The reason the people of Hielo refused to recognize Adriana as their Grand Duchess was simple.

She came from the south, specifically from House Verano — the Marquises of the Southern March.

Trakia was the stronghold of the South. Hielo was the pride of the North.

For generations, the two territories had been locked in a bitter rivalry.

Trakia was a naval fortress that protected the Empire from sea monsters and pirates approaching from the south. Hielo, on the other hand, was a defensive stronghold against the monsters roaming the unforgiving northern mountains and the tribes beyond.

In other words, Trakia guarded the Empire’s southernmost frontier while Hielo protected its northernmost border.

The immense distance between them was matched only by the hostility they felt towards each other. Their relationship deteriorated so much that the Empire’s mana tunnels, which were built to connect regions across the realm, were never constructed between the two territories.

And yet, despite their mutual resentment, neither could survive without the other.

Trakia depended on the mana stones mined in Hielo, and Hielo would have faced famine without Trakia’s steady food supply.

Despite this interdependence, however, the two strategic strongholds continued to waste enormous amounts of resources transporting little more than wagonloads of grain and shipments of raw mana stones. This inefficiency placed a heavy burden on the Empire’s strength.

Frustrated by this, the Emperor sought to solve the problem through a political marriage.

“If Adriana Verano, sister of the Marquis of Verano, were to marry Dietrich Brecht, Lord of Hielo, then, in recognition of their contribution to the peace and unity of the Empire, the debt owed to the Imperial Family would be forgiven. Furthermore, the Imperial House will fully finance the construction of a mana tunnel connecting the two territories and provide whatever additional investment is required.”

At the time, Trakia was facing severe financial hardship following the sudden deaths of the previous Marquis and Marchioness.

Yet the Emperor had stepped forward, offering to resolve the situation through a single marriage.

In order to fulfil her duty as the daughter of a ruling lord, Adriana willingly accepted the imperial decree.

If she were being honest, however, she had felt excited when the decree arrived.

Dietrich Brecht.

Given their birth and status, he was one of the few marriage prospects who was truly her equal.

The two had memorized each other’s names and portraits from the noble almanac before anyone else’s.

At every social gathering, they were seated near one another. Sometimes they met privately. Occasionally, they shared conversations and memories.

Adriana considered herself fortunate that the Emperor’s chosen match was not an old pervert.

But Dietrich — her first love?

— was beyond anything she had hoped for.

Adriana was determined not only to fulfil her destiny with him, but also to become the bridge that would finally reconcile the two territories.

Desperate for the marriage to succeed, Adriana believed that it was up to her to make it work.

Ultimately, however, this hope was nothing more than naive.

There was no way that a political marriage could erase centuries of resentment between the two regions.

Adriana tried everything she could think of. She brought musical instruments and books from the south in the hope of fostering understanding and goodwill between the two regions, but her efforts went unappreciated. No matter what she did, she was met only with criticism.

When she imported grain from the south to ease the ongoing food shortage, rumors spread that she had deliberately caused disasters in the north so that she could profit from selling Trakia’s flour.

The people of Hielo blamed her for every misfortune that befell the North, including the avalanche that coincidentally occurred on her wedding day, the subsequent drought and the appearance of mutant monsters.

For three years, Adriana lived as an outsider, never once being accepted as Grand Duchess by her husband or the people of Hielo.

Ultimately, a riot erupted with a single purpose: to drive out the ‘Witch Grand Duchess’.

She was burned alive.

Then, a year earlier, she opened her eyes at an archery tournament.

At the time, she had no idea that what she was experiencing was real.

The dead do not come back to life.

Nor do they travel back in time.

Such things were far beyond anything she could have imagined.

Thinking that she was trapped in a dream that could end at any moment, she decided to do something she had never dared to do before.

There was something she had always wanted to say to her husband, who was always out hunting monsters and rarely came home.

She longed to shout it out without holding back.

For example: “I demand a divorce from Grand Duke Dietrich Brecht.”

Something like that.

Divorce.

The moment Adriana uttered that word, shock spread across the faces of everyone present.

Even Dietrich, who had remained indifferent the entire time, showed the faintest crack in his expression.

“What did you just say?”

“I no longer wish to continue this marriage with Your Grace. Please grant me a divorce—no. Please agree to one.”

“You understand the significance of this marriage better than anyone, Grand Duchess. You also know that ending a union arranged by Her Majesty the Emperor is considered an act of treason.”

“Yes. I know that better than anyone.”

This was why she had endured the humiliation for so long.

This was no ordinary marriage.

It had been decreed by the Emperor herself.

Overturning an imperial decree was essentially an act of rebellion.

Furthermore, the marriage alliance had been formed to reconcile the two military strongholds guarding the frontiers of the Nieve Empire and ensure peace and stability throughout the realm.

The mere prospect of the two territories parting ways would plunge the entire empire into uncertainty.

If the two greatest military powers were to turn their backs on the Emperor simultaneously, the balance of power across the realm would be thrown into disarray. This would also provide other territories and foreign tribes, who had long been restrained by the alliance between the two regions, with the perfect opportunity to act.

If that happened, Trakia would suffer the most.

It is her homeland.

It had only recently begun to recover with the support of the Imperial Family. If it were branded a land of traitors, there would be no hope of survival whatsoever.

Adriana loved her homeland too much to ignore its fate and simply walk away.

She could never bring herself to consider divorce, fearing that it might upset the political balance of the continent or ignite a war.

Contrary to Adriana’s hopes, however, the marriage had not brought the two territories closer together.

Instead, their hostility only deepened.

The North viewed Adriana as a spy sent from the South, while the South saw Dietrich as a thief who had stolen Adriana away.

Both sides endlessly searched for new reasons to hate each other.

Even the mana tunnel project that the Emperor had promised was left unfinished.

If that was the case, what reason was there to continue the marriage?

It seemed far wiser to find a way to end the marriage without causing further harm than to preserve it.

“I will be the one to report it to Her Majesty, and I will bear whatever punishment follows.”

As Adriana spoke calmly, a silence fell over the gathering.

Everyone finally realized that her demand for a divorce was not an impulsive whim.

She meant every word.

The first to break the silence was Dietrich.

“I thought it was strange when you suddenly insisted on taking part in the knights’ games, but it seems you’ve truly lost your senses. I cannot grant that request. Your birthday is approaching, Grand Duchess. I’ll buy you jewels worthy of your station, and we’ll consider this matter settled.”

Although Dietrich spoke as if he were offering a generous compromise, Adriana had no intention of accepting.

“I am a daughter of House Verano. If I want jewels, I can obtain as many as I please. The only gift Your Grace can give me is a divorce.”

“Grand Duchess.”

Dietrich’s voice dropped into a warning growl.

The escort knights beside him visibly flinched, but Adriana remained unmoved and continued speaking.

“Why are you suddenly demanding a divorce?”

“The fact that Your Grace believes this is sudden is the reason.”

In her homeland, Adriana was known as the ‘Jewel of the South’.

When news spread that she had been humiliated in the North after getting married, the people of the South were furious.

Many openly declared that they would bring her back home.

However, when these words reached the North, they were twisted into rumors that a war over territory was about to break out.

Provoked by these rumors, the people of the North rioted, vowing to drive out Adriana, whom they blamed for all their misfortune.

If this was truly her second chance at life, Adriana was determined not to repeat the same tragedy.

The simplest way to prevent those complicated disasters was divorce.

“If you truly don’t understand the reason, then look at how Your Grace’s knights regard me.”

As Adriana slowly scanned the gathering, every knight who made eye contact with her quickly looked away.

Since her marriage, she had been subjected to relentless ostracism.

The vassals treated her like a spy sent by the South.

Theresa had even threatened to k*ll her if she refused to agree to a divorce.

The maids assigned to her were not there to serve her, but to keep watch over her.

The people of the territory blamed Adriana for the monster attacks that had plagued the region for over a thousand years and resented her for them.

And above all, Dietrich himself.

He was always outside the castle, supposedly hunting monsters.

He was always absent.

As her husband was never there for her, Adriana was criticized by others for failing to produce an heir.

His indifference left her lonely and miserable.

In truth, it was his indifference that was the main reason she wanted to leave the country.

If he had asked her, she could have listed countless reasons — enough to fill every moment up to the day of her death.

Now was the time to do exactly that.

“I have no intention of becoming a traitor because of the Grand Duchess’s whim. Stop this nonsense and tell me another wish.”

“And if I ask for something else, will Your Grace grant it without objection?”

“As long as it isn’t a divorce.”

“Then accept me as one of Your Grace’s knights.”

“Adriana!”

His voice rang out sharply.