One day, as he watched Elliope in silence, Kallian saw a pink dress. He had gotten it from a task Theodore had given him, buying clothes for the concubines.

There was something about the soft, flowing dress that reminded him strongly of someone. Even though Kallian knew he wasn’t supposed to give it to her, he bought it anyway and brought it to the cabin instead of the knights’ residence.

It was bothersome to ask Dylan or Sian what the dress was bought for.

Only Ruben, who often visited the hunting cabin, saw the dress and made a serious face.

“…?”

“What is this?”

“Sir Kallian, do you have someone in mind?”

Hearing Ruben’s words, an impulsive question slipped out.

“How should I behave to not scare the other person?”

“Pardon?”

“….”

Kallian knew that whenever Elliope looked at him, her expression became strangely stiff.

Perhaps it was the danger he carried from the battlefields, or perhaps it was because he had never learned to look at people gently. Kallian knew that Ruben was usually warm and affectionate in private. Surprisingly, the women around him often changed.

It wasn’t because he was a womaniser, but because he didn’t strongly discourage or cling to the women who came and went.

In any case, Ruben might have something to tell him about dealing with women. Kallian asked the question absentmindedly and waited for an answer while he looked at Ruben.

“Hmm, I… first of all, I make sure I don’t miss any opportunities for physical contact…”

“And?”

“…Well, sometimes I think it’s important to know how to ask to be treated nicely, right?”

“Treated nicely?”

“Like rubbing my face against their neck, shoulder… or collarbone…”

“You can only think of lewd things.”

“I wouldn’t call it lewd, but yes.”

Ruben paused for a moment, then gave his answer.

“It’s also good to make sure the other person doesn’t feel uncomfortable in important moments by being nice and making them feel good.”

“….”

“And it’s also not bad to lower yourself and show humility to the other person. As you mentioned, people like me or you easily scare others.” 

“Hmm.” 

“The other person should feel that he can control you at any moment.” 

It all made sense, but the last part didn’t seem to apply to Kallian. No matter what he did, he had a way of making others afraid and always gaining the upper hand.

Kallian did not ignore those words, even though he was certain he would never lay a hand on Elliope. At this point, Theodor began actively bringing pr*stitutes and concubines into his bedroom. Eventually the rumours reached Kallian’s ears.

It was said that Theodor left the Empress, the Grand Duchess, standing in a corner while he spent the whole night with his concubines.

“….”

After hearing the news and actually entering and leaving Theodor’s bedroom, where the woman stood alone….

Kallian’s dreams became more vivid and specific.

“Ah, ah!”

In his dream, Kallian forced his way into the Grand Duke’s bedroom and embraced the woman standing in the corner.

“Sir!”

As Theodor watched blankly, he parted her thin negligee to reveal her soft skin. His hands roamed over her delicate curves, his lips pressed to hers as if to savour every touch.

The sweetness of the fruit juice lingered on her pale skin, intoxicating his senses. His mind was consumed with nothing but desire, unable to think beyond the overwhelming need to claim her.

Every time her slender limbs trembled and clung to him, a rush of heat ignited within him.

He longed to lose himself in her, to etch the sight of her raw beauty into his memory.

“Ah… ah… ah!”

Every time her pale, slender limbs flailed and wrapped around him, sparks lit in his mind. He was overcome by the urge to thr*st into her at that very moment, to imprint the sight of her completely undressed on his memory.

“Ah… ahh… ah!”

Whenever she was touched and taken, she only let out soft m*ans. But when Kallian impulsively lifted her up and deliberately showed their joined bodies to Theodor, she shook her head in refusal.

“Ah… ugh… no…!”

Each time, Kallian leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

“Are you finally going to resist?”

“……!”

“I’m asking if you finally feel like screaming and getting angry.”

Every time he whispered those words, the woman in his dreams turned to look at him. To see the sparkle in those soft green eyes – eyes that were always gentle and resigned – made it impossible not to tremble.

But the woman in reality still did not know how to resist.

Neither did he.

“Do they think they can make a fool of me?”

Crash!

The vase Theodor had thrown in his fit of rage shattered into countless pieces, scattering in all directions. As the attendants and servants recoiled and stifled screams, Kallian stood still, taking the full brunt of the flying shards.

“…….”

A fragment had cut his cheek, drawing blood, but Kallian merely lowered his gaze in silence. The sound of Theodor’s heavy breathing filled the room as he struggled to control his anger.

“You’re damaging your health.”

“Ha.”

“The people in the area will be affected as well.”

Theodor was not by nature a difficult person to deal with. No matter how much he might lose his temper or stubbornly resist, a few sweet words whispered in his ear and a show of mild submission was usually enough to calm him down quickly.

“Yes. You’re right.”

This time was no different. Theodor slumped into a chair, catching his breath for a moment before rising abruptly and heading for his chambers.

“Your Excellency.”

The steward hurried after him, close behind. The frightened servants hesitated, then cautiously stepped forward to clean up the shattered vase.

Kallian, his expression devoid of emotion, turned to leave without a word.

But then a voice called out to him.

“…Sir.”

A soft, delicate voice – one that had always gasped and moaned with intensity in his dreams.

“Are you all right?”

The moment Elliope spoke, Kallian suppressed the urge to respond with cold, biting words.

“You should worry about yourself.”

“Doesn’t that make you angry?”

But in the next instant he realised – those words were not meant for her. They were the very questions he had wanted to ask himself.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Kallian fell silent.

Elliope just stared at him in silence, as if she had already anticipated his cold response.

“Sir, if you’re well…”

The moment she stepped closer, Kallian turned abruptly and walked away so quickly that the movement made a sharp sound. He already knew what she was going to do.

Even though she was injured herself, she would make an effort to check his wounds first.

A mixture of joy and anger surged through him – joy at the fact that she cared for him and anger because he saw in her a reflection of his own weakness.

At moments like that, he felt anything but powerless. Instead, he wanted to throw Theodor to the ground and slit his throat.

Whenever such impulses struck him on the battlefield, his hands became merciless.

In the heat of the war, he quickly earned the nickname ‘the mad dog’. There were even rumours that he got his kicks from cutting down people in battle.

But Kallian never paid attention to such rumours. The only thing that continued to occupy his thoughts was the vision of a pale woman staring at him silently.

***

“Lady Marte.”

“Oh my Lord!”

Theodor’s condition worsened by the day. Soon he was fainting or having seizures on an almost daily basis.

This continued even as Dylan and Kallian’s closest aides worked tirelessly to devise a plan to trap Theodor.

“Maybe he will collapse on his own.”

“That might actually work in our favour.”

Still, Dylan and the others wore ambiguous expressions. While Theodor’s death would certainly be beneficial, the thought that it wouldn’t be a proper punishment made them uneasy.

“Should we make our move before he actually drops dead?”

“Hmm…”

Still, they hesitated to act. It seemed that they had decided that letting Theodor continue to deteriorate was preferable to causing unnecessary trouble.

And the main cause of Theodor’s deterioration was, for the most part, this woman.

“His Excellency is looking for you.”

“I thought it was you who wanted to see me.”

Charlotte looked at Kallian, her voice tinged with disappointment.

“Wouldn’t today be the perfect time for you to join me in the bedroom and help lift His Excellency’s spirits?”

“I don’t understand how that concerns me.”

He was well aware that this was the excuse she had always used to offer him wine laced with aphrodisiacs. And when that had failed, she had begun to add poison out of spite.

Today, however, there was something else that caught Kallian’s attention.

“…Ahem.”

A soft cough came from someone sitting discreetly in the corner – the princess’s maid.

Remembering how the princess had addressed her earlier, Kallian belatedly remembered the woman’s name.

‘Emma, was it?’

Emma averted her gaze anxiously. Noticing this, Charlotte smirked and whispered playfully.

“Looks like the princess is trying to overthrow His Excellency, even if it’s a bit late.”

“…….”

“The maid came to fetch an *phrodisiac. Isn’t that amusing?”

In reality, it was a decision Emma had made on her own, driven by her concern for the princess. As a commoner-turned-royal, she thought of the Princess as something like a younger sister.

She simply wanted the Princess to secure the title of Duchess by spending a night with the Duke before he died. And if that wasn’t possible, she hoped that the Princess would find comfort in someone like Kallian – someone who had feelings for her – so that she wouldn’t be taken back to the capital and could stay in the Duchy instead.

Emma had long suspected that the Duke’s knight had feelings for the Princess.

For Kallian and Charlotte, however, the act of searching for an *phrodisiac was more than enough to interpret the princess’s intentions.

Kallian remembered Elliope preparing wine to give to Theodor. Then the image of Theodor, fully aroused, touching her flashed through his mind, making his stomach churn with nausea.

‘It should be me instead…’

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Kallian abruptly shook off Charlotte’s hand and walked away.

“Sir!”

“Go to His Excellency.”

“You should come too…”

“Right now His Excellency only needs you.”

Kallian would have preferred that there was no room for Elliope to interfere. As long as Charlotte had Theodor under her control, there was nothing Elliope could do. But a cold flame continued to stir restlessly in him.

Some time later, the familiar illness returned. At the same time, Kallian had to march into battle to repel foreign invaders who had taken advantage of the chaos within the Duchy.

And in the midst of it all, Theodor died.

Had he known earlier that Elliope would secretly seek poison after Theodor’s death – and that Charlotte would be the one to discreetly provide it – he would have known sooner.

Had he known in time, even if the future had changed so that Theodor stayed alive and took Elliope in his arms, Kallian would still have made sure to kill Charlotte first, no matter what.