Beatrice was obsessed with finding information about a trading company called , which still no one knew about.

She didn’t want to leave alone that arrogant bastard who rudely and impudently saw her only as a noble’s daughter good for selling off.

Anyway, that company took all the debts of the Monde ducal family. It had to be resolved somehow. For now, if she could catch that bastard, make him kneel, and give him all kinds of humiliation, it seemed like it might relieve some of her anger.

His frivolous and unruly attitude still provoked Beatrice. Yes. He was a somewhat eye-catching man. Delicious, you could say. She wanted to taste him once.

Of course, since he was too ordinary-looking, she would play with him once or twice and then discard him, but still, people with that kind of aura were not common.

But the man Beatrice considered the best these days was still Peon. It was rare to find a man who was breathtakingly handsome and had a thrilling and dangerous aura. No, there wasn’t one.

“Ah, Mom, wake up!”

In that sense, she had been in an extremely irritated state for several days. Nothing was going right at all. She had put a spell on Peon, but since he got married, he kept slipping out of her hands.

Mom had become a drunkard in the meantime, the emperor was only keeping the empress by his side, and some cheeky merchant or whoever he was was trying to uncover a secret that no one had cared about for 10 years.

She couldn’t even touch the prophecy she had stolen and peeked at Kaella’s poison from Lucenford. It was frustrating.

“The crown prince is getting engaged! We need to get dresses fitted quickly!”

After waking up the Duchess of Monde, who had been drinking recklessly again last night and sleeping until the sun was high in the sky, Beatrice immediately focused on getting a new battle dress fitted.

She couldn’t show her father, Duke Monde, to the trading company that had taken over the debt, and she had said she would get married.

Anyway, if she quickly got a dress fitted and wore it to the crown prince’s engagement ceremony, bringing her mother back to society, it would look plausible. She would execute the prophecy right after that.

“Mom. No one knows that Dad is dead, right?”

“Why are you saying such nonsense in the morning……”

“It’s not morning, it’s past noon. No one knows, right?”

“Why wouldn’t anyone know? Some do.”

“Who?”

Beatrice’s eyes immediately rolled. The debtor wants to meet Duke Monde. If so, she had to silence those who knew that Duke Monde had actually been dead for a long time.

“You!”

The Duchess of Monde told her daughter as if it was obvious.

“I know too. Why are you asking that?”

“I met the new creditor, and he keeps saying he wants to see Dad.”

The Duchess of Monde sat at her dressing table, rubbing her face, and turned to look at her daughter.

“Why?”

Her mother’s face without makeup suddenly looked aged. Beatrice strode over, taking out new makeup and saying:

“The debt is in Dad’s name.”

“Oh please, what…… The world has forgotten about your father for how long now.”

“That’s why I’m uneasy. Does anyone else know besides us?”

“The doctor…, the butler, and John know.”

Her dry, cracked fingers counted. Beatrice’s eyes narrowed. So three more people know.

“Don’t worry. They’re all trustworthy people. Besides, how long ago was that? It’s been 10 years, 10 years.”

“Still, you never know.”

“10 years is a longer time than you think. Becoming a non-existent person happens in an instant. Everyone forgets. Even I sometimes forget that I had a husband.”

“It’s a bit suspicious.”

“People can’t beat time. If it’s been quiet for 10 years, it will continue to be quiet. And even if it’s revealed that your father is dead, what can they do? He was known for being sickly, so everyone will just think he died from illness.”

“Ah, Mom. I don’t want to inherit the title.”

The Duchess of Monde turned to look at her daughter.

“Then you have no choice but to get married properly, right? Marriage is a shield for women. You can easily find a rich and suitably stupid man who doesn’t even know when you’re cheating on him.”

“Are you satisfied with such a man?”

“That’s how a husband should be. If he’s not satisfying, you can relieve yourself with other men. Oh, my head hurts. Why do you keep asking about unnecessary things? I’m confused. Go away.”

At this point, the duchess waved her hand in exasperation.

“I’m running around everywhere dealing with the debt crisis, while you just drink and get irritated?”

“You keep bringing up headache-inducing stories. Why do you keep unnecessarily bringing up old stories for no reason! I’m already upset enough about not being able to go to the imperial palace.”

“The ban has been lifted. You can go to the engagement ceremony this time, so what are you worried about?”

Beatrice snapped and stormed out, slamming the door open. Anyway, she couldn’t communicate with her mother. She should drink less.

‘Alright. For now, since Dad is dead, let’s leave it at that, and Peon will probably come to the engagement ceremony too. If I show His Majesty that I’ve put many spells on him, he’ll be pleased. The creditor is a bit suspicious, but……’

For now, I’m using all kinds of informants to find out about that company, so something will come up. Since it’s a company, it’s not something that can be resolved by killing just one man I met.

Anyway, since he’s a man too, it can be resolved moderately. Men are predictable after all. Beatrice knew how to cast spells, and she was skilled at lying and making excuses. She could buy time by claiming she was still looking for a husband.

‘Then I just need to execute the prophecy I saw in Lucenford.’

In the basin stained with blood and poison, Beatrice saw a very sweet result. If she could get that, debt or whatever wouldn’t matter at all.

Everything had always been favorable to Beatrice. If it wasn’t favorable, she made it so. It’s a life where she’s managed so well that she hardly felt even the enormous debt as debt. It will be the same this time. Definitely.

*

You must fill and send back as much as you received. Since her father-in-law sent more goods than ordered, the son-in-law also had to repay.

Seeing the size of the merchant ship from Ostein, the people of Lucenford seemed to have a strange feeling that they couldn’t lose.

Quality leather, refined iron and sturdy timber hiding gold were slightly loaded onto the ship. Swords, spears, and shields made in Lucenford, known for making weapons, were also fully loaded.

“We’d like to request harpoons and pulleys as well.”

The Ostein knights, impressed by the sophisticated weapons, ordered weapons for use on ships. Lucenford, rich in underground resources including iron, would have a much better life if they cooperated with Ostein.

“As we’re in the middle of expansion construction, there are many things we’d like to request as well.”

The Ostein people weren’t planning to stay long. Merchants always come and go like the wind.

Moreover, news about the crown prince’s engagement ceremony had arrived, so the Ostein people were very busy too. But the work in Lucenford had to be perfectly finished.

It was not just anyone, but a place they would continue to visit in the future, and also a place that the heir who would rule Ostein in the future would rule.

Yes. Marriage meant that two territories would be connected and become one.

Regendo, who was constantly making lists and checking if they could meet the order quantities, Jenny, who was estimating when to come back here again, everyone knew that.

Kaella was guessing that this was her usefulness. For example, Kaella’s utility had only increased due to this incident.

‘Since Father is still alive, that’s advantageous……’

“Stop.”

Peon tapped on the desk where Kaella was sitting. His hand, which was well-shaped, thick, and stretched out coolly, caught her attention.

“Stop thinking.”

Kaella looked at him curiously.

“Do you know what I’m thinking?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not good thoughts. I can tell by your expression, so don’t think alone, tell me.”

She was about to ask how he knew, but after hearing the answer, she stared blankly at the hand he held out.

“Hold it.”

“If I don’t hold it……”

“I’ll hug you.”

She knew it would be like this, but she tried once. Kaella took his hand and stood up from her seat.

He either brought food to eat, or made her walk steadily. Usually both. Today too, Peon was planning to take a walk around this area with her, carrying a bundle of food that the chef had prepared separately.

“Stop thinking. It’s not a problem that can be solved just by you thinking about it anyway.”

How does he know that too? Kaella looked at him.

“If it was a problem that could be solved, it would have been solved already.”

While the Ostein people were bustling about the port, and the Lucenford people were busy sightseeing and trying to sell something more, the Grand Duke alone was relaxed.

“Isn’t it better to tell me if you can’t figure it out by thinking alone?”

Indeed, Peon was the only one who could answer. Instead of answering, Kaella looked around. There were many people, but no one paid much attention to the two of them. It was perfect for asking dangerous questions.

“Can I ask you something?”

Peon chuckled.

“Just ask. There’s nothing you can’t ask.”

“How long are you going to keep me alive?”

In an instant, the surroundings were blocked off. People walked around the hall as if they didn’t know the ducal couple was there. Kaella hesitated, lowering her head to the purple eyes fixed on her and greatly expanded.

“I want to know when I’ll die……”

Now, with the deal with Ostein and all, there’s a use for keeping her alive, but when that usefulness is gone, there’s no reason to keep her alive.

“Kaella. I told you clearly.”

Don’t you remember?

“You’re going to live with me until you grow old and die of natural causes. And that’s after a very long time.”

Again. Again his black pupils were elongating vertically.

“There’s nothing new to be recorded in your death certificate besides that.”

Even hearing the answer, it’s not clear and refreshing. Rather, it only adds to the questions. Why on earth?

“…You don’t like me.”

Peon’s breath was suddenly cut off. He knew he shouldn’t dare say that, but his breathing was cut off and he felt dizzy. Holding onto a woman who keeps trying to die, forcibly feeding her, washing her, dressing her, and making her walk, what could be the obvious reason for that?

A man who dared not speak the reason barely endured everything while looking at a woman who only said the exact opposite of that reason.

He had to endure by holding onto what felt like he was going crazy, and regulating his breathing on his own when it was difficult. In front of Kaella, he had no right to struggle.

“I don’t dislike you……”

“Then you should have killed me at once.”

Too scared to even make eye contact, Kaella blurted out. She twisted her trembling hand out of his hand. The doubts that had been building up while pondering alone inside finally leaked out.

“You killed me… like that.”

It must be that Peon hated Kaella too much. He must have hated and loathed her. That’s why he starved her to death. He threw her, who had been a precious princess, miserably to the bottom.

It was the most terrible and painful punishment a noble woman could experience. Hope was chipped away, and suffering from headaches that felt like they would crack her skull, she could only pray for death to come soon. She learned over several days that Peon hated her that much.

“So, if you hate me that much……”

“I don’t hate you.”

He was going to ask why she was asking such an obvious thing. But Peon’s face was distorted as much as it could be, and that was not a question but a certainty. His voice, cracked all over, was digging into himself.

“It’s… it’s because of my incompetence. Such an order, to kill you like that……”

The words were like a knife, seeming to slash his throat. It hurt so much that words couldn’t come out properly.

The husband who should have come to check was unaware that the order hadn’t been properly delivered, and shamelessly had meals while preparing for war.

Kaella must have looked for him, must have waited. In the end, she died lonely and painfully with her child, thinking only that he hated her that much.

“I never gave such an order. I’m sorry for being incompetent. I’m really, sincerely sorry. But I really didn’t give such an order.”

Peon’s knees were already bent. Whether he ordered it or not, it was all his fault. Being incompetent was also a sin. So there was nothing he could do but apologize. He should willingly kneel and prostrate himself anywhere.

“It might sound like an excuse, but it’s all my fault. I, I couldn’t even see properly or protect you.”

How painful and scary it must have been. It was a wound that wouldn’t heal or get better.

The wound on the soul would remain deep and cause pain time and time again. Peon had inflicted such a wound. He prayed that this pain he was feeling now was much greater than the pain she was feeling.

“I’ll do whatever you want. I can do anything for you, so this time, please……”

Before Kaella, who had stubbornly turned her head away, could say anything, he asked.

“Please, can’t you just live?”

He pleaded and begged with a voice cracked all over.

“I can’t hold on for long.”

He intercepted the words asking to be killed. So there was no choice but to say something else.

“I don’t have the strength for that. So, whatever you’re planning……”

“There’s no such thing. How could someone like me have any plans, there’s no such thing.”

He grabbed her hand that had slipped away, as if begging.

“I’m living because you told me to live, Kaella.”

Kaella unknowingly turned to look at Peon and flinched. The empty and dry gaze she faced every time she looked in the mirror was there. The longing to die and end it all was there.

He didn’t particularly want to live either. It was even more so after breaking free from the spell. He had no lingering attachment, no will to live, and had committed too great a sin.

Having committed something that could not be undone, he was merely enduring, paying for his sins reluctantly while regretting and regretting again.

Being a sinner, he dared not choose death. Since none other than Kaella had ordered him not to die, he only obeyed.

“Everything I have is yours.”

He had given her everything – his life, his secrets, all of it. He had wielded it, played with it, given it all. Only what he couldn’t give, no, what he dared not offer because it was too filthy, was his heart. If he offered this dirty thing too, would she use it as a weapon?

“You don’t need to fear or be scared of someone like me. I’m not worth it.”

So he didn’t hope for forgiveness either. It was always just apologies.

“If living is hard, I’ll make it not hard. I’ll endure the enduring. I promised to make your life fun, didn’t I?”

He would rather be glad if she came forward to take revenge. Because revenge is also a good driving force to prolong life. But even after coming this far, Kaella didn’t utter a single word of resentment.

“So, please.”

You must live.

He knew this was also an shameless request, but still, she should live the life she couldn’t live before, even now. He had to support her and live on like that. This time, he would do just that.

Until that fearful woman overcomes her fears and shouts that she hates and despises him, until she harbors the hatred and stubbornness and courage and anger she should rightfully have, he must endure, and endure again…

“Kaella.”

Her empty eyes were wandering, searching only for death, not him.

Those eyes, perhaps, might never be filled for a lifetime.

No, it had already happened.