It was not strictly the Duchess of Schroeder’s fault that she knew nothing about politics.

She had been a good singer since childhood, and caught the Emperor’s eye due to her family’s logic that a woman should be pretty, sing well, and marry a fine man.

So it wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t learned about politics from a young age.

Even after entering the palace and giving birth to a healthy son, she got by on intuition alone, covering her shortcomings with her wealthy family background. She learned as much etiquette as needed.

But that was it. Duchess Schroeder was just born with no interest in politics.

She lacked the persistence to force herself to learn and study, and easily gave up on things she found uninteresting. She was interested in relationships, so she socialized with high officials, but had no interest in their conversations.

Isn’t it enough that her son is smart? With her son becoming the Crown Prince, she thought she could monopolize even the Empress’s duties, who always just sat quietly.

So Duchess Schroeder couldn’t understand why this was happening.

“Why? Why is this happening?”

Even when she grabbed people and asked, no one answered her.

Duke Austein and Grand Duke Luesenford immediately walked off somewhere, while the Crown Prince, pale-faced, was being comforted by his close aides. But that comfort wasn’t particularly helpful.

“Please calm down, Your Highness. For now, calmly…”

Nowhere was there a reassuring word that everything would be ‘alright’.

Duchess Schroeder instinctively knew this was something that shouldn’t reach the Emperor’s ears. The anxious mother avoided the intimidating Grand Duke Luesenford and grabbed the relatively gentle Duke Austein.

“Um, Duke Austein. What’s going on right now…?”

She tried to smile, but her lips trembled with anxiety.

The Crown Prince has a big event of engagement coming up.

Securing his position once with the engagement, twice with the marriage, and thrice with producing an heir – yet the Emperor had been lukewarm, constantly making the mother and son uneasy. And now this happens the day before the engagement ceremony.

“An urgent matter has come up. Duchess, please rest for a moment and catch your breath. You’ve worked hard leading the banquet.”

Duke Austein hurried to find the Emperor, thinking ominously that tonight’s dinner with his daughter and son-in-law might be canceled. As expected, the Emperor shouted with a scowling face.

“Shut everyone up and call a meeting right away!”

The ‘meeting’ the Emperor spoke of here was no ordinary meeting. It was an emergency meeting where the Emperor himself attended, along with all relevant high-ranking officials.

At this meeting, hastily assembled with only the most important people, as discreetly as possible from the eyes of foreign guests, the Emperor shouted furiously, forgetting his dignity.

“What the hell are you doing! Huh? Are you not aware of what position you’re in? Don’t you know the meaning of the words coming out of your mouth? Who educated this fool!”

The Crown Prince bowed his head, pale-faced.

“How many times have I told you to think before you speak! Don’t you know the Bayeta base is being built in utmost secrecy!”

“Your Majesty, this isn’t good for your health. Please calm down a bit. I’m sure the Crown Prince didn’t mean to do it on purpose.”

Some ministers and the good-natured Duke Austein tried to stop the Emperor.

“Not on purpose my foot! He got excited thinking he was something special and blurted out military secrets! That fool doesn’t even properly understand what he’s done! What does he know! If he can’t do anything right, he should just keep his mouth shut! Why speak up when he knows nothing!”

The Emperor shouted, his face turning red. Fearing something might fly and hurt the Crown Prince, who had to attend tomorrow’s engagement eve, the ministers hurriedly cleared away all heavy objects near the Emperor.

Who could possibly calm the Emperor down? At times like this, only the Empress could, but with the Empress unconscious now, they could only rely on Duke Austein and Grand Duke Luesenford.

“Your Majesty. What’s important now is damage control. You know better than anyone that we can’t show weakness during the engagement ceremony.”

Duke Austein simply stood between the Crown Prince and the Emperor, trying to soothe him.

“Now that they’ve caught on, there’s nothing we can do. The Bayeta naval base was bound to be revealed eventually, so let’s handle it confidently. It’s alright, Your Majesty. The timing has just been moved up a bit, so proceed as planned.”

Grand Duke Luesenford calmly chimed in. The Crown Prince found this situation utterly humiliating. The Emperor, who had been panting heavily, fell silent for a moment.

“We will assist you.”

“Yes, we will do our best, so please calm down, Your Majesty.”

As the Grand Duke and Duke Austein each spoke, the Emperor slumped down. Then, seeing the Crown Prince standing awkwardly, he suddenly shouted.

“You get out, you bastard!”

The Crown Prince, who had made such a big mistake, was kicked out, unworthy of sitting in on the meeting. The Emperor clutched his throbbing forehead.

“Adeo, what do you think? You know the southern seas and navy well.”

“I agree with the Grand Duke. Weren’t you prepared for it to be revealed someday when you built it? It was bound to happen eventually.”

“How much has been built?”

“It will be completed next summer.”

Reports could be heard from here and there.

“Push it as much as possible. Damn fool, thinking Kerusian can’t say anything after he’s married, incompetent idiot! Make that fool study the southern geography and military facilities again!”

Bayeta was a very sensitive location. With a naval base and port being built there, at least five countries would immediately be upset, including the Kingdom of Kerusian, with whom they were about to become in-laws.

Prince Elkanan, who brought his niece, won’t stay quiet. If it had just been a rumor floating around, that would be one thing, but it came directly from the Crown Prince’s mouth, so there was no denying it.

“And we need to keep everyone’s mouths shut! He’ll probably blab everything to Kerusian like a gossip once he’s married!”

The Emperor, who had been speaking, suddenly fell silent and was lost in thought.

“No, no. I can’t bear to see that. That fool is bound to do it again.”

Peon waited for time to pass, not even expecting to hear anything worthwhile from the Emperor’s mouth. He just wanted to finish quickly and see Kaella.

He knew she was breathing steadily now, too busy working to think about death. But whenever she was out of sight, his heart would often tighten.

Kaella had quietly wasted away out of his sight, and eventually died without eating anything. Unable to trust anyone else, he had to take care of her himself, directly keeping her from dying.

“I need to change the regency law.”

The ministers in the meeting room looked at the Emperor with wide eyes. Peon raised his head.

This was a bit interesting.

*

Kaella also sensed when the Crown Prince said something he ‘shouldn’t have said’. This was bad. Duchess Schroeder seemed to have finally understood the situation after hearing a kind and detailed explanation from an aide tailored to her level of understanding.

In Kaella’s view, Duchess Schroeder was a bit lazy. She disliked anything complicated or difficult.

But was she the only one? There were many such people among the nobles. They lived comfortably and lazily, yet led peaceful, wealthy, and enjoyable lives.

Kaella was not like that. From the start, she had been taught that laziness was a sin, and she worked and strived desperately to be acknowledged.

“It’s alright, Duchess. Tomorrow is the engagement eve. Nothing will happen. You need to stay strong.”

High-ranking noblewomen like Duchess Schroeder and Kaella were staying in the inner palace under the pretext of resting.

It was called rest, but really it was to prevent any awkward questions about the Crown Prince’s mistake today from guests wandering around the palace.

Kaella looked up at the ceiling beautifully depicting the founding myth of Crania. Her eyes went to the ceiling, but in her mind, the future was already unfolding clearly.

Today, the Crown Prince made a mistake that a Crown Prince should never make. So the Emperor won’t stay quiet, and Prince Elkanan from Kerusian will make a move too. It’s going to get complicated…

‘But what am I doing here?’

It was natural for people living their lives to be busy. In the future changed by the regressed Peon, the Crown Prince was facing his engagement and had caused an international incident.

Amidst people trying to resolve the situation, those trying to expose it, those getting angry, those anxious, and those busy with upcoming events, only Kaella was floating alone.

What did the Crown Prince’s engagement or the unconscious Empress have to do with her? Why did she come all the way to Crain when it had nothing to do with her? Kaella found this very puzzling.

When she came to her senses, she was here. Unable to die, she had drifted here. Drifted here to receive punishment from the Emperor in the monster’s garden again, standing blankly in the Crain Imperial Palace where one could hardly breathe due to the Emperor’s fury.

What good did she expect to see by coming all the way here? Why was she still breathing and alive?

“It will get better with time. Still, you have to stay strong. There’s not much time left.”

The sound of maids comforting Duchess Schroeder suddenly seemed to be directed at her.

I hope you overcome this soon.

It will get better with time.

You still have to stay strong.

You have to overcome it. You have to forgive. Forgiving is winning.

Haven’t you suffered enough to forgive by now?

Not knowing what to do, she had nowhere to ask for advice or counsel. Kaella, who had been mocked for reading boring books, had no choice but to turn to the only method she knew – books again.

In biographies and novels, protagonists who suffer humiliation forgive people, overcome their wounds, and conquer harsh trials. It was literally a fairy tale.

So she threw those aside and dug deeper into real events. What happened to people who experienced terrible things? Did they really overcome everything and become okay as they say? Did they forgive? Is forgiveness possible?

Is it impossible because she’s wicked? Kaella looked down at herself. Seeing that forgiveness was so easy for others but so difficult for her, she must be wicked. That must be it.

‘It’s too big to forgive.’

The terrible wound left on her, the scar that had hardened black without healing after bleeding profusely, was too big. So big that when she looked down at herself, all she could see was the scar.

Wicked. Bad. If you can’t die, you should forgive kindly. A wicked and cowardly girl who can’t even forgive and lives ambiguously. You can’t do anything. So you should die. You should die quickly.

“It’s too high here. I can’t breathe. Oh my, it’s scary.”

Duchess Schroeder went out to the terrace for some air but came back in, saying it was dizzying.

Kaella looked down at the dizzying view below. Indeed, it was dizzying. The height overlooking the wide, neatly arranged garden was so high that the wind whistled.

Unexpectedly, the familiar darkness that burst through her busy daily life opened its mouth wide below. It laughed as if to say, did you think you could shake me off so easily?

If you fall from here, would it hurt?

You know you need to hurt a lot to die properly. You couldn’t die because it didn’t hurt enough.

The woman who starved to death locked in the northern tower murmured gloomily.

You need to hurt terribly to be able to die. You’re good at enduring pain.

Should I endure pain to the point of death?

If you die, that man will be in terrible pain. Isn’t that enjoyable?

Enjoyable?

“Kaella.”

The woman, about to be swallowed by the cold winter shadow in the bright summer, startled and trembled at the arm wrapping around her waist.

“What could our Rain be thinking to not hear me calling no matter how many times?”

The man who pulled her back to reality asked gently with his eyes, saying “Hmm?” The sharp energy had settled, refined.

The man who had destroyed Kaella’s world in an instant and then laid it out normally again, like a natural disaster, boasted an excessively perfect appearance unlike a calamity.

Isn’t that a bit unfair? If he’s a calamity, he should look scary like one so people can’t approach easily.

“Shall we go, Rain? It’s gotten quite late.”

Peon didn’t even listen to her answer. A strong hand grabbed her waist and pulled her slightly. An indescribable light flashed in his purple eyes that always looked at her as if about to devour her.

“Your Highness, how…?”

Everyone is curious if the suddenly appeared Grand Duke Luesenford might have some new information to share. But Peon said nothing and quickly left the place.

When Kaella fell a step behind, unable to keep up with his stride that was wider than usual, he put more strength into the arm holding her. Kaella was carried out, barely touching the ground.

“Oh my!”

Exclamations burst out among the maids surrounding Duchess Schroeder.

Kaella looked blankly at the maids quickly receding behind her, then looked up at Peon.

It was always like this with him. The world she had no interest in flowed by like water, and cradled in his arms, she moved further away from death and kept moving forward regardless of her will.

“We have an appointment this evening, Kaella. Remember? We were going to meet your father-in-law.”

“Wasn’t it going to be cancelled?”

If the Imperial Palace was this tense, Duke Austein and he should have stayed up all night at the palace to devise countermeasures. But Peon shook his head as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“How could we cancel such an important appointment? It’s been months since we last met. Should we stay overnight today?”

Kaella discovered in Peon’s eyes an emotion far from her usual listlessness. What should she call it? Urgency?

“That sounds good. It would be enjoyable to talk late into the night and spend quality time together.”

He didn’t let go of Kaella even in front of the dizzying stairs. He positioned himself towards the railing, placed Kaella on the wall side, and held her tightly as they descended.

“Your father-in-law said he’s been looking forward to your visit.”

“Um, yes, uh, could you put me down first?”

“No. I’m in a hurry.”

He was in a hurry. He needed to pull his slender wife, who could be easily pushed away by the wind, from the high place and bring her to the safe ground. Today, he caught her.

Since he caught her, she would live another day, and death would be postponed for one more day. Peon desperately dangled before Kaella’s eyes things that she might ‘somewhat’ enjoy.

The disheartening thing was that these were all just temporary measures. The domain management she showed some interest in, the imperial events she had to focus on inevitably, even her beloved father – all were insufficient to keep Kaella breathing.

“Let’s go.”

Aren’t we already going? Kaella looked up at Peon quizzically. Yes. That was urgency.

No, beyond urgency, it was desperation and earnestness. The woman who had always been desperate and eventually tasted despair found the earnestness filling her husband’s eyes unfamiliar and fascinating.

That emotion was not hers.