The blood that had splattered from Theodor trickled down Leanne’s delicate forehead.

She stared blankly into the air, her expression almost vacant.

A shallow wound remained on her neck – the mark left by Theodor’s blade in his final moments.

As she felt the blood trickle from the wound, her body began to shake uncontrollably, realising the gravity of the situation too late.

“Ah…”

“Your Highness, the Princess!”

“Princess Leanne!”

“Are you all right?!”

The Imperial Knights, finally coming to their senses, rushed towards Leanne.

The knights quickly removed their cloaks and coats and draped them over Leanne to shield her while they assessed her condition.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

“This won’t do. Escort Her Highness to a safe place. At dawn, we depart for the capital!”

“Call the ladies-in-waiting!”

“Where is Miss Marte? She should know where the attendants are!”

Meanwhile, the retainers of the Grand Duchy remained frozen, unable to move.

Even after the Imperial Knights carried Leanne out of the audience chamber, the oppressive atmosphere still weighed heavily on everyone present, pressing down on them like an invisible force.

“The Grand Duke.”

“…….”

Theodor of Ilmos, Grand Duke of Ilmos, was dead.

A strange feeling of unease and restlessness spread among some of the Ilmos retainers.

They had never been staunch supporters of Kallian – they had simply been swept along by the course of events.

“We never intended for him to die.”

They had originally planned to propose his imprisonment.

Given the merits of the previous Grand Duke and Duchess, and the fact that he had been their master for so long, some of them had felt a deep reluctance to kill him.

In the end, however, the Grand Duke met his end at the hands of the man most loyal to him.

“All because he ruined his own domain, lost in alcohol and drugs.”

“Because he couldn’t even think straight and tried to kill a member of the imperial family…”

For someone who had once been the ruler of the North, the Grand Duke of Ilmos, it was a most shameful and pitiful death.

This realisation belatedly overwhelmed those present.

Shame and contempt were now directed at Theodor’s lifeless body.

Soon Kallian Elsen gently released his wife from his arms.

Kallian slowly approached Theodor’s lifeless body.

He carefully laid him straight on the ground and, as if offering a final prayer, whispered something into his ear.

Slash!

Without hesitation, he personally severed the Grand Duke’s head and limbs.

“……!”

“L-Lord Elsen!”

A few of Theodor’s followers who still had some attachment to him cried out in shock, their expressions as if struck by lightning.

But Kallian Elsen, his face as cold and emotionless as a knight’s, spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Once the Imperial Family learns of this, his body will be sent to the capital to meet the same fate.”

“Ugh…”

No one could argue with him – for what he said was undeniably true.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Grand Duke had died after attempting to kill a member of the Imperial Family.

And by law, the body of a traitor who had committed a crime against the Imperial Family was to be dismembered and displayed in the capital as a warning to all.

“The Imperial Family would never treat the remains of the Grand Duke properly.

Any form of respect for the deceased would never be shown.

The body would undoubtedly be treated without care.

The executioners at the capital’s gallows would surely defile, mock and desecrate the Grand Duke’s body as they dismembered it.

Instead, it occurred to those present that what Kallian Elsen – a former retainer of the Grand Duke – had done was the more honourable way to lay him to rest.

When the task was completed, Kallian removed his cloak and gently draped it over the Grand Duke’s body.

Some of Ilmos’ followers could not contain their emotions, their faces filled with grief and regret.

And so Kallian’s actions were framed as a final act of respect for their fallen lord.

But as Kallian covered the body with his cloak, a faint, mysterious smile flickered across his lips.

A smile no one but Elliope saw.

“…….”

To Elliope, that smile was something Kallian rightfully deserved. 

For now, at last, he could offer the blood of Theodor of Ilmos before the small coffin of his younger sibling and the graves of their parents. 

Clang. 

Soon after, the sword of the Grand Ducal House of Ilmos – the very weapon Theodor had used in his attempt to slay Leanne – was gently placed on the cloth covering his body. 

“…….”

At that moment, when the atmosphere had grown so heavy that no one dared to speak—

“M-M-Murderer!”

A trembling voice, shaking like a brittle leaf in the wind, suddenly broke the silence, squeezed out in a whimpering tone.

All eyes turned to the source of the voice.

Soon the expressions turned to vague confusion.

“The Chamberlain?”

“Baron Taleon, where have you been all this time?”

“Haven’t you been seen around the Grand Duke’s residence lately?”

Baron Taleon trembled as he pointed, his finger shaking uncontrollably as if he could not believe what he saw.

It was as if he had been hiding somewhere, for his entire body was filthy, covered in dust and dirt.

Elliope glanced at the jewellery box that was clasped tightly in the chamberlain’s arms.

“He said he was not ashamed to serve a usurper…”

When he saw signs that the so-called usurper might be overthrown, he had clearly taken advantage of the chaos to sneak in and steal whatever he could.

Once Elliope had realised this, the retainers soon came to the same conclusion. They looked at Baron Taleon with disgust and contempt.

But he ignored their scornful looks and continued to point at Kallian.

“Is that what matters now? This is murder! A crime! And it was committed by a knight who swore an oath to protect his master!”

At his words, the faces of the retainers became conflicted.

For what Baron Taleon said completely ignored the fact that Theodor of Ilmos himself had nearly killed Princess Leanne – and no one else.

Threatening a member of the Imperial Family, no matter how high their status, was a crime punishable by immediate execution.

Fully aware of this, Elliope turned her head towards Baron Taleon with an icy stare.

The Baron flinched under her gaze, but did not retreat.

“Am I wrong?! The very sword and shield that were supposed to protect the Grand Duke was the one that struck him down!”

“Chamberlain, but just now-“

“You mean the Grand Duke almost killed Her Highness the Princess? But with Lord Elsen’s skills, wouldn’t it have been possible to stop him without cutting him down?”

“That…”

“You chose to kill your own lord instead of taking the blade meant for the princess?! Isn’t it a knight’s duty to protect his lord and prevent him from committing a crime?”

The Chamberlain shouted angrily, his voice trembling and spitting as he spoke.

“And you, Lord Elsen! Have you forgotten that you yourself swore to become the adopted son of the former Grand Duke?”

“…….”

It was true.

Kallian had gained his greatest influence when, after the death of the former Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, he took up arms to suppress the bandits – a responsibility that should have fallen to Theodor.

Now Baron Taleon was using that fact against him.

“Since you swore to be the adopted son of the former Grand Duke, doesn’t that mean that the Grand Duke of Ilmos is practically your older brother?”

“Aren’t you stretching the meaning too far?”

“Baron Taleon! A coward who hid has no right to speak!”

Some of the knights who had followed Kallian were openly angry.

But the retainers who had stood by Kallian’s side and supported him up to that point remained strangely silent.

As if to lend weight to Baron Taleon’s words.

Sensing this, the chamberlain raised his voice even louder.

“This is an act of treason against your own kin!”

Unconsciously, Elliope clenched her fist.

Then a hand reached out and gently loosened her grip.

“Kallian.”

Kallian carefully uncoiled Elliope’s fingers one by one, rubbing them gently, his face completely unaffected as he finally spoke.

“Baron Taleon is right.”

“……!”

A feeling of hesitation spread among the retainers, who had been simply carried along by the situation until then.

Some of the knights visibly hardened their expressions, but the retainers who had supported Kallian and followed him so far remained silent.

Among them, Baron Baril – who had played a crucial role in their retreat – stepped forward, wearing the same composed expression as Kallian.

“Since you broke your oath and cut down the lord you swore to serve, it is only right that an appropriate punishment follows, Lord Elsen.”

At these words, Elliope unconsciously turned her gaze to Baron Baril.

But before her gaze could linger on him, Kallian gently reached out, held her chin, and gently guided her eyes back to him.

“That is true, Baron Baril.”

No one could find the words to respond to Kallian’s silent confirmation.

Only Baron Taleon, emboldened by the moment, raised his voice in triumph.

“Knights! Arrest Lord Kallian Elsen!”

“…….”

“What are you waiting for? This man is a murderer who killed the Grand Duke!”

“Well? What are you all waiting for? Why don’t you take him?”

At these words, Ruben stepped forward without hesitation, his expression indifferent. Another knight approached and grabbed Kallian’s arm.

“Yes! Take him away…”

Just as Baron Taleon clenched his fist in satisfaction, several knights with cold, unreadable expressions stepped forward and grabbed him as well, as if to arrest him.

“Wait! W-why me…?”

“The chamberlain must also come with us under suspicion of failing to protect the Grand Duke.”

“What?!”

“As chamberlain of the Grand Duke’s residence, wasn’t it your duty to help and protect him?”

Technically, that was a valid argument.

As valid as the claim that Kallian Elsen had committed an act of treason.

Baron Taleon could no longer find the words to argue back. His mouth tightened as he was dragged away, unable to resist.

The knights also moved to take Kallian with them.

Without the slightest resistance, Kallian let himself be led away without complaint.

“Kallian.”

At that moment, as he was about to leave, Elliope reached out toward him.

As if to reassure her, Kallian gently took her hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to her fingertips.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“This too.”

‘Did you also do this to give me victory?’

Though she did not say the question aloud, Kallian seemed to have already understood.

A faint smile appeared on Kallian’s otherwise cold expression as he slowly moved his lips from the tip of Elliope’s fingers to the back of her hand, pressing firmly – almost as if leaving a seal.

“Not long now.”

He whispered.

Only after hearing those words did Elliope finally feel a sense of security and she slowly withdrew her hand.

“My lady.”

She hadn’t noticed when they’d arrived, but as soon as the retainers began to disperse, Emma and Dylan rushed towards her, visibly worried as they fussed over her.

But Elliope’s gaze remained fixed on Kallian, who was being led away by the knights.

Elliope’s eyes remained fixed on Kallian’s retreating figure for a long time as he was led away by the knights.

***

Not long after Kallian was taken to the underground prison of the Grand Duke’s residence…

Someone came to see him.

“Lord Elsen.”

As the hood of the robe was pulled back, a cascade of red hair spilled out.

It was Charlotte Marte, her eyes shining with a disturbing intensity – almost as much as Theodor’s once had.