The maids and head maid were anxious, the doctor quietly focused on his work, and the knights also anxiously watched over the grand duchess.

The grand duchess, who came out at the doctor’s insistence to take a walk and move her body, appeared outwardly to be a very calm and gentle lady.

“How is Her Highness doing these days?”

When Secretary Regen carefully asked, Sir Renard pointed to look straight ahead instead of answering.

“I mean besides how she looks on the outside.”

My friend, did I ask you that? If I needed to confirm with my eyes, I would have just looked and left. I wouldn’t have bothered asking Sir Renard. With an expression that said as much, Regen saw Sir Renard shrug his shoulders. How should I know?

“I don’t know. How can one know what’s inside a person?”

Outwardly, there seemed to be no problem at all. But to those who knew, she was someone with such great pride that she couldn’t stand the butler slandering her and attempted suicide in front of the grand duke.

Officially, it was said that the shocked grand duchess had collapsed, but the grand duchess’s close associates inevitably knew the truth. The grand duke’s inner circle, including Sir Renard, were also unexpectedly included in this.

“Isn’t it funny? With just two of the longest-serving people gone, the castle is running very efficiently.”

With Doris Windgood and Rolf Anderson, who had been taking care of the castle, committing a great sin and disappearing, the Lucenford Castle unexpectedly ran even more properly.

In other words, it meant that they were the reason the castle was in this state. Moreover, they all uniformly hated the grand duke’s new bride for no reason.

“It’s because Her Highness has experience in running a castle.”

A month had quickly passed since the grand duchess collapsed. The new head maid, new chef, new doctor, and the grand duchess’s maids all worked very efficiently and sensibly.

They didn’t unnecessarily and blindly clutch their purses, and they spent properly where needed.

The military and knights’ side was already well-organized by Peon, so there were no unnecessary parts, but there were many areas that didn’t mesh well with the castle’s housekeeping, and now that those problems had all disappeared, everything was smooth.

Even the stable keeper and the weapons storage manager who used to plead with tearful faces for more money now smiled. They were happy to be able to provide the knights with safer and better horses, saddles, horseshoes, and new weapons instead of old ones.

“It’s all good for us, but…”

Sir Renard watched the grand duchess, who had no color in her face at all, quietly walking as she was led by the hands of the maids. He was assigned the task of guarding the grand duchess today. It was the most important duty that the grand duke always earnestly requested.

“Does His Highness really intend to not meet Her Highness at all?”

“It’s not that he’s not meeting her…”

Regen tried to correct Sir Renard’s words a little. So, how should this be expressed?

“Then, is he trying to keep avoiding her?”

But Sir Renard was a bit faster.

“No, it’s not that he’s avoiding her either…”

Regen, who had been trying hard to correct it, was an excellent secretary but gave up for now. Because the word ‘avoid’ was the most fitting, and above all, it was the truth.

The grand duke did not go near the grand duchess at all.

Whether he was worried that she might cause another commotion by trying to kill herself again if she saw him, or concerned that it might harm her recovering health, the grand duke, for reasons only he knew, did not face the grand duchess.

The couple who always used the same bedroom and usually matched their meal times together were now gone.

“Everything’s fine now, though.”

“Yes. All the difficult things are over.”

It was a very difficult task to cut off the castle employees at once, especially those who had been known for nearly 20 years and had worked even before that. No matter how problematic they were, there was a strong tendency in Lucenford to turn a blind eye as much as possible.

That’s because the people of Lucenford tended to band together tightly while being looked down upon in Crania. So in this place where local sentiments were strong, it was extremely difficult to touch the Anderson and Windgood families, who were local dignitaries.

They had to cut off human relationships that had grown close and strong over the years they had known each other, be prepared to fall out with all related parties, and finding new people was actually a difficult task.

Above all, since the emperor was always watching Peon, even if he acted just a little bit differently, whether that action was justified or not, the emperor would harass Peon very tiredly.

Why did you do such a thing, it’s because of your mistake that such a thing happened, it’s all your fault, and so on, all kinds of blame poured out until Peon admitted he was wrong and begged for forgiveness.

It was a task undertaken in anticipation of this.

“Honestly, I’m worried to the point that it’s concerning now. His Highness isn’t even shaving and just keeps going in and out of the underground prison.”

“Yes.”

Sir Renard nodded heavily.

“I’m thinking I should speak to Her Highness. Even though His Highness has absolutely forbidden it.”

Regen sighed deeply at those words. He was thinking he should speak to Her Highness even if it meant facing such consequences.

“His Highness seems too dangerous for that.”

Peon was out of his mind to the point where his closest aides were worried. The grand duke, who was always generous and merciful, didn’t even blink an eye at the bodies being carried out of the underground prison non-stop over the past month.

Something was strange. It wasn’t like him at all. This was the reason Regen and Sir Renard felt uneasy.

But as if to completely erase such worries, that evening, the grand duke sent a message to the grand duchess asking if he could meet her.

*

“Her Highness has recovered enough to take short walks and spend some time outside without difficulty. Although we’re gradually increasing her food intake, it’s about time to start incorporating some regular food.”

Peon, who had confirmed this several times with Darinka, nodded silently. Kaella, who had woken up after nearly a month, was slowly recovering.

“Her mood?”

“Well, she doesn’t speak much, and she doesn’t show likes or dislikes about anything, so it’s hard to tell.”

In that sense, Beatrice Lavallee was a very easy patient to understand.

“…She shouldn’t receive any big shocks.”

“Is there anything more shocking than this?”

Darinka looked at the grand duke with a pale face. There’s more than this?

“Well. I’m not sure how she’ll take talking with me.”

“Rather, it would be better if you talked. That would be much better.”

“Even if it’s about unpleasant things?”

“Yes. It’s a hundred, a thousand times better than keeping quiet and swallowing it inside. Shouting and crying is even better for health. It means there’s at least some release.”

As a sinner, he couldn’t delay his apology any longer. It was also something he should have done.

He recalled the north tower where he had dealt with Rolf Anderson and Doris Windgood. It was a place that felt cold even though it was spring. What thoughts would have gone through the mind of a precious court lady dying with her eyes open in the dead of winter?

The moment Kaella rushed towards death for the third time before his eyes, the shell surrounding him cracked and split. The taboo that had been binding him so he couldn’t do that, in fact, had no meaning since the regression, so it couldn’t stop him this time either.

Thus, Peon very clearly recalled the memory of irrationally ignoring Kaella while being swayed by the taboo. Although he knew, now his even more sensitive senses kept calling up that memory, shredding his nerves.

“Regen.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Ask Her Highness politely when she can meet me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Regen went out with the small envelope the grand duke handed him. The answer came back quickly.

“She says it doesn’t matter when you come, visit at your convenience.”

To confess and beg forgiveness for a sin that could not possibly be forgiven, yet she says it ‘doesn’t matter’. It would have been better if she had flatly refused, saying don’t come, how dare you try to meet anyone. For Kaella, it didn’t matter either way.

After attempting death twice and failing, she didn’t even get angry. Peon was more afraid of that. Yes. Even after coming this far, there was something to be afraid of. But the fear was his share, not Kaella’s.

That evening, in the dark hours, Peon stood in front of a mirror for the first time in a long time. The pale face revealed after thoroughly shaving off the beard soaked sufficiently in water and thick steam was even thinner.

His body, dripping with water, was the same. He tidied up his hair that had been flowing down carelessly, and put on neat but unadorned clothes.

Even though Kaella would hate just seeing him, he at least had to be clean and tidy. But he shouldn’t be too flashy either.

A sinner should look like a sinner, a clean shirt and pants would do. It should be an appearance that wouldn’t be strange even if he were thrown in prison as is.

With a heavy heart, he went to meet the grand duchess who had finished her meal. Unlike him, who was properly dressed, Kaella was sitting in an armchair in comfortable attire with her hair roughly braided.

“…How are you feeling?”

His tone was heavy, serious, and polite, infinitely careful. Kaella answered calmly, or as if she had no interest at all, even in front of her husband who was no different from an enemy.

“I’m fine.”

I’m fine.

Even if she caught a cold from the ice-cold wash water and bath water brought in by the maid intentionally let in by the head maid, even if she was criticized for being a picky southern woman after enduring and enduring before changing the maid, even if the newly changed maid deliberately did similar things again, she always had to be fine.

She had learned that if you endure, be patient, and try hard, someday you’ll be rewarded. She was glad that there were some people who gradually recognized her true worth. But in the end, that was just a very good excuse for the grand duke who had decided to ignore her.

Why bother if the lady says she’s fine?

The lady says she’s fine. That’s it. Don’t do it.

In fact, she wasn’t really fine, and even though that was obvious, he ignored even that. He ignored a sick person, ignored the unfairness of not being properly treated, and kept ignoring like that until he ignored even innocence and pleas.

Subject to the taboo and unable to think properly, he arbitrarily treated Kaella as a spy, yet he made good use of such words.

He could no longer stand straight and face Kaella.

“My lady.”

The knees that hardly bent even under the emperor’s oppression folded. With a face distorted by guilt, he knelt and prostrated himself before the wife he had now let go of everything.

“I have done wrong.”

The sinner should rightfully apologize. But having committed a sin that couldn’t even ask for forgiveness, there was nothing he could do but apologize.

“For what?”

Kaella asked back as if she didn’t understand. She even widened her eyes slightly, tensing her shoulders as if she hadn’t expected him to do that.

“For all the things… all the wrongs I’ve committed against you over the past 4 years.”

That was the only way he could explain it. When he thought about what he had done wrong, it was everything.

“I didn’t believe you…, didn’t treat you properly, dared to ignore you and like that…”

The more he thought about the corpse that died with eyes open, the more he couldn’t even speak properly. But he had to do it.

“Like that, letting you die…”

He didn’t make excuses that it wasn’t his will, that it was because he was completely caught in the taboo. That had nothing to do with Kaella. He didn’t even hope for mitigation. Sin is sin.

“I’m sorry.”

He prostrated himself and begged.

“I will follow whatever punishment you decide.”

Kaella asked back with an expression of not understanding what Peon was saying at all.

“Punishment?”

“Yes. Don’t you want to kill me?”

For the first time, emotion filled her face, which had been lifeless both before she collapsed and now. She looked down at her husband, who was unhesitatingly saying crazy things, with surprised eyes.

“I will finish it cleanly, and no one will hold you responsible. Whatever punishment you desire, there will be no aftermath.”

No matter how much he racked his brains, this was the only method he could come up with in the end. He had to leave everything to Kaella. Even if she couldn’t take revenge here, it was still worth it.

“How could I kill Your Highness?”

“There are many ways. I will tell you various methods that can inflict maximum pain with minimum effort.”

Kaella hesitated, or didn’t answer.

“I know my life is cheap compared to the sins I’ve committed against you. Even if I don’t die, there are ways to cut off my limbs or become a criminal of the empire. I can start a rebellion after divorce. It will take some time, but I will surely remain a criminal in history and be executed.”

That wasn’t just idle talk, but a painful conclusion reached after sufficient long deliberation.

“You won’t be in any political danger.”

Peon’s voice, which said he would calculate and handle even that, was mixed with the detachment of one prepared for all punishments.

“Why?”

Kaella asked back as if she really couldn’t understand. Her questioning voice was even innocent.

“Why go to such lengths?”

Is there another punishment that Peon’s mind couldn’t think of?

“You’ll be fine without me. You don’t need to do such things.”

The dazed voice was nonchalant. Too nonchalant and peaceful, it sounded too terribly to the sinner.

“Just kill me, Your Highness.”

It was a more cruel and harsh sentence than a cheap death or lengthy punishment.