The floor with just one carpet laid on it was cold. There was no way they would heat it now that it was summer. Kaella was being punished by being made to kneel in front of the maids and knights. Her knees were starting to hurt and her calves were tingling.

‘This isn’t so bad?’

Kaella chuckled at the passing thought. Immediately, the eyes of the maid serving the Countess of Schloss turned fierce, but it didn’t matter since she laughed on purpose.

The Countess of Schloss was someone who felt inferior about her lack of education, but had no intention of learning more or making an effort to overcome that inferiority. So she ended up doing things recklessly out of ignorance. No matter if she was the Crown Prince’s mother, she was not the ‘Queen Mother’. That was a title only the Empress could have.

‘The Countess must have been confident she was on par with the Empress.’

That’s why she excitedly added all sorts of lavish decorations to the engagement ceremony, trying to make everything grander. It was not only the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony, but also a monumental day where she would officially play the role of the Crown Prince’s mother in public.

Having lost sight of everything else, she even made the Grand Duchess kneel. To Kaella, who was now used to kneeling, this didn’t even feel like a punishment anymore.

Perhaps because she had built up a tolerance to most insults and pain, even her sense of shame had disappeared. She had become that brazen.

Once a noble aristocrat, now she felt nothing even when treated with contempt. It even made her laugh. She was curious how the Countess of Schloss would handle this.

‘I’m moving further and further away from being a noble.’

It was only natural, having experienced every humiliation imaginable throughout her life, her self-esteem and dignity completely shattered, dying in confinement as a criminal. Most things couldn’t shake her anymore. Except for Peon.

Sir Renard looked like he was about to rush to Peon at any moment, but Kaella stopped him with a look. This would become gossip anyway.

As her knees started to go numb, she decided to think about the issue that had been troubling her the most lately.

Her consciousness kept drifting to the past, to Peon. She still couldn’t decide how to deal with her husband.

‘It’s all elder brother’s, no, His Highness’s fault. Always…, even now.’

She fully believed what Beatrice had said in her dazed state in the North Tower. She deliberately believed it. Because she couldn’t forgive herself for being so blind to Peon.

Because it would be easier to hate him if her father was involved somehow, because that’s what was ‘right’, she just thought those words were true and shoved them to the back of her mind.

Kaella found it impossible to hate Peon without doing that. She was that hopeless. It was like an endless craving for food. If she didn’t consciously restrain herself, she felt like she would lose control and shove everything into her mouth, unable to stop.

No. Even if he’s innocent about father, he’s the one who locked me in the tower.

The prisoner abandoned in cold and hunger spoke sharply to her.

Isn’t that a crime? Making punishment familiar, making humiliation familiar, isn’t that a crime?

Kaella continued to agonize alone while kneeling in front of the maids. Her calves and ankles were starting to scream.

*

Crown Prince Gregory found himself in a very important meeting for once. The Foreign Minister was standing, and the Grand Duke of Lüsenford was seated.

It was a place to inform the Crown Prince of the negotiation details that had all been settled, as the Crown Prince should know well, and also to educate him on what to say and what not to say.

Due to the Emperor’s belief that the Crown Prince was young and needed to learn more, Gregory rarely got to attend such meetings.

It was said that the Grand Duke of Lüsenford had been responsible for defending the northern border and attending important meetings without fail since his early teens, but Gregory was still far from that.

The fact that the Emperor constantly compared the Crown Prince to the Grand Duke with displeasure was already widely known.

Since the Emperor, who could be the only one to solidify the Crown Prince’s position, was doing this, Gregory couldn’t help but feel anxious all the time.

“Do you understand what this means?”

Gregory, who had actually missed most of the latter half because too much information had come at once, just nodded. It was something an ordinary person couldn’t understand in one go.

That’s why the Foreign Minister checked several times and said to speak up if there was anything he didn’t understand, but Gregory thought he shouldn’t. The moment he showed he didn’t understand, it would surely be reported to the Emperor, and he would only lose points. He had to catch up quickly. But his mind was blank. How much had he understood so far?

“There’s too much information, let’s take a break.”

The Grand Duke of Lüsenford said.

“If we don’t pace ourselves from now, we’ll be exhausted by the end. Let’s all rest.”

The Foreign Minister, Lord Luxembourg, and others occupying key positions, who had been gauging with sharp eyes whether the Crown Prince was understanding or not, nodded without protest.

The young Grand Duke of Lüsenford was currently leading the entire meeting.

He didn’t step forward. Yet he always held the initiative. Somehow, he seemed much heavier and deeper than when Gregory had seen him last winter.

Gregory understood why his father favored the Grand Duke of Lüsenford so much. However, wasn’t he still the Crown Prince after all? It was Gregory who inherited the Emperor’s blood, not the Grand Duke of Lüsenford. Gregory understood but couldn’t empathize.

“Your Grace.”

Immediately, Lord Luxembourg took the opportunity during the break to speak to Peon separately. The general in charge of security for the engagement ceremony would have quite a lot to say to the Grand Duke responsible for the north.

They don’t include Gregory in the serious conversations between men. He sat awkwardly apart like an outsider, trying to catch up on what he had missed so far.

“How did you manage to stop the united barbarian invasion in such a short time?”

The generals in Krane showed respect even to the young Peon. They were eager to hear even one more word about how he had devised such an excellent strategy, what secret method he had. Should I tell them that you just need to fight while throwing away even your political foundation? Peon gave vague answers while turning his gaze to the window.

Come to think of it, he didn’t have many places he was particularly attached to. He was tired of Lüsenford now, and he didn’t have any particularly good memories of Krane either.

It was a place stained with the Emperor’s abuse and his mother’s tears. He had returned there again with his wife.

At least in the Imperial Palace, memories of being with Kaella were infused everywhere. Those memories somewhat diluted the abuse he had suffered and the suffocating fear.

‘Elder brother, do you want to eat this?’

There wasn’t much the little girl who came to pester him could do. Kaella, seven years younger than him, would sit beside him and look at books when her brother was studying, or quietly wait beside him when he was crying.

Yes. She waited. Without going anywhere, she just sat quietly by his side and waited.

‘You go. Get away.’

‘Okay. I’m sorry.’

When he, crying, told her to go away because his pride was hurt at being caught crying, she would apologize meekly and get up to leave. She wouldn’t go far, just wait alone until he finished crying and came out.

It was annoying and bothersome, but that little girl was the only person he could believe would always be there. She was the only one who would smile brightly at whatever he said.

‘I’m sorry, elder brother. I’ll go.’

So one day, when Kaella found him crying and immediately apologized before quietly trying to disappear, he grabbed her.

‘Just stay.’

Even though his pride was hurt to death, it didn’t hurt as much next to Kaella. At the time, he just thought it was because she had seen him cry so many times that she was used to it.

Kaella didn’t make fun of him for crying, nor did she look down on him. She would hand him a crumpled handkerchief and sit quietly beside him, sometimes reaching out to hold his hand.

It must have been hard for a young child to sit still, but she stayed right by his side as he cried. It was a warm, small, and only comfort.

Kaella was always the exception and the only one. Even after coming to the Imperial Palace, his mother, who was hard to see, seemed to find it quite painful to look at her son, holding back tears whenever they met. Everyone else either felt uncomfortable with Peon or despised him.

The only one who sincerely welcomed him every time she saw him was the innocent Kaella. Perhaps the desperately poor him only had Kaella’s heart.

Yet he trampled on even that heart with his own muddy feet. That was the most precious thing he had, the only thing.

“Your Highness.”

Peon, who had been looking out the window, turned his head and called the Crown Prince. Immediately, all eyes focused on the Crown Prince. Gregory quickly raised his head at the incredibly low voice.

“It’s a nice day. While we’re resting, how about taking a short walk around here?”

Gregory was very surprised and also a bit reluctant, but there was no reason to refuse the request of the one leading this meeting. There might be something to learn by getting closer. Moreover, the Foreign Minister and Lord Luxembourg also seemed to have a look that said ‘Please allow it quickly’. Gregory silently stood up.

“This way, please.”

The Grand Duke of Lüsenford, who was always razor-sharp polite to him, courteously guided him. Gregory unknowingly tensed up, waiting to see what the Grand Duke would say as he followed. The Grand Duke, much taller than Gregory, strode down the stairs and went right outside the building.

“Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you.”

Feeling that his own voice sounded small and thin as he answered, Gregory cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“It must be tiring trying to absorb in a day what was decided over several days.”

“It’s not.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Even during break time, there are so many other things for you to learn.”

“…Huh?”

Gregory looked at Peon a bit late. What did he mean by learning more? He had been so focused on keeping up with the fast-walking Grand Duke that before he knew it, they had completely left the area where the meeting was being held.

No, how did they get this far so quickly? Gregory was puzzled to see the inner palace nearby, which he hadn’t expected. When did they come this far?

“Many things are happening in the Imperial Palace. Since we’ve come this far, it might be good to check how Your Highness’s engagement ceremony preparations are going.”

Though the words were a light suggestion, it was a strong recommendation. Those piercing purple eyes placed unnecessary burden and pressure on Gregory.

The Empress’s eyes, which he had seen maybe three times, were like that. Whenever Gregory saw those eyes, he would lower his head for no reason to avoid the gaze.

“Shouldn’t everything be as Your Highness wishes?”

“I don’t know much about ceremonial matters…”

“Even taking a brief look at things you don’t know well can teach you a lot. That’s how it was for me too.”

The words that the Grand Duke of Lüsenford had done so were quite tempting. Gregory unknowingly stepped forward.

“Please go in first.”

Belatedly, Gregory realized that not only his mother but also the Grand Duchess of Lüsenford was here.

“Ah, are you going to see your wife?”

Kaella and Gregory were the same age, and although it was a bit complicated, they were cousins after all, so they were quite close. It was awkward and fascinating that such a cousin was loved by the great Grand Duke of Lüsenford, so Gregory smiled a little.

But the Grand Duke of Lüsenford just stared at him blankly, and Gregory, feeling more awkward, quickly went inside.

There was no sign of the Grand Duke of Lüsenford following. Gregory soon forgot about the man behind him.

“…What’s going on here?”

At first, he was puzzled. In a place where the staff should have been busy working, there were hardly any staff, and only maids and knights were standing at attention, leaving it almost empty. And in the middle of that wide hall, a small lady was sitting on the bare floor.

The maids of his mother, whom Gregory knew, were watching at regular intervals as if monitoring that lady. The grim atmosphere was strange. Gregory strode over to confirm who the lady was.

“What in the world, Kaella?”

“…Ah.”

Kaella, who had been enduring and enduring but was starting to crumble bit by bit from exhaustion, barely raised her head.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. It’s been a while.”

When she bowed her waist to greet him, it was almost a prostrate position.

“What are you doing here? Why are you like this?”

Gregory asked in great confusion. No matter how he looked at it, it was a kneeling position. Who made the Grand Duchess kneel? Gregory looked at his mother’s maid standing nearby.

“The Countess ordered her to kneel and reflect on her actions.”

“Are you crazy?”

At the immediate shout, the maid who had been looking up flinched in surprise.

“She committed the crime of underestimating the Countess and conspiring with the Empress’s Palace to embarrass the Countess.”

“Even so, where has the Imperial etiquette of verbal admonishment gone…!”

The Crown Prince momentarily closed his mouth, trying to be careful with his words. He must not make a mistake. Must not make a mistake.

“Kaella, I’m sorry. Get up. I’m really sorry. How long have you been kneeling? Where is mother! Guide me to her immediately!”

Gregory felt cold sweat naturally flowing at the sense of the Grand Duke of Lüsenford’s presence behind him. If nothing else, he knew well that Kaella, who had experience hosting and preparing for events like the welcoming ceremony for the Keruzhan Kingdom delegation and banquets, would not make a mistake in etiquette.

At the same time, Kaella was also the wife of the Grand Duke of Lüsenford, the man to whom he was constantly being compared. The Crown Prince had to carefully consider what would be advantageous to him in this situation.

As he told Kaella to get up quickly, he spoke loudly to the Countess of Schloss who was inside.

“Mother! What is this all about! You should use words!”

“My, what brings our Crown Prince here?”

“That’s not the issue right now, how could you do this to the Grand Duchess?”

The Countess of Schloss immediately came out with a sulky pout and furrowed brow, walking irritably.

“Listen to me, Gregory. I’m your mother, and I’m doing well what His Majesty the Emperor directly ordered, but that Grand Duchess suddenly dropped in and only pretended to help, and it turns out she stabbed me in the back to prevent me from doing anything…”

Her chattering complaint to her son suddenly stopped. Gregory followed his mother’s gaze and turned around. His eyes met with those of the Grand Duke, who was lifting up the Grand Duchess who could barely stand due to her numb legs, and his mother.

The Crown Prince froze. He felt like he couldn’t even breathe properly in front of such an enormous presence. The Grand Duke rose, holding his wife completely in his arms while staring at the Countess of Schloss. It felt like a huge mountain was rising.

The Countess of Schloss could only watch as that enormous terror strode over and grabbed her son.

The Grand Duke lifted the precious son upside down and pulled out his legs. Blood and flesh splattered onto the Countess of Schloss’s pretty face.