The crime was certain, the testimonies were overflowing, and above all, there were even grand dukes among the witnesses. So it was only natural that the execution would be carried out.

However, as there are always various opinions everywhere, as soon as the announcement that the head court lady would be executed tomorrow was posted, people began to chatter.

“No, but still, how can they execute her? Isn’t she the one who raised His Highness since he was young?”

“Ah, come to your senses. When she was so rude to the Princess just now, didn’t you also say ‘she shouldn’t do that’? If they don’t execute her, the Ostein family or the royal family will react right away, so what will you do then?”

A few attendees of the banquet who knew well what it meant for the Grand Duchess to be forced to eat poisonous food and struggle between life and death honestly testified to the scene they had seen. Furthermore, they thought the Grand Duke’s judgment was correct.

“Honestly, I thought the head court lady was drunk. Even if she’s a viscountess herself, the Windgood family wasn’t originally such a well-known family, right? If it’s like that here, how much more so to an Ostein princess?”

That was the biggest problem. Before Kaella died, not eating the Perenco with Tur Berry in it was just an unpleasant behavior of a southern princess with no background, but now the Grand Duchess struggling between life and death due to the forced atmosphere was a completely different story.

Ostein wouldn’t stay still, and neither would the royal family. As the winter was so long and harsh, Lucenport, which desperately needed Klein’s support, had to handle this matter more decisively.

“Still, she’s not just someone who breastfed, but practically a nanny who raised the Grand Duke on her back.”

“What do you mean the head court lady is a nanny? She’s not even someone directly appointed by Her Majesty the Empress, yet she acted like a mother-in-law on her own. She wasn’t in her right mind.”

“Still, considering her contributions so far, shouldn’t they show some leniency? She probably didn’t know it would be to that extent.”

From the perspective of the Lucenport people, the head court lady may have ‘done it unknowingly’, and above all, the merit of raising the Grand Duke since he came to Lucenport now became nothing in front of the Ostein princess who had just arrived.

It was a very disappointing thing for the Lucenport people, who always felt that they were not recognized in Klein no matter how much they fought, endured, and sacrificed.

And Kaella, the outsider who was never fully accepted here, knew that very well.

“Now that the investigation is over, the execution is scheduled for tomorrow morning.”

At Peon’s words, who carefully came in to check on the Grand Duchess’s condition, she was stunned.

Execution? Execution of whom? The head court lady?

“I’m really sorry to let you hear such harsh words when you haven’t been awake for long, but it’s a natural punishment,” Peon said cautiously but firmly.

Kaella, who was barely able to sit up against a pile of pillows, looked at him with a disbelieving expression.

Is this man really the man she knew? Doubts kept piling up. How could he mention execution so easily?

“The head court lady?”

Peon nodded.

“Execution? No, execution?”

He felt a slight regret as he watched Kaella unknowingly use informal speech and then correct it back to formal speech.

“We have to start with the head court lady.”

“Why?”

She asked, too surprised. More and more, as she had predicted, or as she had already experienced, the central figure who should have followed the proper trajectory was deviating from it.

Blatantly deviating from the obvious trajectory and going off on his own. Unpredictable situations are frightening.

She couldn’t even afford to hope that ‘it will be better this time’, and of course, she was only filled with the fear of ‘how bad will it be this time?’

“I was the one who ate it…”

A choked voice barely came out.

“I could have not eaten it, but I…”

If she had received glares for years, until her death, for not eating it, now that she had eaten it, she would pay an even heavier price. This is why she should have died quickly. If she had died properly, wouldn’t everything have been resolved?

Lucenport would not have been able to avoid responsibility for the crime of assassinating the Grand Duchess. That’s how it should have been, but she resented Peon so much for preventing it.

Resentfully glaring at him, she unexpectedly met his very surprised eyes. Oops. She made a mistake.

“…That means many people will think that way.”

Only then did Kaella come to her senses and barely managed to smooth over her words. How could he understand her, who had thought of nothing but dying since coming to Lucenport? She bit her trembling lips tightly.

“…That day, I know very well that you were very surprised and scared by something you experienced for the first time in your life.”

A low voice spoke slowly. The violet eyes, carefully examining the pale face while paying attention to each and every word, were filled with only a cautious look. There was no coldness or indifference that she had always felt.

“I’m really sorry for making you go through a terrible thing that you should never have known in your life. It’s my fault.”

For the first time in her life, Kaella received a polite apology from Peon.

“And…, this is something that needs to be clearly addressed.”

Peon, who paused for a moment, emphasized strongly.

“You did absolutely nothing wrong, Princess. Nothing at all. So you don’t need to say such things. You have no responsibility to bear, and it will never be the case. You did nothing wrong.”

It was clear that the Grand Duchess had done nothing wrong. Kaella, whose face had become pale and half-sized due to a severe illness, just quietly watched Peon speak strongly.

“You did nothing wrong at all.”

There was only one reason why this man had changed.

‘He’s acting like that because his father is still alive.’

Yes. The Grand Duke of Lucenport couldn’t ignore the Duke of Ostein. Kaella, who had never had a reliable family of her own, finally realized the power of that family.

She was sad that she had no family, and now that she had one, the head court lady, whom she had never been able to deal with, was being executed straight away.

Kaella raised her head and looked at the court ladies who had come with her from Ostein. Yes. She should have prepared a foothold to send those girls back well when her family was still intact. She had many titles and people to be responsible for.

“I heard she raised Your Highness.”

“That’s right. But that is only her duty as a subject.”

“Isn’t it a great merit?”

Even Kaella, who said that, didn’t know she would end up defending the head court lady with such words.

“Please spare her life.”

But the words came out bluntly. They came out absurdly easily.

“It hasn’t been long since the wedding, and I’m new here, so I don’t think it’s good to start shedding blood already.”

The restrained tone and self-deprecating speech were already learned to the point of nausea before she died. Or forcibly learned. Kaella had always been looked down upon here.

“I appreciate your firm and accurate judgment, but wouldn’t it be a good start to at least spare her life rather than executing her?”

She had to create at least one such incident in the harsh Lucenport. Since she had saved one Lucenport person, this would help her later when she sent the court ladies back and faced a painless death.

But Peon shook his head.

“It’s a generous offer, but I can’t do that. I’m not okay with it. How dare she do such a thing to the Grand Duchess? I’m going to take this opportunity to properly discipline the entire Lucenport social circle.”

They wouldn’t be able to make a sound if he shed some blood to make sure they never looked down on the young Grand Duchess again. Peon had no intention of showing any leniency.

He had shown enough leniency before the regression. Even if he did, they only thought it was their right and demanded more. He had to cut them down from the beginning and properly establish the Grand Duchess’s authority.

“It hasn’t been long since the wedding. If an execution takes place during a joyous occasion, that’s not good either. Moreover, you have to consider the merit of raising the Grand Duke. Spare her life and confiscate the rest of her assets and titles. I have forgiven her for being rude to me.”

The more she spoke, the more smoothly the words came out. Words that a truly generous Grand Duchess who had never experienced hardship would say came out. Kaella admired herself.

“The Grand Duchess is merciful.”

Merciful, indeed. She snorted inwardly. Mercy? No way! It was just a terrible feeling that she didn’t want to see the head court lady have the death that even Kaella couldn’t have! Whether it was a painful death or a peaceful death, wasn’t it ultimately the end?

She didn’t want to give the head court lady the ‘end’ she wanted to meet like that.

Or it was also revenge against the head court lady who had handed over the keys to the castle to Kaella but actually made all those who managed the inventory her own people, making it impossible for them to cooperate with the Grand Duchess.

Kaella knew the head court lady very well. The head court lady’s self-esteem, pride, and honor all came from Peon. And the head court lady also knew that. So taking that away from her was the proper revenge.

“I understand. I will spare her life, at least.”

Peon cut her off, saying it was only her life.

One could say that the head court lady before Kaella’s death and the current head court lady were different people. But the essence was the same. The head court lady, who had tried to break the Grand Duchess from the first day, had nothing to say even if she was hanged. People don’t change easily.

“And food using Tur Berry will never appear on the Lucenport table again.”

Kaella was surprised by those words as well.

“Is that okay?”

“Even people who boast about it being an important dish only eat it once a year if there’s nothing special. What tradition would there be in that?”

In front of the person who almost died after eating it, Peon swallowed his words that it was nonsense to make a fuss about a dish that wouldn’t kill you if you didn’t eat it.

“Tradition is what the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess make together. Let’s research well together to find new dishes to serve at the banquet. I’ll change the head chef too, so choose someone you want directly.”

It was a kind husband’s words comforting his young wife who had suffered a great embarrassment.

“Before that, let’s focus on recovery for now. I hope you’ll be healthy.”

Peon spoke sincerely. He hoped Kaella, who kept collapsing and getting sick, would be healthy. He hoped she would leave Lucenport in good health.

“Thank you.”

Even if the answer was extremely businesslike.

*

The Grand Duchess, who had barely recovered after struggling between life and death for three days, generously spared only the head court lady’s life.

The reason was to consider her merit of taking care of Lucenport Castle for a long time. For the sake of the ‘future of the newly married Grand Duke and Duchess’, she didn’t die, but nothing was left except her life.

Those who had greatly sympathized but had lower titles were executed without receiving the Grand Duchess’s grace. However, the head court lady, the only one who had everything including her assets confiscated, was expelled from Lucenport.

Where could an exiled person go? The south? The crime of insulting Ostein and the royal family would become an even greater crime the moment she went down south.

There was nowhere in the entire Krania she could set foot. Then there was no choice but to go further north. A place with harsher terrain and cold awaited, the territory of the evil dragon Gwasallante, or the land of different races.

“There will definitely be people who will help the exiled person.”

The secretary muttered as he placed all sorts of blueprints in front of Peon.

“They’ll hide or help her from behind. Especially the head court lady. She had quite a thick personal network, didn’t she?”

Peon, who had been immersed in work, raised his head at the last words.

“She did.”

The problem was that she built that personal network by picking people, and sometimes used it to torment someone. From the time Kaella collapsed until now, Peon had been reviewing and ruminating on the things that had happened before the regression.

“Above all, the royal family will find out about this right away. No, they probably already know. It’s impossible to escape the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor, isn’t it?”

There were eyes watching everywhere in Lucenport, and there were also many traitors who sold information in exchange for money and positions in Klein. It’s a difficult place to live. The life of Peon, who had tried to protect this place, was also miserably tough.

“No, they don’t know yet. It will be known soon, but it won’t be known that quickly.”

The secretary looked at the Grand Duke, who spoke with confidence, as if puzzled.

“Pardon? But doesn’t His Majesty the Emperor have a magic tool to see the world?”

“He can’t use it for the time being.”

The secretary’s expression changed in an instant.

“Really? Is that why you ordered the development of the mines?”

“Yes.”

The secretary looked at the Grand Duke with an indescribable expression and finally let out a deep sigh of relief.

It was also a sigh of relief, feeling light as if a great burden had been lifted. There were many things he was curious about, but he couldn’t ask more if Peon only told him that much.

“I understand. We will speed up from now on. I feel so relieved that the watching eyes have disappeared.”

That’s right. The Emperor, who didn’t know how to use magic, collected magic tools. The powerful magic tools that had already gathered in Krania all became the property of the Emperor. And the collapsed Empress was found in a room filled with those magic tools.

Those who knew the situation sympathized, wondering if the Empress had tried to see her distant son through the mirror in that room. In fact, the Emperor had focused the mirror on Lucenport and used it to monitor Peon fighting the evil dragon.

Looking back and ruminating on it, it was a life that suffocated him. His mother, Beatrice whom he thought he had to save, and the Emperor’s eyes following him in real-time, and the evil dragon constantly clashing with him, it was too much to endure.

So Kaella, who often came to bother him, distract his concentration, and disturb his mind, was tiring.

That tiredness stemmed from the fact that although Kaella easily shattered Peon’s center that he had been grasping, he couldn’t actually touch her.

How tiring was the task of rebuilding his center, pulling himself together, cutting off his gaze that naturally wandered, and constantly despising his dirty blood, the blood that created bastards?

‘Her Highness the Grand Duchess…’

Just mentioning those words with a very troubled expression on the head court lady’s face was enough to give him a headache. The head court lady always deliberately started with that, knowing that Peon would react negatively to the Grand Duchess.

Now that he thought about it, the head court lady seemed to have been afraid. She was afraid of handing over the inner workings of the castle that she had tightly held for nearly 20 years to a more sophisticated and educated Grand Duchess, and of being looked down upon by the young Grand Duchess.

Like an elderly person who finds it difficult to admit that they have finally become old in the coming years, she would have considered it as an act of being completely denied by herself.

Kaella? Did Kaella know that the head court lady was like that?

“Lezen.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Did the exiled criminal say that I was bewitched by a woman?”

“How did you know? As soon as she heard the news of the execution, she collapsed and said those words.”

Her true feelings must have popped out very honestly in the face of death. But since Kaella showed mercy, those true feelings must have retreated back in.

“How dare she say things that even my mother wouldn’t say?”

“She should be grateful for the rest of her life that Her Highness the Princess showed mercy.”

“Well. Call Rolf.”

How dare they regard the noble Grand Duke as if he were their own son? How dare they try to be on par with a noble princess?

Peon didn’t forget that there were still such bastards in the castle. And he didn’t forget that in the end, he was the one who had to be completely removed from Kaella’s life.