“Has the Grand Duchess not returned yet?”

Jeremiah asked Ron.

“No, there has been no report of her return yet.”

Ron replied in an apologetic voice.

This was the third time Jeremiah had asked the same thing since learning that Karina had gone out.

The Grand Duke’s residence was busy welcoming the sudden arrival of people from the Imperial Palace without prior notice.

Thanks to that, they only learned later that the Grand Duchess had gone out in the meantime.

The letter said to be from the Imperial Palace turned out to be nothing special when opened.

It merely said to come to the capital early and prepare more diligently for this year’s special New Year’s festival.

“They send someone all the way to the north just to say such nonsense. The Imperial Palace must be so idle that they have surplus manpower and people.”

Jeremiah said with displeasure.

It was an understandable thought, given how much work Jeremiah had to handle in the Grand Duke’s office.

The investigation of the Genen Yeongshik incident was one thing, and regular duties were another.

Just because a new task arose didn’t mean existing tasks disappeared.

Rather, new tasks were simply added on top of existing duties.

Naturally, Ron’s workload had increased as well.

Ron strongly agreed with Jeremiah’s words and checked the next report contents.

“Your Highness, regarding Genen Yeongshik’s death, Caroline adamantly denies that it was her doing.”

“……”

“And the confinement of Caroline to the annex that you ordered has been going on for some time now. What shall we do?”

Jeremiah did not open his mouth right away.

The severity of the punishment would differ depending on whether Caroline was the culprit who killed Genen or not.

“My sister’s disposition will continue to be suspended until the investigation of all incidents is completed.”

But he couldn’t just let her wrongdoing slide.

“All of my sister’s assets and ownership rights will be confiscated and reverted to the Grand Duke’s property. Her confinement to the mansion will also be extended indefinitely.”

“Pardon? Are you sure that’s alright? Caroline is still Your Highness’s only family…”

Ron’s voice trailed off in surprise and hesitation.

At the mention of his only family, Jeremiah responded even more coldly.

“Even excluding the murder of a noble, the crimes my sister committed are not light. She should be grateful she’s not thrown in prison.”

His voice was merciless.

Hearing those words, Ron immediately bowed his head.

“I apologize. I will convey it as such.”

Ron, who had bowed his head apologetically, quickly moved on to the next report.

“This is the report on the recent monster subjugation operation.”

He held out a densely written report.

“How is the monster handling situation these days?”

“Not good. The frequency of monster appearances is much higher than this time last year.”

“Any other unusual situations?”

“According to reports, there have been several cases of monsters evading the subjugation teams and descending to villages to attack civilian homes. Even yesterday, a monster appeared in town and people had to evacuate.”

“What’s the extent of damage to civilian homes?”

“No casualties have been reported, but when the knights formed a squadron and arrived at the scene, someone had already dealt with the monster.”

“Someone had already dealt with the monster?”

Jeremiah lifted his gaze from the documents.

“Yes, it was a giant wolf-type monster, but judging from the cut marks, it seems to have been killed in one slash. They say it must have been no ordinary skilled person.”

“……”

“Other than that, the overall damage is not yet quantifiable, but due to people’s fear and dread of monsters, the atmosphere within villages and commercial districts is depressed.”

“Isn’t this time of year usually when northern commerce is most active?”

“That’s correct. That’s why the knights plan to personally inspect the outskirts of the northern villages along the edge of the northern forest.”

“Village inspection?”

Jeremiah reacted to the word ‘inspection’.

Ron felt like he understood why Jeremiah reacted to the word ‘inspection’.

Although he hadn’t heard the exact destination when he reported earlier that Karina had gone out, based on the direction she headed, he’d been told she seemed to have gone to the nearby town center.

“When is the inspection date?”

“We plan to head out this afternoon.”

“That works out well then.”

Jeremiah stood up from his seat.

“I’ll go along too. Is there anything else to do before that?”

“Nothing other than escorting Your Highness.”

“I see. Then let’s go right now. Prepare.”

“As you command.”

“Lies! It can’t be! This is a dream! It must be a dream!”

Caroline, upon hearing the news that all her assets had been seized and her confinement period extended indefinitely, went berserk claiming it was absurd.

“Why is this happening to me! Why on earth!”

She was already venting her frustration over the injustice of the news about the charity event spreading widely among people and being falsely accused of killing Genen Yeongshik.

“This is all because of that wench Karina!”

Malice overflowed from Caroline’s eyes along with tears.

Caroline’s appearance was a mess.

Her hair was disheveled from pulling at it in anger, and her eye makeup was smeared.

“What is Revals doing! Bring him to me right now! Right now!”

Caroline screamed and shouted.

“What is he doing outside when the situation has come to this!”

“Well… about that.”

Nicole, Caroline’s close maid, swallowed hard before answering.

“It seems the Lambarda family hasn’t sent any reply.”

“What?”

Caroline’s actions came to an abrupt halt.

“Are you saying that lowlife ignored my letter?”

Caroline’s face turned vicious.

“A mere second son of a declining count family! After I’ve been so accommodating all this time, he shows no gratitude! How dare he!”

Caroline’s body trembled.

Her pent-up patience exploded.

“Bring Jeremiah! I need to speak to him directly! Tell Jeremiah to come!”

Caroline tried to leave the room recklessly.

“Grand Duchess! You mustn’t go out!”

Caroline violently pushed aside her close maid who was blocking her way and opened the door.

Armed knights were standing guard in front of it.

Caroline commanded haughtily.

“Bring Jeremiah here right now!”

“……”

But none of the knights moved.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said bring Jeremiah! Now!”

When the knights didn’t move no matter how much she shouted, Caroline tried to go out herself to fetch him.

Then the knights blocked her way as if they had been waiting for this.

“Get out of my way! Do you know who you’re blocking?”

“You cannot leave.”

“How dare you treat the Grand Duchess like this! Do you think you’ll be safe after this? Do you want to be kicked out of the knighthood?”

“It is the Grand Duke’s order that the Grand Duchess must not leave the room under any circumstances. If you continue to be uncooperative like this, we’ll have no choice but to report to His Highness.”

“Go ahead! Report it!”

Caroline started throwing things from the room while screeching loudly.

A knight warned Caroline as she acted this way.

“It would be better if you behave. The Grand Duke said he might issue a northern exile order for the Grand Duchess if the investigation is concluded and the noble murder charge is confirmed.”

“What did you say?”

Caroline, hearing those words, breathed heavily, gasping.

“That’s absurd. How can he treat me like this!”

Caroline, who had been screaming, finally fainted, unable to contain her anger.

“Move quickly!”

The escaped prisoners gathered all the hostages into one corner.

Even those who were in their rooms packing were dragged out.

“First, the family of that guy who left earlier! You’ll be numbers 1 to 3.”

The escaped prisoner gestured towards the mother hugging her two children tightly, speaking in an amused, nonchalant tone.

“Now then, let’s see who’s next.”

People desperately tried to avoid the escaped prisoner’s gaze, turning their heads away.

In the meantime, the eyes of an old man who had been dragged out of a room earlier met Karina’s gaze.

Recognizing Karina, the old man muttered in shock.

“Ah, G-Grand Duchess?”

“…!”

Karina’s shoulders flinched.

“What? Grand Duchess?”

At the words “Grand Duchess”, all the escaped prisoners turned to look at Karina.

“Ah! Grand Duchess!”

The old man’s expression brightened with hope, as if he couldn’t see the situation around him.

“With the Grand Duchess here, the knights from the Grand Duke’s house will surely come to rescue us at the risk of their lives!”

The old man approached Karina and held her hands with both of his, saying,

“Grand Duchess! Please tell those robbers to release us! Hurry!”

The old man’s voice gained strength, thinking a way to survive had opened up.

The mother of the children, hearing the old man’s words, also grabbed Karina’s skirt hem and pleaded, as if grasping at straws,

“Grand Duchess! Please save our children. At least let the children live! Please!”

“Ha.”

A small scoff escaped Karina’s lips.

It seemed Karina was the only one who had noticed they were escaped prisoners.

‘What could I possibly do here now against escaped prisoners who would fight the knights to the death.’

All she could do was wait quietly until someone came to rescue them.

Now even that had become difficult.

Then suddenly, a question arose.

‘Who am I waiting for right now?’

Someone’s face flashed in her mind.

‘How foolish!’

She shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the face that came to mind.

‘There’s no way that person would come to save me.’

Karina chided herself.

‘What were you expecting? You decided to stand on your own without relying on others’ help. Yet as soon as a difficult situation arises, you’re just waiting for a helping hand without being able to do anything.’

Karina bit her lower lip.

An overwhelming sense of helplessness consumed her entire body.

She felt utterly pathetic.

Even if Jeremiah learned that she, the Grand Duchess, was being held hostage, he wouldn’t bat an eye.

‘He might even think it’s a good opportunity to get rid of me, whom he dislikes.’

Karina silently self-deprecated.

‘It’s not like I can survive just by being careful and waiting, I almost acted foolishly again.’

She was disgusted with herself for acting timidly and weakly like in the past, despite saying she would live differently from before.

‘If I’m going to die anyway, it’s better to try doing something than dying helplessly without doing anything.’

Once she made up her mind, Karina’s expression turned frighteningly cold.

“Are you really the Grand Duchess?”

Just then, the leader of the escaped prisoners with a fierce look approached Karina.

“……”

Karina remained silent without answering.

Though she had made up her mind, a good solution to overcome this crisis didn’t immediately come to mind.

“I told you so! Didn’t I say I was right!”

A thin man boasted loudly, acting smug.

“You be quiet! You haven’t done anything right!”

The fierce-looking leader snapped at the thin man, scowling.

The thin man didn’t seem to be very trusted.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The one-eyed escaped prisoner standing next to the leader asked threateningly.

“We’re asking if you’re really the Grand Duchess.”

A tense atmosphere hung in the air.