“Cough, cough……”

In the first-class compartment of the train returning to Bermuz, Madam Saint covered her mouth with a handkerchief and struggled to cough. The cold weather in the capital did not spare her fragile bronchial tubes. It was this torturous despite only staying for a short while.

‘What a dreadful place.’

Dover, the capital of this great Gracian Kingdom, was a place that gathered the most honorable and precious things in the world, and at the same time, it was full of beasts drooling to covet all those things.

Madam Saint disliked such a capital. Of course, she too was a beast. Among them, a predator among predators.

‘Zen Baker…’

Barely suppressing another fit of coughing, Madam Saint recalled her conversation with Zen from the night before. That seemingly innately insolent fellow. Yet, even in poverty and illness, he never lost his intelligence.

Madam Saint had known Zen since he was young, but the times he showed weakness could be counted on one hand.

Yet yesterday was one of those days.

“I’m not going to get married.”

“Oh my? After all those preparations? Why? Did you find a better bride candidate?”

Madam Saint said with a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. Zen avoided her gaze and responded nonchalantly.

“It just seems unnecessary, this marriage.”

“Haha. What are you saying at this point……”

“……”

Zen’s silence made Madam Saint realize that he wasn’t joking.

“Did you perhaps have a change of heart?”

Madam Saint asked, her eyes flashing coldly.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m asking if you’ve forgiven Duke Buin.”

“You’re speaking nonsense.”

Zen replied, not hiding his displeasure. Only then did Madam Saint wear a satisfied smile.

‘Yes. That’s how it should be.’

The dreadful Duke Buin. That damned bastard. Madam Saint had discovered Zen and reached out to him in order to exact revenge on Duke Buin. And Zen had taken her hand, accepting his fate.

Of course, the current Zen existed thanks to his own abilities, but nevertheless, Madam Saint was there at the beginning.

“Zen. You’ve been reluctant about this marriage from the start. But remember why you eventually agreed to it. What can a bourgeois do in this damned Gracian high society?”

“……”

“Of course, you do have ability.”

This era was no longer one where titles and status alone could crush others. The ability to make money with money created another form of status and position.

Zen was a capable person, so given enough time, he could probably put most nobles under his feet in the future. But for Madam Saint, nothing was as luxurious as waiting.

“I don’t want to wait, dear. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say I can’t afford to wait.”

It was because Madam Saint didn’t have much time left. And now she’s being asked to wait? She couldn’t do that.

“I must see that selfish fellow rolling on the ground with my own two eyes.”

She couldn’t bear not seeing that beast who had taken everything precious from her, face down on the ground, wailing.

“I feel the same way.”

“Is that so? Then why are you trying to go back? You know too, don’t you? Once you obtain a title, you can exert influence in noble society more easily.”

“Even if I marry, I won’t receive a title right away, will I?”

“You may not receive a title immediately, but just by having the daughter of Count Blaise by your side, you’ll be able to set foot in high society. She will vouch for your status.”

“I can do that without marrying that woman.”

One retort followed another.

‘This stubbornness, really.’

Madam Saint, who didn’t like such arguments, frowned and let out a long sigh.

“Fine. Let’s postpone the wedding for now. The daughter of Count Blaise probably has a lot to learn too, so keep her by your side as your fiancée for now.”

“Marchioness Forea.”

As Zen called her, Madam Saint spoke with a somewhat agitated voice.

“Zen Baker!”

To Zen, who had suddenly closed his mouth, Madam Saint spoke firmly.

“Even a passing dog would know that you with the title of Count Blaise is better than the current ‘Zen Baker’. So why should I go back? Isn’t it enough that I’ve waited this long?”

Zen did not answer her stern question. Soon, Madam Saint sighed and pressed her temple as she spoke.

“Zen, my dear. What exactly is it that you’re so displeased with? Of course, it’s true that the daughter of Count Blaise is politically lacking. And you might be worried about how to handle an innocent country girl. That’s why I lent you that child.”

Zen, who immediately understood who ‘that child’ was, furrowed his brow mercilessly and growled lowly.

“Are people objects? To be lent and borrowed?”

“My, I didn’t expect to hear such words from you. Anyway, don’t misunderstand. I like Deborah more than you. That child is like a friend to me. So honestly, I don’t want her by your side.”

Madam Saint was sincere. But Deborah would be able to kill any noise that might arise between the sharp Zen and the naive Dia.

Deborah was extremely wise and a good person who made efficient choices.

‘Unlike me.’

Madam Saint let out a deep sigh and said,

“Zen. Did you perhaps find another woman? Is that why you’re acting like this?”

She asked this, but she didn’t really think Zen would do such a thing. Zen Baker? The guy who hadn’t even made eye contact with women, let alone cause problems with them?

So when Zen answered, “It’s not like that,” Madam Saint believed him without a doubt.

“My dear. As I’ve said many times, I don’t have the luxury of hesitation. I probably don’t have much time left.”

Madam Saint pressed her temple gently, calming herself as she continued.

“You know what I’ve done so far to take revenge on Duke Buin. And that I can do anything in the future too.”

Madam Saint was warning Zen. Not to ruin the shortcut she had painstakingly created with his foolish confidence that he could do it alone.

But how Zen understood those words was another matter. Or perhaps Madam Saint wasn’t giving a warning, but a threat. Telling him not to make her his enemy.

“I believe without a doubt that we’re on the same side.”

At Madam Saint’s gentle voice, Zen sighed as if exhaling cigarette smoke, then nodded his head.

Recalling Zen’s appearance, Madam Saint looked at the rapidly passing scenery and thought.

‘It seems he’s compromised for now, but…’

The future was uncertain. There’s no guarantee that a whim once indulged won’t be indulged again.

‘I’ll have to keep an eye on him for a while.’

Until now, Madam Saint hadn’t particularly placed people around Zen. More precisely, Zen had thoroughly prevented it.

Zen was like a sensitive wild animal. Raised by Madam Saint, but never truly tamed. He never fully trusted Madam Saint, and only kept his own people around him.

‘Even Todd, whom I introduced, quickly became Zen’s man.’

As a result, it was no easy task to keep track of Zen’s movements, but now with Deborah there, it seemed she could at least get some information passed along.

‘Come to think of it, Zen accepted Deborah quite well.’

The fact that the man who didn’t even want to marry Dia kept Deborah, whom she sent as a grooming maid, must be because Deborah was capable. Zen had an annoyingly good eye for people.

‘Will Deborah become Zen’s person like Todd? Hmm. No. Deborah won’t become like that. That child is moral. So if she finds out that I raised Zen out of a desire for revenge, she’ll probably despise me too…’

“Cough, cough…!”

Suddenly, a cough rose up. Madam Saint couldn’t continue her thoughts due to the persistent coughing.

“Madam. I’ve brought more blankets.”

“Thank you.”

As she covered herself with the clean blanket brought by the maid, her body certainly became a bit warmer and the coughing improved compared to earlier.

But the coughing would never stop completely. Even if she traveled to a warm country all year round, she would continue to suffer like this.

‘Until I die.’

Madam Saint didn’t have much time. Death is certain for all humans, and since her body was this weak, she would accept her destined fate earlier than others.

Yet Duke Buin, even at this moment when she was suffering from coughing, was alive and well, breathing, and enjoying power.

‘This doesn’t make sense.’

Duke Buin must surely fall into a sticky swamp and struggle. He must not be able to escape from a terrible hell-like reality. For the sake of those who have gone before, it must be so.

“……”

Madam Saint closed her eyes gently. She wasn’t sleepy. She was just tired.

* * *

Originally, Zen’s wedding was supposed to be held grandly. So grand and magnificent that even those who didn’t know Zen Baker well would have to turn and look.

Who knows how many people had prepared for such a long time for him. The money spent on wedding preparations was also beyond what a third party could imagine.

‘To overturn such an affair so suddenly.’

Todd and the butler’s hard work had all been in vain due to Zen’s sudden whim. Moreover, there was a mountain of things to clean up. Even this sudden business trip decided last night was one of the things to be dealt with.

“You canceled the wedding?”

On a fine day, Dia, with her brilliantly shimmering golden hair like the fleeting sparkle of sunlight on water, asked carefully, her hands clasped together.

She was looking at Todd’s expression submissively, but the hope swirling in her beautiful blue eyes was clear.