Originally, Kaela did not have a very healthy constitution. She often caught colds in Lysenford, had life-threatening pneumonia, and struggled when she ate the wrong food.

The hardy northerners who survived Lysenford’s harsh weather were very displeased with the weak Grand Duchess.

Not only did she take the position of Grand Duchess that everyone thought should have been Beatrice’s, but her family was ruined and of no help to Lysenford, and she was physically weak on top of that. Being weak was a sin in Lysenford.

But how could one change their innate physical constitution? Kaela was extremely careful and attentive to her health, but being careful didn’t mean illness wouldn’t come.

From the beginning, there was no way Kaela, who was born and raised in the south, could adapt to Lysenford’s harsh climate. She was born sickly and raised preciously.

“It’s okay to leave your seat for about 20 minutes.”

Kaela looked up at Peon, who stood beside her and spoke quietly. His voice was fundamentally very low and clear, so it was distinctly audible no matter how softly he spoke.

Or perhaps it was because all of Kaela’s nerves were always focused on him, trying to understand whatever he said immediately.

“Go.”

The gaze looking down at her glanced at her indifferently before turning away. Kaela barely managed to respond to the all-too-familiar gaze of her “husband.”

“I’m not sick…”

“You’re running a fever.”

How did he know? She must have been so clumsy that it was obvious to everyone. She never did anything properly. Kaela unconsciously hunched her shoulders.

It was true that she was sick. Since this morning, heat had been rolling down her back strangely, and her joints had started to ache. Strength was gradually leaving her body. The heat was rising higher and higher, stabbing at her head.

Was it because the tension had eased after the relief that her father had survived for now? Or was it because she had experienced the unbelievable event of dying and the past unfolding, and was still running around trying to please the Emperor?

The cold was creeping in through the thin dress tailored to fashion, but she was enduring it as the event had just begun.

She didn’t expect to be in charge of this in this life, but everything was going differently from before, from the Empress collapsing to her dad surviving. She had to endure, and she was already used to enduring, and she was confident in it.

“Put on something more. What is that?”

Peon looked down at Kaela with a slightly hardened face.

In Lysenford, one had to wrap themselves in fur to survive.

Putting on a hat and wrapping oneself in animal fur was somewhat reassuring, but Kraine is full of crazy people who give up their health for fashion. How could layering such thin fabric a few times provide any warmth?

Kaela, who was already weak, had overexerted herself preparing for the event, so it was natural for her to have a fever. On top of that, wearing such clothes, she would surely fall seriously ill. She would sweat profusely and groan for days, barely overcoming the crisis.

“Go inside quickly.”

The cold outside air was coming straight into the event hall with its doors and windows wide open.

“They’ll assume you’re somewhere else.”

But Kaela didn’t move and just looked at him.

“Sister Beatrice was looking for you. You should go.”

Unlike the very polite speech she had been using until now, it was the natural way of speaking that he remembered well, but her voice was very cold.

“I’ll take care of my own body. Don’t worry about me causing you trouble by collapsing. Just go to Beatrice.”

The small princess shot back rapidly and then abruptly left his side. Peon tried to grab her, but there were too many people pushing between them. In front of the people addressing her, Kaela forced a smile and looked around for what needed to be done.

“The banquet?”

“I just checked, Your Highness. So far, there are no issues.”

“I see. If anything happens, make sure to tell me.”

She had to be in two places at once, in front of and behind the stage. She had to do it even if she was sick.

“Princess!”

People called for Kaela from here and there. If she ruined the banquet, who knows how the Emperor, who values face, would react. She could die again at the hands of the Emperor who pulls the trigger for amusement.

So being sick wasn’t the problem. Such things were never important in the face of death. What did it matter if she was a little sick? She had learned in Lysenford that she had to endure and endure to create even a small place for herself.

Again?

Her husband, who should have been her only family, always frowned and asked if she was sick “again” whenever she said she was ill. Yes, he must have been annoyed. How annoying must a woman who falls ill at the drop of a hat have been?

Take the Grand Duchess inside.

Take the rain inside.

Inside.

So whenever she was sick, they always removed her from his sight. Because she was sick, go inside, because she was sick, stop what she was doing, because she was sick, the Grand Duchess shouldn’t do anything.

So in Lysenford, Kaela kept getting smaller and smaller until there was no place left for her to stand. Thanks to that, she became used to enduring even when she was sick.

This time too, seeing that she was sick, it was clear he was trying to put her away. He was just pretending to care. So she shouldn’t be foolishly excited thinking it was nice, and she had to push him towards Beatrice. That’s what she should have done.

No matter how the conclusion of that lifelong, insufferable love turned out, Kaela felt she would only be satisfied if it at least continued somehow.

“Aren’t you too cold, Your Highness?”

Kaela walked towards Prince Elcanan with an even brighter smile. The prince smiled back at the lovely princess with her rosy cheeks flushed.

To Peon, standing at a distance, the smiling Kaela looked too precarious. She would collapse, unable to withstand the cold while smiling. She would lie down shivering and her breath would be cut off without even being able to close her eyes. Kaela was too fragile. At the same time, she was too dazzling.

“Grand Duke, it’s a pleasure to see you again in Kraine!”

Peon’s shoulders stiffened. No one noticed that his chest heaved greatly as if startled.

“How is Lysenford? Are you in good health, Your Highness?”

There were many in Kraine who admired the Grand Duke.

People who were desperate to at least greet him today approached the man who single-handedly protected the North despite the great flaw of being the Empress’s illegitimate child. Thanks to this, Peon was barely able to realize the reality flowing by without regarding him.

“Lysenford is the same as always.”

He barely managed to answer. He forcibly tore his shameless eyes away from Kaela and formally managed his expression. His tongue automatically brought up appropriate conversation about the weather, the northern climate and the climate here.

However, the torn ends of his nerves were all focused on the woman who was smiling despite her rising fever. He knew. Worrying was no longer his role. He didn’t even have the right to do so.

Rumors had already started circulating about potential marriage talks between Keruzhan and the Krania Empire. After all, alliances between friendly nations are solidly formed through marriage alliances. In that sense, Prince Elcanan and Princess Ostein seemed to make a perfectly fine pair.

“My, what a handsome couple.”

“The age difference is just right too.”

Ever since the Emperor mentioned it once, now everyone was nodding in agreement. Some might be saying it to please the Emperor, but they did look good together to anyone who saw them. So they had to speak up even more. That the Emperor was right this time too.

The Emperor was the sun that saw everything, heard everything, and was everywhere. His eyes and ears were all over the empire.

Even in Lysenford, that land ruled by extreme cold. The Emperor could know right away from the imperial palace whether the Grand Duke was properly protecting the empire or if he harbored other intentions.

“Of course, His Majesty, who inherited the late Emperor’s will, would not neglect his niece’s marriage.”

“It’s a very affectionate side of him. Despite the Empress collapsing, he doesn’t forget his role as a reliable uncle.”

The excessive praise was enough to rot one’s ears. The Emperor liked what was visible.

He was particularly pleased with praise calling him benevolent, loving, and caring. Because he wasn’t actually like that himself, he was especially obsessed with being seen that way. If people kept talking about it, he would start to believe it was true.

Peon was arrogant in a similar way to the Emperor. He really thought he was a decent lord. So he trusted the people of Lysenford, trusted Beatrice, and gradually lost trust in Kaela. That arrogance was so severe it could only be broken by defeat and death.

So he turned his back on the light he longed for and entered the dark shadows.

The Emperor, quietly watching Prince Elcanan and Kaela from afar, had clearly been by the Empress’s side again today. Curtains and screens were drawn around him to block out the excessively bright sunlight.

“Hyperion.”

“Yes.”

The Emperor gestured for Peon to come closer with a dark face. When he came close, the Emperor turned his head and looked at Peon carefully.

He immediately realized that the Emperor was looking for traces of the woman he loved to the point of obsession on Peon’s face.

Since childhood, he had barely managed to survive thanks to his appearance that closely resembled the Empress – his purple eyes, the delicate and soft features hidden beneath strong lines, and his smooth skin.

Whether it was fortunate or disgusting, Peon didn’t show it. If he had died and survived, he should be able to get over this much without batting an eye. Peon immediately brought up an even more disgusting matter. The Emperor reacted right away.

“Marriage to the daughter of Duke Monde, you say.”

“Yes.”

He nodded heavily. Along with a sense of guilt for only now doing what should have been done originally, he added.

“Not right away, I was planning to do it after the Empress wakes up.”

He casually mentioned his mother, implying “that was the plan.” He had to do it quickly before Beatrice could stop this marriage from progressing further. He had to grab her quickly and set fire to this hell.

A happy marriage? There should be no such thing in his life. What kind of happy marriage could he dream of after starving his perfectly fine wife to death? His life should be filled only with bitter pain and desolate suffering.

“Hyperion, how old are you again? It’s past the time for marriage talk for you.”

“Twenty-eight, Your Majesty.”

It was an age when engagement and marriage should have already come and gone.

“I should have… paid more attention.”

“I’m grateful just for your words, Your Majesty.”

“No, no.”

The Emperor waved his hand.

“How could I neglect you when you’re the Empress’s son? If you’re the Empress’s son, you’re my son too.”

The Emperor’s son? It was disgusting just to think about, but Peon had now learned not to show it. If he had died pierced by arrows and spears beside his miserably dead wife, it was about time he learned such things.

Anyway, there was little chance the Emperor would grant his request. Even though he said such things, he would only be satisfied confirming once again that Beatrice could use Peon very valuably as a long-term chess piece against him.

But what if the Emperor indulged in a whim and allowed the marriage to Beatrice? That wouldn’t be bad either. After all, since he came back, all he had left was revenge. Either way would be welcome.

“…How is Her Majesty the Empress?”

He couldn’t call his mother “mother” in front of the Emperor. Even that was because the Emperor couldn’t stand it.

All sorts of reproaches were poured on the young boy to call her by the proper title. The Emperor didn’t want to admit that there was a problem with him that prevented the Empress from getting pregnant, and he hated the sight of Peon, who was proof that there was nothing wrong with the Empress.

But if Peon didn’t check on his mother because of that, the Emperor would be the one to curse him as an unfilial son.

“The same.”

The Emperor muttered, rubbing his dry face.

“Still unconscious. Doctors are utterly useless. Or perhaps medicine hasn’t advanced that far yet. They couldn’t even find the cause.”

No, in fact, the eminent doctors listed in the Imperial Medical Society were speculating that the Empress had collapsed because the Emperor had harassed her and tormented her illegitimate child. Or, they raised questions about the room full of magical artifacts where the Empress was found.

Could those artifacts that acted as the Emperor’s eyes and ears have malfunctioned? But no one dared to say that in front of the Emperor.

“I see.”

Peon lowered his eyes and pretended to be appropriately sad.

“I should take care of you in place of the Empress.”

“I’m sorry to say this when your feelings are complicated. After much consideration, I thought that properly fulfilling the role you entrusted to me would be the way to repay both Your Majesties.”

“Right. Right. Right. That’s correct.”

The Emperor nodded several times, muttering repeatedly that you’re right.

“If only Gregory had taken after you even half as much. That boy has no sense at all.”

A child resembling the Empress. The Emperor never got what he so desperately wanted.

“He’s still young, so you just haven’t seen the opportunity for him to show his talents yet.”

But the Emperor didn’t respond. It was clear that Gregory still didn’t measure up in his eyes. Despite being the son he had chosen from among his illegitimate children.

“Don’t worry about the North.”

“Alright.”

The Emperor nodded and closed his eyes. Peon turned his gaze away. In the distance, Kaela was laughing at Prince Elcanan’s joke.

Someone as cheerful as Prince Elcanan would be good at drawing out Kaela’s hidden lively side, while she was elegant and ladylike.

He would be incomparable to someone like Peon, who was dark and blunt, only looked at other women, and ended up killing his wife.

Kaela, who tried to endure until the end in Lysenford, would do even better in Keruzhan. A warm southern country would be good for Kaela’s health, and she would be able to stay out of the war that would break out in the Krania Empire.

No, even if she couldn’t stay out of it, Peon had to make it so. This time, Kaela shouldn’t die vainly in Lysenford, but live a very peaceful and long life without experiencing war. That was the atonement Peon rightfully had to make.

But while the Emperor could endure as much as he wanted, it was difficult to stop worrying about the sick Kaela. She kept catching his eye.

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.