Chapter 55

Marie felt conflicted about the fact that the noisy kidnapping incident was resolved more quickly and cleanly than expected.  

She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or ashamed. She couldn’t find the words to describe her father, who had overturned an otherwise well-functioning family only to be beaten from all sides and retreat in less than a week.  

While she formally wrote a petition, she did not request clemency. The rest of the family remained silent as well.  

After all, there was a history of their actions…  

They believed that at the very least, punishment was necessary for the chaos they had caused in high society. Albrecht himself had prepared for this, having already accounted for it when he said, “Give me some time to think.”  

Mendel Hinsward, who presided over the trial, gathered the petitions that had been submitted in bulk and said he would take them into consideration as much as possible. After all, eight out of ten of these petitions argued that without Albrecht, the delivery of weapons and military supplies would be delayed, and requested his release in exchange for paying a massive fine.  

On the other hand, Peter was punished with several months of reduced pay for being the one to start this long-standing conflict. This was because, as the commander of the Emperor’s personal guard, he could not afford to take a break from his duties.  

Up to this point, the measures taken were very neutral and objective.  

The reason the Emperor had brought Mendel Hinsward along was to make it clear that he would no longer tolerate Albrecht Odillia’s behavior and intended to compensate for it with visible, tangible results.  

“I can no longer stand by and watch a friend walk down the path of ruin.”  

Hearing this, Marie silently accepted the apology for the trouble her father had caused. Moreover, she did not return to Escael. She believed that everything needed to be resolved first in order to maintain her dignity as Kalik’s equal.  

However, as soon as Marie declared she would not return, Kalik threw down his sword. Then, he grabbed some unknown experimental prototype that Aaron had been holding. Aaron remained still as well.  

This act symbolized that, regardless of Albrecht’s punishment, the successors of Escael and Odillia had decided to move forward without any further disputes or problems.  

“Really… Can I leave now?”  

Even for minor mistakes, one must take a few days of reflection. Having been taught this, Marie planned to stay at Odillia’s main estate for at least a month.  

Kalik, however, threw a question and a plea at Marie.  

“Can you bear to be apart from me?”  

As he said this, he clung to her wrist, his hand lingering pitifully. Seeing this, Viola, standing nearby, grabbed the back of her neck, as if there was nothing else to hold onto. Peter tried to support her, but Viola was still quite angry with her husband for bowing to Albrecht first.  

In any case, Marie unhesitatingly took Kalik’s hand. The Emperor had also declared that no punishment would extend to the second generation, so it finally felt like everything was returning to its proper place.  

***

Reconciliation reached its peak at that banquet.  

Elise invited everyone to the Odillia estate in the Imperial Capital. It was, so to speak, a small and private banquet. It wasn’t as extravagant as other banquets, and there was no music, so it was more like a modest dinner party.  

She greeted her guests with a bright smile, saying she had expected things to turn out this way. Everyone from Odillia was present except for daughters married off to distant lands or sons who had established their own households. Of course, this included Albrecht, who had just finished his punishment.  

He sat next to Peter, looking like a petty thief who had been beaten with a stick. On his other side sat Mendel Hinsward.  

It was an unspoken declaration that if he caused any trouble, the senior knight commanders would subdue him.  

The banquet began with the Emperor’s congratulatory speech, opening the curtain for reconciliation with heartfelt greetings from both families.  

The members of both families, who had been summoned unexpectedly, had been wary upon their arrival. Escael feared that Albrecht Odillia might gather them all in one place and set the place on fire, while Odillia thought he might march into Escael and deliver some kind of speech.  

But when they saw the Emperor proudly reveal himself, they finally believed the “rumors” were true.  

The news of the reconciliation between Escael and Odillia had already spread throughout the Empire, becoming an undeniable truth. Even the selective supply contracts that had subtly excluded Escael after Marie and Kalik’s marriage were now discontinued.  

Escael was now the top priority in the new partnership.  

Aaron Odillia handed over even minor privileges to Escael on the condition that Kalik regularly reported feedback on the prototypes he used. Since Albrecht was temporarily prohibited from making decisions during his period of reflection, he had no choice but to follow his eldest son’s lead.  

In return, Escael agreed to provide full manpower support for Odillia’s military supplies. The iron, crucial for weapon production, was mined from the border mines, and Escael would now replace the mercenaries who had guarded the mines.  

At last, the renowned House of Swords, which had produced knight commanders for generations, had united with Odillia, the Empire’s top weapons manufacturer.  

Furthermore, Marie and Kalik openly displayed their affection for each other, indifferent to others’ gazes. However, even the two of them occasionally fell into strange silences today. It seemed as if they had something to say to each other, waiting expectantly, but they kept hesitating and eventually covered it up with laughter.  

The others were the same. Odillia and Escael conversed joyfully and harmoniously, like people who had once severed ties but had now restored their relationship. It seemed as though everyone had been waiting for this day.  

Then, something unexpected happened.  

Albrecht, whose face was as red as the flower pinned to his chest, began to cry, tears streaming down his face.  

The only ones who weren’t surprised were Elise and Aaron.  

“F-Father…?”  

Marie, seeing her father cry for the first time, looked around to see if perhaps he had spilled some alcohol on himself.  

However, Elise pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Albrecht, who naturally took it and blew his nose.  

“My, my…”  

Albrecht started to speak but trailed off, his throat choking up, and the rest of his words came out as incomprehensible sobs.  

After a moment, he managed to compose himself and spoke words that made some laugh and others feel irritated—or even angry.  

“My thirty years…”  

Viola, who had been among those laughing, couldn’t help but retort, unable to resist her habit of picking a fight.  

“Judging by your actions, we should call you ‘big brother’ even if you were three years old.”

“That person next to me… Ugh.”  

Albrecht pulled the handkerchief out of his mouth with an indignant expression. Elise giggled and smacked him on the back repeatedly.  

This wasn’t a conflict, nor was it an argument. For as long as anyone could remember, Albrecht and Viola had always bickered whenever they met, but for the past twenty years, it had become more of a habit than anything else.  

In a way, it was almost a duty—like climbing a mountain simply because it was there.  

“If they have grandchildren, that’ll be something worth seeing.”  

The Emperor chuckled as he sipped the celebratory wine brought by Mendel Hinsward. With such a result, he thought, there would be no further talk of divorce, no matter what misfortunes arose.  

Meanwhile, Marie, who had been absentmindedly drinking her favorite grape juice, suddenly remembered something. Viola, her face pale, stood up and sat back down repeatedly, as if something had occurred to her.  

At that moment, Marie, who had swallowed a grape whole, suddenly felt a wave of nausea she couldn’t suppress. She bent forward, covering her mouth, as the grape lodged in an awkward spot in her throat.  

“Ugh.”  

The banquet hall fell silent for a moment. She, unaware of anything, covered her smudged lips and searched for a handkerchief. She barely managed to swallow the grape, but her chest felt tight and bloated, as if even the snacks she had eaten before coming to the banquet had piled up in her stomach.  

“Marie…”  

“Yes?”  

Marie raised her face at the sound of Kalik calling her name. She felt a pang of guilt, worried that her indigestion might ruin such a good day and atmosphere.  

“Why… why?”  

Someone suddenly exclaimed,  

“A child?!”  

Viola let out a choking sound and collapsed toward Peter. Albrecht fell toward Aaron, but Aaron dodged him, causing him to hit the floor with a thud.  

The Emperor, Elise, and the Hinsward father and daughter were watching with faces full of expectation.  

But Kalik, who had already leaped several steps ahead in his imagination, saw nothing else. He abruptly stood up, scooped Marie into his arms, and dashed out of the banquet hall.  

The place they arrived at was a corridor leading to the garden. He had wandered aimlessly, thinking only of getting out of the banquet hall, and finally found a quiet spot. If this had been the Escael estate, he would have gone straight to a room.  

Kalik seated Marie in a recessed area of the corridor without any relief sculptures.  

“How are you feeling?”  

Marie, taking in the cool night air, rubbed her stomach. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the tight feeling seemed to be easing.  

She stood up, taking Kalik’s hand, saying she wanted to walk a bit. Since they were already outside, she wanted to enjoy this tranquil and relaxing time.