“Ahem!”

“Ahem!”

The retainers cleared their throats as they passed through the corridor, exchanging glances. Even if they wanted to speak, the atmosphere made it difficult to do so openly.

“……”

Theodor’s personally selected guards hurried through the entire corridor, watching and recording the retainers’ actions and words with sharp eyes.

“Hurry up and get back. What are you doing, Marquess?”

“Uh, w-well… I’m leaving now.”

They couldn’t even stay in the ducal palace for long, as Theodor was beginning to get annoyed with the retainers wandering around and interfering.

‘Is it really all right to live like this?’

Unfortunately, this continued outside the ducal palace as well.

Spies planted by Theodor were stationed around the ducal palace. Day and night they reported to Theodor anyone who spoke negatively about him and praised Kallian.

“But I haven’t even said anything that serious!”

Soon the Ducal Palace Security Detention Centre began to fill with people.

‘How did it come to this?’

‘An ending like this has never happened before.’

The atmosphere in the Ducal Palace of Ilmos quickly deteriorated. In fact, it had been that way ever since Kallian had been sent to the Seor border without proper explanation or justification, and since his wife had fallen ill and collapsed.

‘No. Maybe even before that…’

Some servants, maids and retainers thought so.

Even before Kallian was sent to the border.

They believed that the atmosphere in the ducal palace had begun to deteriorate from the moment Theodor began to bring women who resembled Elliope Elsen to his bed.

‘… or perhaps even earlier.’

From the time Theodor met Charlotte Marte and began to cross the border.

Or perhaps even before that, when he began to treat his knights harshly and to disregard the words of his followers.

No, if they traced it further back –

Ever since Theodor of Ilmos inherited the ducal title upon the sudden death of his predecessor, something had gone wrong.

‘Where is the Duchy going?’

Leanne leaned against the sofa in the dressing room prepared for her. Next to her, Charlotte, who had come to keep her company, sipped her tea.

“Are you nervous, Your Highness?”

At this question, Leanne unconsciously massaged her bandaged arm. The bandages were wrapped around it to hide the fact that the wound underneath was fake.

“Do you think this will go well, Miss Marte?”

Charlotte Marte, who was busy painting her nails with flower petals, looked up with a deep smile.

“Oh dear, of course. It’s not just anyone – we’re talking about His Grace the Duke and His Majesty the Emperor, who have personally discussed this matter.”

More precisely, it was something discussed between Charlotte and Leanne – or rather, between Charlotte and the Imperial family.

“His Grace the Duke has started collecting more taxes under the pretext of preparing for war with Seor, so there’s even less reason to worry.”

“Less reason to worry?”

“Half of those taxes go to the imperial family, don’t they?”

Charlotte smiled again.

“It’s even more than originally planned, isn’t it? They were supposed to take an extra 20%, but now they’re taking 40 to 50% more.”

Leanne’s lips tightened unconsciously at the words.

She had briefly heard that public opinion in the Duchy had deteriorated considerably because of the tax issue.

‘I had originally planned to go out and gauge public opinion myself.’

However, as had been the case when she first arrived in the Duchy, going out to take a poll had become somewhat risky. With the people of the area becoming increasingly sceptical of both the Duke and the Imperial Family, her safety was no longer guaranteed.

Leanne was silent for a moment before she finally managed to speak.

“That… may be true, but still…”

“If the Imperial Family receives the money, won’t His Majesty the Emperor be pleased? If he is pleased, it means all is well.” 

She had no answer. 

As the Emperor’s daughter, Leanne knew better than anyone that her father had no interest in the affairs of the Duchy and would be far more pleased with the wealth coming in. 

‘I never meant for things to turn out this way.’ 

For some unknown reason, Theodor had acted far more aggressively than they had originally agreed. Sending Kallian to the border without even consulting her – a princess – was a clear example of that.

“He has already been sent to the Seor border.”

“That’s not what we agreed, Duke!”

Originally, Leanne had planned to persuade Kallian a little more.

Even though her first attempt had ended that way, her thoughts changed every time she remembered his smile, how he had quickly moved his eyes up her arm and laughed.

“A sterile stud. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.”

“Without worries or burdens, I can serve my wife for a long time and pour myself into her as much as she wants.”

Every time she remembered the beastly smile on his lips as he spoke those words, every time she remembered him calling himself a mere stud, her throat went dry and her chest ached.

What should have been a great humiliation didn’t feel like one.

She should try to persuade him a few more times and send him to the capital.

If he really refused, she would make him a knight under her command and take him by force if necessary.

That way, wherever she married, she could take him with her. Even if she couldn’t make him her husband, the thought of keeping him at her side for a long time clouded her rationality.

But Theodor didn’t even give her that chance.

Handing Kallian Elsen over to the Crown Prince of Seor was supposed to be the last resort!

“As far as I know, the decision is mine as his master, Your Highness.”

“Duke!”

“Since you have come to the Duchy, you must abide by the laws of Ilmos. Do not interfere unnecessarily.”

Sending Kallian Elsen to the border of Seor, then luring him into a set trap to deliver him to the Crown Prince of Seor was truly the last resort.

The Crown Prince of Seor was a man who desperately wanted a war to claim the throne.

Through this orchestrated war, he would become king, and in exchange for his participation in the plan, he would gain full control of the Nahir Plains.

This plan included a treaty which stated that once Seor was king, he would supply the Empire with iron ore and peat on favourable terms. In addition, the Duchy would give them Kallian Elsen in times of need.

The Duchy itself gained almost nothing from this arrangement.

*At best, they could use the war with Seor as an excuse to collect more taxes and stir up loyalty to the Duke.

That was all.

On closer inspection, the real beneficiaries were the Imperial family and the Crown Prince of Seor.

Still, Theodor only agreed because it meant he could get rid of Kallian Elsen.

It didn’t matter to Theodor whether Kallian was taken by the Imperial Family or by Seor.

He would have been content to remove the thorn in his side – the loyal retainer – take his wife for himself and use the taxes collected from this incident to indulge in more nights of pleasure, while reinforcing his authority as Duke. 

‘Sending him to the border without a word… It seems Theodor doesn’t just want to remove Kallian – he wants him dead.’ 

This thought became even clearer when Leanne learned that Theodor had only assigned about 200 knights to Kallian when he sent him to the border. Meanwhile, Seor had at least 500 to 1,000 soldiers stationed there. 

They were vastly outnumbered. 

“Even if they march out with such a small force, they won’t be a threat.

It was reported that some knights had volunteered, but it seemed that Theodor had turned them down, saying that he would send more troops later. However, there was no indication that reinforcements had been sent. 

Due to these blatantly suspicious actions, even the Knights of the Duke’s Territory – who had long admired Kallian – admitted that the atmosphere had become highly unfavourable.

‘Then why?’ 

She couldn’t understand why Theodor had suddenly resorted to such extreme measures. Hadn’t he been open to other options when they had discussed things before? 

“Miss Marte, do you happen to know why the Duke is acting this way?”

“I may have shared some information.” 

“Miss Marte?” 

“Recently, public opinion about Viscount Elsen has become quite turbulent. There are those who dare to flatter the Viscount more than the Duke himself.” 

Leanne fell silent.

‘It’s because of that woman.’ 

There was no greater provocation for Theodor. 

‘Still, why would she say such a thing?’ 

Leanne had often watched the way Charlotte Marte looked at Kallian Elsen. 

The look was no different from her own – if anything, it was exactly the same.

“Then does Viscount Elsen…?” 

“Why? Do you think the Viscount will die?” 

At the blunt remark, Leanne fell silent. 

Charlotte tilted her head slightly before answering. 

“Your Highness, I don’t think you realise. Viscount Elsen has never lost to Seor – not even once.” 

Charlotte smiled slightly. 

“Even if he does suffer a major setback this time…” 

“…” 

“Well, that’s not so bad in itself.” 

“…What?” 

“I hope he falls all the way.”

The words were startling. It was then that Leanne looked up in confusion. 

“That way…” 

Charlotte held out her hand quietly. In her palm was the black woollen dog puppet she said she had made to order. 

“So you can feel the satisfaction of picking up and cradling what’s broken and shattered.” 

The puppet was crumpled in Charlotte’s arms. 

At that moment, a sense of foreboding filled Leanne’s chest. 

“Your Highness.” 

One of the royal knights Charlotte had brought with her entered the dressing room, looking nervous. 

“It’s about the rumour that Viscount Elsen has gone missing. We’ve been investigating…”

At those words, both Leanne and Charlotte turned their heads at the same time. The knight spoke slowly.

“They say the situation at the border is unusual.”