“……Blood.”

The emotion that arose upon seeing it was close to euphoria.

All the human feelings of disappointment and resentment towards Kaian just moments ago faded away.

‘I could die soon.’

The painful death of her parents, the insomnia that had tormented her for ten years, the pain of suppressing coughs and scratching her chest for months to hide her illness.

Being sold off in a political marriage to Temnes.

The contempt she faced at Lowen Castle.

All of it would end when she finished her life. What came after was not Claudel’s concern.

The path a departed soul must walk was to be forgotten in life and existence.

Her weakened heart beat faster than usual.

Why was the sound of death’s trumpet at the lowest point of life so sweet?

The final symptom of Herzol disease was coughing up blood.

It meant the illness had progressed beyond help, and after coughing blood, one would die within a month.

Claudel, who had risen from bed, was more enthusiastic than her usual frail demeanor.

She quickly changed clothes and hid the bloodstained bedding in the laundry basket managed by the maids she had been observing.

Before Hannah came down from the maids’ quarters, Claudel hurriedly dealt with the laundry and lay back down on the bed.

Claudel prayed to God as she watched the sun, now risen more clearly, pouring out its brilliant light.

‘Please take me away as soon as possible.’

She hoped the time of suffering would be as short as possible.

Antione was greatly encouraged.

“I never thought this day would come.”

The servants throughout the castle and the Temnes bloodline all took her side.

Until Claudel entered the castle as a bride, whenever Antione proclaimed, “I’ll be Lord Kaian’s bride!” people would dismiss it casually.

It wasn’t uncommon for brides to be welcomed into the Temnes family, but the previous Duke had married into the royal family.

Kaian’s mother, Lady Elise, was a princess of the Oberon Kingdom.

The previous king had no sons, only two daughters. The first, Princess Sylvia, and the second, Princess Elise, were born as twins.

The king deeply cherished his doll-like lovely daughters who looked exactly alike.

Moreover, their blonde hair and blue eyes resembled the king himself, which pleased him even more.

Princess Sylvia married the King of the Luxen Duchy. However, as she herself ascended to the position of queen, she could only spend one or two months a year with her husband, the Grand Duke.

On the other hand, Princess Elise married the Duke of Temnes and lived a wealthy and happy life as the lady of the manor.

In fact, the scale that had been evenly balanced between Vermonte and Temnes tipped decisively in favor of the Temnes family’s prosperity, undoubtedly greatly influenced by the marriage to the princess.

Anyway, while Antione might prowl around like a fierce cat within the territory, restraining maidens who admired Kaian, the general consensus was that one couldn’t know who the Duke would marry until it happened.

That’s how it had been until now.

There were even those who were slapped by Antione for gossiping that it would be beneath Kaian’s status to marry a mere daughter of the Berang family from within the territory, when the previous Duke had taken a royal princess as his wife, especially since Kaian had already surpassed his father’s achievements.

However, when the visible ‘Vermonte’ appeared, the people of Temnes and Lowen Castle banded together to support Antione.

What was so difficult about saying a word to encourage and praise Antione, thinking ‘Antione should have become the Duchess’ if it meant giving that eyesore of a red-haired Vermonte a taste of her own medicine?

Antione decided to enjoy this situation.

After all, Vermonte wouldn’t be able to last long here.

She had planned to quietly wait for an opportunity after hearing Kaian tell her never to appear before him again and returning filled with indignation, but that moment came sooner than expected.

She heard the news that that ridiculous woman had stolen the button ornament from Kaian’s ceremonial clothes.

“Really, how low can she go? Lord Kaian must already be regretting his hasty marriage.”

Hearing the story of how she had been utterly humiliated in front of the maids and servants, Antione was convinced that today was the day to execute her plan.

Even the guards who had been strictly guarding the door to Kaian’s bedroom for a while agreed without dissent that if she could capture Kaian’s heart, they could drive Vermonte out of the castle, so they stepped aside from the door without even accepting gold coins.

Thus, Antione, who had sneaked into Kaian’s bedroom, fell asleep while waiting for him for a long time.

When she opened her eyes, dawn was faintly breaking.

Antione was flustered.

Kaian hadn’t come to the bedroom at all.

After enjoying a sound sleep rolling around on the lord’s large bed, she tried to slip out of the room in an embarrassingly disheveled state.

But in front of the door stood that fighting cock from Vermonte, with piercing eyes.

‘Ah. The Duke couldn’t have gone to that woman.’

If he had, this fighting cock wouldn’t be here lying in wait.

Then Antione’s mind started spinning rapidly.

After spewing out all sorts of vicious words, she felt completely relieved.

“Indeed, one should live by speaking one’s mind.”

By the time she left the castle, the morning sun that had fully risen seemed to bless her with its rays.

Antione held up the blue diamond ring on her hand to the light.

“It will be mine soon.”

Claudel, seen from afar, looked thin and weak as if she were ill.

If only she would burst with anger and die on the spot after hearing the story from that fighting cock.

So that Lord Kaian would take her as his wife as soon as possible.

Antione returned home, carrying this earnest wish in her heart.

After the wedding banquet ended, time flew by quickly.

The problem wasn’t the three-day banquet at Lowen Castle, but the fact that it took nearly a month for Kaian to travel to Valmond Castle, which was almost two weeks away, for the wedding ceremony.

The Lowen territory was a diamond-shaped land stretching from left to right in the southern part of the Oberon Kingdom. Lowen Castle was located roughly in the center, so managing both the eastern and western parts of the territory required a great deal of effort.

Although Kaian refused a carriage and rode on horseback, returning from Valmond Castle in just three weeks, it was a busy time with the summer fruit harvest season.

During such a hectic period with no time to catch his breath, Kaian thought of Claudel from time to time, and from time to time, he avoided her.

The butler seemed to have something he wanted to say to him, but he didn’t ask.

Kaian didn’t need to consider or worry about other people’s feelings.

Of course, he had never engaged in such behavior before.

But after humiliating Claudel in front of the subordinates, the aftermath was difficult to handle.

“I thought it was better than me being humiliated, but…”

After causing such a great humiliation over such a small and insignificant button ornament, the situation seemed even stranger.

A few days later, he thought that if he had said, “Yes, I gave it to her. Leave without making a fuss,” the people of Temnes, who would jump into a fire pit at his word, might have just said, “Ah, I see,” and let it pass without a peep.

In any case, Kaian was clumsy in dealing with women, even more so in dealing with a wife he had just taken, and it was even more difficult to deal with a wife who had come from an enemy family.

He was used to being superior from birth and accomplishing everything flawlessly on the first try.

He tried to recall what the previous Duke and Duchess were like in his memory, but nothing particular came to mind.

As part of his strict heir education, Kaian had to study and practice martial arts from early morning until late afternoon, and accompany his father, the Duke, on territory inspections from a very young age.

Therefore, there was no way for him, as their child, to know what kind of conversations his father and mother had, just the two of them, or how they spent their time in the bedroom.

Still, if his mother had been alive, she might have been able to give advice on what kind of conversations to have or how to treat his wife.

The previous Duke and Duchess had passed away seven years ago, just as Kaian had come of age, after falling ill while visiting the castle for the Queen’s birthday celebration.

Unfortunately, Queen Sylvia, who had spent time with them, also contracted the same disease and died a few days apart.

The fact that the young duke and the young king, who were still like fledglings, ascended to the positions of Duke of Temnes and King of Oberon respectively due to this unprecedented incident caused by the royal family’s secret history, caused quite a stir for a while.

However, as the young king and duke, who were cousins, steadily and safely governed the country and territory, no one dared to speak of it in recent times.

“I wonder if that bastard Valkyther knows this? How difficult it is to deal with a wife.”

Thanks to their mothers, who were sisters, Kaian spent his childhood like friends, like brothers, with the King of Oberon, Valkyther.

To order him to marry an enemy!

And with just a piece of paper as a royal decree, without a word of warning!

When Kaian, furious, chased him to the royal palace, the king said with a grin:

‘Marry a Vermonte? Are you joking?’

‘Well, that’s good. Since you’re here, you might as well go straight to Valmond and have the wedding ceremony, then go down to your territory in one go, Duke.’

When he addressed Kaian as ‘Duke’ instead of ‘Kaian’, it meant he wouldn’t make exceptions due to their personal relationship.

‘I will humbly obey your will, Your Majesty.’

Angry at the king who drew such a line, Kaian merely gave a polite greeting and headed straight for Valmond Castle.

However, the cousin who had sent him into the world of married men was still single.

“What does he know about marriage?”

Kaian thought that if his cousin had known it would cause so much anguish, he wouldn’t have ordered him to marry without a word.

Kaian was constantly worried.

He didn’t know how to handle the awkward relationship with Claudel.

Meanwhile, his body, freed from the restraints of celibacy, was clamoring to hold her.

At night, he would lie in his bedroom, then impulsively go to Claudel’s bedroom door, only to turn back, wondering how to explain his sudden late-night visit. He repeated this behavior several times.

“Did you know? How difficult married life is, Your Majesty.”

Just as Kaian muttered into the air with irritation and was about to turn his attention back to the pile of territorial matters, the butler entered his office and reported:

“My Lord, what shall we do about this year’s hunt?”

“Hunt?”

“Yes. This year is the crocodile hunt that comes around every three years.”

“Ah. Has it already been that long?”

“I’ve compiled a list of people to invite. Would you like to see it?”

The list the butler brought was originally something the lady of the lord’s castle should have taken care of.

Kaian’s eyes lit up as he saw it.

“Claudel should see this. Right away.”