Chapter 5 (Part 9)

It was uncommon for noblewomen to step outside the walls. Not only were there threats from monster attacks, but the area beyond was seen as nothing more than a garbage dump by them.  

The noblewoman, her red lips hidden behind a black veil, twisted them in disgust as she saw a child crying on the roadside and a limping passerby.  

“Wouldn’t it be better if parasites like that just died? Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m suffering like this because of someone else.”  

Maria’s once-beautiful face now bore deep wrinkles as she muttered to herself.  

“If only that disgrace had never entered our household, everything would have been perfect.”  

Recalling her eldest son’s failed marriage, Maria felt a bitter taste in her mouth.  

‘Mother, I have no intention of marrying Lady Volez.’  

For years, she had subtly encouraged him to marry Katrina, but her son had consistently refused.  

The union of two families was a kind of business arrangement. Maria herself had entered into an arranged marriage and lived a life without regrets.  

Although she had endured the tragedy of losing her husband early, she had two strong sons to rely on, so there was little to worry about.  

Her eldest son, Jeremy, who excelled in both academics and martial arts, was her pride and joy.  

Everything had gone smoothly until the Emperor proposed a political marriage.  

Marriage was a critical matter that determined the future of the Richard family.  

Maria Richard had made her stance perfectly clear.  

‘Marrying the young lady of Baron Demori’s family? Duke, this is absurd! You must seek an audience with the Emperor immediately!’  

‘Are you telling me to defy His Majesty’s orders, Mother?’  

‘…Ah.’  

Maria had been rendered speechless by Jeremy’s question.  

‘Absolute loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor.’

That was what Maria had repeated to her young son every night as he lay in bed.  

“Though I couldn’t stop the marriage…”

Maria, who had been laughing darkly, found her carriage stopping in a secluded area.  

After stepping out, she glanced around warily before spotting a long stick with a white cloth tied to it. She walked toward it.  

Lifting the curtain and entering the tent, she found the interior dimly lit, filled with acrid smoke.  

Dried herbs and small animal carcasses hung all around, sending chills down Maria’s spine. She bit her lip in discomfort.  

From within, a voice addressed her.  

“You’ve come.”  

Following the sound of metal scraping, Maria saw someone cloaked in black, fiddling with a glowing red orb.  

“I’ll get straight to the point.”  

Maria didn’t want to linger in such a filthy and suspicious place.  

“You’re here because of a curse, aren’t you? Heh heh.”  

The figure pulled back the hood of their cloak, revealing a grotesque face in the dim light.  

Their thin eyes were buried in wrinkles, and a long, hooked nose had a black wart at its tip.  

Their enormous mouth stretched as if it could reach their ears, emitting a grating sound with every word.  

“…!”  

Their dry, skeletal face made it impossible to guess their age, making them look almost inhuman.  

This was Maria’s second time meeting a sorcerer.  

She knew well how terrifying they could be, but Maria tried her best not to show her fear.  

There was a matter far more important than her fear that she needed to resolve.  

She had to take care of it with her own hands.  

‘My son, I will bring radiant light to your life.’  

Having steeled her resolve, Maria spoke.  

“Alright. I…”  

Before Maria could finish her sentence, the sorcerer held something out to her.  

Their bony fingers creaked with an eerie sound as they moved.  

“Take this.”  

On the table lay a talisman with red writing and a grotesque doll.  

* * *

Katrina, who had returned to the Volez estate, threw a tantrum the entire time.  

“What does she have that I don’t?!”  

She alternated between wailing and fainting, and her room was always in chaos as she threw whatever she could get her hands on.  

“Why did the Grand Madame invite me, then?!”  

She was devastated, feeling as though she had wasted a rare opportunity.  

Maria Richard had adored her more than her own daughter-in-law.  

‘If I could’ve stayed just a little longer…’  

She had thought she could pressure the Duchess into leaving.  

Since childhood, Katrina had always gotten whatever she wanted.  

The only thing she hadn’t achieved was becoming Duchess Richard.  

Today, as she was throwing another fit, Count Volez came looking for her.  

“Dear, your hands must be all scratched up.”  

“Father! Why did you call me back at such a critical time? Do you have any idea how important this was?!”  

Watching his beloved daughter’s outburst, Count Volez wore a troubled expression.  

He was an ordinary man born into an old and prestigious family.  

Wealth and honor had followed him since birth, so he had no particular ambitions.  

He had entered into an arranged marriage at the right age, but his frail wife had died after giving birth to a single child.  

Unlike him, his lively and assertive daughter Katrina was his sole pride and joy.  

“Katrina, my dear daughter. You see…”  

Although he claimed there was an urgent matter in the estate, it wasn’t true.  

‘But this is for your sake.’  

When Count Volez visited the Imperial Palace, he happened to meet Duke Richard. Since the two families had maintained a friendly relationship for a long time, he greeted the Duke with a pleasant expression.  

‘Oh, Your Grace, what happened to your arm?’  

‘It’s nothing.’  

The Duke replied coldly.  

‘Ah, I see.’  

Although he already knew that the Duke wasn’t the warmest person by nature, today, he felt an especially chilly aura.  

Having spent his childhood on the battlefield, Duke Richard exuded not only refined dignity but also an innate, commanding presence.  

Count Volez, overwhelmed by the Duke’s imposing demeanor, unconsciously took a step back.  

It was then that the Duke said something incomprehensible.  

‘I’d prefer if Lady Volez stopped visiting my house.’  

‘…Pardon?’  

‘Have you forgotten, Count, that I am newly married?’  

‘Ah, ah…’  

The Duke’s eyes gleamed fiercely as he uttered the word “newlywed,” and Count Volez vividly recalled how he had nearly wet himself in that moment.  

‘I knew this would happen…’  

Count Volez had initially advised his daughter not to accept the invitation from Grand Madame Richard.  

Even if it was just to keep the Grand Madame company, it seemed inappropriate for an unmarried daughter to visit the home of a newlywed couple.  

‘You should consider your reputation, Katrina.’  

‘Father, what’s the problem with the Grand Madame requesting my presence? Everyone knows that our two families have been like family for generations.’  

That was back when Katrina had believed she would marry Duke Richard.  

‘Katrina, the Duke is already married to someone else.’  

Unable to say this outright, Count Volez hesitated. He feared hurting his precious daughter’s feelings.  

‘…Dear.’  

‘Besides, the two of them will divorce soon, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?’  

Now, meeting Duke Richard, the Count realized he should have been more resolute in stopping his daughter back then.  

‘What do I do? Katrina will be heartbroken again.’  

Contrary to his daughter’s expectations, it didn’t seem like Duke Richard and his wife would divorce anytime soon.  

The Duke’s current demeanor was so menacing, like that of a knight preparing for battle, that even someone as oblivious as Count Volez could sense it.  

“Father! What are you standing there thinking about so stupidly?”  

Snapped out of his thoughts by Katrina’s shrill voice, the Count pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then, fumbling for words, he cautiously spoke while gauging his daughter’s reaction.  

“The physician says there’s something seriously wrong with my body.”  

It was a terribly unconvincing performance, but fortunately, his daughter didn’t notice.  

“Really?”  

“Y-Yes. It’s my heart.”  

He even coughed deliberately and pounded his chest for added effect.  

Katrina, who had been glaring at her plump father, shifte her eyes in annoyance.  

“That’s why I always tell you to lose weight.”  

“Would you take care of your father for a while?”  

“…Ah, damn it.”  

A frustrated curse escaped Katrina’s lips.  

Although her lifelong dream was to marry Duke Richard, she couldn’t ignore her father’s illness.  

After all, if her father were to die before she got married, it would be a real headache.