The Husband I Worked So Hard to Save Is the Mastermind?

The sound of the traditional orchestra began to echo from afar.

Countless people lined the path from December’s main gate through the park to the center building, waiting for the imperial army’s parade.

Not just December, but the entire St. Berte region bubbled like a boiling pot, filled with the excitement of people who had traveled from all corners of the Empire.

The day of the charity event had dawned.

“Wow!”

When the military band in red jackets appeared with a majestic marching tune, the crowd’s admiring cheers echoed through the air.

They moved in five columns with ruler-straight precision while I watched them from my designated seat.

Empress Genevieve and the Crown Prince occupied the highest seats, with my chair and Carlo’s placed some distance behind them. Not far from our seats were nobles directly connected to the charity event, and beyond them, other nobles in their assigned places.

Shortly after the band passed, mounted guards displayed their solemn dignity with the sound of hoofbeats. The crowd cheered even more enthusiastically, showering them with thunderous applause.

“……”

During this time, I turned my head to look beside me.

Carlo’s seat remained empty.

He should have arrived early this morning but hadn’t come to St. Berte.

He simply wasn’t here.

That man never broke his promises…

Until yesterday, Carlo had been sending letters about his daily life in Novahans, so I wanted to believe nothing was wrong. I tried my best not to think negatively.

Novahans was far from here, and if he had departed late in the morning, he might arrive in the afternoon.

Yes, he must just be running a little late.

I had asked Norbert to notify me when he arrived at St. Berte Castle, so I would probably hear something soon.

“His Highness the Grand Duke will not be attending this charity event.”

Just then, Dillan approached and casually remarked.

He had volunteered to stand and oversee the event, but now he had somehow made his way to my chair. Startled by his presence, I froze at his words and involuntarily looked up.

“There’s no use waiting.”

He kept his eyes fixed on the guards and applauded generously, as if his words weren’t directed at me.

“For such a close relationship, you received no communication?”

After speaking quietly as if giving me a report about the event, he drifted away smoothly.

What a bastard, dropping a bomb on someone and walking away without any explanation!

I couldn’t even clap properly, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Carlo wouldn’t attend the charity event?

Just as I had been suppressing my growing anxiety by telling myself his arrival was merely delayed, Dillan’s words were enough to freeze me in place.

And soon enough, I learned the source of Dillan’s statement.

“We must pray for our national army that protects the Empire. We must engrave in our hearts those who work day and night to build stronger border defenses than yesterday.”

These words flowed from Empress Genevieve as she read the commemorative speech from the podium.

“Thanks to our soldiers, we can safely hold such a magnificent event. How moving is that? However, our enemies do not wish for our peace. They cruelly desire to eliminate opportunities like this where we can show mercy and goodness to one another.”

“Her Highness is deliberately creating an atmosphere,” Mariette whispered quietly, barely moving her lips as she stood beside me watching Genevieve.

“It’s happened often before.”

“What does the Empress hope to gain by creating this atmosphere? Making people anxious?”

Mariette quietly met my eyes.

“Sending the Grand Duke to the front lines.”

“!”

My heart sank as chills ran down my spine.

“Your Highness is correct. She needs to drive the imperial citizens into anxiety to rationalize sending the Grand Duke to the front lines.”

Carlo’s sudden inability to return to St. Berte was because she had ordered him to the front.

I suppressed my trembling breath as I watched Genevieve reading her commemorative speech at the podium.

“Has His Highness been sent to Northcheshire?”

“We can’t know for certain yet. The entire army has clearly moved from Novahans, but if they were urgently dispatched to Northcheshire, they would have to move secretly, making it difficult to know their exact location.”

Lady Mariette clasped her gloved hands together with a worried expression.

“But as you predict, everyone is assuming so. Many families are worried because those who left for Novahans training haven’t returned. Some are saying that when they return from the front, they’ll have their sons volunteer for the imperial palace guards.”

The imperial palace guards remain with the imperial family to protect them. From a family’s perspective, that would seem the better choice.

Even today, those guards remained in St. Berte, displaying their majestic march before the people.

“The Empress has often created this kind of atmosphere. Saying we must stop factional fighting and become one, and therefore any opposition to the imperial family is treason. Yet it’s Grand Duke Hedegen, who stands opposite to the imperial family, who is actually protecting the imperial citizens.”

Genevieve ostentatiously paused, looking around at the imperial citizens with a gentle expression, then suddenly raised her chin with determination.

“We will not move according to the enemy’s wishes. We will not do so for the sake of our national army, which fights to protect our families and our children as if they were their own. The same goes for this charity event.”

She must have ruled this way for many years.

“It is your duty to be grateful, enjoy, and appreciate being here today. Being happy, laughing, and talking is your responsibility. Don’t forget that the army and the imperial palace exist solely for you!”

People applauded, moved by Genevieve’s generous attitude.

“All that I am is the Empire itself—you. Everything you donate and purchase at this event will be used as funds for the development of the Empire. Enjoy the charity event and prepare for the upcoming social season. The prosperity of the Empire depends on you.”

“She means more troops might be dispatched because the front lines are in disarray. So funds need to be collected.”

I nodded slowly at Lady Mariette’s words.

“Is mentioning the social season a signal for everyone to hurry and find marriage partners? Since it will become harder to see each other if more people go to the front lines.”

“That’s right. She wants to say that the prosperity of families is the prosperity of the Empire. Moreover, many of the noble youths attending are soldiers, so they’ll all be desperate to find wives this social season. They need to marry and leave behind offspring before being dispatched, for peace of mind.”

Lady Mariette emphasized with explicit words, then firmly closed her mouth and looked at me for a moment.

Something in her gaze suggested she wanted to ask if there was any news of a child between Carlo and me.

I suddenly felt breathless.

But Mariette’s expression showed she couldn’t bring herself to ask aloud.

“Mariette, I…”

“No, Your Highness. What was I thinking… Please forgive me. You must be the most troubled, and I’ve only caused you more worry. This news is something you two are waiting for more than I am. Don’t worry. The Grand Duke will return soon, but until he does, I will remain to protect you.”

Lady Mariette gave me a resolute look before turning back to Genevieve.

Empress Genevieve’s speech was excellent.

It had the power to momentarily drive people into anxiety, making even Lady Mariette, who knew her intentions, unable to shake off the slightest doubt.

Just then, Genevieve smiled brightly and looked down at the imperial citizens as if they were her children.

“Finally, I ask you to pray for the safety of Grand Duke Hedegen, who stands at the forefront in Northcheshire for the Empire. He is an imperial hero.”

Her eyes somehow seemed to be looking at me.

An icy chill suddenly seeped in.

The premonition struck me that Genevieve might be trying to kill Carlo by sending him to Northcheshire.

Genevieve walked gracefully, pressing her red lips with her fingertips to suppress her laughter.

How naive that fragile Grand Duchess Hedegen was!

“Different from Florence in some ways…?”

You weren’t that naive.

She had received reports that the Grand Duchess, not only turning pale at the news of her husband being dispatched to the front lines, but also wrapped in the delusion that the Empress might be trying to kill the Grand Duke, was now attempting to send Joseph Wales, who had been resolutely guarding her side, to Northcheshire.

Joseph Wales. Wasn’t he the man who had been the Grand Duke’s guard captain and was famous for his swordsmanship, second only to the Grand Duke?

Because of the Grand Duchess willing to risk herself, Joseph Wales, whom she had predicted might become troublesome, was easily being removed.

“As soon as Joseph Wales leaves, begin the operation if there’s nothing problematic.”

“By problematic, you mean…”

“If there are no nobles around her…”

Genevieve lightly shook her head and pretended to furrow her brow. The man, understanding that it would be best to kill the Grand Duchess when no nobles were around her, moved away.

Ah… Soon a scream would be heard somewhere.

No, she might not even be able to scream as the nearby river would turn red with her blood.

They needed to kill that child while the Grand Duke was away.

With the couple’s relationship improving, they would obviously be together when the social season returned, and then there would be no opportunity to kill the Grand Duchess.

“There she is…”

Having spotted the Grand Duchess, Genevieve raised her champagne glass high toward the people as if making a toast.

However, her sharp eyes followed the foolish Grand Duchess taking the hand of a young commoner child.

She could see men following the Grand Duchess under her instructions.

Genevieve drained her champagne in one gulp, waiting for them all to disappear behind the corner of the building.

“!”

At that moment, Genevieve’s eyes widened significantly.

A man was heading toward the corner where the Grand Duchess had just disappeared.

A familiar face.

Someone she could never forget, though she hadn’t seen him recently.

A man she had dreamed of, recognizable at a glance.

Why was he there? Her body moved before the question fully formed.