“Thanks to you, I found it useful.”
The note that was secretly taken from Kaian's office while he was away was only available to previous heads of the family.
In Valquiterre's eyes, it was nothing more than a tabloid that contained the family's most dirty secret.
[Claudel Queen Temnes, the first child born to his wife from the Vermont family, will be the heir.]
[May the sacrifice without honor end here.]
Valquiterre looked at the words written in Kaian's unique, powerful, and neat handwriting. He pondered it out loud.
“It is a sacrifice without honor.”
There is a good reason for this long-standing custom.
“Do you really think that the family heads did this because their children were not valuable? Kaian?”
The thing that controls one life, and that is the love for the children who inherit one's blood, is basically something even an animal possesses, but it seemed as if Kaian did not understand the fierce struggle that goes on while becoming someone worse than an animal.
“What do you know? I was born a good guy.”
To that extent, maintaining admiration for the family and the head of the family, even at the expense of a newborn blood clot, was very advantageous in easily gaining respect and maintaining control.
However, it was so funny to think that Kaian, who had never experienced defeat, humiliation, or bitterness in his life, thought that hair color and eye color were not important in ruling a territory, as he liked.
"Haha. What the... Which one is really stupid?”
He thought he could get away with what so many Kings and family heads have done for so long.
Valquiterre tried to calm down his excitement, thanks to the fact that things had gone according to his wishes.
“He who laughs last is the true winner.”
He called the Palace Court Maki.
“You called me, Your Majesty."
“How are you prepared?”
“The condition of the ship is maintained to the point where it can depart immediately.”
"Good job."
“Is there anything else you would like to order?”
"No."
Valquiterre grinned.
“You can just do what you’ve been doing so far and do it well. You have done a lot so far, but you must not slack off even after we leave.”
"Of course, Your Majesty."
“I’m going to rest for today. You too, go away.”
As the courtier Makie retreated, Valquiterre sighed.
“It’s definitely more fun than just watching from afar.”
It was inevitable that he would be tired.
Valquiterre headed to the bathroom.
The court palace Makie was called to Valquiterre and he returned to the guest room where he was staying. But as soon as he arrived, he encountered an unexpected situation. At the door, he was met by a maid, who had her head covered and her head bowed.
“I brought the alcohol you told me to bring.”
"Alcohol?"
Courtier Makie rarely drank alcohol.
He usually enjoyed tea rather than drinking alcohol, and if he had to drink alcohol, he diluted it by mixing expensive, strong tea with alcohol. He suffered from insomnia due to the boat ride to Rowen Castle, so he did have a few light drinks.
Why did he ask her to bring some alcohol on his way to see the King at such a late hour?
“Drinking at a time like this? Ha... Anyway, bring it in here.”
"Yes, Count.”
At first glance, it was almost midnight. However, the maid seemed to have no intention of leaving even after setting down the liquor bottle, glasses, and a silver tray with beef jerky and cheese on it.
“I’ll clean your bedroom and then go.”
The maid, who didn't lie down even once during her daily routine, rearranged the dirty bed covers and swept the spot where there wasn't even a speck of dust with duster.
Seeing what she was doing, court palace Makie opened his mouth.
“What month does it snow in Rowen?”
Then he heard an answer similar to that of an alumni book.
“Summer lakeside.”
Court palace Makie confirmed her password.
“Who is the Sun of Rowen?”
“Rowen is the land of the kingdom, Your Majesty.”
“Raise your head.”
He said with satisfaction.
“You’ve worked hard so far.”
"No, Count.”
“You did your job well. I heard that the Duchess was in trouble before the King came here because of Madame Marcel’s incident, right?”
There were several informants planted by Valquiterre in Rowen Castle as well. Although they did not know each other, they naturally created public opinion through working and actually living.
It was none other than the people of Valquiterre who took the lead in spreading various rumors in the castle regarding the Duke and his wife.
In Valquiterre's eyes, it was nothing more than a tabloid that contained the family's most dirty secret.
[Claudel Queen Temnes, the first child born to his wife from the Vermont family, will be the heir.]
[May the sacrifice without honor end here.]
Valquiterre looked at the words written in Kaian's unique, powerful, and neat handwriting. He pondered it out loud.
“It is a sacrifice without honor.”
There is a good reason for this long-standing custom.
“Do you really think that the family heads did this because their children were not valuable? Kaian?”
The thing that controls one life, and that is the love for the children who inherit one's blood, is basically something even an animal possesses, but it seemed as if Kaian did not understand the fierce struggle that goes on while becoming someone worse than an animal.
“What do you know? I was born a good guy.”
To that extent, maintaining admiration for the family and the head of the family, even at the expense of a newborn blood clot, was very advantageous in easily gaining respect and maintaining control.
However, it was so funny to think that Kaian, who had never experienced defeat, humiliation, or bitterness in his life, thought that hair color and eye color were not important in ruling a territory, as he liked.
"Haha. What the... Which one is really stupid?”
He thought he could get away with what so many Kings and family heads have done for so long.
Valquiterre tried to calm down his excitement, thanks to the fact that things had gone according to his wishes.
“He who laughs last is the true winner.”
He called the Palace Court Maki.
“You called me, Your Majesty."
“How are you prepared?”
“The condition of the ship is maintained to the point where it can depart immediately.”
"Good job."
“Is there anything else you would like to order?”
"No."
Valquiterre grinned.
“You can just do what you’ve been doing so far and do it well. You have done a lot so far, but you must not slack off even after we leave.”
"Of course, Your Majesty."
“I’m going to rest for today. You too, go away.”
As the courtier Makie retreated, Valquiterre sighed.
“It’s definitely more fun than just watching from afar.”
It was inevitable that he would be tired.
Valquiterre headed to the bathroom.
***
The court palace Makie was called to Valquiterre and he returned to the guest room where he was staying. But as soon as he arrived, he encountered an unexpected situation. At the door, he was met by a maid, who had her head covered and her head bowed.
“I brought the alcohol you told me to bring.”
"Alcohol?"
Courtier Makie rarely drank alcohol.
He usually enjoyed tea rather than drinking alcohol, and if he had to drink alcohol, he diluted it by mixing expensive, strong tea with alcohol. He suffered from insomnia due to the boat ride to Rowen Castle, so he did have a few light drinks.
Why did he ask her to bring some alcohol on his way to see the King at such a late hour?
“Drinking at a time like this? Ha... Anyway, bring it in here.”
"Yes, Count.”
At first glance, it was almost midnight. However, the maid seemed to have no intention of leaving even after setting down the liquor bottle, glasses, and a silver tray with beef jerky and cheese on it.
“I’ll clean your bedroom and then go.”
The maid, who didn't lie down even once during her daily routine, rearranged the dirty bed covers and swept the spot where there wasn't even a speck of dust with duster.
Seeing what she was doing, court palace Makie opened his mouth.
“What month does it snow in Rowen?”
Then he heard an answer similar to that of an alumni book.
“Summer lakeside.”
Court palace Makie confirmed her password.
“Who is the Sun of Rowen?”
“Rowen is the land of the kingdom, Your Majesty.”
“Raise your head.”
He said with satisfaction.
“You’ve worked hard so far.”
"No, Count.”
“You did your job well. I heard that the Duchess was in trouble before the King came here because of Madame Marcel’s incident, right?”
There were several informants planted by Valquiterre in Rowen Castle as well. Although they did not know each other, they naturally created public opinion through working and actually living.
It was none other than the people of Valquiterre who took the lead in spreading various rumors in the castle regarding the Duke and his wife.
At least since she had to be from Rowen, it was a bit tricky to persuade her to betray, but he had been able to monitor Rowen Castle’s activities smoothly from the capital.
‘The capital castle will be swarming with traitors planted by the Duke of Temnes anyway.’
Count Makie had no qualms about using such means.
It was because he was weak that he would be taken away.
If he didn’t want to be taken away, he had no choice but to prepare and become stronger.
Count Makie was ready to give Valquiterre what he wanted.
In addition to Valquiterre’s being interested, Claudel was a very meaningful match. If he could just marry her, he could strengthen his control over the Valmonde territory.
Although Claudel was not the Duke of Vermont’s biological daughter, she was an adopted daughter, but she was not a fake daughter. Legally, she was his biological child with equal rights to Irena.
Duke Vermont, who valued his dignity and had a strong desire for honor, would open the northern route if the King became his son-in-law.
For now, the various medicinal herbs and spices coming from the Sol Continent were so valuable that it would be a huge profit if they could just use the route without paying a fee to Vermont.
'If you treat my daughter, who is divorced and has a child, as a swan, she might like it.'
To do that, they would need more rumors like seasoning in the future.
Count Makie handed a gold coin to the maid. Her eyes widened at the generosity.
"You were very clever."
"Thank you. Thank you."
"Just do as you are doing now."
"Yes, Count."
After the maid left, Makie poured the alcohol she had left into a glass.
"Ugh. It's strong."
It was clear that he would suffer from insomnia tonight as well.
It was the day before the water banquet.
Kaian was extremely busy. Although he had a lot of work to do and was serious about building his territory, he had never been this busy before, and he realized that entertaining guests was no easy task.
Once, after marrying Claudel and going through the celebration, he needed to learn how to properly welcome guests. Since his marriage to Claudel was so humiliating and unpleasant, and since he didn’t want to show off to others the Vermont woman who had taken over Temnes’s hostess, he reduced the number of people he invited to the event, and what was left was an extremely poor scale by Kaian’s standards.
‘At that time, it was like forcing it.’
The butler kept nagging him that he shouldn’t greet the hostess like this, but he hated it so much that he couldn’t help it, looking back, he regretted every single one of them.
Anyway, after finishing the event tomorrow, Valquiterre would finally return to the palace, so Kaian, who was busy with work, naturally looked forward to that day.
“Duke of Temnes. Are you here?”
Makie, the Count of the Palace, who was standing on the deck of a large ship at the dock by the lake, waved and smiled kindly.
‘It’s a bit awkward to see that guy outside like this instead of in the palace.’
Why is he called the Court of the Palace? It was a name given to him because he was attached to the palace and assisted the King and took care of various administrative matters related to the royal family.
Makie waited for Kaian to come up onto the ship, and when he stepped onto the deck, he quickly asked,
“How are you? His Majesty’s ship is definitely taller.”
“It’s definitely a bit awkward that only His Majesty’s ship is so big.”
On the day of the water banquet, the people of the territory usually rode on small boats so that several people could row. However, if Valquiterre was going out on such a large ship and giving orders, Kaian couldn’t ride on a small boat the size of a palm.
“Do you have a similar-sized ship?”
“...Yes.”
In fact, there was none. Kaian’s personal ship might have looked similar in height to Valkyrie’s ship, but it only had one cabin. It didn’t have three cabins like Valquiterre’s ship.
And there was a large sailing ship that Rohan pulled and used for his work on the merchant ship. Other than that, it was a cargo ship that carried grain, fruit, and vegetables along the inland waterways along the tributaries of the Shen River in the territory.
“It doesn’t have to be the same size as His Majesty’s. It wouldn’t look bad if I took a slightly smaller ship as a subject.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Kaian sighed as he saw the ship that Valquiterre had come on. He suddenly wanted to take a small boat, but he had to decorate his ship to fit the festive atmosphere, and there was too little time left.
"You were very clever."
"Thank you. Thank you."
"Just do as you are doing now."
"Yes, Count."
After the maid left, Makie poured the alcohol she had left into a glass.
"Ugh. It's strong."
It was clear that he would suffer from insomnia tonight as well.
***
It was the day before the water banquet.
Kaian was extremely busy. Although he had a lot of work to do and was serious about building his territory, he had never been this busy before, and he realized that entertaining guests was no easy task.
Once, after marrying Claudel and going through the celebration, he needed to learn how to properly welcome guests. Since his marriage to Claudel was so humiliating and unpleasant, and since he didn’t want to show off to others the Vermont woman who had taken over Temnes’s hostess, he reduced the number of people he invited to the event, and what was left was an extremely poor scale by Kaian’s standards.
‘At that time, it was like forcing it.’
The butler kept nagging him that he shouldn’t greet the hostess like this, but he hated it so much that he couldn’t help it, looking back, he regretted every single one of them.
Anyway, after finishing the event tomorrow, Valquiterre would finally return to the palace, so Kaian, who was busy with work, naturally looked forward to that day.
“Duke of Temnes. Are you here?”
Makie, the Count of the Palace, who was standing on the deck of a large ship at the dock by the lake, waved and smiled kindly.
‘It’s a bit awkward to see that guy outside like this instead of in the palace.’
Why is he called the Court of the Palace? It was a name given to him because he was attached to the palace and assisted the King and took care of various administrative matters related to the royal family.
Makie waited for Kaian to come up onto the ship, and when he stepped onto the deck, he quickly asked,
“How are you? His Majesty’s ship is definitely taller.”
“It’s definitely a bit awkward that only His Majesty’s ship is so big.”
On the day of the water banquet, the people of the territory usually rode on small boats so that several people could row. However, if Valquiterre was going out on such a large ship and giving orders, Kaian couldn’t ride on a small boat the size of a palm.
“Do you have a similar-sized ship?”
“...Yes.”
In fact, there was none. Kaian’s personal ship might have looked similar in height to Valkyrie’s ship, but it only had one cabin. It didn’t have three cabins like Valquiterre’s ship.
And there was a large sailing ship that Rohan pulled and used for his work on the merchant ship. Other than that, it was a cargo ship that carried grain, fruit, and vegetables along the inland waterways along the tributaries of the Shen River in the territory.
“It doesn’t have to be the same size as His Majesty’s. It wouldn’t look bad if I took a slightly smaller ship as a subject.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Kaian sighed as he saw the ship that Valquiterre had come on. He suddenly wanted to take a small boat, but he had to decorate his ship to fit the festive atmosphere, and there was too little time left.
The water banquet was tomorrow. He hurriedly drove the ship from the coastal port to the lakeside and used a hastily assembled workforce to sweep and clean the ship. He hung a few ribbons and cloths to create a nice atmosphere and only then was the work finished.
‘I didn’t want to do this, but...’
Kaian had now become tolerant enough to tolerate things that weren’t to his taste because of Claudel.
'But why would you say something like that?'
It was ridiculous that Claudel was attacked by Burbrook.
Originally, if it was in front of the Lord's wife's bedroom, it would have been correct for guards to stand guard on both sides of the door, just like in front of Kaian's office and bedroom.
However, at some point in the past, he thought to himself, 'There is no one guarding Claudel's door,' and did not consider it a big deal that there were no guards in front of her door.
He thought that the castle was safe and that there was no need for an escort. An exception is made because family secrets that must be protected are hidden only in the matriarch's space.
After such a serious incident occurred, he called the butler and asked what was going on, and the answer was shocking.
'Well, since there was a rumor that Madame had Herzol, no one wanted to guard her.'
'Why was there no bodyguard after the disease was cured?'
'I'm sorry.'
The butler's fault was ultimately the fault of the owner, Kaian.
It was the first time he saw Claudel crying, and it stayed in his head like an afterimage.
However, there was no free time to ease his wife's feelings, so he had not even seen Claudel for several days.
But while Kaian dismissed the affair as a common marital dispute, he had no idea that Claudel was listening to what was going on in the castle.
“The guard in front of Madam’s room. This is a transaction that the lord told me not to make.”
‘I didn’t want to do this, but...’
Kaian had now become tolerant enough to tolerate things that weren’t to his taste because of Claudel.
'But why would you say something like that?'
It was ridiculous that Claudel was attacked by Burbrook.
Originally, if it was in front of the Lord's wife's bedroom, it would have been correct for guards to stand guard on both sides of the door, just like in front of Kaian's office and bedroom.
However, at some point in the past, he thought to himself, 'There is no one guarding Claudel's door,' and did not consider it a big deal that there were no guards in front of her door.
He thought that the castle was safe and that there was no need for an escort. An exception is made because family secrets that must be protected are hidden only in the matriarch's space.
After such a serious incident occurred, he called the butler and asked what was going on, and the answer was shocking.
'Well, since there was a rumor that Madame had Herzol, no one wanted to guard her.'
'Why was there no bodyguard after the disease was cured?'
'I'm sorry.'
The butler's fault was ultimately the fault of the owner, Kaian.
It was the first time he saw Claudel crying, and it stayed in his head like an afterimage.
However, there was no free time to ease his wife's feelings, so he had not even seen Claudel for several days.
But while Kaian dismissed the affair as a common marital dispute, he had no idea that Claudel was listening to what was going on in the castle.
“The guard in front of Madam’s room. This is a transaction that the lord told me not to make.”
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