“I feel it anew, but the world has indeed changed greatly.”

The elegantly dressed Duke Bold gently set down his teacup.

Whether due to his tall stature and robust build, or his stylishly tanned skin typical of southerners,
The middle-aged man exuded a strong, bold presence.

“Just six years ago, the Roman Kingdom was merely an uncivilized northern micro-state, but now it has driven the noble Kachis Empire to an island and established the Western Empire…”

“…”

“Everyone is desperate to obtain items from the demons, who are even more lowly than northerners… Ha ha, living a long life truly brings many experiences.”

Duke Bold slowly crossed his long legs as he leaned back on the sofa.

“Moreover…”

The faint smile on Duke Bold’s face gradually sank into a chilly expression.

“The day has come when Her Majesty the Queen dares to keep me, her father, waiting.”

Not checking the schedule list had been the root of the problem.

‘No wonder things seemed to flow too smoothly for someone who had possessed the role of a villain…’

According to Mina, Duke Bold visited his daughter Rebecca once every quarter.
Rebecca always wanted herself and the Grand Duchess’s residence to appear most perfect at those times.

‘So that’s why the servants of the Grand Duchess’s residence were so busy since morning.’

It was regrettable to have realized this belatedly.

If I had known in advance, I would have told them to forget about the deep cleaning and just prepare some cheap tea.

‘No, I should have stood him up completely.’

While the Twins Duchy seemed to think of Duke Bold and Rebecca as an affectionate father and daughter, my opinion was completely different.

‘What kind of loving father would so coldly ignore his own daughter dying trapped in a tower?’

It was in the middle of the novel, when the villainess Camilla went to Duke Bold asking him to be her backing.

‘The fox-like Robelia is now coveting Lady Rebecca’s empty seat! How heartbroken would Lady Rebecca be if she knew this while trapped in the tower?’

She had tried to win Duke Bold’s favor by bringing up Rebecca, his own daughter.
But Duke Bold’s reaction regarding Rebecca was nothing but cold.

‘To be forcibly divorced… That stupid wench! If a child is only harmful rather than helpful to my future, I have no need for them!’

Yet in the end, Duke Bold became the villainess Camilla’s backer.
It was to drive out the female lead Robelia and install his second daughter, born of his mistress, as the Grand Duchess.

‘It would be good to decisively cut ties with Duke Bold on this occasion.’

I slowly curled up the corners of my mouth while hiding my hostility.

“In any culture, the more it rises, the fiercer its spirit becomes, and as it declines, only useless pride remains.”

Duke Bold’s brow gradually twisted at my words.

“Oh my, I didn’t mean to disrespect father’s years of experience. I was just saying that the Kachis Kingdom being pushed back by the Roman Kingdom and the mixed-blood demons…”

“Ka-chi-s, Kingdom.”

Duke Bold emphasized the pronunciation as if criticizing my accent.

“…This is unusual. For the Grand Duchess to correct my words.”

“…”

“It seems you’ve become quite northern. Along with that subversive and dangerous set of values… and that vulgar accent as well.”

Duke Bold swept his gaze over the interior of the reception room as if disgusted by anything northern.

“Don’t forget everything though. Remember that we are southerners who were once the center of the Kachis Kingdom.”

It was then that I realized why Rebecca had put all her effort into decorating the reception room every time she received Duke Bold.

‘He must have been desperate to disparage the culture of this place where Rebecca lives every time he visited.’

Seeing his behavior, one might think the Bold family had been forcibly incorporated into the Western Empire, but…

Duke Bold was a figure who had chosen to naturalize to the Western Empire of his own accord.
In short, a turncoat from the fallen Kachis Kingdom.

Moreover, as a condition for maintaining his duke title, he even returned half of his family fortune to the Western Empire.

‘It’s not even funny how he acts as if he were some independence fighter for the Kachis Kingdom, with that background.’

And what about that attitude, pretending to be an elegant southern nobleman in every gesture and manner of speech?

The illegitimate child of the Bold family. A life of wandering through slums and starving until being formally adopted into the family.

It was admirable how he struggled to hide his inferiority complex stemming from such a past.

Just as I was barely holding back a sneer, Duke Bold cleared his throat with a small cough.

“By the way, how are things going with spending the night with His Grace the Grand Duke?”

“…What did you say?”

I asked back, unable to contain my shock.

‘Is this something a father should ask his daughter?’

However, Duke Bold frowned as if my reaction was frustrating.

“You clearly promised me that you would do whatever it takes to spend a night with the Grand Duke within this quarter.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me… you failed again this time?”

As no satisfactory answer came from me, Duke Bold’s expression gradually turned to anger.

“You… you stupid…!”

Duke Bold, gritting his teeth, swept the table nervously.

Crash―!

With a sharp noise, shattered teacup pieces rolled miserably on the floor.

“You useless thing! Didn’t I tell you one night would be enough, just one night! Can’t you even seduce a man with all his limbs intact just once?!”

Duke Bold, who had jumped to his feet, pointed at me with a reddened face.

“You are now the wife of the second most powerful person in this empire, after the emperor! Do you have any idea how much effort I put in to get you into that position, when I was just a nobleman from a fallen country!”

Rebecca had never spent the night with Cedric throughout their marriage.
Duke Bold, who had visited Rebecca every quarter, must have known this and berated her like this each time.

“You should be solidifying that position to be of help to your father, but all you do is disappoint me like this! And for the entire duration of your marriage at that!”

“…”

“How much effort did I put in while you were playing the elegant young lady of the Duke Bold family! How will you repay all that?! Make it worth it! I said make it worth it!”

I silently watched as Duke Bold ranted and raved.

The previous Rebecca might have been frightened whenever her father flew into a rage like this, foaming at the mouth…

But to me, Duke Bold just looked like a pathetic middle-aged man, blinded by greed and spouting vulgar money talk.

“…Father.”

I took a sip of tea before slowly parting my lips.

“Close that mouth of yours.”

At my words, a great ripple suddenly appeared in Duke Bold’s eyes.

“W-What…?”

I gently raised the corners of my mouth and continued leisurely.

“It would be troublesome if father’s ‘true’ origins, barely hidden by your duke title, were to be revealed. Your current attitude is, how should I put it…”

“…”

“Too vulgar.”

Duke Bold blinked for a while, as if he couldn’t believe it.

‘He must be surprised. No matter how crazy Rebecca was, she would only tremble in fear or panic in front of Duke Bold.’

But that was only for a moment.

Duke Bold, with a face that looked about to burst, leaped over the table in one breath.
And before I could avoid it, he grabbed my collar.

“Ha! How dare you…!”

I looked straight into Duke Bold’s red eyes, brimming with murderous intent, and continued leisurely.

“How dare I? You said it yourself just now, didn’t you?”

“You! You…!”

“I am the mistress of the Twins Duchy, second only to the imperial family in this empire.”

I gripped Duke Bold’s hand holding my collar and slowly dug my nails into the back of his hand.

“Do you think a southern nobleman from a fallen country like you can ‘dare’ to threaten someone like me?”

The sharp nails gradually dug deeper.
Duke Bold’s jaw began to tremble as he tried to endure the pain and anger.

“Even if I haven’t consummated my marriage with the Grand Duke, I am still the Duchess of this Twins Duchy. You should maintain basic courtesy.”

I warned gently, as if scolding a child.

At that, Duke Bold glared at me in disbelief and roughly released his grip on my collar.

“…You’ve thought well. Now go back to your seat quietly and sit down.”

Duke Bold let out a scornful laugh at my words.

“How dare you treat your father like a child…!”

“It’s best not to add unnecessary comments and just sit down quickly. Now it’s your turn to listen to me, father.”

As I spoke with a cold expression, Duke Bold bit his lip resentfully and returned to his seat.

To this father and daughter, the words ‘father’ and ‘daughter’ were merely titles.

To Duke Bold, the father-daughter relationship was nothing more than a superior-subordinate relationship maintained for his own benefit, no more, no less.

I decided to use that point instead.

‘It’s clear to anyone that I’m in the higher position of power now, so there’s no reason for me to keep groveling to Duke Bold. Unless it was the other way around.’

The previous Rebecca might have craved her father’s affection and voluntarily taken the subordinate position, but I had no reason to do so.
Rather, I wanted to reduce these unnecessary meetings and end this relationship as soon as possible before the divorce was announced.

‘That way, I won’t have to worry about any unnecessary backlash later.’

I calmly organized my thoughts while drinking tea.
Then I slowly put down the teacup and spoke again.

“From now on, don’t come here on your own until I call for you.”

“Ha, what? That’s nonsense…!”

“The reason I’ve tolerated your behavior until now is because you were my father.”

“…”

“Don’t make me call you ‘Duke Bold’ instead of father.”

Duke Bold’s eyes slowly widened at my chilly warning.

How much time passed like that?

As if he had managed to calm his anger, at least forcibly, Duke Bold slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
A slight tremor appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“…Well, that’s not important. This foolish father has been very rude, Your Grace.”

Duke Bold nodded slowly and let out a long breath.

“Then make sure to at least maintain your current position until you consummate your relationship with the Grand Duke. No matter when that happens, I just need to get what I can get.”

“…”

“However, if you fail to mend your cooled relationship and end up getting divorced before then…”

The muscles on Duke Bold’s angular jaw bulged fiercely as he suppressed his anger.

“The divorce settlement that comes to me as the head of your family will not go to you, Your Grace. Not a single penny.”

I frowned in disbelief.

“What did you say? By what right do you…!”

“Isn’t that the imperial law? When a woman divorces, the settlement is first delivered to me, the head of her family. And I can dispose of it as I see fit.”

Having said that, Duke Bold stood up as if to leave the reception room.
Then he leaned close to me across the table and whispered lowly.

“I’ll tolerate your arrogance as the Grand Duchess as much as I can.”

“What?”

“So fulfill what we promised from your position. If you don’t…”

A cold light gradually filled Duke Bold’s eyes.

“I will surely make you wander through the mud in rags.”