘It’s already been 8 years.’

He had parted with Christine after that incident where Leticia was bitten by the hunting dogs. It was because she had witnessed it. Since it was also thanks to Christine that Leticia survived…. perhaps he should be grateful for that day’s visit. Following her father’s orders, she had kept her distance from the illegitimate Leticia, but seeing Godfrey bullying Leticia, she had found him uncomfortable. Still, as fiances, they should have had regular meetings, so she tried to get one meeting over with by deceiving her father and choosing a day Godfrey was away to visit the Ducal House.

But…. on that very day, Leticia had suffered such a thing. Leticia was horribly bitten without even being able to let out a proper scream, but Christine, who saw it, screamed. It was a shrill scream that surprised even the Duke, Cesare, and Sebastian. She fainted on the spot after seeing people come out and pull the hunting dogs away.

Returning home, she was ill for ten days straight. And she clung to her father and begged to break off the engagement with Godfrey. Hearing about that incident, her father also seemed to feel something, so he allowed them to have one more meeting and accepted the break-up. Godfrey judged it would be difficult to marry Christine, who was trembling and couldn’t even meet his eyes. His father accepted a mild break-up in exchange for not speaking of the incident to the outside.

He heard that Christine got married this time. Two days before the Spring Festival started. The partner was a young lord of the Marquis of Arhin. He wasn’t a face that came clearly to mind, but he wasn’t a person about whom bad rumors circulated. He thought her father, being a cautious person, would have found a good match for her.

‘It’s Christine Arhin now.’

Thinking of his former fiancée whose face was faint in his memory, Godfrey silently folded the letter. He was still without a fiancée. He had to perform knight training for two years, but he had kept the position vacant even after returning to the capital. It wasn’t that he specifically couldn’t forget Christine. They had been indifferent to each other then.

The letter he was putting in the envelope now was for Leticia. As always, it was full of words of apology. It would take a few more days for Leticia to read it, but since he knew she would return to House Lyon, he planned to send it there.

What use would any of this be?

Cesare, who found out that he had been sending letters, said first, “Do not be disappointed even if you are not forgiven.” To be precise, Cesare seemed to be wary of him pouring his anger out on Leticia because she didn’t forgive him, but…

‘Will she even read it?’

There was a book recommended by a knight he became close with while undergoing knight training. In that book, it was written that words and writing can become lies from the moment they are uttered, so one must be careful with every action.

Am I reflecting exactly as I wrote in the letter? He thought about whether he knew the weight of the sin he committed, truly regretted it, and was living a life worthy of that regret.

‘I don’t know.’

He had never thought of becoming a new person after that day. He had just recognized how outrageous and horrific the thing he had done was. Violence does not end with the pain of being hit. It was said that the shock of being violated and the environment that made it possible, all of it…. came as anxiety and fear.

Godfrey had never thought of such things. Looking back, Leticia always looked alert and wary of her surroundings in his house. He thought she must have finally felt safe after leaving for House Lyon.

‘I made that thought into a delusion.’

That’s why Leticia had made such a demand to Father. To make herself safe. Thinking of how horrific they must have been to her, he had no right to speak even with ten mouths.

Father didn’t seem to have given up yet, but Brother…. Cesare seemed to think Leticia would not forgive them. Godfrey thought that perhaps among them, only Brother Cesare knew how horrific the things they did were.

Thinking of his brother, who seemed to have lost his aversion toward women compared to before but looked significantly depressed, Godfrey called a servant. He held out the envelope and said, “This to the Young Duchess of Lyon Ducal House.”

“Understood.”

Watching the servant take the letter, he thought of Leticia, whom he had seen a few weeks ago. Leticia, whom he saw at the Spring Ball, now looked completely like an adult. Showing a cold and dignified appearance in front of him, she really resembled Father a lot.

‘Leticia returns to the capital tomorrow.’

And…. there would also be a trial regarding that woman. Godfrey gritted his teeth, thinking of an unforgivable name.

***

Every day was a day of pain for Baroness Perdoba. She had gained none of the things she wanted, but her sin had finally caught up with her. Aaron, who watched her interrogation process, seemed unable to believe the fact that House Tesseia’s defense was breached by a trivial being like her. The man who was a magician brought by Duke Lyon, and was actually the Tower Master, pursued her tenaciously about the magician who had helped her.

Baroness Perdoba, looking for a way to mitigate her crime at any cost, confessed everything she knew. Perhaps there was something suspected among the words she babbled haphazardly, because the Tower Master stopped coming from a certain day. Duke Aaron Tesseia, was the same. His face, which had been glaring at her as if looking at something horrific and loathsome, stopped being by her side from a certain point.

However, the pain of torture did not disappear, so she regretted every single day.

It wasn’t that she regretted the fact that she cursed. Teresa’s death was so satisfying that she could smile even in her sleep. As for that damn girl’s suffering, she considered it the sin of her mother and the sin of her foolish father.

What Baroness Perdoba regretted was being caught. Since such a thing happened and she was kicked out of the Ducal House, she shouldn’t have come up to the capital. She was angry at her own foolishness for attending the imperial Ball by using any connections every Spring Festival for several years.

But she wanted to attend. She wanted to eat food she couldn’t usually taste amidst that beautiful feast of light, and feel like she was one of them among the luxuriously dressed nobles. That was an irrepressible desire!

‘How could I have repressed that!’

And yet…. she didn’t know that girl, damn Teresa’s daughter, would use that to catch her. Wasn’t it a very long time ago? It was a matter she had suffered enough to suffer!

“I, I also regret that…! Teresa was a kind and friendly friend…”

‘Ah, stupid Teresa. You twist my fate until the very end. I thought killing you was the best thing I did in my life, but you caught my ankle at the final moment.’

The one who tortured her did not go easy on her even though he knew Baroness Perdoba had no more information to spit out. Baroness Perdoba had no way of knowing that it was the order of Empress Grace. She just pleaded and begged for mercy from the one who tortured her.

‘Until the hatred for the victims and the unfitting resentment disappears from that woman’s eyes, make the pain soak into every drop of blood flowing in her body.’

He still remembered the Empress’s expression as she uttered that order. Since his hair stood on end when thinking about it, he had no intention of disobeying that order in the slightest. Nor did he feel sympathy for the woman who killed the Duchess, who was said to be virtuous, with a curse.

Splash!

At the sight of Baroness Perdoba, who couldn’t come to her senses even when cold water was poured on her, the torturer clicked his tongue and stepped back.

“Let’s stop here for today. The trial is soon.”

“True. It’s a waste to make a healer pour strength into a woman like this.”

Now Baroness Perdoba had reached the point where she would say she did it no matter what crime was framed on her. Since she had killed the Empress’s close friend, who was even of royalty, with a curse, her body was already doomed to not survive anyway.

The guards and torturers packed their equipment and left, and only Baroness Perdoba remained on the cold prison floor. She cautiously opened her eyes and scanned the darkness. Not even the light of a torch was allowed to her. The only thing lighting up was the hallway far away. Her prison had no window, and it was a form blocked by iron bars on all sides. It was so because it was a prison made in the middle of the floor where the cells were.

“Aa-ah…”

Due to the inescapable pain, her body didn’t even tremble anymore. She was in a position where she had to wait for the day of her death every day. At the word that a death by burning would likely be sentenced, Baroness Perdoba thought it might be less painful if her heart just stopped like this.

‘Unfair!’

It was just one mistake. It was that magician who set fire to the grudge she had been harboring for a long time, yet that fellow escaped and only she was suffering like this. All the sin was with him!

‘If only I hadn’t met that fellow…. I!’

But in this situation, it was a completely useless emotion. Now she could not avoid death, and even that death was sure to be miserable and horrific.

…Bzzzz.

At the sound of wings echoing in the darkness, Baroness Perdoba was astounded. She knew this body, which was exhausted, limp, and smelled of blood, was becoming good prey for insects. Thinking it was happening again, she tried to move her body by force, but the thing that flew in was an insect similar to a fly.

No, is it a fly? Is this what a fly looks like?

It sat at a distance of about a span from her finger. Baroness Perdoba was despondent because she could clearly feel its existence despite being in the darkness. Even a single fly approaches to torment me. She keenly felt the fact that God and the world had abandoned her.

「Madam…. To see you imprisoned in such a state, my heart aches.」

At the voice echoing in her head, Baroness Perdoba almost screamed. The reason she couldn’t scream was first because there was no strength in her body, and next because she thought he was the only way she could escape.

“You…. Is it you? The magi… cian?”

He hadn’t told her his name. So she had no choice but to refer to him as the magician.

「That is correct.」

“Help, help me! I…”

The words that it was because of him that she became like this tried to force their way out of her throat, but she swallowed the words. She glanced in the direction of the stairs with eyes trembling with anxiety, wondering if someone was eavesdropping on her voice.

「Of course…. I must help you.」

“Can you get me out of here?”

The magician looked through the fly’s eyes as hope dwelled in the pupils that had lost their light. Since her appearance was quite hideous, it didn’t give him much of an impression. In the first place, what she wanted was impossible.

「That depends on what you do, Madam.」

“Wha, what should I do? Anything…”

She thought there was nothing she could do, but she was ready to do anything. There was nothing she wouldn’t do if she could just get out of here. Even if it was a lie, she had to say so.

「Leticia de Tesseia. Do you not resent that woman?」

As Leticia, who had accused her at the imperial Ball, was mentioned, Baroness Perdoba’s eyes flew open. That name was like an enemy to her. She resented her more now than Aaron, and even more than the dead Teresa whom she had been jealous of.

“What, what should I do?”

「Swallow it.」

As the voice whispered so, the fly flew to a position where her finger could reach. She frowned, wondering if he was telling her to swallow that, but the fly’s appearance flew away like a spark, and a shining red jewel was revealed inside. It looked like a ruby, but she thought it might be a magic stone.

‘He’s telling me to eat this? What happens to me if I swallow this?’

She was afraid, but what was more fearful was already all happening here. Baroness Perdoba did not hesitate further and picked up the magic stone and pushed it into her mouth. The jewel, which she thought would be cold, was unexpectedly hot and went down into her stomach in an instant.

「Now, wait for the right time while repeating the enemy’s name.」

That was the end of the voice. Baroness Perdoba called him a few more times before realizing she was left alone and repeated Leticia’s name.

It might be an illusion, but every time she muttered that name, her stomach felt like it was burning hot.

***

Terdis did not hurry on the way back. Since the situation had already unfolded and their next steps were clear, he chose paths that were easy for the carriage to travel. Because he selected a route connecting city to city, the journey was longer than their initial trip.

However, since their stay had been prolonged after the wedding at the temple due to various excuses, this was actually a rapid pace compared to their recent schedule.

Staying at a hotel just a day’s journey from the capital, Leticia thought about what would happen once she returned to the Lyon Ducal House. It meant that everything she had put off would come rushing back to her.

First, there was Baroness Perdoba’s trial, and then there was the changed relationship with House Tesseia. Since Aaron de Tesseia had regained his status as Leticia’s guardian through the agreement, he might try to restore their father-daughter relationship.

‘Either way, it’s going to be exhausting.’

That night, Leticia shared a bedroom with Terdis again. Although she knew their marriage hadn’t been entered into the temple’s registry yet, they were a strictly married couple who had performed their vows.

Terdis looked so miserable whenever she even mentioned using separate rooms that Leticia didn’t dare suggest it. In truth, Leticia didn’t particularly like sleeping alone either, so she enjoyed sharing a bed with him. Since she began sleeping with him, her nightmares had ceased entirely.

‘Or so I thought…’

Leticia was staring at a blurry figure. This wasn’t necessarily a nightmare, as it lacked the gloomy atmosphere of her usual dreams and no monsters appeared.

— …The Paniesa continent is far too narrow for two lions to roam. With two lions on this small patch of land, isn’t it only natural for them to fight until one dies?

‘The Paniesa continent is narrow?’

Leticia frowned at the absurd remark. Paniesa was one of the largest continents, home to two empires and eighteen kingdoms of varying sizes.

— You are correct, Your Majesty.

The man standing beside the young man replied in a calm tone. Leticia wondered who they were. Judging by their arrogant posture and demeanor, they were clearly high-ranking nobles, but considering the content of their words, they seemed more like a Crown Prince or an Emperor.

‘It’s not Crown Prince Edward.’

She had seen him at the Spring Ball. This man had a different hair color, so it couldn’t be him. Scanning her memory of the high-ranking nobles she saw at the imperial Ball, Leticia realized this man didn’t resemble any of them.

— What happened regarding that girl?

— It is still in progress. The trial is in two days, so please wait until then.

‘A trial?’

Coincidentally, that was the same day Baroness Perdoba was to stand trial. Thinking it strange, Leticia listened closely to their conversation.

—It is dangerous for House Lyon and House Tesseia to join forces. Since she became the Young Duke’s partner, I thought she would flee before long, unable to endure it, but to think she is a Saintess…

He spat the words out irritably and glared at the man beside him.

—In this state, it looks as if the Goddess intends to protect the Luendal Empire.

Leticia found the conversation strange, as it sounded like the “girl” they were referring to was her.

‘What do you people have to do with me?’

— Do not worry. I have planted a seed within someone with a particularly deep grudge; it will exert its power properly.

— That alone is not enough! Since she failed to become Young Duke Lyon’s woman due to the Pope’s interference, Edward will surely try to make her his consort. Therefore…

The man’s gaze met Leticia’s, who was watching them.

— …Eliminate her before that. A Saintess who cannot be mine is better off dead.

***

“……”

Leticia stared blankly up at the ceiling of the hotel room. Terdis was asleep beside her, holding her close.

‘That was a strange dream.’

It was too vivid to simply ignore. She hadn’t even been officially recognized as a Saintess yet. Strictly speaking, she was currently refusing to become one. And yet…

‘Who is trying to kill me?’

Based on the circumstances, that man seemed to be the Emperor of the Sachsen Empire. Their Emperor was young and childless, so he couldn’t be a Crown Prince.

She could dismiss it as just a dream, but it was far too lifelike. Furthermore, why would the Emperor of another country appear in her dreams? She had never even met him.

‘How unpleasant.’

He was giving orders as if it were a natural duty for the sake of his country—as if the destruction of another nation was a necessity for his own to thrive.

The Sachsen Empire possessed the oldest history on the Paniesa continent. Once a Great Empire, it had ruled the most powerful and vast lands, but the situation changed after the Luendal Kingdom renamed itself an Empire. The Luendal Empire had joined forces with various other kingdoms to resist Sachsen’s oppression and succeeded in pushing them back to the northwestern edge through war.

While Sachsen was still called an Empire, it was a shadow of its former glory. The Luendal Empire was now larger in territory; if Sachsen was a 3, Luendal was a 5.

‘That damn country always tries to fight ours under the pretext of reclaiming what was stolen.’

The lands Sachsen claimed were “stolen” never belonged to them in the first place, and the people of those kingdoms had all been absorbed into the Luendal imperial family. It was nothing more than a ridiculous excuse. She thought such disputes had quieted down since an Emperor several generations ago lost heavily in a war, but…

‘It’s been 200 years since the conflict with Sachsen subsided, so why now… No. This might really just be a dream.’

She had lived a life unrelated to international affairs or politics. Though she knew she wouldn’t be completely isolated after being born a high noble and marrying Terdis, assassination was taking things too far.

Based on the dream’s content, it seemed they intended to kill her on the day of the trial. Leticia, who had already informed the imperial family that she would attend the trial, fell into deep thought.

***

“Welcome! You both worked hard!”

Carlyle’s enthusiastic welcome was almost embarrassing, given that the return journey had been relatively comfortable. Leticia blushed as she greeted him, while Terdis…

‘What did this kid do to make his face glow like that?’

Carlyle, who almost glanced at Leticia, stiffened his neck. He had a good guess as to why, and looking at Leticia now would only make her feel awkward.

“I’m back, Father.”

“Yes… Let us go inside.”

As Carlyle led Leticia and Terdis in, he shared what had happened in their absence. They already knew about the agreement with House Tesseia, so most of the news concerned Baroness Perdoba’s trial the next day.

“The Empress suggested a private trial, and both Aaron and I accepted. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t like people who didn’t know my mother gossiping about it anyway.”

Carlyle nodded at Leticia’s answer. He had only attended the Baroness’s interrogation twice and didn’t return after that. While he suspected someone had sent the magician to her, he didn’t think she knew much; even if she did, the imperial family had promised to share that information.

Seeing that Carlyle naturally expected her to attend the trial, Leticia hesitated. It was because of the dream she had the previous night. It was suspicious, but since her dreams had never come true before, it was difficult to act on it.

‘Could it be that I gained an ability because I received divine power?’

Those with the qualities of a Pope or a Saintess often gained unique abilities related to their deity in addition to divine power. Although one Order dominated the Paniesa continent, it did not serve a single god. The gods, led by the Goddess of the Sky and Chief Deity Asteia, were constantly at odds, vying for the eight seats of the celestial realm. Except for five core gods, the others rotated every few decades.

The gods bestowed divine power upon humans for their own reasons, and those who received it usually joined the Order or became healers. Among them, the most special were those with the qualities of a Saintess or Pope. A Saintess usually referred to someone who received immense power from a single god, and it was said they gained two to four special abilities depending on that god’s nature.

Leticia did not yet know which god had bestowed power upon her, nor had she identified any special abilities.

‘I would likely find out which god and what abilities I have if I met the Pope, but…’

Knowing his hidden motives, she didn’t really want to meet him. She had lived well enough without special powers until now. However, if the dream from last night was accurate, her first ability might be precognition through dreams—an ability held by many high-ranking clergy in the Order.

“Um… Duke.”

“Hmm? Duke?”

Leticia’s face flushed at Carlyle’s expression, as his eyes twinkled with expectation. Guessing what word he wanted to hear, she opened her mouth hesitantly.

“A-Ah, Father.”

“Yes! What is it, Leticia?” Carlyle asked, grinning widely with satisfaction.

Leticia cleared her throat lightly and brought up the dream from the night before. It might just be anxiety, but there was no harm in being cautious. As they listened to her, the expressions on Carlyle and Terdis’s faces grew serious.

***

“…She’ll be at the courthouse tomorrow anyway, so stay still.”

Cesare dipped his pen into the inkwell, shooting a look of disapproval at his younger brother who was pacing around his office despite there being plenty of other places to go.

“Sebastian.”

“B-but she must have received my gift! I wonder if she liked it? Will she be happy?”

‘Did she even open it before shoving it in a warehouse?’

In Cesare’s opinion, if there was a brother in this house who deserved to be hated most, it was Sebastian, not even Godfrey. One could at least argue that Godfrey’s actions weren’t intentional—though that didn’t make his sins any lighter. Sebastian’s methods, however, had been malicious and cruel. Furthermore, since Leticia was said to still be terrified of small dogs, she would likely despise Sebastian.

Considering that the young Leticia had loved puppies and played well with large dogs, he figured her resentment would be deep.

“If you expect too much, you’ll only be disappointed. You have to remember the years we spent tormenting that child.”

“No! I’m telling you, I gave her something truly incredible! Any girl would love it!”

As Sebastian approached the desk to speak, Cesare frowned and checked his pen. Distracted by the conversation, the pen had sucked up too much ink and was leaking. He handed it to a servant to prevent it from staining the documents.

“What was it?”

“A pendant made by processing a Dragon Heart! You know a Dragon Heart is more expensive than a mana stone, right? It’s a pendant with a massive jewel, so…”

At that level, it would be considered a national treasure in a small kingdom. Cesare realized why he was so boastful, but he couldn’t understand why Leticia would like it.

“It has a weight-reduction spell, so it’s not even heavy! Plus, the Tower Master put a special enchantment on the Dragon Heart…”

It was Dominic, the Tower Master, who had encouraged Sebastian to take up magic tool crafting—a specialty even among mages. Sebastian was born with decent mana and had the talent to become a high-ranking mage, but his control was terrible.

‘His self-control is at the level of a monkey!’

Dominic had shouted this and made him start magic tool processing as part of his training to develop patience and control. Thanks to that, even as a lower-tier mage, he was able to create tools on par with high-ranking mages. Of course, this was only possible because Dominic and his seniors supervised the work.

Even this Dragon Heart had mostly been handled by Dominic, but regardless, the gift had been sent to Leticia under Sebastian’s name.

“……”

Cesare glanced at Sebastian, who showed no signs of leaving the office even though half the paperwork was finished. He was clearly making a fuss to assert his presence for a reason. Cesare had known from the moment he walked in, but he hadn’t acknowledged it because he didn’t want to grant the request.

‘He wants to know if Leticia saw the gift and what face she made when she received it.’

Cesare also regretted turning away from Leticia and treating her coldly, and he wanted to get closer to her, but seeing Sebastian and Godfrey act this way was unexpected. In truth, Leticia had been so fed up with them as a child that she would flee or hide at the mere sight of their shadows. Since they had no real relationship, it felt strange to see them trying to get on her good side now. It felt even stranger because they had been apart for eight years.

Sebastian’s boasting had now moved on to a story about how the Tower Master hit him on the head when he asked to put a “Meteor” spell on the pendant. Cesare set down his pen and looked at Sebastian.

“Sebastian.”

“Yeah?”

The face looking at him with sparkling eyes was, coincidentally, quite similar to Leticia’s. They looked even more alike as children, but as they grew, Leticia’s features became more refined while Sebastian developed a more masculine edge.

“Do you… want to become close with Leticia?”

He almost said “reconcile,” but he felt that wasn’t the right word. How could one use “reconciliation” for something where Leticia had been the one-sided victim? Reconciliation was a word for when there was a mutual relationship and a fight.

“I mean, she’s my sister. And I did some things wrong… If it wasn’t for that woman’s interference, I would have been the closest to Leticia among all the brothers.”

It was true. Sebastian tended to be obsessed with his own blood relatives, so he might have tried to dote on a sister who looked like him and was only a year younger.

But…

“You might have had a bad relationship regardless. Godfrey and I might have paid more attention to Leticia since she’s a girl, and you might have hated her out of jealousy.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Sebastian frowned instantly and glared at Cesare. Cesare wiped his ink-stained hands on a towel offered by a servant.

“…I’m telling you to keep in mind that reality might be different from your expectations.”

“Does anything change if you only look at the world pessimistically? I don’t want to just crouch down and hope!”

His effort was commendable, but Cesare couldn’t stay silent when the target was Leticia.

“A person’s heart doesn’t change that quickly. We were shocked to find out she was our biological sister, but she must have been even more shocked and hurt. She might be dwelling on the wounds we gave her… and that might have made it even more painful.”

“……”

“I’m saying she needs time, Sebastian. It’s good to apologize, but don’t expect the reaction you want.”

Despite Cesare’s words, Sebastian pouted, turned away, and stormed out of the office. Watching him, the old servant remarked,

“The third young master is still quite young.”

His maturity was at that level, yet the scale of the trouble he caused and his physical stature were not, which elicited a sigh from Cesare.

***

Edward had recently found it uncomfortable to face his father, the Emperor. Since Lady Tesseia had already run off and married Young Duke Lyon, she was his wife, yet the Emperor had not yet given up his lingering attachment.

The Order had used a trick, claiming the marriage certificate was burned and making them hold the wedding again, but that didn’t mean they weren’t married. In short, a major disqualification for becoming the Crown Princess had arisen. Yet, the Emperor still seemed to think losing the Saintess was a waste.

“The wedding will take nearly a year to prepare… Ahem!”

“……”

Edward ignored his father’s blatant hinting and stared at the distant mountains. The far-off peaks were barely visible through the window.

‘What do you want me to do? Seduce Lady Tesseia and have a fiery romance? Are you okay with the imperial family’s honor being dragged through the mud?’

The imperial honor was one thing, but the reaction of her husband, Young Duke Lyon, was also a concern. There was no way that man, who was already fierce when they were just engaged, would let things slide after they were married.

“The Pope, who was expected to visit for the wedding, is scheduled to stay in the capital earlier than expected.”

The only consolation was that the Empress was completely ignoring the Emperor’s attitude. Her focus was on the fact that the Pope would attend a ducal wedding.

“A Saintess appearing in the Empire is a great blessing, but it is bothersome that the Pope will attend a Duke’s wedding while only sending a single telegram for our imperial wedding.”

The Pope had previously sent a representative to offer congratulations for the Emperor and Empress’s wedding. The Empress, who had secretly hoped for the Pope’s attendance, seemed to want to use this wedding as an opportunity to secure a firm commitment for him to attend the Crown Prince’s future wedding.

Since that task would fall entirely on Edward, he felt burdened.

“I don’t even have a new fiancée yet.”

“Speaking of which, Crown Prince. Don’t you think it’s about time to look for a wife rather than a fiancée?”

“Your Majesty, that is…!”

“Bring them in.”

At Empress Grace’s command, eight servants entered carrying portraits and files containing data on the subjects. Since it was the appearance of matchmaking portraits, Edward felt dizzy.

‘I’ve been caught.’

The Emperor, unable to help, sheepishly avoided Edward’s gaze. The Empress had the servants bring out a portrait of a woman she liked most among the princesses of various kingdoms and pulled back the cloth covering it.

Swallowing a sigh, Edward had to spend a long time listening to the hobbies and backgrounds of foreign princesses and how marrying them would benefit the Empire.

***

They planned to hold another formal wedding within a year, and although their recent ceremony was practically an elopement, a significant number of gifts had already arrived.

Leticia placed the letters Godfrey had sent during her absence into the box where she kept his correspondence and began checking the piled-up presents.

At first, she felt a wave of repulsion, assuming they were all from House Tesseia, but only about one-ninth of them were. The rest were from families eager to curry favor with either her or Terdis.

‘I have a feeling… they’ll probably send more gifts when we have the second wedding later anyway.’

There were even many gifts from families who had no real connection to House Lyon. In short, they were sent by houses hoping to be invited to the official ceremony.

“Hmm….”

“The… gifts from House Tesseia have been sorted separately,” Carlyle said cautiously, sensing Leticia’s mood.

Leticia was surprised that they had sent gifts so submissively, as she had expected them to be furious. She thought Aaron would have insisted that a marriage without a father’s permission wasn’t a marriage at all.

Leticia stared at the names on the boxes and the enclosed letters until she found one name that made her scowl. Just as Cesare had suspected, the brother Leticia hated most was Sebastian, followed by Godfrey.

She picked up the box; it was light and flat.

‘Judging by the box, it looks like a necklace….’

Given the prestige of House Tesseia, they wouldn’t have gifted something cheap. It likely featured a large stone, so the lightness was strange.

Leticia considered sending it back immediately, but she worried that returning a gift without even opening it would make her or House Lyon look bad.

‘I hope he isn’t playing another one of his unpleasant pranks.’

Thinking back to the day they returned to the carriage, she realized the automaton that looked like a real dog must have been placed there before her public accusation. Since Sebastian had come running frantically toward the carriage, he must have been chasing them because he remembered the “prank” he’d set up.

‘What a consistently despicable human being.’

She still didn’t hate dogs. It was surprising that she felt that way even after such a horrific experience; puppies were still cute to her. It was just that meeting a real dog triggered the memories and filled her with dread. It was an uncontrollable terror that still tormented her.

‘If I had been bitten in the neck back then….’

The experience of having one’s flesh torn by teeth would have been unbearable for anyone. Ironically, while it took longer to recover when her bones were broken by Godfrey’s actions, the trauma that caused Leticia the most suffering was the experience of being bitten by the hunting dogs.

Back then, her bones were only cracked, so they were easily healed with divine power. It was simply the terror of facing the dogs that made her hate Sebastian and her other brothers.

With an expressionless face, Leticia ripped open the wrapping paper. Being naturally careful, she never usually tore paper like that, but since it was from Sebastian, she didn’t care.

When she opened the lid, she found an exquisitely crafted pendant set with a gemstone the size of an egg. The nearby maids gasped at its brilliance, but Leticia’s face froze.

Inside the lid, there was a card presumably enclosed by Sebastian. Since she didn’t even read his letters, she wasn’t about to read his card. As Leticia went to close the box, Carlyle spoke as he passed behind her shoulder.

“It’s a magic tool.”

A magic tool?

“This is?”

To Leticia, it just looked like a beautiful, large gemstone. Something like this would usually be hard to find in a normal trade and would likely have been won at an auction.

“It’s not… a mana stone. It looks like a Dragon Heart.”

“That’s a Dragon Heart?!”

Leticia was shocked by Terdis’s confirmation. Though Dragon Hearts appeared frequently in fantasy novels, Leticia had only heard of one once during her time as the Young Duke’s fiancée. This was her first time seeing one.

‘Wait, aren’t Dragon Hearts usually purple or pink?!’

The stone in this box looked like a blue diamond. Suddenly remembering that Sebastian was a disciple of the Tower Master, she pulled the card from the box.

[A bribe. The magic contained within is Teleportation.]

Despite her rising anger at his flippant tone, her eyes widened at the fact that it was a teleportation tool. Teleportation might seem simple, but it was a spell difficult even for high-ranking mages to cast. Finding a scroll inscribed with teleportation was even harder.

Having it imbued within a magic tool was an incredible feat.

‘I should return it immediately… but, ugh, what a waste….’

However, when she thought about having to speak amiably with Sebastian in exchange for accepting it, she felt a sudden urge to hurl it out the window. She might endure him for a day, but she knew that wasn’t all they wanted.

“…I have to send it back. I can’t accept something this significant. We aren’t on those kinds of terms.”

“Oh, um… I see. Ahem.”

“If that’s what you want to do, then do it,” Terdis added quickly. Carlyle seemed a bit disappointed by the loss of the item, but Terdis simply thought that if Leticia wanted one, he could find another Dragon Heart and commission the Magic Tower himself.

Leticia closed the box and looked at the other gift boxes sent by House Tesseia. Everyone had sent two gifts, perhaps including the birthday presents they hadn’t given her before. Sebastian had another gift besides the necklace box.

But she didn’t want to open any more. She felt irritated.

‘There is no difference between who I was a month ago and who I am today….’

She knew that a daughter with a different mother would inevitably be treated differently than a “full” sibling. Even knowing that, her heart didn’t feel at ease.

“You don’t have to open them all now.”

While the gifts from House Tesseia were addressed specifically to Leticia, only a few of the other gifts were. Nevertheless, Terdis acted as if every single one of them was for her.

“Just….”

Leticia stopped speaking and glanced at Terdis. Noticing her downcast eyes and her cautious look at her surroundings, Terdis sensed her discomfort and gave a subtle signal to Carlyle.

Understanding the hint, Carlyle smiled and led the servants out of the room. Though the treatment of the Duke was somewhat informal, in Carlyle’s eyes, it was heart-warming to see the children acting like a young married couple.

Carlyle closed the door himself and walked away, feeling pleased. He was happy to see that the newly married couple seemed to be on such good terms.

“We don’t know what they might do, so just leave them be for a while.”

Following the Duke’s order, the servants quietly dispersed.

***

Once Leticia saw the door close, Terdis approached and pulled her into a tight embrace. He had hurried the others out because he saw Leticia looking at him with eyes that begged to be held.

For a moment, she buried her face in his chest, letting out a shallow breath as if she had been holding it in.

Terdis gathered his patience as his body began to react to her closeness. He stroked Leticia’s back and whispered.

“The gifts from House Tesseia… are they uncomfortable? Should I send them back?”

“No. I’ll open them first. Even if I return them, it should be after that.”

Just hearing her dejected voice made his heart ache. Terdis tightened his arms around Leticia to comfort her.

“You don’t have to force yourself to look at them if it makes you feel bad. If you hate it, I’ll open them and just tell you what’s inside.”

“……I know that the things that happened to me shouldn’t have happened, but I thought being hated was unavoidable. I was an unpleasant presence in that house.”

She had accepted it with resignation. She had no other choice; as a child, she had no way to run away and survive on her own.

“It’s natural for their attitude to change now, but… my chest feels tight. Why is this happening? I feel like I want to cry….”

“It’s okay to cry, Tisha. You can resent them. You lived your life receiving hatred you didn’t deserve.”

“I-Is that why? I’m tearing up… but I feel strange. Why do I have to be like this? It makes me angry that I can’t just hate them as much as I want.”

Their actions were unjustifiable, but there was a reason for them. If they were strangers, she could have cut them out of her life and hated them to her heart’s content, but they were her biological kin.

“You don’t have to force yourself to interact with them if it’s uncomfortable.”

Terdis said that, but the aristocratic society was small. At times like this, Leticia regretted accepting Terdis’s confession. She didn’t want to see them again. She would have revealed the fact that she wasn’t an illegitimate child, but she wanted to live forever as a stranger to them.

“I don’t want to forgive them, Ter. I’m still hurting… and I can’t escape any of it. But those people look like they’re trying to move on from it.”

Even if she looked petty and miserable holding onto her resentment, that was how she truly felt. Forgiving someone and forgetting painful memories wasn’t as easy as people thought.

She felt at peace when she didn’t have to see them, but now that it was time to face them again, the wounds she had kept hidden felt as if they were being crushed.

‘I want you to hurt as much as I did. I want to tell you to suffer ten or twenty times more than I did for no fault of my own,’ she thought. But then, realizing they were her flesh and blood made her even more irritated.

‘If they had been good people, I would have just been happy the moment the truth was revealed. I would have said, “Actually, I was your sister all along. I was your daughter.” But reality was cruel, and they weren’t as beautiful or kind as people in fairy tales.’

Leticia remembered the times before she started sleeping with Terdis. Until a few days before the wedding, she would often wake up drenched in a cold sweat after dreaming of dogs.

“You don’t have to forgive anything. It wasn’t your fault.”

At his whispered words, Leticia swallowed her tears and burrowed deeper into Terdis’s arms. He probably didn’t know how happy it made her that he didn’t tell her to endure and forgive because they were family.

Only those who have never truly suffered speak easily of forgiveness. When she saw people who could forgive someone despite such pain, she thought they were impressive, but she never felt envious.

“You have to… keep staying on my side, Ter.”

Even if she wasn’t a “good” person. Even if she wasn’t a magnificent person who could forgive and embrace everything like a heroine. Her husband and lover nodded slowly and kissed Leticia’s forehead.

“Of course. I am always on your side.”

At his satisfying answer, Leticia leaned her head against his chest, finally looking relieved.

***

As the day of Baroness Perdoba’s trial approached, a swarm of people gathered in front of the courthouse. Since the imperial family and the Ducal house had opted for a private trial, the public couldn’t observe, but they were there to see the faces of the criminal and the victim, Lady Tesseia.

In particular, there were rumors floating around that Lady Tesseia was a Saintess and that she had eloped and married her fiancé, Young Duke Lyon, so many people were curious.

“Look! The carriage is here!”

The carriage coming from the prison was easy to spot even from a distance. It was painted pitch black, looking almost like a hearse. Sure enough, as the woman stepped out, her wrists were bound in handcuffs, her messy green hair and strangely discolored forehead were visible.

“I-is that the woman?”

“That’s her! I heard she’s been cursed and looks pathetic now!”

The people also wanted to see the Emperor or the members of the Ducal houses entering the courthouse, but unfortunately, their entrance was different. The guards controlled the crowds there, making it difficult to catch a glimpse.

Instead, people pointed their fingers and spat insults at Baroness Perdoba. Some even threw rotten food or tomatoes they had brought from home.

Fortunately for the Baroness, there was quite a distance between her and the angry mob. Even with a strong throw, nothing hit her head; everything just landed at her feet.

Only a few unfortunate guards got filth on their legs, and they roughly hurried the Baroness along. She kept her mouth shut but looked back at the angry crowd as if to commit their faces to memory.

Once Baroness Perdoba disappeared, people looked through the iron bars at the courthouse building.

“It’ll be the death penalty, right?”

“Of course! I bet it’ll be a burning at the stake rather than a gallows!”

While beheadings or hangings occurred occasionally, burning at the stake was very rare. It was a gruesome prospect even from afar, but in an era with little entertainment, many people were eager to see it.

“Burning….”

The crowd looked toward the courtyard of the court with a mix of excitement and cruel anticipation. The trial wouldn’t last long.

***

There were fewer than fifty people filling the courtroom. The Emperor and Empress did not attend, but the Crown Prince occupied their place. Representatives from House Tesseia and House Marquis Larqus (the Duchess’s maiden family) were also seated.

Teresa’s father, Bill Larqus, had looked forward to this moment but was unable to attend; he was represented by Teresa’s younger brother, the Viscount, and his wife.

“It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Y-yes….”

The maternal uncle seemed uncomfortable around Leticia. Since falling out of favor with House Tesseia, the House of Marquis Larqus had lost much of its power among the capital’s nobility.

Leticia didn’t know if Aaron had a separate plan, but seeing the future Marquis’s attitude, it seemed unlikely they would regain their standing in the capital, even if Aaron supported them.

The Viscount moved away with his wife when he saw Duke Tesseia approaching. They had already greeted the Duke and their other nephews.

Leticia took Terdis’s hand as she saw Aaron approaching.

“It has been a while, Leticia. I heard you went on a trip for a few days.”

“Yes…. Hello, Duke.”

Those who knew him would have been shocked to see Duke Tesseia with such a soft expression. Cesare and his two brothers felt the same, but Leticia’s reaction was the most important thing right now.

Leticia looked as if she wanted to flee. Seeing this, Terdis took a step forward, partially shielding Leticia behind him.

“I apologize for the late greeting, Father-in-law.”

Terdis had sent a copy of the marriage vows via a servant, so they knew about the marriage. Aaron’s expression stiffened at Terdis’s sudden “bomb,” but he forced himself to maintain a gentle face. It was because of something Cesare had repeatedly urged.

‘Leticia being taken away and forced into marriage….’

“It happened after it was revealed she was Father’s biological child. If she truly hated the Young Duke Lyon, she would have fled to our house or sent someone for help.”

‘Does Leticia love this boy?’

Aaron looked at Terdis with eyes full of complex emotions. The boy who had entered the banquet hall and shouted for an apology to his fiancée had now grown into a man who could look him squarely in the eye.

He was a young man so handsome that he didn’t pale in comparison to Cesare—in fact, he surpassed him—the kind of face that would likely break many hearts.

‘And I heard he became a Sword Master even earlier than Cesare?’

He lacked nothing in looks, ability, family power, or wealth. As Cesare had said, Terdis de Lyon was the best possible husband for Leticia.

Even knowing that, it was hard to describe the bitterness he felt at being called “father-in-law” by this boy. His only daughter should have been kept by his side, showered with love, and then married off after he had personally vetted and selected from the best suitors.

The fact that her “accidental” fiancé was so outstanding was a stroke of luck for Leticia, but Aaron, thinking about how he had given her nothing, felt like his heart was breaking.

‘The reason it hurts so much is that I didn’t send her to that position for her happiness.’

He had sent her there thinking she would be miserable. Though she had eventually found happiness there, he never realized how much he would regret sending her away like he was dumping a burden without even asking for her opinion.

Carlyle, standing behind the children, was on edge. It was right before entering the courtroom, so none of them were armed, but he worried Aaron might grab Terdis by the collar. Terdis, despite his feelings, wouldn’t be able to act out since Aaron was his father-in-law.

However, Aaron spoke in a softened voice, contrasting his fearsome gaze.

“Yes. …I suppose that is what you should call me now.”

Not only was Terdis surprised by Aaron’s words, but Godfrey and Sebastian were the most shocked of all. Cesare felt something closer to relief.

To prevent any other words from slipping out, Carlyle spoke up.

“Instead of standing here, let’s head into the courtroom. His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving soon.”

“Father.”

“Hmm….”

Cesare called out as if in agreement, and Aaron gave a nearly imperceptible nod. As Aaron and Carlyle moved, the others followed.

Leticia felt relieved. She had been afraid that the three brothers would try to greet her one by one after Aaron.

Terdis naturally walked on the inside, protecting Leticia. Since Terdis was positioned between her and the Tesseia family, Leticia held his hand tightly.

Walking behind Cesare, Sebastian kept glancing at Leticia as if he wanted to talk to her, and Godfrey seemed to feel the same.

If they were a normal family, they would have greeted each other and chatted after meeting in the hallway. But only Aaron had offered a representative greeting, and Leticia had only replied with a brief acknowledgment.

In fact, Leticia had been like that ever since the incident with the hunting dogs. She kept a polite distance, as if her heart had already left them.

Aaron couldn’t say anything about it. Even if being emotionally indifferent to Leticia was somewhat inevitable, he hadn’t properly punished his sons during the incidents with Sebastian and Godfrey either.

It was only natural for Leticia to lose affection for them and want to stay away.

‘Did she open my gift?’

Sebastian thought as he stole glances at Leticia walking beside Terdis. Even if the gift came from an enemy, it was something anyone would want to own. It was a treasure that couldn’t be easily obtained.

‘If it were me, I’d take the gift even if I hated the person!’

He didn’t expect her to forgive him immediately, as Cesare had feared. He knew how serious his actions had been.

He just wanted Leticia to be happy. Since he had done nothing but torment her until now, he felt it was about time he did something she might enjoy.

Perhaps because he was staring so intently, Terdis turned his head to look at Sebastian. Leticia was looking straight ahead, as if she didn’t even want to turn toward them. Sebastian felt a surge of indignation at Terdis’s wary gaze.

He felt he was the one on her side, and Terdis was just an outsider. When push came to shove, it should be family, not a fiancé, who protected Leticia.

‘Even if she eloped and married that guy, I will NEVER! accept it!’

He understood with his head why his father wasn’t angry with Terdis, but his heart couldn’t accept it.

Following the guidance of the court official, Carlyle and Aaron took their seats, and Leticia and Terdis sat down as well. Cesare stared at Leticia, who had sat as far away from them as possible, before turning his head away. Godfrey and Sebastian sat behind Cesare.

Because the public was barred, the courtroom was almost empty. A moment later, the judge in charge of the case entered.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is entering!”

At the herald’s cry, all the seated nobles stood up. Looking at Edward entering the area reserved for the imperial family, Leticia finally felt that the trial was starting.

‘I hope nothing happens.’

She prayed that the dream from that day was just a dream.

***

The defendant’s waiting room was much better than the cell she had stayed in. Baroness Perdoba sat in a chair, staring blankly at the light coming through the window.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

She had swallowed the mana stone as the mage told her to, but her body hadn’t changed at all. She was now doubting if the mage sending a fly to talk to her was just a hallucination.

There was only one thing on her mind.

Leticia.

‘The mage told me to repeat the name of my enemy.’

She didn’t know what it meant, but he said he would get her out of here if she killed Leticia.

Since that was her only hope, Baroness Perdoba trembled as she muttered Leticia’s name. Leticia…. Somehow, she had to kill that girl.

‘That girl who should never have been born…. If she had died with Teresa, I wouldn’t be suffering this humiliation! Didn’t she have everything? She grew up as Lady Tesseia even while being called an illegitimate child, and she even got engaged to Young Duke Lyon! And yet, she persecuted me, even though I was barely surviving! All over some old grudge that I don’t even remember!’

At that thought, Baroness Perdoba felt an uncontrollable rage surge within her. If she could, she wanted to tear her apart with her own hands.

“Baroness, please enter.”

At the guard’s voice, Baroness Perdoba stood up. The chains hanging from her wrists clattered and jingled.

Despite the shameful sound, her mind was filled with thoughts of Leticia. Though she hadn’t been in prison for even a month, she couldn’t quite recall Leticia’s face.

The accusation at the ballroom had been intense, but the shock of being imprisoned and tortured afterward had prevented her from picturing Leticia clearly.

However, she believed she would recognize her instantly if she were sitting in the courtroom. Hateful as she was, the girl had a beautiful face that was a perfect mix of Duke Tesseia and Teresa.

“Leticia….”

The guard looked at her suspiciously as she muttered like someone possessed, but that was it. He hurried Baroness Perdoba along to the courtroom.

He didn’t know exactly what had been done to her in prison, but he had a general idea, so he didn’t expect her to cause trouble in court.

It must have been horrific. Even setting aside the fact that the late Duchess had been granted the Duchess’s name and became a member of the imperial family, he had heard Duchess Teresa Tesseia, was a dear friend of the Empress.

The Empress was far more ruthless than her cold exterior suggested. How else could she have dominated the imperial court and high society for decades?

He didn’t pity this woman who had dared to incur the Empress’s wrath. He had heard Duchess Tesseia was a quiet and kind person.

‘It’s always people like that who end up dying.’

Fragile and kind beings are always surrounded by sharp things until they eventually break. People like this Baroness never realized how precious those people were, trampling over them and then looking around for their next prey.

‘Go ahead and die in agony. That’s the least you can pay for the crimes you committed.’