CH 3. Reunion

“Hey!”

Iona ran back alone to the capital on her horse. She organized her thoughts while being hit by the rough wind. 

She had an accident. With a man with red eyes. 

It was obvious she’d been blinded by his face.

But whenever she looked at the man’s face, unknown emotions burst out.

It wasn’t an emotion that arose in a day or two, but an alien emotion deeply tied to something.

What do you call this emotion?

“…Hoo.”

Iona let out a deep sigh.

She thought she was just a typical perpetual single woman who was trying to brighten up her love life, but in reality, she might not actually be immune to love.

She rode non-stop for a few hours and returned to the guild headquarters.

“Whoa.”

Rosen glanced at Iona as she tied up her horse and walked inside. 

“Someone is upstairs.”

“Huh? Who? We’re still on a business trip.”

Questions flooded her mind.

What’s going on. They put up a sign indicating that they were on a business trip.

More importantly, someone is upstairs.

Iona’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

How did they get upstairs?

There was only one place in this building that led to the Hinkel Guild, the stairs leading from the café. You couldn’t enter the guild without going through there.

But that place, hidden from the eyes of ordinary guests, was always kept locked when it was empty.

A strange sensation crept up from her toes.

Iona drew her dagger from its sheath and slowly climbed the stairs.

“….”

Because she received all sorts of miscellaneous tasks without complaint, there were sometimes people who entered and invaded with resentment.

This time would be no different.

She went up to the upper floor and slowly approached the office.

She cautiously opened the door while holding the doorknob and raised the dagger high as she rushed in.

After all, the best defense is a good offense!

As she recalled the words of her taekwondo instructor and leaped forward,

“Stop right there.”

“….”

A familiar voice flew in.

A voice more frightening to Iona than the creator.

She turned her head slowly like a creaking machine, and stared at the owner of the voice.

“Oh, Sister?”

“Shut up and sit down.”

It was Johanna.

Johanna was sitting elegantly, crossing her legs and drinking tea.

The way she tilted her teacup was noble and elegant beyond compare.

“No, how did you get in?”

“Don’t you hear me telling you to sit down?”

“…I heard. Don’t hit me.”

Johanna was the possessor of an overwhelming power that could subdue Iona, a master of K-martial arts.

If she had been born in South Korea, she would have become the K-eldest daughter.

While muttering to herself, Iona quickly sat across from Johanna.

Her spine was sure to snap if she hesitated any longer.

“What… brought you here? You should have told me in advance. I just got back from a business trip… Aah, that letter, I was just about to read it… I really didn’t intentionally not read it…”

“What are you going to do?”

“What?”

“What are you going to do. Decide!”

Johanna, who had just taken a sip of tea, slammed the teacup on the table.

Bang! The table shook loudly.

…This one was expensive.

Iona muttered to herself.

“You have a brain, too, so you know you can’t live like this. Please tell me that that thing above your neck is not just for decoration.”

“Oh, I have a brain too! I think too!”

“Good! Then what are you going to do now? Do you think you can avoid the Ninth Prince by hiding like this? He’s no longer just a simple prince anymore!”

Iona swallowed hard at Johanna’s words. She knew it well, too. In the original work, the villain, Carvain, gained immense power after leading the war to victory.

Iona took a deep breath as her mind wandered to that point.

She wondered why Johanna had come all this way.

Even when the villain had returned, there was no shortage of reasons to hold her breath until now.

The Johanna she knew would have dragged her away and offered her to the villain right now.

A shiver ran down her spine at that thought, and her pupils contracted.

No way. 

Is she here to take me…?

***

There is a palace located in the most remote part of the imperial palace.

From the deepest part of it, Jonathan let out a hollow laugh as if mocking.

“Hah! A grand duke.”

“……”

Carvain, sitting across from him, silently sipped his tea.

It had been 200 years since the last Grand Duke of the Tenebres Empire was executed for treason.

The Grand Duke’s rebellion was so massive that it nearly brought down the empire. The title of Grand Duke had almost disappeared in the aftermath, for nearly 200 years.

To suddenly resurrect such a thing and offer it to Carvain… 

“It’s like they’re telling you to finish eating and leave.” 

These damn things.

Jonathan spat out curses as if he were possessed.

“I established my power, so they thought they should give me something in return… but giving something big will make my influence grow, and that’s troublesome.”

Carvain muttered quietly, tracing the rim of his teacup with his finger.

“The Second Empress must have put a lot of thought into it.”

“Of course. That stupid Crown Prince couldn’t have come up with such an idea.”

Jonathan twisted his lips and said, 

“Ha. So after fighting to the death and winning, all you get is a worthless title of grand duke.”

The only reward for risking his life in battle was the infamous but meaningless title of Duke.

Even that title was bestowed ‘as a reward to the war heroes, including the Ninth Prince.’

In other words, the efforts of other soldiers were not recognized.

Turning a blind eye to the comrades with whom he fought would surely tarnish Carvain’s reputation.

In the end, Carvain had to empty his pockets to reward those who fought.

“She’s a despicable human being, anyway.”

Jonathan gritted his teeth, thinking of the Second Empress.

Carvain gazed wordlessly out the window.

The palace they were in was quieter than any other palace in the imperial court.

Unlike its glorious past, there are not many servants now, and being in the most remote location meant there were hardly any visitors.

In such a place, a young girl who had come without knowing anything had passed by Carvain’s line of sight.

— Hey. What’s your name?

“……Hah.”

“Are you laughing? Your Highness. Laughing!? Oh, my goodness, my heart is about to burst!”

Jonathan rolled up the newspaper he was holding and smacked his chest with it.

“You’re pretending so well. The resurrection of the position of Grand Duke after 200 years or whatever. That’s not even funny, really.”

The Second Empress was on the move, tightly controlling the press.

After leading a decade-long war to victory, no one raised their voice about the fact that he had just been given a pretentious title.

Thanks to the Second Empress controlling public opinion through the media.

“By the way, what about your wife?”

“I’ll bring her soon.”

“…Stop joking around and just come clean. Don’t you feel sorry for her?”

The image of Carvain twisting the corners of his mouth passed through Jonathan’s eyes.

“What about it.”

“She’s going to live her whole life being deceived by you.”

“…….”

“You’re a human with no feelings.”

At Jonathan’s words, Carvain slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.

Unlike the corners of his mouth that curled upward, his pupils were chillingly cold.

“She seems clueless.”

Carvain tilted his teacup without answering. His twisted lips spoke.

“Whether it’s real or not, it doesn’t matter.”

“…….”

“I’ll make her feel the truth. Lock her up in a room made of lies so she can’t even move.”

She’ll live as the most noble woman in this empire. What’s the problem.

“……You’re really something.”

Jonathan turned his head and sighed deeply.

He silently sent a comforting thought to Iona.

‘How did she end up with someone like him.’

To the unfortunate woman who would live her life under the illusion of being the beloved Grand Duchess.

***

“…….”

How should I escape?

Thinking that Johanna might have come to capture her, Iona’s gaze immediately went to the door.

Can I escape from Johanna?

She expected to be taken to the imperial palace, but she didn’t think she would be caught by her sister as soon as she returned.

“…….”

Gulp.

She dryly swallowed.

The next moment, Johanna narrowed her eyes and raised her foot to kick Iona’s shoe with her own.

Smack!

“Ow! Why did you hit me!?”

“I’m not here to capture you, you idiot! How come you never change?”

“……How did you know? That I was trying to escape.”

“You flinchrf and lookrf around a couple of times when I scolded you before! You crazy idiot!”

Johanna breathily shouted, as though she were breathing fire from her mouth.

Iona pressed herself against the chair, trying to avoid Johanna as much as possible while thinking.

She didn’t come to capture me.

Then what reason could the busy Duke of Hardin have for coming all the way here?

Johanna was still shouting and raging uncontrollably.

She had to calm her down first.

“C-calm down, Sis.”

“Do I look calm now? He’s not a prince anymore!”

“Yeah. Not a prince. He’s His Highness the Prince.”

“…Hooh.”

In response to Iona’s words, Johanna let out a deep sigh and brought the teacup to her lips.

“…It’s empty.”

“What? It’s empty!”

Johanna threw the teacup to the ground.

Crash! The expensive teacup shattered into pieces.

…You drank it all.

Iona muttered inwardly, unable to spit it out.

“Hoo. He’s a grand duke.”

“What?”

“He’s a grand duke now! His inauguration ceremony will be soon.”

“A grand duke? We have a grand duke in this country?”

“Yeah. Now you understand.”

“….”

I have no idea.

Iona stared at Johanna with a puzzled look.

Realizing that Iona didn’t catch the context from her blank expression, Johanna spoke again.

“…It seems to be a scheme of the Second Empress to restrain the Ninth Prince, but it seems like a double-edged sword from my point of view.”

“….”

“I’m sure she thought that it would be profitable to get rid of a major obstacle with just one famous and meaningless inauguration. But now, the Ninth Prince has become an anomaly.”

Johanna said, exhaling deeply.

“In simple terms, he’s in a position that can rival the Crown Prince.”

“….”

“There will be a storm. Iona. That storm will also come to you, his wife.”

“….”

So, right now.

I’m in even more trouble, right?