Orla, who rushed to the security office with a lunch box as soon as she got off work for several days, was visiting Nemed.

Orla, who visited the security office with a lunch box today, was startled to see Nemed not inside the bars but sitting at the table outside the security office.

“Honey!”

Then she discovered the tall man standing opposite and belatedly bowed.

Even though they had never met in person, it was a face she saw more often than her neighbor’s through newsletters.

The only duke of the Parsad Empire, now holding the title of Grand Duke.

A cool and rational, successful young businessman.

A genius commander produced by École Parsad.

The hero of the empire who broke the long Cold War with Tesia and won.

A man who received all the glory and praise of the empire. It was also the reason why Nemed was imprisoned with a single punch.

“I meet Grand Duke Blahnath…”

Orla, bowing her head, was met with a graceful but somewhat tired reply from the Grand Duke.

“The Grand Duke has shown mercy.”
Nemed spoke calmly to Orla about why the duke was here. It still didn’t explain why he had come in person when a lawyer would have sufficed.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Orla’s gaze dared to touch Duke Blahnath’s face.

A person she never thought she’d see face to face like this in her life, yet she looked as if she’d been crying, even though there was no reason for it.

“The funeral for Scathach… is planned to be held in Conwell.”

Just mentioning Scathach’s name was so painful to this person that it was regrettable that she couldn’t tell her she was alive.

For some reason, Sister Etain had emphasized. Never to tell anyone else that Scathach is alive.

According to the nun’s letter, the only ones who knew Scathach was alive were Sister Etain, Nemed, and Orla.

“If the two of you will attend, I will send a car.”

“Ah…”

Orla and Nemed’s eyes collided in midair.

It was strange enough to go to the funeral of Scathach, who was perfectly alive, but wasn’t it also strange that Nemed, who had loved Scathach enough to throw a punch as soon as he heard the news of her death, wasn’t attending the funeral?

“It’s not far from Corb, so it’ll be better than a train.”

When it was decided that they were going down to Conwell to hold a funeral for Scathach, who was still alive, Orla, who at least could objectively assess the situation without it being awkward, stepped forward.

Neither Nemed nor Orla had any talent for acting, and pretending to be sad in front of the duke seemed a harder task.

It would have been nice if they had received Sister Etain’s letter either earlier so that there was no need to throw a punch, or later so that there was no need to worry.

“But… if we hold Scathach’s funeral in Your Grace’s territory… won’t people misunderstand? We can proceed simply…”

“…”

When the duke said nothing, Nemed supported Orla’s words.

“The child who couldn’t stand being treated by the government and fled Lindkeom as if driven out. If the funeral is held in Conwell, she will remain in Your Grace’s government even after death, and people will point fingers at her forever.”

Despite Nemed’s deliberate provocation of his past mistakes, Duke Blahnath neither became angry nor retaliated. He just hesitated for a moment and wiped his eyes as if washing his face with dry hands.

In fact, since Nemed isn’t really related to Scathach by blood, he could ignore him as much as he wanted.

But Duke Blahnath didn’t. Unlike when he went to the Lindkeom mansion and ranted about fraud since they weren’t real siblings, he didn’t snub or belittle him.

He released Nemed, who had dared to punch me at the improvement banquet, and struggled to explain how Scathach had died.

Unlike Nemed, who was indifferent after hearing that Scathach was alive, the duke was in great pain just to bring up the story.

Why Scathach kept it a secret even from this man and pretended to be dead was incomprehensible.

“Scathach is… not like my government. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, and always will be. So… please let me hold her funeral.”