3.

It was late. The sun had already set, and the moonlight was hiding behind clouds, making the day chilly.

The north wind in Helen becomes harsher at night. That’s why the north built solid walls to block the fierce north wind and constructed castles to shield against it. That was Helen Castle, the main castle where Lorendis stayed.

“Has the time already become this late?”

The wall clock in the office pointed to the hour. Lorendis finished his night work and pressed his temples firmly.

To complete the ducal castle duties before the departure ceremony, Lorendis stayed in his office until late. Because of this, his assistant couldn’t leave either.

Lorendis clicked his tongue as he looked at Brady, who was still working overtime beside him.

“You’ve been overworking for days. Why push yourself so hard when you’re not even a knight?”

“It’s a primary duty of an assistant. How could an aide leave when His Grace remains in the office?”

Brady spoke while smoothly pushing up his glasses. It was the assistant’s role to calmly support his master despite heavy fatigue.

These days, Lorendis focused more on the departure ceremony than the wedding. Secret letters kept coming from the battlefield. It’s no exaggeration to say that all his attention was directed toward the barbarians.

Lorendis unfolded and read the secret letter, then pressed his temples again. His head still felt heavy.

The densely written words in the secret letter detailed the movements of the barbarians. After reading the packed text, Lorendis massaged his eyelids and closed the secret letter.

“What does the battlefield say?”

“The scale of barbarians seems smaller than expected. I can return earlier than scheduled.”

Brady checked Lorendis’s schedule and nodded.

“After this trip, it will be quiet for a few years again.”

It’s a long-standing feud. This tiresome feud has continued for decades. Their forces are small, but still too annoying to ignore.

“Won’t these tiresome tribes just get buried in the snow somewhere?”

“Their weed-like tenacity is sickening.”

The soldiers stationed at the border do well, but there’s still a big difference in efficiency when the commander goes personally.

“How was the viscount residence?”

“The atmosphere is strange. The stepdaughter is now in seclusion, and the viscountess is suffering from severe anxiety symptoms. She keeps looking for Miss Catherine.”

Lorendis, who was organizing documents, frowned at this unexpected information. Even if the stepdaughter’s seclusion made sense, why would her stepmother keep looking for Catherine?

The family had previously tried to sell Catherine to an elderly nobleman. Now that such a daughter is protected under Helen’s name, her stepmother suffers from anxiety symptoms.

Lorendis tapped the table firmly.

“Were those two such an affectionate pair?”

“There couldn’t be a worse relationship in the world. Didn’t Your Grace see it that night? What kind of parents would sell their daughter to a nobleman well over seventy? Those family members aren’t even human.”

It was the same during his first meeting with Catherine. Catherine waited for Lorendis like someone who had let go of all worldly attachments and given up everything.

It wasn’t the face of someone who had been loved. Moreover, Catherine willingly followed when told she would be taken out of that household. It wasn’t behavior one would show if they were following their stepmother.

“You’re more angry.”

“She’s Helen’s future lady. Your Grace has avoided marriage for over a decade by claiming to be a damn bachelor……! I apologize. Please pretend you didn’t hear the ‘damn’ part.”

“Later, send someone to the viscount residence to get the parents’ signatures on the marriage consent form.”

In the Empire, a woman needs her parent’s permission to marry. The emperor’s approval is sufficient, but to minimize gossip, it’s better to have the family’s signature as well.

This isn’t persuasion. It’s pressure. Pressuring a rural viscount’s family wasn’t difficult for Lorendis.

Silencing them is a very simple matter. That’s the power of Helen.

Lorendis dully pressed his temples and asked something he had forgotten.

“Have they still not found Viscount Milden’s body?”

Brady placed his hand on his chest and offered a silent prayer.

“I apologize. He went missing five years ago. Finding his body isn’t an easy task. We can’t dig up all that snow to search, so it can’t be helped.”

Helen was a cold northern region where wars were fought even in the middle of winter. Peace in Helen had been maintained through someone’s sacrifice in the fight against barbarians. And Viscount Milden also rose to the battlefield as Helen’s vassal and sparked flames.

“Don’t make such an expression. After this war ends, I’ll begin additional recovery efforts. I’ll also try to find Viscount Milden’s body.”

“Let’s go now. The night is already late.”

Lorendis unbuttoned his uniform and left the office. Outside, it had already grown dark, and people had quietly withdrawn. As he turned from the office to his bedroom, light leaked from the end of the corridor. Over there…… was the room where Catherine, his ward, stayed.

“It seems the future lady hasn’t gone to bed yet today.”

“Why, when dawn has almost passed?”

“I’m not sure about that either…… Would you like to visit?”

“You may retire now.”

Brady quietly withdrew. Lorendis glanced around the empty corridor before taking a step. His footsteps halted in front of Catherine’s door, which he quietly opened.

And soon, his expression crumpled like a demon’s.

* * *

At that time, Catherine was soothing her heart and retracing her life.

It had been a difficult time. She lost everything. No family, no home, nothing left now. Yet her heart feels more at ease than before.

Now all that remains is to find a recuperation place, meet her fleeting death, and cross the boundary between life and death. That’s a very trivial matter. Death is close……

“Dad, I’ll just… come to you when it’s time. Please accept me, Dad.”

She was touching her fair cheeks in front of the mirror. They were white, clear, and had become rounder. It seemed she had gained some weight while eating and sleeping in Helen. As Catherine absentmindedly touched her cheeks, she suddenly sensed someone’s presence.

“What are you talking about?”

“……Lorendis?”

“Explain in detail what you just muttered with that mouth.”

Lorendis stood behind her with a demon-like face. His black uniform and cravat were simpler than usual. Yet his cold expression remained. His black hair covered his forehead, but couldn’t fully hide those beast-like eyes.

He’s watching everything. It feels like he’s digging through everything, reading all her inner thoughts.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Who are you following where? Does it mean the viscount’s death was so meaningless that a well-raised young lady would mutter such things?”

Lorendis casually brushed back his hair and glanced at her. His cool gaze pierced Catherine. Catherine stepped back, finding it threatening again.

“Father has been gone from my side for more than five years. It’s just… today I particularly missed him. With the wedding approaching…… even if my feelings are a bit complicated, please understand, Lorendis.”

“Is that really all?”

That’s all. That’s all I have to tell you, so it’s right to say that’s all.

“Are you scared?”

“No, it’s not that. Tomorrow I’ll become Catherine Helen, not Catherine Milden. It feels strange to erase that name.”

Even though it’s all mine…… I can’t take anything but what I bring to the grave.

As Catherine inwardly expressed her resentment, Lorendis approached with large strides. Then he patted her forehead with his fingertips and spoke.

“Milden is also yours. You are the viscount’s daughter, so Milden is also yours. You are the viscount’s only daughter.”

“That’s right. I am the last remaining Milden. ……So, I’ll take it all back.”

Rather than letting her stepmother take it, she’ll just take everything and bring it to her grave. She’ll take all that wealth and turn it into a handful of dust right in front of her. If I can’t have it, Mother can’t have it either.

Lorendis mentioned something he had almost forgotten.

“It seems your mother is worried about you.”

“……That woman?”

His gentle voice dropped.

“I heard she’s suffering from anxiety symptoms because she’s worried about her daughter sent to a remote territory. Is it true that you have a bad relationship?”

It’s more than a bad family relationship. It’s a family that tried to kill their daughter.

“We have a bad relationship.”

“I thought so.”

Her stepmother and stepsister were desperate to get rid of Catherine, and it worsened over time. As her father’s absence lengthened, her stepmother’s persecution intensified.

Her father had spent a long time on the battlefield, leaving a significant void at home. Later, when her father went missing on the battlefield, Catherine had to endure alone to survive.

“We should invite your mother and sister to the wedding ceremony. Even if it’s just for show, they are your legal guardians. And also……”

Lorendis hesitated and trailed off. Catherine tilted her head and met his eyes.

“It’s okay. Please speak.”

“Everything up until now will be buried beneath the surface. Including the incident with Count Cavin’s family.”

“You mean the time I was almost sold into marriage will be quietly buried? I understand that too.”

Lorendis’s words make sense. The story of the new lady almost being sold to an elderly nobleman would be a weakness if known, not something good to reveal. This wedding ceremony needs to end quietly without incident.

“I understand. You’re saying this wedding should end safely, right?”

That’s also correct.

“If I had a little more time, I would have investigated more……”

“If you had investigated, you wouldn’t have married me.”

Lorendis brought Catherine to Helen because he didn’t know. No one would willingly bring a terminally ill wife into their home if they knew everything. So it mustn’t be discovered. Both her ruined body and the issues with her stepmother must be hidden.

‘There’s something there.’

Though Lorendis thought this, he clicked his tongue.

“The wedding will proceed as planned. There’s no chance this marriage arrangement will be overturned, so put aside any worries about it going wrong. And if you’ve thought about running away, put that aside too.”

He spoke dryly.

“The wedding ceremony and marriage procedures will follow as planned, and after spending the wedding night in the bridal chamber, the marriage procedure will be complete.”

After taking vows before the priest, having the reception, and spending the first night in the bridal chamber, the marriage procedure is complete.

“Just endure until then.”

“……”

“Stop making that otherworldly detached expression.”

A relationship that will soon end.

A meeting that will soon be over.

That’s all. A long silence followed, and Lorendis laughed softly. He seemed relaxed, as if he had already thoroughly examined Catherine.